Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

If you have ever called someone "Pastor" or "Shepherd", it is because of this passage of Scripture.  Here, our ELDERS are associated with the image of SHEPHERD. It is a noble task as Jesus refers to Himself as the GOOD Shepherd and the CHIEF Shepherd.

Shepherds do two main things: They THINK BIG and LEAD their flock somewhere. They also THINK SMALL about feeding, tending, taking care of, and protecting.

Join me for 7 minutes as we look at GOOD and NOT so good shepherds.  Boy do we need Shepherds because TROUBLE and TARGETING comes to sheep. Sign up at bewithme.us to be a cooperative herd member

The fact of Christianity is that God gives His Spirit to not only indwell His believers, but to BE OF SOME GOOD USE. Here, it CAUSES us to BE AT REST, to be settled and calm.  When? During the testing, the trials and DURING THE FIRE.  We need to be remaining quiet of soul during those times so we can be doing the right thing: Entrusting

Entrusting is SETTING my SOUL somewhere; GIVING my soul to Someone.

God Rests on me so I can rest on Him during the FIRE.

Entrust tomorrow too by subscribing at bewithme.us or Pocketcasts

If you are a believer, you have received a spiritual gift from God.  If it is not a speaking gift, then it is a serving gift. If you don't know what your gift is, start with serving and go from there. 

Your area of gifting is the place where you will need Him the most, not the least.  If it is a speaking gift, you will be desperate for His Words; if serving, you'll be desperate for His strength. 

Finally, don't be a grouch in your serving.  Make sure your attitude and your tongue are on board.  Bewithme.us and follow on instagram: https://instagram.com/mjsm1th?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw==

Love covers a multitude of sins. Yes, Jesus does that for us, but today, He asks us to do it for each other.  He wants us to BEAR WITH, forgive and like Elsa from FROZEN, LET IT GO.

We are surrounded by sinful people. A big part of living well with people in the home, in the church, in the world and in marriage is to cover a sin.  There may be a day coming for exposure, rebuking, righteousness now, and calling them higher.  Meantime, we pass over in silence. It is what Jesus is doing for us now.  He is bearing with us, and we must bear with the sins of the imperfect people that surround us. 

Please join me for 7 minutes as I consider this on podcast Addict, overcast, Castbox and Pocket Casts. bewithme.us is the best place to sign up.

You gotta love a WEAPONIZED Jesus.  Then we get invited to ARM OURSELVES in the same way.

The weapon is OUR THINKING. We are to be armed-up in the same way of thinking as Jesus. Why? Well, there is some difficulty ahead, some SUFFERING.  That is when we resist the bad thinking and bad behaviors it is characterized. It won't be easy, that's why it is called suffering. 

Temptations resisted, fought against and thought against is suffering. In this way, I hope you suffer. I also hope you arm-up in your THINKING, just like Jesus.

Come back tomorrow for more ammo at [email protected] or bewithme.us or google podcasts

Can I be brought safely through with Jesus?  The answer is YES. 

He reminds us of His sufficiency:  He conquered sin; death; substituted the righteous for the unrighteous; punished disobedient spirits; is over all authority and sits powerfully in heaven patiently waiting for something.  What is it?

Your APPEAL. Your ask. Your inquiry.  Hopefully, it will sound something like this: "Dear Jesus, may I please get on your RESCUE BOAT?"  If you ask, HE WILL SAY YES. Then, after the appeal, HE WILL BRING YOU SAFELY THROUGH. Bewithme.us

It is a tall-ask to not be TROUBLED in our TROUBLED WORLD. Being a mini-ambassador of God will likely bring an extra measure of suffering, slander and reviling.  So, you've got that going for you. ;-)

Being on God's team brings a SETTLEDNESS to the crazy.  We adorn the hidden person of the heart to be "fearful" of the right God in the right way. Then, the "hidden" person spills out for others to see. We respond with gentleness and respect. We fear God appropriately. We have no ultimate fear of them.

Weapons will be formed against us. There will be some trouble. (Isaiah 54:17)But, no weapon formed will prosper.  We can be settled in an unsettled world. Follow on instagram for the settledness that will be needed tomorrow. 
https://instagram.com/mjsm1th?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw==

What happens when we are NOT delivered from evil and we have some righteous suffering to do?  Well, 1 Peter answers that and says: you get Psalm 34

• you get His EYES upon you
• you get His EARS open to your prayer
• you get His FACE against the bad guys
• occasionally you get deliverance OUT OF all your troubles but usually
• you get His NEARNESS to you being brokenhearted and
• you get His SAVING you when crushed in spirit

So, when you suffer, I hope you get PSALM 34.  I hope you get His NEARNESS. bewithme.us Spotify, Facebook, YouTube, follow on instagram @mjsm1th or https://instagram.com/mjsm1th?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw==

Yes, I said, I hope you suffer.  If you are resisting temptations, resisting bad ways of thinking, and bad behaviors, it will be hard. You will suffer.

And, I hope you will receive and give great compassion, tenderheartedness, unity, and brotherly love towards all who are suffering too.  In short I hope you love the brotherhood and the brotherhood loves you.  As I like to say, "Love the Knucklehood," because we are all relative knuckleheads in the church.  

Our difficulties resisting sin and against circumstance ought to DRAW US TOGETHER IN COMPASSION  rather than push us apart.  Thank you for drawing in today.  Thank you for Being With Me. bewithme.us to come back tomorrow.

How far do I need to travel to find someone who's SOUL I can influence?  Do I have to become a foreign missionary and travel to another continent? Nope.  You probably just have to go to your breakfast table.  There you will find another SOUL upon which you, by your behavior and posture of your heart, can even WIN.  Who knew that breakfast could be such an important meal?

What we do "in the hidden person of our heart" we find isn't exactly HIDDEN. God sees it and everybody at breakfast sees it too.  It comes out in our behavior.

Grant me 7 minutes to explore the footprint we have at breakfast. bewithme.us and Google podcasts.