The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday March 26, 2020 (NIV)

Deuteronomy 5-6

Ten Commandments for the Covenant Community

Moses called all the people of Israel together and said, “Listen carefully, Israel. Hear the decrees and regulations I am giving you today, so you may learn them and obey them!

“The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Mount Sinai.[a] The Lord did not make this covenant with our ancestors, but with all of us who are alive today. At the mountain the Lord spoke to you face to face from the heart of the fire. I stood as an intermediary between you and the Lord, for you were afraid of the fire and did not want to approach the mountain. He spoke to me, and I passed his words on to you. This is what he said:

“I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.

“You must not have any other god but me.

“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind, or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 10 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those[b] who love me and obey my commands.

11 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.

12 “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your oxen and donkeys and other livestock, and any foreigners living among you. All your male and female servants must rest as you do. 15 Remember that you were once slaves in Egypt, but the Lord your God brought you out with his strong hand and powerful arm. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to rest on the Sabbath day.

16 “Honor your father and mother, as the Lord your God commanded you. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

17 “You must not murder.

18 “You must not commit adultery.

19 “You must not steal.

20 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.

21 “You must not covet your neighbor’s wife. You must not covet your neighbor’s house or land, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.

22 “The Lord spoke these words to all of you assembled there at the foot of the mountain. He spoke with a loud voice from the heart of the fire, surrounded by clouds and deep darkness. This was all he said at that time, and he wrote his words on two stone tablets and gave them to me.

23 “But when you heard the voice from the heart of the darkness, while the mountain was blazing with fire, all your tribal leaders and elders came to me. 24 They said, ‘Look, the Lord our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice from the heart of the fire. Today we have seen that God can speak to us humans, and yet we live! 25 But now, why should we risk death again? If the Lord our God speaks to us again, we will certainly die and be consumed by this awesome fire. 26 Can any living thing hear the voice of the living God from the heart of the fire as we did and yet survive? 27 Go yourself and listen to what the Lord our God says. Then come and tell us everything he tells you, and we will listen and obey.’

28 “The Lord heard the request you made to me. And he said, ‘I have heard what the people said to you, and they are right. 29 Oh, that they would always have hearts like this, that they might fear me and obey all my commands! If they did, they and their descendants would prosper forever. 30 Go and tell them, “Return to your tents.” 31 But you stand here with me so I can give you all my commands, decrees, and regulations. You must teach them to the people so they can obey them in the land I am giving them as their possession.’”

32 So Moses told the people, “You must be careful to obey all the commands of the Lord your God, following his instructions in every detail. 33 Stay on the path that the Lord your God has commanded you to follow. Then you will live long and prosperous lives in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

A Call for Wholehearted Commitment

“These are the commands, decrees, and regulations that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you. You must obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy, and you and your children and grandchildren must fear the Lord your God as long as you live. If you obey all his decrees and commands, you will enjoy a long life. Listen closely, Israel, and be careful to obey. Then all will go well with you, and you will have many children in the land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

“Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.[c] And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

10 “The Lord your God will soon bring you into the land he swore to give you when he made a vow to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It is a land with large, prosperous cities that you did not build. 11 The houses will be richly stocked with goods you did not produce. You will draw water from cisterns you did not dig, and you will eat from vineyards and olive trees you did not plant. When you have eaten your fill in this land, 12 be careful not to forget the Lord, who rescued you from slavery in the land of Egypt. 13 You must fear the Lord your God and serve him. When you take an oath, you must use only his name.

14 “You must not worship any of the gods of neighboring nations, 15 for the Lord your God, who lives among you, is a jealous God. His anger will flare up against you, and he will wipe you from the face of the earth. 16 You must not test the Lord your God as you did when you complained at Massah. 17 You must diligently obey the commands of the Lord your God—all the laws and decrees he has given you. 18 Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so all will go well with you. Then you will enter and occupy the good land that the Lord swore to give your ancestors. 19 You will drive out all the enemies living in the land, just as the Lord said you would.

20 “In the future your children will ask you, ‘What is the meaning of these laws, decrees, and regulations that the Lord our God has commanded us to obey?’

21 “Then you must tell them, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his strong hand. 22 The Lord did miraculous signs and wonders before our eyes, dealing terrifying blows against Egypt and Pharaoh and all his people. 23 He brought us out of Egypt so he could give us this land he had sworn to give our ancestors. 24 And the Lord our God commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear him so he can continue to bless us and preserve our lives, as he has done to this day. 25 For we will be counted as righteous when we obey all the commands the Lord our God has given us.’

Footnotes:

  1. 5:2 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai.
  2. 5:10 Hebrew for thousands of those.
  3. 6:4 Or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Luke 7:11-35

Jesus Raises a Widow’s Son

11 Soon afterward Jesus went with his disciples to the village of Nain, and a large crowd followed him. 12 A funeral procession was coming out as he approached the village gate. The young man who had died was a widow’s only son, and a large crowd from the village was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. “Don’t cry!” he said. 14 Then he walked over to the coffin and touched it, and the bearers stopped. “Young man,” he said, “I tell you, get up.” 15 Then the dead boy sat up and began to talk! And Jesus gave him back to his mother.

16 Great fear swept the crowd, and they praised God, saying, “A mighty prophet has risen among us,” and “God has visited his people today.” 17 And the news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding countryside.

Jesus and John the Baptist

18 The disciples of John the Baptist told John about everything Jesus was doing. So John called for two of his disciples, 19 and he sent them to the Lord to ask him, “Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting,[a] or should we keep looking for someone else?”

20 John’s two disciples found Jesus and said to him, “John the Baptist sent us to ask, ‘Are you the Messiah we’ve been expecting, or should we keep looking for someone else?’”

21 At that very time, Jesus cured many people of their diseases, illnesses, and evil spirits, and he restored sight to many who were blind. 22 Then he told John’s disciples, “Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard—the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” 23 And he added, “God blesses those who do not fall away because of me.[b]

24 After John’s disciples left, Jesus began talking about him to the crowds. “What kind of man did you go into the wilderness to see? Was he a weak reed, swayed by every breath of wind? 25 Or were you expecting to see a man dressed in expensive clothes? No, people who wear beautiful clothes and live in luxury are found in palaces. 26 Were you looking for a prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. 27 John is the man to whom the Scriptures refer when they say,

‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
and he will prepare your way before you.’[c]

28 I tell you, of all who have ever lived, none is greater than John. Yet even the least person in the Kingdom of God is greater than he is!”

29 When they heard this, all the people—even the tax collectors—agreed that God’s way was right,[d] for they had been baptized by John. 30 But the Pharisees and experts in religious law rejected God’s plan for them, for they had refused John’s baptism.

31 “To what can I compare the people of this generation?” Jesus asked. “How can I describe them? 32 They are like children playing a game in the public square. They complain to their friends,

‘We played wedding songs,
and you didn’t dance,
so we played funeral songs,
and you didn’t weep.’

33 For John the Baptist didn’t spend his time eating bread or drinking wine, and you say, ‘He’s possessed by a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man,[e] on the other hand, feasts and drinks, and you say, ‘He’s a glutton and a drunkard, and a friend of tax collectors and other sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is shown to be right by the lives of those who follow it.[f]

Footnotes:

  1. 7:19 Greek Are you the one who is coming? Also in 7:20.
  2. 7:23 Or who are not offended by me.
  3. 7:27 Mal 3:1.
  4. 7:29 Or praised God for his justice.
  5. 7:34 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
  6. 7:35 Or But wisdom is justified by all her children.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 68:19-35

19 Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
For each day he carries us in his arms. Interlude
20 Our God is a God who saves!
The Sovereign Lord rescues us from death.

21 But God will smash the heads of his enemies,
crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring my enemies down from Bashan;
I will bring them up from the depths of the sea.
23 You, my people, will wash[a] your feet in their blood,
and even your dogs will get their share!”

24 Your procession has come into view, O God—
the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary.
25 Singers are in front, musicians behind;
between them are young women playing tambourines.
26 Praise God, all you people of Israel;
praise the Lord, the source of Israel’s life.
27 Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way.
Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah
and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.

28 Summon your might, O God.[b]
Display your power, O God, as you have in the past.
29 The kings of the earth are bringing tribute
to your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 Rebuke these enemy nations—
these wild animals lurking in the reeds,
this herd of bulls among the weaker calves.
Make them bring bars of silver in humble tribute.
Scatter the nations that delight in war.
31 Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals[c];
let Ethiopia[d] bring tribute to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
Sing praises to the Lord. Interlude
33 Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens,
his mighty voice thundering from the sky.
34 Tell everyone about God’s power.
His majesty shines down on Israel;
his strength is mighty in the heavens.
35 God is awesome in his sanctuary.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God!

Footnotes:

  1. 68:23 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads shatter.
  2. 68:28 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek and Syriac versions; most Hebrew manuscripts read Your God has commanded your strength.
  3. 68:31a Or of rich cloth.
  4. 68:31b Hebrew Cush.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 11:29-31

29 Those who bring trouble on their families inherit the wind.
The fool will be a servant to the wise.

30 The seeds of good deeds become a tree of life;
a wise person wins friends.[a]

31 If the righteous are rewarded here on earth,
what will happen to wicked sinners?[b]

Footnotes:

  1. 11:30 Or and those who win souls are wise.
  2. 11:31 Greek version reads If the righteous are barely saved, / what will happen to godless sinners? Compare 1 Pet 4:18.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


03/25/2020 DAB Transcript

Deuteronomy 4:1-49, Luke 6:39-7:10, Psalms 68:1-18, Proverbs 11:28

Today is the 25th day of March, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today on hump day as we move through the center of the week. And I can’t think of a better place to be than around the Global Campfire letting God’s word speak into our day in the remaining days of this week. So, we’re reading from the New Living Translation this week and we’ve begun our final book of the Pentateuch, the book of Deuteronomy which is the final discourses of Moses before he…he turns the reins over to the next generation and he receives and becomes a part of history. So, today Deuteronomy chapter 4.

Commentary:

Okay. Couple things to point out today. One from the book…well…a couple things from the book of Deuteronomy. First, we concluded today the first discourse of Moses and then we began his second discourse, and there are three of them in this book. So, this first discourse that we’ve been on the last couple of days is Moses retelling the story of who the…who the Hebrew people are, who they are and where they came from and where they’ve been. So, he’s recounting the story of the last generation. Now we’re kind of turning the corner and he’s reminding them of the laws, and we’ll get into that as the days come ahead. But one thing Moses says as he’s concluding this today is, “the Lord your God is a devouring fire. He is a jealous God.” And this is one of first places we see this stated so explicitly. So, what does that mean, “he is jealous God?” What is it in your life that would make you jealous? The typical scenario for jealousy in the human experience, although it can come in a number…a number of ways, the typical way is that we are in a committed relationship with somebody and we’re moving along in the confidence of that relationship only to kinda get this nagging sense that all is not…is not well, that maybe they’ve got something going on on the side in some sort of way so there’s this nagging feeling that as time goes by it blossoms and blooms into this tree that overshadows everything. And, so, from that a lot of different emotions can materialize like anger and rage or insecurity or hopelessness or whatever. It flows out of that sense that the one we were committed to, the one we were perhaps even in covenant with is flirting around the edges of another lover. That’s what Moses is talking about when he’s talking about God. He’s telling the people, “when you get to where you’re going, you’re going to be tempted in all kinds of ways to turn to false gods and worship them. Don’t forget what that will do to the Lord your God, the most-high God. There is no other.” So, often we interpret God’s jealousy a like He’s vengeful, that He’s just erratic and vengeful. He’s jealous for you when you flirt around the edges of another lover that would take you from His heart. I actually find a lot of comfort in that. I used to think of God as just jealous and angry and vengeful, but I find a lot of comfort that He would be jealous for me. And, so, what is the response then? What? How do we respond? We…we stay faithful. That’s what you do in a covenantal relationship. And, so, let’s think on that today. Where are we turning for life that isn’t God, and are we giving our hearts in worship to that person or thing?

