COFFEE ON THE DOCK

“For he says, ‘In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, NOW is the favorable time; behold, NOW is the day of salvation,” 2 Corinthians 6:2 NKJV. Like most Christians, I have mistakenly attempted to jump ahead of the LORD’S WILL so many times that I sometimes struggle with His “NOW”. But just like we must learn to trust His “WAIT”, we must be ready to move when He says: “NOW is the favorable time!” A few times in life, by God’s grace, I’ve moved forward at exactly the right moment. WOW, what a difference His “Time of Favor” makes! If you can relate, pray about it, maybe it’s time to GET YOUR "NOW" BACK! LORD, thank You for Your Word that never fails to provoke us to love and good works. Keep me in a place of willing obedience to wait or go. 

“For everything, there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven,” ESV. There is a perfect time and a perfect way for everything. I am a bit impetuous by nature and in haste have often moved too quickly. But it is much better to let things unfold in God’s chosen moment and in God’s designed sequence. Before rushing ahead, we must first do our best to align our hearts and mind with His. We sometimes confuse faith-based zeal and emotion-based zeal, but real blessing is when zealousness and knowledge combine within a divinely appointed moment. Lord of all Wisdom, thank You for guiding me. I am zealous for Your work in the earth but desperately need Your steadying hand. Grant me submissive, composed, Holy Spirit managed zealousness.

Over 40 years ago an elder brother pulled me aside after a church service to encourage and instruct me. This was not some garden-variety conversation; he obviously had prayed over it, carefully planned it, and presented clear, precise, well-thought-out points. I still remember the power of the thoughtful gift he gave me that day. It was a mix of gentle rebukes, wise instructions, and encouragement to be the best husband, father, and leader I could be. I have received many gifts over a lifetime however, most were forgotten long ago. But not that gift, it is still with me and remains highly treasured. It is a gift I can re-gift to others time and time again, and so I have. Today, I will again have opportunities to promote, encourage, lift, love, appreciate, and celebrate others. It is truly the gift that keeps on giving. Lord, in Your Goodness, endow me with authentic love and make me an open-source of blessing to those around me. 

“It is the Spirit who gives life;   the flesh is no help at all.   The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life,” John 6:63 ESV. I could not agree more, “the flesh is NO HELP AT ALL!” In fact, the flesh is the epicenter of the problem. But God gives us the perfect antidote for the flesh, His WORD is SPIRIT and LIFE. Time spent reading, meditating, obeying, and sharing His Word with others turns fleshly tendencies into spiritual, life-lifting strengths. His Word opens the windows of heaven and sends darkness scampering away. David declared: “Your word is a lamp to my feet  and a light to my path,” Psalm 119:105 ESV. Whereas the flesh shrouds the way forward, the Word opens paths to blessing and divine purpose. LORD, thank You for Your Word. Lift the veil of darkness from my heart and shine Your glorious light within me and through me to others.

“As it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God,” 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NKJV. Traveling with a friend in his brand new 40-ft. boat took us to a place that was previously unknown to us. Navigating unfamiliar waters while using unfamiliar equipment can be dangerous. Headed offshore and at full throttle, the depth finder suddenly registered very shallow water. Panic erupted as the alarm loudly squealed. We didn’t realize we were sitting over one of the Atlantic’s deepest ocean troughs. Our depth finder setting was set too shallow to properly measure the depth. I have often been out of my depth where God has taken me in life, so I must continually reset my heart for deeper places. Yesterday’s settings will not suffice for tomorrow’s journey. LORD God, Captain of my Soul, prep

“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it,” Hebrews 4:1 NKJV. It is easy to be tricked into thinking that Christian activity is spiritual fervor. David had been a successful king for quite a while when “at the time of battle” he was in the palace instead of where he belonged on the battlefield. His moral failure with Bathsheba happened precisely when he was enjoying the fruit of his efforts while ignoring his responsibility to remain at the battlefront. Spiritual laziness is a constant temptation for each of us. We need rest, but we must learn to rest IN HIM, while still running hard within our calling and purpose. We must disengage from our own fleshly efforts but never from our daily obedience and surrender to the Holy Spirit. Oh LORD, my Keeper, deliver me from worldly contentment. In all my ways pull me toward obedience to You. 

“ Get out of your country, from your family and from your father’s house,  to a land that I will show you,” Genesis 12:1 ESV. Abraham’s unexpected journey was long and fraught with difficulties. As a young family, we would pile our four children into a vehicle and take long road trips. What crazy, fun, maddening, soul-stretching affairs those journeys were! After days of planning, preparation, packing, and one last headcount, we were off. I was always surprised how swiftly everything became so chaotic and messy. Frankly, my spiritual journey through life has many similarities to both Abraham’s journey and my family’s cross-country treks. The road to victory is often messy and offers many wrong turns and rerouting adventures. The trip itself can be very disorienting since success rarely looks like a success until after it is achieved. Lord, grant me the grace to finish my course smiling. Help me enjoy the scenery along with the detours and to have patience with the pace.

