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Sunday, September 1, 2019

A Second Shot of Coffee with Jesus, by David Wilkie

I am not a coffee drinker, but I can't get enough of Coffee with Jesus!  David Wilkie's second collection of the online comic strip, A Second Shot of Coffee with Jesus, is even better than the first.  The comics in this new book hit deeper and more profoundly, as a whole, than Coffee with Jesus.

With good humor and a solid theological perspective, Wilkie challenges readers to engage with Jesus and to evaluate their devotional life and habits of service and worship.  When we pray, maybe we shouldn't be asking for stuff, but should be trying to align our needs with what we ask of him. . . .




And when we spend time in prayer, Jesus reminds us that the focus should be on just being with him, whether or not we feel his presence.  We want to know, not just trust, that he is with us.  Jesus says, "The knowing is the trusting."

When we struggle with the basic Christian discipline of memorizing scripture, Jesus might remind us that we don't have any problem remembering the witty lines of our favorite movies.


He also reminds us that we should get the focus off of ourselves.  "You wanna be blessed? . . . Be a blessing."  His advice for those times when we get a bit too self-centered: "Empty yourself."


Sometimes the things we believe about Jesus are not quite on target.  Do we have to choose between Jesus being our Lord or our buddy?  Jesus says, "I"m fine being both." 

We also tend to believe things like "God will never give us more than we can handle."  Jesus calmly reminds us that it can sometimes feel like we have more than we can handle--"until you let me handle it."

Wilkie doesn't have much patience for attributing partisan politics to Jesus, and provides some reminders that Christians have many different perspectives on political matters.

Wilkie uses the simplest of art to communicate some profound theological truths.  Spend some time having coffee with Jesus.  You'll want to come back for more.



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