Coffee With The Lord

I just must say, anyone who has truly experienced forgiveness of sin, the wonderful sense of reconciliation with the Living God, and the overpowering sweetness of His presence – Anyone who has experienced His love, joy and peace – identifies deeply with the inspired words of Psalm 84! I relished them this morning during my time of “Coffee with the Lord!” Here’s just a taste…

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!

My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord!

My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God!

“Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise!

A DAY IN YOUR COURTS IS BETTER THAN A THOUSAND ELSEWHERE!

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness!

!he Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly!

O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” (From Psalm 84 ESV)

And to go along with them, as you reflect on their message, enjoy this wonderful worship song based upon their message!

“God has taken his place in the Divine Council (and speaks)… ‘How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute! Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked!’” (From Psalm 82:1-4 ESV)

When someone says this about another person… “They’ve got a hearing problem!” It can mean several things… It could mean that their ability to hear is hampered because of a physical-sensory malidy (i.e. they are physically “hard-of-hearing”). Or it might mean there are just a lot of distracting and overpowering sounds that make it difficult to hear. The final possibility – and an unfortunate and troubling one – is that they simply CHOSE NOT TO HEAR what is being said (you might call that one “selective hearing” – there is no problem with their hearing – they simply IGNORE what is being said!)

God diagnosed “a hearing problem” among His people in the Old Testament! I read one account about it this morning in Psalm 81 during my time of “Coffee With the Lord!” (It’s not the only time that issue surfaced among God’s people to be sure! And it appears it was also a New Testament problem! (“He that ears to hear let him hear!” – four times in the New Testament.)

And it was a problem that a “hearing aid” or surgery would not fix! It was a case of “SELECTIVE HEARING!”

THE LORD HAD HEARD THEM! He declared, “In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you!”

But God appealed to His people… “HEAR, O MY PEOPLE, while I admonish you! IF YOU WOULD BUT LISTEN TO ME! There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god. I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD! … BUT MY PEOPLE DID NOT LISTEN TO MY VOICE! They would not submit to me! So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own counsels. OH THAT MY PEOPLE WOULD LISTEN TO ME and walk in my ways!” (From Psalm 81:8-13 ESV)

Just let me say, I never want to allow ANYTHING to drown out or detract from the Lord’s voice – I want to give God my undivided, focused attention when He speaks! And furthermore, I never want to be guilty of “selective hearing!” I’m hearing the echo of His voice even now… “HE THAT HAS EARS TO HEAR, LET HIM HEAR!”