Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

We are not the first generation of Christianity.  We are probably not going to be the last.  QUESTION: How will we get the next generation of Christians ready for getting the generation after them ready for  getting the generation after them  ready for  getting the generation after them ready?    ANSWER: Paul and Timothy. Listen 7 minutes to the charge for the multi-generational church. It is a mu...

Let's watch our tongues , as they betray the condition of our hearts . Let's watch our grip. That is, our fixed, stayed on attention to the Word Let's watch our JOY . I joy. And, I joy in you . BTW, you should be joying and rejoicing in me. All these reigning-ins please  the Lord.  And remember from yesterday, what He asks, He will help us do. So, let's remember. Remember to su...

It is fun to know that something you are doing pleases God . Today, we have that assurance in our passage because He flat out tells us this is something He desires. WORK out your salvation as God WORKS in you.  His fingerprints are all over this. what He asks of us...This He will help us do where He asks us to go...There He will be when He asks us...Then He will meet when I/we work ...Then He is P...

God highly exalts Jesus. On one hand, it seems weird. On the other,  perfectly reasonable. Jesus  should be being exalted.  Nobody disagrees with the rightness of His worship, not even the other Persons of the Godhead. Teaching point: If God thinks this worthy; thinks JESUS WORTHY to exalt, then we best follow the Father's lead.  We should be exalting.   Today, many disagree with elevating Je...

Jesus comes on a rescue mission to humanity by becoming human.  To do so, He lays aside a few things to squeeze into human form. He comes all the way down to poverty, hunger, work, bodily limitation and even death.  Why? Because this is the only way that we could "hear" Him.  The rescue required the humiliation, the humanity and the humbleness.   May the good Lord forgive, but we'll...

Paul has a wonderful description of people of the church that we might say, "I have you in my HEART." 2000 years ago, the description was IMHO slightly better: "I have you in my BOWELS. You are in my GUTS.  I carry you in my VISCERA." It is a wonderful, memorable description of the church. How did we get there?  What lies at the foundation of the warmth of carrying people aroun...

We are going to need to be of ONE MIND. Why? Because things are going to be tough.  There is going to be stuff that tries to knock us off our standing; circumstances will be scary; there will be some suffering. Being a Christian is not for sissies. We are to be standing shoulder to shoulder with others, contending together like one big army.  Who are our compatriots? Those of like-mindedness.  The...

If you are in need of strength today, listen these 7 minutes for encouragement to MAN-UP in life/death situations MAN-UP in effort MAN-UP in posture MAN-UP together MAN-UP in attitude MAN-UP in suffering MAN-UP in conflict Be of good cheer. He has given the believer everything he/she needs to MAN-UP/WOMAN-UP! For further equipping, please subscribe at BEWITHME.us and especially to LISTEN. This is...

In desperate circumstances, Paul prioritizes the HONOR OF CHRIST. If that is in life here, then he will face it with FULL COURAGE. He MAN-UPs; he doesn't GIVE UP, he GETS UP. But that is his 2nd choice. His first is to "DIE". That's right, Paul  wants to "die" . You can only do this with excellent theology.  That is, no one you know here will ever die.  Everyone you k...

What will you do  when something (bad) happens to you ? What happens when a circumstance that you would not prefer, comes sovereignly into your life? It could be an unjust imprisonment, a cancer, a death of a child, a difficult marriage, an economic hardship, or a pandemic. All of these circumstances we would not prefer.  However, each can increase our access and our influence like it did for Paul...

I love my dog . Of course I love my dog. If I draw a picture of my heart, my DOG is inside of it. But, Paul asks if that is what life is really about. Paul's dog is not mentioned in this passage today.  We never hear of Paul's affection for his dog.  What we DO hear of is Paul's affection for the people of God . I HOLD YOU IN MY HEART. So we ask, is your Christian walk marked by an...

When we finish rowing across the stormy sea of life we may exclaim, "Wow. My hands are tired from holding on to those oars as I rowed thru those waters for all those years." Jesus then exclaims, "Wow. My hands are tired from  holding on to the hands that were holding on to the oars rowing thru those waters." There is NEVER anything that God set His mind to that He did not accom...

Welcome to the book of Philippians!  It is written to the people of the GOD WHO WILL NOT BE STOPPED By the PROCESS of the GOD WHO WILL NOT BE STOPPED BY The PERSON of God WHO IS NOT STOPPABLE Who wouldn't want to avail themselves of the encouraging message of this book? Who wouldn't want to know the God who finishes what He starts in the souls of humans? There is something here for us to...

