Month: March 2018

Numbers 32:1-33:39, Luke 4:L31-5:11, Psalms 64:1-10, Proverbs 11:22

Today is the 21^st day of March.  Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you. Next step forward is right in front of us, like we’ve lifted up our foot and we’re reaching forward to plant it down as we move forward through the Scriptures. And we do that by picking up where we left off yesterday and moving forward. So, today from the New Living Translation, Numbers chapter 32 verse 1 through 33 verse 39.

Commentary:

Alright. So, as we’re moving through the gospel of Luke today, some interesting questions begin to percolate. And then when we turn them toward ourselves, they kind of amount to this: why do you follow Jesus? It’s actually a more penetrating question than it might seem. If you sit with that for a minute, like, if you were to push pause and try to answer that question why do I follow Jesus, all kinds of answers can come to the surface and when we read into the gospel of Luke why people are following Jesus around, it kind of boils down to that He is a miracle worker who speaks with authority. And, so, people are coming from all around the countryside to hear Jesus and maybe hopefully get something from Jesus. Get some sort of touch of healing or deliverance from Jesus. And, of course, there’s nothing wrong with this, but it just exposes the motivation. Like, why am I getting up off of my sleeping mat, leaving my home walking for miles to find this Jesus, to listen to this Jesus? But for many of these people, it was because they needed something, whether it was words of hope and authority or whether it was a healing touch in some sort of way. So, as we continue to read forward and as the story progresses, Jesus has a crowd around Him and He’s kind of pressed up against the shores of the Sea of Galilee. And there’s a couple of boats. And, so, He just hops into one of the boats, which is an interesting thing to do, especially if it’s not your boat, but it was Simon’s boat and Jesus had been to Simon’s house so that all makes sense. Jesus goes out into the water where He can sit down and not be pressed into the water and He teaches the crowds. When He’s done, He asked His experienced friends who were fishermen, who actually knew the Sea of Galilee and made their living on the Sea of Galilee, to row out into deeper water and cast their nets down. And it’s Simon Peter and he says, Well, if this is what you want us to do, rabbi, then we’ll do this. But just so you know, we were fishing all night. When you showed up, we were cleaning off our nets so we can get some rest. Like, we kind of know what we’re doing. We fished all night and we didn’t catch anything. But if this is what you want, then we’ll do it. And, so, they go out into the deep, cast their nets down into the water, right? And then this huge horde of fish is so large that it’s tearing their nets. The other boat has to come out and help. And by the time it’s done, both of these fishing boats are so full of fish that the boats are in danger of capsizing. So, Simon Peter, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, they have just got the catch of a lifetime. Like, their boats are so full of fish right now that maybe they’re going to get ahead on their payments. Maybe they have boat payments, maybe they have bills to pay. Maybe they are finally going to get ahead. God has truly blessed them. So that’s a reason to follow Jesus. And, after all, they do become His disciples. So, that’s a reason to follow Jesus. But we see that their heart’s posture is so awestruck that it becomes something far more than what they can get from Jesus. Simon Peter falls to his knees and he’s like, Lord, leave. Leave me. I don’t deserve to be in your presence. I’m such a sinful man. So, we’re seeing Peter’s heart in this. And Jesus tells Him, don’t be afraid. From now on, you’ll be fishing for people. And then here’s the kicker. As they are getting the catch of a lifetime, the opportunity to get ahead in life, maybe financially, maybe add a boat to the fleet, who knows? As they get to the shore, and I’m quoting the Scripture here, and as soon as they landed, they left everything and followed Jesus. So, obviously in this moment it went beyond what they could get from Jesus. They left it all and followed Him, knowing that what they had just experienced and what they had been seeing was clearly from God. And they were so convinced that they left everything. They left this great opportunity to follow Jesus. So, the question comes up: why am I following Jesus? Is it because of what He can do for me? Is it because of what His words bring up and do inside me? Is it because I think my life could be better with Him in it? Or does being in His presence make the world diminish and fade away and I see the presence of God before me. And my circumstances, whether challenging or whether bountiful, have so much less significance that I’ll follow Him anywhere because I cannot stand to be out of His presence. This is God. I want to be in His presence and whatever He goes, I’m going. That’s the posture of heart that we see in these disciples today as they begin to follow the path of Jesus and His ministry. And the posture of heart that we need to cultivate and adopt in our own lives.

Prayer:

And, so, Jesus we invite You into that question. Why are we walking with You? Why are we following You? And we invite Your Holy Spirit to bring up all of those things. None of them are wrong. We’re following You for lots of reasons, but we’re asking You to get to the bedrock of this. Is it because being in Your presence is the only place in this world that makes any sense and that nothing else is more important? This is the longing of our heart. 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 is going on around here.

And a couple things real quick calendar related.

This Sunday, this coming Sunday, which is the 25^th, I’ll be in Louisville Kentucky speaking at New Song Christian Fellowship. And then two weeks from this Sunday, I’ll be in Washington state in the Tri Cities at Columbia Community Church. So, if you are in either of those areas, you can get the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section.

And then on the 12^th of April, the More Gathering for Women begins. So, if you’re still wanting to check that out, moregathering.com is the place. But this is the time where we invite the entire community. Begin praying, praying over this. The team has been interceding for months prior, our intercessors have been interceding for months. But now it’s time to call in the army and raise a canopy of prayer over the events at the More Gathering. And, so, just as you prayed for us as we were travelling around the land of the Bible and we felt that, we ask for your prayer covering over the More Gathering for Women coming up on the 12^th. We wouldn’t dare go into something like this without the prayers of God’s people and the prayers in this community. We wouldn’t dare. So, we’re calling in the troops and asking for your prayers as we prepare for April.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. And humble gratitude is sent back toward you from all of our hearts. We are in this together. If we don’t do this together, then this can’t be done. And yet here we are. And God has sustained us because we’ve done this together. So, thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage at 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, there are a number of numbers that you can use depending on where you are in the world. If you’re in the Americas, 877-942-4253 is the number to call. If you’re in the UK or Europe, 44-20-3608-8078. And if you are in Australia or that part of the world, 61-3-8820-5459 is the number that you can call.

