Ezekiel 24:1-26:21; Hebrews 11:1-16; Psalms 110:1-7; Proverbs 27:14
Today is the 12th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today and every day. And, of course, here we are at the sparkly, shiny, threshold of a brand-new week. And looking at the week, we will continue to journey our way through the book of Ezekiel and in the New Testament we will conclude this week, the book of Hebrews, and move forward into James and we will read from the Common English Bible this week. So, let’s dive in. Ezekiel, chapter 24 verse 1 through 26 verse 21.
Commentary:
Okay. In our reading from Psalms today we read Psalm 110, which refers to Melchizedek, one of the two only references to Melchizedek in the Old Testament. We talked about that at length when we began the book of Hebrews. So, I’m just pointing that out. In the book of Hebrews, we turn the corner and begin to move into the next piece of what is being laid out in Hebrews. So, since we began Hebrews we’ve been examining from a Hebrew context, a Jewish context, the sacrificial system, the way to get to God and to be absolved of sin. And the writer of Hebrews is saying that in Jesus death that system is completed and is no longer necessary. We now have a high priest in heaven. A new covenant has been instituted. We can now ourselves go into the holy of holies. So, in other words, we can now, ourselves as individuals, stand clean and righteous before God and enter His presence ourselves. And we’ve talked about what a monumental paradigm shift that was for the Hebrews that this was written to. Today we begin to talk about what enables all of that - the reality that we have to enter and live from within in order for this to become true. And that reality is called faith. So, as we turn the corner and begin Hebrews chapter 11 we’re greeted with that. Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see. And then we spent the rest of our time in Hebrews today seeing examples of this from the Scriptures. And we started at the beginning and began to work our way forward. And we will continue with those examples as we read forward, as we go forward tomorrow. Some scholars call this the hall of faith – the hall of faith in the Bible - because it’s example after example of people who lived by faith in order to move into a reality that would otherwise be impossible. And we should enjoy this because it’s kind of a fast motion move through a number of the stories that we’ve encountered as we’ve moved through the Bible this year, but it also shows us this common thread, faith is a necessary part of our humanity, of our journey, and, certainly, is the rocket fuel of our relationship with God. So, we should enjoy ourselves as we move through these examples, but then Hebrews will lead us to a place where we realize, okay, the examples are wonderful, but I can’t move into this on someone else’s faith, it’s going to come down to some choices and decisions that I have to make. And we’ll get to that over the next couple of days.
Prayer:
Father, the Scriptures tell us that it’s impossible to please You without faith. And, so, now as we begin to explore faith from the book of Hebrews, we invite Your Holy Spirit to strengthen and increase our faith in You as we look at these examples of people who had faith against all odds, faith in a reality that they could not see, faith in You and You alone. Come Holy Spirit and make this a reality in our lives. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Community Prayers and Praise Reports
Hi family. This is Malisha from Alberville, Alabama. Hey Brian. Hey Jill. I love you all. Kristy from Kentucky, I heard your call this morning about losing your daddy. I am so sorry. I just want you to know I have lifted you up in prayer. Candice, I’m continually praying for you and everybody that’s lost a loved one. It’s so hard, but God knows. The bible says, blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. So, I’m praying for y’all. Brian from Wisconsin, your nephew Nicholas, I’m praying for him. I’m praying that God will heal him from the crown of his head to the soul of his feet. And, Victoria S., you called in and were praying for somebody but you didn’t say you were sick but you sounded like you were a little under the weather. I’ve already prayed for you just in case you are sick because we love you and we need you praying for us sister. Let’s see, Jillian’s mom, with the brain tumor, I hadn’t heard from you in a while. She’s been on my mind. I’m praying for her still. I’m praying for all y’all. Rayna, praise God for you. I love y’all so, so much. Talk to you later. Bye-bye.
Hi, this is Melissa from Baltimore. I am a two-year listener. This is the first ti me I’ve called. The teachers that have called in this week have just broken my heart and I just want to tell you guys, thank you for all that you all do. As a mother of three children in a city that is so broken, Lord, oh gosh, we just need teachers, just the ones that have called in, just like that Lord, with broken hearts. And Lord we just trust that You will move in their lives Lord God, that they will see and get a glimpse of what they do, Lord God, and how You have a bigger purpose for them and Lord I just ask that you would help, just, to reveal this in a small way, Lord God, that they will see that they’re impact…that there’s power…there’s a purpose. Lord, we thank You for these people that are really laying down their lives and their hearts trying to do Your work. Thank you, teachers, all of you guys that do so much. And know that you are not unnoticed. Thank you.
Hi family, it’s Shannon from Texas. I was thinking this morning and listening to the prayer requests and if you heard me call in about my job, I just wanted to kind of reassess my situation and speak to those of us that are going through situations in our jobs. I’m trying to look at it like I’m a missionary and this is my mission from the Lord and I’m going to go into my job every day like it’s war and it’s a spiritual war. And the way I look at it is, I just proclaim God, this is a takeover, this is holy takeover. And I just cry out that every day, because I feel like I’m going into a place that, it is a battle for soul and the Lord has sent me there and it doesn’t belong to them anymore. It belongs to Him and they might not know but they have a date with destiny. And it is over for them. And they might not know why I am there and they might hate me and they might talk about me and they might think it’s this or that. And that I’m there do some kind of job, but not that’s why I’m there. I’m there because the Lord has sent me on a mission, a mission for schools, and that is how we have got to start looking at it. Because that is what it’s about. It’s not about the job. It is about our duty for the Lord and that is how we are going to have to look at it. And we are going to have to pray, day and night. And we are going to have to realize that we are servants. And that is what this about. And I know it’s hard, but we’ve got to keep lifting each other up. And We’ve got to stay out of negativity in our talking and in our thinking. So, let’s lift each other up.