1 John 2:27 NIV

As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit–just as it has taught you, remain in him.

I guess if God can use a donkey, He can certainly use a coffee maker to teach me a lesson!  Some have had questions about why I use so many “coffee” pictures.  I love coffee and when I read my Bible, do my Bible study, pray, meditate on my devotional for the day, I ALWAYS have my favorite coffee in my favorite coffee cup!  This is my way of inviting you to grab a cup and enjoy what the Lord has shared with me while I had coffee that day!  Now that you understand my coffee obsession, let’s dive into the devotion for today!

I love coffee!  I love the rich aroma, the taste, my favorite cups I drink it from.  I love my Keurig that brews my coffee in less than under a minute and to complete perfection!  One night as I was working on ‘Spirit Filled Life’ I felt a yawn come on.  It was followed by another yawn and a slight feeling of fatigue.  I knew my body was beginning to wind down so I headed for my “coffee corner” where I have the coffee pot and all of my “fixins”, as we say in Texas!  I put my favorite cup under the spout, as I always do, popped my favorite flavor pod in, and pressed the coffee amount I wanted.

Something began to happen that was odd.  It made a funny noise.  Then instead of flowing out of the Keurig in three streams as it normally does and is supposed to do, it sputtered and I got barely a fourth of a cup!  I did this two more times, praying it would work…it didn’t!  “Oh, I have to clean this thing!  What a time for it to need cleaning!!  I will be without coffee now!” I thought to myself, in a not so happy mood.

I couldn’t find the directions on how to “de-scale” it so I googled it and I began the process and finished up the site as the Keurig finished getting cleaned by the vinegar.  I read that when you don’t clean it regularly, it will have a mineral build up that blocks the filter and it cannot work or flow to maximum capacity.  You have to put vinegar in, and it goes to work dissolving the minerals so it can work again and you can enjoy a wonderful cup of coffee…a full cup of coffee!

I began to try to figure out why it needed to be cleaned so soon since it had not been that long since the last cleaning.  I began to blame our water supplier, who brings spring water that has been purified, to us because that is what I use in it.  I began to think what if the water isn’t as pure as I thought?  What if I just thought the last cleaning was not as long ago as what I thought would probably be the better bet, but it did make me think!

As I thought about this God spoke to me and said that is just how it is with the anointing we carry.  The anointing is EVER present in a Christian, BUT it isn’t ever FLOWING!  Why?  There are many reasons.  It could be we are clogged with unforgiveness, anger, selfishness, pride, etc..  The long story short is we get clogged in our hearts with SIN!  Sin prevents us from flowing as we should and as God so desires.  That is when we have to go to Him and the Holy Spirit has to dissolve away all that is keeping the anointing from flowing so that we can be used to help other people, thereby bringing joy to many!

Those minerals did not build up overnight.  It took time for the build up to take place.  That is how it is with us.  Little by little it happens.  Our feelings get hurt, we become angry and defensive, or we begin to think too much about the wrong things and, before you know it or even realize it, we have literally stopped the anointing ourselves!

There is a story in the Old Testament that talks about an enemy of a city going to the city well and dropping stones into it every night after the citizens had gone to bed.  Little by little they would stone it up until the city no longer had a water supply that was enough and they died of dehydration.  At that point the enemy came and took the city over and all the wealth of it.  That is how satan does.  He knows just what buttons to push, how to get our focus off of our hearts and the condition of them, and then one day we realize we don’t feel as close to God as we once did.  We aren’t being used as we once were.  We have slipped into a place of “Where I used to be in God” to “Where am I and how did I get here?”  Now we see why the Bible tells us to “guard your heart with all diligence….”  It makes perfect sense!

Let us guard our hearts and examine it, dear reader.  Literally, our life and effectiveness for God flows from it!  If there is something that is trying to block the flow of the anointing, confess it, plead the blood of Jesus over it, and go free!   I appreciate you stopping in to read!!  Enjoy your day and may it be filled with God’s favor and blessings freely flowing!!  Juliana

Categories: Christian Living

Tags: Bible, Bible Study, Coffee, First Epistle of John, God, Holy Spirit, Keurig, New International Version