Month: November 2017

Ezekiel 31:1-32:32, Hebrews 12:14-29, Psalms 113:1-114:8, Proverbs 27:18-20

Today is the 15th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today around this global campfire that we share together, where no matter where we are, no matter when we’re listening, someone else is as well, and we’re never alone here. And it’s a beautiful. It’s a beautiful thing. And we’ve come together to take the next step forward in the Scriptures. We’re reading from the common English Bible this week and we’ll continue our journey through Ezekiel and Hebrews. Tomorrow we’ll conclude the book of Hebrews, but Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Ezekiel chapter 31 verse 1 through 32 verse 32.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of Hebrews we’ve been talking for the last couple of days about faith and the fact that its presence in our lives is a necessity to operate in this kingdom or to enter into this new covenant. And we went through many examples from the Old Testament of biblical people who were regarded as the most influential people to the Hebrews. And they were all used as examples of people who had faith, people who saw something that they could not see, and hoped in it, hoped in the promise. And then we were led into the understanding that we find ourselves in the same place. We have to have the same kind of faith in what we can’t see but in what we know is coming, because at the time of this writing those were following Jesus were being marginalized and sidelined and persecuted and it didn’t feel like things were getting better, it felt like things were getting worse. And, so, that’s where faith comes in. And Hebrews counseled us on perseverance and discipline and the fact that what we can see right this minute isn’t all there is there is, there’s much more going on, there’s a larger story happening, but the only way to renew our hope in this coming thing is through faith. And so, today we’re kind of reaching the climax. We’re just about done with the book of Hebrews. We’ll complete it tomorrow. And so, we’re instructed on how to navigate, how to navigate life, and how to look at things. And, so, we’re instructed and we should pay attention to this because it applies to our lives. ‘Pursue the goal of peace along with everyone and holiness as well because no one will see the Lord without it. Make sure that no one misses out on God’s grace. Make sure that no root of bitterness grows up that might cause trouble and pollute many people. Make sure that no one becomes sexually immoral or ungodly like Esau’. These are postures. These are instructions on what our lives are supposed to be shaped like in order to cultivate faith that will bring hope. And then we’re led into a contrasting example of Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. Mount Sinai, of course, representing God meeting with the people in the wilderness, and giving the 10 Commandments, and instituting the first covenant. And the writer of Hebrews reminds them that everyone was freaked out. Like, no one could even touch the mountain. Even Moses said that he was terrified and shaking. And that was brought up to represent the institution of the old covenant, but then the writer says ‘but you have drawn near to Mount Zion’ and goes on to explain how this represents this new thing that God is doing, this new covenant through Jesus. And then we’re given a warning and a hopeful picture. The warning is that everything is going to get shaken up because of this. And certainly 2000 years later, we can see that Jesus has indeed shaken the world. Before the Hebrews, at this time, it’s just counsel. Everything that can shake his calling to get shaken up because of this new covenant because it’s a new era, a new dawning of a new day. Things among the human race have profoundly been changed. So, it’s going to shake things up but that’s necessary. Everything that can shake is going to get shaken and the things that aren’t shaken are the things that will remain. And because of this new covenant we are entering into and receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and our response to that can only be gratitude. And we can take the last statement from our reading today and place it in our hearts as we move forward in our lives. ‘With this gratitude let’s serve in a way that is pleasing to God, with respect and awe because our God really is a consuming fire’.

Prayer:

Father, there is no doubt that we experience shaking and shake up in our lives. And most of the time we see this is a horribly bad thing. And rarely do we look at it as everything that needs to be shaken lose. Everything that needs to fall away is falling away because of the shaking and rarely do we run to You and embrace the process and move through it by the council and power of Your Holy Spirit. Usually we’re asking You why You let this happen. And from the book of Hebrews today, we can see that things need to be shaken up. Things need to fall away so that that which is stable and solid and cannot be shaken is what remains. And Your kingdom cannot be shaken. And You have invited us to participate in it. And, so, we embrace all of the things that we are going through. And we invite Your Holy Spirit. We run to You, not with accusation, but with gratitude. We express our gratitude that You can continue to pursue us and to shake loose the things it will only take us down in the end. We are grateful that You are a consuming fire, You consume the things that do not belong in and around us, and You consume us with the power of Your Holy Spirit to operate as Your image bearers, ambassadors, and representatives on this earth. And we invite Your Holy Spirit to give us this awareness, a much larger perspective on all of the issues that we face in our lives. Come Holy Spirit, give us the eyes and the ears of Your unshakable kingdom. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

