Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Every person in your church should be serving; doing something for someone who physically or metaphorically "poops in their pants." It is one of the essential element of the church, because it is one of the essential elements of God's character, when it is motivated by LOVE.  

In fact, this is how we demonstrate our belief that we do not need to "earn our way to God" by doing certain acts of the ceremonial law.  Everything has changed since Jesus came.  We don't need to be doing stuff of the law anymore.  We do need to be doing stuff of LOVE constantly.

Just a word of advice.  Go find some dark corner of your church.  Find an unthanked job. The more secret the better.  The more poopy the better. Serve there in love. And here is my promise:  you will look to your left and to your right, and it is there that you will find THE BEST PEOPLE IN the building.  You will find there the most admirable people standing shoulder to shoulder with you, serving in love.  They are the spiritual SUPER HEROS. They will just be reeking godliness. It is there that YOU will be blessed.  Try it.  You'll see. Tell them about the podcast at bewithme.us.  Tell them to subscribe on Spotify or Apple or google.

Jesus is OFFENSIVE.  He has to be. The sin He came to erase is nasty. The holiness He is bringing us to is vast.  The path to get there is one of suffering, blood, curse, and death.  From our view, there is much NOT to like about this whole process:

• that my sin is THAT BAD. 
• That I cannot save myself. Not by works, actions, efforts or trying.
• That I did not make the rules
• That Sacrifice is required; a life even. an innocent life no less. Animals for a long time, and now Jesus. A human/God sacrifice
• that there is no other way. no plan B. Nothing more palatable. No nice, bloodless path.
• that it all comes down to a cross. the worst punishment. suffering. blood. death. so bad that people averted their eyes.  
• That my sin requires this.  This ladies and gentlemen, is the OFFENSE OF THE CROSS

For those new to the faith, hold on. What is so offensive here is the dear embrace of a God who cares so much to help you in a way you cannot help yourself.  This is God at His best. Please subscribe at bewithme.us or on your podcast provider. Like, share or at least think about this today.

Christ either is of NO advantage or He is of GREAT advantage.  The Galatians have dropped the ball.  They started well.  They fell into old habits of thinking.  It matters.

Having Jesus in our lives is supposed to be our SECRET WEAPON.  Having Him near is supposed to make a difference.  A good difference.  An ADVANTAGE.  Our thinking, our view of God is to spill out in the actions of love and service.  

So then, let's LEAN IN, and ACT like Jesus is an advantage by asking what He might help us with today.  Perhaps we are standing in the breach for another; perhaps there is an area of discipline; perhaps there is suffering to endure; patience to enact; or character to grow. Being near Christ is supposed to be of GREAT ADVANTAGE.  Let's act like it.  Please support Bewithme by clicking on bewithme.us and subscribing on the website or on your favorite podcast site.  

Abraham serves as the shining good example of how we are to have faith.  Abraham also serves as the shining bad example of doing it exactly wrong. The fact that God put both accounts into the Bible just amazes me.

For a season, Abraham and Sarah take matters into their own hands, by taking matters into their own pants about a promised child.  They sin against God and Hagar as they try to perpetuate their line outside the bounds of faith in the promises of God.  They serve as their own bad example of trying to earn God's promises by this scheming.  Paul equates this with trying to achieve God by doing the 'law'. (In yet another irony, the actual law is 400 years away with Moses.)

Listen 7 minutes to an ALLEGORY. This is an illustration that depicts a GENERAL PRINCIPLE. We fly at 40,000 feet today.  The principle is that people of all eras erroneously scheme to earn and merit the favor of God by a whole lotta "ME".  The way He's set this up though, is that we CANNOT earn it.  He has done the heavy lifting in that regard.  The big point is that it is a whole lotta "HE".  We, obtain the benefits by FAITH.  We do some "coat-tail riding" by belief. 

Normally I close the blurb by reminding you to support this ministry by subscribing and sharing.  Today, I ask you to put this podcast on your regular PRAYER LIST.  That would be the most support that this world, and THAT world can provide.  Thank you.

Could you say, "Become as I am."?  That is, could you tell your young mentee to be like yourself? With a PERIOD at the end of the sentence? Paul did.  We'll explore this concept by making a few exceptions. Perhaps we'd say something more like this:

Become like I am EXCEPT...

