Coffee.  I like it!  I usually drink a cup or two before I leave my house of a morning, and then I stop and have a cup with a couple of guys before I go to the office.  Somewhere around 8:30, I’ll usually have another cup and a granola bar while I’m studying.

I’m not done…..due to the influence of my Grandpa Saferite I also drink a cup in the afternoon around 2 or 3.  Depending on what I eat for supper, I might have another cup then.

While I drink coffee, I’ve never really been much of a fan of Starbucks.  I know, however, that more than just a few people think Starbucks is a necessity of life.

Last year, coffee lovers spent $10,000,000,000.00 on beverages at Starbucks—that’s right $10 billion.   Coffee sales were a large part of this number, and the 4 billion cups that were used would be 35 times longer than the Great Wall of China.

If a person was to stop at Starbucks every day, his addiction could cost him over a $1,000 a year.  The problem with coffee or soda is more than the price you have to pay; it’s the lack of lasting satisfaction.

The Rolling Stones were right when they sang:  “I can’t get no satisfaction.”  This world simply has nothing to offer in the way of lasting satisfaction.

But, there is an out-of-this-world satisfaction that doesn’t cost you a dime, and it has long lasting benefits.  Paul said you can now “be saved and set right by His free gift of grace through the redemption available only in Jesus (Romans 3:24).”

Why not pour yourself another cup and think about it—the free gift of grace!