And we have this one date left on our calendar for travel this year and it’s the 19^th, which is this Sunday. We’ll be in Louisiana in the Shreveport area, in Bossier City at River Valley church and we are looking forward to it. So, if you’re in the area we’d love to say hi. Come say hello. You can get the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link, it’s on the homepage. And thank you for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment there are numbers that you can call. We have a few of them. If you are in the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number to dial. If you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number to dial. And if you are in Australia or the lands down under 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to call and that’s it for today.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hi Daily Audio Bible this is ___ from Maryland. Just wanted to say, this message is for Jill. Jill, I hear everybody talking about you when they thank Brian and Jill. And I’ve heard Brian’s voice and I haven’t gotten to know you yet. But yesterday I started listening to some of the resources that are on the app, the first videos and the women resources, it was your interviews with Stacey. If I am saying her name wrong, I’m sorry. But you are awesome Jill and it was so great to get to know you. I was listening to the interviews that were from 2014, but so profoundly, exactly what I needed here in the moment that I heard it. And I could hear your heart and your love of God and I just wanted to thank you, and nice to meet you, Brian and Jill, both of you. Thank you for everything. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for God and for you all for the resources that you’ve provided us with to be in his word every day. I cannot thank you enough. Just thank you. And anyone who feels inspired to tap into the resources that Jill has put forth through DAB with Brian, just do it. I highly recommend it. Love you guys.

Windows of opportunity surround us each day
Choices are chances to do things God’s way
Is there healing or venom in the things that you say
Help us sweet Jesus to do things your way
Do you do unto others before they do you
Do you render to Caesar the all that he’s due
Do you humbly ask Jesus your strength to renew
Are you really for God or is it all about you
Storm clouds may gather but they will not prevail
God has all power and his word will not fail
Satan is a liar, a robber, a thief
Help me sweet Jesus with my unbelief
Windows of opportunity surround us each day
Choices and chances to do things God’s way
Is there healing or venom in the things that you say
Help us sweet Jesus to do things your way
Mom was a Christian and daddy was too
They did all the good things that parents can do
Sometimes we’d listen and sometimes we’d stray
But we always had chances to do things God’s way
Jobs, friends, and family, they all have their place
They all can add balance if we run the good race
But they also add attention and trials each day
Help us sweet Jesus to do things your way
Do you encourage your family
Do you uplift your friends
Do you know that your jobs are just means to your ends
Do you glorify Jesus in all that you do
Are you really for God or is it all about you

blindtony1016@gmail.com. Victory S. I missed you last week, I didn’t hear your voice last week and I definitely missed it. Hope all is well. Anyway, thank you once again Brian for this wonderful Podcast for Gods Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flowin’ y’all. Alright. Bye-bye.

This is Peg in Texas, praying with the DAB family. Almighty, all-powerful God, who loves with an everlasting love, I come asking, asking for Sharon in California whose daughter is bipolar. This diagnosis is up and down and so often unstable Lord. I ask, Father, for all that is needed for stabilizing the brain of this loved one. For Zander, the one man who is missing the blessing as Tony said so well in a poem, show him to Yourself, open his eyes to his own addiction and open his heart to see you, to find Christian friends, to remove himself from a harmful relationship. Oh God, in the name of Jesus, redeem the child in the situation. For Sandy in Arkansas, help her to see that this playing of marriage and playing house but living in an abusive and sinful situation is not in accordance with Your will. The culture may say it is but your word does not give proof. Give her the courage to leave, to walk out and away from a man who is taking advantage of her availability. Yes, we do ask for his salvation, we ask for his healing, but at the same time, I ask for Sandy’s healing for she is helping to create a sick and really a sinful situation. And, oh Lord, for Gloria in New York and her deep concern for her mom. She wants to move her mom to New York. If this is for the mother’s situation to be greatly bettered, for stability, for peace, for kindness or attentive care or more attentive care, maybe I should say Lord, I ask that the move will be made. I pray for brothers, that Gloria sees as controlling and cruel and abusive, that in the name of Jesus, You will work powerfully, bringing healing in lives between siblings, for I believe it to be Your divine will. And for Jordan the teacher, give him the desire and ability to firmly hold onto Your word…

