Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Romans is an ELEPHANT of spiritual truth.  It sits as a formidable beast of length and depth and size in.  I was terrified to the task of tackling this on this blog/podcast until I realized this: IT IS AN ELEPHANT MEANT TO BE EATEN. It is here for us. It is here for now. It is meant to be consumed. That is why God put it here. Here is the call: eat this elephant with me.  He'll help us.  He'll teach us. He'll give us what we need. The Holy Spirit indwells for a reason.

Romans is all about Jesus.  It is all about His people. It is all about His Gospel.  It is all about the Old Testament and now the New. It is all about resurrection and rescue.  Ultimately, this book is a LOVE LETTER to us, and we best read it as such.  We will aim for AWE.

So join me for Season 12(our 12th book) of a sequential walk through the New Testament.  We have encountered an ELEPHANT OF SPIRITUAL TRUTH aka Romans.  It is an elephant meant to be eaten. So please, eat this elephant with me today and tomorrow by going to bewithme.us or write at [email protected] or any podcast provider or bewithme group on Facebook.

Join me for a 7 minute summary of 2 Corinthians.  It's a teaser in reverse.  It demonstrates:

• The MESSAGE of God and all that means for the people
• The MESSENGER who ultimately is a Jar of Clay carrying this treasure.  He's even got a thorn that won't go away to remind him. This messenger
• The METHOD is a master-class on the humble, gentle use of authority. Sometimes truth is best heard in whispers. 

I trust this final episode in the book of 2nd Corinthians reminds you of its' treasures and calls you to read it with appropriate awe.  Thank you for walking with me in this season of 7 minutes in 2nd Corinthians.  If you visit bewithme.us or Spotify, you can sign up for a daily blast if the Lord gives us another day.  This has been a CHRONOLOGICAL walk through the New Testament so we started with 

• Season 1-4 The Gospels
• Season 5 Acts
• Season 6 Galatians
• Season 7 James
• Season 8 1 Thessalonians
• Season 9 2 Thessalonians
• Season 10 1 Corinthians
• Season 11 2 Corinthians
• Season 12 ROMANS! Yikes!

Paul gives 3 BITE-SIZED tastes of the triune God for the Corinthians to experience as he closes 2 Cor. It is not everything there is to know about God, but it is enough. He blesses them and asks that these 3 characteristics BE WITH THEM. Sounds like a Podcast.

• The GRACE of Jesus. The winsomeness, attractiveness and the favor of Jesus has to come up in every conversation about sin, death, suffering, etc.
• The LOVE of God. "You had me at hello." Without the attention and regard of God we'd be still in big trouble.  No regard would mean no rescue. The fact that HE REMEMBERS is one tasty snickers bar of truth.
• The FELLOWSHIP of the Holy Spirit. So God now is so close He's indwelling. There's a bit of a two-way street here, God with us and us with God.

If this was all we knew about the trinity, it would be enough for an eternity. To learn more go to bewithme.us or Apple Podcasts or Google podcasts and come back tomorrow. 

My bicycle tires ASSUME injury and their need for restoration.  They are filled with Goo that searches out a breach and heals it--all without even pausing in their main purpose: keep rolling along. (I went a whole YEAR once without a known flat!)

Similarly, Paul charges the Corinthians to AIM FOR RESTORATION. Behind that is knowing the church is made up of people who all started by "doing what was right in their own eyes". From that rocky start he is shooting for agreement, peace and comfort. He assumes a NEED for restoration. Welcome to the church.

Here's your challenge today: find somebody in your church who DOES NOT need comfort.  Good luck with that task. Oh right! I'm supposed to be an agent of comfort. Thanks for the reminder. I'm also reminding you to subscribe at bewithme.us for another story tomorrow. 

Sometimes it is best to use our INVISIBILITY CLOAKs to show parts that are better seen:

• I put the invisibility cloak over my POWER so you'll see my WEAKNESS
• I put the invisibility cloak over my authority so you'll see my MEEKNESS
• I put the invisibility cloak over my BOLDNESS so you'll see my HUMILITY
• I put the invisibility cloak over my SEVERITY so you'll see my GENTLENESS

Listen 7 minutes as Paul gives his final plea for behavior change in the Corinthians by giving them his WEAKNESS.

