Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

What is man that You are mindful of him ? Does God think about ME? This is one of the greatest questions in all of the Bible. People have been asking it for thousands of years. David asked it. Job asked it. Solomon asked it. Everybody should ask it because of HIS ANSWER. His answer is YES . No president of the United States has ever had a single thought of ME cross their mind.  Never. Yet today I...

Jesus is superior to Angels The message of Jesus is superior to the message of angels The message of the New Testament is superior to the message of the Old Testament The message is superior because HE is superior . The message represents and reveals Him and ultimately the message IS HIM. Therefore, Pay attention. Don't drift away. Don't neglect the message. To embrace the message is to...

The " Problem " with angels is that Jesus is greater . Don't get me wrong, angels are majestic, powerful, named, known, ready to go, mighty, 100% obedient, ministering, often terrifying, and they guard the interests of God. They are created , they are not the Creator . They serve the throne, they don't sit on the throne. They worship God, God does not worship them. They are min...

Everything you need to know of 13 Chapters of Hebrews is crammed into the first three verses: It's not God's first day of creation, revelation, and mounting rescue operations God has been SPEAKING in creation and in prophesy to His people He has been building a FAMILY all along These are the LAST DAYS and He's speaking newly by His Son He's HEIR of all in the future He's C...

Here are some of the 2nd best things about 2nd Timothy 2:21 we are supposed to be USEFUL to the master 2:24 kind , gentle , patient people bear more influence than grouches 3:12 Longanimity is the patient disposition to being persecuted . It is hunting season and Christians are on the menu 3:17 We have the BREATH OF GOD and it is to our advantage and benefit 4:1 the Bible is sometimes hard. The on...

This is the 2nd Timothy HIGHLIGHT show.  Join me as we remember the flames, the tears and the bazookas. Let's follow the patterns and people and spiritual progeny in this book. Ask with me, "where are your men?" and hear the call, "You can do BETTER." Learn about the God that KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS. Thanks for bewithme.us and Subscribing on your favorite podcast provider....

Paul closes his letter to Timothy with one of the most evocative, poignant pleas in Biblical literature:  COME BEFORE WINTER. It is literal, and yes, bring my warm cloak. It is also metaphorical: Paul's life is near its' end.  He had run most of his race and little time is left. Join me soon because the time is short. The winter of Paul's life is full of wonderful faithful people. ...

Paul is soon to be executed by Nero of the Romans. Meantime, he's imprisoned, cold, abandoned and lonely. Yet he says the Lord will RESCUE him and bring him SAFELY THROUGH. We do not understand the TIMING of the Lord's rescue.  Apparently, the truth of the rescue applies even  after the execution. We do not understand the MECHANICS of the Lord's rescue. Who can pretend to describe H...

The way to have God  stand with you at the end is to  stand with Him BEFORE the end. The way to have God  stand with you at the end  is to  stand FOR Him BEFORE the end. Paul is nearing his very real end. In recollection, lots of bad stuff has happened. Though he found himself "alone" at one of his Roman trials, he recounts, " but the Lord STOOD BY ME and STRENGTHENED me."  Let...

Paul directs Timothy to get three things and bring them to Rome.  You gotta love the reality of what prison in a foreign country was like.  You can't make this stuff up. Bring me my cloak. My PARKA because of real PHYSICAL needs. Bring me my Bible. My PARCHMENTS because of real SPIRITUAL needs. Bring me John/Mark. My PERSON because of real RELATIONAL needs. It is about a 1000 mile trip to get...

The nice title is  Loving His Appearing . The real descriptive title is:  Crowning KNUCKLEHEADS with Righteousness. God is in the R ighteousness-Giving business . He's been at it since Abraham was credited with it by faith. It means to be put into right relationship with God. Only God can do this. It is what He came to do: give righteousness.  We should LOVE THIS ABOUT GOD. We should " l...

You are as close to  your finish as you have ever been. And, tomorrow you will be  even closer to your finish. Paul  shows Timothy how to respond to the above reality:   KEEP FIGHTING. FIGHT THE RIGHT FIGHT. FIGHT UNTIL YOU FINISH . Paul is near his execution. Essentially, he says, "you will never see me again..." The next thing he says we would do well to listen to: FINISH WELL. FINISH...

"The only thing worse than  having  the Word of God is  not having the Word of God." MJS©️2023. Just kidding. There is a lot to NOT like in the Bible though: Paul charges Timothy. There is a judge. The teaching is often not suited to my passions. He's the Boss. I am not. We all have an appetite for teaching  that suits us . Better is teaching sourced in Him; sound teaching; Truth wi...

