Coffee With The Lord

Neighbors!  What a pain!!  Their dog dirties on my lawn and barks at every passing person and car!  Their kids yell and scream all the time and throw stuff over the fence into our yard… And their music! … Blaring all the time… and their wild parties!!!  And you should hear the husband… quarreling with his “wife?” all the time.  And that’s not all…!!!

Hey, it’s a conversation I’ve heard from Christians about their “neighbors”!!! (And to my shame it’s a conversation I’ve participated in a time or two… or three!

Then I read Apostle Paul’s God-inspired words today in Romans 13:8-10… Felt VERY CONVICTED!!!

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

God’s law: Summarized in two core commandments:  I’m supposed to love God wholeheartedly… AND LOVE MY “NEIGHBOR” AS I LOVE MYSELF! (check out Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 along with Matthew 22:34-40; Luke 10:25-37).

Here Apostle Paul urges us NEVER to feel like we have repaid the 2nd great commandment! In fact, he informs us that if we succeed in “loving one another” (i.e. our “neighbor) we have fulfilled God’s law! Oh Lord, help me to do a good job of BOTH – Loving God and loving my neighbor! …And love as a verb, not simply an emotion!

Perhaps you, like me, are going to have to do some serious work on that “neighbor” thing!

Ouch!!!

After reading, reflecting on and weighing the implications of Romans 13:1-7  first of all, for ME – then for US (as fellow Christians) and the socio-political situation we’re in right now compared to the one in Apostle Paul’s day (which, believe me was no better than ours now)… I WAS CALLED TO REPENT OF MY SIN!!!

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God.  Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment… For the authorities are God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid… For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.  Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience.  For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing.  Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.” (From Romans 13:1-7 ESV)

Hey, It is so easy to “idolize” our freedoms as Americans (appreciation is one thing – idolatry is another), and ignore the teaching of clear passages like this one.

I must trust God, seek to influence my “neighbors” with the Gospel and my life, and be a “Kingdom citizen” in a pagan world. My responsibility is to be “salt and light” (Matthew 5:13-16) and pray for those in authority (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

I purpose to fulfill those responsibilities! Assuredly, there is a time to resist the commands of godless leaders – and that time is when I would have to violate the clear directive of God’s law… Even then, however may the Biblical examples of Jesus, Joseph and Daniel (and others) guide me… They understood the power of an “appeal” to authority (and were willing, when necessary, to pay the price for respectful resistance when there was no other alternative.

Oh, and the Lord DID forgive me for my SIN this morning (1 John 1:8-10) – He promised to!!!

On this last day of January – the month of “New Years resolutions” – many of which, I’m sorry to say, have probably been discarded or fallen into disuse… (Hopefully some have survived with determined discipline!)

So this morning, during my time of “coffee with the Lord,” I read a passage that was a little like reading through someone’s “New Years resolutions” on January 1!  In my Bible it was given this title: “Behave Like a Christian!”  Is consists of a varied and valuable list of behaviors that, if followed, would make an incredible impact on our world in the name of Christ and the Gospel!  Here it is from the New Living Translation…

“Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.

Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.

Love each other with genuine affection,

Take delight in honoring each other.

Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.

Rejoice in your confident hope.

Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.

When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.

Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.

Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep.

Live in harmony with each other.

Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people.

Don’t think you know it all

Never pay back evil with more evil.

Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable.

Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

Never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,
‘I will take revenge; I will pay them back, says the LORD.  Instead, If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals of shame on their heads.’ [quotation from Proverbs 25:21-22]

DON’T LET EVIL CONQUER YOU, BUT CONQUER EVIL BY DOING GOOD.” (Romans 12:9-21)

So, I’m overwhelmed!  Just overwhelmed!!  I wrote this in the margin of my Bible today… “Where to begin?  I fall so far short!  I could camp out for a month here!  No… for a year!!  Oh Lord help me – assist me – enable me!  Remind me!  Transform me!  I want to live like this!  I long to be this kind of Christian… NOT OVERCOME BY EVIL AROUND ME, BUT OVERCOMING EVIL WITH GOOD!!  That’s my prayer on January 31!