Hi Daily Audio Bible family. I’m asking you to please, please pray for my husband. We’ve lost two daughters to gun violence and now my husband, John, has been diagnosed with cancer. I can’t describe the pain and anxiety we’re feeling right now but God showed me in a dream to call Daily Audio Bible and ask for prayer. So, we trust in the power of prayer and the power of the blood and the power of God’s love. So, I’m asking all of you guys out there to pry for us. And I want to thank you in advance for covering us in prayer

Ezekiel 29:1-30:26, Hebrews 11:32-12:13, Psalms 112:1-10, Proverbs 27:17

Today is the 14^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. We’re probably far enough in the year for you to know that, but I’m Brian. It’s good to be here with you today. And I’m excited to take the next step forward. We’ll move into Ezekiel and then into Hebrews, where we will talk about faith. But first, Ezekiel chapter 29 verse one through 30, verse 26. And we’re reading from the Common English Bible this week.

Commentary:

Alright. So, in Hebrews, as I’ve been saying most every day, Hebrews was written to Hebrews, which is not me saying, because it was written to Hebrews it has no meaning for us, it’s to say, that’s the context and context is important in the Bible. These are early Jewish believers in Jesus and they are declaring that God is doing a new thing among the Hebrew people, that Jesus is a part of the Hebrew story and that God is doing a new thing among the Hebrew people. The old covenant is accomplished and a new covenant is instituted. Well, this is not widely accepted at the time or now among the Hebrew people. And so, this letter is to restate what is believed about Jesus in a Hebrew context among the early believers in Jesus because they are on the margins. At best, these early Hebrew believers in Jesus were thought to be just a part of another Jewish sect, sort of like a weird new denomination of Judaism, who are following a rabbi named Jesus, who happened to be executed by the Romans. So, these guys are being marginalized, sidelined, cast out, mistreated, even persecuted. And if we remember the story of the apostle Paul, he was one of the persecutors. This is who he was after, Jewish, Hebrew people who were converting to following Jesus. So, they had they had considerable opposition. So, on the one hand they were adopting this way of Jesus and following Jesus teachings and believing that this rewired and reframed things that God was doing something new in the world and this would lead them to eternal life. But on the other hand, it had only made their human physical lives much more difficult to navigate. So, we can begin to see how this all fits together - a lengthy explanation of how Jesus connects to the Hebrew story and fulfills so many prophecies and brings to an end an era and begins a new one that follows in a tradition of faith in what can’t be seen but is hoped for and in. And then we walked through all of the examples, Hebrew examples by the way, of people who are deeply respected by all Hebrew, all practicing Jewish people. And, so, now the writer of Hebrews is saying look, those guys believed in a promise and hoped in it and moved forward and they moved the world and our culture forward in the process, but it was very difficult for them. So, we shouldn’t be surprised that moving this forward, that our place in this story is difficult. And, so, right now we can’t just disappear into the scenery. We can’t just fade. We have to follow our ancestors example and move this forward. And, so, the conclusion, not of the book of Hebrews, but the conclusion of this thought – ‘so then, let’s also run the race that is laid out in front of us since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. And that great cloud of witnesses, being all of the examples of the ancestors that had gone before them’. This hall of faith that we walked down over the last couple of days. ‘Let’s throw off any extra baggage and get rid of the sin that trips us up and fix our eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter. He endured the cross, ignoring the shame for the sake of the joy that was laid out in front of Him and sat down at the right side of God’s throne’. We should take great encouragement in that because it gives the lay of the land for our own lives. It’s not always going to be easy. This isn’t even about making things easy, which is one of the great misconceptions about this journey of faith that we’re on. And one of the things that deeply estranges us from God because for some reason, we think that everything is supposed to be unopposed and without challenge and easy and when it’s not we blame God for it. And we can see clues that this is somewhat happening in this time because the writer of Hebrews then begins to talk about discipline. And the way that it’s brought out is, look, a parent who doesn’t discipline their children and shape them and guide them doesn’t love them. And if that’s not happening to a child then the child’s in his legitimate child. So, they are basically saying, look, we have to endure this, we have to move through this and get everything that God has for us that’s in it into our lives. We’re being shaped. We’re being remade new for this new covenant. Things have changed and we are carrying it forward. And, so, we too, can take council found in the last verses that we read today – ‘so strengthen your drooping hands and weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet so that if any part is lame it will be healed rather than injured more seriously.