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

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. Let’s pray. Father, we come together as a family to pray for sister Mel of Florida whose suffering from insomnia Lord. But she did exactly what she supposed to do Lord. She’s in the midst of her battle, she’s deep in the pit like David and reached out to You Father. And we just ask Lord that You would just come to her Lord, anoint here with peace, anoint her with sleep Father. For the glory of Your kingdom, let her know Lord what it is to rest fully Lord that she can have the rest needed to go on and be Your kingdom. And Lord we love You, we honor You, we pray this in Jesus’ name. I also want to pray for the men of the United States of America. I just ask that we come together Lord and lift up Lord men, honorable men of character Lord, that they would see their call, their noble call to lift up others, young men Father. That’s what we’re missing in this country so much is that men aren’t getting up to fight the good fight Lord and other men aren’t teaching those ways and I just ask Lord that every good honorable and man of character listening here today would find somebody to begin to pour that understanding and that goodness into Father, just so we can turn the tide of our families of the Youth of this country Father God. That’s what we need to Lord, is Your representation in the men of this country Lord to be honorable and of high character Lord, to be vulnerable with each other enough to admit their faults and to move forward. Thank You for praying with me family. This is Delta Alpha Foxtrot calling from the southern Texas front.

Hey family it’s Jordan from Michigan. I need prayer more than ever right now. So, two weeks ago I got engaged to a lovely woman, but five days ago she said that I need to talk to you in five days about something and we can talk until then. And, so, I’ve been in agony and anxiety for five days waiting and I found out that she’s breaking off our engagement. She gave me the ring back and it was because the distance was too much and because I had committed some sins that she had a hard time forgetting about. And she also said that I was relying too much on her for peace and comfort and not enough on God. And I’m just so broken right now. I’m just beside myself with grief. It’s been the worst five days of my life. And I just need God right now. So please, please pray for me. Thank you.

[Singing] Jesus I love you because you first loved me. Oh Lord Your blessings are so long for me. And how you keep me going dear Lord day by day. Jesus, I love you in every way. [Singing ends]

Hello Daily Audio Bible this is Duane from Wisconsin. All praise and glory to God. Today is 8:27. I’m praying for our children, March 18. Dear Lord, today I want to lift up all of our children out there, those that are struggling with depression, physical needs, mental needs, financial needs Lord. We ask that You allow Your grace to enter them, to protect them, to heal them, to draw them closer to You. We ask You also to be over those who are orphans who don’t have parents. We ask that You allow people out there who are able to to support them to come into their lives and if possible adopt them and if they go to adopt that the road will be smooth and that You will help overcome any hurdles that may come in the way. And we ask that You be with those who are being used in the sex trafficking Lord. We ask that You give them comfort, peace, and remove that evil for their life. Block those people that are doing that __. We ask that You turn their cold hearts from what that they’re doing, to soften their hearts and turn to your Lord for forgiveness and to stop that evil trade. We ask that those out there who are hungry Lord that You allow them to have food and give them nourishment that they need and more importantly Your spiritual nourishment. We lift this all up to You Lord Jesus. In Jesus name. Amen. And God bless.

Hi this is Joanne from New Jersey. A shout out to DAB Israel 2018. Hi everybody. First of all, I want to say just thank you again to Brian and his family for doing this and all of the people who are  in the background. It’s been a blessing to me. Second of all, I would like to just encourage John from Florida who called in on Saturday the 17^th. Your call really touched my heart. I will definitely be in prayer, you know, with the lawsuit that you’re dealing with. And one thing that I do want to submit to you and your family is just continue doing what you’re doing, crying out to the Lord. And forgive, forgiveness. And ask the Lord about forgiveness and what it will do to release the spirit in the situation, open your eyes and set you free, and also set your adversary free. So, please just go before the Lord and this is coming from someone who has seen the ravages of unforgiveness, bitterness, you know, completely destroying people’s lives and also in the midst of it for self, in learning about forgiveness for self. So, I hope you can hear this and know that I am praying and I’m standing and fighting from the same place. So, all right. Bless you. Bye-bye.

Numbers 30:1-31:54, Luke 4:1-30, Psalms 63:1-11, Proverbs 11:20-21

Today is the 20^th of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today to do what we do every day -  take another step forward in the Scriptures as we move all the way through every word of every page in a year and explore the depths and treasures that are found in the Scriptures as we apply them to our lives. So, it’s great to be here with you for the next step because every step counts and every step matters. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week, picking up where we left off yesterday. Numbers chapter 30 and chapter 31 today.

Commentary:

Alright. So, a couple of things to point out today. Remember that story that we read a few days ago with the talking donkey and this known diviner or prophet named Balaam? Well a battle is fought today and Balaam gets killed in it. So, kind of what we have in the Bible is the beginning of the story and the ending of the story and then we have to piece together the middle of the story because this isn’t the last time we’ll hear the name Balaam in the Bible. And Balaam is considered to be a pretty wicked man throughout Jewish history and the commentaries on the Torah from rabbis of antiquity. So, what was his involvement that he should be killed in battle today? Because we had the incident with the angel standing against him, revealing that his pride was getting the best of him and the promise of what was to come. And, so, we considered all of that as we applied it to our own lives. But what happened in the interim between that incident and his death in battle in today’s reading? It was that he didn’t just obey the word of the Lord, bless the children of Israel and leave. He continued to meddle. And he gave advice that caused the children of Israel to enter into idolatry. And the advice that he gave was that the women should go and seduce the Israelite men. If they could get the Israelite men into bed with them, then they could get the Israelite men to do just about anything. And that’s what happened. The children of Israel were led into idolatry through the seduction of the Medianite women, which is the point of the entire battle that we read about today. So, Balaam certainly did obey God after the angelic visitation in which he almost lost his life. I mean, that put the fear of God in him, literally. But later he circled back around, gave some advice on how these foreign people might be able to conquer the children of Israel without having to fight them, which gives us pause to consider the ways in which we are being taken off the narrow path that leads to life because we’re being seduced in other directions. Or for that matter, how we nudge people off their own journey by manipulation. These are certainly serious things to God. God went to battle against it, so they’re serious to God, so we should make them serious to ourselves and invite the Holy Spirit to show us places that we’ve been seduced away. Or for that matter, like I said, places that we’re being the seducer, even if unwittingly. Because as we can see from the Scriptures, that path where that goes isn’t going anywhere good. So, we shouldn’t be involved, either as the seduced or the seducing, as the manipulated or the manipulator.

