Coffee With The Lord

The end of New Testament epistles are reserved for personal greetings, comments, closing observations and benedictions. It is one of those personal closing observations in Ephesians that caught my eye during my Bible reading during “coffee with the Lord”…

Apostle Paul is in prison and cannot visit the churches he planted in Asia. As he closed out his letter to the churches near Ephesus, he included this bit of information… “So that you also may know how I am and what I am doing, Tychicus the BELOVED BROTHER and FAITHFUL MINISTER in the Lord will tell you everything. I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage your hearts.” (Ephesians 6:21–22; Colossians 4:7-9 ESV)

Tychicus was with Paul during his first Roman imprisonment. He served Apostle Paul’s needs there. Here Paul says he was entrusted to deliver Paul’s epistles to the Ephesians and Colossians and to bring news of the apostle to those congregations.

As I read Paul’s comments about Tychicus this morning, I asked myself who is a “Tychicus” to me – who would I identify as “beloved fellow Christians” and “faithful ministers in the Lord” to me? Every person who has a key leadership role in ministry needs a “Tychicus” or two (or 3 or more)! Faithful people, dedicated to the Lord, the cause of the gospel, and those they serve. Given a task or seeking to simply meet a need, you can depend on them to faithfully serve and carry out a task to completion with grace and goodness.

I have been honored to have many “Tychicus-type-persons” in my life over my years of ministry… really too many to name in this brief reflection this morning. I have valued each of them – don’t know what I would have done without them! Two of the most recent that come to mind, however, are Fred and Brenda Kuntz (see pic). These two people are “servant leaders” in every sense of the word! They are first of all completely committed to Jesus Christ, His Church, and the gospel! If given a task or seeing a need, depend on it – it will be carried out to completion with devotion, dignity, and distinction! They don’t whimper or whine – they seem to thrive on serving the Lord and others. They have served as “class host and hostess” for classes I have taught, simply served Sharon and I as we faced challenges and needs, and have reached beyond us to serve many others who make up the small group they lead, those in the church they attend! I don’t know what Sharon and I – or others – would do without them… “BELOVED FELLOW CHRISTIANS AND FAITHFUL MINISTERS IN THE LORD” indeed!!!

See if you can identify the “Tychicus-type-persons” in your life…

And perhaps, just perhaps, God is calling you to be a “Tychicus” to your pastor, leader, or within the church or ministry you are a part of… Say “yes!” to the Lord and serve Him and those you are called to serve with devotion and distinction!!!

Just think about the character of God…

…Your Heavenly Father, the Almighty, holy, loving, just, compassionate, merciful, faithful, steadfast, reliable, responsive, Savior, empowering, patient, providing… and I could go on – Wow!!!

I just finished reading Psalm 113 this morning during my time of “coffee with the Lord” and all of that (and more) came to mind about “the Lord!” In fact the descriptive title given this Psalm by the publishers of the Bible I was reading was “WHO IS LIKE THE LORD OUR GOD?”

You really should read it for yourself today in the version of your choice! Your “life-attitudes” will change after reading and reflecting on its inspired words… Here’s a taste of it from the ESV (English Standard Version)… (Hope it blesses you!!)

“Praise the Lord! Praise Him, O servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord!

“Blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the Lord is to be praised!

“The Lord is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens! WHO IS LIKE THE LORD OUR GOD, Who is seated on high, Who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of his people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. PRAISE THE LORD!”

Well, I think that’s the third time I’ve read it this morning… Feel even better this time than the last time I read it! Come on – give it a try… READ it > REFLECT on it > and then RESPOND to our God – for “WHO IS LIKE THE LORD OUR GOD?!”

Temptation to sin and compromise Christian values are everywhere! Friends who claim to be “Christ-followers” really living their lives fundamentally no different than the pagan culture around them. Religious groups claiming to be “Christian” tolerating (even approving) things the Scriptures clearly teach as sin. And this week I read a statistical study that revealed fewer and fewer people are abandoning the Church and their personal Christian faith!

If you’re seeking to be a “devoted, obedient follower of Jesus” (a “disciple” – an authentic “Christian”) the challenge is getting greater every day… every year!

What to do? My Bible reading this morning during “coffee with the Lord” prompted me to jot a few key principles in the margin of my Bible under the title: “Walking with the Lord in a Pagan Culture”… Here are the principles…

1. Be careful about your lifestyle

2. Exhibit godly wisdom

3. Be discerning in your use of time and activities

4. Live a Spirit-empowered life

5. Worship the Lord continually

6. Give thanks to God always and for everything

7. Humbly submit first of all to Christ, and then to others

Where did I get that, you ask? Here it is right out of the Bible…

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:15–21 ESV)

As wickedness and apostacy increase, as the Bible prophesies, I’ve got to tell you I want passages like this to be my moral and spiritual compass before the Lord returns!