Nehemiah 1:1-3:14 , 1 Corinthians 7:1-24 , Psalms 31:19-24 , Proverbs 21:4
Today is the 11th day of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as it is every day. And here we are closing down another week. We just keep taking these steps forward every day and they keep adding up to weeks which add up to months and eventually they will add up to a year. And a complete journey through the Scriptures. But we’re not there, we’re here. August 11. Of course, we will pick up where we left off yesterday. But that’s gonna bring us to the threshold of a new book. We completed the book of Ezra yesterday, which will bring us to the book of Nehemiah today. So, let’s talk about that.
Introduction to the book of Nehemiah:
Nehemiah is obviously a biblical book. And it’s part of a grouping of books known as the books of history. And Nehemiah will pick up largely where Ezra left off. In fact, Christian tradition suggests that Ezra is at least one of the authors of Nehemiah because Ezra and Nehemiah were at one time a single manuscript. And we’ve seen this with other books in the Bible like first and second Kings and first and second Chronicles, which were all one volume at one point. So, Ezra and Nehemiah were one manuscript at one point, but were broken apart for ease of reference. So, let’s talk about Nehemiah because this is a book that will truly guide us on how to dream a dream, see a vision, go for it and actually see it through. So, Nehemiah was an exile in Persia. And he’d followed the story of God’s favor in allowing the remnant, the few Jewish people who remained, to go back to their homeland and rebuild God’s temple, the story that we began in Ezra. And Nehemiah was able to keep up with the story and follow it closely because he was a direct servant to the Persian king. And what pulled Nehemiah’s heart into months of intercession was this image that he couldn’t get out of his mind. This heartbreaking thought of God’s temple, the very symbol of the Jewish people and the place where God met with mankind. It was being rebuilt but it was undefended. And so Nehemiah had a passion to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls. And it began to simmer within him until he couldn’t hold it back from the king, who ultimately gave him permission to go and pursue this. So, Nehemiah faced all kinds of opposition but he persevered through it all. He was single mindedly resolute and he did not lose sight of his utter dependence on God. And these are all things required for a successful life of faith. So, as we’ll see in the story, the wall was rebuilt in record time. And Nehemiah, as he promised the king, returned to Persia to report and resume his role as a servant of the king. And then later he was sent again to Jerusalem. When he got there this second time he was troubled deeply. The wall was strong, but the people were weak. And so Nehemiah stepped into that breach, restoring Israel to its glory before the Lord. And repentance and revival spread throughout the land as the law was read. So, although Nehemiah’s grouped in the books of history, it’s not just a great story or historical account. It’s a fantastic lesson. It’s a brilliant metaphor for how to pursue a passion and live into a calling. So, we begin. Nehemiah 1:1-3:14. And we’ve been reading from the English Standard Version this week and that’s what we’ll do today.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for another week. Another week to allow Your Word to speak to us. Another week for Your Holy Spirit to shape us. And we look back over this week and we can see the places that we’ve fallen short. And we can certainly declare Your faithfulness. And so we are grateful. With humble hearts, we announce Your mercy as we conclude this week and look forward to all that You will speak and all that You will do in the days ahead. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the mighty name of Jesus we ask. Amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hello. My name is Bill. I’m a first time caller and I’m requesting prayer for my wife Angel who will be undergoing surgery this Friday for two aneurysms located in her brain. Please pray for her safety during the surgery as well as her well-being afterwards. And that the Lord will give her a peace that surpasses all understanding at this time and for an extra measure of grace. I thank you so much and may God bless you.
Hi. This is Victoria Soldier. Just calling to pray for some of the DABbers. I wanted to say welcome to the new callers and also to the ones who are going through depression, those that are sick, and especially for those involved in the fire down in California. Let’s pray for those with the fire that’s going on down there. It’s really, really bad and a lot of people are suffering. Gracious Father we come to today Lord knowing that You’re a God can do anything. Lord there’s someone who’s going through depression, there’s someone who’s kind of lost their way, there’s someone who’s confused in where You want them to go. Lord we just ask You to have Your way. You point them in the direction. You touch them and heal them Lord. You direct them Father in the name of Jesus. Lord, You touch those in California in that fire Lord. Oh Lord, You help them put that fire out. Oh Lord, those people’s houses and lives can be saved in the name of Jesus. Lord we just ask You to touch Your people Lord, touch those who are going through in their marriages Lord. The enemy is trying to take away the marriages and trying to break up the families. Lord You touch them Lord. You touch the family members and You touch our kids on their way to school. You touch their minds Lord that they would go with a mind to learn and protect their minds and their wills on the way from even sexual traffickers Lord in the name of Jesus. And Lord we will give You the glory, honor, and the praise. Lord I want to give a shout out to Sharon and to Blind Tony and to Diyala and to Pastor Genne and to all of the DABbers and Joe the Protector and all the people of God. Continue to be encouraged in the Lord. Brian and Jill, thanks for the podcast. Talk to you later. Bye-bye.
Greetings in the name of Jesus. I’d like to pray for the school year starting up. Kids are going back to school, some for the first time. Teachers are going to school sometimes for many years. Some it’s their first day to teach a class. So, I lift up the teachers, the administrators, and the children. I speak wisdom, I speak in the name of Jesus that there’s no barriers, the Spirit of God goes with the believer wherever they go into a school, into a gym, onto the field, and then back at home. I pray for wisdom for the families, the parents, and understanding, that there be no strife, that there be a working together in the name of Jesus. I pray against all violence. I speak an end to all violence. I proclaim that the video games that these kids watch will have no effect, no negative effect, on their minds on their thoughts, that they’ll have pure thoughts in the name of Jesus. We put a block against violence. We put a block against strife. We put a block against envy. We stop bullying in the name of Jesus. I say speak to bullying, I say cease. I say see your brother as your brother and love your brother and love your neighbor as yourself. The Spirit of the God of Isaac, Jacob, of Israel. We speak in the name of Jesus. Your Spirit, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of peace reigns in this world. It is king. It is Lord. And that the king, the prince, of the power here be put down in the name of Jesus. There be peace in the schools and will be great learning, wisdom, and in the name of Jesus we praise. Glory to God in the name of Jesus.
Hi everyone. I’m having some technical difficulties and I’m not completely sure the message I just recorded actually got sent or not. So, I’m going to give this one more try. My name is Kate and I wanted to ask you all to pray for me if the Spirit leads you to. I have been, over the past couple years, I’ve been stepping progressively more into the leadership of my local church. Not in the role of a pastor but just within the lay leadership, kind of in the governance structure of our church. And I have been so blessed in this time to see that each time that I step out, even if I feel afraid or insufficient to see God blessing me and equipping me and growing me. But in the past couple months in particular is been more challenging. Honestly, intimidating at times. __ in that, that God would give me a faithful and humble and willing servant in this role that he’s placed me in. Yeah, I’ve felt God putting that on my heart in the past couple weeks, especially that I need to reach out and humble myself enough to ask for prayer in this role. And as I ask you also be praying for me, particularly, I also want to also encourage all of us to remember to pray for Brian and Jill and their family as they serve us here with the Daily Audio Bible and also with your local pastors and your local church leadership. Thank you so much.