Coffee With The Lord

Oh how I wish the nation I love and its leaders would embrace the truth of Deuteronomy 28 in the Bible, seek to follow it, and enjoy its blessings! I am a student of Scripture and a trained theologian – therefore I know the covenant promises God made to Israel (a theocracy) are not the same thing as life in America. Yet, I am convinced God would bless us in incredible and wonderful ways if we, as a nation, would seek to honor and obey His word! I am confident we would be stunned by the remarkable and positive turnaround in national life that would come our way!

I have friends from other countries that are reading this post. I am sure the cry of their heart and deep desire would be for the nations they love to do the same thing – embrace the teaching of God’s word and Biblical principles in national life.

Instead we seem to be bent on abandoning Biblical principles and going the way of our own inclinations and desires… and the result? Instead of blessing we will experience bane… instead of prosperity and progress we will suffer persistent problems! (Read the last part of Deuteronomy 28 – verses 15-68, it’s scary!) It’s inevitable… If we refuse to follow God’s word we’re going to reap the sad harvest of our rebellious choices.

Here’s a just a little taste of what I read this morning during “coffee with the Lord” in the Bible…

“If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: You will be blessed [everywhere – in all kinds of ways!] You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out. 7 The Lord will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you… The Lord will send a blessing … on everything you put your hand to… The Lord will establish you as his holy people, as he promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the Lord your God and walk in obedience to him. Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the Lord, and they will fear you. The Lord will grant you abundant prosperity… The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom. Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them!” (from Deuteronomy 28:1–14 NIV)

I’m praying for America today! Are you praying for the nation you love? Let’s do it – and seek to influence it to follow God’s will at every level!!

Yeah, I know Thanksgiving as a legal holiday in America is in November… I know! I know!! I know!!! But I’m also aware that the Bible teaches that for Christians – the people the Lord has redeemed, forgiven their sin, and given “eternal life” – THANKSGIVING OUGHT TO BE EVERYDAY! …AND THANKSGIVING OUGHT TO BE OFFERED TO THE LORD CONTINUALLY!

Which brings me to the wonderful verses I encountered during my time of “Coffee with the Lord” today… Psalm 105:1-5

“OH GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD; CALL upon his name; MAKE KNOWN his deeds among the peoples! SING to him, SING PRAISES to him; TELL of all his wondrous works! GLORY IN his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord REJOICE! SEEK THE LORD and his strength; SEEK HIS PRESENCE continually! REMEMBER the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he uttered!” (Psalm 105:105 ESV)

Don’t know about you… But today – tomorrow – and the day after that… And I gotta tell you, with the Holy Spirit’s reminder I want to fill all of those days, hours, minutes (and events with thanksgiving! How about you?

Have you ever met someone who just always seemed to want something new and different? Yet they had a house and garage packed full of things they’ve never used! That kind of attitude can lead to discontent and poverty in the midst of plenty.

In the Christian life it is possible to do much the same thing! Some Christians are always pursuing some “deeper” or “higher” spiritual experience and completely overlook or minimize what is already available “in Christ.” The tragedy is that in their pursuit they end up losing sight of THE SUFFICIENCY OF CHRIST, develop spiritual pride and become susceptible to deceptive teaching. That was the very kind of thing that Apostle Paul observed was happening in the churches of the Lycus Valley near Ephesus.

In Ephesians 1:3-14 Paul worshipfully declares a marvelous antidote for that problem: God has abundantly blessed His people with every blessing they will ever need in Christ Jesus! He desperately wanted these believers to know who they were and what they had “in Christ.”

Paul joyfully proclaims, “PRAISE BE TO THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, WHO HAS BLESSED US IN THE HEAVENLY REALMS WITH EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING IN CHRIST!

All of the abundant, marvelous blessings of the Christian life come in and through Christ out of God’s unlimited heavenly treasure house! Paul then goes on to enumerate six spiritual blessings that are simply representative all of God’s unlimited treasure “in Christ.”

Each blessing that Paul points out follows a similar pattern:

* First the blessing “in Christ” is identified.

* Then how the blessing comes – how it is provided is pointed out.

* Finally, the purpose of the blessing is revealed.

Here is a brief list of the blessings Christians have “in Christ”…

1. “In Christ” We Have Been “Chosen” (1:4)

2. “In Christ” We Have Full Rights as God’s Children (1:5-6)

3. “In Christ” We Are “Redeemed” and Forgiven (1:7-8)

4. “In Christ” We Are Given Insight into God’s Eternal Purpose (1:9-10).

5. “In Christ” We Are Included in God’s Wonderful Plan (1:11-13a)

6. “In Christ” We Are “Sealed” by the Holy Spirit (1:13b-14)

Reflecting on this caused Paul’s heart to erupt in praise as he contemplated all of the rich, wonderful blessings of God “in Christ!” Hey, this is not an exhaustive list, but simply representative of the many wonderful things God provides! THE FACT IS, GOD HAS ABUNDANTLY BLESSED HIS PEOPLE WITH EVERY BLESSING THEY WILL EVER NEED IN CHRIST JESUS (John 1:16; 2 Peter 1:3)!

Reflect on each of these wonderful blessing! No amount of money or effort can provide them. They are graciously provided to every Christian “in Christ!” The key – the secret – is knowing Christ! “In him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3)!