Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

God is a bit ironic.  Jesus knows no sin, yet was viewed as having sin so He could take  the penalty for sin away for all believers.  That's in 2 Cor 5:21. Similarly, He is the only IMMORTAL. Immortal means deathlessness . He is immortal yet, He takes on death so we don't have to experience death in its' fulness. We have a deathless God who is known to have born death for us.  We ha...

Christ is perfect and in the end, no one in heaven or hell will have a single criticism about Him.  However, until then, what we do HERE affects His reputation. What I do now can affect what people think about Jesus. My words and actions influence what people think about Jesus.  My behavior at home, work, and in the church can positively or negatively reflect on Jesus' reputation.  Let's...

In an epic battle of Gandolf vs. Balrog in Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien warns through Gandolf's parting charge, "FLY YOU FOOLS!" Aarogon, Frodo and his company then run for their lives. Certain evils are best fought by taking flight. Similarly, Paul warns Timothy to FLEE certain things.  Why? To live to fight another day; to be free to fight other battles, and to follow after the...

Nobody wants to pierce themselves with a fatal needle-stick. But that is exactly what those who have the love of money; who crave it  are doing TO THEMSELVES. Let's not let money be an ultimate desire. If we let it, it will have to displace other desires such as love of the Lord.  Listen 7 minutes for the revelation of a surgical-suite-secret about potentially fatal needle-sticks. It will app...

God tells us how we can be truly wealthy.  He is the great treasure; the great gain.  No believer would trade her adoption into the family of God for the wealth of the Rockefeller's. The most financially poor Christian is more wealthy in every important way than Elon Musk.  The next world operates without money.  There, Capital has no Capital and currency has no currency. So let's leave...

The caution today is: DON'T FOLLOW TEACHERS WHO THINK GODLINESS IS A MEANS OF GAIN$. The caution tomorrow is DON'T BE THE PERSON WHO THINKS GODLINESS IS A MEANS OF GAIN$. The risks are high: piercing yourself with many pangs; plunging into ruin; into a snare and destroying yourself.  Basically, you can cause yourself a spiritual shipwreck by a financial shipwreck.  Don't do it.  Ple...

Probably no one listening to this podcast is a slave or a bondservant.  We all have Christianity to thank for that. But, everyone who is listening is a WORKER, so there are applications to be made.  How we REGARD, how we let our mind precede our actions; how we let our thinking LEAD THE WAY, is a foundational principle of Christianity.  ALL WORK IS A WITNESS OF this INTERNAL REALITY.  Work reflect...

What happens when elder/pastor/teachers fail? Fortunately, the Bible has an answer for that.  There is a discipline process that is public and probably painful.  Why? So that we never want to do it again.  Specifically, so that in a holy way, other Elders can "Hear and Fear" and take all necessary steps to stay out of sin. What kind of men do you want over you? What kind of men does God...

What kind of a leader do I want positionally over me in the church? One who RULES WELL.  It is not an easy job. The bad news is you can do it wrong. The very good news is that there are men WHO RULE WELL. These are EXACTLY the kind of people we want leading us in our churches. They are worthy of double honor from our hearts. If they are full-time-vocational elders, then we shouldn't withhold...

There is an office or role THAT NOBODY WANTS : that of WIDOW.  Today we learn what these people should be like before and after they occupy the office they did not ask for , that of being a widow. Fortunately, God has a special place in His heart for the Orphan, the Stranger and the Widow.  It is all through the Bible.  It is very prominent in 1 Timothy as Paul instructs Timothy about " prope...

Join me for 7 minutes as we HONOR the true widows. we will find them torn from their husbands we will find them torn from their children we will find them marked by tragedy we will find them all alone and  not nearly alone we will find them all alone, and  ONLY HIS OWN Admire with me these giants of the faith who stand tall til the end.  Value them with me as we learn of their faithfulness in trag...

You might remember the Olympic moment from 1992 when a sprinter ruptured his hamstring and his father, Jim Redmond, somehow ran to his side to help him finish the 400 meter race. This best defines "ENCOURAGEMENT" which is more than "You can do it." It is more like, "We can do it TOGETHER."  With the exhortation comes an ARM. Sometimes a person just needs to be carried...

