Entries from May 2007 ↓

A friend of mine sent me a link today to an article entitled, “Coffee As A Means of Grace.” The humorous piece attempted to find all biblical and ecclesiastical connections with coffee.
Here is an excerpt:

Drinking Coffee Prepares the Flesh for Suffering. According to the New Testament, suffering is an honor, a virtue, and a means of sanctification. We are to endure it with joy. Drinking coffee helps our sinful flesh to prepare for joyful suffering. It upsets the stomach and has a diarrheic effect on the digestive system. It can irritate ulcers and causes a jittery nervousness. Withdrawal from long coffee binges causes dreadful headaches that no amount of medication can relieve. Besides this, any honest coffee drinker will admit that coffee is a horrid beverage. If the brew is too weak, it tastes like dirty water; if it is too strong, it tastes like motor oil. To temper the inherent and unavoidable nastiness, one must add cream, milk, sugar, blue stuff, pink stuff, clumps, lumps, drops, syrups, froth, or foam. The whole ordeal can cause mental or emotional anguish to the indecisive and possibly separation anxiety when a failed mix of coffee and condiments must be poured down the drain. In short, coffee drinking is suffering. However, it is also joy. It stimulates the body and the mind. It acts as an anti-depressant and creates a bond of fellowship and community among consumers. A hot, steamy cup warms the heart on a frosty day; a cold, icy glass cools the soul when it’s hot. It wakes us up and keeps us alert. It gives us something to hold firmly in our hands and sip soothingly with our lips for peace and security in uncomfortable and stressful times.

Although I won’t step onto all the weak theological limbs that he does, I do think that coffee can assist in our worship and love of Christ. This is how coffee has blessed my life:

Coffee has become a very gracious gift of the Lord in my life to enjoy. Not only do I really enjoy the taste of this product of the earth, but it has been a great assistance in my study of the Word. I love the mornings. If I had the choice, I’d be in bed at 10:30 and up at 5:30, but college life doesn’t lend itself to that lifestyle. Thus, I am many times compelled to stay up late in order to fulfill my responsibility for my classes and at the same time, I have a higher responsibility before God to obey Him. If I want to get up early and commune with God through the study of the Word and prayer, then I need something to help me in the morning when the alarm goes off. The Lord gave me coffee and now, not only do I get to enjoy a great tasting beverage, but it also gives me the spark that I need to get my mind and heart working towards godliness. I am very thankful for the part that coffee has played in my spiritual growth in the morning, not to mention all of the times I have been confronted, encouraged, and discipled over a cup of Starbucks. I believe that coffee helps me to follow the example of many people in Scripture who rose early in the morning in order to seek the face of God (Abraham – Gen. 19:27; Moses – Ex. 24:4; Joshua – Joshua 8:10; Jesus – Mk. 1:35). I also believe that I can use coffee to glorify the Lord as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:31.

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” Philippians 3:8

This verse has always had an impact on me, each time that I read it and the chapter simply declares the greatness of Christ and opens another window into Paul’s heart. He had so much in terms of religious clout and he had put so much time into seeing that he served God and yet all that he had put into his religion was worthless. He did not have political, social, or physical accomplishments but they were somewhat in the right direction. He takes all of it and throws it away, he tosses it out the window, never to touch it again. When someone invests so much in something, he values it. The amount of resources that he puts into it is a clear indicator to how much worth he places in it. So then, when all of that is treated as dung, the only explanation is that something replaced it. Something that far exceeds the value must have stepped in. And such was the case with Paul.

The word that stood out to me was “worth.” Paul made a judgment of value and concluded that knowing Jesus Christ far exceeded anything else. Nothing stands in comparison to having a personal relationship with the second person of the Godhead. For Paul, this simply was not just a feel good statement that he would sing in a song and put on a bumper sticker, but this was the undergirding principle of his life. Jesus Christ was so valuable to him that it influenced every decision that he made. His heart held nothing of greater importance, greater value, or greater worth than Christ.

This driving love of his heart explains his life. Why did he put himself in a position to be mocked and ridiculed? because Christ was worth it. Why was he beaten and left for dead? because Christ was worth it. Why would he lose sleep, forgo meals, walk thousands of miles, and be imprisoned? because Jesus Christ was worth - He was everything to Paul.

The church of the 21st century must see Christ as having value that is so much more than all that this world can offer. We need men and women who will take risks and live differently than the world around them - all because Christ is worth it.

I recently read A.W. Tozer’s The Pursuit of God and really enjoyed the simplicity and clarity with which he speaks about the basic elements of the Christian faith. Here is great paragraph from the chapter “The Gaze of the Soul,” in which he talks about each individual looking upon Christ and placing one’s faith in Him.

“Someone may fear that we are magnifying private religion out of all proportion, that the ‘us’ of the New Testament is being displaced by a selfish ‘I.’ Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all tuned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshippers met together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship. Social religion is perfected when private religion is purified. The body becomes stronger as its members become healthier. The whole Church of God gains when the members that compose it begin to seek a better and higher life.” (pg.97)

It has taken years to effectively know how to hug another man and only for the purpose of wanting to greet a friend. Well, for those of you who are still wondering how, look no further. The step-by-step instructions have all been put in a video for your ease. So, here is the video on how to give a great man-to-man hug.
VideoJug: How To Give A Great Man To Man Hug

The summer is upon me, which means I have left the brown hills of California for the green mountains of Washington. It also means that classes are over and I’m living at home. I would like to think that I then will have so much extra time. That time would be spent reading volumes upon volumes of soul-feeding, God-exalting literature; exercising until I lifted like Schwarzenegger, ran like the pink-ox, and rode like Lance Armstrong; brewing pots of coffee until I die from caffeine overdose or get convicted about an idol in my life; learning to play the guitar like . . . well, everybody else; and disciplining myself for the purpose of godliness. Basically, I imagine a summer full of free time for me to grow spiritually.

But then reality sets in. I don’t live by myself; work by myself; minister by myself; or even play by myself. Even if I wanted to do it that way, it would not be possible. My summer is filled with people, places, tasks, ministry, relationships, long days, late nights, and everything in between. I will probably only have time to accomplish half my goals, but I’m okay with that. At the end of the day, I can put my head on the pillow knowing that Christ was honored, not because I checked everything off on the to-do list, but because I gave my whole being to the pursuit of God. This summer has the potential to get very messy with stuff to do, people to see, sin to confront, and words to write, but at the end I want to look back and not regret one moment, not because I was perfect but because I walked by faith and looked to Christ in the midst of it.

I am also making some routine and needed updates to Affectional Writ such as a template change, repaired archives, and updated media. But all of that is second place to ultimate goal of this blog and so with the summer beginning I want to post more God-centered content because it brings my King glory and it will help me in my battle to love Him with my whole heart. I pray that you may benefit from it as well.