We flip over into the gospel of Luke and Jesus is continuing to work through this Sermon on the Mount and He says some pretty explicit things today about what it looks like to follow the path that He is…that He is laying out for humanity. We were talking a little bit about forgiveness yesterday and Jesus is kind of like moving into judgment and the way that we judge one another. And, so, that’s when He’s like, “why are you so worried about that little speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log of your own eye? That you seem to…you’re so blind you don’t even know you’ve got a log in your eye. So, how can you possibly think about getting the speck out of your brother’s eye, your friend’s eye until you get the log out of your own? You’re just being a hypocrite.” This is when we nitpick at everybody else and we don’t pay attention to the huge issues that we have. And to just simplify it down to the essential core here, Jesus is saying, “that won’t work”. That like…and we should know that. We should know that. We…we’ve tried…like it doesn’t work. And Jesus is just saying, “it never will. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit. A bad tree can’t produce good fruit. Figs don’t come from thorn bushes grapes don’t come from bramble bushes. If you want to be a fruitful person, if you want good fruit in your life, not only for yourself but for a harvest for those all around you, a good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart. And the opposite is true. An evil person produces evil from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.” So, Jesus is like, “it is what it is. It’s not what you pretend it to be. Curate all you want. You’re whitewashing a tomb if that’s what you’re doing. Good produces good out of the treasury of good.” And He gives it a barometer because He’s like, “what you say is what’s coming up out of your heart.” So, let’s listen to what we say today because Jesus is basically said, “if you’ll like listen to what you’re saying you’ll know where your heart is.” So, we don’t really have an excuse to like…I don’t know how good or bad, I don’t know where I am on the continuum. All we gotta do is listen to ourselves to figure out where things are. But as Jesus points out we’re too busy listening to everybody else. We’re too busy being judge-y against everybody else and ignoring the issues in our own lives. But there is a treasury within our heart, and we can fill that treasury with whatever we treasure, but if we want to produce good things then we have to fill our hearts with good. And then He takes it further. “Like all of this that we’re talking about, the good, the fruitfulness, this comes because of a good solid foundation.” So, Jesus is like, “let me show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching and then follows it”, right? So, somebody who gets it, who has eyes to see. Not somebody who just heard the words but somebody who understood the words and it quickened their heart and they began to walk this way, to obey the way of Jesus. Jesus says, “that person is like a person who digs deep foundation and lays it on the solid rock” so that when the stuff of life comes and it will, “when the floodwaters rise and break against that house”, and we all experience that in our lives, “that house stands firm because it was well built. So, we can consider that God is jealous for us, that He loves deeply and it’s heartbreaking that we chase after other lovers. That is foolishness. But we can take the way of Jesus and understand this is foundational. And maybe I’ve got a lot of walls up and my foundation is built on sand and I need to go back now and I need to lay a solid foundation over time building this faith into something that cannot be shaken instead of continually judging everybody around me for what they’re doing wrong while ignoring all of my own issues and being so mad at God every time the floodwaters come and wash away my life. Maybe it’s not God’s. Maybe we built on sand. And this is exactly what happens over and over and over when we keep doing that. Maybe it’s time for a new foundation.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit we invite You into that, all of the things that we have been exploring in the Scriptures today. There’s a number of things for us to think about, Your jealous love for us and that we can break Your heart as the Scriptures will completely show us as we continue the journey, that You love us enough to be vulnerable in the relationship that when we cheat, as it were, when we chase false promises for life and give our hearts in worship to it, that is heartbreaking, makes You jealous and that makes us understand a lot. Forgive us as we contemplate this today. But also, we need to contemplate our foundations because if our faith is not built on the solid rock, like if we’re just built on sand, no wonder things keep bowling us over, no wonder we keep getting washed away. And we have to apologize again and repent for blaming You for this. It’s time to methodically, slowly, with love and care and the leading of Your Holy Spirit build a solid foundation. Come Holy Spirit and show us where to start. And we ask this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, and its home base, and its where you find out what’s going on around here.

Special announcement today because somethings going on around here, because something’s going on all over the world. And I thinks it’s safe to say we’ve kinda reached this point where we’re like, “okay how long is this going to be going on all over the world? like what are the implications here?” And ever since…ever since I noticed, kind of this was actually a thing, this is actually picking up steam and this is a thing and…and that what we’ve watched over last couple weeks it kinda become a thing that’s really, really changed a lot of the ways that we think and move about and how do we navigate all this. And I’ve just thought a lot about the book Sneezing Jesus, a book that I wrote a few years ago because…because the premise is that the kingdom of God began and spread like a virus, person-to-person to person-to-person to person to families, to communities, and it continues until this day to work that way. And, so earlier this week I contacted my book publisher and just asked, “listen is there any way that we could give this away like for a little while, like while all this is going on and while we’re refilling our time with all kinds of activities but things are different right now? Is there a way that we could use this to be kind of an ongoing gift of encouragement as we move through the next little bit?” And they agreed with that because we need all the encouragement we can get right now. So, what we’re gonna do here for the next about week and half, I think…have to add them…but I think there’s 10 chapters in Sneezing Jesus. We’re gonna release one chapter per day and it’s just gonna show up in the Daily Audio Bible as an additional program. So, the Daily Audio Bible’s never…I mean…the Daily Audio Bible is the Daily Audio Bible and as long as there is breath the word will be spoken, but in an attempt to serve this community and in an attempt to very specifically offer words of encouragement that are actionable, like they can actually be used. Sneezing Jesus is…I wrote that book to be a portrait of Jesus, like the Jesus that I have fallen in love, to use the Gospels and go into those stories and explore the fact Jesus was one of us, was a human being because we focus on the divinity of Jesus, which we should almost exclusively, but a lot of the times we ignore the fact that He was a human being walking around and His humanity was not purposeless. His humanity shows us how we’re supposed to live and be in this world. So, it’s a beautiful portrait of Jesus, but it’s a beautiful explanation of why the gospel is good news, concluding with the fact that it spread like a virus all over the world and we are all sneezing something. And what if we were Sneezing Jesus? What if that was the contagion that was going around and infecting everyone? So, the first installment, we’re gonna kind of release this as a serial, a chapter a day for the next week and a half, just something more, something else for us to immerse ourselves in that is good news. In fact, it’s the good news. So, you’ll see like the first installment showing up today and the next installment will show up tomorrow. This is a gift, a gift of hope, a gift that can be given, a gift that can be received, a gift that is free and I won’t be able to keep this on the feed indefinitely forever and ever and ever. Amen. But for now, this is the gift of the good news and the first installment is available now. And my prayer is that it will meet you where you are and compel you forward. So, of course. Check that out and may it bring you faith, hope and love.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at the website, dailyaudiobible.com or in the app by pressing the Give button in the upper right-hand corner of the app screen or, if you prefer to mail, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can just hit a Hotline button, the little red button at the top in the app. I love it. I love it at times like this like there’s this button that we can push and we’re not alone or you can dial 877-942-4253.

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 Rachel from Pennsylvania. Hi this is Ben from Pennsylvania too. And we wanted to pray and thank God for everything. Dear God, thank you for this day. Thank you for the whole world, the whole world and the sunshine and the rain and what else Ben? The animals, trees, the tress, breath…and the trees. Thank you for the trampoline to jump on and the tickles (laughing) and the giggles (laughing) and our whole family and all of our friends. And we pray that God will put a hedge of protection over all of our friends and family and our DAB community. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Amen.

Hey, my beautiful DAB family this is Kingdom Seeker Daniel from Chicago. To my dear precious sister Val from Vegas. Oh my dear, I am so sorry that you are in this very difficult place. My heart breaks for you and I…I couldn’t help but think about a portion of Psalm 23 where David said, “he maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” And suddenly I know it doesn’t probably look like or feel like you’re in a green pasture right now, but you know Val, sometimes God has to make us lie down in places that only He knows where He’ll be able to reach us and get our attention to say what He’s trying to say. And one of the things I do believe, I was just kind of sensing that listening to you the Lord is trying to say to you Val, He is trying to tell you how madly, passionately, and completely He is in love with you. He loves you with an everlasting love. His love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out and He’ll never stop loving you. Don’t you dare think for one second that God is angry with you. He is not angry at you. That’s a lie from the pit of hell. And, so, I pray that you would rest in the Father’s love, lean back in Him and let Him love you from a place of wholeness. I’m praying for your healing.

[singing starts] Oh the day the Lord you have given me alight with your Majesty and grace. Oh, this day I wait to hear your voice to calm all the noise in me. Joy of my heart my Prince of peace you build my confidence, courage and strength. I hide beneath your wings our secret place where I feel safe and my soul rests. Oh, this day Lord please light up my heart with the flame of your word to warm the world so cold and dark. Emotions like stormy waves Jesus my Savior makes us settle like sheep. Wherever He guides I’ll follow His voice burning bright with the confidence of His love and tell the story of His grace in my life bringing others to sit beside the Global Campfire [singing stops]. Gracious heavenly Father Lord Jesus I just praise and thank You for the opportunity to hear Your word every day to stand beside each…each of the beautiful people Father God You’ve called and chosen to listen to Your words and…and to be encouraged and feel the love. And I just praise You and thank You God for that. Bless the DAB Father God and bless the Hardin family in Jesus’ name. Treasured Possession.

Father I thank you for all that you’ve done
for your sweet Holy Spirit and the gift of your son
who gave up his life and died on a tree
so that those who were estranged could come back to thee
and know that you hear them each time that they pray
and know you’re attentive to all that they say
I was one of those people and I feel so ashamed
that for me your son was erroneously blamed
and though I do love you Jesus you first loved me
you’re the Holy Spirit and the father all three
surrounding me, anointing me and lifting me up
cleansing my insides while filling my cup
I just want to thank you for all that you’ve done
your sweet Holy Spirit and the gift of your son

blindtony1016@gmail.com. I’d like to give a shout out to His Little Cherry and also like to give a shout out to Slave of Jesus and Mark Crede. Know you all are daily on my prayer list and I pray God’s blessings continuously fall upon you. And once again Brian and the Hardin family, thank you for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit flow. Keep it flowing y’all. All right. Bye-bye.

Alright, hey guys my name is Nick. If you could pray for me and my family and a bunch of people, I’m around that would be great. I’m a city bus driver so I’m right in the thick of it. I’m having a really hard time keeping my cool. I get mad at people and frustrated at people like gettion’ all close and coughing all over without covering her mouth and I’m struggling…I’m having a real hard time not loving them as I should. So, if you guys could pray for me and those around me that would be great. I love you guys. I’m praying for you all and talk to you later.

Hello, my name is Jane I’m ringing from the UK and about three or four weeks ago I asked…requested prayer for my son who I haven’t heard from for over two years. And today it’s Sunday the 22nd of March which in England is Mothering Sunday or Mother’s Day. I can’t believe it, that he has just phoned to wish me a happy Mother’s Day as if nothing was wrong at all. Just want to praise God and thank You Lord for this connection again with my son Tom. I love him dearly and I’ve prayed constantly, and I thank You that You are a God who answers prayers. I thank You for everything that You do for us and I pray Lord that in this time of great need You will provide comfort and peace for all those who worried about the virus going about. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord with all my heart and all my soul and all my mind. And God bless you all.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday March 25, 2020 (NIV)

Deuteronomy 4

Moses Urges Israel to Obey

“And now, Israel, listen carefully to these decrees and regulations that I am about to teach you. Obey them so that you may live, so you may enter and occupy the land that the Lord, the God of your ancestors, is giving you. Do not add to or subtract from these commands I am giving you. Just obey the commands of the Lord your God that I am giving you.

“You saw for yourself what the Lord did to you at Baal-peor. There the Lord your God destroyed everyone who had worshiped Baal, the god of Peor. But all of you who were faithful to the Lord your God are still alive today—every one of you.

“Look, I now teach you these decrees and regulations just as the Lord my God commanded me, so that you may obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy. Obey them completely, and you will display your wisdom and intelligence among the surrounding nations. When they hear all these decrees, they will exclaim, ‘How wise and prudent are the people of this great nation!’ For what great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us whenever we call on him? And what great nation has decrees and regulations as righteous and fair as this body of instructions that I am giving you today?

“But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren. 10 Never forget the day when you stood before the Lord your God at Mount Sinai,[a] where he told me, ‘Summon the people before me, and I will personally instruct them. Then they will learn to fear me as long as they live, and they will teach their children to fear me also.’

11 “You came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while flames from the mountain shot into the sky. The mountain was shrouded in black clouds and deep darkness. 12 And the Lord spoke to you from the heart of the fire. You heard the sound of his words but didn’t see his form; there was only a voice. 13 He proclaimed his covenant—the Ten Commandments[b]—which he commanded you to keep, and which he wrote on two stone tablets. 14 It was at that time that the Lord commanded me to teach you his decrees and regulations so you would obey them in the land you are about to enter and occupy.