Prayer:

Father, we have to reframe some things. We actually have to keep reframing them, that the obstacles that we face and the challenges that come our way aren’t purposeless. They are an invitation to grow strong in our faith, which we need to be. And they are assisting us with stripping away all of the things that are going nowhere in our lives. So, come Holy Spirit, strengthen our faith. We embrace You, and we cling to You in all things. You are the Author and Perfecter of our faith. So, come Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

Looking at the calendar, just a few days from now, this coming Sunday the 19^th of November, we’ll be back out on the road bringing the Sneezing Jesus message at River Valley church in Bossier City, Louisiana. So, this will be last time we’ll be out on the road this year. Looking forward to seeing you. Come say hello. You can get all the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section. And we’ll look forward to that in a few days.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link, it’s on the homepage. And I can’t thank you enough for those of you who have clicked that link. Thank you. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hi Family. This is His Little Sheri from Canada. And I finished listening to the community prayer for November 4^th and doodling my prayers for all of you. I have quite a long list of people I will be praying for. And just to mention a few, Kristi in Kentucky, your dad passed away on October 21^st. That was my birthday. And my heart goes out to you. I’m very close to my parents. And, so, I can imagine the grief you’re feeling after losing both your mom and now your dad. I’m praying for you Kristi. A man called in, didn’t leave his name, but you were saying that you were really needing companionship, that you are feeling lonely, and I’m praying for you. I’m praying for Julie from Maryland. Thank you so much Julie, for your message to me. That made my day. And you had mentioned that you’re praying for your parents and your brother for their salvation. I’m going to join you in praying for them. Miguel, you called you in and sang Victory in Jesus. Thank you, I was singing with you at the top of my lungs…because there was nobody home. So, thank you of reminding me of that wonderful old hymn. And Lisa the Encourager, you called in and talked about the miracle of our eyes. Thank you for that. That was so fascinating. And I just felt worship rise up in my hear as you were talking about the miraculous design of our eyes. And Candice from Oregon. You called in mentioning that you’re going to be meeting with your sister. I’m wondering how that went, so please call in and update us. There’s so many more here on my list. I love you family. I’m praying for so many of you and I’ll talk to you again soon. Bye for now.

Hello my darling family. This is Janice in Goodyear Arizona calling. I send greetings to all of you and my love. And I have a special request for my brother-in-law. His name is Tim. And Tim has been through a rough time, to say the least. He lost his beautiful 35 year old daughter a couple months ago in a car accident and now the doctors have discovered internal bleeding but they don’t know where it’s coming from. So, he’s got to go through a bunch of tests and we all know how those are. Please pray that the Lord will direct these doctors to find the cause of his bleeding and stop it. And please pray, most of all, that Tim will come to a knowledge of Jesus as his Lord and Savior. And I thank you all so very much. I still keep a book, I wish I could show you all my books, it’s full of with prayers and answers from my DAB family. God bless you all. Thanks again.

Good morning everyone, this is Mike from Washington state. I’m calling on 11/11. I’d just been listening to the community prayer line today and I just wanted to say thank you to all my Daily Audio Bible family and all the prayer requesters and everything for the beautiful podcast. I’ve been listening since 2009, full time listening since 2010. And felt compelled to call today to thank Tony for his great poem about the three trees. It just really turned something in me and made me want to call in for the first time. Everybody have a great day. And love you all.

