Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder

Jesus gets desolate to be intimate, close and in conversation with the Father.  Then people come "from every quarter" to inject themselves into that desolate place.  On one hand we too have to 'defend' the desolation and get thoughtful, quiet and alone.

On the other hand, Jesus FILLS the desolation.  The leper comes and has a real need.  It is physical, it is spiritual, it is emotional.

• what are we full-of that we'd come?
• what might you "face-fall" before the Lord because of?
• What would you BEG for?
• what would you trust God for, even if the answer is "no" to your eyes now?

Defend the desolation to make room for God.  Then FILL it with desperation, faith, falling, and begging.  All this would please Him.

Bewithme.us

Jesus chose PRAYER when He had the world to Himself.  He could have chosen anything.  Why choose prayer?  Because the tasks ahead for His day made the prayer part NECESSARY.  He got desolate, so He could be CLOSE
He got alone, so He could be INTIMATE
He got quiet, so He could be in CONVERSATION
He got ready, so He could be on PURPOSE.
His day was of such difficulty and complexity, His morning prayers were NECESSARY.

What do you do when you could do anything?
Is your day of such purpose that prayer is required?
Do you seek desolation, isolation, distractionlessness so you can be close, intimate, and conversation?

Please, for heaven's sake, share this with someone who's day will be HARD.  Subscribe on Stitcher or Podcast Addict or bewithme.us.  Write at [email protected]

What would you do if you had the world to yourself?  More specifically, what DO YOU DO when you have the world to yourself?  Almost everybody answers this question everyday, when they get out of bed.

Jesus is human and gets tired and needs to sleep.  But then, with the early morning, He sets and enacts His priorities by getting desolate.  The disciples are going to be getting up and disturbing Him soon.  Then He prays.  

Jesus won't always pray.  He needs this intercom system while He is away from the Trinity.  Someday they'll all be back together and this walkie-talkie won't be necessary. Jesus, when He has the world to himself, as a member of the 5am club, shows us HIS PRIORITIES, which probably should strongly point us to what we should hold as priorities.

Thank you for making this podcast a PRIORITY perhaps with your morning.  Event-stack it upon brushing your teeth or something to help you remember.  Share it please.  

Everybody gets healed in Capernaum.  Everybody.  The doctors get put out of business there.  This fulfills a prophesy in Isaiah: He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.  Apparently, these are physical, spiritual, and I think emotional too.

God is doing the heavy lifting, but people are bringing the sick.  Even for Peter's mother-in-law, it says that they "appealed to Him on her behalf".

Today let's consider who we can appeal to Jesus on their behalf.  Who do we know that is sick, injured, wounded, weary, mentally imbalanced, or even oppressed.  We will still be living in a fallen world, but at least we can do our part and appeal.  We appeal because we know the Appealee: that is, Jesus the illness-taker and disease-bearer.  

Thanks for listening.  Thanks for praying.  Thanks for appealing.  Subscribe on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts or Spotify.  or, [email protected]

The people of Capernaum, at least initially, have a pretty good effort towards having a spiritual encounter.  They are first AMAZED, then they WONDER, then THEY THINK for a while, then the LISTEN, then they QUESTION, then they RECOUNT what they have experienced.  Finally, they work for the FAME of Jesus.  I'm calling that a step towards worship.

This is an above-average touch with the Almighty.  It ends shy of BELIEF, but that is for another day.  Sadly, most of the Capernaum's residents don't get there, and a severe judgement falls upon that city.  That may inspire even a greater attention to their process and to its logical end.

When God shows up in His people, or in His Word, or in Creation, or in a Podcast, I think the Capernaums have something to teach us. Thank you for listening with them and me today.  Subscribe at bewithme.us or write at [email protected].

Jesus comes to SAVE.  But not to save everybody.  We find today a whole group of beings that have missed the salvation train.  They are the unclean spirits, the demons.

They are volitional beings whose die has already been cast.  They appear to be not affected by death, but are under the ultimate authority and ultimate destruction of Jesus.  