A Warning against Idolatry

15 “But be very careful! You did not see the Lord’s form on the day he spoke to you from the heart of the fire at Mount Sinai. 16 So do not corrupt yourselves by making an idol in any form—whether of a man or a woman, 17 an animal on the ground, a bird in the sky, 18 a small animal that scurries along the ground, or a fish in the deepest sea. 19 And when you look up into the sky and see the sun, moon, and stars—all the forces of heaven—don’t be seduced into worshiping them. The Lord your God gave them to all the peoples of the earth. 20 Remember that the Lord rescued you from the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt in order to make you his very own people and his special possession, which is what you are today.

21 “But the Lord was angry with me because of you. He vowed that I would not cross the Jordan River into the good land the Lord your God is giving you as your special possession. 22 You will cross the Jordan to occupy the land, but I will not. Instead, I will die here on the east side of the river. 23 So be careful not to break the covenant the Lord your God has made with you. Do not make idols of any shape or form, for the Lord your God has forbidden this. 24 The Lord your God is a devouring fire; he is a jealous God.

25 “In the future, when you have children and grandchildren and have lived in the land a long time, do not corrupt yourselves by making idols of any kind. This is evil in the sight of the Lord your God and will arouse his anger.

26 “Today I call on heaven and earth as witnesses against you. If you break my covenant, you will quickly disappear from the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy. You will live there only a short time; then you will be utterly destroyed. 27 For the Lord will scatter you among the nations, where only a few of you will survive. 28 There, in a foreign land, you will worship idols made from wood and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor eat nor smell. 29 But from there you will search again for the Lord your God. And if you search for him with all your heart and soul, you will find him.

30 “In the distant future, when you are suffering all these things, you will finally return to the Lord your God and listen to what he tells you. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful God; he will not abandon you or destroy you or forget the solemn covenant he made with your ancestors.

There Is Only One God

32 “Now search all of history, from the time God created people on the earth until now, and search from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything as great as this ever been seen or heard before? 33 Has any nation ever heard the voice of God[c] speaking from fire—as you did—and survived? 34 Has any other god dared to take a nation for himself out of another nation by means of trials, miraculous signs, wonders, war, a strong hand, a powerful arm, and terrifying acts? Yet that is what the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, right before your eyes.

35 “He showed you these things so you would know that the Lord is God and there is no other. 36 He let you hear his voice from heaven so he could instruct you. He let you see his great fire here on earth so he could speak to you from it. 37 Because he loved your ancestors, he chose to bless their descendants, and he personally brought you out of Egypt with a great display of power. 38 He drove out nations far greater than you, so he could bring you in and give you their land as your special possession, as it is today.

39 “So remember this and keep it firmly in mind: The Lord is God both in heaven and on earth, and there is no other. 40 If you obey all the decrees and commands I am giving you today, all will be well with you and your children. I am giving you these instructions so you will enjoy a long life in the land the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

Eastern Cities of Refuge

41 Then Moses set apart three cities of refuge east of the Jordan River. 42 Anyone who killed another person unintentionally, without previous hostility, could flee there to live in safety. 43 These were the cities: Bezer on the wilderness plateau for the tribe of Reuben; Ramoth in Gilead for the tribe of Gad; Golan in Bashan for the tribe of Manasseh.

Introduction to Moses’ Second Address

44 This is the body of instruction that Moses presented to the Israelites. 45 These are the laws, decrees, and regulations that Moses gave to the people of Israel when they left Egypt, 46 and as they camped in the valley near Beth-peor east of the Jordan River. (This land was formerly occupied by the Amorites under King Sihon, who ruled from Heshbon. But Moses and the Israelites destroyed him and his people when they came up from Egypt. 47 Israel took possession of his land and that of King Og of Bashan—the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan. 48 So Israel conquered the entire area from Aroer at the edge of the Arnon Gorge all the way to Mount Sirion,[d] also called Mount Hermon. 49 And they conquered the eastern bank of the Jordan River as far south as the Dead Sea,[e] below the slopes of Pisgah.)

Footnotes:

  1. 4:10 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai; also in 4:15.
  2. 4:13 Hebrew the ten words.
  3. 4:33 Or voice of a god.
  4. 4:48 As in Syriac version (see also 3:9); Hebrew reads Mount Sion.
  5. 4:49 Hebrew took the Arabah on the east side of the Jordan as far as the sea of the Arabah.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Luke 6:39-7:10

39 Then Jesus gave the following illustration: “Can one blind person lead another? Won’t they both fall into a ditch? 40 Students[a] are not greater than their teacher. But the student who is fully trained will become like the teacher.

41 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye[b] when you have a log in your own? 42 How can you think of saying, ‘Friend,[c] let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

The Tree and Its Fruit

43 “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. 44 A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. 45 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart.

Building on a Solid Foundation

46 “So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? 47 I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. 48 It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. 49 But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

The Faith of a Roman Officer

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people, he returned to Capernaum. At that time the highly valued slave of a Roman officer[d] was sick and near death. When the officer heard about Jesus, he sent some respected Jewish elders to ask him to come and heal his slave. So they earnestly begged Jesus to help the man. “If anyone deserves your help, he does,” they said, “for he loves the Jewish people and even built a synagogue for us.”

So Jesus went with them. But just before they arrived at the house, the officer sent some friends to say, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself by coming to my home, for I am not worthy of such an honor. I am not even worthy to come and meet you. Just say the word from where you are, and my servant will be healed. I know this because I am under the authority of my superior officers, and I have authority over my soldiers. I only need to say, ‘Go,’ and they go, or ‘Come,’ and they come. And if I say to my slaves, ‘Do this,’ they do it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed. Turning to the crowd that was following him, he said, “I tell you, I haven’t seen faith like this in all Israel!” 10 And when the officer’s friends returned to his house, they found the slave completely healed.

Footnotes:

  1. 6:40 Or Disciples.
  2. 6:41 Greek your brother’s eye; also in 6:42.
  3. 6:42 Greek Brother.
  4. 7:2 Greek a centurion; similarly in 7:6.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 68:1-18

Psalm 68

For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David.

Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies.
Let those who hate God run for their lives.
Blow them away like smoke.
Melt them like wax in a fire.
Let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
But let the godly rejoice.
Let them be glad in God’s presence.
Let them be filled with joy.
Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.[a]
His name is the Lord
rejoice in his presence!

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

O God, when you led your people out from Egypt,
when you marched through the dry wasteland, Interlude
the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain
before you, the God of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
You sent abundant rain, O God,
to refresh the weary land.
10 There your people finally settled,
and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
you provided for your needy people.

11 The Lord gives the word,
and a great army[b] brings the good news.
12 Enemy kings and their armies flee,
while the women of Israel divide the plunder.
13 Even those who lived among the sheepfolds found treasures—
doves with wings of silver
and feathers of gold.
14 The Almighty scattered the enemy kings
like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.

15 The mountains of Bashan are majestic,
with many peaks stretching high into the sky.
16 Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains,
at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live,
where the Lord himself will live forever?

17 Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots,
the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.
18 When you ascended to the heights,
you led a crowd of captives.
You received gifts from the people,
even from those who rebelled against you.
Now the Lord God will live among us there.

Footnotes:

  1. 68:4 Or rides through the deserts.
  2. 68:11 Or a host of women.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 11:28

28 Trust in your money and down you go!
But the godly flourish like leaves in spring.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday March 24, 2020 (NIV)

Deuteronomy 2-3

Remembering Israel’s Wanderings

“Then we turned around and headed back across the wilderness toward the Red Sea,[a] just as the Lord had instructed me, and we wandered around in the region of Mount Seir for a long time.

“Then at last the Lord said to me, ‘You have been wandering around in this hill country long enough; turn to the north. Give these orders to the people: “You will pass through the country belonging to your relatives the Edomites, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. The Edomites will feel threatened, so be careful. Do not bother them, for I have given them all the hill country around Mount Seir as their property, and I will not give you even one square foot of their land. If you need food to eat or water to drink, pay them for it. For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”’

“So we bypassed the territory of our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. We avoided the road through the Arabah Valley that comes up from Elath and Ezion-geber.

“Then as we turned north along the desert route through Moab, the Lord warned us, ‘Do not bother the Moabites, the descendants of Lot, or start a war with them. I have given them Ar as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.’”

10 (A race of giants called the Emites had once lived in the area of Ar. They were as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites, another race of giants. 11 Both the Emites and the Anakites are also known as the Rephaites, though the Moabites call them Emites. 12 In earlier times the Horites had lived in Seir, but they were driven out and displaced by the descendants of Esau, just as Israel drove out the people of Canaan when the Lord gave Israel their land.)

13 Moses continued, “Then the Lord said to us, ‘Get moving. Cross the Zered Brook.’ So we crossed the brook.

14 “Thirty-eight years passed from the time we first left Kadesh-barnea until we finally crossed the Zered Brook! By then, all the men old enough to fight in battle had died in the wilderness, as the Lord had vowed would happen. 15 The Lord struck them down until they had all been eliminated from the community.

16 “When all the men of fighting age had died, 17 the Lord said to me, 18 ‘Today you will cross the border of Moab at Ar 19 and enter the land of the Ammonites, the descendants of Lot. But do not bother them or start a war with them. I have given the land of Ammon to them as their property, and I will not give you any of their land.’”

20 (That area was once considered the land of the Rephaites, who had lived there, though the Ammonites call them Zamzummites. 21 They were also as strong and numerous and tall as the Anakites. But the Lord destroyed them so the Ammonites could occupy their land. 22 He had done the same for the descendants of Esau who lived in Seir, for he destroyed the Horites so they could settle there in their place. The descendants of Esau live there to this day. 23 A similar thing happened when the Caphtorites from Crete[b] invaded and destroyed the Avvites, who had lived in villages in the area of Gaza.)

24 Moses continued, “Then the Lord said, ‘Now get moving! Cross the Arnon Gorge. Look, I will hand over to you Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and I will give you his land. Attack him and begin to occupy the land. 25 Beginning today I will make people throughout the earth terrified because of you. When they hear reports about you, they will tremble with dread and fear.’”

Victory over Sihon of Heshbon

26 Moses continued, “From the wilderness of Kedemoth I sent ambassadors to King Sihon of Heshbon with this proposal of peace:

27 ‘Let us travel through your land. We will stay on the main road and won’t turn off into the fields on either side. 28 Sell us food to eat and water to drink, and we will pay for it. All we want is permission to pass through your land. 29 The descendants of Esau who live in Seir allowed us to go through their country, and so did the Moabites, who live in Ar. Let us pass through until we cross the Jordan into the land the Lord our God is giving us.’

30 “But King Sihon of Heshbon refused to allow us to pass through, because the Lord your God made Sihon stubborn and defiant so he could help you defeat him, as he has now done.

31 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Look, I have begun to hand King Sihon and his land over to you. Begin now to conquer and occupy his land.’

32 “Then King Sihon declared war on us and mobilized his forces at Jahaz. 33 But the Lord our God handed him over to us, and we crushed him, his sons, and all his people. 34 We conquered all his towns and completely destroyed[c] everyone—men, women, and children. Not a single person was spared. 35 We took all the livestock as plunder for ourselves, along with anything of value from the towns we ransacked.

36 “The Lord our God also helped us conquer Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge, and the town in the gorge, and the whole area as far as Gilead. No town had walls too strong for us. 37 However, we avoided the land of the Ammonites all along the Jabbok River and the towns in the hill country—all the places the Lord our God had commanded us to leave alone.

Victory over Og of Bashan

“Next we turned and headed for the land of Bashan, where King Og and his entire army attacked us at Edrei. But the Lord told me, ‘Do not be afraid of him, for I have given you victory over Og and his entire army, and I will give you all his land. Treat him just as you treated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.’

“So the Lord our God handed King Og and all his people over to us, and we killed them all. Not a single person survived. We conquered all sixty of his towns—the entire Argob region in his kingdom of Bashan. Not a single town escaped our conquest. These towns were all fortified with high walls and barred gates. We also took many unwalled villages at the same time. We completely destroyed[d] the kingdom of Bashan, just as we had destroyed King Sihon of Heshbon. We destroyed all the people in every town we conquered—men, women, and children alike. But we kept all the livestock for ourselves and took plunder from all the towns.

