Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

When you have LOST EVERYTHING where might we FIND YOU? For Paul, he is ultimately found in the arms of Christ.  For Paul, he had a lot to lose.  Conveniently, he lists it all for our benefit.  There are shipwrecks, beatings and being left for dead.  There are dangers and deceptions that he battles all along.  Of note, he's only about 2/3rds of the way thru his Christian walk and we know that...

Christianity in many ways, is an  inconvenient truth. It's message is one of sin, error, the necessity of change, suffering, death, and sacrifice.  The so called, "super-apostles" dodge the inconvenient parts for a slicker, more profitable message.  There is only one problem: it isn't TRUE What is it then, that makes this inconvenient truth WINSOME? That it is true. There is no...

The so called "Super-Apostles" turn out to be not very super and certainly not apostles.  In fact, they are deceivers who are beguiling people just like Satan did to Eve in the Garden of Eden. They come in disguise. They come disguised as apostles, Christians, in the family, on mission, and as servants for the King.  In truth, they are the opposite of all those things.   Unlike Eve, let&...

You have a spiritual area of influence.  God divvies up His kingdom into bite-sized pieces of real estate and then assigns them to individuals.  YOU are MAYOR over one of these pieces of the kingdom.   Like a real place, there are people there among whom you have an inordinate amount of influence.  You are to occupy this land, be faithful with your assignment, prioritize people, and possibly enlar...

Spiritual authority is tricky business.  It is tricky for the leaders, and it is tricky for the followers.  What it is not, is  optional. Because it is critical, it is important that it is  exercised  carefully by the leaders.  That is the goldilocks part: Start with just the right amounts of humility and add occasional boldness, all the while before the watchful eye of God. It is also important t...

Christianity is at war. It is in a war of ideas, thoughts, opinions, pride and of the heart.  Those things result in behaviors. Paul is fighting with meekness, humility, and lowliness + DIVINE power to have success.  He is being mis-understood in today's passage for the way he is doing battle.  Make no mistake.  Paul KNOWS he is in a fight.  He knows he is at war. Likely, you'll be on a...

Join me for 7 minutes today as we see what Cesar Millan, Paul and Jesus have in common. They all have ultimate power and authority in each of their realms.  However, each chooses to be gentle and lowly of heart .  The reason isn't because of powerlessness or cluelessness.  Each understands what is at stake. And, it is exactly because they understand that each chooses a posture of humility and...

If you prayed for me and this podcast, it would be the most valuable thing in the world.  That's because, if prayer is true, and God is real, and He really listens, then prayer is other-worldly.  It unleashes an intergalactic power that goes way beyond THIS world. So I believe in prayer. I value prayer. It is beyond price of this world.  There are no coins here that can buy it.  There are no...

What if BEING generous results in GETTING the most valuable commodity in the world? What if giving what you cannot keep gains what you can not EARN?   (Thank you  Jim Elliott.) A valuable thing IN THIS WORLD is PRAYER.  Perhaps it is the most valuable thing. It connects the needs and ache and despair of this world to another world. It asks of God to come and help us.  It is certainly priceless to...

We are stewards of the generosity of God.  He started the whole process by being generous with us in a myriad of ways.  He asks for a response to HIS generosity which is to be OUR generosity.   He tells us, if we do this right, He's gonna LOVE IT. And, in the meantime, in real time, HE'S IN IT.  He's doing His part in "making bread" and giving us the abilities to get resou...

We find out in today's podcast something that God LOVES.  We discover the HEART OF GOD.  We learn what PLEASES Him. Here it is: What I do with MY HEART in relation to giving.  Do I do the right thing  "deciding in my heart" regarding giving? How are the decisions of MY HEART related to pleasing GOD'S HEART. Join me for 7 minutes in listening carefully about something we can do...

"My heart goes out to you."  Really? How so? Can I  measure it ? Can I quantify it?  Remember when the Grinch's heart grew 3 sizes?  Did it grow big enough to change his behavior and giving? Did it grow large enough to include other people in its' scope? Was the growth PROVABLE? Paul asks the same question of the Corinthians.  "Is your readiness, willingness and theoretica...

I hope that you are surrounded by people in whom God has done something remarkable in their HEARTS.  Then, I hope you get to SEE them weilding their gifts in the church.  Sometimes these places are SECRET, or at least UNSEEN.  This is the genius of God as it is worked out in His real people, in real churches. Today is a call towards the winsome, desirable, and admirable people of God.  I hope that...