For a period of time, Tychicus possessed the most valuable thing on planet earth: the physical letter to the Ephesian church.  As we finish reading, studying, and thinking about this same book, now WE ARE THE KEEPERS of this most valuable thing. For us then the question is: How will we keep this great message? Listen 7 minutes as we review the top highlights of these Ephesian messages.  Please sub...

Perhaps you have a few things  you'd rather not forget from the book of Ephesians.  I know I do. Listen today for 7 minutes for a bit of a review of my favorites from the first three chapters in Ephesians.  It is the recalling of th e journey God had us on x 47 days, or at least the first 23 of them. It is the review of the revelation of God to us .  We'd best take that in with some appr...

Paul has a SPIRITUAL FRIEND who is: a keeper of the FAITH for more than a decade a keeper of the FRIENDSHIP for more than a decade a keeper of the MINISTRY for more than a decade a keeper of Paul's STORY for the Ephesians a keeper of the MOST VALUABLE THING ON THE PLANET May we all have such Spiritual Friends.  Please be a mini-friend of this podcast by subscribing at Bewithme.us.  You might...

The ARMORED-UP Christian has a superpower. She has the real, live, actual Holy Spirit living within her. She has the SUPERPOWER of the Person of the Trinity within. I'm pretty sure this in-residence is supposed to be of some use.   Paul mentions two ways: the first is the "sword of the Spirit which is the word of God". An ARMORED-UP Christian has an active, word-based, word-honoring...

Listen 7 minutes as we look at what an ARMORED UP Christian looks like.  They'll have all this wonderful equipping of TRUTH, RIGHTEOUSNESS, READINESS, FAITHFULNESS, and SALVATION.   That is all great stuff for sure.  They'll also have the ACCOMPANIMENT of the Spirit. Ahh, to accompanied by the Godhead Himself! This is our great advantage.  So today, listen first, then appreciate then acc...

Much has been written about Jason Kolb.  He was skiing a couple of months ago and his legs got paralyzed. Ironically, his " spiritual feet" were found to be ready and now are stronger than ever. His legs don't work, yet he has the spiritual strength to stand. Listen to his story and then assess the readiness of your legs ; their ability to STAND in difficult circumstances.  What wil...

Imagine sitting at Chili's waiting for your appetizer when a guy walks in wearing a full suit of armor : Helmet, sword, metallic body armor, the whole bit.  You might conclude first, that this guy is CRAZY .  Upon further reflection, you might wonder if perhaps there is a battle coming that YOU are not aware of.  That would make you the crazy one: unprepared, unallied, unprotected and unaware...

A fight is coming for you that is winnable; a temptation that is overcomeable, a wrong thinking that is correctable and an attacked position that is STANDABLE.  What we are after here is "standability". Strength is going to be required.  The foe is tricky and powerful. We are not left unequipped for this wrestling.  Let's be ready to run TO the battle.  Let's assess our resilie...

Who will you do your work for today? Specifically, what MASTER are you going to give yourself to?  Who will you be mastered by today? Let's hope to get this right. Whether you are an employee, a boss, a team member, an owner, a bondservant, a leader or even a slave, the principles of this passage are the same: work as if we work for Christ know that He is watching, He is just, He is good. Lis...

Something very important is happening in the homes with children. Parents are teaching their children to OBEY, to listen, to attend to, and to submit. It is a hard job to do right for parents.  It is even harder to learn it as a child. God loves children SO MUCH that He gave them one of the 10 commandments: Obey your parents.  It is critical to learn to do just that one thing because of all the ar...

Though the bride seems to be the star of many weddings, the real hero is GOD HIMSELF .  He's the one who creates something on that day that only He can create: a marriage .  Something is called to existence that did not exist one hour before. He is the main actor. The bride, groom, pastor, music, beauty and pageantry are nothing without HIM. He joins. He creates a marriage. We HOLD FAST becau...

If you are like me, you took pretty good care of yourself yesterday.  I ate when I was hungry. I put a sweater on when I was chilly. I slept when I was tired. I loved myself all day long.  Husbands, this is exactly how Paul charges you to love your wives. At least, this is how he  starts his high call. He dials it up even higher by pushing Christ's relationship with the Church into the marria...