Coffee With The Lord

Psalm 100 – It’s a well known “call to worship” – used in many churches at the beginning of a “worship service” to accent and emphasize participation in worship…

But can you imagine (visualize, if you please) if we actually DID what it advocates?! Here’s what it encourages us to do…

“Make a JOYFUL NOISE to the Lord! … Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into His presence with singing! … ENTER His gates WITH THANKSGIVING, and His courts WITH PRAISE! GIVE THANKS TO HIM! BLESS HIS NAME!” (Vss. 1-2, 4)

Gotta tell you “boring, dull services would be done with!!! The climate would change from “an order of service” – and formal, lethargic “liturgy” – to a vibrant celebration of God and His goodness!

Oh, and the awareness that would prompt it? …

“KNOW [be aware, realize] that the Lord, HE IS GOD! It is He who made us, and WE ARE HIS! We are His people – the sheep of His pasture! … FOR THE LORD IS GOOD!!! His steadfast love ENDURES FOREVER, and His faithfulness to ALL GENERATIONS!!!” (Vss. 3 & 5)

Wow!!! I want to be in a service like that with fellow Christians – AUTHENTICALLY WORSHIPPING the Lord (not simply another religious “pep rally” led by “cheer leaders’)! Gonna do my part to make it a reality (believe it will draw people to the Lord and change the atmosphere in many churches)! Gotta tell you, I’m grateful for Psalm 100, aren’t you? Just picture it!!!

Going it alone as a Christian is no fun! …Alone in making decisions, alone is temptation and trials, alone in deciding what it really means to “follow Christ” … Yeah, I know we’ve got fellow Christians to help us, encourage us, advise us – even warn and correct us – but they’re fallible and prone to weakness just like we are…

Hey, it had to be scary for the disciples when Jesus told them “I am going away!” They had depended on Him (and His presence) for so many vital things. Now, Jesus tells them, “It is to your advantage that I go away!” and then goes on to say, “If I do not go away, the Helper (“paracletos” – the “One called alongside to help”) will not come to you.” (John 16:4-7) In fact, He promised them in another location, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you ANOTHER HELPER [the Greek text indicates the promise was “another of the same kind” – Divine!] to be with you FOREVER – the Spirit of truth…He dwells WITH YOU and WILL BE IN YOU! I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you!” (John 14:16-18)

All of that came to mind today as I read Galatians 5:16-26 during my time of “Coffee with the Lord” [you should read it for yourself!]… Gotta tell you, I NEED THE HELP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! I know what my“ flesh” [my natural self, controlled and prompted by the sinful nature] would lead me to do (I mean the list is there… read it for yourself in verses 19-21!)… Apostle Paul warned, “Those who do such things will NOTinherit the kingdom of God!” … I NEED A HELPER … Not just near – WITHIN; prompting, guiding, correcting, warning, empowering, transforming my life! It’s what Jesus promised His followers! And the fruit His presence produces if I cooperate with His activity in my life? … “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control!”

I call it “learning to LIVE BY THE NUDGE” … Apostle Paul called it “Walking by/living by/keeping in step with the Spirit!” The “Helper” Jesus promised living within our lives… How good is that? I want to give Him my full attention – sensitive and responsive to His “nudge” – attentive to even His “whisper!”

Many of you this summer are traveling to some very beautiful places!  Places that leave you in awe – places that bear the mark of the “Master Sculptor” – Creator God!!  I just love the Bible’s calls to worship and when I see towering mountains, laughing brooks, cascading waterfalls, wooded lakes, roaring ocean waves, canyons exploding with stunning colors, it’s Psalms like the 95^th Psalm that come to mind…

^“Come, let us sing to the LORD!  Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to him. For the LORD is a great God, a great King above all gods. He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him, for he made it. His hands formed the dry land, too.Come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the LORD our maker, for he is our God. We are the people he watches over, the flock under his care.”

Have a praise-filled summer as you travel and take vacations to beautiful places!!  (The pic is of a scene in Glacier National Park where we’ll be spending some time this summer!)