And then we get into the Gospel of Luke and Jesus is beginning His ministry. So, He’s been baptized and He’s led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit for forty days where He’s tempted by the devil and we have the famous passages of the temptation of Christ. And it’s very easy for us to take this one scene and go, well, there, Jesus overcame the devil and He didn’t have to deal with any kind of temptation or anything like that anymore, and so that’s what gave Him the power. Like, He overcame the devil in the wilderness and there was no more temptation of any sort for Him. He was able to just focus on His mission. That’s not true, though. Jesus lived a fully human life as a fully human man. So, as we all know as human beings, we can overcome temptation but it’s not like a one-off thing. Things are constantly being spun at us, right? There’s manipulation, seduction that we just talked about in the case of Balaam. It never goes away. And that would have been the case for Jesus because, as we read in the gospel of Luke, when the devil had finished tempting Jesus, He left Him until the next opportunity came. So, I’m going to ring a bell that I’ve been ringing all along as we move through the Scriptures because it’s so important. What are any of these temptations intended to do? They’re intended to deceive us so that we will walk another path. In the case of the Midianites, the women came and seduced the men of Israel away from God and into idolatry through sex, which is a very, very powerful thing. But underneath all of that, what was happening? They were being deceived so that they would walk another path and worship another god. And we read the temptation of Jesus. It’s the same thing. Deception - I’ll give you all of this if you will simply walk a different way. And we see that Jesus dealt with this like we all do. So, would you pay close attention to the movements of Jesus because Jesus isn’t just spending 33 years on planet earth so He can grow up enough so He can die on a cross and be executed and shed His blood. Yes, that’s the purchase of our souls. But His life is the model for what He’s providing us through His death and resurrection. Jesus is showing us how to be human on planet earth in a fallen world successfully. And if there’s one thing that we can certainly say about Jesus, there was no deception in Him. He always saw the story behind the story.  The plot that was really going on. And He always spoke to those things. So, He was always speaking directly at the truth, pulling out the truth from the culture around Him. Pulling it out and speaking to that. He couldn’t be seduced away, right? And many attempts were made. Not only from Satan, but from other people around Him. What got Jesus ultimately in trouble is that He was speaking the truth to the religious establishment and they couldn’t co-opt Him. They couldn’t use Him to become one of them. He could have been such a powerful and revered rabbi if He had been willing to play ball with the establishment, but He wasn’t. Not because He didn’t like anybody or didn’t care. It was false and there was nothing false in Jesus and He was calling them back to the truth and they didn’t want the truth and so they killed Him. So, once again, to ring that bell, deception is the greatest enemy we have spiritually. All of the things that we get seduced away from God and into come through deception. This is the thing we’ve got to guard our hearts from vigilantly if we want to be Christ like.

Prayer:

So, Father, we invite You into this because it comes up in both old and new testaments and we have stark examples of how deception seduces us and our hearts away from You and offers us the promise of something that we’re willing to give our heart in worship to. And we repent of that. Because as we look at our lives, we can find all kinds of weeds and snarly little vines all around that we’ve allowed and we’ve allowed to flourish inside of our hearts. And we’re inviting Your Holy Spirit to rid us of deception. Help us to cut those weeds down, pull them out, pile them up and burn them. So that we might be true. Because we will never be whole and holy if we are not true. If deception is in us, then we are not true. Come, Holy Spirit. Lead us into all truth as You’ve promised. 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.

So, the 25^th, this coming Sunday, we’ll in Louisville speaking. I’ve mentioned that a number of times. And then on the 8^th of April, I’ll be in Washington state in the Tri Cities at Columbia Community Church. So, you can check out all those things at dailyaudiobible.com in the Events section.

More Gathering for Women is coming up on the 12^th of April. So not too long from now, just a few weeks. And registration’s about to close for that, so if it’s on your heart, it’s on your mind, come, be brave. You won’t regret it. Come, even if you feel like you’re coming alone and don’t know anybody, that lasts about, I don’t know, 90 seconds? And all of the sudden you realize you’re in a sisterhood of people going in the same direction. And the Daily Audio Bible community is such a beautiful thing that…we’ve been on this journey together, we just haven’t seen each other’s faces, but when we come into each other’s presence, we’re all on the same page. We’re moving in the same direction, so it’s a beautiful thing. So, if you want to come to the More Gathering, you can find out all the details at moregathering.com. And you can register there.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. Thank you. Really, thank you for your partnership. 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 am Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. This is Alfi calling from Delaware. I hope that each one of you is blessed. This call is especially for Colin. Colin my brother, I want to say praying for you. And I want you to hear me say something to you right now. So, I remember from the very first time that you joined the community. We’ve been together with you through your journey and we have seen the work God has done in your life. Now, if you remember every time that we are reading Bible, especially in the Old Testament, how the Israelites used to make little monuments on their journey. It was to point them into a point in their life whereby they would remember what God has done to them in their monuments -  however that in their life or in their journey. Colin, I understand what kind of life and what kind of troubles and what kind of struggles that you’re going through because I have been there. And Jesus Christ never promised an easy life to anyone of us. He actually said that in this world we will have troubles and tribulations but He made the promise that He would never leave us nor forsake us. So, I pray for you my brother and I pray that you might go back and see the journey of life that you’ve had and see all the good things that God has done for you and has pulled you through. And remember that. Let that be a wall of remembrance for you. Because those of the kind of things that will give you hope, that will give you strength to go through the present struggles that you’re going through. So, remember. And hold onto the hope because God is the same yesterday today and forever and He will never forsake you. My brother I pray for you. I know that God is going to see you through and your life is a testimony to how great God has been to us.