“So we took the land of the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River—all the way from the Arnon Gorge to Mount Hermon. (Mount Hermon is called Sirion by the Sidonians, and the Amorites call it Senir.) 10 We had now conquered all the cities on the plateau and all Gilead and Bashan, as far as the towns of Salecah and Edrei, which were part of Og’s kingdom in Bashan. 11 (King Og of Bashan was the last survivor of the giant Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide.[e] It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)

Land Division East of the Jordan

12 “When we took possession of this land, I gave to the tribes of Reuben and Gad the territory beyond Aroer along the Arnon Gorge, plus half of the hill country of Gilead with its towns. 13 Then I gave the rest of Gilead and all of Bashan—Og’s former kingdom—to the half-tribe of Manasseh. (This entire Argob region of Bashan used to be known as the land of the Rephaites. 14 Jair, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh, conquered the whole Argob region in Bashan, all the way to the border of the Geshurites and Maacathites. Jair renamed this region after himself, calling it the Towns of Jair,[f] as it is still known today.) 15 I gave Gilead to the clan of Makir. 16 But I also gave part of Gilead to the tribes of Reuben and Gad. The area I gave them extended from the middle of the Arnon Gorge in the south to the Jabbok River on the Ammonite frontier. 17 They also received the Jordan Valley, all the way from the Sea of Galilee down to the Dead Sea,[g] with the Jordan River serving as the western boundary. To the east were the slopes of Pisgah.

18 “At that time I gave this command to the tribes that would live east of the Jordan: ‘Although the Lord your God has given you this land as your property, all your fighting men must cross the Jordan ahead of your Israelite relatives, armed and ready to assist them. 19 Your wives, children, and numerous livestock, however, may stay behind in the towns I have given you. 20 When the Lord has given security to the rest of the Israelites, as he has to you, and when they occupy the land the Lord your God is giving them across the Jordan River, then you may all return here to the land I have given you.’

Moses Forbidden to Enter the Land

21 “At that time I gave Joshua this charge: ‘You have seen for yourself everything the Lord your God has done to these two kings. He will do the same to all the kingdoms on the west side of the Jordan. 22 Do not be afraid of the nations there, for the Lord your God will fight for you.’

23 “At that time I pleaded with the Lord and said, 24 ‘O Sovereign Lord, you have only begun to show your greatness and the strength of your hand to me, your servant. Is there any god in heaven or on earth who can perform such great and mighty deeds as you do? 25 Please let me cross the Jordan to see the wonderful land on the other side, the beautiful hill country and the Lebanon mountains.’

26 “But the Lord was angry with me because of you, and he would not listen to me. ‘That’s enough!’ he declared. ‘Speak of it no more. 27 But go up to Pisgah Peak, and look over the land in every direction. Take a good look, but you may not cross the Jordan River. 28 Instead, commission Joshua and encourage and strengthen him, for he will lead the people across the Jordan. He will give them all the land you now see before you as their possession.’ 29 So we stayed in the valley near Beth-peor.

Footnotes:

  1. 2:1 Hebrew sea of reeds.
  2. 2:23 Hebrew from Caphtor.
  3. 2:34 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
  4. 3:6 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering; also in 3:6b.
  5. 3:11 Hebrew 9 cubits [4.1 meters] long and 4 cubits [1.8 meters] wide.
  6. 3:14 Hebrew Havvoth-jair.
  7. 3:17 Hebrew from Kinnereth to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Luke 6:12-38

Jesus Chooses the Twelve Apostles

12 One day soon afterward Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night. 13 At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles. Here are their names:

14 Simon (whom he named Peter),
Andrew (Peter’s brother),
James,
John,
Philip,
Bartholomew,
15 Matthew,
Thomas,
James (son of Alphaeus),
Simon (who was called the zealot),
16 Judas (son of James),
Judas Iscariot (who later betrayed him).

Crowds Follow Jesus

17 When they came down from the mountain, the disciples stood with Jesus on a large, level area, surrounded by many of his followers and by the crowds. There were people from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. 18 They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled by evil[a] spirits were healed. 19 Everyone tried to touch him, because healing power went out from him, and he healed everyone.

The Beatitudes

20 Then Jesus turned to his disciples and said,

“God blesses you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
21 God blesses you who are hungry now,
for you will be satisfied.
God blesses you who weep now,
for in due time you will laugh.

22 What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. 23 When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.

Sorrows Foretold

24 “What sorrow awaits you who are rich,
for you have your only happiness now.
25 What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now,
for a time of awful hunger awaits you.
What sorrow awaits you who laugh now,
for your laughing will turn to mourning and sorrow.
26 What sorrow awaits you who are praised by the crowds,
for their ancestors also praised false prophets.

Love for Enemies

27 “But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. 30 Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. 31 Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

32 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! 33 And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! 34 And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

35 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. 36 You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

Do Not Judge Others

37 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.[b]

Footnotes:

  1. 6:18 Greek unclean.
  2. 6:38 Or The measure you give will be the measure you get back.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 67

Psalm 67

For the choir director: A song. A psalm, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.

May God be merciful and bless us.
May his face smile with favor on us. Interlude

May your ways be known throughout the earth,
your saving power among people everywhere.
May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Let the whole world sing for joy,
because you govern the nations with justice
and guide the people of the whole world. Interlude

May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Then the earth will yield its harvests,
and God, our God, will richly bless us.
Yes, God will bless us,
and people all over the world will fear him.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 11:27

27 If you search for good, you will find favor;
but if you search for evil, it will find you!

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


03/24/2020 DAB Transcript

Deuteronomy 2:1-3:29, Luke 6:12-38, Psalms 67:1-7, Proverbs 11:27

Today is the 24th day of March, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is a joy to be here with you around the Global Campfire where it’s always nice and cozy and where God’s word is allowed to speak into our lives. It is a joy to be here with you today. So, yesterday we started the final book of the Torah or the Pentateuch, which is the book of Deuteronomy. And, so, that’s where we’ll camping out for a little while. And as we mentioned about Deuteronomy, these are the final discourses, the final things Moses has to say to the children of Israel before he becomes a part of their history. And they move on forward without him. These are the things that he wanted to say. And, so, some of this is a review but it’s being said to a new generation on the precipice of crossing into the Promise Land. And, so, we’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. Deuteronomy chapter 2 and 3.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the Gospel of Luke today we…we revisited what’s known as the Sermon on the Mount and we went to that at length when we went through in the Gospel of Matthew. The gospel of Luke has a retelling of this, a little shorter one. But again, when it…when we listened to Jesus words at the Sermon on the Mount it’s like He is describing something that ignites something in our hearts, but it seems that He’s describing a way of being in this world that’s really almost the opposite of the way that it seems that the world works, which is somewhat His point. “God blesses you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.” And like, we’re not trying to be poor, usually in our life. “God blesses you who are hungry now, you will be satisfied. We’re not usually going for that. “God blesses you who are weak now. In due time you’ll laugh.” We don’t usually go for that…like that’s not we’re waking up in the morning with the agenda to do, like how…how much can I weep today? Conversely, He says, “what sorrow awaits you who are rich”, which is the objective, is to accumulate. Like, that’s the way of the world, and it keeps providing us products and services to buy to make us feel like we’re getting somewhere. And Jesus says, “you have your only happiness now if you do that. What sorrow awaits you who are fat and prosperous now. A time of awful hunger awaits you. What sorrow awaits you who laugh now”, right, so on and so forth. Essentially, Jesus is kind of describing the wheel of humanity, like the way that things keep repeating themselves. So, on the one hand, Jesus is talking to the people who are at the bottom, the poor, the hungry, those who weep, those who are like at the bottom of the Ferris wheel, as it were. They are in a good position because they can get off the wheel. Their entanglements have been stripped away. They can have eyes to see. They can see there’s a completely different way of being here, you don’t have to play all those games. But those who have, right, those who have things that they need to hoard and protect, those who have arranged for a life that now they’ve gotta try to figure out a way to keep it and not let it slip through their hands. it’s not gonna…it’s not gonna bring the satisfaction that we were looking for. It’ll just keep spinning. Those who are at the top now, some day will be at the bottom. It just keeps spinning and spinning and spinning. Jesus is modeling a way of being here that is true to how we were created to be and it’s almost opposite of the way that we…we live, the way that we think things are. So, if we did live into this, what would our lives then look like? I mean, what can we expect? Because we often have like a quid pro quo kind of mentality. “If I sacrifice. If I do this. If I am faithful, then God is bound to be nice to me. He’s bound to give me what I want.” What can we actually expect though? And Jesus says, “what blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. When that happens be happy. Leap for joy. A great reward awaits you in heaven. And if you are willing to listen, I say love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who hurt you, someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other cheek, if someone demands your coat offer your shirt. Give to anyone who asks. When things are taken away from you don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you. Love your enemies, do good to them, lend them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great and you will truly be acting as children of the most-high for He is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. You must be compassionate just as your father is compassionate. Do not judge others and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others. It’ll all come back against you. Forgive others and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full. This is such a different way of living, of being in this world because it’s one that isn’t tethered to this world. If all of your investment of all of your life is to accumulate things you can experience for the short period of time that you have health and stamina to build it up, that’s all there is. What Jesus is saying is there’s kind of a currency that flows through the kingdom of God that reveals no one is lacking in anything, there’s nothing to hoard. And if you want to operate in God’s kingdom, then you’ll have to be sort of like an open water source. We talked about the Dead Sea, I don’t remember, like month ago or whatever about how there’s no outflow and how it is dead. But how the Sea of Galilee, billions of gallons of water running through their and it hasn’t run dry. That’s how the kingdom of God works, at least as described by Jesus. And we can see that the things, the treasures that we’re laying up for ourselves, they can be earthly but that’s all there is. But if we’re storing up treasures in heaven…if we’re living from the inside out with the objective of not how much we can get while we’re here, but how much we can give…and I’m just talking about money…I’m not talking about money, I’m talking about our hearts, our lives, the weight of who we are in this world. The fact that we are here as a child of the most-high. What are we doing with that? The odd thing about the kingdom of God according Jesus is that when you are wide open like that, when you’ll give anything, you’ll lack nothing. So, once again we have some things to think about as we go into our day about how it is that we are participating, how it is that we are in God’s kingdom, like how that is actually lived out in our lives, in our postures, in our motives, in our heart

Prayer:

Jesus, we invite you into all of that. We wouldn’t be here if this wasn’t the desire, if it wasn’t a desire to know and understand your will and your ways in our lives and to be nourished from within by the word of God. And, so, we want to be actively participating in your kingdom on this earth and revealing it. And we’re gonna have to have eyes to see so we get glimpses. And we want to be fully awake. And this is our prayer. Wake us up to see what’s really going on here. We are so tethered to our physical senses that so often it feels like whatever is happening to us in our bodies around us in circumstance, this is all there is. And you’re simply telling us if that’s how you’re going to look at it, then you are exactly right, that’s all there is, but if you open your eyes there’s so much more. Open our eyes God. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website and its home base and its where you find out what’s going on around here. And a lot of things that are going on around here are going on everywhere. And what’s going on everywhere is pulling us into further and further isolation. And this is a place where we don’t need to do that.

So, like at dailyaudiobible.com in the Community section is the Prayer Wall and that’s always happening. And this is a fantastic time to turn outward and pray for one another. And, so, be sure to check that out and in the Community section or the other kind of social media channels that we…we are on. So, there’s no…no reason to get completely isolated. Let’s stay connected in this time. It’s warm, it’s safe here around the Global Campfire.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that dailyaudiobible.com as well and I thank you profoundly, humbly for your partnership, especially as we go through all of this. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

03/23/2020 DAB Transcript

Numbers 36:1 - Deuteronomy 1:46, Luke 5:29-6:11, Psalms 66:1-20, Proverbs 11:24-26

Today is the 23rd day of March, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is awesome to be here with you today as we kinda dive into our work week. Today we’re going to conclude the book of Numbers in the Old Testament and move our way into the next book, which is the final book of the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy. So, let’s dive in and cover that ground. We’ll talk about Deuteronomy when we get there, but let’s conclude the book of Numbers. Numbers chapter 36.