“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit,” Proverbs 15:4 ESV.   Kindness is one of the   principle   characteristics of a spirit-controlled life.   Kindness   activates love, forgiveness, tenderheartedness, patience, and a host of other godly virtues. Kindness and forbearance are both listed as “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22 and should be our constant guide while passing through times of turmoil, anger, disagreement, and uproars. Kindness is a forethought, not a reaction. I often feel angry reactions pop up like burnt toast within me, but I have learned the critical importance of bathing my reactions with patience and kindness, especially in those moments. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” Ephesians 4:32 NKJV. LORD grant me fresh grace today to be kind in all I say and do. And help my neighbors, friends, family, and nation be kind. 

“The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you,’” 1 Corinthians 12:21 (ESV). I am by temperament an independent person, but a lifetime of experience has instructed me that I need all the help I can get. There is no shame in interdependence. Actually, we are designed for deep connection with God and those “created in His image”. He created each of us with strengths that others need, and conversely, weaknesses that invite and activate the strengths of others. In this divine construct, interdependence is as essential as breathing. Frankly, it may seem preferable to go it alone, especially after a big disappointment or two, but God has chosen otherwise. Father, thank You for blueprinting a life that leads to giving and receiving. Keep me on the lookout for needs that I can meet and grant me the humility to receive the comfort, corrective advice, aid, and sustenance I need. 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,” Ephesians 1:3 (ESV). “Has blessed us”; that is spoken in the past tense, I must allow it to sink in. Right now, while I am still on this earth, I am already blessed with every spiritual blessing of heaven. And again, in Ephesians 2:4-6 we read: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace, you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Already blessed, already seated, already given eternal life and already raised! LORD, help me live with a heavenly perspective today. Keep my heart in heaven while I still have boots on the ground. 

  “Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours. Yours is the kingdom, O Lord, and you are exalted as head above all,” 1 Chronicle 29:11 (ESV). Catastrophes have a way of being all-consuming; the worse the situation, the more absorbing it is. The beginning-point for moving forward in a crisis is to enthrone God in our praise. The LORD Almighty is sovereign at all times whether we realize it or not, but praise validates the sovereignty of God in our own soul, arresting our fears and releasing faith. Praise provokes us to proclaim His greatness to others. Praising God lifts our hearts to the heights of heaven and as we magnify Him our circumstances come into a proper perspective. Lord, You are High and Lifted Up and greatly to be praised! Peering down from Your heavenly perch even the largest mountain is tiny. I glorify and adore You O Lord my Shepherd and Keeper, my Glory and the Lif

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,   casting all your anxieties on him, because   he cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7 ESV.   I so admire those who care for those with debilitating illnesses or severe disabilities. The deep admiration I feel for these caretakers is rooted in my own sense of being so easily overwhelmed by the very thought of it. Then, when I consider how low God must bend to care for my brokenness, and how patient He is with my complaints, I am both grateful and embarrassed. He is never put-off by my weaknesses. In fact, it seems the more I offer them to Him the more I sense His love, presence, and compassion. O Lord My Caretaker, Healer and Benevolent Benefactor, You never turn your back to the broken. Your love is undiminished by the volume of our frailties. I am awestruck by Your unlimited love, mercy, and enduring goodness. 

“And she said, ‘The Philistines are upon you, Samson!’ And he awoke from his sleep and said, ‘I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.’ But he did not know that the Lord had left him,” Judges 16:20 ESV. How sad. Samson had become so accustomed to the special gift from God he possessed that he took it for granted. His arrogance ultimately cost him everything. Our promise in the New Covenant is   “ For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you,’” Hebrews 13:5 ESV. While God will not abandon His children, He will discipline us. More than ever, I realize how important it is that I remain conscious of who I am as His child and how I reflect upon Him by what I do. Precious LORD, grant me the grace to honestly look into the mirror and to make the necessary changes You desire. 

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil,” Matthew 4:1 ESV. There are times when I feel like I am on a forced march through a barren desert. While many trials of life are pretty common and experienced by practically everyone, occasionally our journey can feel like a private purgatory. God’s desire for me to be more like Him requires that I traverse difficult pathways. Biblical prophets passed through the desert, the Hebrews marched the sands of the Sinai; and as we read in this passage, even the Savior was “led by the Spirit into the   wilderness” . A protracted, severe trial is a pristine environment for both faith and faithfulness to flourish. Lord, I am willing to walk this way when You desire it. Strengthen me that I may walk the distance. Provoke me to remember others as they too pass this way. In Your mercy, make greater faith and faithfulness my reward. 