Why AVAIL, Access, and Apply the Bible in our lives?  It claims to be of advantage , help and benefit .  It claims to make the applier of its' truths competent , complete and proficient .  It claims to bring to an end and have fruit . I think I want all those things. But hold on, there is some reproof along the way: that's the " NO! Stop doing this. You can do better" that a lo...

What would the world be like if we had NO BIBLES , no communication from God?  And then, what would happen if one day, someone FINDS THE BIBLE. Well, exactly this happens in 622BC. Josiah, one of the few good kings, sent a priest to clean out the temple and FOUND THE BOOK OF THE LAW.   So now what? the Bible requests an ANSWER . Everybody answers the Bible when they hear it in some way. Josiah res...

We have the BREATH OF GOD. What if we could capture it? What if we could capture it in a bottle? Well, we "have it in a bottle": the Bible. All Scripture is breathed out by God. T he Bible is the capturing in one place, one receptacle, the very breath of God. Scripture's ABILITY is based on its ORIGIN. Scripture's SUFFICIENCY is found in its' source.  Because it comes from...

Learn a new word with me today: LONGANIMITY . It is the disposition to bear injuries patiently . Paul charges Timothy to  follow my  teaching . He'll get to the point that it is founded on the very  breath of God. ( come back tomorrow for that) follow me in my  persecutions. This means to be chased after; pursued; to  be HUNTED. It is hunting season and YOU are on the menu young Christian. An...

Love God. Actually don't do these 21 bad things. Today hear about why the qualifications for church leadership are so important. Hear about what happens when leadership goes bad.  Don't worry, there is a remedy. God is not mocked.  God always knows those who are his. We eventually get to that particular truth. Don't get love wrong. Love God, rather than self, money and pleasure. Don...

It is a general principle that friends make disciples . People that are characterized by kindness , gentleness and patience bear more influence than those who are grouches.  The quarrelsome frequently find themselves alienated and isolated. Join me for 7 minutes as we look at our "walk".  What might we best walk AWAY from(youthful passions)?; Walk TOWARD (faith, love, peace)?  In what WA...

It is not unreasonable to want to BE USEFUL for God.  The next question is then, how do I get to be USEFUL for Him? There is stuff that HE does for sure.  Much of the spiritual activity is above our pay grade. Yet, there is stuff  WE DO in cooperation. We are CALLED. He does the calling for sure. Make sure you ANSWER the call. We are CLEANSED . The daily walk of being a Christ-follower is a whole...

Though  we  might be confused about this, God  never is: The LORD KNOWS THOSE WHO ARE HIS . How'd we get to be His? First, His call, election, foreknowledge before the foundation of the world. This is both powerful and magnificent, as well as tender and intimate.  He's "moved spiritual furniture" for our benefit, even though it's slightly beyond our understanding. Second,...

Everybody has a relationship with the Bible.  Everybody 'handles the Word.' Everybody probably  could do better as they handle the word. Do I: SIT before it. Do put my BACKSIDE into it? STUDY it. Do I put my HEAD into it? be STRUCK by it. Do I put my HEART into it? SUBMIT to it. Do I put my hand over my MOUTH every once in a while? SERVE with it. Do I put my HANDS into the work it has fo...

God wishes for every single person on this planet to be a WORKER of the 'soil of His Word'. He wants our fingernails to be dirty from digging and discerning and laboring a bit.  There is an urgency to it; a "now-ness" to this task. We are presenting ourselves before God in assessment as to how we are doing in this both in the future, but also TODAY. Our goal is to end up as tes...

The Lord is a promise keeper. Mark Devers wrote a book by that title that says the Bible is basically about God making promises and then KEEPING PROMISES. The source of this reliability is the character of God.  We rely on this solidity. He is true. He cannot deny this truthful, promise keeping character. He cannot deny Himself. He is the God who never lies. Come listen for 7 minutes to hear about...

We are to look for truth from the  fields;  specifically the  BATTLEFIELD, THE ATHLETIC FIELD AND THE FARMER'S FIELD . From the Soldier we learn his ONE AIM . Soldiers work hard of course, but they do it for the pleasure of one who is not themselves. It is to please the one who sent Him . From the Athlete we learn ONE HEART . It is competition yes, but according to the rules . It is not just...