Coffee With The Lord

HOPE! A LIGHT AT THE END OF A DARK TUNNEL!! (And the light we see there is NOT a freight train coming our way! 😉 It is the Lord, our Savior, coming our way!)

Hope is wonderful… Apostle Peter, however, spoke of “a Living Hope” which is even better! Here are his Holy Spirit inspired words…

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into A LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3–9 NIV)

So… here are my reflections on that passage: The resurrection of Jesus from the dead has given us a reason for hope! This is a hope that NOTHING can diminish or take away – it will never perish spoil or fade! It is our hope of heaven and is kept there securely for us. In fact, He is keeping it for us and us for it! Right now we might face all kinds of trials, but all those things can do is prepare us for the incredible future that is ahead for us as Christians! What a wonderful salvation! WHAT AN INCREDIBLE HOPE – A CONFIDENT EXPECTATION!! “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!!!”

I’M FEEL’N GOOD ABOUT MY FUTURE AS A CHRISTIAN, I TELL YA’!

Just an observation from my Bible reading today… It’s easy to miss the point of the overall, collective challenge by only paying attention to the specific, individual challenges…

First I’ll focus on the INDIVIDUAL CHALLENGES of James 5:13–18…

“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray.

“Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.

“Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.

“And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.

“The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.” (ESV)

But here’s the COLLECTIVE CHALLENGE of the passage…

Prayer is powerful when offered in faith and in all kinds of situations… When we’re suffering, when we’re happy, when we’re sick, or when we’ve sinned… Hey, the thing we should do in all kinds of situations, circumstances, issues and times is… PRAY!!! As we’re urged in another location… “Pray without ceasing!” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) And “Do not be anxious about anything, instead pray about EVERYTHING!” (Philippians 4:6-7)

INTIMIDATION! … It usually comes from one of two sources (sometimes both of them)! First from an accusation or adversary. Secondly, from the very nature of the task – daunting and overwhelming! Perhaps you have faced one or both of these sources of intimidation in the Lord’s work. In either case you were left cowering, uncertain of your abilities or ready to simply give up and give in to the adversity.

Today in my Bible reading I read an account of both – the accusation and the intimidating task. The setting? After 70 years of disciplinary exile the children of Israel have returned home to an absolute mess! Jerusalem (and the crown of Israel’s worship – the temple) are a demolished, ugly pile of rubble. The challenge? Solidify the spirit of the returned refugees under the leadership of Joshua (the High Priest or spiritual leader) and Zerubbabel (the national leader) assigned the task of rebuilding.

First of all, Joshua… He faced intimidation by an accuser (in this case Satan himself)! Joshua was not faultless – his moral and spiritual flaws were fodder for “the Enemy!” Here’s what Zechariah 3 records: “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan (the literally the “Accuser” or “Adversary”) standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, ‘the Lord rebuke you O Satan!’ … Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. And the angel said, ‘Remove the filthy garments from him!’ And to him he said, ‘Behold I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments!’ … And the angel of the Lord solemnly assured Joshua, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts!’” (Zechariah 3:1-7)

And then Zerubbabel, the national leader, who faced the incredible (even seemingly impossible) challenge of rebuilding the city and temple utilizing a unsightly mountain of rubble by mobilizing a group of refugees – an intimidating task: “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts! Who are you, O great mountain [of rubble]? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’ Then the word of the Lord came to me saying, ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it! … Whoever has despised the day of small things hall rejoice, and shall see the plumbline in the hand of Zerubbabel!’” (Zechariah 4:6-10)

So it matters not the source of the intimidation: Whether an “accuser” (even Satan himself) or a daunting (even “impossible”) task… If God is “in it” or has commanded it, it will be fulfilled! He forgives, cleanses, and enables flawed human leaders – vindicating and enabling them in the face of accusation! He also empowers and equips leaders to tackle impossible tasks by the Holy Spirit. They are able to mobilize dispirited and frightened human resources to overcome and finish incredible tasks with God’s help – “garbage becomes grandeur” by God’s power!