Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Sometimes bad things happen to good people.  We can all agree on that IF we clarify the timeline.  On this earth, it happens all the time.  Later, it will never happen.  Not once. John the Baptist won the Humanity Olympic Medal of people born to women.  He was the best of the best here on earth, of all people ever born on earth.  No one ever did it better.  World record holder in being a great man...

The Lord says to us in many ways, "You are my JOY"!!!  We answer, "No, I'm not!" The Lord says to us again, "You are my JOY"!!!  We answer, "No, I'm not!" The Lord says to us again, "You are my JOY"!!!  We answer, "No, I'm not!" The Lord says to us again, "You are my JOY"!!!  We answer, "No, I'm not!&quo...

What in the world is John the Baptist still doing with disciples?  Some of John's disciples, namely Andrew and probably John have left John to follow Jesus after John said, "Behold the Lamb of God".  John still has a few hangers on.   But John is doing everything to point to Jesus in this passage. God is true. He is above all. He must increase. He is the bridegroom.  He's the b...

Nicodemus turns out to be one of the most courageous men of the Bible, though we don't find out about it in Jn 3.  It is a bit of a cliffhanger until Jn 19.  It is worth the wait. A characteristic of the Christian walk is courage.  We need courage to face the stuff that God has for us personally.  That is hard enough.  "But wait! there's more!" We also need courage to help the...

Uncomfortably, the Word says we LOVE the DARKNESS.  How much?  A little? Or enough to cost a really valuable thing?  In a sense, our death-grip on our affection for the regular old way I am costs in return THE TRINITY.  The Trinity is beyond value, you have to give me that.  Our death-grip on our evil ways then is exchanged for this:  The Father giving His Son.  Your commitment to evil costs a div...

Nicodemus the "night guy" that comes to Jesus gets a personal invitation that is eventually extended to the whole world of every tribe.  The question is, how does Mr. Nighttime ACCESS the wonders that God promises?  How does he get something super valuable: peace with God, forgiveness from sin, and eternal life? By something almost impossible: He has to believe.  He has to change his min...

Is the MOST FAMOUS verse in the Bible also the MOST FAMOUS verse IN MY SOUL?  Maybe it should be.  I probably should think about its' value in general, and especially its' value to me and my soul. With that in mind, let's soberly consider it. For God:  It starts with Him; is sourced in Him; is initiated with Him.  Without this, we'd all be lost.  This is the foundation the rest...

God is familiar with sin and rebellion.  He made a way to escape its' consequences.  It involved looking to a substitutionary-being on a part of a tree.  This is all in NUMBERS chapter 21.  This is probably one of the things the Lord was rebuking poor Nicodemus for not getting his arms around.  Why? Because Jesus is going to turbo that exact concept with HIMSELF.   Yes, Jesus relates Himself...

Jesus rebukes Nicodemus in a good way.  He says, your PREPARATION has not been up to the OPPORTUNITIES that I have given you.  You could have been doing better.  You can do better now.  You potentially can do better in the future.  (spoiler alert:  HE DOES!) Rebukes are always hard and people often don't do very well with them.  Usually, they just double down on their original position and do...

Is it not appropriate to MARVEL at something MARVELOUS?  Let me make an argument for something Jesus says Nicodemus shouldn't marvel at.  (I think it's because Nicodemus should have ALREADY marveled at this previously.  Come explore this with me tomorrow.) God is at work. God is at work with ME right now. The Spirit is volitional, and directional and sourced in the heavens. I and all peo...

The poor guy's mind is blown when Jesus tells him he must be born again. He was confused and asks questions appropriate with his understanding.   Birth is the most OTHER-WORLDLY thing that happens on this planet.  If you've ever witnessed one as a mother or a father or a spectator, then you know what I mean.  If you don't have ultimate AWE at this event, then you need to pay better...

We will meet the patron saint of Scardy-cats today.  He is a man who comes to Jesus AT NIGHT.  In fact, YEARS LATER he is referred to as "the one who came to Jesus at night" to clarify that it is this guy we are referring to.   Jesus knows a real inquiry when He sees one.  Jesus is so very generous with this man.  He will give him His attention, and His gospel.  No one else ever ever eve...

1. Man is basically _____________ 2. I got the first question right.   T.      or      F. We get the concept wrong...CONFIDENTLY. Do you think that Jesus doesn't know the correct answers to the heart of man?  the Bible has the answer right dozens of times.  The heart of man is ...Go ahead, say it: evil, desperately wicked.  The problem isn't that God doesn't know it.  He does.  The...

