Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

There are 3 main characters in 3rd John: The MISSIONARIES: those who have GONE OUT for the sake of the name. They should be enjoying the love and support of the church. The MISSIONALS: those who labor in speeding those along who have been sent out by relationship and actual financial support The ANTI-MISSIONARY: those who thwart missionary efforts by rebellion of the heart; rebellion of the tongue...

A crisis launches the letter of 2John.  It is a failure to KEEP ON TRUCKIN ' with Jesus. There is a group that fails to KEEP ON TRUCKIN' but says otherwise . They don't match  the truth and the love, with the words.  (Credit R.Crumb for the 1960's era cartoon and concept!) We discern the truth in people by what they say and do.  Are they KEEPING ON TRUCKIN' with the TRUTH?...

We hold on to Him while He HOLDS us , when the high waters come. The One born in Bethlehem PROTECTS those who are born again. We are being HELD by God, while we are HOLDING FAST. The Lord will bring you THRU what the Lord brings you TO .  For what has the Lord been HOLDING YOU for you to HOLD ON thru? Listen 7 minutes to learn about the protection of God. Bewithme.us On Apple Podcasts.

People have asked for thousands of years this question: "What sins, what bad behaviors lead to DEATH?" The very sobering answer is,  ALL OF THEM . At least, without the intervention and grace of God, 100% of sins result in the consequence of separation from God. So, don't purposefully, willfully, and habitually put yourself into the category of being responsible for the consequences...

Sometimes junior officers ask senior officers, "Permission to speak freely, sir?" ie: "Do you really want to hear what I have to say?" Similarly, we ask that same question of God.  Fortunately, He answers YES. We are to have a confidence in the willing ear of God. He's given us access and knowledge so that we can be doing something : plainly, even boldly, speaking before H...

Eternal life has a quantity of days.  Everybody gets them. Everyone you know is going to live forever. Eternal life has a QUALITY of days. Everybody does NOT get them. Everyone you know has an opportunity  to get them. The Bible defines this quality of eternal life as a life WITH the Son, WITH a relationship with Jesus.  The days to choose Him are limited.  In fact, today might be the ONLY day you...

What you believe about Jesus demonstrates what you already believe about the Father.  To call Jesus a lie by unbelief calls the Father and the Spirit liars too. We all have spent at least some of our lives in that position. We all must admit, " OOPS, I called God a LIAR ." For many, the Spirit has already helped these actually TRUE testimonies of God finally "ring true" in thei...

The heart of God is in His people. My heart must be in His people if I want to be in the center of His will.  I must be loving those that God has demonstrated an interest in.  Being smack dab in the heart of God=being smack dab in the heart of His people=being smack dab in His will.  People of course are sometimes inconvenient and tiresome.  But so are raising children, and both are THE GOOD STUFF...

You have been FIRST - LOVED by God. That is, God is love and has chosen to share his great love with you. We are over - shadowed by it.  We are humbled, awed, grateful and worshipful on the INSIDE . Today's passage wants us to do something with our OUTSIDES too. Go love the brotherhood and so demonstrate the warm fuzzies that are on your INSIDE.  Because God FIRST-LOVED you, go and second - l...

Virginia's license plates scream, "Virginia is for LOVERS." 1 John says the same thing about God and the people of God.  Maybe we should get a Christian License plate. We love the INVISIBLE God by loving the VISIBLE knuckleheads of God. This "obedience" to love people proves an internal, invisible love for God. It is proving something you cannot see by the doing of somethi...

Those who bear the name-title "Jr." are supposed to resemble their patriarch.  The characteristic that God wants us to inherit is His LOVE. For: God is Love--It is His primary characteristic; His DNA Love is from God--His love spills out.  He didn't keep it all to Himself Love is shown most clearly in Jesus--He fixes the unfixable and is the walking example of how to love Love of Pe...

We are like the child on the playground who calls out to another, "My Dad is BIGGER THAN YOUR DAD ." And it is indeed true .  Spiritually, we are in the family of the MEGA - DAD . He's great in SIZE, in VOLUME, in SIGNIFICANCE, in STRENGTH, etc. etc. The question that I was left with was: Is my RESPONSE to the MEGA-Dad, also a mega response?  Am I like a Mega-child, who is struck wi...

