Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

There was a man who had a secret life and fooled everybody.  Everybody thought he "was one of us" and shared even in ministry.  But he didn't fool Jesus.  He knew all along.  Eventually, the whole world knows his nasty actions.  No one names their kid after this guy.  He was the last guy in history to have this name:  JUDAS. How did this happen?  Judas had lots of opportunities.  In...

An orchestra is a good example of what it means to be of 1 ACCORD.  It is a group that is literally one the same page, with the same timing, following the same leader, and producing one product with their many inputs.  This is the inspiring description of the early church when all of it could be squeezed into one room. They DEVOTED themselves to this.  They remained faithful in an intimate, sticky...

Between the resurrection and the ascension, Jesus could be seen, heard, touched.  Based on His cooking, I'm presuming He had taste and smell.  This is the body that Jesus took with Him into heaven.  Different, but a lot the same.  This probably tells us a little bit of what our resurrection and relocation to heaven might be/will be like. Also, the angel attendants tell us He is coming back in...

Today let’s listen to the LAST WORDS OF JESUS.  We probably should pay attention.  He’s in Jerusalem, after the resurrection.  He’s been around for 40 days and is leaving.  He said it was to our advantage that He leaves, but this is still very confusing for all of His followers. He promises POWER.  This is a fine thing.  Who doesn’t want some extra-special power?  But let’s be careful here.  What...

It is 33 AD.  Jesus has been around 40 days since the resurrection.  Dead people have arisen and joined the church.  Jesus has been telling everybody NOT TO GO ANYWHERE, something is going to happen here that you will want to be around for.   He is setting up the Holy Spirit.  From this moment onward, everything will be different.  The LOCATION of the place of God is going to be different.  The me...

The Old Testament is primarily about the character, activity, and interaction of the Person of the FATHER   with the people of God. The Gospels are primarily about the character, activity and interaction of the Person of JESUS with the people of God. The rest of the New Testament is primarily about the character, activity and interaction of the Person of the HOLY SPIRIT with the people of God. Tod...

This is the Last Podcast of Be With Me, at least in the Gospels.  We have come full-circle in the chronological life of Jesus.  We started 19 months ago in Luke 7.  That was 575 episodes ago.  I was startled this morning in finding out our verse for the day was again Luke 7:1.  Nobody told me this was going to be my last podcast when I woke up! (If you really want to listen to that first published...

Jesus ends a very pesky section of Scripture with the the even peskier, "You therefore must be  PERFECT..." Rather than this leading us to pride,  Listen today as it leads us to our KNEES. Perfect= mature, complete, not lacking any moral quality, fully developed.  It assumes not a magical end point, but more of a PROCESS of growth, a PROCESS of maturity, and a PROCESS of development. So...

The Lord asks us to make COMMON GRACE a little more common.  It is one of His characteristics.  It is a way that He demonstrates Himself to the world.  It is a way that He uses to make it easier for people to enter into His kingdom.   He reminds us that He uses creation in such a way: "He makes the sun rise on the evil."  He uses the blessings of this life in such a way: "He sends r...

Loving neighbors might be easy.  Loving and seeking the highest good for my enemies definitely is not.  Why might I want to participate in this activity? We are supposed to be involved in reflecting, resembling, and representing Jesus on this earth.  We are supposed to be bearing His image and here, doing what He did.  Why?  I'd say first, because He said so.  Second, because by bearing this...

There is a lot to do as a Christian.  One thing the Lord asks us NOT to concern ourselves with is RETALIATION.  Self-Justice.  Now don't worry, HE'S GOT THIS.  There is going to be perfect, holy, justice sprinkled with mercy and love and wrath and punishment, etc.  But we always get this wrong. So today, Jesus asks us to STAY OUT OF THE LANE OF RETALIATION.  This is His lane.  We have SO...

Make a promise. Keep a promise.  Say yes, mean yes.  Say no, mean no. Or, stick a few words in there that give support to your otherwise weak, untruthful words?!?!  Does saying, "I swear on the Bible", or "I swear on my mother's grave" prop up already weak words?  No.  Jesus is saying cut out the middle man.  Start with true words.  End with true actions.  Or, start with a...