Who you gonna believe the devil in me
Are you walking by faith or what you can see
I told you your parents would both be all right
So keep walking by faith and forget about site
The devil’s whole plan is designed to deceive
And make you doubt everything I said you’d receive
He’s a god and the ruler of this world
There’s plenty of room for his plans to unfurl
Creating choices and opportunities and decisions for you
Will you believe what you see or that which is true
If you believe what you see you have anxiety of heart
That will continue to build until it tears you apart
And still in the end you’ll come running back to me
Regardless of what your eyes tend to see
For I am that I am and I do what I do
And that’s universal it’s not just for you
I love you very much you should know that by now
But still you continue to doubt me somehow
Know that your mother is also loved too
And my mercy for her is independent of you
The path from her heart that leads to my door
Was well-worn with praises before your before
I promise you a chance to make your make your amends
To both of your parents before this life ends
So keep on believing have faith when you pray
Forget what you see your folks are okay

blindony1016@gmail.com. Drew from the bay area, thank you so much for that wonderful gift of the card. It was beautiful. Know you’re in my prayers and thoughts every day. Thank you once again Brian for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flown’ y’all. All right. Bye-bye

Hi there this is a message for Teresa, the lady who has ended the affair and is struggling financially. And you haven’t been that close to the family and struggling with that. And I just want you to know and family that if you __ whether tried getting him to listen to the Daily Audio Bible. Maybe that’s something that you can try if you haven’t already. Another good way is bringing community in. __ if you’ve tried it. With everything else, I hope everything else is going okay. And just believe and trust in God. That’s one of the things that we are reading in today’s DAB, that we can often look back and forget about the things that he’s lead us through. So just encouragement for every one of us really, to hold onto all of the things that you’ve done in the past and the pain and to __ elements of difficulty in our lives right now. So, I pray this for you. And have a great day everybody. Bye.

Hi family. This is Craving Peace from Pennsylvania and I just wanted to thank you all for your prayers and thank you Brian and Jill for all that you do and your family. Family, I’m reaching out today for my son Jacob. He has been struggling. He just turned 18 March 3^rd and he has been struggling with thoughts of taking his life, fear of being an adult, and just so many things that are frightening to a parent. And I’m praying for him and trying really hard to be strong. And I know that so many of us as parents, that’s the last thing you want to think of. So, I just want to pray for all of our children. Please join me family. Father, I thank You for all of our children and Father I just pray for strength for them, that they would look to You, that all of the things that are frightening would no longer be frightening to them and they would be able to find someone to come alongside them to help them. I thank You for Jacob and for all children, Dylan, so, so, many others Father that…

Hi Audio Bible family. My name is __. I’m a new listener from the UK and I’ve listened since January. I’ve missed a few episodes but I keep praying for you daily. I keep praying for you all. I’m not very good with names but I keep praying for you about what’s going on in your life and when you touch my heart. I’m ringing for a prayer request for myself and what might be for my daughter. I’ve been having trouble with mental health these past…ever since I was a teenager through bullying and through an abusive relationship, which I am now out of and in a new relationship, but I’m confused. I’m not sure what to do because I go through dark episodes and suicidal episodes and then I keep having relapses and keep coming and finding myself. And God it keeps disappearing again and I’m just lost on my path on what to do. I’m in a relationship with a non-Christian of three years now and I don’t know whether to go ahead with it because I do get guilt from it but he gives me…it gives me such love. And I don’t know whether to move closer to him because we’re living five hours away from it and I’d like to commit to that path but now not sure what I’m supposed to do. And I just need some praying prayer and guidance but mostly for my daughter Jasmine who is 18. She’s still good with depression and anxiety mostly because of problems I’ve had because __ disorder and she’s just going up and down all the time. She’s having trouble finding the reason to keep living and not being able to access support needed to fight this. And she’s just struggling to keep her head above water but she’s got such life and her. She’s got positivity in her and I just need prayer for both of us just to find a way through it because our relationship is not good because of the issues that I had. I’ve driven her…drifted apart and this is why my daughter is looking for accommodation…

Numbers 28:16-29:40, Luke 3:23-38, Psalms 62:1-12, Proverbs 11:18-19

Today is the 19^th day of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s a pleasure and an honor to spend this time together in community with you. As we launch ourselves into the new work week, we also center ourselves in the Scriptures, allowing them to speak the deep truths of the soul into our lives. So, we’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. And we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday. Numbers chapter 28 verse 16 verse 29 verse 40.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. Thank You for another step, another day, as Your word washes into our lives and plants the fruit of the Spirit into our very hearts. We invite You to cultivate this as we collaborate with You in life. And we take to heart what we heard in Proverbs today. All of our instant gratification schemes, all of the things that we do, are but for the moment, but the reward of the godly will last. And so come Holy Spirit. We want to walk with You, a steady narrow path that leads to life. One that is day by day, making us whole and holy in Your presence. 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.  So, a few things that have been being mentioned.

