Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Yesterday, we ended with our hands over our MOUTHS with every person 100% accountable to Him.  Today, we end with our hands over our HEARTS in that He does not leave us like that.  He makes a way back to Him.  Even though we START from a very unpalatable truth: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," we don't END there. The end is that there is a rescue. There is a way...

If you are a person living with enough "spiritual leisure" to ask the question, "Is God JUST in His WRATH?", then you are a person with enough "spiritual leisure" to figure out that 100% of us are sinful and knowledgable enough to be accountable. The end point of today is to shut up. Paul says when we get our arms around this concept, we should put a STOP SIGN over ou...

Maybe you've asked this question: Is God  unjust in that He punishes sin? or "Is God  unrighteous to inflict  wrath upon us?" If so, you are in good company. Paul himself asks this very question so that he can answer it to the Romans.  It is a  very good question.  Let's first respect the question. Then, let's respect the answer.  The observation is definitely correct.  Go...

Eve said regarding being pregnant, "With the help of the Lord I have brought forth a man." Similarly, we can say, "With the help of the Lord I am in the family of God."  That is, it is by the Spirit that we have identity into the chosen people of God.  So this changes everything.  It re-frames how we should be thinking about God's people, and the  markers  of God's pe...

What if I don't know the moral law that is in the Bible?  Don't worry, God WROTE IT ON YOUR HEART anyway, so you know it already.  Your conscience bears witness to it.  It is something that God gifts to everybody. The Law just details it so as to convict you just a little bit faster.  But for those who have the law outside or inside, they are basically both in the same boat. It is good n...

If all you knew about Christianity was that it was JUST, and the God who ran the show judged and punished righteously it probably would scare you to death.  Because of sin and rebellion, what awaits  everybody*   would then be wrath, fury, tribulation and distress. How about excuses? The dog ate my homework? I didn't know? Why didn't you tell me? Through creation, God has already said, &...

God is  rich in kindness, forbearance and patience. Big deal. Yawn. Worse yet, let me even abuse His goodness by my mis-thinking and by my mis-deeds. We don't see classic wrath just yet.  We don't witness people being appropriately punished right after their particular crimes.  There is a GAP between  SIN and WRATH.    I see this better visually:  SIN........................................

This is a  very unpalatable section of scripture.  It talks a bit about wrath and perhaps the worst four words in the Bible: "God gave them up."  Now it is not done without appropriate provocation.  That is, it is perfectly just and right and even holy.  People are without excuse.  The parts of creation, that you have captured on your phone alone, indict you enough to  knowing God .  Kno...

To find God today, we don't need to go to a church, or read the Bible. All we need to do is to scroll thru the PHOTOS ON our PHONES.  He has  already shown Himself to us .  And, we probably  took a picture of it. Romans says that the attributes of God are clearly seen in the things He's made. He's been showing you some of those wonders as you have walked through life.  The exercise...

Wrath is the holy disposition of God's mind toward anger and justice as an appropriate response to sin. Wrath is the holy disposition of God's actions  toward justice and punishment as an appropriate response to rebellion. He doesn't like sin and we should be loving Him for it.   Wrath is a bit of a theme of Romans.  Wrath is the beginning of  rescue.  Wrath is the end of  rebellion...

Why might I be ASHAMED of the Gospel ? (The Gospel is the holy, perfect righteousness of God's essential character being demonstrated by God's activity toward not-very-righteous mankind) If I love the world too much , I might be ashamed of this otherwise good news.  The world opposes, mocks, shames, ridicules and reviles the gospel and those that hold it dear. They'll revile me too....

God has been perfect for a long time.  Let's call this His righteousness. He could have decided to keep this characteristic of Himself a big secret from us, but He chose to reveal it.  He decides to reveal  His righteousness by His actions. That is, the righteousness OF God (His essential character) is shown to us by the righteousness FROM God (His actions, plans, and gospel).  His activities...

Paul is EAGER to  visit  and to  pray for the Romans  because he is EAGER FOR THEM. The people in the church at Rome are loved by God.  God also expanded Paul's HEART to include the "area" (ie: people) of the people in Rome.  May our hearts similarly grow. This eagerness is manifested in prayer.  He has some things he is specifically THANKFUL for.  He has some desires that he puts b...

