1 Samuel 8:1-9:27, John 6:22-42, Psalms 106:32-48, Proverbs 14:34-35
Today is the 10th day of May. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is a joy and an honor to come around this global campfire together with you and our brothers and sisters all over the world and just kind of come into this place where it’s safe, where we can allow the distractions and even the things that are insisting on stealing our attention, we can let them diminish just for little while here and just calm down and allow God’s word to speak to us. Whatever’s going on, it can wait for a few minutes, it’ll still be there, but we may come out of this time with a totally different perspective because we’ve allowed God to begin to work in our hearts and feed our souls with His word. And, so, we’re reading from the New English Translation this week and we are in the midst of the dramatic story that is known as first Samuel and we’re learning about Samuel, the prophet and the final judge of Israel. So, today we’ll read first Samuel, chapters 8 and 9.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in first Samuel, I mean, we’re already reaching the end of Samuel’s life. And, so, it’s kind of moved quickly but Samuel brings us to the era of the monarchy, right? So, the people, obviously in today’s reading, have asked for a king. Samuel is not pleased. God is not pleased. But this is what they want and so this is what they’re going to get. And we met this man named Saul today on journey looking for some donkeys, but he will obviously become the first king of Israel. That’s probably not a spoiler, but there is so much for us to learn in the days ahead from Saul. I mean, certainly, we will travel through the narrative of the story of the things that happened during Saul’s rise to power and through his reign, but underneath all that Saul will be a mirror into our own soul and our own motivations. And, so, let’s just kind of keep an eye on this and we’ll talk about this in the coming days.
And then Jesus actually has some things to say today that, perhaps, could simplify the complexities that we have made of our faith. So, Jesus walks back to Capernaum on the water. The people had seen the disciples leave in a boat but not Jesus and then the next day they realize none of them are there. And, so, they head toward Capernaum, which is Jesus hometown to see if they could find him. And they have questions. What must we do to accomplish the deeds God requires? Which is a fundamental question we kinda ask ourselves consciously or subconsciously, continually. What am I supposed to be doing and how is it that I’m supposed to be positioning my heart in my life so that it pleases God? What does He require of me? And Jesus answers the question. This is the deed God requires, right? This is the work He wants you to do – to believe in the one that he sent. Can I point out that what he didn’t say is, “listen over the next several thousand years there’s going to be so much theology written about me and I want you to continually struggle against each other the best that you can and the winner will be the one who’s right and you should do that and then maybe, maybe, maybe you will be doing what God requires of you.” Like, that’s just not…that not how he laid it out. In fact, that was more the climate that he had dropped into. That’s more what was going on among the religious leaders of the time. And we’re continually trying to figure out if we’re in God’s will. Are we doing the right thing? Are we doing it right? What is it God wants for me? According to Jesus all God wants is that you believe. And He didn’t put a lot of baggage on that. He didn’t say, “and this is exactly how you do that”, right? Back into the why don’t you struggle with each other for thousands of years to try to figure that out. All he said is, “believe” or quoting him. “This is the deed God requires, to believe in the One whom He sent.” So, maybe we have drastically overcomplicated things. These words are foundational to our lives and our faith, right? So, it’s hard to love somebody you don’t believe in. It’s impossible to have a relationship with somebody you don’t believe in. So, maybe this is the foundational question isn’t which strain of theological persuasion do I need to find and then try to chase down. Maybe it’s whether or not we truly believe in Jesus or not. Because when Jesus said this is all you’ve gotta do, “all you gotta do is believe that God sent me.” Their response when Jesus said this is, “show us what you can do. Show us a miraculous sign if you want us to believe in you. What can you do? I might add, that they had just been fed from five loaves and two fishes. So, kind of a seemingly arrogant response until the mirror comes before our own lives. Aren’t we always asking God to prove himself to us? Aren’t we often offering our belief in exchange for some sort of sign or some sort of benefit. And, if so, then it’s like an exchange. That’s not a relationship, it’s not true love. That’s let’s like us being these people and saying, “what can you do? Show me what you can do and then I’ll believe. So, let’s think about these things today and invite Jesus to peel it back, peel the layers of why it is we’re following this path to begin with.
Prayer:
We invite You into that Jesus. All You’ve asked us to do is to believe You and to believe in You. And, so, we declare that we do and we do believe You and believe in You and we invite Your Holy Spirit to lead us forward. Come, Holy Spirit, You promised that You would lead us into all truth. And, so, we submit ourselves to that. Come, lead us into all truth, lead us deeper into Jesus, lead us onto the narrow path that leads to life. We pray these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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And that is 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 Anna calling from the Midwest and I was just calling because a brother in Christ left a message that he was feeling stressed over back-to-back exams in nursing school. And, so, I just wanted to lift him up in prayer. I’m in the same boat. I’m in school for psychology and it definitely can be stressful at times but you’re not alone. So, Jesus I just ask that You would fill my brother up with peace, with rest, God, that You would remind him of the promise of the fruit to come as he’s worked so hard and he sows in this season. You will be faithful, and he does have amazing times ahead to look forward to, that he’ll get to minister to people in his vocation of nursing. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Keep at it, you’ve got this, you’re not alone, and I’m so excited for you.
Hello, my name is Sonja, I’m in San Antonio Texas, I am a nursing student and I am calling on behalf of the young man that called in, the broadcast I heard it was on May 7th, today. He’s in nursing school and he was asking for prayer. I am calling to encourage you, to strengthen you, to remind you who you are and whose you are. You can get through this. You’ve gotten this far, you’re almost done. Don’t give up now. You can finish this race. I’m here to encourage you. Just press forward. And I understand being tired and feeling overwhelmed and overworked and such, but it will pay off. I promise my brother in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hello DAB, my name is Sorry and I’m calling from New Mexico. And I’m calling to ask for prayer. I just…I’ve been going through a lot mentally, emotionally, physically and sometimes spiritually. I ask you all for your prayers. I’ve been dealing with weight loss goals and trying to overcome excessive weight for a very long time now and I’m just like…I’m to the point where I’m done with praying for myself…I’m done with asking God for help and trying to figure out what my body needs to reduce this weight. It seems so easy for everyone else but it’s been a very difficult journey for myself. I’m 39 years old and I really, really want to be the best me, not only for myself but for my family, you know. We have goals for the future and I really don’t want my way to be an issue. And I know I’m not alone out there. I know there are people out there that are just like me. So, if you guys could just please lift me up, I would really appreciate it. I listen to Daily Audio Bible since January 1st, but I’ve actually listened before. I think it was about a couple years ago and then something in me just told me to start again. And not only myself, but my husband has joined, our children and…
Hi Brian, it’s Angie from West Winchester Virginia. First of all, I just want to say thank you for such an amazing job on Daily Audio Bible. I just love this app and I listen to it every day going to work. I am a nurse and I just wanted to let the young man that called in from Texas, I didn’t get his name, that is a nursing school that is struggling now. I quit a 35-year career in obedience to God to become a nurse six years ago. And don’t give up brother. God will get you through this. If He is calling you into nursing He will get you through this. I have got to say, nursing school was the most difficult thing I’ve ever been through in my life, but through prayer and support from my family I got through it. So, don’t give up from Texas. Keep going and striving to do what God is calling you to do. He will get you through this. Brian, God bless you. The young man from Texas that’s in nursing school that’s struggling, God bless you and God will get you…