Introduction to the book of Deuteronomy:

Okay. So, that concludes the book of Numbers which brings us to the final book of the Torah or the Pentateuch, Deuteronomy. As we get into this book over the coming days, we may get a sense, “like didn’t we read this? Haven’t we already covered this territory?” And the answer would be, “yes, we actually have.” But there’s a reason that we’re revisiting this territory and we understand the reason that has gravity and actually allows us to pay more deeper attention. The book of Deuteronomy is basically three final discourses, three final announcements to the children of Israel from Moses and these are his final words. And, so, we’ve been with Moses for a long time now. These are the final words of Moses. This is the last thing that he wants to be set before he becomes a part of history. So, Moses is older now and as we…we know he won’t be crossing over the Jordan into the Promise Land with the children of Israel. Joshua has been appointed to take that mantle and lead them forward. So, these are Moses’s last words. And, so, he’s gathered the people together to say these final…like to leave nothing unsaid that he needed to say because this isn’t just a long goodbye. And we’ll see what he’s saying is intended to remind these people of who they are and how they got here, like where they came from and to remind them where they’re going and to warn them about the pitfalls that they’ll face when they get there. So, if we take that approach to the book of Deuteronomy we’ll be in the proper context. If we know that we’ve traveled…like if…we’ve been a part of this story. We’ve been with the children of Israel in the wilderness and all of the trials that they faced. Now they’re poised and ready. A new generation has emerged and this prophet Moses, the one who came and delivered them out of Egypt with the mighty hand of God behind them, he’s about to leave them. This is what he has to say.

Commentary:

So, in the gospel of Luke today we see a series of interactions that Jesus had along the path of His ministry and now He…He has the religious leaders following Him around and kind of asking Him about everything, but not in a good way, like they’re critiquing everything that He does because He’s in so many ways flying in the face of tradition. And, so, in each of these interactions today He’s explaining things about the kingdom of God for those who have eyes to see. So, our first interaction is Jesus is at the home of a tax collector. He’s a guest and His disciples are talking to the religious leaders who are asking, “why do you eat and drink with such scum?” Jesus answers, “healthy people don’t need a doctor. Sick people need a doctor. I didn’t come to those who think they’re righteous. I came to those who know they’re not. They know they’re sinners and need to repent”, right? The juxtaposition is apparent there. The people in charge of caring for the souls of God’s people, feel superior and look down on anyone that’s not with them. And Jesus is like, “I’m not even interested in that. I’m interested in the people who know deeply, desperately their need for God.” The funny thing is that the religious leaders, they think they’re doing all that they’re doing on behalf of God. So, we see…we see the contrast here so clearly and it can still be seen in the world today. And then some people come and ask about John the Baptist and the Pharisees, like the disciples that follow them around and they…they…they live this very austere life, they’re fasting all the time crying out to God for change. And, so, they’re asking Jesus, “why don't…why don’t you…like why don’t you guys do this?” And Jesus is like, “yeah, when you go to a wedding feast you don’t fast, you celebrate. And what’s happening here is celebration, the kingdom of God is at hand. They’ll have time to fast because of what’s going to come.” The next thing we see is Jesus giving an illustration of…of the times. “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old one because then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old one. Nobody puts new wine into old wineskins. The new wine would burst the wineskins spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins.” So, what is He saying here? “I’m not here to patch up the old way. A new thing is being done. The rituals will not save you, the Spirit underneath them will.” And He concludes that example by saying, “no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. The old is just fine they say.” So, the message underneath it all, from Jesus to the Pharisees seems to be, “God couldn’t do a new thing among you even if you wanted to. You won’t let Him.” And in other interactions He says that explicitly. He tells them, “you’ve locked the kingdom…you locked the door to the kingdom of heaven and you won’t go in and you won’t let anybody else in either.” And then we have a couple of Sabbath day interactions. They’re walking through a field. They grab some heads of grain. They rub them together and they eat them. And the pharisees are complaining, “why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?” In this case Jesus simply goes back to the Scriptures that they know and shows them other occurrences in the Bible where this happened. And His point is that they’re missing the point. Like, this letter of the law, this ritualistic tradition without the Spirit underneath it that created these laws, without God below it is nothing, empty ritual. And He declares Himself Lord over the Sabbath. Then there’s another Sabbath day and a man has a deformed hand and everybody’s watching to see if Jesus is going to make a move on the Sabbath. Like, that’s literally what they’re waiting to see, is this guy gonna heal somebody on the Sabbath? Not like, “is this guy gonna heal somebody? Like, is the power of God going to descend upon us and grace us here?” No, they’re watching to see whether He’s gonna break the rules. And, so, again, He exposes the whole thing. “Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it? Honestly, we can read these things and go like, “dahhh! Like He’s just…He’s just speaking it clearly. How are they not seeing it?” But they’re not. The people are seeing it clearly. The religious people, the religious leaders are not. These kinds of interactions happen so often in Jesus ministry that we realize that part of what Jesus is doing in His ministry is exposing the falseness of what had become of their faith. So, He asked the question, “is it a good thing or a bad thing to do good, to bring life on the Sabbath?” And then the Scriptures say He looked around at them one by one. So, He looked everybody in the eye after asking that question. And then He healed the man. And the last verse of our reading, which kinda concludes this series of interactions, “at this the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.” That is their reaction to what Jesus ministry is doing. The light came into the darkness and the darkness didn’t comprehend it. The fundamental issue going on in all of these interactions is Jesus is trying to announce that the kingdom of heaven is here and among and within, it’s happening, it’s going on. A new thing is being done in the world and the religious leaders in this case are doing everything possible to oppose it. We can see that in the Scriptures. We can believe that. We can enter into that story and go, “Jesus is a master at this. He always knows what’s going on. He always knows what to say.” And, so, we can read that and go, “I’m glad I’m following Jesus” until we personalize, until we bring these stories close to home and then they have questions for ourselves because we are often asking God to do a new thing. We are often collectively worshiping and asking God to pour out new wine, to restore us, to make us new again, to make all things new again. But what if He does. Do we take that new thing and try to pour it back into old wineskins that will burst because of it? Do we see God doing this new thing in our hearts and we see it and we get a pair of scissors and we cut off a square of it so that we can use that new thing as a patch for the old? Are we buried in our traditions? Are we cemented in our doctrine? Like, are we trapped so that God couldn’t do a new thing in us even if He desired to because we’re closed off even while asking Him to do a new thing? And those are some things to consider from what we’re seen come out of the gospel of Luke today.

Prayer:

Jesus, we invite You into that. There is no doubt that each and every one of us want You to do a new thing, not only on the earth but in our hearts but so often when You begin to move and it wasn’t as prescribed, it wasn’t how we intended it, it wasn’t how we wanted it, You’re moving us in a different way somehow inside, then we start to question whether or not it could be You. We go back and try to filter it back through everything that was old. Make us aware. We’re asking for the eyes to see. We’re asking for the ears to hear. We’re not asking that we might be deceived into something. We’re asking that we might see what You’re doing in the world and get on board with it whatever it is, wherever it is, whatever we see, wherever You lead, to know and have this confident relationship, this deep intimacy, this conversation that never ends with You, so that where You lead we follow no matter what gets said. But the only path we want to walk is the narrow path that leads to life. And we love You. We have given our hearts to You and we’re sorry. We are sorry for the ways that we take it back. We are sorry for the areas that we have not surrendered yet. This is a process and Your Holy Spirit is leading us. All we want is to walk into the truth into complete freedom. And, so come Holy Spirit You promised You would lead us into all truth. This is our desire. Lead us into all truth no matter what we think about…no matter what we judge it, how we judge it. Whatever You are doing that is where we want to be. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it is home base, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

And lots of interesting things are going on around here as we face this…this new week and some…some changes. This is a real…a great time to stay connected even as we get more and more disconnected physically from each other. This has always been a safe place to stay connected around the Global Campfire. And, so, be sure to do that.

At dailyaudiobible.com there’s a Community section and in the Community section are a number of links to where we are on social media. And it’s a great…it’s a great time to get and stay connected. The Prayer Wall lives there as well, which is an ongoing, all the time, never closed space to come and just not carry things all by ourselves anymore. And, so, be sure to visit the Prayer Wall and maybe you…you have some things you need prayer for, but maybe also you want to give of yourself, you want to intercede over these things. This…these are the things that keep us connected in Spirit and no virus can take that away. So, let’s stay connected even as we get more and more disconnected.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link on the homepage. I thank you profoundly. The…the Global Campfire that we share that’s been burning for all these years is here because we each take turns and throw logs on and we keep it burning and for such a time as this, my goodness, what a joy that we have this safe space to go and allow God’s word to speak to us. So, thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, the mailing address, if you prefer, is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, the little red button at the top and so nice that we have this, so nice that we have a hotline that we can press and reach out and know that we’re not alone. So, you can reach out there or you can dial 877-942-4253. That’s the number if you are in the Americas. If you are in Europe or the UK 44-20-3608-8078. And if you are in Australia or the lands down under 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:

Hi Daily Audio Bible this is Sierra from Orlando Florida. I called on March 4th and I kind of just discovered your app and I was praying for my upcoming missions trip. Due to the coronavirus outbreak and panic and all that stuff my…my missionary school got postponed at least a month. And also, my grandpa who not only isn’t a believer but hates God and hates that part of me who I’ve been living with just kicked me out of his house because…because of all my coming and going to help people or help my church and serve at the soup kitchen and things outside of the house. He was paranoid that I was going to bring the virus into the house. And, so, right now I’m living with a church member for a few weeks until April 7th, but the earliest my mission’s thing will start will be May 4th. So, I have like a whole month where I have to try figure out where in the live. So, I’m trying to walk in the Lord and I’m incredibly grateful and He’s been providing for me in terms of finding this house for a few weeks but I feel kind of hurt like just in general because my grandpa and I really want to listen to and obey the Lord’s calling in my life. So, if you guys could just pray for me for guidance and peace in this time, but just in general to show me the way forward whether I should be doing the missions trip in a month or if there’s another opportunity God wants to show me. Thank you so much.

Father God thank You so much for the Daily Audio Bible. Thank You, Lord that it is an online community. Thank You, Lord that we can still meet together as we have always done online through the podcast, through our phone calls, through Facebook, and over social media and however else. Thank You, Lord that this hasn’t changed. Father God, as our routines have changed where now…we’re probably having to work from home or work differently than we did before or we’re actually having to care and school our children throughout the day, whatever it is. Just life has changed drastically. Help us to find You in all of this Lord. Help us to put You at the center. Help us to fix our eyes on You and find You in everything of our lives. Father God give us wisdom and give us courage and patience as we deal with these new measures that are in place to protect ourselves and to protect each other. Please Lord, be giving wisdom to our leaders. Please Lord be giving strength and energy and resources to our healthcare staff and our medical staff and all of those people in front-line jobs because we can’t just stop Lord and there’s jobs that still need to happen. And us Lord that You’d be at work and You be our provider throughout all this. And I thank You Lord that we can rest in You, we can trust in You and we can cast all our anxieties about the situation on You. Give us hope Lord. Thank You for the hope that You give us. In Jesus holy and precious name. Amen. All right guys is Michaela from Gloucester. I hope you have a blessed day wherever you are. Bye.

Good morning friends this is Jen in SoCal a.k.a. Prayer Warrior Princess. Father with suffering you bring fellowship with Christ, You bring wisdom and maturity, You bring cleansing and holiness peace and quiet. With suffering You bring contentment and stillness. With suffering You bring freedom. You give us empathy for others when we suffer. You bring us comfort. You awaken us. You bring revival. After the suffering You bring joy and laughter in the morning. With suffering You bring us perspective, eyes to see and ears to hear. You bring us strength and stamina and perseverance and holiness. Father, have thine own way Lord. Have thine own way. Mold us and make us. Have thine own way in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This is Speak for You from Columbus Ohio a 12-year listener and a first-time collar. I’d like to first thank Brian for being obedient to God’s calling in making a digital community all those years ago and a __ community that’s built on His word. As we deal with this coronavirus and many of us now are turning to the digital world to do church, Brian has led the way that God was preparing us as Brian was obedient. And, so, now I would ask that you would pray for pastors, pray for pastors as we try to lead our people in this digital world, in a world where we’re not permitted to come together as community in the physical buildings and in physical space. Pray for us as we figure out what to do with Easter. How do we celebrate in a way that’s different than we’ve ever celebrated before? And I would ask that you would give a…pray for wisdom as we lead our people to love our neighbors and as we care for our people boldly. I would also ask that you would join me as I begin to fast and pray on Good Friday and that maybe the Christian church, the whole church of Jesus would come together on that day to fast and pray and ask God for restoration, for forgiveness, mercy and for healing and that this virus could be eliminated because of the power of God and He could get the glory. And finally, I want to thank Blind Tony. Thank you for your poetry. Thank you for how it lifts us up and finally thank you DAB family.

