Coffee With The Lord

The passages in the “Necessary Food” Bible reading plan for January 5 are:  Genesis 5:1-32; Job 2:11-13; Isaiah 4:2-6; Matthew 3:1-12; and Romans 2:1-11.

Ever hear this statement… “I feel your pain!”?  Com’on really?!  We really need to be careful about statements like that given without much thought about how much people are suffering! 

Many of us have friends that are suffering pain and grief as we enter 2021.  They need our support, help and comfort as they weather the process of grieving.

I read Job 2:11-13 this morning during my time of “coffee with the Lord.”  It seems to me that after all Job had been through, his “friends” made their first mistake when they stopped simply being WITH him in his suffering and opened their mouth and proposed all kinds of simplistic “answers” to his dilemma.

But that begs the question, however… What did they do RIGHT at the outset of their time with him?  I’d like to suggest several things…

1.  When they “heard of the adversity that had come upon him” they immediately acted!  They “made an appointment together to come and mourn with him, and to comfort him.”  They did not postpone or put off their attempt to communicate their concern and comfort.
2. They “wept with him” and grieved with him.  Authentic empathy is a wonderful gift to a suffering individual!  It communicates the message, “I’m seeking to ‘feel with you’ in your pain and suffering!  I am with you in the time of your sorrow.”
3. They extended their concern and care for Job’s suffering and sorrow: “They sat down with him on the ground seven days and nights” (however, that may not have been long enough).  Grieving is a process and it often takes extended time to process before it is resolved in the lives of those who are hurting.
4. And then the final thing they did right…(at least for awhile)… “No one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his grief was very great!”  Advice and “stock clichés” are NOT what a grieving person needs!  Loving, caring, presence, however, can be a wonderful help and healer!  But even then “don’t overstay your welcome!”  A sensitive discernment should be exercised – the grieving will need some personal “space” to process their feeling.)

Oh, I want to be a blessing to those that are hurting, don’t you?  Apostle Paul urged us to “Weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice.” (Romans 12:15)  And he also reminded us, “If one member [of Christ’s body] suffers, all the member suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.” (1 Corinthians 12:26)

Passages today, January 4, in the “Necessary Food” Bible reading plan: Genesis 4:1-26; Job 2:1-10; Isaiah 3:1-4:1; Matthew 2:13-23; and Romans 1:18-32.

ATTITUDES are a big deal! They are the fertile seedbed out of which flow our ACTIONS! I think that is probably why the Bible warns us in Proverbs, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow all the issues of life!” (4:23)

Many times we telegraph our attitudes in our countenance… our face (and other non-verbals) reveal how we feel, how we think, even what we are contemplating. I know my attitudes have sometimes led me to do what displeases the Lord – to sin! I know, my facial expressions, have telegraphed my bad attitudes and intentions (my wife, Sharon, can pick up on it in a moment, as well as I am sure others)!

I thought of that this morning in my Bible reading during “coffee with the Lord!” Here’s the passage that brought the issue to mind…

“In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. The Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it!’ Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him! Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’ He said, ‘I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” (from Genesis 4:3–9 ESV)

As a result of reading that passage, this is what I jotted down for myself in the margin of my Bible this morning… “LeRoy, watch your attitudes, they’re important! And then do what you know pleases God!” I believe that will help me as I move forward in 2021 to keep me from sin and please the Lord!

Today’s Bible readings in the “Necessary Food” Bible reading plan are Genesis 3:1-24; Job 1:13-22; Isaiah 2:6-22; Matthew 2:1-12; and Romans 1:16-17. I’ve chosen Romans 1:16-17 for my devotional reflection today…

Ashamed! Ashamed of the things we should value, honor, and the things in which we should find a sense legitimate “pride” as Christians. Tragic, isn’t it! Sometimes, however, as strange as it may seem, we may feel “ashamed” regarding features of the “Gospel” as Christians…

I was guest speaker at a church in Austin, Texas a particular weekend years ago. Sharon and I and our little son, PJ were staying at a hotel there for the weekend. PJ was sitting at the desk in our room drawing a picture on a sheet of paper. Several times I walked by and complemented his effort. Finally, heard PJ sigh with satisfaction and I walked over to see the finished drawing. It was a child’s rendition of the cross (he’d even tried to add a 3-dimensional element to the drawing)… Let’s face it though – it was a child’s drawing! He looked up at me and said, “Daddy can we get some tape and put it up on the door of our room?” I admit that I felt a moment of shame (did I say it was a child’s drawing after all?)… And then I heard God speak clearly to my heart… His message? “Listen Son, I never want you to be ashamed of the cross again!”

Oh, and the rest of the story… When PJ got up to put his drawing on the door of our room… He had added these words to his drawing “God loves you” and then these emphatic words came from his mouth: “There Daddy, now they’ll know!”

This morning, during my time of “coffee with the Lord” I read Apostle Paul’s position on this issue…He said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes!” (From Romans 1:16-17)

In another place Paul observed, “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God!” (1 Corinthians 1:18) … Certainly nothing to be ashamed of!

The “gospel” had changed Paul’s life… He had seen what it could do in the lives of others! His confidence of it’s power was firm! He believed that behind the gospel was God power to change lives, situations, cultures, nations… the world! And me? “I never want to be ashamed of the gospel of Christ! It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes!”