Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Mrs. Lot "looks back" in the wrong way and gets turned into a pillar of salt.  Abraham looks back over the same real estate and nothing bad happens.  What is the difference? Listen/watch 7 minutes to find out.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNijvDWAn2Wv2KFun2AnvCA

In the story of the KNUCKLEHEAD Lot, we get a glimpse of how God saves people.  God finds zero righteous people in Sodom.  Lot is one of the zero.  Yet here begins God's ASSOCIATIVE MERCY that will end wit the ASSOCIATIVE SALVATION we'll see in Christ.  The Lord, "being merciful to him..." Listen 7 minutes. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNijvDWAn2Wv2KFun2AnvCA

Abraham intercedes for the righteous people of the city of Sodom.  He intercedes for the few.  The problem is,  there are no righteous people  in Sodom.  Sodom is destroyed, but no righteous people are harmed in its' destruction. Without the help of God, not one of us stands before God in a blameless and confident way.  Watch 7 minutes to see if you'd make the cut: https://www.youtube.co...

Is God UNJUST? Specifically, is He unjust because He is NOT THOROUGH? Or, do we have a God who makes inquiries of perfect accuracy with full assessment? As it turns out, God hears and sees; He goes down to visit; He knows fully.  So, if and when He judges, He does it with a full knowledge.  God is both just AND  thorough. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNijvDWAn2Wv2KFun2AnvCA

Christianity is all about "being a child of Abraham" and having his type of faith. We are also asked to be a " child of Sarah " in getting submission right.  Personally, I think Sarah learned it as her servant Hagar practiced it for 13 years in their home.  I think Hagar taught SARAH submission, so Sarah could teach the world about it.  Watch for 7 minutes. https://www.youtube....

What is the BEST question in all of the Bible? You could certainly make an argument for this one: Is anything to hard for the Lord? God asks this of Abraham and Sarah. Funny thing though, is that God Himself KNOWS THE ANSWER to the question He asks.  However, Sarah and Abraham are wrestling with the answer, as should we. Please ask and answer it with me.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNijvDWAn...

Both Abraham and Sarah Laugh at God regarding His promises for children. In my view, it is not their finest moment of faith.  They both walk-back their comments.  God doesn't let it go. He reminds them of this moment by actually NAMING this promised child ISAAC, which means HE LAUGHS.  So, every time they call Isaac to dinner they are reminded of this time.  Fortunately, God is the one that i...

You mean to tell me that to find the people of the Abrahamic covenant, you had to look in their PANTS? Exactly.  What was God thinking? Why this surgical and perhaps strange cutting of circumcision?  We'll also zoom forward to the New Covenant.  Fortunately there, we don't need to look in your PANTS, but we need to look even DEEPER at your HEART. Watch 7 minutes with me:  https://www.you...

When the Bible talks about "How to get to heaven" it does not refer to the 10 commandments and the law of Moses.  When the Bible talks about "How to have a relationship with God", it asks us to turn to THIS page, 400+ years  before the law. It is a relationship that is graciously given by God and received  by faith. Abraham did it right first.  Watch 7 minutes and you'll k...

El Shaddai means power, strength, sufficient, and all-mighty. God gives this name of Himself to Abram so that Abram can better understand the characteristics of God. Amy Grant wrote a timeless song in 1982 that still captures this beautifully.  It launched her career almost as much as Abram. ;-) Watch 7 minutes and then listen to Amy's song.  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNijvDWAn2Wv2KFun...

Have you ever wondered where the Arabic people group comes from? Join me for 7 minutes to hear about a man the first century historian Josephus calls, " Founder of the Arabs ." This is Ishmael , the son of Abram and Hagar . Almost 3000 years later, many of this people group adopted Islam , and are now known as Muslims . Watch like and subscribe on Youtube. We are walking thru Genesis. ht...

What if we really do have a God who SEES, and specifically, SEES ME? It changed everything for a young Hagar.  Perhaps it will change everything for you too.  Watch 7 minutes to see. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNijvDWAn2Wv2KFun2AnvCA

Both Cain and Hagar do something wrong. Both get a chance to correct their attitudes and change the course of their steps. The Lord basically says, "You can do better!" Cain has no regard for the correction of the Lord and INCREASES his "spiritual distance" from God.  Hagar is our wonderful example as she hears the rebuke of God and changes direction beautifully. "You are...

