Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Everybody has to wrestle a bit with "the cross".  By that I mean the whole process of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is broken down today into its emotional parts: the mocking, the spitting, and being shamefully treated.  Then it is broken down to the physical parts: The flogging, the killing and the Rising on the third day. Though this was all prophesied, planned and predicted,...

Ha. Ha. Ha.  The Humor of this image. It really is funny, unless you realize that your life DEPENDS of the success of this task. Can you get a CAMEL through the eye of a NEEDLE?   Can't think of a way?  How about if we assign a task force?  Have some hearings on the matter?  Call the Marines for help?  Get a Presidential Committee going on it? Ha. Ha. Ha.  Can't do it! Ridiculous! Out of...

Is it good to be RICH or not? How can you be SAD and rich at the same time?  Worse, how can you be SAD BECAUSE OF your riches? How easy might it be to mis-treasure money, or sex, or power, or control and miss the real treasure? A man today asks about behavior, but the story points toward what we truly value. Is God the ultimate good?  Do we value Him above all?  Or, does STUFF get in the way? Is t...

Our teachers today are children.  Why?  because the kingdom is full of people who either ARE them, or are LIKE them.  So, we need to come humbly to this passage today. The song goes, "Jesus loves the little children...".  True.  But first, Jesus has to SEE the children.  Children, "they just want to be SEEN."  Jesus is a great example of that.  Let's notice, recognize, add...

Two Mr. POTATO HEADS speak to God.  We get to see how they "dress" as they approach God.  One self-justifies and ends up not justified.  One puts on his humble " I'm sorry eyes "; he puts on his " I'm sorry feet "; he puts on his " I'm sorry arm s"; he puts on his " I'm sorry lips ".  For the humble Mr. Potato Head, s omething i...

Are you discouraged today?  Have you lost heart?  If so, then this podcast today is for you.   When the Bible encourages us to not lose heart, we know that it is a real thing.  People lose heart.  Life is hard.  People are hard.  Situations are hard.  Relationships are hard.  Health is hard.  Money is hard.  Work is hard. So today we will learn and follow the directions to a non-discouraged heart....

Today we will find out WHERE Jesus is.  We will also think about WHEN this takes place and WHY too. Jesus is in Ephriam which is likely the OT city of Ephron which is about 12 miles from Jerusalem. So this is the LAST TRAIN STOP before His ultimate destination.  It is obviously significant for HIM, but it is also significant for US too.  Without this journey of our hero, we'd all be in big tr...

Gathered into ONE . John 11:52 (S2-Episode #25) Things in today’s Scripture don’t quite add up in my mind. ·      Lazarus is dead for 4 days ·      Lazarus is raised from the dead ·      “many” believe ·      Jesus has revealed Himself in a way never before seen in history Jesus has engaged  in the biggest battle with the biggest enemy and WON Yet, the conclusion isn't universal worship, subm...

Today, join me as I ponder the biggest battle, with the biggest enemy since page 3 of the Bible.  Scripture tells us that DEATH will be the last enemy to be defeated.  Two big events of the crucifixion and the final battle in Revelation are to follow.  But for all of human history up to this point:  this is the biggest battle with the biggest enemy.  Every action movie or even cartoon has this mot...

TEARS in a BOTTLE. Psalm 56:8 (S2-Episode #23)  Today I am going to tell a story about a travel-experience-moment that I think directly speaks to our official main passage of John 11 and the mourning over Lazarus.  Ironically, this all happens even though Jesus already knows that “this won’t end in death”.  It does however, go THROUGH death, so that is a nasty bit.  Perhaps more importantly, it is...

GROWLS at the ENEMY…but WEEPS with US .  John 11:35 (S2-Episode#22) Typically, we chat each day about approximately 9 verses of scripture.  Today, we will chat about 9 characters of Scripture.  That’s right:  9 Letters.  You just KNOW it will be good. We are looking at chunks of the story of the eventual resurrection of Lazarus in John 11.  It is a massive piece of Scriptural real estate that we a...

When my favorite 4 year old really really really doesn't like something, she doesn't speak:  she GROWLS. In the original language, this is more accurate than our English, "deeply moved".  So let's go with the 4 year old today. We find Jesus today feeling very strongly, indignant, scolding against something, angry, outraged.  In short:  Jesus is PISSED OFF.  Can you say tha...