• for the way I drive.  Other people are just idiots.
• for my giving habits.  I give some. The rest is mine.
• for my church going habits.  Do you know how messy they are in there?
• for my discipline of consuming food or drink.  I like a big buzz.
• for my areas of sensuality.  You don't want what goes through my head or my zipper going through yours
• for my heart for the unsaved. That's what pastors are for.
• for my tongue.  I just say what I want.
• for my devotion to serving.  Do you have any idea how busy I am?
• for my anger.  All my people are angry people.  Deal with it.
• for my love.  Nope.  that doesn't characterize my life.

There is a Big challenge today in being like Paul.  Let's just SAY IT out loud to my imaginary young believer:  BE LIKE ME EXCEPT... 

Please share. Join at bewithme.us for a daily email reminding you to listen.  Who has that kind of time!?!?!?

Do we surround ourselves with people that only say we are terrific? The Galatians had some false-teachers that engaged in the deceit of FLATTERY.  It was like they were getting a participation-trophy just for back-sliding into their old ways. "Yea! You are wonderful."

Christianity is not always like that.  I so admire anybody who becomes a believer and shows up to a good church each Sunday. Why? Because the Lord sometimes needs to say: "You can DO BETTER."  Real Christians put themselves in path of correction.  It is not always pleasant.  I'd rather hear flattery about how wonderful I and we are.

It is actually a Mark of the right place to be, and the right people to be with, and the right God to be under, when you hear, "YOU CAN DO BETTER..." I suppose this podcast is just that.  I am encouraged that you listen.  Thank you for your courage.   bewithme.us

What is it like to be KNOWN BY GOD?  What is it that He sees when He looks inside of us? What if it isn't perfect? How does He tolerate us? What does He see that "makes it OK?" and He doesn't smite us?

His forbearance obviously tells us something about HIS Character.  It is all for His glory, and lots of that is not understandable to us just at this moment.  If He knows we aren't really good, WHY DOES HE STAY WITH US?

I think it is because He chooses to see not our not-goodness, but He chooses to see His Son, who indwells us by the Holy Spirit, "The Spirit of the Son."  

Listen 7 minutes and see if I am right about what it is to be KNOWN by GOD.  Please see bewithme.us to subscribe for a daily email.

If your "birth mother" was a law that just frustrated you because of your inadequacy, to be "adopted" out of it into the family of God, you'd be pretty JAZZED by it.  The new, spiritually-adopted kid CRYS OUT in joy, "ABBA, Father"!  It is an intimate, personal name for God akin to our DADDY.

Like the Ronco TV commercial, "But wait, there's MORE!"  After fulfilling a law we couldn't fulfill; after rescuing us from something called slavery here; after adoption; after bringing us into our new forever-family; after sending the Spirit of His Son to dwell with us in our hearts; He gives us something for the future...He calls us Sons and Daughters.  He gives us an inheritance.  He makes us HEIRS of some good stuff to come.  It is almost too good to be true.

Listen 7 minutes and see if it is true.  Do something afterwards if you'd be so kind.  Like, share, re-tweet, comment, and subscribe at bewithme.us

The purpose of the Law is to make sure you know that you have lost the war of trying to earn your way to heaven; of accomplishing your way to God. It is supposed to imprison and suck the life out of your spiritual self.

All the while, there is a personal tutor, teacher, guardian who stays with you and makes soul-commentary: "I don't think you are making it on your own; You are losing this war badly; You are not doing well. You are a wretched man." So, not only do we get failure, in our efforts to make our way to God by earning, we get a nag along the way clarifying our FRUSTRATION.  

The call today then is to scrap all of that and go back to the good old days of Abraham.  For him, it was all faith, believe and entrusting.  We are called to the same.  Subscribe at bewithme.us.

If you are sick and tired of your sin, you are in exactly the place God wants you.  He sent a law, let's say the 10 commandments, to literally, "frustrate the hell out of you".  That is, the perfection of God's law just tells us we aren't going to make it that way.

Paul uses two fantastic pictures of what this is like.  The first is of PRISON.  We are jailed, and held captive by this burden.  The second, my personal favorite, is of a tutor.  It is a teacher who constantly stands by his student, instructing: "How's the folly of keeping those commandments going? Are you perfect today? Another day of sinning? I thought so. Didn't make it by your efforts I see. Don't you think there should be a better way?" That is, the law is to put you in prison, and then nags you incessantly that you are in prison.  If you are SICK and TIRED of this, then likely God is near you.  

For those who have not been rescued, stick around and hear the good news of Christ.  For those who have been rescued, access the resources He's left in the Holy Spirit.  For all of you, please come back tomorrow by subscribing on bewithme.us, listen to the podcast on Spotify, Audible, Google, apple, deezer, or the directory you prefer.  See you then for another 7 minutes.