COFFEE ON THE DOCK

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” Matthew 6:33 ESV. As a teenager, I felt pretty much indestructible. Hence, as an ignorant city boy pumped with pride and adrenalin, I decided to chase a bull while visiting some of our family members out in the country. That turned out to be a bad decision. Very quickly, the object of my pursuit became the source of my terror. Thankfully, I made it back to the fence…barely. The words of King David come to mind: “Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god,” Psalm 16:33 NKJV.   A child of God must be sober-minded when it comes to what we pursue because we may indeed catch it, or worse, it may catch us. Lord of All, there is safety and success in Your counsel. Lead me to the fields of Your choosing and deliver me from perilous pursuits. 

“They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them,” Romans 2:15 NIV.   Washington, DC is a beautiful city; everywhere you look, another statue is quietly posed on a marble base. They come in all shapes and sizes, but they have one common trait, each is engraved with information. We are each “created in the image of God,” and are engraved with vital information. Interestingly, even those who have never read the Ten Commandments are still somehow guided by them since even the most violent cultures and tribes have rules about killing, lying, and stealing. Daily infusion of Scripture helps to better “engrave” our hearts with the information we need for a godly life. LORD, make me a fully engraved man. Display your truth so completely upon my heart that others may plainly see it.

“I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your Word,” Psalm 119:15-16 ESV. I am hard-wired for incessant enterprise and creativity; my mind requires almost constant occupation. But while in prayer, I heard two simple words deep in my heart: “make space.” Like a muddied spring or a polluted well, a cluttered mind is functional but not beneficial. So many whisperings of the Almighty are lost in the din of mental noise. Inactivity is not the answer; I must instead tune my heart to constant communion with God, guided by principles that result from the infusion of His Word. Father help me to align my thoughts to Yours. Deliver me from unnecessary mental activity that impedes Your Voice. Teach me to be still and listen as I pursue the purposes for which You designed me. 

“The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped; Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him,” Psalm 27:7-8 ESV. The Sahara Desert is the world’s largest at 3.3 million square miles. Flying over it is an amazing and daunting sight. It seems to go on forever, but every desert has its boundaries, every ocean has its shores, and every storm its final moment. Likewise, every trial we experience in this life has its limits; no adversity can go on forever. While trudging through, it may feel like difficulties are never-ending, but they cannot extend beyond God’s sovereign authority. His love and provision are inexhaustible. He accompanies us through each moment of every trial, and the rewards of trust and faithfulness are ever-present and never-ending. Father, Your goodness and mercy accompany my journey, and Your power is beyond limits! 

“The   Lord   is   my strength and my shield;   My heart   trusted in Him, and I am helped;   Therefore, my heart greatly rejoices, And with my song I will praise Him,” Psalm 27:7-8 ESV.  The Sahara Desert is the world’s largest at 3.3 million square miles. Flying over it is an amazing and daunting sight. It seems to go on forever, but every desert has its boundaries, every ocean has its shores, and every storm its final moment. Likewise, every trial we experience in this life has its limits, no adversity can go on forever. While trudging through, it may feel like difficulties are never-ending, but they cannot extend beyond God’s sovereign authority. His love and provision are inexhaustible. He accompanies us through each moment of every trial, and the rewards of trust and faithfulness are ever-present and never-ending. Father, Your goodness and mercy accompany my journey,   and Your  power   is beyond limits! 

“If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all,” Romans 12:18 ESV. No one likes to be singled out for their viewpoints, and we are biblically commanded in this passage to: “live peacefully with all.” However, following biblical commands is confrontational. No matter how you cut it, truth is inconvenient and adversarial, even when delivered in earnest love. We should never be intentionally insensitive or unnecessarily harsh, but frankly, the truth hurts. Truth hurts, but it also heals and has the power to deliver us from the things that can destroy us. Spiritual maturity helps us find the balance of practicing our faith out loud without pushing our faith onto others. Though it may sting, Lord of Truth and Light, send Your Word to every corner of my heart. Cleanse me of every falsehood and deception. Make me a vessel of light and truth to others. 

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,   gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law,” Galatians 5:22-23, ESV. It is not difficult to determine the species of a tree when it has fruit hanging on it; a tree is known by its fruit. Nor is it difficult to discern the true nature of a person by the same process. Yet, like a tree, a person’s life must be observed over many seasons to get the true picture. Good life, good fruit, bad life, bad fruit, season after season. The Bible warns us to avoid deep connections with those who are slanderers, immoral, or self-centered since there is a tendency to become more like those with whom we spend a lot of time. Father, thank You for the blessedness of knowing those who guard their lives.     Purify my heart and deliver me from the traps of sin and self-centeredness.