Leviticus 20:22-22:20, Mark 9:1-29, Psalms 43:1-5, Proverbs 10:18
Today is the 27th day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. And it’s great to be here with you on the eve of the close of our second month together. Time does indeed fly. And coming to you for the last time from the Sea of Galilee on this pilgrimage. We’ll be heading out today and plenty to see on our way to where we will end up tonight in the city of Jerusalem. And we had a great day yesterday travelling up into the north country. And we’ll talk about that in a little bit. But let’s dive into the Scriptures for today. We’re reading from the Modern English Version this week. And we’ll pick up in the book of Leviticus where we left off yesterday. God is revealing statutes and decrees that will shape and form the community that He has brought out of slavery, His chosen people that are in the wilderness moving their way toward the promised land and being sculpted and shaped in the process. And, so, we’ll pick up where we left off. Leviticus chapter 20 verse 22 through chapter 22 verse 16 today.
Prayer:
Once again, Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for all that it represents in our lives and its value. And we acknowledge that it shapes us and it transforms us as we remain in the rhythm of allowing it to speak into our lives each and every day. And we’re so thankful for such a gift. And, Father, we thank You for the opportunity to be here in the land of Galilee, the land that You choose to do so much ministry in. And we thank You for what it has represented to we who are here and we who are here virtually. We thank You that we can center ourselves in a geographical location while centering ourselves in the Scriptures and connecting those dots back to our hearts, allowing transformation to take place, and we are very, very grateful for that. You are a good Father and we are grateful. Plant these words into our hearts and lives, continuing the day by day sanctification, the transformation that happens little by little, day by day constantly, recreating us anew in the image of Your son. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.
Announcements:
Okay. So, we’ve kind of reached the point of capacity and overload in this trip. This is just how it works. I say at the very beginning to everybody who’s in attendance on that first evening, it’s going to be like drinking from a firehose and it is every bit of that. And, so, our minds and hearts are full and continuing to expand as we move day by day into different regions of this land, exploring all of the different facets and things that happened here. And yesterday we spent the day in north country. So, we went up to Mount Bental, which is right on the border of Syria. And it’s a place that you can see Mount Herman very, very clearly, although we couldn’t see it very, very clearly yesterday. The clouds had rolled in and Mount Herman was being shy. I don’t know why. Something must have embarrassed her or she was having a bad hair day or something, but she was shy and cloaked in the clouds. But we definitely took the opportunity to look into Syria even though it was in the clouds for the most part. We definitely took the opportunity to look in and just consider how much struggle is happening there and how many of our brothers and sisters in the kingdom who love Jesus are struggling as well and we remembered them and we prayed for them and we faced outward in this trip and considered how blessed we are even as we prayed for those who are struggling significantly right now across borders. And it was chilly up there for sure. So, we spent a little time in a radically different climate than we were in a few days ago when we were out in the wilderness. And then from there we went to the city of Caesarea Philippi, which was something that we encountered in our reading yesterday. So, it was really immediate to us. We had just read about it in the Scriptures and then there we were. And it’s a place where Jesus asked a tremendously important question, perhaps the most important question: ‘who do you say that I am?’ And we considered that as we toured around the ruins of ancient Caesarea Philippi and drank in the history and the geography of the place before then walking over and having a great lunch prepared at a family establishment of Lebanese folks. And then from there we got back on the bus and drove, I guess, maybe a little less than an hour to the ancient city of Dan, where the geography of the land once belonged to the tribe of Dan and explored those ancient ruins that have a long history. One of Jeroboam’s temples was in Dan. Of course, Dan is the northern boundary of the promised land. So, we have now covered from Dan down to Beersheba. So, as we were at Jeroboam’s temple, we explored the time of the divided monarchy, when Israel was no longer just Israel, it split and Israel was the northern ten tribes and then the kingdom of Judah in the south, which encompassed Jerusalem. King Jeroboam of Israel, of course we haven’t gotten to this in our Scripture reading this year, but he led the northern tribes into idolatry, which caused all kinds of problems, all kinds of problems between Judah and Israel, all kinds of problems for the tribes of Israel, which eventually ended when the Assyrian empire conquered Israel and they disappeared. So, we were able to touch that, root ourselves in that and then move forward. Ancient Dan had previously been called Laish and there are very, very ancient Canaanite ruins there, an ancient Canaanite gate, one of the oldest Canaanite structures in Israel is there in Dan. And, so, we were able to go back into the book of Genesis, back to the time of Abram, before he became Abraham. And Abram’s nephew Lot was captured as he was living down in the city of Sodom. And Abram had to go after him. And as the book of Genesis tells us, he pursued those who had taken his family all the way to Dan. And, so, finding this city gate of Dan, being able to look at them understanding that this goes all the way back into the book of Genesis, this is an ancient, ancient structure that Abraham himself may have passed through, is indeed a pretty