Coffee With The Lord

I don’t have a great voice (average at best), but one of the great joys of my life has been to participate in some great choirs. There are few things I enjoy more than hearing a great chorale sing! There are times when a unison section in a great oratorio, done by a chorale, seems like a single, solitary voice… you listen closely and look at the chorale in amazement as you see singers of different ages, cultural and racial backgrounds, male and female voices… but it seems to be one incredible, finely tuned note – one voice! And then, just as you’re enjoying that… the choir splits into a thrilling harmony… and yet it is still one voice! Your skin crawls with excitement! Those who appreciate beautiful music will know what I’m talking about… One word for it – WOW!!

Thought about that experience (enjoyed many times) as I read about Apostle Paul’s desire and prayer for the Church of Jesus Christ in Romans 15:6-7 this morning…

“Now may the God of endurance and comfort give you such unity with one another in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that TOGETHER WITH ONE VOICE you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!”

I got to tell you, it’s thrilling to hear a chorale like that! But it thrilling to see unity like that in a local church! It’s even more thrilling to God, our Savior, who prayed, “That they will all be one, just as you, Father are in Me and I am in You. I pray that they will be in Us, so that the world will believe that You sent Me. The glory You gave to Me I have given to them, that they may be one just was We are one – I in them and You in Me – that they may be completely one!” (John 17:21-23)

Oh, may our “unison” – our unity in the Church – bring joy to God’s heart! And may it also be our goal to sacrifice our personal agenda’s for the common good within the redeemed community to make that kind of unity, in Christ Jesus, a reality!

At times, like you, I nearly despair over the condition of things in our world and nation… Rampant evil, unbridled violence, malignant injustice, growing godlessness and more. It causes one to cry out, “What is this world coming to?!”

The “Day of the Lord” is coming! A time when God intervenes, judges sin, deals with Satan, and comes back to take over and establish His kingdom. In the face of all that is discouraging, I read an encouraging word about the future of things in the Bible during “Coffee with the Lord” today…

“Strengthen the hands that have gone limp, steady the knees that shake! Tell those who panic, “Be strong! Do not fear! Look, your God comes to avenge! With divine retribution he comes to deliver you!” Then blind eyes will open, deaf ears will hear. Then the lame will leap like a deer, the mute tongue will shout for joy; for water will flow in the desert, streams in the wilderness. The dry soil will become a pool of water, the parched ground springs of water. Where jackals once lived and sprawled out, grass, reeds, and papyrus will grow. A thoroughfare will be there— it will be called the Way of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it; it is reserved for those authorized to use it— fools will not stray into it. No lions will be there, no ferocious wild animals will be on it— they will not be found there. Those delivered from bondage will travel on it, those whom the Lord has ransomed will return that way. They will enter Zion with a happy shout! Unending joy will crown them! Happiness and joy will overwhelm them! Grief and suffering will disappear.” (Isaiah 35:3–10 from the NET Bible)

So I’m going to take Isaiah’s word for it (above) and Apostle’s Paul’s word for it (below)… “I consider that our present suffering cannot even be compared to the glory that will be revealed to us… Creation itself will be set free from the bondage of decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children!” (Romans 8:18, 21 NET Bible)

Until then I purpose to be redemptively involved in the world I live in with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ… AND I’m going to lift my eyes toward the heavens often and tune my ear for the sound of a heavenly trumpet!

Heard someone who called themselves a “Christian” the other day say the following about a fellow Christian (a newer… perhaps “unseasoned” and idealistic new Christian)… They don’t like what I’m doing? They’ll just have to deal with it! I’m free in Christ!!

To which comment I thought… Now that’s really the spirit and attitude of Christ! Tragedy is, that person thought of themselves more “mature” than the new Christian… more informed! (My opinion? I think the issue of who was the more “mature” and “informed” perhaps had gotten confused and turned around!)

Today during my time of “coffee with the Lord”I read the following passage in my Bible and it brought to mind the conversation I overheard referred to earlier…

“Therefore we must…determine never to place an obstacle or a trap before a brother or sister… If your brother or sister is distressed because of [any exercise of your personal freedom] you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy [by your freedom] someone for whom Christ died. Therefore do not let what you consider good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God does not consist of [the exercise of your personal freedom], but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. For the one who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by people. So then, let us pursue what makes for peace and for building up one another. Do not destroy the work of God [by insisting on your freedom]. It is wrong to cause anyone to stumble by what you [do]. It is good not to…do anything that causes your brother (or sister) to stumble!” (Romans 14:13–22 NET Bible) (the words in brackets are mine and applicational0

It’s nice to have freedom in Christ. But a truly “mature” Christian will evidence the attitude of Christ… “Who was concerned not only about His own interests but also the interests of others… Who emptied Himself by taking on the form of a slave… He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross!” (adapted from Philippians 2:4-11) … And He did that for us! Self-limitation for the benefit of another is a GODLY thing – a Christlike thing!… God help me never forget it!!