Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder
Be With Me is a daily 7 minute chronological walk through the New Testament hosted by Michael Smith. It is for everyone who is curious about what Jesus actually said and did in the gospels. Most episodes will leave you with at least one good thought to chew on for the rest of the day. We start with the Bible and hopefully end with Awe. We are walking through the chronological events of Jesus' life and then thoughtfully considering them. It is meant to spur the devotional life of the Christian and the not-yet-Christian. We occasionally venture into the Old Testament when it helps our understanding of the New Testament events. Everybody has 7 minutes. Everybody needs to wonder. Be With Me is hosted by Michael Smith who has absolutely no special qualifications to do a podcast. He is not a pastor. He has not been to seminary. He does not lead a mega-church. He is not a professional and he has no more credentials than you do. He does, however, follow a great God with an observant eye and a curious heart. Each day, he starts with a study bible and aims for astonishment. ‘be with him’ for 7 minutes as he sets out daily to discover the God who invites us to ‘Be With Me.’
Be With Me: 7 Minutes of Biblical Wonder
Sound NO Trumpet about your giving S31e72. Matt6:1
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
We live in the world of Trumpeting. That is, we live around a people "Blowing their own horn". Unfortunately for us, we are one of those people.
Watch for 6 ½ minutes as we hear what the good Lord would have for us when we leave the trumpeting to Him.
https://youtu.be/ovyj1LGW-pY
Sound NO Trumpet about your giving S31e72. Matt6:1
There is a God who SEES IN SECRET
Much of the most important activities in your life will be in secret
Known only to you
Some things, such as Your motivation, thoughts, repenting is for you and God alone to see
Here is how in need of God we are: some times, even when we DO ACTIONS that are good, they are accompanied by WRONG MOTIVATIONS
Here, a person will DO THE RIGHT ACTIVITY
But do it IN ORDER TO BE SEEN
6 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have noreward from your Father who is in heaven.
2 “Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Make no mistake , God WANTS us to be “practicing righteousness”
Virtue, just, right—all good things
Everybody, including the Lord, wants a world full of such people
However, we will “lose the reward” if they are done for the wrong reason: To be seen, and admired, and appreciated.
Don’t lose the reward. Devalue the reward as it is only given before MEN
Forgo a reward before the only one who really counts. Heavenlyreward. From the Throne. From the Father. The one we so desperately want a relationshiop with. The one we were designed to want…
What do we learn about God here?
He waits to reward those who live before Him
There is a natural consequence of recompense as normal as Wages for work done
He wishes that room is left for HIM TO SOUND THE TRUMPET, rather than us to sound the trumpet for ourselves.
He wants us to give to the needy
He wants us to live in such a way that rewards would be a natural consequence
SOUND NO TRUMPET in the synagogue
Wait, there will be a temptation to blow my own horn IN CHURCH? Oh no, is no venue safe from trumpt blowing ?
Wait, pride in the church. Self-aggrandizing?
Are we that far gone? That far away from Him? Or at least the way He wishes us to live.
SOUND NO Trumpet in the streets. Secret Actions activities and thoughts before God alone.
Solution:
Don’t stop practicing righteousness.
Just stop practicing it before more than an audience of ONE—
Conclusions:
Who is your target audience? The world of men?
Who will admire you for the wrong reasons, will misinterpret you
Live your life as primarily pleasing before the Lord
Your audience of one
Practice righteousness
Give to the needy—being generous with the blessings that the Lord has blessed you with.
Don’t be angry, and in so doing, don’t mentally murder people
Don’t pack your angry eyes, as Mrs. potato head did for Mr.
Love and pray for enemies as a good way to live and and as a witness to them that will blow their minds.
Don’t retaliate an eye for an eye
Leave room for the wrath of God
Don’t use OATHS. Let your words not need the so called enhancements of adding the endorsements of the grave of a precious person.
Don’t casually throw away a spouse in divorce
Don’t lust internally for this has the equivalance of external adultyr
AUDIENCE OF ONE
Blow NO Trumpet before the church
Blow NO Trumpet before the world
Leave room for God to sound the trumpet in His way and in His time
Look to Be seen by God alone
Leave the rewarding to Him
Require no praise of men.
Demand no acknowledgement before men.
Give to the needy
Unchain your resources from only yourself.
Make your giving be so secret, that your right hand doesn’t even know what your left hand is doing.