Ezekiel 42:1-43:27, James 5:1-20, Psalms 119:1-116, Proverbs 28:6-7
Today is the 21st day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and it is a pleasure to be here with you today as we move forward with the next step that invariably, if we keep taking them, will lead us to the end of the year and the end of the Bible. And what a journey it has been this year, indeed. So, the next step will take us back into the book of Ezekiel. We’re reading from the Good News Translation this week. Ezekiel chapter 42 verse 1 through 43 verse 27 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So, we concluded the letter of James today, and as we find in many of the letters of the Bible, the final words of these letters give incredible encouragement and practical life postures that we can actually get our minds around and live into. And as we look at James thoughts we have to remember that he wrote this letter to Hebrews, to Jewish brothers and sisters who had been forced to flee or to relocate because of the marginalization and persecution that was being faced. So, quoting James, “be patient then my friends until the Lord comes. See how patient farmers are as they wait for their land to produce precious crops. They wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains. You also must be patient.” So, for a person facing hardship like the people that were the recipients of this letter and for that matter like any of us who are facing hardship, those are words that give us a reason to take the next step, a reason to continue on, which means that they are speaking to each of us on some level. And what’s happening here is that James is reminding us that a process is taking place, one that requires that we be patient and practice endurance. And, obviously, at times this is very difficult because we live in a culture…and man…we are about to experience it full force…we live in a culture that promises instant gratification. And as we move into this holiday season everything’s gonna be thrown at us. But sanctification does not work that way. It’s not an instant gratification thing. It’s more like a farmer, right? A farmer can’t plant seed and harvest a crop the next day. And, so, sometimes this long wait, patiently waiting through the seasons, it just discourages us and in the discouragement we find ourselves behaving more like the children of Israel, right, grumbling through our wilderness experience. And, so, in the face of patience and endurance James gave a reality check. And , so, I’m quoting him again. “Do not complain against one another, my friends, so that God will not judge you. The judge is near ready to appear.” Right? So, in our season of waiting and endurance and being patient we can find ourselves discouraged and then we can find ourselves becoming cynical and then we can find ourselves lashing out other people and basically doing all of the things…like if we just read the book of James in reverse then we’ll find ourselves doing all the things that we’ve already covered. James is basically saying, you know, this is the way it works. You are you are being sanctified, you are being transformed, and that’s a process, and you’ll have to be patient in that process, If you try to take matters in your own hands, that won’t work. If you try to leech off other people, that won’t work. If you try to intimidate other people or wound in some way with your words other people, that’s not gonna work. There’s only one way this works. And, so, you can settle down and be patient and move through this season. It is not purposeless. Indeed, it may be hard, but it is not purposeless. And when you come out the other side of this you will be strong and there is no other way. This is how it works.
Prayer:
Father, we invite You into this process. Some seasons we are soaring, and our spirits are high and we’re enjoying all that You are doing in our lives and then in some seasons You invite us to go deeper. And that may be that we face external opposition or that may be that we’re just tilling the inner soil of our hearts and You are going after some things there that don’t need to be there anymore, and they need to be purged out and cleaned. And these seasons are more difficult, and they are the seasons that are a lot harder to endure, obviously. And, so, we invite Your Holy Spirit into this. May we always keep our hearts tuned to what You are doing because if we are walking with You, then You will show us what You are doing in our lives and we will not be confused. And when we enter a patch that may be a little bit more difficult or challenging we will know this is not purposeless. There is gold here. And, so, come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus name we ask. Amen.
