Fueling the day with a little bit of coffee and a whole lot of Jesus!
Have many days without coffee? Me neither! I have to have my morning cup of J. Have many mornings when you go without devotions, prayer, or studying God’s word? Me too! (Night people really understand this. We tend to have our devotions at night.)
In this fast-paced world that we live in, it can be very hard to keep our priorities right. Sometimes, I just get things backward and upside down! Being consistent in our prayer and devotional life can be a struggle no matter how long we have been a follower of Christ. Faithfulness is a skill, a commitment, and a discipline.
Yet, through it all, my morning coffee is very high on my list of what is important to me. In fact, if I have clothes on my body, shoes on my feet, and my coffee in hand, I always feel like I can face any day. I am not going anywhere without my coffee! Can anyone relate?
So my challenge to you and to myself is to turn things right side up and reevaluate priorities. Let’s look at our devotional styles and needs and compare them to our coffee styles and see if we can work up a new devotional plan that works for us. If you already have something that you are consistent with, consider changing it up some if you do not see growth in your walk with Christ.
Current posts
See if your devotional style matches up with your coffee style.
Most of us are very set on how we like our coffee, but what about your devotional style? Are you a Black Coffee style? A Double Espresso? Caffe Latte? Or even a Salted Caramel Macchiato style? Look further to see your devotional style.
Black Coffee devotions
Just coffee. No frills needed. Fast. Wake up still guaranteed. Not for everyone, but works very well for some. Devotions made a little easier and pre-planned for those who live in the fast-lane.
- Pros: simple, to the point, easy to prepare, does the “job,” time-efficient, works for busy work mornings, can be prepared a week at a time, can be listened to on the commute to work
- Cons: might not have the depth of content or quality of time, often lacks continuity from one day until the next (verse of the day type devotionals).
Double Espresso Devotions
A good punch of coffee meant to be shared with a friend. This is similar to the black coffee devotionals – only with a friend, maybe a family member or coworker with whom you read Scripture and pray.
- Pros: great Biblical fellowship with a friend, can be a great Bible devotional time with some depth, helps you stay faithful because of the commitment together
- Cons: can be a time burden, one person may carry weight of preparation more than the other, also may not have as much depth
This is a good, solid cup of coffee with a little milk and a little sweet. It works during any time crunch and still packs a punch. It can also be your every day coffee. Devotions like this are engaging, substantive, and pleasant, as well as challenging. These devotions may actually be some Bible studies or book or topic studies.
- Pros: a little lengthier time in the Word; therefore, potential for more depth, multi-layers of devotional material that may cover many topics in one sitting, can have a good continuity such as a book study or Biblical topic or word study
- Cons: may be hard to commit to on a daily basis
Salted Caramel Macchiato
Devotions
This is one of those sip-on-it-all-morning-and-into-the-early-afternoon cups of coffee that is all treat with a little bit of coffee. It’s all about the experience and not the time crunch.
- Pros: devotions at a more relaxed pace that are in-depth, and have a continuity and are combined with a time of prayer and praise, can be very rewarding
- Cons: can be hard to find a block of time to enjoy
So what style are you? Black coffee devotional? Caffe Latte? I am a Caffe Latte coffee drinker and a black coffee devotional style, so I don’t match up. Leave me some comments to let me know your styles.
The coming daily blog posts will follow the black coffee devotional style because it is the simplest, and I will add verses or links for each of you using the other styles. Since the posts are called “A Morning Cup of J.,” all posts for a while will follow the life of Christ. Posts for the upcoming week should be available by the weekend before so that you have them a week at a time. This helps me a lot since I tend to prepare heavily on the weekend for the upcoming weekend.
The weekend (Saturday and Sunday) coffee and Jesus time will be a study of various Psalms. Hopefully, you will have more time on the weekend for a more in-depth time in the Scriptures. I look forward to seeing you grow in your walk with the Lord, and I intend to grow along with you.