Hi. Kristi from Kentucky, this is Valerie calling from Michigan. I heard your prayer request a few days ago about the loss of your mom and dad so close together and I totally feel for you. Feel my hugs right now for you. I understand. My mom and dad died 8 months apart. And my dad died middle of August. And, so, I’ve had a little time to reflect on their lives and their presence in my life and how much I miss them. And I know you’re probably…in the beginning…your heart just hurts…you actually feel pain in your heart because you miss them so much. And that will get a little easier. God is good. Rest in Him and feel the tears…let the tears flow…let the blankets of sorrow just come upon you. It’s OK. It will get easier. God is good. He is our eternal Father and our parents are home, which is our goal, is to one day go home. And this is a hard time of year to be at a loss, to be grieving. So, I’ll be praying for you Kristi and for you too Brian, for the loss of your mom, and for all out there who are missing loved ones. Remember that we are children to our parents, parents to our children. Some day we will be parents to our parents and children to our children -  circle of life. And there’s a lesson there. God bless you. Love you Kristi. Bye-bye.  

Ezekiel 27:1-28:26, Hebrews 11:17-31, Psalms 111:1-10, Proverbs 27:15-16

Today is the 13th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s wonderful to be here with you today as we launch ourselves into a new work week. So, let’s dive. We’re reading from the Common English Bible this week. Ezekiel chapter 27 verse 1 through 28 verse 26.

Commentary:

Alright. So, yesterday in the book of Hebrews, we started walking down what is known as the ‘hall of faith’. And it kind of turns the corner in the book of Hebrews. Previously, as we’ve already talked at length about, we were examining the sacrificial system and its completion in Jesus and the implications of a new covenant, a new thing God is doing. And then we turned the corner toward what activates, what fuels that new covenant, which is faith. And, so, we’ve been working through examples of people’s faith in what they couldn’t see but they believed to be true and hoped in. And, so, in today’s reading, we read about Abraham’s faith and Isaac’s faith and Jacob’s faith and Joseph’s faith and Moses faith and the faith of the Hebrew people when they crossed the Red Sea on dry land and the faith of the people when Jericho’s walls fell and the faith of Rahab, who was in Jericho but was spared. And the writer of Hebrews is saying all of these people demonstrated faith in something that they hoped for, but could not see, and it became a reality. And it, in fact, became the Hebrew story. So, once again, Hebrews is written to Hebrews. So, that is the context and that is the cultural backdrop so that we can see in all the names, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob - all these names that we just read through - they were examples of faith as heroes from the Bible. That’s how we would see them in this time, but for the Hebrew people reading this letter, it’s their story being told back to them, showing them that faith is beyond a sacrificial system or a Mosaic law and it’s going to be faith that they have to leap into, a leap of faith, to move into this new covenant, this new thing that God is doing in the world through his son, Jesus, and how this new thing rearranges and changes things for them. And, so, tomorrow, when we get into the book of Hebrews, we’ll be moving out of these examples, this ‘hallway of faith’ that some people call it, we’ll be moving out of these examples, and into what this means.

Prayer 

Father, we have asked for You to come and well up within us and increase our faith because we know it’s impossible to please You without faith. And we know without faith our hope cannot grow and we can’t reach for what we can’t see. So, come Holy Spirit, increase our faith. And we know, we understand, we have to collaborate in that, we have to turn our heart toward You and run toward You in every decision in every word in every thought of our lives. But we can’t do that on our own. We’ve tried. We need your help. Come Holy Spirit, we turn and run toward You, knowing that You will meet us, You will guide us, You will lead us into all truth. And we put our hope in that. We pray these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

Looking at the calendar, this coming Sunday, which will be the 19^th of November, we’ll be out on the road for the final time of the year. And we’ll be in Louisiana, in Bossier City, Louisiana, which is near Shreveport. And we’ll be at River Valley church and we’re looking forward to that. So, if you’re in the area, love to see you. Come say hello. You can get the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link, it’s on the homepage and we thank you humbly for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hello Daily Audio Bible. I just want to say thank you for praying for my husband. I called in three years ago and didn’t know what was wrong with him. A lot of things came to light, but there was repentance and God is good. He is a believer in Jesus Christ. He is guiding and leading bible studies for men of addiction groups and it’s amazing. We’re reading scripture. Thank you for your prayers Daily Audio Bible.

