Coffee With The Lord

Great, memorable advice at the end of 1 Corinthians… “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, be strong, let all be done in love!” (15:13-14) Worthy of a plaque in my office or our home!!!

This is what God’s word has to say about the moral verdict given humanity (I read it during my time of “Coffee with the Lord” today…

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity; there is none who does good.

God looks down from heaven on the children of man

To see if there are any who understand, who seek after God.

They have all fallen away; together they have become corrupt;

There is none who does good, not even one.” (From Psalm 53:1-3)

Oh, the sad analysis and verdict of humanity! The sinful virus that entered humankind through Adam and Eve has infected us all. Self-will and the rejection of God’s authority and reality are key symptoms of this dread disease! There is only one remedy, forgiveness, cleansing and “new birth!” – becoming a “new creature in Christ!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Whose idea was this anyway?

Numbers 1 – The census of Israel’s warriors – was part of my Bible reading this morning during my time of “Coffee with the Lord” … Not the most exciting passage of Scripture to read but one that teaches an important lesson… Here’s just a taste from the chapter with with an added observation from “your’s truly”…

“The Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,‘Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names, every male, head by head. From twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go to war, you and Aaron shall list them, company by company.

“Moses and Aaron took the men who had been named, and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head, as the Lord commanded Moses. So he listed them in the wilderness of Sinai.” (From Numbers 1:1-3, 17-19 ESV)

Hey, It really matters who orders a census! Here it was God’s idea and command. At a later time, it was David’s prideful idea and resulted in God’s judgment and the loss of life (check out 2 Samuel 24). If something is God’s idea and command it must be followed! If it is merely a human idea, generated by arrogance and pride, not only does God frustrate such plans, it results in His judgment.