I am assuming you have a funeral file to gather your transitional concerns to help your family after you die.  Today, I am going give you a Passage, a Person and perhaps even a Podcast to put into that file.  Note to family: As we speak, I am dropping a copy of this into MY funeral file. Where are all the children named MARTHA?  When we left Martha in Luke 11, she was being rebuked by Jesus as bei...

Jesus basically says He is GLAD that Lazarus died.  I suppose that means that Jesus is either some sort of a MONSTER, or He has got something else up His sleeve. This is a spectacular miracle that is in store for His disciples, and now for us.  Everything depends on this.  If He doesn't have this power, then He is not God.  This miracle anticipates, foreshadows, and paves the way for His own...

Jesus devotes a massive piece of Biblical real estate on our next passage.  He tells us the end at the very beginning.  It is for His glory and for our belief.  We will get to each of those.  This is something that He really wants us to see; to know; and through the story, EXPERIENCE. This is not an illustrative parable.  It actually happened.  All of Christianity rests on this event .  Therefore,...

When Christ asks people to move spiritually there is an element of CONTROL that He makes us the boss of.  And here is the rub:  It is so very difficult to do so.  The language in the passage today from Luke 17 describes it ultimately as " losing your life ".  Ouch.  We get the ceding.  We get the moving.  We get the falling upon the neck of Christ.  In conclusion today we'll e xplor...

Sorry, episode #15 will never work because of some technical difficulties.  Sorry if you tried to download it.  Hopefully, this will be EVEN BETTER for you! Today we will expose ourselves to a part of the Bible.  Then we will ask the question of the day:  IF I LIVE LIKE THIS PART OF the Bible IS TRUE, WHAT WILL I DO ?  You could also substitute what will I BELIEVE, what will I KNOW, what will I SA...

10 Lepers do exactly what Jesus tells them to do.  Head toward the Priests.  1 Guy stops doing what Jesus tells him to do to REALLY do what Jesus wants him to do.   receive His mercy recognize His mercy fall at His feet in appreciation fall on his face before God give a thanks that is reserved for God alone be the one who is FOUND TO RETURN have faith that heals, saves and rescues There is much he...

One of the reasons to believe in the Bible and the God of the Bible is that it is SO UNBELIEVABLE .  That is, humans would never 'invent' a God like this.  We would make a god in OUR i mage of sour disposition. I believe our passage today compares and contrasts the type of god we would make vs. the God as the Bible reveals Him.  We would NEVER make a God like this. A typical master/serva...

Have you ever seen a person's FAITH move a tree or a mountain?  Neither have I. Scripture has something to say on the matter, and  it is a little confusing.  It says that we should be participating in IMPOSSIBLE things in an INVISIBLE Kingdom with INCREASING faith in the UNSEEN Hand of God by INVOLVEMENT via prayer to make and IMPACT.   Or something like it.  It is a big ask.  The ask is bigg...

This episode talks about something I guarantee that you will be dealing with TODAY.  Real time podcast help is on the way.  You won't like it, but here it is:  You will be tempted to sin today.  The greek literally is stumbling blocks.   So that is where the LEGO visual comes in.  Basically, Jesus says that there are going to be LEGO BLOCKS on your barefooted path today.  He says they are SUR...

A man asks for MERCY in today's passage.  Now God is in the mercy business.   Without mercy, He'd be out of customers.  So this is not unfamiliar territory for God.  Everybody in God's Kingdom got there by a healthy dose of mercy. The guy in the story does NOT get mercy .  Why?  We had best understand the reason why. It is because he asks too late .  There appears to be a timing of...

So 300 is a nice round number of Podcasts.  I pray that these have been worthwhile for you.  I pray that THIS ONE may be worthwhile for you.  Perhaps this one will be, in your soul, the best of them all .  With your attention, and with the igniting of the Holy Spirit, perhaps.  If not, come back tomorrow .  With the Lord's will, I hope to be back to be with you . Join me as I ponder JESUS tel...

Divorce is bad, wrong, immoral, destructive and expensive .  I didn't get that from the Bible. I got that from my divorced friends .  THEY are the ones who told me that .  Everybody knows it.  The Bible agrees. There is a very high view of marriage in the Bible.  It was foundationally invented by God because of a problem:  aloneness.  The aloneness wasn't good.  Marriage is the solution....

Four verses today of a " spiritual smorgasbord. "  That is, in my mind they are not much related to one another. That being said, I am humbled and respectful of the teaching of the last verse of today:  Luke 16:17. His Word is not going to pass away.  Not a dot of it .  Not even of the sometimes humanly unpalatable Old Testament.  So especially this icing on the cake New Testament and do...