Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

"The Promise" is code for God's special covenant with Abram.  He wasn't even called Abraham yet. The former means "exhalted father", the later "father of a multitude." Before we get into sharing this with many, what exactly is this PROMISE TO ABRAM?

In my view, there are three components to this promise. They are 

• the PERSON of God. He promises Himself. You get Me. Primarily, you get a relationship with Me. It is intimate. It is ongoing. I am revealing myself to you one on one and you get a chance to respond well to it. It is at its' essence, God + 1.
• A PLACE. Tied up in this promise is the physical land of Israel.
• A PEOPLE. After we get done connecting individually with you, Mr. Abram, I am then going to offer this same deal of intimacy to many, thus creating a people and a nation. This will then turn you into Mr. ABRAHAM.   This will eventually be ONLY by faith, not by family-ties, just like it was at the beginning.

Listen 7 minutes and join me in a covenant that is for us today too.  Primarily, this PROMISE is the PERSON of God. bewithme.us  Apple Podcasts, etc.

What are your mornings known for? Likely, it is the same things your life is known for. For most people, we will be known for the aggregate of their (morning) habits. So we ask as we look back over the landscape of 1000 days, "Where might you want your soul to be 1000 days from now?"

Many people have encouraged this podcast over these 1000 mornings. I am eternally grateful.  I am grateful specifically.  I'd like to highlight my current hero of this podcast: the person who has given even a MOMENT of consideration. 1000 considerations start with the first one. So, to the person who makes room in their heart for God even once, I salute you. Keep going.  With the Lord's will, I will see you tomorrow.

Encourage me on Bewithme.us apple, google, Spotify, audible, podcaster podcasts or write at [email protected] to subscribe.  Listen now. You have 7 minutes ;-) Then come back tomorrow.

Abraham gets to big moment with God and "His faith was counted as righteousness." We are admiring these "1st steps" of faith. Romans refers to this frequently. But there is a bit of a back story that goes back 25 YEARS.

During that 25 years, there are many "steps before the 1st steps".  These are events that demonstrate

• obedience/right actions
• worship/attention to the right God
• generosity/right use of resources
• oaths/right use of the tongue
• listening to God/right use of attention
• kinship/right view of family
• rescue/right view of positional responsibility
• and my personal favorite: BRAVERY/right use of POWER

When Abraham makes his right believe that gets counted for something bigger, righteousness, he has 25 YEARS of faithful, right decisions under his belt. Let's be ready for our big moment with years and years and years of demonstrated faithfulness. bewithme.us

We are counting on a God who miscounts.  That is, we are relying on the reality that He isn't going to be giving us what we deserve.  Rather than wrath for lawless deeds we get forgiveness.  Rather than wrath for sins we find them covered.  We want a God who miscounts in our favor like this.

We are banking on a God "who isn't very good at sin-math."  Of course He is, but we have a way that our wrongs can be not counted against us in a way that maintains His JUSTICE. Abrahams gets this idea.  Now David gets this idea.

Join me for 7 minutes today as we fortunately learn about a God who isn't/is very good at sin-math. bewithme.us to subscribe, follow on insta and twitter. Subscribe on Youtube and apple podcasts.

"One small step for man.  One giant leap for mankind." This is Neil Armstrong's famous quote, but it is essentially what ABRAHAM said/did way way back.  Abraham's "first steps" were EFFECTIVE, so we should take particular note of them.  God says He COUNTED what Abraham did as the way to have a relationship with Him.

So what were Abraham's famous "first steps"?  Abraham believed.  Abraham had faith. Really? That is it? Can't I do stuff that is any more effective? Like works? Nope.  Just faith. Just belief.  I should be taking those same first steps? Exactly.

Join me for a 7 minute listen today as we "follow the footsteps" of our "spiritual Neil Armstrong",  Abraham.  Then, we can claim him as our father IF we take the same the same FIRST STEPS as Abraham did.  

Please like/share/retweet/promote/ and join at bewithme.us for a daily blast. Thank you for eating this elephant with me.

