Coffee With The Lord

During “coffee with the Lord” today I was very impressed with the voice, the call, the invitation of “wisdom” (I was reading Proverbs 8 at the time, but the theme is not limited to that chapter – it is scattered all the way and repeatedly throughout Proverbs 1-9).

I want to hear wisdom’s voice above the rabble of all the other voices in our world! I want my ear tuned and attentive to her.  I want to discern her sweet tone and wholesome message among all of the other  competing voices!  It is an invitation to truth, insight, righteousness, purity, wholeness, blessing, and “Shalom” (peace and security)!  It is a call to reject deception, temptation, self-will, sin and rebellion.

It is not a loud, strident voice (“the woman, ‘Folly,’ is loud; she is seductive and knows nothing” – vs. 13) – Wisdom is rather a quiet, persistent voice, in all the distracting noise and competing voices of life.  She is however, discernable – but you do have to listen for her!

Proverbs 8 reminds me of  James 3:14-18 in the New Testament: “If you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and be false to the truth. This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere!”

I’m listening for “Wisdom’s” voice this morning!  I’ll be listening tomorrow too… and the next day, and the next, and the next, and…

Ever have a nightmare?  They’re usually really scary stuff – and they seem so real!  Sometimes you wake up in a cold sweat and have to take a little time and calm down!  As a child I had a few nightmares that made me sleep with my head under the covers for “protection.”  Moms and dads of small children have often had to respond to screams in the middle of the night and give a lot of loving comfort.

Nightmares rarely turn out positive! …  But there’s one “dream-vision” (a “nightmare”) that Daniel had recorded in Daniel 7 in the Bible that did turn out positive!  After seeing four absolutely frightening beasts in his dream-vision, representing four different world empires with some vicious and oppressive dictators, Daniel saw something else – something wonderful, something positive, something filled with hope…

“I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man [a clear prophetic reference to the “Son of Man, Jesus Christ, the Messiah].  And He came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him.  And to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him; His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed!”

Gotta tell you, I am grateful that Daniel’s “nightmare” ended that way!  Worldly kings and kingdoms will come and go before Jesus returns.  Some of them will be oppressive, evil and frightening.  Prophecy indicates things in our world will get a lot worse before things get better!  The Bible predicts a frightening future in many ways… But there is another king and kingdom to come – God’s kingdom, the Kingdom of Heaven… Listen, I’ll take a “nightmare” (in this case a prophetic reality) that ends that way any day!

Just sitting here reflecting after reading some great advice this morning – a reminder actually – from Proverbs 6:20-35.  Thinking about the great advice my dad and mom, Ewalt and Vera Bartel gave me as a young man… advice about a lot of different subjects, all grounded in reverence for the Lord, and anchored to the clear teaching of God’s word.  I’m much older now, but looking back on what they told me, it has stood me in good stead for the challenges and temptations I’ve faced! 

If you’ve had parents who gave you godly instruction, you are blessed indeed!  And if you didn’t have biological parents who instructed you, but had adoptive parents who did it – or even “spiritual parents” who mentored and taught you, praise the Lord!  My advice today?  Recall, reflect on, and relish some of that instruction!  It will bring back sweet memories, engender deep appreciation, and probably help you in something you’re facing right now!

Here’s how the writer of Proverbs expressed it:

“My son, keep your father’s commandment, and forsake not your mother’s teaching!  Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck.  When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.  For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life.”   (Proverbs 6:20–23 ESV)

Oh, and then what follows is some great advice and guidance (and warning) about moral purity… teaching that I would say, is pretty important in our culture today!