Coffee With The Lord

This I believe as a Christian… DEATH DOES NOT END IT ALL!!

As a Christian it is not birth > life > death (with a big period at the end). It is instead birth > life (and somewhere in there NEW BIRTH > then more life! Abundant life! > death > and ETERNAL LIFE! Death is NOT the end … it is simply the doorway (and a step if you please) into an incredible and eternal future with the Lord!!

Thought about all of that as I read these wonderful, inspired words of Apostle Paul this morning telling us about our future as Christ’s followers (whether we are living or have died) when Jesus returns…

“Listen, I tell you a mystery! We will not all sleep [die], but we will all be changed — in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “DEATH HAS BEEN SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY! Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Apostle Paul argued that all of that was incredible motivation for the following…

”Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain!”

As a Christian I have a wonderful confidence and hope (beyond the grave… past death)! I want to live life full – giving myself to the Lord’s will and work!! I want the sound of my service for Jesus to blend with the piercing sound of the “last trumpet”!!

GUILT… A “nagging nuisance” … No, more than that, visit with a professional counselor/therapist, they confirm it can cause significant and harmful psychological/emotional…even physical problems.  And the sad reality?  Guilt is more often than acknowledged, very real!

The issue?  How to deal with it!  Real guilt cannot be “therapied” away – it must be dealt with!  King David, in Psalm 51 in the Bible, provides an effective model.  He had committed adultery, plotted a killing, covered it up, heard the verdict, “YOU are the man!” …and felt the terrible stab of guilt (read it for yourself in 2 Samuel 11:1 – 12:15)

I hate to admit it, but might as well… I’ve had to make David’s prayer in Psalm 51 my prayer more often than I’d like to acknowledge!   Covering up sin doesn’t help…  “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy” (Proverbs 28:13 ESV).   ACKNOWLEDGING MY SIN TO GOD AND ASKING HIM TO FORGIVE ME HAS BEEN THE ONLY EFFECTIVE SOLUTION TO DEAL WITH GUILT THAT I’M AWARE OF… (“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess (acknowledge) our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sin and purify us from all unrighteousness.” – 1 John 1.8-9)

So here are David’s words from Psalm 51 that I read again this morning during my time of “Coffee with the Lord” … (Words, I’ve had to make my own on more occasions than I’d like to admit).  …Words you might want to keep handy, if you’re at all like me …Words, that if you pray them sincerely from your heart, God has promised to honor and heed!!

 ^“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.  For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight… Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me… You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”  (From Psalm 51)

Materialism is a trap – a delusion.  We think we “can take it with us” … fact is, we can’t.  The only thing that really matters is what endures beyond the grave – eternal values!!  Thought deeply about that today as I read this passage this morning during “coffee with the Lord”!  (Some posts just don’t need much comment J)

 “Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world, both low and high, rich and poor alike:  My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding…

“Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me— those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?  No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them— the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough— so that they should live on forever and not see decay.  

“For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others.  Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves.  People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.  This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings…

“But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; He will surely take me to himself!   Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them… People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.” (from Psalm 49 NIV)