Jesus says there is no "easy divorce." Consider this: the "easiest" way to get out of a marriage is DEATH.  That means that everything else is MORE DIFFICULT than death. Why is divorce so hard?  Well, here is the principle that it is founded upon. GOD DOES THE JOINING.  Yes, there are relational bonds, dna bonds (children), financial bonds, companionship bonds, and sexual bonds...

Osteosarcoma is a nasty bone tumor that grows aggressively, spreads aggressively, and basically it aggressively wants to kill you.  Similarly, little old lust has the same pattern. So rather than a response of, "It's no big deal. Everybody does it. I'm OK", today's passage sounds a loud alarm. Everybody you meet today is going to be wrestling with this issue.  Certainly, i...

Looking can lead to looking with lustful intent.  This is bad because it is equated with adultery. Who says so?  Jesus is clarifying the 10 commandmentsin his sermon on the mount.  We understand this to be so because He says so, and He is the author of the Old and New Testament truths.   Adultery is taking something that is not yours to take. This may be someone else's spouse or their future...

You won't like this lesson on anger anymore than yesterday's.  He goes all practical on us and reminds us that stuck human relationships can result in a stuck relationship with God.  He tells us that ongoing anger is equal to ongoing MURDER.  So, He doesn't want it in His church. Or, at least He wants us to major on the major and go first and fix our MURDER problem before coming to...

Listening to this podcast for 7 minutes will probably make you angry.  I'm angry that the Lord lowers the bar of murder all the way down to anger.  Specifically MY ANGER.  But I LIKE being angry sometimes.  I LIKE calling people names.  I LIKE wreaking havoc with my mouth every now and then.  I have always been like this.  I don't want to change.   Here is something you won't like: ...

Jesus says that if you don't do this task, you will NEVER enter the Kingdom of God.  We probably should pay pretty close attention to that task. What is it? Being BETTER in keeping all the Old Testament laws than the current world record holders of that sport: the Pharisees.  In fact Jesus says that even THEY don't make it.  The line exceeds what they accomplish.  In fact, it is perfecti...

Today in 7 minutes we assess our characteristics, our location and our purpose. We are to be a shiny, influential, purposeful person and group of people.  We are to be using our gifts and using them in the right way and in the right location. Today we look at ourselves via pictures of a CITY, a LAMP, and a bit of SALT.  You just gotta love Jesus.  Then we look at the place, the LOCATION of these i...

On the first day of the High School my kids went to, the seniors greeted the incoming freshman buses.  They cheered and encouraged the incoming freshmen.  Basically, they said, "you can do this...be encouraged...you can walk this walk...you can take the hardships...the reward is great!" It was a gauntlet of encouragement.  So are the beatitudes.  This is the final line. You are not the f...

The beatitudes are a little crazy.  They say that I am BLESSED if somebody REVILES me.  That is, they use the harshest verbal attacks possible.  The modifier is that my representation and reflection of Jesus' characteristics is such that it is not really an attack against ME, but against HIM.  It is for His sake. He tells us how to respond to REVILING in 1 Peter 2: 21-23.  He suffered in exac...

Persecution=Purchase, Possession & Presence Mt5:10 s4e126 Don’t be surprised if following Christ leads to some push back.  The holy living and the good news is all very confrontational.  At this very moment, brothers and sisters are being persecuted for their faith.  Ironically, it is one of the surest signs of the Lord’s purchase, possession of us and His presence in our lives.  I have even h...

We are able to help people make peace with God because of violence. We are liable to receive violence when this peacemaking is offered. Peacemaking is a bloody enterprise. Peace with God requires the expunging of the impossible(sin),  given to the improbable(fallen, separated, unholy knuckleheads).   Oh, and its' ambassadors are inadequate(previous knuckleheads). This is the "family busi...

Why might I want to pursue purity and become a mini-Puritan? Just so I can stop at the NO?  Nope! One shoots bullets of purity so that one gets to the YES; that is so that you SEE GOD. We are majoring on the PRACTICAL today with 3 bullets: 1 Cor 10:13 Am I the only one? Where is God? Is this too much temptation for me? Is this beyond my ability? How can I get out of this?  This passage answers all...

There is a perfect standard of heart holiness that God requires.  He gets to make the rules.  The big question is then how do we get there? It is so very important.  Our heart is the core, the inner seat, the will, our very soul.  From it springs our thoughts and words and actions.  It is the great battleground of our life.  We are supposed to have this area done  perfectly . Likely we have some w...