2 Kings 6:1-7:20, Acts 15:36-16:15, Psalms 142:1-7, Proverbs 17:24-25
Today is the 24th day of June. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is a pleasure and a joy to be here with you today as we dive in and move through this week together. And, of course, this is the final week of the month of June for this year. So, as we move through the days of this week we’re also preparing to enter a new month and that will come, that will come to us, it’s coming to us, but we are here now and we’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week and we’re working our way through the book of second Kings and getting to know the prophet Elisha at this point. Second Kings chapters 6 and 7 today.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word and we take the Council that we see in second Kings today. A city was surrounded, You ran off the enemy, and four men with leprosy found the treasure that would save the city, the supplies that were necessary to save the people from utter horror and they began to hide it and hoard it until they realized, “we shouldn’t be doing this. Like, how can we keep this all for ourselves? We’ve got to go tell.” And we can see ourselves in that Lord. We feast on Your goodness continually and hide and hoard it. We ask that You will help us today and throughout this week to not do that. And this isn’t just about what we might say to somebody, this is how we will live this week, this how we will shine the light of the good news into a darkened world. Help us Father. We’re guilty of all these things. We find ourselves so many times at so many points, in so many of the stories in Your word and they expose us, and they force us to consider what Your Holy Spirit is speaking to us about things that shouldn’t be, about things that need to change. Come Holy Spirit into that we pray as we meditate on this story, meditate on Your word today. We pray these things expectantly in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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And we’re at the time of the year where a special date, kind of our Daily Audio Bible exclusive holiday is coming up on the 7th of July, which is two weeks from yesterday. And the 7th of July is a special day for us because it’s the day of the Daily Audio Bible long walk. So, if you’ve been around for several years, even one year, then you know…you know what’s going on here. If you’re new this year, I think this is the 11th Daily Audio Bible long walk. This tradition just formed because of a large stadium event that was happening in Nashville, which is where I live. There was this large prayer thing like 11 years ago, 12 years ago and at the time, right, you couldn’t just grab your phone and live stream stuff. Like that technology was just in formation. But this particular event was televised and so was there was this strange thing where a number of people are actually attending the event, but many many more are watching the event and like posting and emailing stuff and it was a moment where the community began to come together and people began to share their stories because we were all praying and it became the Daily Audio Bible long walk, an opportunity actually in the center of the year as we pass through the middle of the year to take a day and say, I’m giving this day to fellowship with God. Like, I’m gonna go for a long walk, literally go for a long walk with God. The kind of walk that I would go on was somebody I’ve fallen in love with where we would walk for hours and not even notice, right, in beauty and stop and talk walk and spend a day together saying everything you just haven’t had time to say and express your heart in ways that you just haven’t had time to think or feel, but also to give ample space for God to have an opportunity to speak back. Imagine the things that God is wanted to tell you, but you haven’t had time to listen. And imagine how freeing it will be to say everything you need to say, to actually really truly reconnect. That’s what the Daily Audio Bible long walk is about, and we do this every year now as we move through the center of the year. It’s a great opportunity to regroup and say, “Okay, you brought me this far, I’m halfway through the year now. What is the second part of this year supposed to look like? What direction am I to ahead in? How am I to navigate where we’re going together in the second half of this year? These things can only when we make space for them. And we’re just running, running, running. Ironically, the 7th of July this year happens on a Sunday. And, so, most of us will be off work and it makes it very easy to accomplish. Go somewhere beautiful. Whether that means you get in your car and you drive for hours or whether that means you get in your car and drive for minutes or whether that means you get on your bike and ride to a park. It doesn’t really matter, somewhere that comes to mind that is beautiful where you can actually be out in nature in silence, spending the day with God and realizing just how much life is happening around you every moment. And when we get out into nature it becomes very apparent, life is everywhere, life is bursting out. And Jesus said that He came that we might have life, but he also said the path of life is a narrow one. And, so, having these moments to reconnect, its rich and beautiful. And even though we’re experiencing our long walks all over the world individually in a solitary way, what makes it a community experience is that we just say wherever it is that you go, whatever it is that you do, maybe snap a picture on your phone or take a little video on your phone of where you are and post that at the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page, which is facebook.com/dailyaudiobible and what happens over the course of the day is that we open up windows into each other’s lives all over the world and we get this glimpse into the beauty of God’s creation all over the world. And it’s a fantastic experience. So, that’s coming up July 7th. Mark that on your calendar, the Daily Audio Bible long walk, a day to regroup, a day to a reconnect, a day to enjoy the beauty and go for a long walk with the lover of our souls. So, make plans for that.
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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.