Coffee With The Lord

Have to admit it… I’m in awe!  I’ve experienced God’s grace! mercy! favor! acceptance! inclusion!  …because of what Jesus Christ, my Savior and Lord did on my behalf (and yours)!  This morning in my Bible reading I was “blown away” once again because of who we are (as undeserving sinners) “in Christ Jesus!”

This is what Apostle Peter said to a bunch of scattered, persecuted, gentile Christians, who in the natural, given Old Testament covenant realities, would have had no standing at all for covenant blessing…

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:9-10 ESV)

And as I thought of that wonderful passage another came to mind, reinforcing it for Gentile Christians…

“Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands – remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ! … So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone… The ‘mystery’ (i.e. ‘the mystery of Christ’) is that Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakes of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel!”  (Ephesians 2:11–20; 3:4-6 ESV)

I’m just so very grateful!  In fact, there’s an old, old worship song that captures it for me… “Jesus included me!  Yes, He included me!  When the Lord said, ‘whosoever’ He included me! (And God included YOU as well in His wonderful provision for salvation through Christ!)

Some things you never outgrow… the nutritious benefits of milk!  Especially spiritual milk!

Peter wrote to exiled believers in the ancient world and reminded them of something important…

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander!  Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation – if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

I know of ill-informed spiritual pseudo-nutritionists who actually advocate the abandonment of spiritual milk.  They argue it isn’t needed anymore… “weaning” for them means avoid the basics, ignore the fundamentals, move on to more tasty stuff!  What a mistake!  Every Christian needs the “Christ-centered calcium” that “spiritual milk” provides as well as the basic nutrients of God’s word, fellowship, prayer, worship and Christian service that are found there.  So don’t say goodby to “spiritual milk” – keep it in your diet!

But something is wrong if “spiritual milk” constitutes your entire spiritual diet!  Milk is good, and should be a part of an ongoing balanced diet, but it should not be the only thing!  Spiritual meat is also needed and to neglect it is a sign of spiritual disease, malnourishment, and immaturity! (Hebrews 5:11-14)  But don’t abandon the milk!

Living for Jesus Christ – following Him with devotion and integrity in our world – is a big challenge! I’m teaching a class at the church I attend – a study on 1 & 2 Thessalonians – I’ve entitled it “Living for Christ in the Last Days.” We’ve just begun the study… Today, however, in my devotions I came across a passage that addresses that same issue in another epistle in the Bible… 1 Peter. I was so impressed by the challenge of its message I’ve decided to include it here…

“So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy.’ … So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as ‘foreigners in the land.’ For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God… You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God.” (from 1 Peter 1:13-23 New Living Translation)

Gotta tell you, I want to live that way until He returns! Don’t you? I want to live the awareness of what Christ accomplished when he offered Himself for my sin on the Cross and what His purposes are for my life! I want to be “Holy” (separated from sin and separated to Him – I want to be His alone, in a very special way). I want to live ready for His return!