Have you had your first cup of coffee yet? Coffee is a necessity for many. Some people don’t function until at least one good, strong, hot cup of coffee is moving through their systems. There is something about that tantalizing rich aroma and flavor that transforms groggy, grumpy lumps into people ready to take on the day.
What if I craved God in the morning as much as I crave that first cup of coffee? What if I depended on Him to get me going, wake me up, and transform the way I look at my day in the same way that I rely on my coffee? Many of us wouldn’t dream of starting our day without a cup of coffee. And yet, how many times do I sip my coffee and forget to drink deeply from the well of God’s grace?
I once knew a man who committed to feeding his soul with spiritual food before he fed his body with physical food. The rumbling in his tummy while he waited for breakfast reminded his heart to crave God first every morning. His example challenges me, inspires me, and, honestly, scares me a little bit. Can my heart learn to thirst for God in the same way I depend on that first cup of coffee? Can I learn to take my first steps every morning toward Him in the same way that I stumble toward the coffee pot?
My Jesus Resolution today is to tape Psalm 42:2 to my coffee cup. I want to remind my heart that being thirsty for God is the best way to start my day. I can’t be like Jesus with my family, friends, at work, or at church unless I have a good measure of His grace and power moving through me. His presence has the power to transform my thoughts, attitudes, perspective, and motives into something that will allow me to shine with His light, respond with His love, and move in His steps as I walk through my day.
Casandra Martin 
Wow! What a morning! I awoke with a blank slate, asking God what He would have me write on mine today. Oh yes, He speaks to me. Please don’t ask me to explain but like this morning, I was up only because of the old man’s dilemma. Oh, how I would have loved to stay in bed, but no, I had to visit the bathroom. And turn on my computer and my TV, where I met Jimmie Carter, celebrating his 69th wedding anniversary and talking with the crew on Mornings with Joe, featuring a guy I never liked as a politician, but who I have learned to appreciate these days as the only “news” program that has any lasting value, in my opinion, but that’s another story.As usual, I made a couple of notes on things I heard that I would like to remember and suddenly, my whole focus turned to the events of last evening.Yes, the “events” because they linger in my mind as I realized how important they had become to me. I recall where it all started. At church, not for services, but because a new friend of mine at the time had suggested I stop by and watch as he and his nephew rigged electronics that would allow them to tape the voices of two young women who were destined to enter – and to bless my life. Then, the two appeared. Beautiful young women, soon-to-be former Missionaries in our church and they had realized, they also made a good singing duo. I have no idea what happened to the electronics but the taping never occurred, while the joy I had found in the lives of the two got me involved in their lives. They even coaxed me to sing with them, but knowing next to nothing about singing, I wound up singing a solo for them – words from a hymn that still resonates in my life today.Then, they were gone. Their missionary tours over, they found employment in nearby North Carolina and I would see them occasionally. Yesterday, I was at my friend’s home where he had been teaching another friend and I how to create a web-site and he invited me to go to dinner with the family of one of those girls and of course, I readily accepted his invitation. We met at a Mexican restaurant in nearly Livingston and then the family appeared, four very beautiful young women, their parents and the youngest of the clan, a boy. There were times when I wanted to cry. I was in the midst of three families as my friend and his wife and another couple, who joined in for an hour or so of families simply loving one another – and loving me in the process. It was like a dream come true. I had never, ever, had such an experience with my own family, even with the families of others I had known over the years.Then, what was picture perfect got even better We went back to my friends’ home and out came the musical instruments and we had a song fest, old songs, some might say religious songs, but with the young women leading the way, we just sat there, rejoicing in the truest sense of the word, as I would learn more about their family dynamics. It was like a dream come true to me. And then, they were gone, some might say, but not to me. That experience is forever etched in my heart.It made me realize, once again, the power of our witness. We are not to be like ships passing in the night. We were created to love one another. We really do not even have to know one another. All we have to do is show up and offer what we have to offer. It does not matter what the setting might be like. We are there to contribute or absorb, one or the other. Our presence is what is essential or else, we move on in a self-inflicted daze that has nothing to do with the reasons for which we were created. The amazing thing that should be recognized in these times, it does not matter the color of our skin nor the educational degrees we might have accumulated.We do have, we must all recognize, a foreign power lurking about. You should have heard of his name, Satan in some circles, the Devil in others. He cannot stand to see us rejoicing, but that should be the essential ingredient of our lives. He knows where we came from and he and his legions work overtime to disrupt our best laid plans to return to our eternal home. What he loves to do is isolate one another, so that he might have access to our hearts and minds and lead us to destruction. That is his goal and the goal of the legions of those who are dedicated to him.How do we overcome? It is not by our might, nor our flight. It should be obvious. All we really have to do is make one secure relationship. God made that possible when He sent His Son to die for our sins and as we accept Him, we can be freed to realize the power of such love. His love is more than just an inner peace, it is the courage to share what we have learned with others. We do not have to distribute tracts or preach on the streets, all we really have to do is reach out and make a friend, to create a relationship so that God by His Holy Spirit can enter in and create within us, an attitude that allows us to accept one another.And therein is the greatest of all dynamics. As I reflected on the events of last evening, I can see those eleven other lives reaching out, touching others merely by the love I saw being expressed and the courage and the power that God will add to that dynamic and who knows, just one of them may affect the lives of thousands of others. Or not. Yes, that is as important to realize. It is up to all of us, each one of us, to actually accept the Father’s gift and then, to walk in His ways.It may have taken me eighty five years to attain such knowledge, but it has been worth it, every hour of every day, even this day. Date: Wed, 8 Jul 2015 10:13:47 +0000 To: sherwood8028@hotmail.com
Your comments always inspire me. Thank you!
I love this. It reminds me also to start my day with God. Thank you for all your posts. They are so very uplifting. So are your books. I’m studying your “Impossibles” right now and I love it. You have a way of saying things to help me understand the Bible more. Thank you!