The latest app update is available now. And that will allow you to manually check off the days that you have listened to in a couple of ways. On the player page, you’ll see at the bottom that you can check off that you’ve listened or if you’re looking at sort of the list of the different days that you can listen to. You can swipe right on any of those days and click that you’ve completed it or favorite from there. As well as a lot of engineering under the hood to make performance more quick and increased compatibility. So, every time we release an update we certainly announce it here so that you can update every single time we do this. We’ve gone back and made things better and refined things as we learn more and more. And as more and more people are using it. So be sure to update your app. It’s the Daily Audio Bible mobile app in all of the stores.

Looking at the calendar, the 25^th of March, which is coming right up, I’ll be in Louisville Kentucky speaking. That’s this Sunday, at New Song Christian Fellowship Louisville.

The 8^th of April we’ll be out in Washington state in the Tri cities at Columbia Community Church. The 12^th of April is the More Gathering for Women. That’s when that begins. We thank you, indeed, for the prayers over all that will take place at the More Gathering this year. I’ve mentioned a couple times this year for the first time we have the ministry of signing. Those who can understand and interpret into sign language what’s being said for those who have hearing challenges. So, if that’s you or you want someone to come who has hearing challenges, we have this available for the first time this year and we’re looking forward to that. You can get all the details at moregathering.com, everything that you would want to know. And you can still register for now. That will be coming to a close soon, but you can still register now.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your partnership. 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 am Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi this is for Linda from New Hampshire. I’m Sue from Costa Rica and I have a grandson who is only three months old and his name is Dylan also. I pray for him every day and I will include your grandson too. Father, I come to You in the name of Dylan and I ask for protection for him. I ask that Your angels will encamp around him and protect him and that he may know and love and trust Jesus. Father please be his hiding place and keep them safe from trouble. Spread Your arms of protection over him. I thank You Lord that Dylan has made a cry for help. And, so, I ask that You put wise people in this place to counsel him and his parents. Open his father’s eyes Father and soften his heart and give him the desire to change. Heal their family. Father, please let Your love settle on their home. We stand against __ and anger and Lord we claim both of our sons for Your kingdom. I also ask God, that I just say that I’m in agreement with Annette for all of those who are in prison. Prison walls are not too thick that Your love can not pass through. Father, please comfort and make Yourself available and known to those who’ve never felt the love of a parent or friend. Comfort and hold and let them know how real You are and keep them free from fear. Please encourage men and women to call on You. Oh Lord put guards in there who would love You and want all men to know You. Father, I trust You and I ask all these things in the name of Your son, my Savior, Jesus Christ. Thank You Lord. Love never fails. God bless You all.

He DABbers this is Slave of Jesus in North Carolina. And alright Holy Spirit let’s roll. Lord we ask you to watch over Jacob in AIT and all the DABbers and DABbers families that have military people starting out. What a great adventure to learn some responsibility. And we ask this in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. So, two weird topics today. I had a mole on my neck. This is what I love about God. He can use anything to get us to reach out to people. And it was kind of a black mole and then kind of went down and anyways I finally got checked out and the first medic comes, says yeah, I don’t think there’s nothing wrong with it. But the Holy Spirit kind of kept prompting me, and you kind of see that as an OK, here comes a story about saved by cancer because of this. But no, actually, what it was was I went back and I really wanted a doctor to look at this and they said well we can cut it off and send it off. And while I was waiting to have that done…in the military we have uniforms on…but you take off your top kind of jacket and somebody all the way across the room said, what’s that on your wrist? And I happen to have the DAB wristband that I wear pretty much 24/7 for years now. And, so, I was kind of able to share this is our listen to the Bible and stuff like that. And man, when I was sitting on the table the doctor had one of the other medics do the surgery. It was right near my throat, right near my artery in my throat. And he’s got to cut something off and I could tell it was one of the first times he did it. But hey, these guys have got to practice so if they come under combat they’re doing stuff. So, it was really neat how…I was awake for the whole thing…how they were tying the skin together…he was explaining the best way to do it. But then at that point he asked, hey, so what’s that on your writs? So, I was over the share with both from there, Daily Audio Bible and how it changed my life. Found out there’s nothing wrong with a the mole. Just a mole. But isn’t it amazing that God can use something like a illness or sickness to get us in contact with people to talk about Him. So, that’s my story. Love you guys. Have a great day. Bye.

Hi this is Victoria S. just calling to pray for some of the DABbers. I want to pray for Sharee and also for Joyful Noise having to do with their health. I also want to pray for Diane in Indiana. I just want to pray with you my sister. It was good to hear you. I want to pray for Michael M.’s son and also for Michael and the family. It’s always challenging when the enemy is trying to take our kids. And know you’re going to miss your son but God is faithful. He will bring you back together. We pray for a miracle for you my brother. Jan in New York who’s out of work, I’m praying that God will bless her tremendously because He said He would supply all of our needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. David said He’s never seen the righteous forsaken nor seen begging for bread. So, hang in there my sister. I want to pray for Debbie in Texas whose daughter, Susie, and the challenges that the poor baby has been going through. The devil is trying to take our child, our children Debbie, but he is a liar because God is faithful in the prayers of the righteous avail us much. And we want to pray that she seek God and see God deliver in a mighty and special way. Gracious Father, we just praise You and we magnify You Lord. We give You the glory and the honor and praise. Lord I pray for Ryan and I pray for Susie Lord. I ask that You touch them today. Oh Lord You deliver with Your mighty hand. Lord You have a special plan and a purpose for their lives and I rebuke the devil right now in the name of Jesus. He can’t have it. Lord You release them and You give them the victory in Christ Jesus. Lord You touch my sister Sharee and Joyful Noise with the neurological and medical issues and…

All is well. I am Daniel. Nora of Canada. Praise God my sister in Christ. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice. Nora all of heaven rejoices the moment you open the door to your heart and let Jesus Christ our Savior inside. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice. We rejoice with you today Nora as the family in Christ we are because of your choice. Nora, you are blessed indeed. Choose today this new day to trust in His living word that lives inside you right now. Choose not to worry. Remember the good and overflowing abundance He has given to you in the past. Bring it with you into today and give Him praise. Father, You said, do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Thank You for the wisdom you give us Father, to choose to receive through faith all of what You have already given us, to choose to believe Your living word, Jesus Christ the son of God and receive everlasting life. Nora of Canada, trust in Him fully this day for you are without a doubt in the palm of His hand and there is no enemy bigger, no obstacle bigger, no mountain that is bigger than the most high God. And He is our father. Welcome to our family of Christ Nora. Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice. In Jesus name. Amen.