Hi family. This is Melan in Northern California. I haven’t called in in a while. I do listen, I do pray. But I am going to have a prayer request. I know that God is beyond all time. And, so, that’s why I’m calling in now. I am currently on my way up to the hospital for a stress test / treadmill test. Earlier this week I had some serious symptoms of a heart attack. And everything was ruled out. We determined it’s just anxiety. I am suffering from severe anxiety. I have serious marital issues. My husband and I are on the brink of divorce and I keep telling myself that I can’t say that word anymore because thinking it is to strong but I also know that speaking the name of Jesus is even stronger. And, so, I have called so that you would please pray for my marriage and for my husband. We are just really, really on the verge. We’ve had a rough go of it for…well…we’ve been married for 16 years and it’s been 16 been of rough marriage. So, please pray for us. Pray for him to please turn his heart back to the Lord. His faith has grown cold. And I know that when he falls back in love with Jesus then all the right in his world and even if I’m not in the picture for that that his will world will be good and right and just. So, thank you family. Love you. Pray for you all daily. Bye.

Good morning. It is Beloved by Him in Gloucester in the UK. I want to thank Miguel for all his prayers for our churches and I hope to take up the challenge as well to continue praying for our leaders and for our church communities. Today I wanted to pray for the Polish Catholic Church ___ Stella. She is a Polish Catholic but she doesn’t worship regularly because there isn’t a church near her. I also wanted to pray for her as well and others like who are overwhelmed with work and stressed out by work so much so that their bodies have made them ___. Anyway, let’s pray. Father God, thank You so much for Your people, whatever denomination they are. Thank You that they know and love You and acknowledge You for who You are, the Creator of the universe, that You love us, that You sent Your Son to die for us, to die for our sins so that we might have a relationship with you, and might have eternal life with you. Father God, I lift up the Polish Catholic church. I pray Lord that You’d be blessing that church and that You’d be helping those communities of Polish Catholics, wherever they are Lord, find a way to worship. I pray Lord that there would be opportunities for Stella and people like her to worship You in the way they want to worship You. I pray Lord that You would become real to Stella and that You would be blessing her. Father God I lift up my brothers and sisters out there who are overworked by work at the moment, overwhelmed by stresses and things like and anxiety, so much so that it’s affecting their health. I pray Lord that You’d be giving them what they need, You’d be restoring their health and giving them peace. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is Wrapped in His Unfailing Love and I just wanted to share something with you. Good morning. I love you all. This is what I’ve been doing. I’ve been keeping a copy of Sneezing Jesus in my car and I pray about who I can give it to. And I told you, I think, that I gave it to my massage therapist and she was very happy about it. And then I gave it to a lady that I see at a place where I exercise. And I really prayed about it first and she thanked me for it the next time she saw me and she said it was really interesting and it has given her allot to think about. So, I was so encouraged by that I wanted to share it with you and thought that that is a good idea. So, anyway I just wanted to say good morning on this beautiful day, that I love you all, and I think about you, and I pray with you as I listen to your prayer requests. And thank you for praying for me too. So, love you all and have a wonderful weekend. Bye-bye.

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.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

Looking at the calendar, one week from today we will be back out on the road sharing the Sneezing Jesus message. This will be the final time for this year. We’ll be Louisiana, in the Shreveport area, Bossier City, to be specific, and we’ll be at River Valley church. So, we’re looking forward to that very much. If you are in the area or want to come into the area, looking forward to seeing you, hugging your neck, shaking your hand, and seeing your face in person. So, all of the details are at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section and I will see you next week.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link, it’s on the homepage. Thank you profoundly and humbly for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

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.

Ezekiel 23:1-49; Hebrews 10:18-39; Psalms 109:1-31; Proverbs 27:13

Today is the 11th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today, kind of bringing this week in for a landing together. I have some nice, steamy wind farm coffee to my left, in my new roasted red pepper Clean Canteen, which I’ll tell you about at the end. Let’s dive in. Ezekiel chapter 23 verses 1 through 49 today. And we’re reading from the New Living translation this week.