Hey this is Jared calling from Duluth Minnesota. I’d like to ask prayer specifically about the coronavirus but more particularly to pray for those who are suffering with mental health issues as the stress and anxiety of this is pretty overwhelming. As I’ve shared before I am bipolar, and I have two kids that are bipolar and a week ago we got a call in the middle of the night at…my daughter said she had a gun and that she’s going to commit suicide and had written a note. We called 911 and the police got there before we did, and she was arrested for public intoxication and is holding us responsible for calling 911 or calling the police on her. And, so, the situation has kinda been strained. And my son is…we haven’t spoke to him in the last four months or so because he has believed a lie that we’ve rejected him some way and somehow house. And, so, the mental health issues are really, really difficult for those who struggle with anxiety and depression and bipolar disorder. Pray that they would have peace during this time of unusual stress. Thank you so much. God bless. Bye.

Hi everyone, its Lisa the Encourager I have been calling in lately and trying to pray for all of our children, all the Daily Audio Bible children and I want to continue to do that tonight; however, I want to focus on praying for Yolanda’s son Al today and I want to focus on him because the Lord really laid something on my heart. I’m a little bit behind in listening and the passage that Brian read tonight really stood out to me. And that was the part about Jesus being blindfolded and then struck by the soldiers. And they were mocking Him and saying, “now tell us who struck you. Tell us who struck you.”. And I…you know…so many things happened to Jesus when He was crucified…before He was crucified on the cross and I never really thought about this exact moment and how Jesus’ heart must’ve been just tearing up inside. So, and it was a form of bullying of course. And, so, I just wanted to encourage you Yolanda in knowing that Al is in such incredible company with Jesus and that he, when he’s a little bit dismayed about his friends and people perhaps not being friendly to him, if somehow you can encourage him know in what wonderful company he’s in with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And just maybe that would help warm his heart in knowing that Jesus was put in the same position. And I’m gonna pray for sweet Al. Dear Lord, thank You so much for giving me this on my heart…laying this on my heart to share with everyone, this horrific thing that You had to go through prior to being crucified and how that must’ve just broke Your heart Lord. It broke my heart. And I’m just praying for Al Lord, that he’s encouraged through this and no that he…and You love him so much God and that You are there for him through everything …

Hey Daily Audio Bible family this is Asia from Chicago. I’m calling to ask for prayer. I’m in a pretty…I’m pretty down right now. This whole coronavirus has been really impacting me for more than just the social distancing and watching people suffering and afraid. But as you all know my is Asia and I am Chinese. My dad is Caucasian, and my mom is an immigrant from Taiwan. And I’m Chinese and my heart is just very heavy right now at the racism that I’ve watched that I’ve encountered firsthand, violence, fear, hatred. I’m sitting outside just in the darkness by myself looking at the trees and feeling the wind and I feel the comfort of God, but I also feel the weight of darkness. And I’m very proud to be Chinese. I know that God is going to use this, but please pray for me. Pray for my other brothers and sisters that are Asian. We are under one of BS right now honestly, a lot of crap simply because of how we look and where were from. And I fear…I fear…and I’m trying not to fear. I’m trying to have faith but please pray for me. Pray for us. This is Asia from Chicago. I love you all. Thank you.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday March 23, 2020 (NIV)

Numbers 36 - Deuteronomy 1

Women Who Inherit Property

36 Then the heads of the clans of Gilead—descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph—came to Moses and the family leaders of Israel with a petition. They said, “Sir, the Lord instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the Lord to give the grant of land owned by our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. But if they marry men from another tribe, their grants of land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way, the total area of our tribal land will be reduced. Then when the Year of Jubilee comes, their portion of land will be added to that of the new tribe, causing it to be lost forever to our ancestral tribe.”

So Moses gave the Israelites this command from the Lord: “The claim of the men of the tribe of Joseph is legitimate. This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry anyone they like, as long as it is within their own ancestral tribe. None of the territorial land may pass from tribe to tribe, for all the land given to each tribe must remain within the tribe to which it was first allotted. The daughters throughout the tribes of Israel who are in line to inherit property must marry within their tribe, so that all the Israelites will keep their ancestral property. No grant of land may pass from one tribe to another; each tribe of Israel must keep its allotted portion of land.”

10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses. 11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah all married cousins on their father’s side. 12 They married into the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. Thus, their inheritance of land remained within their ancestral tribe.

13 These are the commands and regulations that the Lord gave to the people of Israel through Moses while they were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

Introduction to Moses’ First Address

These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valley[a] near Suph, between Paran on one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other.

Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai[b] to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month,[c] Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the Lord had commanded him to say. This took place after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth.

While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the Lord’s instructions as follows.

The Command to Leave Sinai

“When we were at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills,[d] the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River. Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’”

Moses Appoints Leaders from Each Tribe

Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself. 10 The Lord your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars! 11 And may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised! 12 But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering? 13 Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’

14 “Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’ 15 So I took the wise and respected men you had selected from your tribes and appointed them to serve as judges and officials over you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten.

16 “At that time I instructed the judges, ‘You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions 17 and impartial in your judgments. Hear the cases of those who are poor as well as those who are rich. Don’t be afraid of anyone’s anger, for the decision you make is God’s decision. Bring me any cases that are too difficult for you, and I will handle them.’

18 “At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do.

Scouts Explore the Land

19 “Then, just as the Lord our God commanded us, we left Mount Sinai and traveled through the great and terrifying wilderness, as you yourselves remember, and headed toward the hill country of the Amorites. When we arrived at Kadesh-barnea, 20 I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the Lord our God is giving us. 21 Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’

22 “But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.’

23 “This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes. 24 They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it. 25 They picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us. And they reported, ‘The land the Lord our God has given us is indeed a good land.’

Israel’s Rebellion against the Lord

26 “But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go in. 27 You complained in your tents and said, ‘The Lord must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’

29 “But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! 30 The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. 31 And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’

32 “But even after all he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, 33 who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

34 “When the Lord heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore, 35 ‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see this land because he has followed the Lord completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored during his scouting mission.’

37 “And the Lord was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land! 38 Instead, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the people into the land. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel as they take possession of it. 39 I will give the land to your little ones—your innocent children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it. 40 As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.[e]

41 “Then you confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord! We will go into the land and fight for it, as the Lord our God has commanded us.’ So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country.

42 “But the Lord told me to tell you, ‘Do not attack, for I am not with you. If you go ahead on your own, you will be crushed by your enemies.’

43 “This is what I told you, but you would not listen. Instead, you again rebelled against the Lord’s command and arrogantly went into the hill country to fight. 44 But the Amorites who lived there came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Seir to Hormah. 45 Then you returned and wept before the Lord, but he refused to listen. 46 So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.

Footnotes:

  1. 1:1 Hebrew the Arabah; also in 1:7.
  2. 1:2 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai; also in 1:6, 19.
  3. 1:3 Hebrew In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in January or February.
  4. 1:7 Hebrew the Shephelah.
  5. 1:40 Hebrew sea of reeds.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Luke 5:29-6:11

29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?[a]

31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

A Discussion about Fasting

33 One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”

34 Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. 35 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

36 Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.

37 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. 38 New wine must be stored in new wineskins. 39 But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”

A Discussion about the Sabbath

One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain. But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” And Jesus added, “The Son of Man[b] is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.

Footnotes:

  1. 5:30 Greek with tax collectors and sinners?
  2. 6:5 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 66

Psalm 66

For the choir director: A song. A psalm.

Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
Sing about the glory of his name!
Tell the world how glorious he is.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
Everything on earth will worship you;
they will sing your praises,
shouting your name in glorious songs.” Interlude

Come and see what our God has done,
what awesome miracles he performs for people!
He made a dry path through the Red Sea,[a]
and his people went across on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
For by his great power he rules forever.
He watches every movement of the nations;
let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude

Let the whole world bless our God
and loudly sing his praises.
Our lives are in his hands,
and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
10 You have tested us, O God;
you have purified us like silver.
11 You captured us in your net
and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.
12 Then you put a leader over us.[b]
We went through fire and flood,
but you brought us to a place of great abundance.

13 Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings
to fulfill the vows I made to you—
14 yes, the sacred vows that I made
when I was in deep trouble.
15 That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you—
the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma,
and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

Footnotes:

  1. 66:6 Hebrew the sea.
  2. 66:12 Or You made people ride over our heads.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 11:24-26

24 Give freely and become more wealthy;
be stingy and lose everything.

25 The generous will prosper;
those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

26 People curse those who hoard their grain,
but they bless the one who sells in time of need.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday March 23, 2020 (NIV)

Numbers 36 - Deuteronomy 1

Women Who Inherit Property

36 Then the heads of the clans of Gilead—descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, son of Joseph—came to Moses and the family leaders of Israel with a petition. They said, “Sir, the Lord instructed you to divide the land by sacred lot among the people of Israel. You were told by the Lord to give the grant of land owned by our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. But if they marry men from another tribe, their grants of land will go with them to the tribe into which they marry. In this way, the total area of our tribal land will be reduced. Then when the Year of Jubilee comes, their portion of land will be added to that of the new tribe, causing it to be lost forever to our ancestral tribe.”

So Moses gave the Israelites this command from the Lord: “The claim of the men of the tribe of Joseph is legitimate. This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: Let them marry anyone they like, as long as it is within their own ancestral tribe. None of the territorial land may pass from tribe to tribe, for all the land given to each tribe must remain within the tribe to which it was first allotted. The daughters throughout the tribes of Israel who are in line to inherit property must marry within their tribe, so that all the Israelites will keep their ancestral property. No grant of land may pass from one tribe to another; each tribe of Israel must keep its allotted portion of land.”

10 The daughters of Zelophehad did as the Lord commanded Moses. 11 Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah all married cousins on their father’s side. 12 They married into the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. Thus, their inheritance of land remained within their ancestral tribe.

13 These are the commands and regulations that the Lord gave to the people of Israel through Moses while they were camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho.

Introduction to Moses’ First Address

These are the words that Moses spoke to all the people of Israel while they were in the wilderness east of the Jordan River. They were camped in the Jordan Valley[a] near Suph, between Paran on one side and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Di-zahab on the other.

Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai[b] to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month,[c] Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the Lord had commanded him to say. This took place after he had defeated King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon, and at Edrei had defeated King Og of Bashan, who ruled in Ashtaroth.

While the Israelites were in the land of Moab east of the Jordan River, Moses carefully explained the Lord’s instructions as follows.

The Command to Leave Sinai

“When we were at Mount Sinai, the Lord our God said to us, ‘You have stayed at this mountain long enough. It is time to break camp and move on. Go to the hill country of the Amorites and to all the neighboring regions—the Jordan Valley, the hill country, the western foothills,[d] the Negev, and the coastal plain. Go to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, and all the way to the great Euphrates River. Look, I am giving all this land to you! Go in and occupy it, for it is the land the Lord swore to give to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their descendants.’”

Moses Appoints Leaders from Each Tribe

Moses continued, “At that time I told you, ‘You are too great a burden for me to carry all by myself. 10 The Lord your God has increased your population, making you as numerous as the stars! 11 And may the Lord, the God of your ancestors, multiply you a thousand times more and bless you as he promised! 12 But you are such a heavy load to carry! How can I deal with all your problems and bickering? 13 Choose some well-respected men from each tribe who are known for their wisdom and understanding, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’

14 “Then you responded, ‘Your plan is a good one.’ 15 So I took the wise and respected men you had selected from your tribes and appointed them to serve as judges and officials over you. Some were responsible for a thousand people, some for a hundred, some for fifty, and some for ten.

16 “At that time I instructed the judges, ‘You must hear the cases of your fellow Israelites and the foreigners living among you. Be perfectly fair in your decisions 17 and impartial in your judgments. Hear the cases of those who are poor as well as those who are rich. Don’t be afraid of anyone’s anger, for the decision you make is God’s decision. Bring me any cases that are too difficult for you, and I will handle them.’

18 “At that time I gave you instructions about everything you were to do.

Scouts Explore the Land

19 “Then, just as the Lord our God commanded us, we left Mount Sinai and traveled through the great and terrifying wilderness, as you yourselves remember, and headed toward the hill country of the Amorites. When we arrived at Kadesh-barnea, 20 I said to you, ‘You have now reached the hill country of the Amorites that the Lord our God is giving us. 21 Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’

22 “But you all came to me and said, ‘First, let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter.’

23 “This seemed like a good idea to me, so I chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes. 24 They headed for the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and explored it. 25 They picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us. And they reported, ‘The land the Lord our God has given us is indeed a good land.’

