This Sunday morning I studied the little coffeepot in my motel room in Greenville, North Carolina, and decided it hadn’t been cleaned in years. Going down to the breakfast bar, I pumped some coffee into a styrofoam cup, but it was lukewarm. I asked the young man at the front desk about it.
“It should be fresh,” he said. “I made it about three o’clock this morning.”
“Yes, well…,” I said, bemused, “but it’s gone stale.”
“I’ll make some more,” he said.
By and by, here he came lugging a big thermos. I pumped out a cup and returned to my room only to learn he hadn’t poured out the old coffee before refilling the thermos.
So this is my first morning in ages without a fresh cup of hot coffee. But it’s a good reminder as I prepare to preach. It takes constant effort to stay sharp, excited, and well-prepared. But the Lord has plainly told us He doesn’t like lukewarm beverages (Rev. 3:16). May our lessons, messages, sermons, and Bible studies today be served fresh and piping hot, good to the last drop—and poured out of a clean pot!