Commentary:

Okay. So, some saucy stuff in the book of Ezekiel today. God compares Samaria and Jerusalem, so the northern and the southern kingdom, to prostitutes who lust for lovers who are hung like donkeys. And I don’t think we need to…I don’t think we need to go into that, it’s pretty self-explanatory, other than to say God is using a graphic metaphor to show how this constant generational mixture with all of the nations around them, we’re there mixing themselves in with these people and adopting all of their culture and mixing it with their own, including the worship of foreign and false gods is an utter betrayal of God. And God is pretty clear about how he feels about it.

But in the book of Hebrews we reach this kind of breakthrough moment, where everything that we’ve been talking about in the book of Hebrews leads to this place where the implications become apparent. So first, we have to remember, Hebrews was written to Hebrews. So, everything that’s being said is from a Hebrew cultural perspective. And at length, we’ve been looking at the sacrificial system that every Hebrew who grew up Hebrew would understand. We spent some time looking at things that happened before the sacrificial system, so before the Mosaic law, which is something that the apostle Paul also did in his writings. We talked about how there was precedent in the Hebrew culture, that something new was going to happen, that redemption would happen by God doing a new thing. And then we watched as the writer of Hebrew declared that Jesus is that new thing and then referred back to the Old Testament to show how. And, so, today we see the implications of Jesus being this new thing, this new high priest, this final sacrifice in the sacrificial system, and the institution of this new covenant, this new thing. And the implications are found in the 10th chapter of Hebrews, beginning with verse 19. ‘And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heavens most holy place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the most holy place. And since we have a great high priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts, fully trusting Him, for our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water’. Okay. So, this is something we take for granted, that we have instant and always on access to God. That’s not the story for the readers here. The only way they can get to God is by offering a sacrifice and the high priest once a year entering the most holy place and entering the presence of God on behalf of the people. So, the writer of Hebrews is saying, all of that has come to its completion. And now, because we have this high priest, Jesus, presiding over a new covenant, directly from heaven, we can actually go into the holy of holies. In other words, we can actually, personally individually, enter the presence of God. This is a massive, massive paradigm shift. A completely different way of looking at things and a giant leap of faith for the early Hebrew believers. It forces them, by default, to be at odds with their culture and flies in the face of their religious tradition. And the pressure that brings upon these people is remarkable. But the promise of intimacy, and union, and collaboration, and a personal relationship with God is also remarkable. Now, because the pressures are so remarkable, I mean, to the point of persecution, the writer of Hebrews leaves words of encouragement, words that echo across time, words that find themselves in our lives today, right now, because in a lot of ways we face these same kind of pressures, maybe not pressures of persecution like they were facing, but definitely the crush of culture in the world. So, I’m going to read the last little portion of Hebrews that we just read as words of encouragement to you, whatever is going on in your life and invite you to meditate upon it as you go through your day. So, beginning at verse 32. ‘Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail. And when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. So, do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you. Patient endurance is what you need now so that you will continue to do God’s will, then you will receive all that He has promised. For in just a little while the coming One will come and not delay and my righteous ones will live by faith, but I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.

Prayer:

Father we invite your Holy Spirit to sear these words on our hearts, that we may remember the magnitude of what You have done in doing this new thing through Jesus our Lord, that this relationship that we often take for granted is only available to us because of Jesus, and that we can come clean and righteous before You, into your presence, into the holy of holies, as it were, and be in Your very presence. Come Holy Spirit, and let us see what this means, because all of the other circumstances of life begin to fade away in the truth of this reality. Come Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

And what is going on?

Yesterday we talked about the new clean canteens that we have in stock. We get them in stock a couple of times a year and this will be the last time this year they are in stock. And these are a special edition. In the past, we’ve imprinted our logo on the food grade stainless steel that these are made out of and they are awesome. This time we made them in a roasted red pepper color, a deep red color, that we use a lot at Daily Audio Bible with the Daily Audio Bible logo in white and they are striking, really beautiful. I may be a little biased, but I think they stand out. So, the way that it usually works is that they’re gone in a matter of days and that is definitely proving to be the case. So, they won’t last long. And I’ll be surprised if we have any left before the weekend is over. So, grab them while you can. They’re in the Daily Audio Bible shop, in the active and drink wear section, until we run out of them.

