Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

What if God welcomes sinners and gives them the ability to stand effectively before His judgement seat? What if He is Lord over days and eating and even life? How then shall we live? The short answer i s humbly.  We'd be c areful in our judgments toward others.  We'd be thankful. We'd seek to honor Him in how we eat and live.  We'd honor Him even in the way we'd die. Becau...

We all celebrate our birthdays which are the number of days we HAVE HAD .  Imagine if we also knew and celebrated how many days we LEFT.   The former number keeps getting BIGGER .  The latter number keeps getting SMALLER .  Knowing this, it should change the way we love . It should change the way we live. The time is short and it is even shorter than last week.  The debt we owe for what God did fo...

Being a transformed, renewed-mind Christian has consequences. It matters to the individual and to the republic. God invented authority.  Fortunately, the His fingerprints of this order flow down to the church, the family, marriages, the workplace and here today: GOVERNMENT.  Christians have a high call of the heart, hands and wallet as to our right relationship with government. Listen 7 minutes to...

In playing music there are a group of notes, & combination of notes that are harmonious with each other.  The goal is to be playing those good notes and to avoid the bad notes, the BROWN NOTES.  Paul is encouraging the harmony of fellowship: rejoice and weep together, be kind, even to your enemies. He also warns about avoiding the brown notes: don't be overcome by evil, don't avenge...

The SURVIVOR TV show has been surviving the 43 seasons since 2000.  Its' motto is OUTWIT, OUTPLAY and OUTLAST. It highlights the particular characteristics that contestants need to thrive on the island. Similarly, Paul highlights characteristics of successful Roman Christians: Outhonor, Outserve, Outpray, Outlast tribulation, Outgive, and Outlove.  Remember, God specifically equips His specif...

Today we focus on the greatest organization in the world, the greatest organization in the history of the world, and the greatest organization in the world to come.  It is the body of Christ.  The amazing thing is that we get to be a part of it. To function well in it, God gifts individuals so as to function well in this organization.  It functions cheerfully, zealously, generously, with teaching,...

Scripture asks that we build beauty internally .  That is a non-conformed, fighting, tested, transformed mind. Scripture also asks that we build beauty externally . That is behavior, actions, tongues, and zippers that demonstrate a changed mind.  Both the internal and the external parts are difficult . We best remember that before it was hard on us, it was hard on God.  Before it costs us somethin...

Our spiritual walks have a transforming of our mind that is described as a testing.  Lots of Christianity is battled between our ears.  Then, the renewal mentally is to be enacted in our behaviors and the actions of our bodies. That is described as a SACRIFICE.  Both are supposed to be hard. David, our favorite knucklehead from the Old Testament, declares a Census against God's will.  9 month...

There are passages that cost  God more, but this is the passage that costs  US the most: Romans 12:1.  It is the most  expensive passage in the Bible. It talks of being shaped differently; of behavior that is different, and of a mind that is changed. All of this comes at great cost to the believer and is described as a  SACRIFICE. Sacrifice means that it comes expensively. Listen 7 minutes.  It wi...

Ethnic Israel, the Jewish people, are valued, called, gifted, honored, elect, beloved and not forgotten by God. Regarding Jesus, they don't quite get it just yet. But God is not finished with ethnic Israel, as He has a "MERCY FACTORY" ready for them. The factory has inputs of disobedience and outputs of mercy. The Gentiles are in that factory now, and the Jews are scheduled for merc...

Our attention is directed towards the KINDNESS OF GOD today.  We are to note it; give our attention; and think about out it. Let's first note it, but then let's not stop there.  Let's appreciate and give God a thank-you for His kindness.  Further, how about if we continue in His kindness?  Rm 2:4 reminds us that God's kindness is to lead us to repentance .  Finally, let's...

When a Cacao farmer grafts in fruit bearing branches onto good rootstock, what exactly is he after? The glorious answer is CHOCOLATE. The picture in Romans 11 is "faith-Israel" being grafted onto the rootstock of "ethnic-Israel" by the sovereign hand of God.  It is for His ultimate glory and purpose.  In the meantime, it is for CHOCOLATE.  Listen 7 minutes with me as we visit t...