Announcements:
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And man…we are…so, tomorrow’s Thanksgiving and that doesn’t mean something to everyone within the sound of my voice but to those of us who are residents in the United States, that’s a national holiday, it’s a day of giving thanks. And it, you know, Thanksgiving precedes a day known as Black Friday. And that’s the day…that’s the day…right…when Christmas season kind of begins and the shopping starts and all of the sales and incentives and all of this begin. And it’s this way around the world. And this is how our cultures work. Each year we bring out the Daily Audio Bible Christmas box and this year is no different. The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box for 2018 is now available as of today couple, a couple of days in advance of Black Friday. We always sell out of these. And their purpose is to cram as much resource into one Box as we can possibly do - some serious stuff, some fun stuff, some stuff that you’ll want to keep and some stuff that you’ll want to give away as gifts. And I think this is a really helpful Box this year. So, here’s what’s in it: Our ever popular promised land series, the two DVD set that allows you to kind of zoom in and actually see and experience the places where the Bible happened. Like so many of the stories that will we’ve gone through in the Scriptures up until this point, they’re actually real places that still exist mostly in archaeological form. And over many years, we have painstakingly filmed every detail so that you can actually experience where these stories happened. So, that the double DVD project is in the is in the Christmas Box for 2018. And I’ve spent quite a little…no…I spent very little time this year so far talking about any of my own writings, any of my own books. I don’t know why…I just…you know…there’s a tension in me to talk about something that I’ve created and that I think would help you and that I think should get. It’s hard for me to like hawk that while at the same time I’ve included two of my books in the Christmas Boxes this year for a reason. And they will both books that were hard, hard, hard fought for. The first one is called Reframe - from the God we’ve made to God with us. And it was a very, very long struggle to really name and put into language what we are talking about when we are talking about being in a relationship with God. How does that even work? What is the shape of it? Like, rather than just saying, yeah, I’m in a relationship with God and that relationship amounts to me trying to give thanks at mealtimes and as I fall asleep in bed, as I’m going to sleep. Like that’s my relationship. And I go to church every Sunday. Like, is that a relationship with God? Because that wouldn’t be a relationship with anybody else. So, what is a relationship with God. And that was the first of a series of books, I believe, that are on spiritual transformation, like really trying to begin to dismantle and look at how we got here and why we believe what we do and what we’re talking about when we say some of these things. So, what is a relationship with God. That’s Reframe. And, you know, I’ve heard from hundreds and hundreds of people that Reframe’s something that they read every year, like at the beginning of every year just as a reset because it is a reframe. So, that’s in the Box. And my second book of spiritual transformation is called Sneezing Jesus. And man…we had the sneeze heard around the world when this released and it was kind of book 2 in this spiritual transformation process where, you know, leaving Reframe and saying, okay, now I understand that I am in a relationship with God and here’s how that looks. The question became, who am I in a relationship with? Because you can say I’m in a relationship with God and the Holy Spirit leads me but what does that mean, right? Like when we started distilling this stuff down we start finding that we are at a loss for the right words to describe something that is nearly indescribable. And, so, Sneezing Jesus was my attempt to…well I mean the book of John says that the word became flesh…and like…this this is my attempt to make the flesh become word. And its book 2 because if we are in a relationship with God, then what are the implications of that? Like what is our life really supposed to look like? Because we have the daily obligations or just the rhythms of our faith. Like, what we’re doing now. Like the Daily Audio Bible and having this rhythm every day. We have these things in our religion and our faith but for the most part we’re living, we’re biding our time hoping for an eternity that is better than now, where all is well, nothing is broken, nothing is lost, there are no more good goodbyes, and all our questions are answered. But is that the human experience? Is the human experience simply to be born and wait to die so that actual life can begin? Because is that we were going for here? Sneezing Jesus explores Jesus humanity, a portion of Jesus that we don’t actually focus a lot on. We know He was a human being and that He physically died on the cross, but we mostly think about Him as divine, as the son of the living God. And we should, He is. But he’s also equally, fully, according to the Scriptures, human. And, so, Jesus gives us the one true example that we can look at and say that’s what it’s supposed to look like, that’s how my life is supposed to look, right, which brings a literal meaning to the term Christ like. So, that’s Sneezing Jesus. And I believe that there are two more books in this transformation, a series of that’s what it’s called, I think. They’re not written yet. I’m wrestling with them. Like, I have to wrestle, wrestle, wrestle, wrestle, before I can even say something and then I have to wrestle for all of those words. But these first two are out and available and they are in the Christmas Box this year. Additionally, is another book. This book is called Going Solo. It was written by my friend Robert. I actually wrote the forward to his book because it deals with the topic that I think we are under supporting and that is the single parent journey even within the church. I mean Robert is a super humble guy and he’s never gonna grandstand but he has been one of the most influential people in the Christian music industry. So, like if you think of bands like…with…you know…little startup bands with names like Third Day. Well, it was Robert who brought them to light. However, he went through an incredibly traumatic season of being a single father to his daughters. And he tells that story. But beyond that, Robert is a visionary. So, having to walk through that season and finding how difficult it is to actually find your place and find any kind of support, especially when you’re just frantically running…like…there’s no time. Even if great things were available…like…your just exhausted all the time trying to maintain everything. So, he wrote. He wrote a story. But he wrote a story in such