Jesus goes postal at the temple.  They ask a fantastic question:  What gives you the authority to do so?  Who authorizes you to decide to paint the place yellow, or whatever you want? The answer is in the future.  Of note, Jesus' ministry is just starting, and He points to its' endpoint:  THE RESURRECTION.  It is the ultimate sign.  All roads to the real Jesus will go through the resurre...

The nice word for it is ZEAL.  But frankly, Jesus goes POSTAL for His Father's House.  What is the big deal?  He lets so much evil slide during His 3 year ministry.  Why get Your divine undies in a crumple over this particular thing? Why pull out the WHIP for this? Remember He is in the most important country in the world; in the midst of the most important people in the world; in the most im...

Jesus starts 'His public ministry', that is the progressive revelation of Himself with WINE at a WEDDING.  Of note, Jesus has showed up at every legitimate wedding in the history of humanity.  It is His invention.  He is the ultimate marry-er throughout history.  It is a gift he gives Christians and non-christians.  God does the joining.  Only He can.  Jesus makes 800 bottles of wine at...

Exposure to the Lord is not a pretty thing.  Oh, I know that He is all shiny and bright and perfect and wonderful.  But I am not.  I am a killer, coveter, luster, stealer, irritated and gossip. When I realize all of that, I want to PULL BACK.  It is not so much as I don't WANT to be in relationship with God, it is that I CANNOT be in relationship with God with this great chasm.    I say, &quo...

Andrew, who has been a disciple for about 5 minutes, makes another disciple of his brother Peter.  Spiritual reproduction happens immediately in the gospels.  It is a good thing too, because NO ONE is born a Christian.   Every single Christian today got there through believing and being made a disciple, usually with the helping hand of ANOTHER PERSON. We complicate spiritual MENTORSHIP and spiritu...

Jesus KNOWS US first .  However, t his is always a SURPRISE to us.   We think that our first thoughts of Him coincide with His first thoughts of us.  Yes we are that narcissistic. Nathaniel gets this revelation today as Jesus says, "I already saw you .  I heard you under the fig tree as you were talking to me earlier in prayer." Nathaniel has this meta-moment in realization.  Perhaps he...

Jesus "sees Peter for the first time."  That is, at a certain moment in history, Jesus' physical eyes physically laid eyes upon Peter for the first time.  It was a big moment.  Figuaratively, Jesus' eyes never left Peter from that day forward.  However it was a BUMPY ROAD going forward.   Similarly, I think Jesus will lay his physical eyes upon me.  I think I will have a resurr...

Andrew gets his first question from Jesus and it is a doozy: " What are you seeking? " Andrew's answer knocked me today.  He did NOT say, eternal life, or happiness, or a million dollars, or relational peace, or a savior that knocks out the Romans.  What he did say was: " Where are you staying ?"  What is your location today, tonight and tomorrow?  Where will you be? Where...

Like us, John the Baptist had limited knowledge.  He says twice today, "I did not know."  Yet, he was faithful, and brave, and worked with the knowledge he had.  He was expectant, literally waiting for the Lord Jesus to SHOW UP.  There is a lot we can learn from him. Jesus says that among those born of women, there has arisen no one greater.  Wow.  He's right up there tied with Davi...

John says, "BEHOLD the RHINOCEROS of God."  No, he does not.  It makes no sense.  How then does, "Behold the LAMB of God" make any more sense than Rhino?  Well, absent what the Bible tells us about the history and future of the lamb/Lamb, it makes no more sense than a rhino.  Lambs are in the Bible from almost the first page.  God provides a lamb for Abraham rather than sacrifi...

A great response to exposure to the truth could be and should be, "What then shall I do?"  It indicates eagerness, willingness, humility and intent. It is a marker that the listener has been stirred and that there is a willingness to change.   John the Baptist calls for "bearing fruit in keeping with repentance." Soldiers and crowd members and tax collectors each ask about what...

Jesus has GIGANTIC SHOES! At least if you read the Bible's account of them.  Amazingly, all four gospels comment about how fantastic Jesus' shoe wear is.  Think about that.  Of all the things to put in the Bible, God made space in a sense to have room to talk about Jesus' shoes! We find out about the style of the shoe-wear.   We find out about the straps.  We find out about their VA...