Genesis 46:1-47:31 ~ Matthew 15:1-28 ~ Psalm 19:1-14 ~ Proverbs 4:14-19
Today is the 23rd of January. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and it is a pleasure and a joy, really an honor to be here with you today to take the next step in the scriptures this year. We’re kind of coming to this conclusion of Joseph’s story. Of course, this story has been full of drama and twists and turns and today we find out if Joseph’s father, whose name is Jacob, whose name has been changed to Israel, gets the word of his son’s life, that he’s still alive from the other children, the sons of Jacob, the first children of Israel. Genesis chapter 46, verse 1 through 47:31. We’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week.
Commentary
Okay, so King David writes a psalm, a song and then later his son Solomon writes a proverb and they both just lay out a beautiful picture of what life can and should look like if we have a life of balance and margin. David starts out saying the heavens keep telling the wonders of God. He is saying look around you. The evidence is everywhere. There is nowhere to look that you cannot see the wonder of God. Without speaking a word they say more than can possibly be said about the wonders of the Lord.
And then he talks about the instructions and law of the Lord as being perfect, something that gives us new life, teachings that will last forever and give wisdom to ordinary people like us. God’s instructions make our hearts glad. His commands give us light. Trusting in God’s will, his decisions, his judgments is a good thing. They are right. They are correct. They are fair. They are worth more than gold. They are worth more than money and they are worth more than the best of foods. God’s teachings warn us and by obeying them we are greatly rewarded.
And then Solomon says the lifestyle of good people is like a sunrise. It grows in brightness and gets brighter and brighter and more beautiful until it is full noon and it is full light. Whereas the lifestyle of the wicked is like total darkness and they don’t even know what makes them fall down.
So we’ve been given a roadmap and all we have to do is ask ourselves what the shape of our lives is. Is it murky? Is it dark? Are you tripping up? Don’t know where you’re going? Or is life like a sunrise, like it is getting brighter and brighter and brighter and brighter? And as we contemplate that, well then we realize the road we are walking.
And here we are once again at a crossroads. The Bible continues to constantly bring us to the fork in the road and gives us a clear choice. It’s a clear a path to what is right and it is a clear path to what is not in all of our choices. It’s a matter of what do we want most? If we want the things that have kind of brought us darkness and have tripped us up but they have a lot of pleasure in them or for whatever reason, well then we can’t turn around and blame God for putting us in the dark because we came to a crossroads and we chose the dark, not God. He’s not doing it. He didn’t do it. He’s back at the crossroads saying, ‘You can come back. You can return to this point and choose a different road.’ But most of the time choosing correctly, because we get to these crossroads and we’re like, ‘I don’t know’ and we just kind of go with it, not necessarily choosing darkness on purpose, but this is life. This requires vigilance. This requires awareness. It actually requires participation. We have to be actively involved in our lives, choosing carefully the way that we’re going, knowing that everything that we do is a choice that goes somewhere and choosing wisely rather than trying to make the choice after we’ve already made the choice by the actions of our lives.
Prayer
Father, we need you. We need you in this. Well up within us, Holy Spirit, and show us where we are and where we’re going. We in our own hearts at this time echo the words that were spoken in song so long ago by King David. Let the words of our mouths and the thoughts of our hearts be pleasing to you, Lord because you are the rock, the mighty rock, and our protector. Come Holy Spirit, we pray. In the name of Jesus, amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian. I love you. And I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
Good morning DAB family. This is Shirley in Southeastern Washington. Just finished listening to the DAB. This is January 17th. Brian and Jill, once again just want to say to Brian and his family, I’m praying for you at this time as you mourn the loss of your mom. I know exactly what you’re feeling so I’m praying for you. Also wanted to say welcome to the family, Amanda. Just became our sister in the family of Christ December 27, 2016. Amanda, just know that we’re praying for you and just know that you don’t have to carry this by yourself. We are here. We are listening. God is listening and he helps us through each and every struggle that we go through because he knows exactly what we’re going through. So just know we’re praying for you and we’re so happy that you’ve become one of us in the family of God. Just know that we love you and we’re praying for you. God bless everybody. Have a good day. Bye.
Hi, this is Sonya from Ontario, Canada. I just wanted to send a message to Brian. Dear Brian, I’m a six year listener and I’ve never called in before, but today I’m calling in to you because you have become a friend and inspiration to my life. You’ve encouraged me to strengthen my relationship with God. I’m so sorry to hear that your mother has passed and my prayers are with you and your family. Please remember that you are a product of every laugh she shared with you, every tear she shed for you, and every piece of wisdom that she passed on to you. That has made you the beautiful child of God that you are. You are sharing the word of the Lord to all who have ears. You have created a community of people who love and support each other in God’s name. Her love made you who you are. Your mother is free of suffering and is smiling with pride and joy and dwells in the warm embrace of Jesus. Brian, to you and your family, I pray that God keeps you and blesses you for always and eternity because you have touched millions of people’s lives. Millions. And I love the DAB. Thank you.
This is Judy from Florida. I have a message for Amanda who is dealing with unforgiveness. Honey, you can’t forgive out of feeling. It has to be an act of your will. In other words, no matter what you are feeling, you act nice and keep your mind on positive things. This is very hard in the beginning, but if you will continue, one day life will be a whole new ballgame. When I went through this, I used to have so much trouble thinking of positive things that one day I sat down and made a list of positive things to think about, songs to sing or scriptures to quote. When my mind was giving me a fit about unforgiveness, I would get my list and on purpose begin to get my mind off the negative and on to the positive. Eventually the unforgiving feelings began to leave and life was good again. I’m praying for all of you, especially Brian and his family during this time of grief. Goodbye.
Hi, I’m __________ Flower, __________. I’ve been listening for about over a year now. __________ the Hardin family __________ the death of his mother. I call on behalf of my husband. He has chronic pain. He has been in pain for at least six years now. He’s always also had problems with insomnia and it’s getting worse and he’s getting depressed. And yet he still goes to work to support us. He really needs help. He is not a believer yet, so __________ for God to save him. Won’t you please? I don’t know what God’s will is. He is good and I trust him but it is hard to see my husband suffer. Please pray for him. Thank you so much.
Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is Dorothy from Destin and I wanted to thank Lisa and Christy for praying for me. I still have the shingles, but I’ve had a lot of time to think and pray while I’ve been laid up with this. Brian, I am so sorry to hear about your mother’s passing. I got to speak to my mom today and she is a nursing home and she really doesn’t remember very much, but I did get to speak to her and she asked me if she could live with me again. I know that is impossible, but one thing I was able to do was just tell her about my back porch and that I have a special place for her here and I told her how lovely it would be and explained to her about the flowers in my backyard and the roses and hydrangeas and I just knew from that moment it made my mom feel so much better. So I just thank God for that. And I thank God for all of you because every time I listen to you all, it makes me feel so much better. So God bless you all and have a wonderful day. Thank you again. Love you all. Bye-bye.
Hello family. My name is Kimberly. I live in Albany, NY and I’ve been a member of the Daily Audio Bible since 2011. I’ve called twice only and both times for my brother, both times for issues with his lungs. He has emphysema and he had a scare for two months and both times you guys prayed and both times he’s doing okay. But today I’m calling for myself. Today I had a CAT scan as well on my lungs and it came back abnormal. Now I’m not really positive what that means, but I have to go see a pulmonologist and in my family, my mother, my father, my brother, both my grandparents have passed away from lung cancers which is why I get regular CT scans every year, and so I’m just a tad nervous. I really don’t want to carry this myself. I would like for you guys please to pray for me for my lungs and for health. I just appreciate you all so much. Thank you.