a way that it’s like a warm blanket, like when you’re exhausted and you’re walking this solo parenting journey. And, you know, like, you can’t just call someone up and share your heart. It’s gotta be like a give-and-take. And, so, you can end up even more exhausted. Like, there’s no one to just pour into you and to your brokenness, into your emptiness, into your loneliness. Yeah, that’s what Going Solo, that’s what this book is, it’s pouring into the exhausted single-parent and nothing is expected in return. It’s like a balm for the soul and I think it’s an important topic. And I know that I know that I know that there are tens of thousands of solo parents in the Daily Audio Bible community. And this is for you. But I also know that there’s probably no one listening to me that doesn’t have a solo parent in your life and this is for them because…listen…this isn’t a trite little book of…you know…well-worn promises and a pat on the back. This is honest, this is real, this is authentic, this is…this is where you are if you’re walking the solo parenting journey. So, Going Solo is in the Christmas Box this year. We have also included, since we are big fans of the Black Wing pencil around here and we’re big fans of journaling our way through the Scriptures around here. Last year we put a black wing pencil in the Christmas Box. We’re doing that again. These pencils, I love. I use these pencils every day of my life. But this year we were able to work with them and get Daily Audio Bible imprinted on the pencil. Like, we can’t sell them. That’s an unfortunate thing. We can’t sell them this way. They would not let us sell them this way, like in boxes of 12 like Black Wings, but we were able to include one in the Christmas Box. And, so, the Daily Audio Bible Black Wing edition is in the Christmas Box. Of course, annually we have the Daily Audio Bible Christmas bulb. And I think this is the sixth or seventh one. I put them my tree every year. We put them on our tree. And it’s…for me…having each one of those bulbs from each one of those years…I look at those bulbs and I say, “that is one revolution to the whole Bible.” And it reminds me of that journey, but it also reminds me of the Daily Audio Bible community that I love dearly, like with all my heart. And, so, it a way of like bringing you into our home at Christmas time. So, we’ve been doing these bulbs for, I don’t know, six or seven years. I’ll have to count them. Of course, our word for the year is “Hope” and the Christmas bulb includes the word for the year on it. And you can only get the Christmas bulb in the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box each year. We only have limited quantities of these Boxes and then they sell out. So, we need all the stuff for all the Boxes. So, the Daily Audio Bible 2018 Christmas bulb is in the Box. We also include a pack of 20 of the Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards for the year. Now, those you can get separately in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. But these are beautiful. They’re beautiful this year. And on the front, they say our word for the year, “Hope.” And these aren’t like…those of you who have been around kind of know the situation, but if this is your first Christmas with us, these are not like fake Christmas cards that are really, you know, an advertisement for the Daily Audio Bible. They’re not that. The only place they say Daily Audio Bible on them is on the very, very back like, where it would say Hallmark or whatever card that you bought. Inside there’s a verse of Scripture from the Christmas season and blank space for you to write. If you want to invite your friends and family to take the journey with you, then the Christmas card is a great way to do that. But this is part of our family experience. And, so, sending out the word “hope” here at the end of the year to all of our friends and family is a way of ceiling, that this has been a year of hope and it’s been hard-fought right? I’ve had to fight for hope all year and I don’t think I’m alone. But I have found that if you fight for it it exists and it is there and it’s never absent if you’re really looking with all your heart. So, to give hope is what we’re trying to do with the Christmas cards. Now there’s a pack of 20 of them and they include their envelopes and everything like that and that’s in the Christmas Box for 2018 but you can get them separate in the Shop as well. If you’re gonna send out more than 20 cards etc. etc. And then lastly is our Windfarm coffee or tea and your choice of coffee or tea. And I will be roasting, roasting, roasting the coffee. Our Windfarm coffee is roasted at altitude in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. And it’s delicious and you know, I drink it every day pretty much. Got my coffee mug just to my left as I speak. So, you can choose that or our boutique coffee or our boutique tea, which is delicious and is also something that that I drink. So, I said that’s it, lastly. But truly lastly we’re also throwing in a mystery item. We just kind of went through warehouse and we just have some additional resources laying around but not…like not enough for the whole Box or anything like that. And, so we thought that yeah, let’s, let’s include some of these resources. And, so, can’t tell you it will be. But everybody who gets a Christmas Box will get something else additional to what I just said. So, there you go. There’s the family Christmas Box for 2018 and it’s available now. Just go to dailyaudiobible.com and go into the Shop and find the Christmas section and you will find what you’re looking for.
Okay. So, with all of that having been said, these will go fast, they will sell out, they always do. But you, those of you who are international, who are not in the United States, and yes, that includes the house of you who are in Canada. We’ve gotten emails in the past about this like when they of arrived late from our Canadian brothers and sisters who are like, it’s not like I’m in Europe, I’m in Canada. But ironically you’re in a different country, which forces us to ship international, which slows the whole thing down to molasses. And we have a situation worked out with our friends at FedEx who allow us to be able to ship internationally at pretty close to domestic rates, like, way cheaper than regular international it just takes longer. So, having said all of what I’ve said, one week from today is the international cut off. Like one week from today, if you haven’t ordered your…by one week from today…if you haven’t ordered your Christmas Box and you’re not in the United States then we’re not sure…like we absolutely…we’ll send it…but we’re not sure it will get there for Christmas cause sometimes, you know, it takes several weeks. So, you will get it but if you wait, you may not get it in time for Christmas. If you are in the domestic United States then we’ve got some time on that, but they will sell out. So, there it is, the Christmas Box for 2018.
