Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

God goes to great trouble to equip His church with leaders, and order, and teaching. Then He continues to work in real time with a leader in the service with spontaneous leadings and ideas and remembrances.  This is prophesy. The spiritual-bullets of prophesy are not without effect.  They hit their target. This results in a salvation process:

• COMING: unbelievers walk in the door
• CONVICTING: hearts are struck.  "Oh, what have I done?"
• acCOUNTING: "Wait. I have MANY sins?!!?!?"
• un-CONCEALING: the heart is disclosed. One moves from, "Man is basically good" to "Woe is me."
• CRUMBLING: Here a body agrees with a mind that has knowledge and a soul that has been disclosed, laid bare. "Help! Mercy! I am undone."
• acCLAIMING: I say who You say You are. I agree. I worship.  thankfully, the Spirit helps
• CONFESS: that God is; that God is real; that He's really here among you
• COMMUNITY: He is among you. "Can I be a part of this?"

Listen 7 minutes to see the effect of prophesy. It may make your knees buckle. Then sign up for tomorrow's podcast if the Lord gives us both another day at bewithme.us  Apple podcasts, podcast addict, pocketCasts; Spotify; Audible all will be happy to send you this podcast every day for free.

Prophesy is spontaneous teaching or ideas, that come to the prepared mind, resulting in accurate understanding, encouragement, and conviction. It joins the human faculty of the mind of a recognized, vetted, gifted church leader who has prepared  by thinking, study, and discernment.  It then adds to this prepared environment spontaneous, real-time ideas or illustrations of disclosure, teaching, revelation, and Scripture.

It will not be different than, or contrary in content to any past revelation.  It will refer frequently to the literal content of Scripture, and always refer to the concepts in the Canon of Scripture.

Prophesy is spontaneous ideas/teaching given to rigorously prepared teachers and worship leaders.  It is the process in which the Holy Spirit helps His prepared, thoughtful teachers in real time with ideas, words, and remembrances that demonstrate His Characteristics.  It can and should be tested.  Just like this podcast.  After you test this, please share, send, re-tweet, forward and subscribe at bewithme.us

There is an overarching concept echoing thru 1 Corinthians.  "You are not your own.  You were bought with a price." Therefore, act accordingly, even in the way you worship.  It is not only about you.  Keep an eye towards your brothers and sisters.

Bottom line for worship is to make God big, while building up others.  That is, we should be considering the seekers, the people who are not me.  Paul is thrilled with the eagerness for God, for seeking his face, but wants it to be done in an orderly, instructive, sensitive way.

There is a way to use spiritual gifts and the provisions of God in an orderly way.  Keep an ear open for instruction.  That is going to be a part of it.  Keep an eye open for your less experienced brother and sister.  Be mature in your thinking, and aware in your worship.

Come back tomorrow as you make this a regular part of your morning.  Subscribe at bewithme.us  for a daily blast. Thank you for your mindfulness today!

Remember that Spiritual gifts are given for the common good, and are arranged, apportioned and empowered by God Himself.  Who wouldn't want a little dose of that in their lives?

In fact, Paul charges his flock to EARNESTLY DESIRE this practical God-coming-down. It is our way of seeing God specifically HERE and specifically NOW.  It is the way that He is best understood by us.  It is our way of saying to God, "we WANT your thoughts among us." "We want to see You in this way."

Today we hear of an encouraging, upbuilding, and consoling gift that God spontaneously gives to a prepared mind for us.  I hope you can't wait to listen 7 minutes.

Visit bewithme.us so you can also listen 7 minutes tomorrow. Podcast Addict, Spotify, PocketCasts, Pandora, iVoox and Apple Podcasts will put it on your phone every tomorrow if you desire. Earnestly desire.

In eternity, we will be admiring, considering, and glorifying God for three things.  He tells us that these three things make the hit parade and are worthy enough to last eternally.  We best give them some attention. They are faith, hope, and love.

Faith.  Though "my" faith may be human and shaky, the OBJECT of my faith is rock solid. Yet, my faith is asked for, even demanded, and is generously received.

Hope. This is not "I wish for..." kind of hope.  It is the real deal, forged in the fires of suffering, endurance and character building.  This is the hope that WILL NOT FAIL US.  

