Coffee With The Lord

The heat that life brings can be oppressive at times… like living in an oven – one difficult thing after another until it seems almost impossible to breathe. Will it never stop! Perhaps that’s where you are right now…

I read these words in the Bible during my time of “coffee with the Lord” … perhaps they were for you! (I know they encouraged me! … “Oppressive heat” is not the only imagery in the passage, but its one of them)

“O Lord, you are my God! I will exalt you in praise! I will extol your fame! For you have done extraordinary things and executed plans made long ago exactly as you decreed… You are a protector for the poor, a protector for the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm, a shade from the heat… just as the shadow of a cloud causes the heat to subside, so You cause the song of tyrants to cease… You will swallow up death permanently! The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from every face… At that time we will say, ‘Look, here is our God! We waited for Him and He delivered us! Here is the Lord! We waited for Him. Let’s rejoice and celebrate His deliverance!” (from Isaiah 25 in the NET Bible)

You’ve got a decision to make… You’re at a fork in life’s road… There is a way that most have gone – well traveled – marked with glitzy billboards and an inviting entrance. And another… clearly not chosen as often, modest by comparison, a single sign… “The way of truth – the way of life – the way of righteousness” or simply “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” signed, “Jesus!” (John 14:6)

I know…It seems counterintuitive to take the road less traveled. But I have chosen to take it! And in the words of Robert Frost in his little poem, “It has made all the difference!” I’ve listened to the travelers who chose the other road – I’ve seen the sad results of their choices – I tell you, I have no regrets! Jesus put it this way, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. But the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13–14 ESV)

Two verses adapted from “The Road Not Taken”

BY ROBERT FROST

“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth…

“I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I TOOK THE ONE LESS TRAVELED BY,

AND THAT HAS MADE ALL THE DIFFERENCE!”

I love clear, direct, unambiguous statements! When I ask a question it’s nice to get a clear-cut, straightforward answer… No messing around! No hedging the truth! No evasion!

Well, Apostle Paul, does just that for us in Romans 10:9-13! In a clear, unambiguous way he tells us how a person can experience salvation from sin and its consequences…

“If you CONFESS (i.e. acknowledge) with your mouth THAT JESUS IS LORD and BELIEVE in your heart that God raised him from the dead, YOU WILL BE SAVED! For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. For the scripture says, “EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME!” (Isaiah 28:16) FOR THERE IS NO DISTINCTION… the same Lord is Lord of all, and richly blesses ALL who call on him. For EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED! (Joel 2:32) (quoted from Romans 10:9–13 NET Bible)

Does it work? Yes, I’ve seen that answer to the question “How can I be saved?” work over and over again… Life transforming stuff, I tell you! I’ve tried it personally and it works! Thanks Apostle Paul for a straightforward, truthful answer to the question!