Listen 7 minutes to a very encouraging Word from 1st Timothy.  If you are an athlete, you will strongly relate to Paul's charge to WORK OUT in godliness.   It involves WORDS, both God's and your own.  It involves WITNESS to everybody around you.  It involves some work, toil, striving and effort.  The big question is, " Why work out spiritually ?" Here's the answer: t o bri...

Imagine calling your mother and telling her that you are devoted to deceitful demons and now follow the liars that promote their doctrine. She'd be horrified. But that is exactly what young Timothy was up against.  Paul cautions against leaving the TRUTH, and the Pastors who teach the TRUTH.  It is a sobering call to dial up our devotion to the Lord and His leaders. Listen 7 minutes as we lea...

Jesus came in a way we could understand; in a body we are familiar with; in a world we occupy; and amidst troubles we understand. But something is required of US.  He asks "just one thing" of us. What is required of YOU is to BELIEVE what was required of HIM. He requests that what was required of Him be agreed upon by you. It is a great thing that we have before us.  We confess this is G...

Why should I go to church? What makes the church so very special? The church is not a building.  It is an ASSEMBLAGE.  It is a gathering of the people that He indwells. We don't "find God" in temples, or in nations or in particular cities anymore.  We find God in PEOPLE.  He's commanded us to gather these people together every Sunday morning to display Him in a unique way.   If...

It is a fair question to ask: Are you ready to be a deacon/deaconess? To assess this the individual and the church looks at: family : what do our kids, spouse, and marriage demonstrate about us? words : what do our words represent about us? character : how does our self-control, money, and reputation reveal readiness? God has an interest in the kind of person He indwells.  The church has an intere...

The falling of a pastor into the disgrace of pride is rarely a recipe for Kingdom growth.  When the pastor falls, he is spoken poorly of; God is spoken poorly of; and the people the pastor leads are spoken poorly of.  He is TRAPPED first, then he TUMBLES, and then it's on TV.   The ripples of his pride effect, through no fault of their own, the whole congregation. So choose carefully before y...

For the potential Elder/Shepherd, what is true in YOUR house will be true in GOD'S House. That is, it is fair game to look at the management and instructional content of his home to get a glimpse of whether he will be a good manager/teacher in the church. Specifically, the ask is whether SUBMISSION has been a LIFE SKILL that he has committed his family to. It is a critical life skill that is...

In many ways, Pastors/Elder/Teachers/overseers are in the greatest of battles every day.  How should they be fighting? LIKE CHRISTIANS.  Look with me for 7 minutes at  the character with which they should be fighting.  Today we'll focus on  not violent but gentle and not quarrelsome.  Finally our Teachers should be free from the  love of money.   I ask: has any lasting legacy of goodness ever...

Elders are supposed to be skillful teachers. If they have had such sincere exposure to the Word, somewhere along the way they should have been STRUCK with their own sin. They should be the most sinfully-aware people on the planet. They should also be the most SHATTERED people in the world, for God breaks everybody to piece when they really come to Him. Like Job, they also should be SILENCED in Awe...

The office of Pastor/Elder/Overseer/Leader/teacher should be occupied by a man who: has STUDIED the Word has SUBMITTED under the Word has  SHUT HIS MOUTH  before the Word has  BEEN SHATTERED  Upon the Word has been STRUCK with their own SIN as prodded by the Word has been  SOBERED by the holiness of the WORD has been  SILENCED BEFORE THE WORD THEN and only then will you find a man who is truly  SK...

If only God would tell us what kind of men He wants to pastor us! If only we knew a few criteria. Well,  wonder no more. God has made it abundantly clear.  Be above reproach. Be well thought of by OUTsiders. Be a one-woman-man; husband of one wife; single person of one future wife Be sober-minded. Be not controlled by drink. Be a person that demonstrates self-control. Here's the trick, all of...

When the police come to your door...When the Doctor has the biopsy results...When your spouse says, "I don't love you any more"...When the horror of your sin finally STRIKES you...WHO YOU GONNA CALL? We will find out today the qualifications of the person on the other end of the phone.  There are 15 of them. They are hard. They are comprehensive. They are public and private. They ar...

God cares about His Church . God cares about the people of His Church; the  gender of those people and the  roles and offices they occupy. God cares about what happened in the Garden of Eden God cares that His Church be effective and of  authentic display of Him God cares that His Church  thrive . Listen 7 minutes today and everyday. Bewithme.us or bewithme.us@gmail.com to subscribe for 7 minutes...