Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Who am I to judge? Today, you are EXACTLY the right person to judge.  Better you today, than the Lord tomorrow.  This is the courage of the Christian life.  Be encouraged today to ask 'what you may be wrong about.'  When we come to the Lord's table, guess what, we  could be doing it wrong.  We can be despising the correct PRACTICE of God; despising the PEOPLE of God; and therefore d...

There is a human condition of near perfect autobiographical memory called HYPERTHYMESIA. That is, a person remembers EVERYTHING that ever happened to them.  Of note, almost every one of the few people that have hyperthmymesia (61) share a common situation: they are DIVORCED.  Of course they are , they cannot forget the wrongs done to them by their spouse.  Fortunately, God chooses to NOT BE a hype...

We should be coming to the Lord's Table of bread and cup.  We should be coming in the right way.  If so, we should be "producing" the right ending of worship and proclamation. We'll have a excellent bad example in our Corinthian brothers and sisters.  They thought their divisions, distinctions and despising were the main thing.  They FORGOT Good Friday.   They forgot the sacrif...

Do you DESPISE the Church of God?  It means to look down on someone or something to DEVALUE it.  You might be doing so to the Church of God if you: think it is an OPTIONAL Church Think it is a VIRTUAL Church Think it is an ACADEMIC Church Think it is an IMAGINARY Church Don't think about it at ALL Think it is an UNACCOUNTABL Church Think it is a FORGETFUL Church Think it is an ISOLATED Church...

There is a way for wives to adorn themselves that makes God look good; makes their husband look good; makes themselves look good and makes marriage look good.  It is headship. Granted, people have understood this wrongly and modeled it even worse.  Husbands also get this wrong, if they abuse or abdicate their headship. But fortunately those are not the heads we are to look to: it is CHRIST.  He di...

For some, this is the most difficult part of the whole Bible.  Headship-Authority-Submission-Order-Following-Leading-Care-Provision can make men or women BRISTLE. We can do this area WRONG.  The Corinthians did. We can disgrace ourselves, declare ourselves inaccurately independent, and can say, "I WON'T" to the teaching.  We can abdicate our position, abuse the authority, and deny o...

To "give God GLORY" means to give Him WEIGHT. To make Him heavy or significant.  Let Him be a heavy influence on your thoughts and actions.  Today's passage is a great example of letting the main thing, THE WEIGHT OF GOD, be the #1 priority. Priority #2 is people.  Life is hard enough, and the spiritual life is hard enough, without you purposefully "sticking your thumb in the e...

I love hanging out with "Recovering Alcoholics." They don't refer to themselves as having reached an endpoint of "Being Recovered." They know how to FLEE. There is in this group a real humility, gratefulness, and an appreciation of their other brethren.  It is a real fellowship. In other words, it is very similar to saved Christians.  They also are humble, appreciative and...

If you are feeling tempted and overwhelmed, this 7 minute podcast is for you.  If you are wondering exactly how to stand up under temptation, please listen.  If you wonder where God is during the hard times, then you have come to the right passage. You are NOT alone during temptation.  You are not the first to be seized by this temptation. God is not the SOURCE of temptation, but He is the SOLUTIO...

Some crazy violent stuff happens in the Old Testament. I wonder why? Two conclusions can be drawn:  The first is, "I don't like the God of the Old Testament."  You'd be in good company, as the people of God were in an almost constant state of rebellion towards Him back then in real time. This demonstrates an accusation against God's actions, character and sovereignty.  The...

Am I desiring evil like the people of the Old Testament? Is God pleased? Does God even have the right to ask these questions? What do the examples of the Old Testament do for us today? What about the violence and catastrophes of the people of God? As you suspected, the letter to the Corinthians addresses all of these issues in chapter 10.   Join me in reading this little blog, but really join me f...

Because everything is at stake, some discipline is best applied.  That is, a dose of discipline will keep a person from being  disqualified .  Think of this: self-control is one of the ingredients that keeps you on the playing field of Christianity.   Our bodily desires can run amok without self-command.  If you do not know which could be your downfall, just ask those around you.  A few to conside...