When people on the outside see the kindness of God displayed upon another people group, it gets their attention.  They notice the activity, the favor, the discipline and the presence of God on the other side of the fence.  When they see it, they desire it. God is also using the trespass of ethnic Israel to bring salvation to the new group of "faith-Israel", AKA the Gentiles. The trespass...

It is not something you say everyday. "You have beautiful feet."  It is someone who is out there; someone who is active; someone who is at the pointy-end of spiritual activity. Christianity is easy.  It just involves something you can do interiorly. But there is a lot that goes into that process.  Those people that help that process are the ones with beautiful feet.  Find and recognize t...

Is a friendship with God even possible? Is it too far away; too not-understandable; too lofty or too out of reach? Today, He'll answer, " I am a God who is NEAR and who WANTS to be friends with you." In fact, He's gone to great trouble to be friends with you. Listen today as we learn the story of friendship with God and friendship between two first graders.  Both conclude with....

Jesus offends me.  He's like a big rock in the road. He's a big stone to stumble over.  That is exactly the point. The big question is what will you do with your offense?  Listen just 7 minutes to learn a right way and a wrong way to turn after you crash into Jesus.  The offense is not suppose to be the END, it is supposed to be the BEGINNING. And come back tomorrow by subscribing at bew...

A friend of mine enthusiastically came to Bible study early one morning  while he was having a stroke.  That's right, he wasn't moving his left arm.  The rest of us freaked out, and he was on the way to the ER, but AFTER the Bible study. You see, he was late to belief and knew he had limited time left on this earth.  He wanted to learn everything, and serve everyone, and love the Lord  N...

This is the most anticipated podcast in the book of Romans, at least by me.  Listen 7 minutes to find out what God is doing NOW with people who are READY and WAITING for His just wrath. The answer may surprise you.   Similarly, there is a call for those whose wrath is being borne by another (Jesus). For people in the faith of God, they see a characteristic of His in a new way.  They get a revelati...

What is the " posture of election?"  That is, what is the posture of a man as he encounters the sovereignty of God? We can shake our fist at God and complain: "Why have you made me like this!#@%&" Or, we can humbly approach and honestly inquire, "Why have you made me like this?" In other words, we can as  if we are made of clay. We can ask the same question with t...

Earlier this morning, I asked of the Lord two things.  I knew I was stealing the requests from Moses in Ex 33, "Show us your glory " and "Show us your ways ." I figured if the request was good enough for Moses, it was good enough for us as we wrestle with the principle of the Lord's election. What I did not know, was when the Lord answered Moses way back in Ex 33, He answe...

A working definition of election is God saying, "Hey, I have been thinking about you." this captures the heart behind election.  Today we'll layer on some more truths by first accusing and then disabusing the notion of : "GOD IS NOT JUST." Well, God IS indeed just.  If there is an understanding that God is NOT just, it is our mis understanding.  Let's put in the work...

Paul says he'd give up his  most valuable thing so that his ethnic brothers and sisters would become his FAITH brothers and sisters.  He praises the Jews as occupying an honored place in history: The "First Nation" status with God. Adopted into His family first. Glory getters. First to see some of God's unique characteristics revealed Covenant makers. At least God kept His end...

Paul is rock-solid-sure that GOD IS FOR US. He's been for us, He is for us, He will be for us. The timeline of God's activity cannot be separated from the source of His activity, HIS LOVE. Our interaction with God's activity cannot be separated from the source of His activity, HIS LOVE.  The strength of attachment to His activity cannot be separated from the characteristic of His ac...

The bad news is that I may be a person who is out of comfort; out of peace; out of food; out of clothes; out of safety and even out of life.  To make it worse, I may find myself condemned, charged and opposed. The bigger good news is that I am a person who GOD IS FOR.  What else could compare? I am of a people who God is interceding for. I am of a family that is justified before Him. I am of a chu...

Join me today as we tackle ELECTION.  Here's my (knuckleheaded podcaster) understanding of it: Election is God saying to us, "Hey, I've been thinking about you."  and "I am FOR YOU."  And "BTW,  I've been thinking about you BEFORE (calling, foreknowledge) DURING (justification) and AFTER(conforming to image of Christ all the way to glory) your moment of salv...