In His short ministry, Jesus has already included in His invitation to His kingdom: Jews, scardy-cat religious officials, foreigners, Samaritans, Gentiles, Syrians, and Lebanese.  Today, He excludes an unclean spirit from His kingdom, all the while extending mercy and healing to an unfortunate possessed man.

The amazing news is not that there is no salvation for the unclean spirit.  The amazing news is that though we too rebel, there IS A WAY of salvation.  Subscribe so you can make this a habit through your preferred podcast provider or at bewithme.us.  Or, you can write [email protected] and you'll get an email each morning.  Listen in the car! Listen over your Frosted Flakes!  Listen in the shower.  Shoot for the same time/same place everyday.  It is called event-stacking. 

Everybody is amazed at Jesus' AUTHORITY in His teaching.  That is, expounding the truths of the SCRIPTURES.  It all makes perfect sense, because He is the ultimate AUTHOR of all those truths, and HE WAS THERE.  So Jesus knows both the description of the event in writing, but also with His primary experience.  That is, He is an eye-witness, a participant, and the main character of all the Old Testament accounts.  This is what gives Him the surprising-to-us-but-not-to-Him authority.

When the world was created...He was there.
When there was a burning bush for Moses...He was there
When David had the words come to him, "The Lord is my shepherd"...He was there
When there was the dark times of Judges and every man did what was right in his own eyes...He was there

So when it came time to teach about these passages, is it any surprise that Jesus taught with FIRST PERSON authority?

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I will make you FISHERS of men.  That is, you are going to HUNT them and I am going to help.

What does it take to be a good fisherman?  First, Know you are doing it.  This is a universal call to all.  If you have been CAUGHT, then you are a CATCHER.  Everybody.  For many today, this will be a loud call to GET BUSY.

Second, value it.  These are souls that we are talking about, not just fish.

Third, He's gonna help.

Fourth, think like a fish.  Do some planning.  Where will I be fishing/hunting today?  Who will I be fishing/hunting today? How will I be fishing/hunting today?

Fifth, be grateful that you have been caught.

So this is a daily, 7 minute podcast that is walking through the events of Jesus' life in chronological order.  We started in the middle of the events, but that is another story.  Tomorrow, we'll do what happened next to Jesus.  You can subscribe as an actual podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google podcasts or about a dozen other podcast providers.  You can also subscribe on the web at www.bewithme.us.  You can also write at [email protected] and I can send you an email link early every morning.  Like or share or recommend.  That is one way to fish.

Repentance is a lot of things.  It is ancient.  It is universal.  It is for salvation.  It is necessary.  It is inconvenient.  It is hard.  It is grievous.  It is all over the Bible.

What struck me today is what repentance is NOT:  That is, it is NOT IN THE FUTURE.

For example, if you poke your head into a church today, it is full of the REPENTED and the REPENTING.  It is just a part of our walk with the Lord.  Welcome to the human condition.  Welcome to agreeing with God.  Welcome to getting right with God.

But if we fast forward to the people of God in heaven, things are going to change.  Heaven is known for some things that are absent:  no more tears, no more death.  I think that there will be NO REPENTING IN HEAVEN.  It will be past the time that repenting is possible.

So let's repent today if necessary (Prayer for this is: HELP ME!). If you don't think you have anything to repent of, brace yourself (Prayer for this is: SHOW ME!).  Share this with someone you think has nothing to repent of.

What would your city give to have an Amazon Fulfillment Center call your city home?  Tens of millions of dollars is the answer.  What would your city give to have Jesus come and live there? Be careful here, there are benefits, but there is also some increased responsibility.  With increased revelation and exposure is increased answerability. 

Nazareth, said no, we don't want Jesus here.  In fact, we tried to throw Him off a cliff.  Jesus then chooses the city of Capernaum.

The "place of God" is a very important concept in the Old Testament and here in the New Testament.  It is all going to explode at the Last Supper when Jesus says the Spirit is coming to live inside believers.  That is, God will "make His HOME with us" in a new, more intimate way.  Join me today in saying:  "Lord, I WANT you to dwell HERE.  I want You to ILLUMINATE here.  I want You to shine Your great light here.  WELCOME HOME." 

"Like" this podcast please.  Share this podcast so God can make His home in others' hearts too.