The Great Coffee Debate

Some great thoughts from Jillian McConaughey!

The Great Coffee Debate

I am so excited to be a guest blogger on Jesus & Coffee! While I don’t have a blog of my own, Jesus & Coffee has got me thinking of my own Jesus & Coffee life-style and how it reflects the attitude of this generation. Let me elaborate…

Every day I have this choice-do I drink coffee or not? Do I indulge in a white chocolate mocha, a pumpkin spice latte, or black coffee with more sugar and cream than actual coffee, or do I refrain? I want to drink that wonderful brown liquid with lots of flavor, but is it worth it? You see, coffee usually makes my stomach hurt!! So do I indulge and suffer the consequences or do I find an alternative?

I find it interesting that we have the opportunity to indulge in things that are so good or at least feel good, but ultimately will bring about something negative? What’s more interesting is that we do indulge in these things, knowing that they are wrong or bad for us! How easily we are led by our own desires. We live in a generation that is willingly doing wrong because of its instant gratification not knowing that there is an alternative that brings a good and lasting result! Galatians 5:17 says

“The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions.”

Let me suggest the alternative-Jesus! He is more satisfying and fulfilling then any indulgence or fleshly desire. Everything about Him is good and is good for you! He loves you and desires the best for you! So my ultimate, lasting alternative is Jesus! Now my alternative coffee drink is a soy vanilla Chai latte (introduced to me by my BFF who is also a non-coffee drinker but totally in love with Jesus)!

Disclaimer: I am in no way suggesting that drinking coffee is a sin! Drinking coffee and reading the Bible is totally fulfilling both naturally and spiritually. And yes, I do on occasion continue to drink coffee.

Really? This is a Grande?

The first time i ever went to Starbucks, looking at the menu i almost thought i was reading Greek. There is a plethora of names of coffee, types, flavors, styles, so on and so on. Asked the guy, "do you just have Black Coffee?" "Oh yah, we have Pikes Place brewing, what size would you like?' Looking back up at the foreign billboard i see Grande. Grande-think about it, Rio Grande, Grande River and it just sounds like something BIG! So thats what i order, i pay for it and wait for my BIG cup of goodness to pop out on the other side. First thought! "oh i ordered a Grande, you gave me a small by mistake." Come to find out, i was wrong...I felt DECEIVED, i got over it though and learned my lesson. You have to order a Venti to get the BIG guy! It took me reading the billboard, making a mistake and asking somebody for help to finally get it right.
You know the crazy thing about being Deceived? You think you know the truth, when in fact you are wrong and have no idea. This seems to be a re-occuring theme among our day in Christians and non-christians alike. They think they have truth but in reality they are so off its not even funny. My main focus in this is to talk to Christians, we know the Basic outline of truth. 1.There is a God. 2.Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. 3. The Bible is where we find absolute truth for every aspect of our life. The problem is so many Christians stop at either 2 or 2 1/2. What do you mean 2 1/2? MOST Christians read the Bible, but most of them stop there. James 1:²²"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." I know of alot of Christians who can tell me where scripture is and even quote it to me, but they have no idea what application is.(Read coffee on the beach)
Have you ever met someone who will always quote Romans 8:28? Great scripture, "^8:28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." But how many of them can quote romans 8:26-28? ^{Rom. 8:26}In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." Yah, all things do work for the good of those who believe, but they must also PRAY about all things before they will work out for there good. We are deceived because we are always told Rom. 8:28 but never study the scripture and find out the whole truth. You cant just hope for, you have to pray. This is only one example, you would be reading this for the next month if i were to list some more examples.
We have to get into our word more, and you know what your still gonna make mistakes! But when you make a mistake or things dont go right, talk to someone about it! A pastor, parent, or a strong Christian friend. If you dont you are only deceiving yourselves. 1 Cor. 11:3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ." The devil is a sneaky little guy, dont let him deceive you by being lazy, being ignorant or even fearing man. Read your Bible! PS.1:² "But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night." Study the Scripture. PS 119:15 "I will study your commandmentsand reflect on your ways."and dont just read and study, Apply it to your life. James1:²²"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says."
My prayer for this generation is to find truth! John 8:32 "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." But the truth cant set you free until you find it, believe it, and apply it.

