Coffee With The Lord

Ever just been tempted to give up and “throw in the towel” – things got so tough you just lost heart and felt you couldn’t go on in further. The temptation to go back to “BC living” (before Christ) was just pretty great?

Well, this morning I read a passage during “Coffee with the Lord” that reminded me of some reasons I have chosen to “hang in there” regardless of what life brings and faithfully follow Jesus! Here’s the passage…

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.“ (Hebrews 4:14–16)

HERE’S THE REASONS FOR “HANGING IN THERE” THAT I FOUND IN THE PASSAGE…

1) He’s got what it takes to help me! Jesus has “status and standing” with the Father! He’s ascended back into heaven, having suffered and died for our sin and conquered death! He’s at the Father’s right hand right now, interceding on our behalf (check out Hebrews 7.23-28, especially vs. 25)!

2) He understands what I’m going through and identifies with me in the challenges I’m facing. He is able to “empathize with my weakness” – “He has been tempted in every way” I have been. That’s comforting to me! I don’t have this “cosmic Christ” way up in heaven that is aloof from life’s challenges and difficulties! He went through it all – pain, suffering, accusation, discouragement, and incredible temptation. And He went through much more than I’ve ever faced. He understands!

3) Yet He overcame – He conquered it all! The passage says he experienced it all… “yet He did not sin!” Wow!! He can help me! He shows me how I can be an overcomer!

4) He’s got all the “grace” I need to overcome– to “hang in there” – to be “more than a conqueror” in what I’m facing! (Romans 8.37-39). “Grace” is God providing everything I need to do God’s will and fulfill His purposes in my life even though I don’t deserve it … that’s right, everything I need! This passage says that because of what Jesus, my “Great High Priest” did, I can “approach God’s throne with confidence to receive mercy and find all that I need to help me in my time of need!”

Pretty hard to beat all of that!! I’m determined to “hang in there” and trust Him!! Got a “Great High Priest”!! Gonna make it, I tell you!! Gonna make it!!

One powerful “Sip” today! – The incredible power of God’s word!

“The word of God is alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart! Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12–13 NIV)

I just read a wonderful Proverb this morning in the Bible… So very true, and a healthy reminder…

“In their hearts humans plan the course of action for their lives, but it is the Lord that establishes their steps!”  (Proverbs 16.9)

Are you a planner – a person who lives with a sense of mission, casts vision for the future, and then develops strategies to achieve your goals?  Most of us admire that kind of person and attempt to be like them to some degree.  They’re goal oriented people who do more than just talk about what they’d like to do it life – they take concrete steps to achieve their goals.

And then there are the other folks… they don’t have a clue!  Every day for them is just getting up in the morning, putting in the hours, and attempting to react to whatever happens.  The scope of their planning rarely moves beyond the next hour or the 24-hour period immediately before them.  Planning a week ahead?  That’s really pushing it!!

I have to say, I really want to be more like the first kind of person!!

As we get older, my wife and I have engaged in some serious conversations about plans for the next couple of years.  We’ve come up with some conclusions about things we were going to plan and do – and the steps we’re going to take to fulfill those goals and plans…  And then I get up this morning and read Proverbs 16.9!!!

I think before we do a final “sign off” of the strategies Sharon and I have agreed upon, we should probably do what the Bible says, and remember “it is the Lord that establishes our steps!”  Seems to me I recall a few verses in James (more or less the “Proverbs” of the New Testament) that are important here… “Now listen, you who say ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life?  You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  Instead, you ought to say, ‘If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.’“ (James 4.13-15)