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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, this is Stephanie, the Lord’s Chic in Oklahoma and I was calling because Scott from Michigan called. And brother, thank you so much. That day I was really wondering if I was in the right field altogether. I’m an ER nurse and over time I’ve developed anxiety that at times can be crippling and have come to find out that as ER and ICU and paramedic, that we develop PTSD just like the soldiers do. But we can talk about it. We’re not allowed to say, hey, I’m feeling like I can’t take this anymore, if I see one more person to another bad thing to another person I’m just gonna lose it. And we’re warriors on those front lines. And after decades of doing this I’ve wondered if I can keep doing it. But if the Christians pull out than who’s going to be there? Thank you so much for calling that day because I was really thinking about maybe I just need to hang it up. So, my heart and love to you my brother, not only in Christ but in medicine. And I hope that you’re doing well. And to all the nurses and doctors and paramedics and firefighters in California, my love and prayers to all of you.
Hi this is Victoria Soldier just calling to pray for some of the DABbers. I wanted to say hi to Paula and let her know that I’m praying with you. Paula I don’t judge California because California’s the place where I received Christ as my Savior and I really believe that God is with it. I don’t understand was going there but I know that God is able and I’m praying that Lord, that you send down the rain like never before. Lord You send down the rain and You open up the windows of heaven for Your people for all they’re going through. Lord, let them look up to You knowing You are able, that You are able to do exceeding, that something that’s good is coming out of this. And Lord we’re looking for it Lord. We’re looking for Your rain, Lord. We’re looking for You to have Your way, that Your people will look up to You and say Lord, there’s no other God but that You are the living God. Oh Lord You continue to touch Your people, You continue to provide. You said You provide their every need according to the riches and glory. Remember what He did for Job. He gave Job more than He ever even had before. Just keep Your trust in him. Oh Lord, and I talked to my sister for Thanksgiving. My sister, don’t worry about Thanksgiving. Just thank God for the fact that You are there and You’re there to be a light and somebody needs Christ even in our own families. Lord I know what You’re going through because I’m going through the same in mine. I will not be with mine, but I will be there in heart and just trust that God will save and God will deliver and only God can heal even in families with challenges. Lord You touch Your people, You open up the doors no man can close. Help us to be thankful in knowing that God is faithful, that God is holy, and He said He’d never leave us nor forsake us and that He will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. And Lord we give You the glory and the praise and honor. You touch Brian and their family and all the people of God and Lord we’ll give You the glory and honor and the praise and…
Hi this is Terry from Southern California. Hi Daily Audio Bible family. Just calling, I just want to lift up Paula. I heard your prayer request. I know Paula you live up in the fire area where so many homes were destroyed, and you lost your home. And I just want to let you know that we’re praying for you and we’re praying for your family and we just want the peace that surpasses all understanding, that God will give us peace whose eyes are stayed upon him. And, so, I just wanted to lift you up in prayer for comfort, for encouragement, and that whatever the future holds I know that God is holding the future for you and your family. And we want to pray for everybody who is impacted, not just the fires in the Thousand Oaks area of California but also in Northern California that so many people have lost so much in life, have been lost, and some are not found yet, but we still serve a God that owns the cattle on a thousand hill and the tide that looks low. So, we know that He can give us a peace that gets us through this time. So, Paula, I just want to let you know that we’re praying for you and I just pray that God’s peace would just be with you and your family. Amen. Bye.
Hey Daily Audio Bible family, it’s James the teacher in LA. Just an update as far as my mom and her condition. I called in and said that she…that her doctor discovered a precancerous growth in her uterus. And this coming Wednesday the 21st of November, she’s scheduled to have a hysterectomy. And it’s supposed to be a procedure in such a way that it’s actually pretty low key. I’m freaking out a little bit because, honestly the last time I had a parent calling me telling me that they were going through some stuff and it’s right around a holiday time, it was summer and I talked to my dad and he had a friend in town who was supposed to be helping out and while I was away he passed unexpectedly. And I’m freaking out a little about thinking about thus happening again because my wife and I gonna travel out of town for Thanksgiving. So, I just talked to my mom. She’s sure that she’s going to be an okay. She knows that we had our plans set before her surgery was set and she’s not…she’s not upset that we’re not gonna be there. She’s not concerned about the outcome of the surgery. But I know she doesn’t know the Lord. And I keep talking to her about it. And then two days a week, she just kind of keeps pushing away, pushing back. So, please pray family. Yeah. And everybody please drive carefully out there this holiday season. All right. I love you guys. Thank you. Bye.