Some coffee, like trust, can be bitter.

Hello friends of Rise Up Lubbock,

Have you ever noticed that some coffee is more bitter than others. There is nothing like a really smooth cup of coffee but when you order from a new restaurant you never know what you will be served. Sometimes it is one of those bitter cups. Today’s cup of grace is a little bitter because trust can be a difficult thing.  Men of great trust like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses were rare considering the long history of the Jewish nation. Many of the Old Testament leaders of Israel were not men of faith but men of sight. So it was when the Assyrian power approached the nation of Israel. The leaders’ sight convinced then that there was safety in Egypt and her swift horses.  God through the prophet Isaiah, was showing them that the way of deliverance which they sought by themselves was wrong.  Their strength was not to be found in themselves or in Egypt. Salvation was to be found through faith in God. By returning to Him and resting in Him they would find safety. A quiet and faithful trust in God would make them strong. When danger threatens it is difficult for a man to refrain from using his own strength. It is most difficult to maintain inward composure and not trust in externals. But true faith is a confidence which casts every concern upon the Lord. A man is strongest when his reliance on the Lord is greatest.  

Dear Lord,

I put my trust in You. I resist the human tendency to lean on my own understanding. I acknowledge my need for your wisdom in my search for solutions to my problems before me. Direct my path as I give precedence to Your ways and loyalty to Your will over and above everything else. I lift up my voice in confessing my total dependence on You. I believe that You are the author of my destiny. I know that the work You began when You called me to follow You will continue to develop to full fruition. Help me to move forward in keeping with your vision. It is awesome to realize that You can use me to accomplish Your goals. Think Your thoughts through me, speak Your words through my words, and enable Your best for others through what You lead me to do. - Amen

Psalms 20:7

    Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.

As Always,

Just sayin’

Coffee companies promise many different things.

Hello friends of Rise Up Lubbock,

Have you noticed that many different coffee companies promise many different things? What do I mean by that? Well, like the promise “It’s good to the last drop.”  There are others too but all these promises are subjective. How could the coffee company know what I like? They are actually promising something without knowing if I like their coffee at all. My God is not like that. He knows me better than I know myself and when He makes a promise it is for sure. We can trust in God’s promises! This morning my cup was stirred up and so here is a thought about one of the scriptural promises we have the promise of healing.  

Dan-Dwayne

Dear Lord,

It seems that throughout each day I am submerged in this world that doesn’t even think about You or Your sacrifice. They are so focused on what it takes to get by, to survive daily that they can’t see that they are drowning in a sea of self-interest. Everyone is completely wrapped up in what they want and what they are doing.  Today I am in need of your healing power.  My illness is not physical but emotional and spiritually personal. I feel almost like a soldier who is weary from battle.  I ask that you make me whole. Refresh my experience with You. So, I can feel that special rightness again. Jesus, it is my intent desire to be your man, someone who you can depend on. Give me renewed strength so that I may continue on.  I depend on You, my Lord. - Amen

I am off to work and face the challenge of my day.

Hello friends at Rise Up Lubbock,

It’s time for another cup of grace or something to share over coffee with your friends. There’s something every true coffee officiatto knows. And, that is: the best way to drink coffee is in a ceramic cup. The reason why is that a paper cup absorbs some of the flavorful oils in the coffee and the drinker (me) loses taste. Anyway, I was at my favorite coffee house and the barista had just handed me my coffee. (In a ceramic cup) and a young man who was more concerned with looking at his cell phone than watching where he was going bumped into me. My expensive coffee, my brown ambrosia, became a decoration on my sleeve instead of being enjoyed like a regular cup of coffee should. As you can guess I had to conquer the mad beast inside and say, “Oh it’s alright.” While I was thinking sarcastically, it’s alright? I now have to have my shirt laundered and I suppose you’re going to pay the laundry bill? Not likely. Yes, I held my tongue and behaved myself. It was the thing to do. The kid meant no harm and it will actually cost me very little to remedy it. My cup needs filling with prayer. So today… This is my cup of grace. 

Dear Lord,

Again I am off to work and face the challenge of my day. The daily grind makes me see everything so opposite from how it really is. It seems that my job and making money is more important than the provider. The entire world I live in functions on a system of misplaced values.  Help me Lord to overcome these thoughts and see them for the lies that they are.  From You, all good things come. You are my treasure and yet it was you who paid the price for me. You sacrificed your all so that I can be redeemed in Your sight. Jesus, I ask that You help me today be a light in a dark place. Help me overcome anger in the face of stress and when I'm confronted by peer pressure and the desire to fit in, please give me the courage to be the man that you intend me to be.  I accept this blessing and thank you for demonstrating your power in my life -- Amen.

Enough said,

Dan-Dwayne

It's funny, the value we put on things

Hello friends at Rise Up Lubbock,
Those of you who have followed my writing for any length of time know that I really like my coffee. I value it. It is a wonderful part of my day to set out on my deck and watch the Texas sunrise with a big cup of fragrant, steaming, delicious coffee and welcome the day with a morning prayer. It's funny, the value we put on things. We value things that will not matter in the end and take for granted what really is important and everlasting. There are some things which are valued as priceless. To an art collector it might be a painted masterpiece, to a jeweler it might be a magnificent diamond or pearl, to a conductor it might be a perfectly performed symphony, but all these things have no lasting value. They are like hay and stubble compared to the things of God which will not decay. So, what things really are of value to us? The answer is … redemption, restoration, sanctification, and life itself are precious beyond any mortal sense of value. These are the precious things of life! Truly, the value of redemption, the value of sanctification, the value of restoration is beyond the ability of man to count as wealth, but what does God consider valuable? God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and all the wealth in the world. What could He consider to be something of worth? The answer to that is YOU and ME! God’s treasures are his children and whether or not you feel like you are a treasure that does not change the fact that you are. An expensive pearl does not know it’s valuable. God’s people are like magnificent pearls of great value. The fact that you chose to follow Christ makes you a great treasure to God.

This is me, just saying…

Dan-Dwayne