Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Anyone outside of FELLOWSHIP is in CRISIS.  There is essentially NO SUCH THING in the functioning Body of Christ. Fellowship is defined today as sitting KNEE TO KNEE with those in His church. When Saul is converted, he has no Christian friends.  ZERO.  Nada. In fact, he's been arresting those who "call on His name."  Technically, Saul should arrest himself, but that is another matte...

Saul, like lots of people, thinks Jesus is definitely dead and definitely NOT resurrected.  His actions of murderous threats, accessory to murder, probable murder, murderous consent, imprisoning, and beating followers of Jesus are perfectly consistent with his thoughts.  Then Jesus shows up. After hearing His voice, he still cannot believe it. "Who are you, Lord?"  A: "I am Jesus&qu...

1. The first thing to KNOW is that Jesus is in every Old Testament Book. 2. The first thing to LEARN is about the Good News of Jesus. 3. The first thing to OBEY is to be BAPTIZED.  If you BEG FOR IT, you are probably understanding it perfectly. Phillip teaches the Eunuch from Ethiopia on a 100 day trip back home from Jerusalem.  We don't know how long it takes, but we know where they started:...

Real belief usually starts with real questions.  If the physical world we live in has crashed into the spiritual world, you'll likely have some questions.  If God really really really has come down, you'll have a few inquires about it.  If you are introduced to Jesus 'one day,' you will want to know about the thousands of years of planning that went into that moment. Do you hav...

If you read the book of Isaiah, you likely will get to a few sections where the writer refers to a person not HISTORICALLY, but in a future PROPHETICALLY.  He wrote this stuff down in 740BC that was to come true in 33AD.  Today we see a real guy, making a real inquiry of Phillip who the Lord sent to answer his questions.  He is reading Isaiah and in in one of the sections that points forward to th...

A man is on an 8 month pilgrimage to Jerusalem.  It is where His people live.  It is where His temple is.  It is incredibly important for Jews and for devout, God-fearing gentiles. How'd you like to have everybody down through history know that you had your testicles cut off, but NOT KNOW YOUR NAME.  We find that here in this really cool man: the Ethiopian EUNUCH. He has travelled the same di...

Simon, a brand new believer, messes up. This is pretty much like every new believer that I have ever met, so don't be discouraged.  He gets a rebuke from Peter that is incredibly thorough.  So, THEN WHAT?  How does he respond?  Stick around and find out in 7 minutes. Simon starts strong, with belief and baptism.  Have you believed? Have you been baptized?  But his heart isn't pure, his t...

The gospel eventually has to "go on the road from Jerusalem."  It first goes with Philip to Samaria.  It is there where we find what happens when "self-greatness" gets swallowed up by REAL GREATNESS. Simon is a real  guy who thinks he is really something.  In fact, people around him think so too. But what happens when the junior-great-amazer encounters the REAL-GREAT-AMAZER? He...

Today we move from the 1st martyr (Stephen), to the 1st persecution of the Church.  It is called a RAVAGING.  It is the 1st Ravaging.  It results in the 1st Scattering and the 1st geographically displaced evangelist (Phillip). Some New Christians were getting their houses searched, being captured and dragged off.  It must not have been fun.  Perhaps they were wondering whether God fell off His thr...

With the stoning of Stephen everything changes.  It becomes OK to persecute the FOLLOWERS of Jesus unto DEATH.  This gets everybody's attention in Jerusalem to the point that they are scattered to the world.   Up to this point in Acts, the WORLD has come to Jerusalem.  Now, Jerusalem believers go to the WORLD.  Stephen catalyses this change in the ministry model.   For believers, don't b...

Between the moment you DECIDE to have a ROCK throwing event, and you actually THROW a rock, some stuff has got to happen.  You have to FIND GOOD ROCKS.  You have to change locations and position.  You have to take off your JACKET.  You have to find somebody to take care of your jacket so it is not stolen or misplaced.  You may have to trash-talk a little.  THEN you throw a rock. So, there is TIME....

I'm 60% sure it was DL Moody who when finding out he was terminal said, "Gather my children about me and I will teach them how to die." Stephen gives us a crash course in Acts 7.  The people around him were not listening to his 'lesson', they literally had their fingers in their ears.  Let's do a better job hearing his wisdom. 1. Be full of the Holy Spirit: die a beli...