“When I call to remembrance the GENUINE FAITH that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also,” 2 Timothy 1:5 (NKJV). “Genuine faith”, what a powerful compliment! Tropical islands, with their sandy beaches, beautiful views and laid-back feel combine to warm the heart and free the mind. Yet often, just outside of a tourist resort, there is devastating poverty. During World War II, the Pacific Islands were as beautiful as ever, but it was a false paradise, carnage and destruction were everywhere. My point? Things are not always as they seem. I’ve seen tens of thousands of people pass by with seemingly good lives, but just like those islands, carnage and destruction are often hidden behind those faces. In church, at the office or at home group, spiritual and emotional brokenness is often masked behind smiles. Yet for the surrendered heart God offers genuine faith through life’s most difficult battles. LORD of Glory and M

“Fear the Lord and shun evil,” Proverbs 3:7 NIV. “Shun evil.” These are biblical words that seem archaic in modern church culture. A huge mistake we often make in dealing with evil is to focus on the host rather than the source. People can become so overcome by evil, they seem like evil personified, but the fountainhead of evil is Satan’s rebellion. This is critical to understand because even very good people can do evil things. It’s complicated, but a key to godliness is learning to shun sin, not the sinner; a mistake often made by sincere believers. The fear of God is a deathblow to evil. Godly fear is to respect and reverence Him above all else. It means to not hide from Him, rebel against Him, or revile Him. Godly fear is to love and obey God as Father and Lord. We are to hate the sin but love sinners, as God does. O LORD my Redeemer, deliver me from evil, and help me love You and others with Your Perfect Love. 

“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror.   For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing,” James 1:22-25 (ESV). I saw a news report describing how “skinny mirrors” are designed to make you look thinner and are utilized in the changing rooms of many retailers. Have we become so enamored with imagery that we would actually spend money to intentionally lie to ourselves? Yes, we would. However, lying to myself has no actual benefits; self-deception is toxic and dangerous. God’s Word is a perfect mirror; it never lies or projects a false image. We may ignore or forget the truth, but the truth never changes. Lord Almighty may Your Truth and Mercy cleanse my

“ For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them,” Ephesians 2:10 NKJV.  Sometimes as a compliment, more often as a complaint, I’ve often had people exclaim: “Daniel, you’re a real piece of work!” They are so right!     So many things in life seem random, even bizarre, but as time unfolds, we begin to understand how all the disjointed pieces come together to craft us into the man or woman God wants us to be. There is a Divine Hand at work in each of us that we must learn to acknowledge and trust. I can learn from others but must never attempt to be a copy of someone else. We are “HIS WORKMANSHIP”. LORD, forgive my attempts to do or be someone of my own making. You are the “Perfect One” and I trust Your wisdom and love. Make me the man of Your own choosing and use me for Your divine purpose. 

“The Lord is exalted, for he dwells on high; he will fill Zion with his justice and righteousness.   He will be the sure foundation for your times, a rich store of salvation and wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure.” Isaiah 33:5-6 NIV. Having awe and respect of God’s first position in all things opens the locked away treasures of this life and of the world to come. I have a collection of unused keys gathered over many years. It is a mystery to me how I have possession of so many and yet have no clue what they open. Strangely, I still have a difficult time discarding them. Wouldn’t it be great to have just one key that opened everything? In fact, I do have that very key! Almighty Father, You are the Key to All Things, Your boundless majesty and wisdom are openly available to the trusting heart. I am grateful that what You open no one can shut, and what You shut no one can open. 

At the end of the verse in 1 Corinthians 15:31 (NKJV) the apostle Paul makes this simple statement, “I die daily”. While he often faced physical death and was eventually martyred for his faith, this passage reveals something we all must do; die to self. In a sense, Paul could live with the constant death threats he faced because he was already dead: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the  life  which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me,” Galatians 2:20 (ESV). Fear of physical death holds no power over those who are already dead to this world, granting the courage to live our faith openly and without reserve. It begs the question, “what would you do today if there was no tomorrow?” LORD, help me embrace the reality of eternal life. Help me make the biggest splash in this world so I may happily embrace of that which is to come. 