striking thing to consider. And, so, we did. We considered that before moving on and beginning our journey back toward the Sea of Galilee with a stop in the ancient city of Hazor, which is a city we will encounter as we move forward in our reading this year once we get into the time of Joshua. And we’re not that far away from that, from that part of the story. Hazor was magnificent, huge, powerful, influential, mighty city of the north. In fact, the mighty city of the north. And once Joshua had come into the land with the children of Israel, and began winning battles that they shouldn’t have won, the king of Hazor amassed an allied army to do kind of away with these intruders and be done with them but that didn’t work out as well as they had planned. And, so, Hazor was destroyed and you can even see the burned remnants when the city was sacked from that time. And, so, we spent a little time there. We didn’t have a lot of time, but we spent some time there just looking the place over and again just rooting ourselves in the biblical narrative and understanding, I’m standing here. Like, that happened and it happened here. And then it was the end of the day, the sun was going down and we ended up in one of my favorite places back near the Sea of Galilee, the city of Bethsaida, where Jesus certainly did ministry, and some the disciples made their hometown. And it was perfect. It was perfect. We had spent the day in the clouds, some of the day with sprinkles, thankfully we didn’t get any downpours, but it’s chillier…a little more gloomy day. But by the time we got to the end of the day, the sun had broken through and it was just ideal, just perfect climate, sunset. I mean, the Galilean hillside there at Bethsaida, is just gorgeous. It’s a serene place of exquisite beauty and peace. And we’ve been putting in some long days. We have been hard charging and really trying to drink in as much as possible with the time that we have and not waste anything. Just use every moment that we have to see everything that we can. So, having a few moments of serenity, of just a little bit of time to contemplate, spend some time meandering, wandering, considering the ancient history and just reconnecting with our hearts, reconnecting with God, it’s a beautiful…I mean…it’s my favorite, favorite place for that in the land of Israel. And as busy and congested as the Galilee can be, we had the place to ourselves, which was a gift in and of itself. And, so, we enjoyed that as we closed our time in the Galilee and then made our way back to the hotel for dinner and some sleep. And we’ll be off today. Much to do. But we’re saying goodbye to Galilee for this trip, and that’s always a little…a little bit sad I guess. There’s so much excitement in front, but that’s…you know, it’s such a beautiful, beautiful place.
So, we thank you all for your continued prayers. We’ve got several days out in front of us before we can make our long journeys back to our homelands and begin to recuperate. But, because, like I said, we’re hard charging and we’re tired, but in a good way. So, thank you for your continued prayers. We feel them, we know they’re there, we know we’re not alone, we appreciate it so, so deeply.
We are going to be coming back in 2019. We’ve made preparations for that, so that we could come back around the same time of year. And if this has been something that’s on your bucket list or something you’ve considered, maybe you want to come back and be here yourself next year. You can find out all about the planned pilgrimage for 2019 at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section if you want some more information.
The other thing that is coming up on the radar here is the More Gathering for women that we’ve been talking about for a while and it takes place in April. Man, it feels like it’s a long time away and a world away. It’s not a long time away. It currently is on the other side of the world, but it will take place in the mountains of Georgia at a beautiful time of year, just like it is a beautiful time of year here where new life is springing forth. So, if you’re a woman and you’re looking for more and you’ve been hearing this spoken of, then certainly do check it out at moregathering.com
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you. Man…I don’t…I mean…thank you. This has been a community effort from the get-go. And it’s still a community effort. And if the work that we do each day to bring the spoken word of God read fresh into your life brings life to you, then thank you for being life giving and return in any way that you can. Appreciate that so much. There’s a link on the homepage of dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner. Or, if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O Box 1996, Spring Hill, Tennessee, 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 Prayer and Praise:
Our Lord is able to do great and mighty things, things that we thought were impossible. And I want to thank Keith from New Hampshire because you gave me such renewed vision. This is Candace from Oregon. And you called and wanted us to pray for Asher and Annie as they approach their wedding. Lord, please do put Job’s hedge of protection around them. Help them to continue to turn themselves completely over to You in everything, in all things. And Keith I just want you to know that you gave me so much hope you know when you told the story of Asher you had raised up to be a godly man and then he turned 15 and starts hanging with the run people and doing all the wrong things. And Lord, I mean…family, I just want to share that, my children, I’m so concerned for them. They are now 40 and 36 and 33 years old and much closer than before to the kingdom, but I thought I had raised them really, really up in the Lord. And they really were right up until they hit puberty and I they, they’ve only come back so painfully slowly. And I pray they would come back fully and completely and turn themselves over to you Lord Jesus. Please, please come and let them…my grandchildren come to you also and know that You are the Lord and You are there their true heart, the place they need to run to. In Jesus name I ask this.