Numbers 26:1-51, Luke 2:36-52, Psalms 60:1-12, Proverbs 11:15

Today is the 18^th day of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and, of course, it is wonderful to be here with you today at the threshold of a brand-new, shiny, sparkly week. We have sailed past the center of this month and are moving into the back half and I pray that this brand-new week is greeting you well. We’ll pick up where we left off last week, which was yesterday, only we’ll change translations and read from the New Living Translation this week. Numbers chapter 26 verse 52 through 28 verse 15.

Prayer:

We thank You Father again for Your word. And even though just a day has past and we’re into this new week, Your mercies are new every morning. Every day is a restart. Every week is a restart. And as we crossed the threshold of this week, we have the opportunity to make choices in advance about how we’re going to live into this new week, whether were going to walk intimately in fellowship with You or whether we’re going to wing it and do our own thing and remember You when we remember You. We want to walk with You God every day of our lives, every moment of every day. We want to be in fellowship with You. We want to be in constant conversation with You, friendship with You, not just about things we need to make choices about or things we need to do or how we need Your help, but friendship. So, come Holy Spirit into this week. 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.

One week from today I will be speaking in Louisville, Kentucky at New Song Christian Fellowship Louisville. So, looking forward to that. You can get the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the Events section. If you are in the area love to say hello. Come out and say hi.

On the 8^th of April, which is a few weeks from now, I’ll be in Washington state at Columbia Community Church. And again, you can get the details dailyaudiobible.com in the Events section.

And then on 12^th of April the More Gathering for women begins. And, man, the team has been working hard, literally interceding over this for months and it’s going to be great. Looking forward to it very much. So, if you are on the fence or you’ve been thinking about coming, you want to come, moregathering.com is the place to go for more details. Actually, everything you would want to know is there.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible in the mission that we share together in community to keep bringing God’s spoken word read fresh every single day to anyone who will listen to it then thank you. There’s a link on the homepage of dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO 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 am Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi family it’s Shannon from Texas and I’m heading into work this morning. And as much as I don’t like to even say these things out loud, I’m really struggling, I really need your prayer. As much as I know that I have a direct link to the Lord, I know that it helps to have other prayer warriors praying for me. I’m really have been attached since I’ve taken this job and I know that the Lord gave me this job. I don’t know that I’ve ever been this attacked in my life. I’ve got this…I don’t know what to call it. I’m not claiming that I have it…but I’m so agitated because I have some symptoms of something called __ and it’s plaguing me and I can’t continue to go on functioning with this and I really need your prayer for that. Also, just…things are not going that great at work. I found out that I’m not going to get an advanced travel card am going to be traveling extensively for the first six months. The reason I’m not getting it is because I owe $990 and just don’t have it right now. I didn’t get paid for the first month. And it’s just stuff like that that’s like wow. And there’s a lot of history to that because of a former employee that kind of really betrayed me. And it’s money that they’re saying out to them. So, it’s just like…just a lot to it and I’m just struggling and I never struggled like this before we’re I feel like it’s taking me out. So, please pray for me. I love you guys. I haven’t been praying for others and that’s something that I’ve never done. So, just…I love you guys. I appreciate you.

Hello this is Not Shaken. I’m calling regarding my son Brian. He’s been in jail seven weeks now for fighting with his girlfriend, the mother of his two daughters. And he is getting out on bail. We did not bail him out because we wanted him to stay in there. They both have drug addictions. She was breast feeding the baby while on meth and there was meth throughout the baby’s hair in the test sample. But he’s going to be moving in with me and my family and I’m just praying that God’s Brian will show himself. And I know he wants to do the right thing. But he has addictions and one of his addictions is his the mother of his children and I believe they’re both have sexual addictions as well as drugs. And I’m just praying that he has to stay away from her because of accusations that she’s made. And I’m praying that he will do that because he’s fine without her but when they get together they’re poison to each other. And I’m just praying that he’ll be the best father to these little girls, that he will get his act together and do everything that he needs to do to care for them and put everything else in his life aside and just focus on God. And I’m just asking for prayers for everyone on this. And I do pray for all of the other…

Good morning everybody this is Debbie from Sarasota. I just wanted to say I’m praying for all of you. And just this morning I just heard Annette from Oklahoma and Linda from New Hampshire and I just wanted to let you know that both of you have similar things that you prayed about to me. And I you know a lot of you know about my son Michael being in prison as well. And Linda, the fact that you said that your ex-husbands father was very abusive and it affected your son, well that’s exactly what happened in my life. So, I just want to pray DABbers for all of our families, especially for the people in prison and for all of our families children that they would be able to just get the grace from God to be able to overcome all the negativity and the emotional disruptions that happened in our lives. Lord, I pray that you protect them and lead them out of this negativity and protect them from being abused any longer. Lord, give them the comfort they need and the ability to just keep going on and feeling safe with You Lord and with moms and grandmas and, you know, everyone Lord. I just pray that You give these children confidence and help them to get over these weary problems that they are having. I know. My son tried to commit suicide as well in high school. So, I get all of that and just know that I’m praying for all of you. And everyone online I’m praying for you. And everyone on China’s prayer line, I’m praying for you. All right, love you all. Bye.

