David Coffield – J3Khai.fun

I am ambivalent as I sit with the Lord in front of this paper. No blinding flash of brilliance, no keen insight, no remarkable perspective. No real sense of what God has in mind as I write.

It does seem that guilt is a primary motivator in our experience as Christians. Maybe shame as well. Guilt and shame that we fall short so consistently. The nagging feeling that God is deeply disappointed with who I am and what I do. The realization forged through countless cycles of renewing zeal, striving mightily and still coming up short.

What if God were deeply delighted with who we were and what we were doing? What if God actually delighted in us because of the work of Jesus on Calvary? What if we were acceptable as we actually are right now? What if we would live in that mindset?

This is Good Friday. It is the day we celebrate the death of Christ on Calvary for our salvation. It is the great gift exchange. Jesus taking all of our sin and giving us all of His righteousness. It is 2 Corinthians 5:21 ‘He made Him, who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.’

I hope we never stray from the reality of Calvary and the wonder and miracle of salvation. I hope we grow in our understanding of grace day by day.

What are leaders afraid of? That people won’t grow without being pushed, exhorted, guilted? A healthy baby will grow. It doesn’t have to be pushed or watched or exhorted. It grows and it is happy to do so.

Every day I am asking the Lord to help me come to the place where I serve Him with gladness. Where I delight to do His will. Where I see my relationship with Jesus as an incredible privilege and a marvelous opportunity. Where I am thrilled with the privilege of engaging with Him in relationship and in what He is up to and what he has designed me to do.

I am in the process of growing up in Christ. But I am completely accepted and delighted in as I am now.

Your Brother, David

David Coffield, Featured Writers, Jesus, Personal Reflections, Testimonies

“then I can give thanks and rejoice”

January 3, 2023January 1, 2023 Michael J. Weiss, Sr.

“No one particularly enjoys being sick, injured, weak, etc. But, if I can see it through the eyes of God, that He is growing my character into the image of His Son, Jesus, that He is using circumstances to bring glory to His name and to further His kingdom — then I can give thanks and rejoice.”

Quoted from a letter from David Coffield, postmarked Dec 10th, 22.

David Coffield, Guest Post, Jesus, Personal Reflections, Uncategorized

“It cannot not bear fruit.”

November 26, 2022 Michael J. Weiss, Sr.

Part of a recent letter from our friend Dave Coffield.

It is difficult when so many of us have grown up in a Christian culture of either church and/or parachurch where ministry and works are stressed. We have a chaplain who tells us pretty much every time he is standing up front, that our job is to fill the empty fews. So, you feel a little guilty and overwhelmed.

I love the words of Jesus on His way with the disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane to engage in serious prayer prior to His arrest. He stops by a vineyard and grabs a grape plant and tells them that He is the True Vine and they are branches. Their job is to abide in Him. Their job is to abide in Him.

You know John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.” The branch is not concerned about bearing fruit, it is concerned about abiding, about partaking of the rich life of the vine. It will bear fruit if it abides. It cannot not bear fruit.

There has been discussion about what “fruit” is. I like to suggest that fruit is anything that the Holy Spirit wants to produce through a person’s life as they abide in Jesus. And it is seasonal. My friend, Bill Mason, suggests from Psalm 1 that the tree bears fruit “in its season.”

My attention, my focus should be on abiding.

Anytime I am engaging with a believer I want to know how they are abiding. I don’t have concerns about bearing fruit if they are abiding. It is impossible to bear good fruit if you are not abiding. You can produce stuff. Check out the Lord’s comments in Matthew 7 when He says, “Many will say to Me on that day…” They prophesy in His name, they cast out demons in His name, and they perform miracles. Pretty cool. Except…they don’t know Him. They are not abiding in Him.

Do I dare to believe that my value to my Father resides in my relationship with Him?