Daily Audio Bible family. This is Alphi calling from Delaware. I hope that every one of you is blessed and doing great. I was reading this article. It was entitled the 10 prayers God always answers. And there was a prayer at the end of that article that I thought I should share because it so dearly spoke to my heart. Here we go. Dear Lord, I want to grow in You and have more of You in my life. I pray that You would strengthen me in using me in my power to glorify You. I thank You for loving me and forgiving my sins each day every day. I pray You will reveal yourself in my life. Give me wisdom as to what I should do in every situation and strengthen my obedience and what You ask of me. Show me the right path to travel and correct my ways if I stray. Show me ways to show and spread Your love to those around me. Clear my mind to receive crystal-clear clarity when You speak. Help align my heart and mind in the purest form to an imitation of You. Thank You for answering all my prayers and Your perfect timing with Your perfect answer even though I may not always understand. In Your name I pray. Amen. I pray that we can wake up each day ask God to use us for His glory, to show us His way, to forgive us our sins, to use us as instruments of spreading love to those around us, to be able to ask for wisdom, to be able to listen and obey His will, and to always except when God answers, even when we don’t understand. Daily Audio Bible family, I love you guys.
Hi everyone it’s Christie from Kentucky. Thank you all so very much for praying for me. I had such a rough week last week. I don’t know what is going on. I was just mad. I was just really mad. I said I was mad and sad and sad and mad…just angry…and it’s just not like me to be that way. But I was just not myself at all…and I was just getting frustrated with so many people in my life…just…I felt so disappointed in so many different ways. You know, people tell you that you love you and then they go behind your back and talk about you and then it’s just not right. You know, and everybody wanting to get into your business when it’s none of their businesses and can’t stand it because they don’t know and oh…I don’t know…I’ve just…I’ve just been really going through this anger period. And somebody told me it was just part of the grief process, but I just don’t know. I’ve never felt this way before. I just got mean. So, anyway. I feel like I’m coming out of it. So, anyway thank you very much for praying. Listen, please pray for my friend Alan. Alan had a friend named Jacob and Jacob just had a massive heart attack and passed away. He was only 41. And he leaves behind his wife, Kayla and two small children ages nine and three. So, please pray for this family. You know, every time I do these things get mad or sad or go through these things I look around and see there are so many people that have so much bigger problems that I ever thought about having and I feel terrible. So anyway, asking the Lord to forgive me and just ask for grace. I love you guys so much I hope each of you are having a most blessed and lovely day.
Hello DAB family. This is Demetri calling back. It’s been a few months. I just wanted to update you guys on my situation with my wife. We’d been having lots of troubles and almost on the brink of divorce. So, your prayers and family support and all of our friends support in church and everybody in our lives. Their prayers and their support, that really…that really brought our marriage back together. And I just wanted to thank you guys first and God for bringing us back. And we’re stronger than ever. There’s definitely still a lot of questions unanswered and the future is unclear, but where praying to God to help us out and to give us the vision of the future. So, yeah, I wanted to thank you guys for the prayers thank God for His mercy and grace. Hope you guys are doing well. Everything is great in our family and our life. And I wanted to give that update. And call you back later for more prayers. You guys have a great day. I’ll talk to you guys later.
Hey Daily Audio Bible family this is Ginger D. from Kentucky. I just wanted to let you know that I am praying for you, praying for all of you who are feeling lost, lonely, and disconnected, praying for all of you who are fighting financial stresses and distresses and are seeking help financially. I’m also praying for you if you are battling relationship problems, any other issues, PTSC, special anxiety, anything. I just want to let you know that I’m praying for you and that you’re not alone. I wanted to read Psalm 34 from The Message to you, a few verses. I bless God every chance I get. My lungs expand with his praise. I live and breathe God. If things are going well, hear this and be happy. Join me in spreading the news. Together, let’s get the word out. God met me more than halfway. He freed me from anxious fears. Look at Him. Give Him your warmest smile. Never hide Your feelings from Him. When I was desperate I called out and God got me out of a tight spot. God’s angels step up the circle of protection around us while we pray. Open your mouth and taste. Open your eyes and see how good God is. Blessed are you who run to Him. Worship God if you want the best. Worship opens doors to all His goodness. I just want to leave that encouragement with you. I love you. You’re not alone. And just continue seeking His face. God bless you. Have a good day. Bye-bye.