Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

The Lord's PATIENCE with us is like a "long spirited" parent towards a child.  They see the big picture with a long lens. The patience is with a purpose: that we'd come to the repentance of salvation.

The day of salvation is also a day of sorrow .  It is the a-ha moment of awareness of wrongfulness to God, penalty required, and then poof!: Penalty paid, but not by me. It is the bittersweet combination of the JOY OF RESCUE and the SORROW FOR SIN and the PENALTY-TAKER of Jesus.  If that is your day today, don't worry, He'll help you get through it.  He's made that promise. The purpose of God's PATIENCE is to get you to this day.  Thanks for listening 7 minutes today and tomorrow at bewithme.us Google podcasts. 

Join me today as we look at time. 

There has been an accusation against God that His timing is off; that He is TOO SLOW.  

He counters that it is not slowness, but that His PURPOSE is PATIENCE so that PEOPLE do not PERISH.  He wants everybody to have a chance to be with Him. That comes only through repentance.  

I didn't repent yesterday. I haven't repented today. "I'll do it tomorrow". Well that is the only day we DO NOT get. That potential future day is gone like a thief in the night. In reality, the only day we have is TODAY. The only word we have is, "I'm SORRY."

bewithme.us and [email protected]

Have you ever played Hide and Seek with a three year old as they bulgingly hid under the couch cushions as you said, "I don't Seeeeeeeeeeeee you!"? That is the picture we get today from a spiritual scoffer who DELIBERATELY OVERLOOKS something that is right in front of them. It is a person who willfully does not see so they can continue to do what THEY want, and not do what GOD wants.

Listen as we consider whether we are the "deliberate overlooker". What  should be we be seeing? What are the implications of having new eyes to see?  Please listen.  Bewithme.us or [email protected] or Spotify. 

Today's message is like a FLY STUCK on FLYPAPER, calling out, "ooooh, it smells so TASTY where I am. Come be like me." He promises freedom, but all the while he is ENTRAPPED and ENSLAVED.  We will let this potentially enticing fly teach this lesson.  

Pictured like this, we will not trust that fly for a second. His end is coming and it is not looking pretty.  He is a lesson in caution and in warning.   I'm going to stay as far away from his experience as possible.  Let's listen to the fly today.

Listen to another creature tomorrow at bewithme.us or write at [email protected]

There is a group of people who are good examples of being bad examples. They are those "who DO NOT TREMBLE "before the Lord. They are those who do their wrong BOLDLY.  They figure prominently in today's passage. There are lessons to be learned from them. We'd be wise to glean from them what we can.

Why is it so often that the most ignorant, the most unknowledgeable is the most BOLD? Perhaps we can use our desire for more of the HOLY ONE and more of His holiness to result in humility of thought. Our goal for this lesson is to TREMBLE a bit. Please listen now and subscribe at bewithme.us or Google podcasts.

God is in the rescue business and it is a good thing, or ALL OF US would be lost.  Remember, God is also in the Justice/Judgment business.  Absent His help, His mercy, His wrapping us in HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, we'd all be toast.

Without Jesus, every single one of us is on the wrong team: the unrighteous team. Everybody. But here's the good news: He makes a way that HIS righteousness can count for us. Noah pictures this.  He is the "herald of righteousness." He is the "trumpet-shell" through which this message to mankind starts. It gets rolling with Noah and then is a juggernaut in Jesus. God is in the RESCUE BUSINESS.

Bewithme.us is the way you can get this tomorrow unless God rescues me fully tonight. Alternatives are Apple Podcasts, google podcasts, Spotify, or cashbox. LISTEN, don't just read the blurb. 

Peter was an eyewitness to the transfiguration of Christ and and earwitness to the voice of God borne to him by the "Majestic Glory" saying, "this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

Yet, Peter says we have something MORE SURE, more RELIABLE, more SOLID than this experiential evidence: We have the Bible. The prophetic word of Scripture is the most reliable communication channel of God to man that we have available to us.

Our faith, our doctrine, our morals, our conduct all rests upon the reliability of this source. Peter says we can definitely rely on it, so we'd do well to PAY ATTENTION TO IT. If you'd like to pay attention tomorrow, write me at [email protected] and if the Lord gives me another day, I'll send you another 7 minutes to pay attention to.

Peter is on his way off this planet soon.  He knows this because Jesus has made it clear to him. Jesus gives him this message, "You are dying," so that PETER GIVES US the message of this book of 2 Peter.

"Some of this is review.  You already KNOW some of this but I'm going to remind you of it again. Why? So that after I am gone you will REMEMBER it. I am dying, so you are going to need to know a few things.  My eyes are closing, your eyes need to open up!"

Jesus made it clear to Peter that he was dying soon so we can devote ourselves to the treasures in this book. [email protected] follow comment like FB, instagram, Threads, Truth, Mastadon, Twitter and linked in.

God's part in our spiritual GROWTH is above our pay grade.
Our part in our spiritual GROWTH is NOT above our consideration.

God gives us markers to assess how things are going on this sometimes elusive spiritual walk.  7 characteristics should be increasing in our life to keep us from being ineffective or unfruitful. We'd do best to pay a bit of attention to them to see how we are doing.  They may say to us, "GET GOING," or hopefully, "Keep GOING!" The last thing we want is a big sign on us that says, "FALL RISK!"

Bewithme.us is a way to sign up to help with tomorrow's fall risk. Listen please this day for 7 considering minutes.  I appreciate the attention to these difficult matters. Your courage is not lost on me.

The natural qualities of godliness do not easily come to mankind except by the eager application of relational practices aimed toward God.  Your habits will for the most part, determine your holiness;  and what you do practically  determines your participation in the divine nature.

Assess your virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection and love.  The growth of these markers demonstrate whether you really are making every effort. 

You should not be doing this alone. You should have an "inordinate, unexplainable, affection for an actual, real, nameable, authoritative, organized body of Christ." Love the knucklehood. ;-). And subscribe at bewithme.us and on instagram, like on Facebook and Twitter.