Israel’s Rebellion against the Lord

26 “But you rebelled against the command of the Lord your God and refused to go in. 27 You complained in your tents and said, ‘The Lord must hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, “The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’

29 “But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or afraid of them! 30 The Lord your God is going ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you saw him do in Egypt. 31 And you saw how the Lord your God cared for you all along the way as you traveled through the wilderness, just as a father cares for his child. Now he has brought you to this place.’

32 “But even after all he did, you refused to trust the Lord your God, 33 who goes before you looking for the best places to camp, guiding you with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud by day.

34 “When the Lord heard your complaining, he became very angry. So he solemnly swore, 35 ‘Not one of you from this wicked generation will live to see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see this land because he has followed the Lord completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored during his scouting mission.’

37 “And the Lord was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, not even you will enter the Promised Land! 38 Instead, your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the people into the land. Encourage him, for he will lead Israel as they take possession of it. 39 I will give the land to your little ones—your innocent children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it. 40 As for you, turn around now and go on back through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.[e]

41 “Then you confessed, ‘We have sinned against the Lord! We will go into the land and fight for it, as the Lord our God has commanded us.’ So your men strapped on their weapons, thinking it would be easy to attack the hill country.

42 “But the Lord told me to tell you, ‘Do not attack, for I am not with you. If you go ahead on your own, you will be crushed by your enemies.’

43 “This is what I told you, but you would not listen. Instead, you again rebelled against the Lord’s command and arrogantly went into the hill country to fight. 44 But the Amorites who lived there came out against you like a swarm of bees. They chased and battered you all the way from Seir to Hormah. 45 Then you returned and wept before the Lord, but he refused to listen. 46 So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.

Footnotes:

  1. 1:1 Hebrew the Arabah; also in 1:7.
  2. 1:2 Hebrew Horeb, another name for Sinai; also in 1:6, 19.
  3. 1:3 Hebrew In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month. This day in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in January or February.
  4. 1:7 Hebrew the Shephelah.
  5. 1:40 Hebrew sea of reeds.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Luke 5:29-6:11

29 Later, Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests also ate with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?[a]

31 Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. 32 I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

A Discussion about Fasting

33 One day some people said to Jesus, “John the Baptist’s disciples fast and pray regularly, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees. Why are your disciples always eating and drinking?”

34 Jesus responded, “Do wedding guests fast while celebrating with the groom? Of course not. 35 But someday the groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

36 Then Jesus gave them this illustration: “No one tears a piece of cloth from a new garment and uses it to patch an old garment. For then the new garment would be ruined, and the new patch wouldn’t even match the old garment.

37 “And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. For the new wine would burst the wineskins, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. 38 New wine must be stored in new wineskins. 39 But no one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine,’ they say.”

A Discussion about the Sabbath

One Sabbath day as Jesus was walking through some grainfields, his disciples broke off heads of grain, rubbed off the husks in their hands, and ate the grain. But some Pharisees said, “Why are you breaking the law by harvesting grain on the Sabbath?”

Jesus replied, “Haven’t you read in the Scriptures what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He went into the house of God and broke the law by eating the sacred loaves of bread that only the priests can eat. He also gave some to his companions.” And Jesus added, “The Son of Man[b] is Lord, even over the Sabbath.”

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

On another Sabbath day, a man with a deformed right hand was in the synagogue while Jesus was teaching. The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees watched Jesus closely. If he healed the man’s hand, they planned to accuse him of working on the Sabbath.

But Jesus knew their thoughts. He said to the man with the deformed hand, “Come and stand in front of everyone.” So the man came forward. Then Jesus said to his critics, “I have a question for you. Does the law permit good deeds on the Sabbath, or is it a day for doing evil? Is this a day to save life or to destroy it?”

10 He looked around at them one by one and then said to the man, “Hold out your hand.” So the man held out his hand, and it was restored! 11 At this, the enemies of Jesus were wild with rage and began to discuss what to do with him.

Footnotes:

  1. 5:30 Greek with tax collectors and sinners?
  2. 6:5 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 66

Psalm 66

For the choir director: A song. A psalm.

Shout joyful praises to God, all the earth!
Sing about the glory of his name!
Tell the world how glorious he is.
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
Your enemies cringe before your mighty power.
Everything on earth will worship you;
they will sing your praises,
shouting your name in glorious songs.” Interlude

Come and see what our God has done,
what awesome miracles he performs for people!
He made a dry path through the Red Sea,[a]
and his people went across on foot.
There we rejoiced in him.
For by his great power he rules forever.
He watches every movement of the nations;
let no rebel rise in defiance. Interlude

Let the whole world bless our God
and loudly sing his praises.
Our lives are in his hands,
and he keeps our feet from stumbling.
10 You have tested us, O God;
you have purified us like silver.
11 You captured us in your net
and laid the burden of slavery on our backs.
12 Then you put a leader over us.[b]
We went through fire and flood,
but you brought us to a place of great abundance.

13 Now I come to your Temple with burnt offerings
to fulfill the vows I made to you—
14 yes, the sacred vows that I made
when I was in deep trouble.
15 That is why I am sacrificing burnt offerings to you—
the best of my rams as a pleasing aroma,
and a sacrifice of bulls and male goats. Interlude

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell you what he did for me.
17 For I cried out to him for help,
praising him as I spoke.
18 If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19 But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
20 Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw his unfailing love from me.

Footnotes:

  1. 66:6 Hebrew the sea.
  2. 66:12 Or You made people ride over our heads.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 11:24-26

24 Give freely and become more wealthy;
be stingy and lose everything.

25 The generous will prosper;
those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

26 People curse those who hoard their grain,
but they bless the one who sells in time of need.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


03/22/2020 DAB Transcript

Numbers 33:40-35:34, Luke 5:12-28, Psalms 65:1-13, Proverbs 11:23

Today is the 22nd day of March, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you at this threshold that we step through every week into a brand-new week. And just reminding us each week, this is this is something that we have to live into and it’s before us and this is a fresh start. And, so, we’ll dive in. We’ll pick up, of course, the journey where we left it off yesterday, but we’re in a new week and we’ll read from the New Living Translation this week. Today numbers chapter 33 verse 40 through 35 verse 34. And we’re almost at the end of our journey and numbers. We will conclude this book tomorrow. But this is today. So, Numbers chapter 33.

Commentary:

Okay. We have an interesting story happening in the book of Luke. It’s a famous story. It’s kind of a Sunday school story because it’s dramatic. And some friends have brought their friend who’s paralyzed, they brought him on a sleeping mat to Jesus but they can’t get to them so they climb up on the roof and kind of carve a hole in the roof and lower him down before Jesus. Super dramatic. But something really interesting happens because Jesus doesn’t say like, “do you want to be made well or be healed?” He says, “your sins are forgiven”. Why is He saying that? Which only makes the religious leaders freak out. Like, “that’s blasphemy. Only God can forgive sins.” So, Jesus responds to that and He’s like, “what’s easier to say, that your sins are forgiven or stand up and walk?” And we can look at that and go like, I’m not sure which would be easier to say. They seem like completely different things.” But in this case, they’re not. In this first century Hebrew spiritual worldview, in other words, the world Jesus lived in, if a person was chronically ill or deformed in some way, then it was because of some sin somewhere. So, for that person to be healed than their sins were forgiven, and they would go before the priest to verify this and offer the sacrifice and be pronounced clean or healed. So, with that before us than Jesus has been moving all over the place, forgiving sins. So, in so many ways Jesus is saying to the religious leaders, “are we going to split hairs on this too. Like I’m moving around the countryside doing this. What’s easier to say, your sins are forgiven or get up and walk?” And then He unites the two issues, “so that you can see that the Son of Man has the power and authority to forgive sins. Young man get up and walk.” And then the man did. But it brings up something interesting to consider. Jesus continually refers to Himself as the Son of Man or the Human One and we are…I mean the goal of our faith is to become Christ like. And the Bible tells us that the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us. So, can we forgive sins too. Do we bristle up at that thought? Like, do we bristle up like a Pharisee like this exactly like they did around Jesus at that thought? Can we forgive sins? Of course, we can. We must. We have no power to make ourselves or anyone else righteous before God, but we certainly can forgive those who sin against us. Isn’t that what we pray in the Lord’s prayer, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”, who sin against us. Of course, we can forgive. Jesus said, “if you forgive, you will be forgiven. If you don’t then you won’t.” Forgiveness flows through God’s kingdom like water. It sets the captives free and often that captive is us. Forgiveness brings healing to our soul and our lives, our hearts and our bodies as we see demonstrated in this story today. Forgiveness and mercy flow from the heart of God into our lives and then we in turn turn that out into the world. Forgiveness is where the actions add in God’s kingdom. Forgiveness brings freedom. This is why we can see Jesus exasperated at times with the religious leaders because they don’t get…they don’t see it. For them it’s in obeying the rituals, it’s about obeying the religion, but they’ve lost the Spirit of the law as we’ve talked about so many times. What Jesus is revealing is there is a way, way better story going on here. There is way way more authority and power than you can imagine. All things are possible for those with eyes to see and ears to hear. And Jesus, in effect, is merging these two issues. Can I heal you or can I forgive your sins, since it’s seen as one and the same in this worldview uniting them? For us reading this, we can see how pervasive the theme of forgiveness is in the Gospels is

Prayer:

Father, we love You and we thank You for Your forgiveness in our lives. Your mercy and grace abounds beyond anything we could ever comprehend or deserve. There’s no question about that. And we certainly acknowledge that forgiveness is an irreplaceable part of Your kingdom and something that we must participate in every day. And we acknowledge we can’t walk around forgiving people and making them righteous before You, that’s not the point. The point is You have forgiven us so much. You have been merciful so much that the only response is to turn that out into the world and forgive as we have been forgiven, forgiving those who have sinned and trespassed against us, knowing that the burden upon us, the damage that we do is astounding sometimes. And yet You still forgive us. So, come Holy Spirit we pray. And show us again the places that we need to revisit, the things we need to let go of, whether that’s an entanglement because somebody cut us off on the road and so now we’re following them too close to teach them a lesson instead of just forgiving it and letting it go or whether it’s something far, far more deeper with tremendous amounts of wounding. It all starts somewhere, and it starts with this posture, this openness to forgiveness, to forgive and to be forgiven. Come Holy Spirit and let us see that this is where freedom lies. This is how Your kingdom works. Come in Jesus in we pray. In Your name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

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And interesting times that we’re in as we great this new week. But no matter what the week may bring in terms of further isolation from each other, this is a safe place. Around this Global Campfire it’s always been that. So, no matter how…no matter how we are led into further disconnection we don’t really have to change anything about the rhythm of our life around the Global Campfire. This is gonna be a safe place and it’s gonna be a different place, it’s gona be a place that we know that we can go and exhale and be safe. And, so let’s continue to pray into that and continue this rhythm forward as God continues to speak to us through His word. And let’s stay connected with each other.

So, at dailyaudiobible.com in the Community section you’ll find all…all kinds of different ways to stay connected as well as the Prayer Wall. The Prayer Wall lives there and it’s a continual ongoing prayer and encouragement for each other. So, let’s make sure were aware of that. So, that’s Community section at…at the website. If you’re using the app you can just push the little Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner to get into the Community section as well.

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And that is it for today other than to tell you I love you and I do and hang in there, we’re gonna get through this and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

This is the day our Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it. This is Dawn from Maryland and I’m calling for prayer. I had been blessed in the last few years to be surrounded by people, some ministers and being shown a different way of __ and prayer and also to church. I discovered the Daily Audio Bible probably within the last five / six months and I have been __. I wanted to ask for prayer and strength because my husband had divorced me and had taken everything from me - the house, the children and he advised that I did this because I was, you know, like not mentally stable. I had devoted my life to him and to my children and, you know, even…even before that I devoted my life to God. And I taught them about the Lord Jesus Christ. Please pray for me and ask God to release me from this depressive state that I have been in. I am in need of a lot of prayer. I can’t even find any friends. My family, you know, my family has abandoned me. My mother has not answered her phone. My sister has been calling but she’s going through her own issues too. And please keep my family in prayer. Also pray for my sisters, my two sisters that I have and my mother and also too for my two children. Thank you in the name of Jesus Christ. God loves you.