“ So Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying,   ‘Every son who is   born you shall cast into the river...’” Exodus 1:22 (NKJV).  Moses was born a slave with a death sentence but was miraculously destined to sit upon Pharaoh’s throne. Enraged by an injustice he witnessed Moses murdered an Egyptian soldier and had to flee to the wilderness. But a burning bush became the stepping-stone to his highest positions in life as a Prophet, a Lawgiver, a Deliverer, the Leader of a nation. His calling was never subject to his circumstances! God made a way. He still does, for each of us. The Call of God never looks neat and tidy. Most of it unfolds in the dark of night or in a personal wilderness; its power unleashed in unique moments with God. LORD God, may I never turn away from the private places You design for me to hear Your Voice and grant me the grace to always obey when I do. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.   In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV). How do you get back on track after going the wrong direction? Many places have sections of the city that consists of nothing but one-way streets. A quick turn-around can be difficult in these situations, but three right turns will get you back to where you started. Life-itself is even more complicated when lost, but still, three right turns will get you back on track. Turn one? Turn your heart to God. Turn two? Turn your heart away from anything but God’s Will. Turn three? Turn your decision-making over to God’s Ways and Means. Now you are back on track. How many times will these simple steps work? Every-single-time. LORD, deliver me from seeking any direction for my life apart from Your divine guidance and keep me on track with You Perfect plan. 

"The Spirit of God has made me, And the breath of the Almighty gives me life,” Job 33:4 NKJV. At the end of the film “Cast Away”, Tom Hanks’ character ruminates: “I know what I have to do, I gotta keep breathing, cause tomorrow, the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide will bring?” A man who had lost everything found what he needed to know to live. It’s just a movie line, but there is truth here. Life was imparted to mankind as Adam received his first breath from the Almighty. With God as our Father, darkness is driven away by the dawning of each new day and fresh blessings are deposited with every new tide of life. In simple terms, life is not measured by our losses or gains. Scripture proclaims: “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind”. LORD, You are Life Eternal! So I will take another breath. And another. And another. Alleluia! 

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you,” Luke 6:38 (ESV). The first few months of a newborn’s life is filled with many moments of closed-fisted rage. They can’t express what they want or how they feel other than to wail, accompanied by lots of attempts to grab whatever is reachable. Then one day a tiny, open hand is extended in obvious affection. There is a lesson here. Grabbing all you can is for newborns, giving is for the more mature. The same is true of our spiritual growth. Takers remain as spiritual infants, but givers grow to spiritual adulthood. Live to give, live to lift, live to help, live to bless! Step wholly into the nature of the Giver of All Things. LORD, You so loved the world You created that You gave Your Only Son! Make me a man of a generous spirit. Use me as Your instrument of blessing.

“I lay down and slept; awoke, for the Lord sustained me.   I will not be afraid of ten-thousands of people Who have set themselves against me all around,” Psalm 3:5-6 NKJV. I’ve had a few detractors over a lifetime, but never have I had “ten-thousands of people” set against me! But David was not losing sleep over it. The safest place in the world is to confidently be in the will of God. The day before we were to open the first evangelical bible school in the Soviet Union I was in a private home and had three separate groups of visitors in one day. The first, was the local KGB officer in Jelgava, Latvia. Later, a much more powerful KGB executive from the region came to see me. Finally, an entire entourage of cars filled with men in suits from the capitol arrived to deliver the same message: “It is STRICTLY FORBBIDEN” to open this Bible School!” I was afraid but confident we had God’s blessing and we opened the next day. From that school, hundreds of pastors went forth and untold million

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God,” Philippians 4:6 NKJV. At times I find myself praying with the intensity of a “Breaking News” reporter, informing God of earthly events as if He is hearing about them for the first time. Prayer should never be an attempt to enlighten the “Alpha and Omega”; He already knows everything that can be known. Simply stated, prayer is not GOD MANAGEMENT. Rather than my prayers pointing to circumstances, my prayers should allow circumstances to point to me…to what needs to change in my heart, mind, and actions. Lord of All Things, shine the Light of Your Presence upon that which You desire to transform. Make me a point of light to others and grant me strength, wisdom, and endurance to take my position in the transformational work to which You call me. 

“May the LORD direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ,” 2 Thessalonians 3:5 ESV. What a powerful prayer! “May the LORD DIRECT YOUR HEARTS”. Too often my heart is drawn toward useless interests. As I’ve aged, I’ve increasingly realized that time is one of life’s most precious resources. I have some control over how I spend my time, but I cannot actually create more of it. I truly need the LORD to point my heart toward what He desires each moment of each day. My heart must be bathed daily in His love and recharged with the steadfastness of the Son of God. His earthly mission was driven by His divine calling and so should mine. If fact, this should be so for each of us. Father grant me Your divine guidance this new day. Point my heart toward what pleases you and give me the courage to act accordingly. 

“ Death and life  are  in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof ,” Proverbs18:21 KJV. We often feel compelled to “have the last word” in conversations, but having the RIGHT words is far more important. Since we have no control over our words after they depart from our lips, it is necessary to take great care BEFORE we speak. “ Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone,” Colossians 4:6 NIV.   A Biblically informed and Spirit-guided “lip filter” between the mind and the mouth serves everyone’s best interest. Lord, let Your Word saturate my thoughts, and transform my spoken words into instruments of life. May only that which is bathed in Your love and filled with Your Wisdom and Truth depart my lips.