Love. Love's primary source is from God.  Using it well is godly and imitates Him; displays His character and characteristic; glorifies Him.  He pours IN, we pour OUT.

These invisible characteristics become visible when we are seen living the "forebears of love" (yesterday's thought. Please listen.) bewithme.us listen on Spotify, google or apple podcasts.

Your podcaster's vision of God is dim, partial, immature, childish and temporary. To me, that says, "Look harder!", "Keep going!", and in a daily way, "Tell me what you see."

There will not be Bible podcasts in heaven, so enjoy this one now.  We will be seeing God NOT dimly, partially, not with our immature eyes.  We will see God face to Face. My face to HIS FACE. Everything changes.

So of course, special gifts of knowledge or language or prophesy will not ever be needed again so they will pass away forever. We will be able to say like Jacob, "I have seen the face of God." Every day in heaven, we will go to bed saying, "I had a GREAT DAY, for today I saw the face of God."

Join me for 7 minutes in considering this dimly.  Please share this temporarily childish view of God.  Please re-tweet this immature vision of God.  Temporarily subscribe at bewithme.us

There is some hard internal work necessary to fulfill the charge from the "LOVE CHAPTER" in the Bible.  Four 'Forbears' jump out. The "forbearing" means to restrain an impulse, refrain, or bear with.  It is about the critical internal work necessary to love. Watch as the passage answers the 4 bear questions: Bear WHEN? Bear with WHO? Bear WHERE? and Bear WHY?.

• Forbear WHEN provoked.  This is what Love is patient means.  It is when your "last nerve is being stood upon".
• Forbear WHO refers to people.  'Bears all things' really highlights bearing with people; their faults; CHOOSING to passover some things in silence.  "Bears all people" is a good way to understand this one.
• Forbear WHERE. This is when we find you UNDER circumstances that have no end in sight.  It means to remain under but in the right way. It's when you are buried. This is "endures all things."
• Forbear WHY. Christianity majors on a confident future.  It is our hallmark. Hopes all things means to stand in confidence when there is  a little chink in your spiritual armor; when there is a season of doubt and discouragement. Why? Because of our being assured in the facts of the past and the promises of the future.

Subscribe at bewithme.us for a blast daily of the blurb and the associated podcast link.  Nothing could be more convenient.  A 7 minute Word and perhaps wisdom.  You listen and judge for yourself.

Join me for 7 minutes in "the LOVE CHAPTER" of the Bible.  Here, in 1 Corinthians 13 the call is a high call.  That is why you'll hear this at about ½ the weddings you attend.  

Some of the truths about love are visible and some take place behind the scenes.  None of them are as trite as "she makes me laugh".  This is the real deal.  There is some challenging internal and external work to do.

God majors in love.  He has majored in love.  He will major in love in the future.  God IS love.  He knows what He is talking about and we would best avail ourselves of some of these truths. Bonus for us and our world if we even do a bit better in one of the calls to love in a real way.

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You've heard "the LOVE" chapter at weddings.  There is only TWO problems with it.

 First, it is not specifically about a romantic love.  In fact, it was written to the CHURCH, not to a marrying couple.  

The second is that it heaps a heavy burden upon us all.  It is a very high call that no person will have total success in fulfilling.  I always get a kick out of that if it is read at a wedding.  Because the bar is set SO HIGH, a friend said, "This is a HORRIBLE chapter, But at least it is SHORT."

Here is what love says: I know that you are worth it, though love is the most difficult thing.  I know you are worth loving even though there will be headwinds.  Join me for 7 minutes of the high call to LOVE.  bewithme.us  Please like and share, and boost, and subscribe and send and retweet.

Spiritual Math today:

• Tongues   +  No-Love   =   NOISE
• Knowledge  +  No-Love = NOTHING
• Giving All + No-Love   =  No Gain
• Faith   +   No-Love   =   NOTHING

You get the picture. Love is substantive and is the best way to live.  

Love is the "excellent way" that colors and empowers all the spiritual gifts.  It is the provision of God to the church that most clearly demonstrates His essential DNA. Whatever your gift, whatever your activity, do it with LOVE.  Even subscribe at bewithme.us or [email protected]     Listen 7 minutes today for some LOVE spiritual math.