Hi DAB family this is CS from SC. We’ve been told that the best thing to do for this coronavirus is to self-quarantine, stay out of the public. So, I would like to ask prayers for all those that can’t self-quarantine, all those that can’t stay at home because of their job, all those that are the hospitals and doctor’s offices. We think of the doctors and nurses but I would also like to think about those that are the housekeeping staff, the people at the desk, the clerks, the people at the grocery stores and convenience stores, the people at the hotels that are doing housekeeping and working the desk and just all these thousands and thousands of jobs of people that don’t have the opportunity to stay home like some others do. So, Lord I just ask that You have a hand the protection over these…all these people that don’t have the opportunity to just stay at home where it’s a little bit safer, where it’s a little bit calmer, and that You’ll calm their souls, calm their nerves, that they’re not infected with this disease that only because of where they work or what they’re responsible for. Lord I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Good morning DAB family this is March 18th, and this is Teresa from Birmingham. I am calling for prayer request for all of our professors out there, our teachers that are trying to figure out the best way to help the students and how to navigate in this world where the coronavirus is ruling everything. All my students are…are being held at home and college students being told they can’t go back to the dorms and just overwhelmingness. Social distance…distancing can make you just feel alone. I pray for the students. I pray for calm. I pray for peace. I ask in Jesus precious name that as our teachers and our professors figure out how to put their lessons online and help their students the best way they know how, the Holy Spirit just watches over and protects them. I pray this prayer in Jesus’ precious name. Thank you DAB family for being there. Thank you, prayer warriors. We need you and I am just thankful to God. Thank you.

Hello family this is Lisa from San Jose. I really need your prayers. I just dropped my husband back up at the hospital because he’s having complications with his feeding tube. He’s probably down to 112 pounds now which he’s normally a robust 200 if not 180. So, please pray for me and him. They wouldn’t even let me in the hospital because of the COVIDS, you know. And, so, now I’m just at home waiting to kind of see what will happen. I’m confident though with all these prayers God has been holding him together and I thank you so much. And I do want to pray for the man who called in on I believe it was the March 7th prayer community line. He’s been on my heart a lot that’s in dark depression. I’ve been there brother and I understand that you’ve had this all your life, very dark and you’re just wondering where God is. He’s there. He’s there in the darkness. Please don’t forget it and hold onto Him with all your might. And, you know, it’s these darkness…these dark times that make us really cling to Jesus. And as somebody recently said, lean into Jesus. Oh…thank you family. We praise you, praise you Jesus. Okay, I’ll let you all know how Craig is doing. Thanks.

Good morning DAB family this is Janel in China. It is March 19th 9:24 in the morning and I just want to pray. I want to let everyone know that I am praying for you all while you are having to isolate yourselves for the coronavirus just like we did here in China. And honestly, we’re still doing that. I’m still working from home. I want to ask the Holy Spirit to give everyone who is listening the peace that only He can give. Have an awesome day everyone.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday March 22, 2020 (NIV)

Numbers 33:40-35:34

40 At that time the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard that the people of Israel were approaching his land.

41 Meanwhile, the Israelites left Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

42 Then they left Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

43 They left Punon and camped at Oboth.

44 They left Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim on the border of Moab.

45 They left Iye-abarim[a] and camped at Dibon-gad.

46 They left Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.

47 They left Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains east of the river,[b] near Mount Nebo.

48 They left the mountains east of the river and camped on the plains of Moab beside the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 49 Along the Jordan River they camped from Beth-jeshimoth as far as the meadows of Acacia[c] on the plains of Moab.

50 While they were camped near the Jordan River on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho, the Lord said to Moses, 51 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel: When you cross the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, 52 you must drive out all the people living there. You must destroy all their carved and molten images and demolish all their pagan shrines. 53 Take possession of the land and settle in it, because I have given it to you to occupy. 54 You must distribute the land among the clans by sacred lot and in proportion to their size. A larger portion of land will be allotted to each of the larger clans, and a smaller portion will be allotted to each of the smaller clans. The decision of the sacred lot is final. In this way, the portions of land will be divided among your ancestral tribes. 55 But if you fail to drive out the people who live in the land, those who remain will be like splinters in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will harass you in the land where you live. 56 And I will do to you what I had planned to do to them.”

Boundaries of the Land

34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Give these instructions to the Israelites: When you come into the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your special possession, these will be the boundaries. The southern portion of your country will extend from the wilderness of Zin, along the edge of Edom. The southern boundary will begin on the east at the Dead Sea.[d] It will then run south past Scorpion Pass[e] in the direction of Zin. Its southernmost point will be Kadesh-barnea, from which it will go to Hazar-addar, and on to Azmon. From Azmon the boundary will turn toward the Brook of Egypt and end at the Mediterranean Sea.[f]

“Your western boundary will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea.

“Your northern boundary will begin at the Mediterranean Sea and run east to Mount Hor, then to Lebo-hamath, and on through Zedad and Ziphron to Hazar-enan. This will be your northern boundary.

10 “The eastern boundary will start at Hazar-enan and run south to Shepham, 11 then down to Riblah on the east side of Ain. From there the boundary will run down along the eastern edge of the Sea of Galilee,[g] 12 and then along the Jordan River to the Dead Sea. These are the boundaries of your land.”

13 Then Moses told the Israelites, “This territory is the homeland you are to divide among yourselves by sacred lot. The Lord has commanded that the land be divided among the nine and a half remaining tribes. 14 The families of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have already received their grants of land 15 on the east side of the Jordan River, across from Jericho toward the sunrise.”

Leaders to Divide the Land

16 And the Lord said to Moses, 17 “Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun are the men designated to divide the grants of land among the people. 18 Enlist one leader from each tribe to help them with the task. 19 These are the tribes and the names of the leaders:

TribeLeader
JudahCaleb son of Jephunneh
20 SimeonShemuel son of Ammihud
21 BenjaminElidad son of Kislon
22 DanBukki son of Jogli
23 Manasseh son of JosephHanniel son of Ephod
24 Ephraim son of JosephKemuel son of Shiphtan
25 ZebulunElizaphan son of Parnach
26 IssacharPaltiel son of Azzan
27 AsherAhihud son of Shelomi
28 NaphtaliPedahel son of Ammihud

29 These are the men the Lord has appointed to divide the grants of land in Canaan among the Israelites.”

Towns for the Levites

35 While Israel was camped beside the Jordan on the plains of Moab across from Jericho, the Lord said to Moses, “Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands. These towns will be for the Levites to live in, and the surrounding lands will provide pasture for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock. The pastureland assigned to the Levites around these towns will extend 1,500 feet[h] from the town walls in every direction. Measure off 3,000 feet[i] outside the town walls in every direction—east, south, west, north—with the town at the center. This area will serve as the larger pastureland for the towns.

“Six of the towns you give the Levites will be cities of refuge, where a person who has accidentally killed someone can flee for safety. In addition, give them forty-two other towns. In all, forty-eight towns with the surrounding pastureland will be given to the Levites. These towns will come from the property of the people of Israel. The larger tribes will give more towns to the Levites, while the smaller tribes will give fewer. Each tribe will give property in proportion to the size of its land.”

Cities of Refuge

The Lord said to Moses, 10 “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel.

“When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 designate cities of refuge to which people can flee if they have killed someone accidentally. 12 These cities will be places of protection from a dead person’s relatives who want to avenge the death. The slayer must not be put to death before being tried by the community. 13 Designate six cities of refuge for yourselves, 14 three on the east side of the Jordan River and three on the west in the land of Canaan. 15 These cities are for the protection of Israelites, foreigners living among you, and traveling merchants. Anyone who accidentally kills someone may flee there for safety.

16 “But if someone strikes and kills another person with a piece of iron, it is murder, and the murderer must be executed. 17 Or if someone with a stone in his hand strikes and kills another person, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death. 18 Or if someone strikes and kills another person with a wooden object, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death. 19 The victim’s nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must put the murderer to death. 20 So if someone hates another person and waits in ambush, then pushes him or throws something at him and he dies, it is murder. 21 Or if someone hates another person and hits him with a fist and he dies, it is murder. In such cases, the avenger must put the murderer to death when they meet.

22 “But suppose someone pushes another person without having shown previous hostility, or throws something that unintentionally hits another person, 23 or accidentally drops a huge stone on someone, though they were not enemies, and the person dies. 24 If this should happen, the community must follow these regulations in making a judgment between the slayer and the avenger, the victim’s nearest relative: 25 The community must protect the slayer from the avenger and must escort the slayer back to live in the city of refuge to which he fled. There he must remain until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the sacred oil.

26 “But if the slayer ever leaves the limits of the city of refuge, 27 and the avenger finds him outside the city and kills him, it will not be considered murder. 28 The slayer should have stayed inside the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest, the slayer may return to his own property. 29 These are legal requirements for you to observe from generation to generation, wherever you may live.

30 “All murderers must be put to death, but only if evidence is presented by more than one witness. No one may be put to death on the testimony of only one witness. 31 Also, you must never accept a ransom payment for the life of someone judged guilty of murder and subject to execution; murderers must always be put to death. 32 And never accept a ransom payment from someone who has fled to a city of refuge, allowing a slayer to return to his property before the death of the high priest. 33 This will ensure that the land where you live will not be polluted, for murder pollutes the land. And no sacrifice except the execution of the murderer can purify the land from murder.[j] 34 You must not defile the land where you live, for I live there myself. I am the Lord, who lives among the people of Israel.”

Footnotes:

  1. 33:45 As in 33:44; Hebrew reads Iyim, another name for Iye-abarim.
  2. 33:47 Or the mountains of Abarim; also in 33:48.
  3. 33:49 Hebrew as far as Abel-shittim.
  4. 34:3 Hebrew Salt Sea; also in 34:12.
  5. 34:4 Or the ascent of Akrabbim.
  6. 34:5 Hebrew the sea; also in 34:6, 7.
  7. 34:11 Hebrew Sea of Kinnereth.
  8. 35:4 Hebrew 1,000 cubits [460 meters].
  9. 35:5 Hebrew 2,000 cubits [920 meters].
  10. 35:33 Or can make atonement for murder.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Luke 5:12-28

Jesus Heals a Man with Leprosy

12 In one of the villages, Jesus met a man with an advanced case of leprosy. When the man saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground, begging to be healed. “Lord,” he said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.”

13 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. 14 Then Jesus instructed him not to tell anyone what had happened. He said, “Go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy.[a] This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.”

15 But despite Jesus’ instructions, the report of his power spread even faster, and vast crowds came to hear him preach and to be healed of their diseases. 16 But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer.

Jesus Heals a Paralyzed Man

17 One day while Jesus was teaching, some Pharisees and teachers of religious law were sitting nearby. (It seemed that these men showed up from every village in all Galilee and Judea, as well as from Jerusalem.) And the Lord’s healing power was strongly with Jesus.

18 Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a sleeping mat. They tried to take him inside to Jesus, 19 but they couldn’t reach him because of the crowd. So they went up to the roof and took off some tiles. Then they lowered the sick man on his mat down into the crowd, right in front of Jesus. 20 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the man, “Young man, your sins are forgiven.”

21 But the Pharisees and teachers of religious law said to themselves, “Who does he think he is? That’s blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!”

22 Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? 23 Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man[b] has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”

25 And immediately, as everyone watched, the man jumped up, picked up his mat, and went home praising God. 26 Everyone was gripped with great wonder and awe, and they praised God, exclaiming, “We have seen amazing things today!”

Jesus Calls Levi (Matthew)

27 Later, as Jesus left the town, he saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. 28 So Levi got up, left everything, and followed him.

Footnotes:

  1. 5:14 See Lev 14:2-32.
  2. 5:24 “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 65

Psalm 65

For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David.

What mighty praise, O God,
belongs to you in Zion.
We will fulfill our vows to you,
for you answer our prayers.
All of us must come to you.
Though we are overwhelmed by our sins,
you forgive them all.
What joy for those you choose to bring near,
those who live in your holy courts.
What festivities await us
inside your holy Temple.

You faithfully answer our prayers with awesome deeds,
O God our savior.
You are the hope of everyone on earth,
even those who sail on distant seas.
You formed the mountains by your power
and armed yourself with mighty strength.
You quieted the raging oceans
with their pounding waves
and silenced the shouting of the nations.
Those who live at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your wonders.
From where the sun rises to where it sets,
you inspire shouts of joy.

You take care of the earth and water it,
making it rich and fertile.
The river of God has plenty of water;
it provides a bountiful harvest of grain,
for you have ordered it so.
10 You drench the plowed ground with rain,
melting the clods and leveling the ridges.
You soften the earth with showers
and bless its abundant crops.
11 You crown the year with a bountiful harvest;
even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
12 The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture,
and the hillsides blossom with joy.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep,
and the valleys are carpeted with grain.
They all shout and sing for joy!

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 11:23

23 The godly can look forward to a reward,
while the wicked can expect only judgment.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.