Hi daily audio Bible family. This is Mel, MEL, Mel from central Florida and I am calling for prayer request for myself, which is very hard for me to do. I normally pray for others and tend to just give praise and thanks rather than ask for things, but I really have been struggling lately with sleep, lack of sleep. And it’s…I don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve tried a lot of different options, anywhere from like over-the-counter medication to more natural things. I’ve tried praying and I’ve tried air diffusers, I mean, oils, anything that you can think of, yoga, breathing, and none of it is working. Right now, it’s currently 3 o’clock in the morning and I haven’t fallen asleep yet. I have to wake up tomorrow. I’ve got a busy day. This is like the fourth day this week that I’m going to get less than four hours of sleep. And I just really ask, please, please pray for me. Like I said, I pray for you guys all the time. And it’s so hard to ask for prayer when I know there are so many things going on out there, but I appreciate any prayers that you have. Also, anyone else that’s dealing with sleep or insomnia. I want to pray for you. I’ve only been going through this for a short…well…a couple months now, but I know some people struggle with this for their whole life. So, I pray for everybody who has any sort of sleep disorder or insomnia or just issues with sleep. Thank you again. I hope you all have a blessed day. Bye-bye.

Numbers 26:1-51, Luke 2:36-52, Psalms 60:1-12, Proverbs 11:15

Today is the 17^th day of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is a pleasure and an honor to be here with you today as we close down another one of our weeks together. Man, it was like a month ago now that we were just departing for Israel. That’s crazy how fast things move. The days and the weeks they just move by day by day, step by step. So, we’ll take the next step forward in the Scriptures even as we close down another week. We’ve been reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week and we’ll continue to do that today. Numbers chapter 26 verses 1 through 51.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we move rather quickly from Jesus birth to the time that he was twelve years old and his staying behind in Jerusalem. But when Jesus was a baby and was going through all the rituals around that, circumcision, sacrifice, all that, prophetic words were spoken over him in the hearing of other people. And this isn’t dissimilar to John the Baptist. So, words were spoken over John and Zechariah his father’s mouth was opened and the people marveled and wondered, what’s going to become of this kid? The same thing happened with Jesus. What’s going to become of this? So, this shows us that both John and Jesus, that they weren’t created in a vacuum, there were words that were spoken over them right from the very beginning and people were wondering, people were wondering what would become of these kids? And we can see that Jesus was raised in a religious home, a devout Jewish home. They made the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem. So, although Jesus wasn’t a native of Jerusalem, he wasn’t unfamiliar. He had been born near there in Bethlehem. And, so, this one year He decides to stay back, which is a nightmare for Mary and Joseph. You can only imagine. So, their travelling a whole day’s walk out of Jerusalem, a long way, before they discover Jesus is missing. And then they have to turn around and go back up hill all the way, a whole day’s journey to get back to Jerusalem. And then they’re searching for Jesus for three days in Jerusalem. And if you’ve even been to Jerusalem, Jerusalem today is a metropolis and although it’s bigger now then it was then, it was still a large hub, a very large city for the time. And chaotic, as it still is today. So, man, you spend one day going back to Jerusalem looking for your kid, freaking out every step of the way, wondering what could have happened. And then the next three days you’re all over the place, right?  And they couldn’t go to Kinkos and print of pictures of Jesus. Have you seen this boy? They have to ask people everywhere and try to describe Him. So, you can only imagine the angst of that. Meanwhile, Jesus is in the temple spending time with the religious leaders, talking, asking questions. And they are amazed by His understanding. They’re amazed at the things that are coming out of His mouth. A lot of times when we read the story of Jesus, it’s like His ministry just begins to happen, it just kind of comes out of nowhere. He’s baptized by John in the Jordan River. No one has ever heard of Him before and then boom, He’s just on the radar. But what we can see is that that’s not the case. People were wondering about Him from the get go. And these very people that Jesus is sitting and talking to as a twelve year old boy, these are going to be some of the people that find themselves opposed to Him and even plotting against Him in the long run. So, when His ministry does begin to flourish and God does begin to move in the Galilee with Jesus and the religious leaders are travelling all the way from Jerusalem to check Him out we get clues to why. He had already been on the radar. He was that kid. He was that kid that was in the temple, talking to people, right? So, like, word of that would have spread around. So, we see in Jesus’ ministry, that at first he doesn’t have enemies. The religious leaders aren’t against him. In fact, they’re trying to co-opt Him because He speaks with authority that they don’t have. He’s able to articulate what’s really going on in people’s hearts in a way that they can’t. It’s only when Jesus won’t play ball, basically, that He begins to get enemies. When He begins to break tradition. When He begins to reveal that the traditions have lost their soul. They’re just actions and activities that are not any longer connected to the heart. That’s been lost. When He breaks those traditions and begins to say, we’ve lost the plot of our story here. All of these things that we’re supposed to be doing are connected to a spiritual reality inside of us and we’ve lost that, that’s when He begins to make enemies. So, as we close our week down, we have this intriguing glimpse into the early life of Jesus, how things were swirling around Him from the get go. And if we can remember this as we move further into the gospel of Luke and then the gospel of John, we can watch all of this take place. And we can watch Jesus as He emerges, capturing the hearts of people and how that breeds a lot of unrest on the religious authorities because Jesus can certainly unsettle some things significantly. And Jesus calls out what’s really going on. And we’ll see this develop in the coming days.

Prayer:

So, Father, we thank You for another week, another week in Your Word. And You have ministered so much wisdom and healing in our lives through Your word that we are unspeakably grateful. And we ask that You plant all that You have spoken to us this week in our lives, that it may yield the fruit of the Spirit in our hearts. And that we can continue to collaborate with You on ridding ourselves of the weeds that are choking the fruit of the Spirit out of our lives. 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.

So, I mentioned yesterday the latest app update. Make sure you update that. This update specifically allows you to check off the days that you have listened to manually. Some of that whole process being done automated has been confusing or maybe hasn’t worked on certain devices and so we’re refining that but we’ve made the ability to check it off yourself, so that’s in the new app. And, also, swipe to the right on any of the list pages and click completed there or favorite an episode. And we’ve increased our compatibilities and efficiencies and we’re just going to continue to work until we have everything perfect. So, make sure you update your app for those new features.