Good giving is modeled (by Christ) ongoing (you'll struggle with it this year and every year til you die) is primarily a matter of the heart (volitional) is primarily a matter of the hands (practical) is not compelled (it is voluntary, that's how it tests us) pleasing (God calls it acceptable) is real (we are talking about exactly what you have; not what you don't have) h umble (we...

Don't miss this truth. It is critically important.  It will benefit you and others. But wait! It is about MONEY and giving and generosity.   The Corinthians get compared with another church's example of GIVING.  They get some crazy math of: severe affliction + abundant joy + extreme poverty = overflowing generosity on their part.   Importantly, they didn't start their giving with th...

All our little and big thoughts are done IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.  How we relate to our leaders is all bare for God to see.  We ask IF we will be "tended", and WHO will tend us before God's view. Sometimes our rebellion is known to everyone but ourselves.  We can be the last to know. Join me for 7 minutes as we think about our relationship to our spiritual leaders.  How can we best refr...

Worldly grief is the saddest thing in our world.  Godly grief is the best thing in the world.  The Corinthians are recognized and praised for 'doing grief right'.  There is a lot to learn about godly grief: it is primarily SELF grief; directed at my self-sickness it is a rebuke with RESULTS; it PRODUCES something; it is FRUITFUL grief it starts with agreeing with the FACTS it leads to FE...

After recalling a hit-parade of God's promises, Paul tells us how to live. Because people are prickly, repentance and grief are going to be required both with God and man.   What caught my eye in today's passage was that the call to 'widen your hearts toward us' had a time stamp on it. That is, UNTIL DEATH.  Paul's commitment to this people group was until his end.  I supp...

To the unmarried, un-yoked young people, my prayer is: "Let them have EYES FOR YOU and let them have EYES FOR OTHERS THAT HAVE EYES FOR YOU." This is the product of an indwelling reality. The reality is pretty awesome: Being the Temple of God; God making His dwelling  among us; God walking with us; He welcomes us; He will be our God and we His people. He will be a Father to us, and we so...

Tough listen today. On a plane: We have to start with one of my favorite NT verses “In a day of salvation I have helped you.” Though something is required of the new believer, he or she is also getting divine assistance.  Heavenly Help comes at the moment of greatest need: the pointy end of spiritual conviction. Then Paul makes a list that his critics were using to DIS-qualify his ministry.  Inste...

There is a divine "ACCOUNTING" that is grossly in our favor.  From our standpoint, our sins are transferred to Jesus; His righteousness is accounted to us.  Good deal. From Jesus' position, though He was sinless, the Sins of believers were transferred to Him and His righteousness is imputed to all believers.  Bad deal. One of my responses is Yahoo! This divine accounting has worked...

Jesus becomes something He was not (sin-marred) so we could become something we are not (right before God).  Jesus was found to be sin so we could be found in Him. Join me for 7 minutes as we swim in thunderously deep waters of wonder.  You'll see the HEART of God; The CREATIVITY of God; The ability of God; and the WILLINGNESS of God,  I know all the verses of the Bible are good, but this one...

We are charged to be AMBASSADORS.  That is, we are to carry a message to the world.  The world is just a fancy term for one individual after another.  God comes primarily to people one at a time. The message is one of reconciliation.  We can be right with God and be restored.  Guess who wandered away?  Guess who violated the contract?  Guess who has a crime that needs to be paid for?   Today then,...

Paul goes ALL-IN with his relationship with Jesus.  He bets big.  He bets it ALL.   He commits to living a life of PERSUASION.  All his priorities center around a message of reconciliation with the Almighty.  He de-prioritizes profit, position, and appearances for the ongoing pounding home of the gospel.  He longs for his real home, that is HEAVEN, but in the meantime, as long as the Lord gives hi...

There is only one PLACE left on Paul's BUCKET LIST. And there is only one PERSON left on hist bucket list. Paul says he longs to be AWAY from here, so he can go to his real desire: to be HOME with The Lord. This earthly tent is a little groan-y.  Our heavenly home is one of glory. Join me as we hear Paul's desire to be really really HOME and finish his bucket list. Bewithme.us is where y...