Coffee With The Lord

A little more than just a “sip” today from my Bible reading… but very good!

“This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you, and it is not beyond your reach.  It is not kept in heaven, so distant that you must ask, ‘Who will go up to heaven and bring it down so we can hear it and obey?’  It is not kept beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear it and obey?’  No, the message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.  

“Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between life and death, between prosperity and disaster.  For I command you this day to love the Lord your God and to keep his commands, decrees, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and multiply, and the Lord your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy.”  Deuteronomy 30:11–16 NLT)

“Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!  Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord, or declare all his praise?  Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!  (Psalm 106:1–3 ESV)

Do you enjoy a good “mystery” – a story that grips you attention, keeps you “on edge,” and suspends its climax to the very end? It’s the kind of plot that begs for your best problem-solving skills and abilities in order to work past diversionary techniques. In fact, some “mystery stories,” even let you work out and suggest your own “solutions.” That’s the way our culture tends to understand “mystery?”

That, however, is NOT, the way the Bible uses the term “mystery!” I was reminded of that this morning during my Bible reading! Ephesians 3:1-6 was the passage I read during my time of “coffee with the Lord” – it uses “mystery” in the Biblical way… Here is what the passage says:

“The MYSTERY was made known to me by REVELATION!… When you read this, you can perceive my insight into ‘THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST,’ which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been REVEALED to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This MYSTERY is that the GENTILES [those who were not thought of as God’s ‘chosen people’ – people from other nations] are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel!”

That marvelous truth that the Bible calls a MYSTERY – in fact, ‘THE MYSTERY OF CHRIST’ – you’d never figure out on your own… it was not figured out for centuries! God REVEALED it prophetically through His apostles and prophets through what Jesus did on our behalf! … “God so loved the WORLD that He sent His only Son, that WHOEVER believes in Him should not perish but has eternal life!” (John 3:16) … It’s not a plot or story you’ve got to figure out… It’s a grand message and truth GOD REVEALED! That’s “MYSTERY” the way the Bible uses it! And it uses it that way consistently… A truth or reality once hidden, but divinely revealed!

I’m so glad! Because of that MYSTERY, I’m included in God’s plan, I’m accepted in Christ Jesus, I, a Gentile, am a “child of God” – a part of God’s family!