Stephen gets CANCELLED in 33AD. They STOP THEIR EARS.  They stick their fingers in their ears and loudly say, "Nanny nanny poo poo, I'm not listening, I'M NOT LISTENING!" The marketplace of ideas is closed for the season.  They actively, actionably, overtly STOP listening.  Must have been weird.  Isn't Stephen supposed to be a bearer of the GOOD NEWS?  Yup.  But first, he...

"Luke, I AM your father." It is one of the great revelation moments in the Star Wars epic.  The problem is, it is DARTH VADER who is speaking.  Luke finds out that his heritage is one of ongoing, unspeakable evil.  He finds out the stock that he is from.  In today's podcast, so do the leaders of Jerusalem.   It is not God's fault:  He has consistently sent opportunities, and Hi...

Stephen is summarizing 2000 years of mankind's response to the call of God.  It is not a pretty picture.  Repeatedly, they cry out: "You are NOT THE BOSS OF ME."   All along, we see a history of God that is quite flattering.  "I have seen.  I have heard. I have come down.  I deliver. I have sent.  I will be with you." He does so with Patriarchs, promises, covenants and His...

Stephen goes from being a FREE man, to a SEIZED man, to a STONED man in a very short window of time.  Watch as God is with him in a way so real that even the bad guys around him note that he has a face like that "of an angel".  To those watching, it would have been awe-filled, other-worldly, and terrifying.   In Stephen's hour of need, the Lord is with him in an intimate way.  His w...

There is a newly formed, giant BALLOON of believers forming in Jerusalem.  In it are all the devout Jewish people from all over the world who have chosen to return to Jerusalem to follow the One true God.  There are also non-Jews, Gentiles who have decided God is the real deal.  They are proselytes, those who have converted to Judaism.  Because God has been incredibly geographic, national, and loc...

Has your church failed you?  Do you have complaints against your church? If so, you are not the first.  It is on the first page of book of the church (Acts). It is also here in Chapter 6.  But here is the challenge: YOU will likely be a part of the solution.  It will be an all-hands-on-deck situation.  YOUR HANDS will be the hands of the church. A legitimate complaint is brought regarding a distin...

Matthais has been an Apostle for just a few days.  He immediately gets arrested, imprisoned, interrogated, detained strongly, and then here today BEATEN.  What a ride.  Rather than be discouraged, he REJOICED with the other 11 Apostles, for being recognized as being with Jesus.  "I'm with Him".   He is privileged to suffer for the name of Jesus.  He goes to bed that night probably s...

Peter and the other arrestees are  un-arrested.  Those who arrested the apostles are now arrested themselves by favor of the people.  They cannot do what they want.  The people have turned enough to actually protect the Apostles.   Today we learn of the activity of the Father, Son and Spirit in helping the believer.  Our passage says that Jesus is exalted "to give repentance."  Wait, I d...

The work of an angel charmed me today.  He worked UNBEKNOWNST to person, place or thing.  A guard was there and did not notice.  He was standing in the (likely) exact place of the angelic activity.  There was an intact, secure lock on the door that provided no impediment to the purposes of the angel.  I wonder about the unbeknownst-ness of angels today.  We know they are out there and doing stuff,...

Everything is going swimmingly.  The Holy Spirit is going ballistic.  Even Peter's  shadow has power to heal bodies and minds.  The other apostles  hands  are doing wonders.  No surprise,  multitudes  are being added to the LORD and are enjoying the togetherness of the church.  This is what is expected out the the book of ACTS.  And then this happens: "None of the rest DARED join them.&q...

A whole marriage gets killed at the end of this story.  Now that we hear about it, we are going to be responsible for the reason WHY.  Yikes.  Let's pay heed and not do what they do. A whole marriage agrees to lie to men and God about how much land was sold for. It is the world's smallest conspiracy.  They agree to sell.  They agree to lie about the amount.  Then they stick to their stor...

So there's a guy named JOE.  But they don't or won't call him Joe because of his behavior.  His courage has so affected others that they call him, "Son of Encouragement", that is, Barnabas. Here we see one of his 'categories' of encouragement: it is with being a generous GIVER. His money is where his mouth is.  Better, his money is where his heart and soul are. ...

Oh for  spiritual friends to lift our voices together to the One true God. May the Holy Spirit help us bring scripture to mind to help us make sense of the moment. Lord, You are at work, and I want to be a part of it! I voice my trust in Your activity here.  Let me participate in the building of Your kingdom.  Do what Your hand and Your plan desire. Grant me a voice to speak with boldness in align...