Coffee With The Lord

This morning I was enjoying my usual devotional time that I call  “Coffee with the Lord.”  Part of my Bible reading was Psalm 84, the Psalm where God’s people express the longing of their hearts with these words:

“How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!  My soul longs, yes faints, for the courts of the Lord!  My heart and flesh sing for joy to the Living God! …

“For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere!  I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness!

“The Lord bestows favor and honor!  No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly!  O Lord of Hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you!” (From Psalm 84 ESV)

As I reflected on the longing expressed by the Psalmist, the lyrics of this contemporary worship song came to mind… enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWv6rDamuO4

“Beneath the surface
Of my anxious imagination
Beckons a calmness
That is found in you alone
It washes over every doubt, every imperfection
Jesus your presence is the comfort of my soul

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be
When you’re singing over me
I just wanna be here with you
I’m lost in your mystery
I’m found in your love for me
I just wanna be here with you

“Here in the waiting
I won’t worry about tomorrow
No need to focus
On the things I can’t control
All my attention
On the wonder of this moment
Jesus your presence is the comfort of my soul

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be
When you’re singing over me
I just wanna be here with you
I’m lost in your mystery
I’m found in your love for me
I just wanna be here with you

“So let all that I am
Be consumed with who you are
Oh the glory of your presence
What more could I ask for?

“You’re all I’ve ever needed
You’re everything to me

“There’s nowhere I’d rather be
When you’re singing over me
I just wanna be here with you
I’m lost in your mystery
I’m found in your love for me
I just wanna be here with you

“And I just love your presence
I just really love your presence
What could be better than this moment with you, God?

“I’ve never known a love like you
I’ve never known a peace so real

“Oh, there’s nothing, there’s nothing I want more than you, Jesus
We’re here to meet with you Father
We’re here to give you every part, every part
You deserve it
You deserve it

“So let all that I am
Be consumed with who you are
Oh the glory of your presence
What more could I ask for?

“So let all that I am
Be consumed with who you are
Oh the glory of your presence
What more, oh let’s sing it out

“There’s no one else for me, Lord!”

Songwriters: Christopher Joel Brown / Steven Furtick / Tiffany Hammer

With You (Paradoxology) lyrics © Be Essential Songs

Oh it’s the longing of my heart… Just to spend time “With You!”

What you are about to read is not a political statement … It is a personal position…

I grieve that the term “compassionate conservative” has been maligned unjustly (it is a good term)! I must tell you, more than being a “fiscal conservative” or a “political conservative” I am a “social conservative.” I believe the Bible teaches it! I read the following passage today during my time of “coffee with the Lord” and embrace wholeheartedly what it teaches…

“God has taken His place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods He holds judgment: ‘How long will you judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.'” (From Psalm 82:1-4 ESV)

I jotted this personal message in the margin of my Bible by those verses today: “Where there is genuine need, I want to be generous and do my best to meet it! Where there is real injustice, I want to defend those who have been wronged and do what I can to advocate justice for them. Where sin is rampant, I want to live a godly life and share the life-transforming Gospel. Why? Because the Bible teaches it, God expects it, my relationship with Him demands it, and the heart within me that He has transformed desires it!

Every parent knows the feeling… You’ve done your best to warn them!  You’ve urged them not to attempt a particular activity – they’re not ready for it yet.  You’ve told them to stay away from something that was dangerous.  And they do it anyway!  And the result is a mess, a crisis, or worse!  Imagine how our Heavenly Father must feel sometimes!!!  I thought about that as I read these words from Psalm 81 this morning (spoken to “the Children of Israel” but certainly applicable to us!!)

“Sing for joy to God our strength!  Shout aloud to the God of Jacob!  Begin the music, strike the timbrel, play the melodious harp and lyre! …  I heard an unknown voice say:  ‘I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket.  In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you… Hear me, my people, and I will warn you— IF YOU WOULD ONLY LISTEN TO ME!  But my people would not listen to me; they would not submit to me.  So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices.  If my people would only listen to me, if they would only follow my ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes!” (from Psalm 81 NIV)

I want to listen to my Heavenly Father!  I want to heed His voice!  Think it will help me stay out of BIG TROUBLE!!