And then, looking at the calendar, the 19th of November will be the final travel date for Sneezing Jesus this year. And that will be in the Shreveport Louisiana area. We’ll be in Bossier City, Louisiana at River Valley church and we’re looking for that. You can get the details at dailyaudiobible.com by scrolling down to the events section and clicking this event. And we’ll look forward to seeing you on the road.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link, it’s on the homepage. Thank you profoundly for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hey, good morning everybody. This is ___ from Oklahoma City. I hope you all are doing well today. Good news, my young son Alex in Colorado got a new job building tanks for oilfield stuff, which is going to pay him pretty good. Thank you. Praise the Lord. Hey, I’m praying for everybody who is thinking about attending the Louisiana, Bossier City family gathering. I’m pretty sure I’m going to go or get to go. That’s a long drive but I love and I get to stop in Dallas and that’s cool. Hey, my husband, Lloyd, is going for an interview this Friday with the power plant to become a supervisor and it looks like it’s pretty much like one of those shoe-in kind of jobs where he’s been doing it for a while and you’ve pretty much got it but he is going to be up against some of his friends. And I would just pray that everybody goes through the interview and does well and the person that they would like to select, whoever God wants to put in that position, let Him put him them there. And we are both on that page for sure. So, I would appreciate all the prayers that cover that. And then, hopefully, there’s no any animosity afterwards, you know? Because sometimes it can be that way among your friends. So, anyways, guys, I love you guys. Kristy from Kentucky, my sister, I couldn’t even imagine being in your shoes. If something happened to my dad, I mean, he was like, I mean, is my best friend and I’m sure your dad was the same way. So, I’m giving you some great big hugs about that. Okay, I love you guys. Have a great day. Bye-bye.

Good morning. This is November the 7^th and I’m calling anonymously because I don’t want to offend anyone that knows me, but Brian you said it today, you said something that I’ve been trying to, I guess, put in the words for six years since I’ve been listening to the Daily Audio Bible, every day. And what you said is you said it’s the covenant being talked about here and not the scriptures. You see, I grew up in a religion that discredited the Old Testament and I was told things like, music was wrong in worship, and this and that were wrong. And when I started reading the Daily Audio Bible, listening in, and reading along, within a few months of the first year, I would read in the Psalms about one of my heroes, David, who would often talk about worshiping the Lord with cymbals and harps and the liar. And my encouragement to everyone today is to, with your life, is to, if you are just getting started with this, to continue on and read these Scriptures for yourself and ask God to speak directly to you. And He’ll reveal to you the truth like he did to me. And Brian, I don’t think you, in your talk about the Global Campfire initiative, I don’t think you gave enough credit to your commentary and your prayers, and I just thank God for your insight and your wisdom and your prayers that continue to teach me and so many others the truth. So, I thank you for that and that’s why I invested in the Global Campfire Initiative. I’m so excited about my print coming and I’m going to be able to put it on the wall of my office.

Good morning DAB family. It’s Patty calling from Calgary Canada. Just want to say hello to everybody and thank you so much for Brian for your ministry and Jill for supporting him. I’ve been listening for about 7 years. I’ve only called in a couple of times. Once was about 4 years ago when our son was heavy in an addictive addiction and I just want to say, praise the Lord. He is now over 2 years in recovery, doing very well. But I do have a prayer request today. My husband has been out of work for 18 months because of a down turn in the economy here in Alberta. And, so, could you please pray for him for employment. It’s really weighing heavily upon him. I’ve gotten a job in order to help support us. But we’re pretty close to retirement and it’s not working for us. So, if you could please pray for my husband Neil to find employment in his field I would so appreciate it. Thank you so much I love listening to you all. I lift you all up in prayer when I hear your prayers and see you on the Facebook page. Love you and God bless.

Hey guys. If you could pray for my wife, that would be great. She is like 26 weeks pregnant or something with twins and she having some Braxton Hicks and lots of discomfort and stuff. It’s still within the normal range of things, but could use some prayers for her that would be great. The longer they’re in there the better. I’m praying for you guys. I love you all. I will keep you updated and I will be praying for you guys. God bless you.