Please like, subscribe, share, comment. Do something wonderful. bewithme.us

Are you a Christian? How would we test this? How do we know we are in the faith?   Here are some criteria:

• SIN. Has your sin struck you? do you loathe it? Have you been cut to the heart about it?  This is step one.
• DIRECTION. Have you agreed with God about step one and then TURNED in a different direction? This is repentance and is step two.
• PERSON. We are supposed to be possessed, in a good way by Him. Test this. Inviting in this Person of God to make His HOME HERE is usually step three
• WORD. Does the Word of the Lord, the Bible, speed ahead and is it honored in your life in a new way? This is yet another TEST to see if you are in the faith.
• MIND. Do you have a new and renewing mind? this is step five.
• MOUTH. Are you doing the right thing with your mouth?  Every tongue is going to confess Him.  Start today.

The scary thing is that after 2 visits and multiple letters, Paul still has to ask the question of the Corinthian individuals. Paul calls for a TEST, because individuals and whole churches have been wrong in their casual assessment.  So, humbly, let's also be careful as we put our faith to the test.  Show us Lord the real answer. bewithme.us and apple and other podcasts.

Welcome to Paul's MASTERCLASS of the right use of authority in the church. It is given starting from the Corinthian congregation's question of, "Who is the BOSS OF ME?" 

• Don't you want a leader who starts with HUMILITY, GENTLENESS and MEEKNESS just like Christ? (Yes. 2Cor 10:1)
• Don't you want a leader who is FOR YOU; who is SPENT FOR YOUR SOUL; whose priority is for your UPBUILDING? (Yes. 2Cor12:14-15,19; 13:10)
• Don't you want a leader who understands that it is a battle, a conflict of ideas, and warfare amidst conflicting, knuckleheaded ideas? (Yes. 2Cor10:3-4)
• Don't you want a leader that is on occasion ready and able to be BOLD and even SEVERE against the messengers of Satan that infiltrate the church? (Yes. 2Cor13:10, 3:12, 7:4)

This then, is the kind of leader that I want TO BE THE BOSS OF ME. Please join me today for a 7 minute thought, and come back tomorrow by visiting bewithme.us or Apple, Google Podcasts.

We look today at the heart of our true earthly shepherds.  

• They are FOR US
• they defend themselves primarily BEFORE GOD, and secondarily before man
• They seek not our stuff, but US
• They gladly spend and are spent FOR US
• They start with meekness and gentleness exampled by Christ
• They bear, not cause, burdens.
• They are ready to be humbled and to mourn
• Their hearts are wide open to us
• They have us in their hearts until death
• Their power is perfected in weakness

May you find a pastor just like that.  Meantime, listen tomorrow by going to bewithme.us and leaving an email. Same at Apple Podcasts. 7 minutes today and tomorrow.

What would you spend for an intact soul, especially if it was your own? I cannot imagine any answer other than: EVERYTHING.  The Pastor of the Corinthians agrees, and is willing to SPEND ($) and BE SPENT (life, energy, effort, time) for their souls.  May we be shepherded and taught by such men of character and generosity.  I hope your Pastor is like this.  If you don't have a man like this in your life, FIND ONE.

In addition, we amateurs should be emulating this in the church.  We should be demonstrating that we too value the souls of others. It is not an unfair question to wonder if I am for the souls of others so much that I am SPENDING and being SPENT for them. FIND a Pastor like this; BE A Person like this.

Come back tomorrow after you have subscribed at Bewithme.us or [email protected] or Deezer podcasts.

Join me as we let scripture inform our prayers. We will take a concept from 2000 years ago and let it pour out into modernity. Specifically, we'll think of our personal stories, the story only we can tell, and see if God's grace is indeed sufficient. 

Each of us has our history and our present circumstance that we bring to God.  There undoubtedly are painful thorns, pleading prayers that don't seem to be answered in the way I like, and challenging battlefields of good and evil. Perhaps God will answer like He did to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you. For my power is made perfect in weakness."

We are asking God to "Be with me." I'm asking you to be with me tomorrow too by subscribing at bewithme.us or Apple Podcasts , Instagram or the FB group Be with Me.