Coffee With The Lord

Anyone who knows me, knows I love and appreciate good contemporary worship music. I thrill that the present generation has articulated their love and worship for the Lord in such heartfelt and profound ways… But I gotta tell you, we’ll be impoverished if we don’t preserve and use the great legacy of worship music of generations past. This morning I was reminded of one such “heritage song” that we dare not lose! I posted the lyrics for you today and a beautiful instrumental rendition by the Burchfield brothers for your reflection and worship… Anyone…I mean ANYONE who is a devoted follower of Jesus will identify with this song!  You will want to set aside some time to enjoy this and simply WORSHIP!!!

“Who can cheer the heart like Jesus
By His presence all divine
True and tender, pure and precious
O, how blest to call Him mine

Chorus
“All that thrills my soul is Jesus
He is more than life to me
And the fairest of ten thousand
In my blessed Lord I see

“Love of Christ so freely given
Grace of God beyond degree
Mercy higher than the heavens
Deeper than the deepest sea

“What a wonderful redemption
Never can a mortal know
Ho my sin, though red like crimson
Can be whiter than the snow

“Every need His hand supplying
Every good in Him I see
On His strength divine relying
He is all in all to me

“By the crystal flowing river
With the ransomed I will sing
And forever and forever
Praise and glorify the King”

Thoro Harris – 1874-1955

Sometimes two stories in Scripture are placed next to each other by the inspired writer for the truth they communicate by contrast.  This often happens in the gospel records, which are not strictly chronological, but sometimes arranged topically.  This morning during my time of “coffee with the Lord” I read two such accounts… What Jesus said about the “scribes” (religious leaders – who were especially thought of as Jewish Bible scholars) and the “poor widow” and her gift.

Think about it…

The pompous, proud, image-driven “scribe” – really a greedy hypocrite.  Set over against the devout, sincere, selfless “poor widow” – motivated by sacrificial generosity.  So who won the admiration and praise of our Savior, Jesus Christ?  Here it is right out of the Bible – truth taught by contrast…

“And in his teaching Jesus said, ‘BEWARE OF THE SCRIBES, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the marketplaces and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.’”

“And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.  AND A POOR WIDOW came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.  And he called his disciples to him and said to them, ‘Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box.  For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’”  (From Mark 12:38–44 ESV)

Let that sink in… Those who please the Lord, capture His attention, and win His approval are often not those who appear righteous (in fact those people are often “self-righteous”).  The ones that win the Lord’s approval are simple, sincere believers who are NOT self-seeking (and instead they are self-giving)… I can tell you which side of that contrast I want to be on!  Oh Lord, help me to be more like the “widow” – and NOT like the “scribe”!

Yesterday, I highlighted from my Bible reading Apostle Paul’s tribute to ordinary people who were not rich (and may even have been poor) yet gave generously to others out of a heart of love …

Then this morning I read these words in my Bible in the very next verses and it brought to my knees in thanksgiving and worship…

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich!” (2 Corinthians 8.9)

I had just finished reading that verse and another came to mind… “He [our Heavenly Father] Who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will He not also, along with Him graciously give us all things?!” (Romans 8.32)

Someone has framed it this way… G-R-A-C-E!

God’s

Riches

At

Christ’s

Expense

What an absolute, mind-boggling, display of generosity – it tops anything we might do!  I’m incredibly grateful!!  Oh, may my giving in some small way reflect both my Heavenly Father’s and my Savior’s gift!!