Don't miss this story of Hagar. It is one of the sweetest, most tender interactions between God and humans in the Bible.  We learn wonderful truths about God: He HEARS, He SEES, He LOOKS AFTER.  He Challenges too. And dear Hagar.  She asks, and she NOTICES and then OBEYS. She is asked to do the #1 and #2 HARDEST things in the world.  Watch 7 minutes on this video and see how she does. Subscri...

The spiritual life is all about ENTRUSTING when it is HARD. If it was easy, anybody could do it. Hagar is asked to do the hardest thing: SUBMIT. She's also asked to give evidence of it by returning. Along with forgiveness, these make the top-five of spiritual difficulty.  Hagar will beautifully adorns herself in submission. I think she teaches the concept to Sarai who is later lauded for demo...

A Covenant is a promise that you pledge with YOURSELF. That is, your personal bodily integrity. If the promise is broken, somebody dies. Abram and Sarai, surrounding the conception of Ismael,  are anything but All-Stars. Nobody does their job well before God. They serve to remind us to Entrust in the HARD STUFF. Fortunately the middle of the story is not the end of their story.   God is a great co...

God "cuts a covenant" with Abram. Though Abram doesn't know it, God knows that in cutting this covenant, the Lord will have to CUT HIMSELF.  To keep covenant with mankind, extraordinary measures will have to be employed.  Eventually, He'll have to sacrifice HIMSELF.   Watch 7 minutes here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNijvDWAn2Wv2KFun2AnvCA

God tells Abram some pretty unpleasant things.  His descendants will be sojourners in a foreign land, servants x 400 years. Ouch. He might have paused to ask, "WHY IS THERE EVIL?" God also tells Abram that He is doing some sovereign work regarding the punishment for EVIL in another people group.  The reason Abram's people are seeing "evil" is because of stuff they do not s...

"If God knew my sin, He'd never want me." If that is your thought, GOOD! You are ½ there.  We all wear filthy rags to a splendor party. In fact, ONLY sinners are invited. He tells us that by belief, we are credited with some stuff that we just don't deserve.   What happens to Abram  must happen to us. Heaven by works is unobtainable.  We too must follow in his footsteps and in...

How do sinners go to heaven? Specifically, how do UNholy people enjoy fellowship with a HOLY God forever?  How can these 2 unequal things co-exist? God has got to do some generous heavenly math on our behalf. He CREDITS us. He COUNTS us as RIGHTEOUS.  He chooses to SEE US as righteous by our faith.  Abram, and us, believe the Lord, and it is counted to us as righteousness.  Listen to this favorabl...

Imagine if your $100 contribution to your 401K was "matched" by your employer to the tune of $1,000,000,000. This is similar to the spiritual math that Abram sees in his spiritual account: He believes. Then God credits him with RIGHTEOUSNESS.  God makes Abram spiritually acceptable before him. Here's the kicker: We should care about this because WE MUST DO THE SAME as Abram, and GOD...

You are either listening or watching a podcast called BE WITH ME.  The title is rooted in today's passage from Gen 15:1  “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” It is one of the Bible's great themes.  God wishes to give to us HIMSELF.  A relationship with the Lord God Himself is the ultimate and ultimately ONLY real prize.  HE is the reward. The seed of this...

What do we do when we receive a windfall of blessing? Abram, for one, GIVES BACK.  He gives a tenth. 10%. A tithe. Real stuff. Real money that  represents a genuine heart. He also makes a vow before the Lord. He commits to his pathway of FAITH in the Lord. Our world needs those who both GIVE MORE and those who VOW MORE. Visit and subscribe on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNijvDWAn2Wv2...

Abram is faced with an unbearable, unreasonable, and impossible military situation exacerbated by the bad decisions of his knuckle headed nephew Lot. It is a tense moment of "What will Abram do next".  He responds FAITHFULLY with "boots on and sword drawn".  Somehow, he STAYS FAITHFUL, even though situationally it looks very bad.  Somehow, he wins militarily. Abram redeems the...

The Assyrian Kings were the first mid-eastern world power. They were serious about the tribute that had to be paid from their subjugated regions. Suddenly, Sodom and Gomorrah STOPPED PAYING THEIR TAXES.  Assyria's response? INVASION. World War ONE. Being the world power, (eventually an EMPIRE) they were undefeated in EVERY BATTLE recorded in Genesis 14.  They knock off 12 armies and assume th...