Nehemiah 5:14-7:60 , 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 , Psalms 33:1-12 , Proverbs 21:8-10
Today is the 13th day of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. And it’s great to be here with you today as we move into our work week and beyond because this rhythm, this rhythm never stops. We continue to let God’s Word speak to us every day. So we’ll take the next step forward by picking up where we left off yesterday. And we’re in the book of Nehemiah. And we’re reading from the Good News Translation this week. Nehemiah 5:14-7:73 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So as we continue to watch Nehemiah’s efforts as the wall of Jerusalem is rebuilt, we might notice that things don’t get easier. They don’t reach this point where it’s easier. I mean, the challenge is only escalated the closer they got to completion. And maybe this will be a word of encouragement for we who have been, kind of, pushing through in our own mission. We’re not the only ones who face opposition. But we got a pretty clear glimpse of Nehemiah’s motives today. Like what kept him going in the face of all this opposition. Because he told how he had not taken the allotted resources given his position, even though his predecessors had. And there was nothing wrong with benefiting from what he’d earned. He saw the burden the people were under and he choose to lighten the load rather than increase it because they were facing the same opposition. And so he paid out of his own pocket what he required for his position. And this served to show those who were working under him that he was in the struggle too. And this didn’t only set an example. It revealed that Nehemiah wasn’t looking for an opportunity to exploit anyone. Like he was not in this for the victory and for the adulation and for what it was going to bring to him. He was single minded in his mission. He wanted to build a wall so that God’s temple was protected. And he would accept nothing more and he would accept nothing less. So this might seem like an odd thing to draw attention to, but we have to remember that rebuilding Jerusalem would have been a ground floor opportunity for acquiring prime real estate. And Nehemiah was in a position to get wealth and property. But the allure didn’t distract him. He wholeheartedly believed that his mission was from God. And then Nehemiah faced the politics of the situation, right? When the threats and taunts and ridicule were unsuccessful, his foes invited him to a summit with the idea that everyone should just get on the same page. And so several letters were sent until this open letter was sent. And what was Nehemiah’s response. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you? That’s a fair question. And it should resonate with us when we’re facing our own obstacles as we press through in our own callings. Why should we stop progress only to listen to the very voices that try to diminish and intimidate us in the first place? And of course, this meeting, this summit Nehemiah was invited to wasn’t really to talk things out. It was dirty politics to say the least. But rather than cowering to their coercion, Nehemiah decided to simply work all the harder to get the mission accomplished. And so that didn’t work either. So what are these people gonna do to get Nehemiah’s attention and get him to stop what he’s doing? And they bring religion into the mix. They pay off a prophet to coerce Nehemiah to blockade himself in God’s temple, which would have made Nehemiah look fearful and weak and as if he had done something wrong, which he didn’t do. So Nehemiah’s single focused commitment to his passionate desire to protect God’s temple, gave him the guidance that he was gonna need to navigate and gave him the strength to oppose the formidable opposition coming against him from everywhere. So the bottom line is if Nehemiah was in this for the money, like if he were in this to exploit and get something, he would have led completely differently. He wouldn’t have been providing for the people. He wouldn’t have been working along with the people. And with all the opposition they were facing, the wall probably would have remained incomplete. But 52 days later, Nehemiah reflected on what he’d faced. And he said, when our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated because they realized that the work was done with the help of God. When this story… You know, it’s so easy to look into our own lives. It’s not veiled at all. We don’t have to stretch at all to find ourselves in this story. We can find the places where we’ve quit because of opposition or because of taunting or because of religion or whatever. When we’ve quit what we felt like we were supposed to do because it was too hard. And it gives us an opportunity to reflect on our motives. This is what we see in the reading today from Nehemiah. His motives are all clear. He would not have led the way that he did had he had different motives. And so we can check our own hearts as we continue this journey forward.
Prayer:
Father, we invite You into that, our motives. Why do we do what we do? Why are we driven to do the things that we do? Often we feel Your call and we step into that and we face the same kind of opposition Nehemiah was facing. And we abandon ship, which reveals some of the motives behind the motives and it shows us what’s really going on in our hearts. And so we invite You into this, Father, because our motives, why we do what we do, matters greatly. And we want to do what we do because of our profound respect and honor for You, because of our deep and abiding love for You and our desire to be about the business of Your will and Your ways on this earth. Come Holy Spirit into this, we pray. In Jesus name. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, it’s where you find what’s going on around here. So, be sure to check it out. Check in and check it out.
Dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here so be sure to check it out.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you. I thank you profoundly. 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 several numbers that you can call. If you’re in the Americas, 877-942-4253 is the number. If you’re in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number to dial. If you are in Australia or that part of the world, 61-3-8820-5459 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:
Morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is Tawana from California, Los Angeles California as a matter of fact. Brian, I just want to say I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you and Jill and thank you. I’ve said it since 2007. I still listen. I don’t call in as much as I used to but I still listen and pray. But, today, August the 9th, you read first Corinthians 5 chapter 1 through 13…and my God. I decided today to read with you. And, so, when I read, this became so much __ of word not even realizing the attack that is on people who lives a immoral lives. But when you do that you come in contact with it. It’s a spiritual matter. And, so, God, my God, thank you God for allowing yourself to read this because this was just really…really refreshing to read from a spiritual aspect. And my God, all of you who are struggling with pornography and all the sins of the flesh, the Lord said our flesh is dead. And, so, because our flesh is dead we need to act like our flesh is dead, it’s dead to sin. The members cannot sin if you…if you…if you don’t allow them to. You have to put that flesh under subjection. You have to do it daily and that means that when you are delivered, that you do not go back in those dry places nor the people that is among you that is doing the same thing. Family, agree that that pornography in the name of Jesus will be destroyed by the…
Hey y’all. My name is Amanda. I’m from Williamsburg Virginia and I just wanted to call and ask for prayer for a local family. There is a family, the Ashton family. They’re a wonderful Christian family but yesterday the father got in this truck and backed up and didn’t realize that he accidentally hit his five-year-old son and it ended in the death of his five-year-old son and I don’t even know what to ask to pray for and I think the whole community is just heartbroken and grieving. And, so, please, please I know we pray worldwide for each other and I just ask to lift up this family, the Ashton family as they’re just beyond words, beyond complete devastation…and just…this sweet little five-year-old boy has lost his life just by shear accident. I thank you. Thank you guys so much. You’re always just so wonderful. Bye.
Hi this is Victoria Soldier calling to pray for some of the DABbers. I just wanted to say congratulations to the new ones that have come and I want to also pray for the lady in…she’s in California, she’s going for brain surgery on Friday. I want to pray for her. I want to also pray for the daughter named Faith that had tried to commit suicide. I want to pray for her and I want to pray for Mike from Texas. I want to pray…he was speaking about praying for all the soldiers. Our soldiers are going to allot now…even the veterans and everything and I’m with him and I want to also connect with him in the prayer. Gracious Father, we praise You today. Lord I lift You up because I know that You are an Almighty God. I know that You’re a God of love and You’re a God of abundant mercy. Lord I know that You’re a God that can do anything but fail. As You told Moses, You said, I’m God and I can do anything but fail. Lord, my sister’s going in for the brain surgery on Friday. Lord, You be with her. You direct that doctors hand. You direct that doctors mind. You direct them Lord in the name of Jesus. Lord You have Your way. You bless her, You bless her that she doesn’t need to even go through the surgery. Lord You be the deciding factor Lord. In the name of Jesus. Lord You touch the people who are going through depression. Lord there’s somebody who needs You right now they’re going through depression. They’re going through challenges on their job. Lord they need You right now. The soldiers are going through Lord. Oh Lord, all those that have gone in and those that are out. Lord, You protect them, You guide them, You keep them Father in the name of Jesus. Lord, let You show up and show out on their behalf Lord. You touch the DABbers that are going through in their marriages Lord. The enemy is attacking our marriages and our children…
Hi this is Dawn from Indiana calling Morla from Albuquerque. Morla you left a message a few days ago about wanting to cut yourself and some of the desires that you are having and some of the struggles that you’re having and I wanted to pray for you. Father God, I just lift up Morla and I ask that You help her to restrain herself and to not cut and to not herself anymore. Help her to know that and believe in her heart that she is Your child and a precious, precious child she is. God, she is more than a conqueror in You and she is loved and she is forgiven. There is no need for her to hurt herself to inflict pain upon herself because You have taken her sins and taken her pain and taken her stress upon Yourself Lord. I just ask for a measure of wisdom and peace in her mind and in her heart. And Lord, if she has cut, help her to know that thanks to You and the Son who died for us, all we have to do is take the next correct step forward in our walk with You. That You forgive us, that You love us, that You hold us up and You treasure us. Father God, again, I lift Morla up and I thank You so much for this Daily Audio Bible community. Amen.