A Fathers Love

Your watching every step,
Sometimes i don't have time
You gave up your life
But i hold on to mine
Surrender seams so trying
Still you gave it all for me
Not because of who i am
But because of the man
You knew that i would be
Just knowing how much you love me
knowing how much you care
Falling to my knees
Mindful you are there
Open up my mind
I want to here from heaven
A word so unbelievable
It could only be from you
Today is the day
Its not about the past
My God so strong and Mighty
In a Kingdom made to last

Never ending cup-O-joe

I am a huge fan of coffee, if you couldn't tell by the title of my blog. I love to go to different coffee shops and read, study and write. One thing that draws me to certain coffee shops is bottomless refills on drip coffee! I don't need a 6$ coffee that i will have to write down the name to remember how to order it the next time. Its all about the bean! I love the feeling of knowing I don't have to worry about running out of something. I know you have felt this way, working at Red Robin i know this is how high school kids feel about fries.
Have you ever put God in the context of bottomless, what about infinite, limitless or everlasting? Isaiah 9:6 "Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom." I love the fact that i serve an everlasting God! There are so many "Christians" who put limits around God, they put him in there own little box. He is there when they need him, they can store him under the bed and can put a blanket over his box if they don't want him to see something. NO! That is preposterous, He is the all-knowing, all-seeing and all-encompassing GOD. Ephesians 3:20 "Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think."
I want to let the cat out of the bag here, Luke 1:37 "For nothing is impossible with God. ” I said it and you know the difference between me and alot of "Christians"? I BELIEVE it! The reasons churches and people are not seeing miracles, healings and deliverence is because they dont. God has become this ritualistic practice that we do out of habit and we have taken the power out of God. We serve the God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, not the god of post-modernism and modern-age hoopla! They saw miracles because they knew God and knew what he was capable of...ANYTHING! If we want to see anything change in our society we have to get back to that, KNOWING him and BELIEVING in him!
I know in my heart we are in a revival, God is stirring up this generation and i know this is the generation that is gonna see the supernatural. People are gonna get healed, lives will be transformed and there will be deliverance. But it has to start where there is no end, Bottomless, Infinite, Everlasting to Everlasting. We need more faith, you cant do miracles without it. Where do you get it? Romans 10:¹⁷ "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
This week, lets take God out of the box, to be honest he was never in it you just thought he was, and lets believe that God is gonna do something through us that is unbelievable, unmeasurable, and uncomprehending.

Coffee on the Beach

Have you ever gone to the beach? Towel-check, water-check, surfboards-check, sunscreen-check. You get everything ready and checked off your list. Everybody gets in the car and heads out. Beautiful day, surf is amazing, and its just gonna be an amazing day. Your feeling brave and think your tanner than you really are, so as the sunscreen is getting passed around your like,"Pass, I'm gonna get a good tan today!" The day is amazing, you catch some good waves, have an amazing lunch, take a nap on the beach and its just an all around good day. You wake up about 2 a.m. the next morning with the worst sunburn you can imagine. Your body hurts, your head hurts and most of all you just feel stupid as you flash back when your friend was passing the sunblock your way. You know everything about sunscreen, how it works, when to use it, why to use it and what it actual does. But you know the crazy thing about it, not really crazy, just practical? I can know all of that stuff but without application its useless...
Now think about it...how many times have you done this with Gods word! James 1:²² "But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves." You know what it says, but your like, "I'm just gonna get a good tan today" We think that merely avoiding it for a day wont make any difference. But the truth is we wake up as soon as hours later in regret, in pain and knowing exactly where we went wrong. Then the next day, its written all over your face.
You have been there, the next day when everybody else put sunscreen on and your the one looking like a lobster! Not only is it hurting you but everybody can tell your burned. Same with Christians, when your not living what God says you are the one thats emo, depressed and everybody can tell that you got some funk going on(at least discerning people can).
Ephesians 6:13 "Be prepared. You're up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it's all over but the shouting you'll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You'll need them throughout your life." Its so important that we learn and understand Gods word, but just as important as knowing and understanding is applying it to our own lives. You don't want to be "that guy" carrying around a bottle of alo-vera asking "can you get my back for me please?"