People are the prize.  Winning people is the reward. They are worth using all means to first GAIN A HEARING, so as to second, WIN them to Christ. This is an active effort; this is strategic; this is done with insight and understanding; and it is done with the goal in mind. Paul demonstrates this towards the financially judgmental, the Jews, the non-Jews and the weak group.  It really could apply t...

Paul makes a great argument about paying pastors.  It is through. It is long. It is unassailable. When he is through, he trashes his own logic and says he is not going to EXERCISE A RIGHT THAT HE HAS EARNED.  This is on theme for other topics he has addressed, specifically marriage and eating.  His purpose is to give the GOSPEL the highest priority in his life.  That is, if claiming a salary might...

We can DEVOUR people by the way we DEVOUR food.  Those who are knowledgeable must be very careful in the application of their knowledge. At risk is people, weaker people;  Brothers and sisters that can be destroyed and led into unnecessary sin. Let's vow for the people we walk with.  Let's prioritize men and women more than our being "right" in our knowledge.  Good theology is...

Our response to areas of liberty should be informed by LOVE.  LET LOVE LEAD is not a bad way to understand the ending point. The topic of the day is food and idols. Before we get into it, we take a 40,000 foot view of God's relationship with us.  That is, don't go pontificating about what we might EAT before standing in AWE that GOD KNOWS US. It will cause us pause.  We'll "put...

You gotta love the Bible in what it specifically addresses. Today, there is a rousing endorsement for the attraction, yes the sexual attraction of a not yet married couple.  So what about the sexual attraction of an engaged couple? Engagement is a commitment to being committed.  Marriage IS the commitment.  It comes with certain responsibilities of care, as the borders of one's world expand t...

Paul makes the charge that we should be living  single-heartedly,  whether we are married or single.  He wants us to be a little less of a divided heart or distracted.   There is an endorsement of both singleness or being married.  But keep in mind, the time is short, and that effects our relationship with spouses, emotions, stuff and the world. Let's laser beam our attention on being anxious...

The New Testament condemns earthly slavery.  The New Testament LOVES spiritual slavery.  It is a concept we best understand, for it is a common theme. The Greek word is doulos, and is better translated BONDSERVANT. The concept is that the believer is indebted to our new Master.  He has paid with precious coin of His blood to purchase us.  We are not our own.  We have been bought with a high price....

A faithful, enduring marriage is a witness and example. First, it is a witness to yourself. Second, it is a witness to the world.  Marriage is the only gospel some will ever read. Third, it is a witness to an unbelieving spouse.  If you have an unbelieving spouse, it means that a great miracle has happened in your marriage.  That is, it means that YOU have had God come down and give you belief/fai...

If we are to flee sexual immorality, then we are to RUN TO the sexual oasis of marriage. The picture is one of equality, reciprocity, dependence, and framed by a realistic world of temptation out there.  The call is to exclusivity, covenant, and to a generosity among husband and wife.  At marriage, there is a transfer of bodily RIGHTS and bodily AUTHORITY from one person to another.  This, when do...

The Corinthians are either ignorant or are choosing to ignore the Lord's truths about sex.  They probably first "forgot" that "YOU ARE NOT YOUR OWN, you were bought with a price."  Therefore, they forgot their stewardship of their bodies in light of God's ultimate ownership of them. I know few who have done their "zipper-life" well.  I know NONE who have don...

Remember just one thing today: You are NOT your own. It will ring in your head and your heart and your hands.  If it is true, it effects everything.   There is popular political slogan today, “My body, my choice.”  With all due respect, There is only one problem with it, however, and that is that it IS NOT TRUE.  Actually ½ of it IS true: that we do indeed have a choice.  The 1/2 that is NOT true...

Being a Christian should have some evidences in your life.  God has gone to great trouble to convict you, call you to repentance, work in baptism and then sanctify you over time.  There should be progressive spiritual growth in your behaviors and attitudes. Don't be discouraged.  Everybody has some initial horribleness in their life as they approach the throne.  If we did not, then Christ die...

Dispute-handling is a spiritual exercise. It reflects your belief system in a practical way.  It demonstrates what you think about God, His people, His gifting, and His ultimate Justice.  It is witnessed by those all around you in the church and outside of the church.  The way you handle conflict will leave a trail inside and outside the church.  Of course, the believers in Corinth are getting thi...