The other thing is the More Gathering for women that is coming up in just under a month. You can check out all of the details for the More Gathering at moregathering.com. And this year we will have those who speak with their hands, who have the language of sign available for those with any kind of hearing challenges and so we’re excited about that. This is the first year we’ve been able to do this. So, if that’s you or you want to bring someone who has that kind of challenge, then great. We have somebody to speak that language. And what an honor for that. And so moregathering.com is where to get the information and you can register there.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link. It’s on the homepage. Thank you. Thank all of you for clicking that link. 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 am Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey Daily Audio Bible. My name is John. I’m calling from Florida. And I can’t tell you how much this wonderful little community and show has ministered to me and my family since December. It’s just been unspeakable and we’re so thankful. I got introduced because…well…just out of the blue. I’ve had a terrible terrifying loss leveled against me very unfairly back at the end of December and it’s just upset our lives so much…we just…the silver lining to it all…it’s just driven us closer to the Lord. Brian, every time you read the Psalms and hear David surrounded by his enemies attacking, how it just drives him to the Lord more and more, that’s what it’s done. So, this is an ongoing thing and we’re trying as hard as we can to have integrity of heart and search our hearts and try to figure out if there is the tiniest bit of wrong in us at all. We want to make things right. We’re trying so hard and it’s very scary. I’m scared. I don’t want to be scared and I know it’s wrong to be. Jesus is with us. But if I could…I covet anyone’s prayers out there. Just, please Lord let this work out the way that You wanted it to, the way that we and even our adversaries can know you more and honor you through whatever with the outcome is. Thank you. Thank you, Brian. Thank you everybody. We love you. We just started supporting you too. We can support you enough. Thanks guys.

Hey their family. It’s Bay from Canada. I want to give a shout out to all my DAB family who are still Sneezing Jesus. And I want to give thanks for this podcast that is Sneezing Jesus all over the globe and enriching lives one day at a time. A special welcome to my best friend Dar who finally downloaded the app and is listening daily. She is in awe that such a community exists. Already she the experience the best of both worlds I would say, hearing both Brian and Jill reading. So, I’m hoping that she will call in soon to share her experience of what DAB is doing in her life. Also want to give a special welcome to all the new listeners and longtime listeners who recently called in for the first time. Know that prayers are being offered up for you in this community by some gifted prayer warriors in the background. Most don’t call in but we know they were there because we feel their prayers in the way that God is growing us and this community as a whole. Amazing. Amazing. Okay. That’s all for now. Oh, before I go please pray for me with regard to the More Conference. I’ve already received notice from the airline about changes to my flight. Nothing major. But it could’ve been worse if not for Jill and her team and others, of course, who have created a canopy of prayer over the conference. I can’t wait to see what the Lord has in store. Blessings all. Bay from Canada. Talk to you soon.

Good morning family this is Salvation is Mine in San Angelo California. Let’s pray. Dear heavenly Father we come before You right now just saying thank You for who You are for giving us another breath in our bodies that belongs to You to wake up today, to be able to see a new day, and to be in Your presence and all that that entails Lord God. Help us to have a clean, wonderful, blessed spirit today that will shine through and that will someone else will be able to see dear Lord. Help us to remember that there are those out there that are not as fortunate as we that have shelter, clothing, food, possessions. There’s someone walking the street today Lord God that is going to be eating out of a garbage can Lord God and we want to ask if You would just bless them with a meal Lord God, that someone will walk by them or walk beside them Lord and offer them some money to buy a meal or offer them some money so they can get a hotel room and take a shower Lord God and lay in a bed for the first time in so long Lord God that they will find some pleasure in their day. And that in that giving, the person that is doing the giving Lord God will be able to emit Your presence and Your love to that of the person. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Have a great day family. This is Salvation is Mine in San Angelo California. Bye-bye.

Hello this is Teresa from Florida again. Again, I’m just giving a praise report for my a marriage. My husband and I are getting along really well. I praise God for it every day. Like I said, we’re still struggling. We still have a lot of work to do. A lot of heartbreak and heart to make up for and to get over but we’re doing really good. He’s having some problems keeping a job right now. I don’t know why but he’s never had this problem before. He’s getting back into having to do some physical labor and he’s getting older and it’s hard a form I guess. But he just started a new job. I just ask for everyone to pray for us, to pray for him, to pray for his heart, that he will come to Jesus to give him the strength to continue with his job or for God to lead him to the one that’s right for him. He wants to move if he can’t keep this job and I don’t know how that’s going to work. My families here, my parents are here. They’re getting older and they need me to help take care of them and to help them with their daily activities. I just pray that God will lead us where He wants us to be and to help me with my patients with my parents and my children and the struggles that we’re facing. And again, I thank you Brian. Thank you for this broadcast. You have made a world the difference in my life and I praise God for you every day. Thanks. Until next time.

Good morning family this is Redeemed in Him from Virginia. It’s March 15^th and I heard the father of Cole, Cole who’s addicted to heroin and my heart just goes out to you. I know that everyone at the Daily Audio Bible will be praying for you around the world, for you and your son. So, I wanted to pray. Family please join me in praying for Cole and all of our children that are addicted to drugs, alcohol, whatever their addiction is. God, we come before Your throne as mercy and grace to ask for Your intervention into Cole’s life. We pray for a miracle over coal, pleading that he would be saved from a terrible life of drug addiction. We ask God that You would save all of our children. With tears, we humble ourselves before You and ask that You will completely turn their lives around. May You bless Cole’s father and all parents of our children with addictions. That You will keep them strong and able to do Your will in spite of what it looks like. In Jesus name. Amen. I love you all family. Cole’s father, we stand with you brother. Amen.