Romans is an ELEPHANT of spiritual truth.  It sits as a formidable beast of length and depth and size in.  I was terrified to the task of tackling this on this blog/podcast until I realized this:  IT IS AN ELEPHANT MEANT TO BE EATEN. It is here for us. It is here for now. It is meant to be consumed. That is why God put it here. Here is the call: eat this elephant with me.  He'll help us.  He&...

Join me for a 7 minute summary of 2 Corinthians.  It's a teaser in reverse.  It demonstrates: The MESSAGE of God and all that means for the people The MESSENGER who ultimately is a Jar of Clay carrying this treasure.  He's even got a thorn that won't go away to remind him. This messenger The METHOD is a master-class on the humble, gentle use of authority. Sometimes truth is best hea...

Paul gives 3 BITE-SIZED tastes of the triune God for the Corinthians to experience as he closes 2 Cor. It is not  everything  there is to know about God, but it is  enough . He blesses them and asks that these 3 characteristics BE WITH THEM. Sounds like a Podcast. The GRACE of Jesus. The winsomeness, attractiveness and the favor of Jesus has to come up in every conversation about sin, death, suffe...

My bicycle tires ASSUME injury and their need for restoration.  They are filled with Goo that searches out a breach and heals it--all without even pausing in their main purpose: keep rolling along. (I went a whole YEAR once without a known flat!) Similarly, Paul charges the Corinthians to AIM FOR RESTORATION. Behind that is knowing the church is made up of people who all started by "doing wha...

Sometimes it is best to use our INVISIBILITY CLOAKs to show parts that are better seen: I put the invisibility cloak over my POWER so you'll see my WEAKNESS I put the invisibility cloak over my authority so you'll see my MEEKNESS I put the invisibility cloak over my BOLDNESS so you'll see my HUMILITY I put the invisibility cloak over my SEVERITY so you'll see my GENTLENESS List...

Are you a Christian? How would we test this? How do we know we are in the faith?   Here are some criteria: SIN. Has your sin struck you? do you loathe it? Have you been cut to the heart about it?  This is step one. DIRECTION. Have you agreed with God about step one and then TURNED in a different direction? This is repentance and is step two. PERSON. We are supposed to be possessed, in a good way b...

Welcome to Paul's MASTERCLASS of the right use of authority in the church. It is given starting from the Corinthian congregation's question of, "Who is the BOSS OF ME?"  Don't you want a leader who starts with HUMILITY, GENTLENESS and MEEKNESS just like Christ? (Yes. 2Cor 10:1) Don't you want a leader who is FOR YOU; who is SPENT FOR YOUR SOUL; whose priority is for y...

We look today at the heart of our true earthly shepherds.   They are FOR US they defend themselves primarily BEFORE GOD, and secondarily before man They seek not our stuff, but US They gladly spend and are spent FOR US They start with meekness and gentleness exampled by Christ They bear, not cause, burdens. They are ready to be humbled and to mourn Their hearts are wide open to us They have us in...

What would you spend for an intact soul, especially if it was your own? I cannot imagine any answer other than: EVERYTHING.  The Pastor of the Corinthians agrees, and is willing to SPEND ($) and BE SPENT (life, energy, effort, time) for their souls.  May we be shepherded and taught by such men of character and generosity.  I hope your Pastor is like this.  If you don't have a man like this in...

Join me as we let  scripture inform our prayers.  We will take a concept from 2000 years ago and let it pour out into modernity. Specifically, we'll think of our personal stories, the story only we can tell, and see if God's grace is indeed sufficient.  Each of us has our history and our present circumstance that we bring to God.  There undoubtedly are painful thorns, pleading prayers th...

We all want to get to God's Presence and enjoy His power.  So what are the steps to this spiritual sufficiency? Pauls tells his spiritual story: Personal: it is a spiritual story that only he can tell. It's unique Painful: he describes it as an ongoing THORN. Enough said Pleading: it results in repeated prayers of passion to God Platform: this "spiritual-topic" for him is his b...

Has anybody spiritually cared for you like a parent cares for their child?  Have they had a "spiritual anxiety" over you?  Do they feel your pains as their pains? Do they not know where their heart stops and your's begins? If you find a Pastor like that, you probably have the right guy.  In general, we are not supposed to be anxious, especially for ourselves. Phil 4:6. However, ther...