When a boy falls in love with a girl, he  takes an interest in the things that interest her. Similarly, as we become more closely associated with the Lord, we will begin to love what He loves.  The People of God are MY people because they are HIS people. I love them, because HE loves them.  I love them NOT because they are particularly lovable. Tuning my heart toward the people of God shows that m...

Our capacity for self - deception is infinite . God's capacity for deception is ZERO . He knows everything and accurately sees both the outside and the inside; the hands and the heart. Interior love is proven by exterior action. The love of God is manifested by love of his people. We should find a  trail of tenderness when we follow the  breadcrumbs of behavior of a Christian. We assess ourse...

If there were only my ACTIONS toward the brotherhood , what would they convey about my feelings toward GOD ?  Would they demonstrate that I love God? Or, could someone even say, 'your actions look like you distain God!' The point is, my actions toward the brotherhood (the knucklehood) betray my beliefs . If you look at my actions toward PEOPLE in the Church, they leave a path of breadcru...

Everybody "votes with their feet" regarding their choice of Who to follow. Generally, allegiance with the Lord will result in evidence of knowing and and seeing Him.  Children of God resemble being in the family of God. Similarly, those who still "practice sin" make it a habit. Their continuance is a test of reality . Those around them generally know it, as there is fruit that...

What does a small child "add" to the equation of adoption? What "asset" do they bring to the table? Primarily NEEDFULNESS , IMHO. We are referred to in the Bible as His CHILDREN for this reason.  We ooze needfulness and smallness.  We need a loving foster family that can help us. If you want to see what kind of love God demonstrates to us, you must look to this family love; thi...

This Podcast drops on Christmas morning.  I hope there is the smell of bacon in your kitchen right now. On this seasonal day, we have a chance to LOVE HIS APPEARING . Mary and Joseph get that chance. Simeon and Anna get that chance. Herod gets that chance. Christmas is a a desperate little baby received by a desperate world full of desperate people. He's come to establish a Kingdom in the nee...

On Christmas Eve, we seasonally WAIT for Christ to be born. 1 Jn reminds us to also WATCH for the anti - Christ . He's predicted, a poser, and powerful, even doing signs and wonders. During Christ's earthly time, and shortly afterwards, signs and wonders are used to AUTHENTICATE His message . Now, His MESSAGE is used to AUTHENTICATE signs and wonders. This is so we don't get confuse...

I thought this passage was going to say, "the Bible is a  SIN story." Certainly, that is a part of the tale. That idea was swallowed by the  context  of a famous passage about sin. It was swallowed by  LOVE. So instead, I was struck by the conclusion, "the Bible is a  LOVE STORY. "  Hopefully, we will put the "lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life&q...

The reason you get a miracle is so that you can give a miracle . John is charging his readers to know all the great blessings that God has given them so that they ACT LIKE IT . Specifically, go love the brotherhood, the sisterhood, the knucklehood. Bask in the access we have; the forgiveness we enjoy; the help He offers, the strength He builds, and the Word He communicates. It is good to recall al...

John was there 40+ years before the moment when Jesus gave a "NEW" (but old) commandment at the last supper.  It was TO LOVE.  Love a brother or a sister or a neighbor.  The new part was that it was to be done "just as I have." John's been chewing on that commandment for decades as he and the Lord write the book of 1 John. Today, let's ask: who can I demonstrate this...

If you want to find a person that is sinning LESS than they did last year, start by finding a person who is quick to say, "I am a SINNER." It is in the confession, that ACCESS to the HELP AVAILABLE starts. It is borrowing the truth from our AA brothers and sisters. The reason you go and say, "I'm ____ and I am an alcoholic..." is to then to get help with the real goal: sto...

Notice with me these 4 things: We are sinners and to say otherwise MAKES GOD A  LIAR. To say otherwise underestimates His holiness and our offense. God is in the forgiveness business. He has to be a forgiver because of point #1. He does everything necessary to fix our problem in #1. The antidote to #1 is agreeing with God by CONFESSION. It is to  say it . It is to  speak it . It is to utter from t...

God is light and the people of God are supposed to "walk in the light".  They are to be associated similarly with His lightedness. They are to be known by that light, just like God is.  Walking with God is almost equivalent with walking with the  people of God. Walking with the people of God is almost equivalent with  walking with God. Being a believer generally means " walking in t...