Nehemiah 9:22-10:39 , 1 Corinthians 9:19-10:13 , Psalms 34:1-10 , Proverbs 21:13
Today is the 15th day of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. And it’s great to be here with you as we move through the center of our week, the heart of our week. And so here in the middle of everything, let’s pour God’s word into the center of our lives. We’re reading from the Good News Translation this week. Nehemiah 9:22-10:39 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in 1 Corinthians, Paul continued to share his posture of ministry. And yesterday he spoke of the honorable right of those who had devoted themselves to ministry to be able to care for their needs and support their families from that work, even though he didn’t exercise that right. And today Paul discussed the fact that he was a free man but had found it meaningful to look at himself as a slave to all people. And in looking at the world through those eyes, Paul could reverence everyone no matter who they were. And then he encouraged us to consider this posture in our own lives. By understanding that it can be done, but it takes the same kind of self-discipline that an athlete must commit to in order to win. And one of those disciples is the vigilance required to observe the ways our hearts can be seduced or tempted. Paul said, If you think you are standing strong, be careful not to fall. The temptations in your life aren’t any different from what others experience. And God is faithful. And he will not allow you to be tempted more than you can stand. So, this example that Paul gave the Corinthians is one that we can all put to good use. We can lower ourselves. We can humble ourselves so that we might find common ground with whoever we’re talking to. We can understand that this posture is a discipline. It’s something that we learn a skill, a strength that we commit to. And we can learn from the past and choose not to repeat it. And we can be vigilant about things that would pull our hearts off course. These characteristics, if we want to call them that, these traits or behaviors, are all things that we would be able to say we can see them in Jesus. And, so, if we are in the pursuit of becoming Christ-like, than we must follow in the footsteps of the Savior.
Prayer:
Father, we commit to that. Self-discipline, it can be a very, very challenging thing. We can find ourselves seduced into all kinds of things, whether that be the candy bar we shouldn’t pick up at the gas station or things of much more significance. And this imagery of training like an athlete is imagery we can all understand today and has been able to be understood for thousands of years. This kind of vigilance and discipline and pursuit of the goal, of the prize. We understand that, we just don’t often apply it to our spiritual lives. So, often we’re leaning on grace, like we don’t have to really do any work because we can just lean on grace. And yet that’s not what Paul is instructing us to do. He’s instructing us to become strong and disciplined people, mature men and women of the kingdom of God, wielding the authority of the kingdom of God on this planet, which takes skill and discipline that we have to grow into. So, we see this and see the converse, the alternative that we don’t do this. And that we become weak and flabby and are tossed to and from by every wind of doctrine. And this life of faith never makes any sense because we never ever got any further than being an infant. Come, Holy Spirit. We wanna grow up. We wanna be effective men and women for Your kingdom on this earth, conduits that You can channel Your love through toward anyone, anywhere, anytime. Come Jesus we pray. In Your mighty name 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:
Hi family. This is Jeff Bernhardt calling from Canada. Just wanted to reach out and put a prayer request up there. I am in ministry and I’m also in business and at a real change of season in my life. A lot of things are shifting and moving and just really need clarity for where God wants me to go and the decisions He wants me to make. And I don’t typically reach out for prayer but I’ll tell you, when you pray with people you become more connected. I do feel more connected to this community. So, I’m just gonna throw it out there and ask you to pray for me and this situation, that God will give me wisdom and clarity and that the enemy wouldn’t be able to bring confusion or any type of fear at all. I’m really looking to step out in faith into this next season and just want to do what God’s calling me to do. And wanted to let you guys know that I am hearing your requests and I am praying for you, pretty much on a daily basis. Brian, love what you guys do and excited to be a part of this community. Anyway, have a very great week and wishing all the best for you all. Be blessed.
Hello DAB brothers and sisters. This is Rob Still, worship dude in Nashville Tennessee. It is Sunday morning, August 12th as I’m driving on my way to lead worship at church and I just wanted to implore you guys to remember your pastors and the people who serve on your church and read to remember to pray for them. They are men and women who have committed their lives to serving the body of Christ however flawed they may be. And they truly need the prayers and intercessions of their brothers and sisters. So, thank you for all of you guys who stay on the podcast and listen to the prayer requests. I listen to them. I don’t call a whole lot but thank you for all pray. Thank you for all who call in. Now for me, specifically, I am in a difficult situation this week and I really pray that you guys would just intercede, that the will of God would be done. May His kingdom come. Okay, that’s it for now. So, may the Lord richly bless you. Thank you for praying.
Hi DABbers. This is hopeful. I just want to thank you so much for all of your prayers for us to be able to get pregnant. I can’t tell you how much that has meant to me and I don’t know why it’s so hard for some of us to call but it is. It’s just hard for me. I want to also say that I’ve been praying for all of you every day I listen to this. Every single morning I walk my dog and I just lift each and every one of you up in prayer. And I just love you guys and I thank you for this. Brian and Jill, thank you for this amazing community. I wanted to continue to ask for prayer, of course, for us to be able to get pregnant. There’s a lot I haven’t shared and I want to also be able to say that I do have…I don’t know if it’s called a praise report, because I had a tumor at one point that was benign on my ovaries. And I’ve never looked at that as a blessing but I’m coming to realize the doctors had told me either I would wake up with one ovary and fallopian tube missing or I would wake up with having had a full hysterectomy and having to start chemotherapy. And I was going through a lot of that time. And it’s possible, it’s possible for me to be pregnant. It’s going to be incredibly difficult with my age and I had other health problems as well. And, so, I wanted to say, I want to be able to thank the Lord that I didn’t have a full hysterectomy, that there is a small possibility. And I also want to tell the gentleman from Australia, I think you called in, and you guys are having the same journey as we are. And it just touched my heart and where all in this together and I want to lift you up as well. And I’m praying for you all and I hope that the next time we call in that we can talk about us being pregnant. Love you guys.
This is Kacy from Oklahoma and I’m calling to ask for prayer for my dad. This is Sunday, the 12th of August and my dad goes in for facial reconstruction on Tuesday from skin melanoma and he is gonna have a rough time. And, so, I want to pray for him and I want to pray for my mom because she’s gonna be taking care of him a lot after __ the next week or so. And, so, I just want to pray for them. Lord, I just pray for my family, that we can get through this and, yeah, that’s what I’m calling for. So, I want to say a big thank you to Brian and Jill for making this community what it is and for bringing it out each and every day because it’s an awesome community. And, yeah, that is what I’m gonna…I’m gonna call in with an update after surgery. And, yeah, I’ll let you guys know what’s going on. And again, this is Kacy from Oklahoma. My dad’s name is Paul. So, keep him in your prayers and I will call back. Bye.