Coffee With The Lord

Several years ago I developed a Bible reading plan in which you read something from each of the major parts of Scripture every day (Old Testament history, the poetic books, the prophetic books, the Gospels and Acts, and the epistles).  For those who are following the plan, today’s reading in the prophets (Jeremiah 2:1-3:5) and the gospels (Matthew 23:1-39) was filled with warning and rebuke!  The behavior of “hypocrites,” – those who profess piety and flaunt their religiosity, but are living in sin, are given scathing rebuke by the prophet Jeremiah and Jesus… They are “taken to the woodshed” in no uncertain terms! – the sad thing is, these individuals are the leaders of God’s people, priests, their Bible scholars, and prophets – and they are blindly followed by “ordinary folk.”

You really ought to read those two passages!  Here’s just a taste of what Jeremiah and Jesus had to say…

Here’s Jeremiah…

“The priests do not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law do not know me; the shepherds [leaders] transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit… My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water… Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you! Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord God of hosts.”

And Jesus…

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.  They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.  They do all their deeds to be seen by others… [And then in the rest of the chapter this sad theme is repeated…]  ‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!… Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!… Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” … and again, and then once more… Jesus ends with these words, “You also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy, and lawlessness… You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell!?”

So after I finished those two passages, I remarked to Sharon my wife (who was also having her devotions)… “You know what Sharon, I surely do not want to be a hypocrite!  With God’s help I want to be sure to be a consistent, devoted, follower of Jesus!”  How about you?

A “Springtime Sip”… “For as the earth brings forth its sprouts, and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to sprout up before all the nations!” (Isaiah 61:11 ESV)  My prayer?  Fulfill it Lord – bring it to pass!!!

This morning I read an Old Testament prophecy that was powerfully fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ! Here it is…

Isaiah’s prophetic words: “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified!” (Isaiah 61:1-3 ESV)

As I read these words this morning three words came to mind regarding Jesus and that prophecy…

DRAMA! Jesus, just a hometown boy from Nazareth, visits the synagogue there one Sabbath. He was invited to read and comment, as a visiting rabbi, on this prophetic passage. Picture it: He stood up, received the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, unrolled it, found the place in the scroll where Isaiah’s prophecy was located, and began to read the passage…

DECLARATION! Then the Bible says “He gave the scroll back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him and he said to them, ‘TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE HAS BEEN FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING!’” (Luke 4:16-20)

Then… DELIVERY!

From that moment on, the life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus fulfilled that prophecy in every detail!

But that’s not all… After Jesus ascended back to heaven, the Church – His redeemed people, that the New Testament refers to as “the Body of Christ” – are called upon (no, more than that – empowered and mandated) to continue and carry out His mission “in His name” until He returns!

Powerful eh? Simply powerful!! He did His part – He fulfilled the prophecy concerning Himself… We, His people, must do ours to bring it to final fulfillment!!! May we do it “in His name, and through the power of the Holy Spirit until He returns!!!