The curious question is: What is my relationship to the law, now that a better way has been established? How do I "uphold", honor or even love a law that I cannot do? Don't feel bad, it was designed for you not to be able to do it.

The law repeats for 1000's of years, "You cannot make it this way." "You cannot uphold all the requirements of the Law".  The Law instructs me into futility.  The Law frustrates me by illuminating my lack of perfection. Therefore, when the path to God is established that "only" requires the work of FAITH, I am more ready for it.  It points me to faith in Jesus.  

Therefore, we can LOVE A LAW THAT WE CANNOT DO because it helps us be ready for a RELATIONSHIP WITH A LORD WE DID NOT "EARN", that is by FAITH.  Bewithme.us. Apple Podcasts. Spotify. Instagram. Twitter. Mastadon. FB.

Here is a great PARADOX with no easy answer:

1. God is Just. It's His DNA. We all want Him to continue to be perfectly JUST.
2. Somehow, He wishes fellowship and relationship with people.  But He looks at us with HOLY eyes.
3. All of mankind's is not so holy.  All fall short.  All have sinned.

So how does God "solve" this paradox? Romans 3 tells us:

1. He's gonna have to do this.  He'll have to put forward the answer. We'll get it wrong by works, as always.
2. It's gonna involve BLOOD.  This should not be a surprise to anyone who has read the Bible or especially the Old Testament.  The sacrificial system, the passover has always pictures the penalty of giving of a life by blood.
3. It is going to have to be received to be "counted as," or "counted for you". The only "work" required here is that the receiver BELIEVE; have FAITH
4. God is going to have to do the essential heavy-lifting of forgiveness.  He'll have to count our transgressions as if they never happened; He'll have to "change history" as He passes over and forgets our sins. For anyone reading this who has had to forgive another human, you know how hard this is. 

This is how God solves this almost impossible paradox.  bewithme.us instagram, linked-in, twitter, etc. 

Yesterday, we ended with our hands over our MOUTHS with every person 100% accountable to Him.  Today, we end with our hands over our HEARTS in that He does not leave us like that.  He makes a way back to Him. 

Even though we START from a very unpalatable truth: "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," we don't END there. The end is that there is a rescue. There is a way made for us to choose. There is a path.  It is one of faith, belief and reception.  

Join me as we very very respectfully throw Jonathan Edwards under the bus.  We will ask what the Lord requires of us.  We will ask what He wishes us to "contribute" to His salvation.  bewithme.us.  Apple Podcasts, Google podcasts, etc. 

If you are a person living with enough "spiritual leisure" to ask the question, "Is God JUST in His WRATH?", then you are a person with enough "spiritual leisure" to figure out that 100% of us are sinful and knowledgable enough to be accountable.

The end point of today is to shut up. Paul says when we get our arms around this concept, we should put a STOP SIGN over our mouths.  It is the Ahh Ha moment of realization that yup, He's JUST, and that He's just in His wrath AGAINST ME. 

The Lord has given us His patience and forbearance for a season.  This is the spiritual leisure we all have.  But, we don't know how long it will last.  Today, will be the close of that day for some. Let's make good use of His patience by agreeing with Him. Agree with Him by subscribing for a daily blast at bewithme.us or on your preferred Podcast provider such as Google podcasts.

Maybe you've asked this question: Is God unjust in that He punishes sin? or "Is God unrighteous to inflict wrath upon us?" If so, you are in good company. Paul himself asks this very question so that he can answer it to the Romans.  It is a very good question.  Let's first respect the question.

Then, let's respect the answer.  The observation is definitely correct.  God is just and does appropriate Justice. He does, and will, respond in wrath to sin. The character accusation is the incorrect part: That He is unrighteous in doing so.

I am glad you are even considering the question.  May the meditations you have on this topic demonstrate His patience with you.  May your conclusions lead to repentance. I salute your question.  We've only just started the answer, but first, join me in respecting the question.  For more of the answer, subscribe on bewithme.us, or follow on twitter, or join the FB group: "Be With Me Group".