Deuteronomy 31:1-32:27, Luke 12:8-34, Psalms 78:32-55, Proverbs 12:21-23
Today is the 7th day of April, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today coming from the rolling hills of Tennessee and moving out across the Internet into all of the different regions of this earth. It’s such a joy, such and honor, such a marvel that this can even happen and that we can be here sharing this patch of history together. Like even that could have been off, right? You were born 100 years ago and I was born a hundred years from now and we would’ve missed now together on earth allowing this rhythm of God’s word to transform us in our lives. So, we’re fortunate, we’re fortunate to be around this Global Campfire. It could’ve been different and yet it’s not. We’re here taking the next step and I’m glad we can do it. So, we’re continuing to work our way toward the final things that Moses has to say in the book of Deuteronomy before he dies, and a new leader emerges. And, so, we’ll pick up with that story. Deuteronomy chapter 31 verse 1 through 32 verse 27 today. And we’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week.
Commentary:
Okay. So, yesterday in our reading from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus was not making friends, right? He was using His light and shining it, aiming it at the religious establishment. In particular, the scribes and the Pharisees who were there listening to what he had to say. And, so, what He was doing is basically calling out their hypocrisy and revealing how they were perpetuating this, that they were basically teaching everybody to be a hypocrite, to not be true, to be one way on the outside and another way on the inside. So, as we kind of come that…and of course Jesus shined the light on them and they didn’t acknowledge…they didn’t say, “oh thank…like thank you for showing this to me, showing my falseness to me. How can I live in the light?” Instead, they got together and started plotting against Jesus, right? The darkness hating the exposure of the light and wanting to extinguish the light so that everything would remain hidden in the dark. And they were in such darkness that they didn’t know what they were doing, which is why Jesus will ask for them to be forgiven, even as He’s being nailed to a cross. And, so, in our reading today, that story is continued and Jesus is saying basically, “there…there is only one way, there isn’t this false way that you present to the world and then this other thing that’s going on inside of you that’s a relationship with God. Like there’s…there’s only one way and you have two acknowledge me as that way inside and outside because some challenging things are in your future.” And He goes on to tell a story of a of a rich person who built bigger barns, basically. But on the tails of that He’s saying like, “you can prepare for every eventuality you want. You can store up so that you can have an easy life, all that you want, but what if today is your last day? Like what if you’ve got all that built up and you’re like, ‘ahh…now I can coast for a while and you die that day?” And He’s continuing to starkly show us like, “you cannot just external…you cannot just prepare for external eventualities or external pleasures. Like, you have to grow from within and what is within you is what is true and then that will form what happens in your exterior life. You’ve got it backwards.” And we still do today. We think that a bigger house, better this, better car, more reliable this, more money, more bank account, more pleasure, more travel, more experience, more wine, more good food or whatever, that’s going to make our lives great. And Jesus is teaching is a fundamental truth about how we were created - if you are at peace within yourself you are at peace in any circumstance and everything can be received with gratitude. So, on a very, very fundamental level what Jesus is after is the reintegration, like so that there’s not this hiding, that there’s not this duel self, like this one we present and this one that’s real. We just keep trying to make changes from without hoping that they will seep inward into our hearts when it is the change of heart that changes everything else. And, so, to end today all you really need to do is go back over the words of Jesus at the end of our reading. So, let me just read this to us and let’s receive this as if Jesus were speaking to us right now, not because I’m reading it but because these are His words that I’m reading. Let’s take these and apply them to our day-to-day.
I’m telling you, don’t worry about your life what you will eat and about your body, what you’re gonna wear. Life is more than food. The body is more than clothing. Look at the ravens, they don’t sow or reap, they don’t keep a storeroom or a barn, yet God feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than the birds? Can any of you add one moment to his lifespan by worrying? If then you are not able to do even a little thing, why worry about the rest. Consider how the wildflowers grow, they don’t labor or spin thread. Yet, I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these. And that’s how God clothes the grass which is in the field today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow. How much more will He do for you - you of little faith? Don’t strive for what you should eat, what you should drink. Don’t be anxious. The Gentile world eagerly seeks all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. So, seek his kingdom and these things will be provided for you. Don’t be afraid little flock because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.
Prayer:
We thank You for that encouragement Jesus. We receive that into our innermost selves, into the truest place that we know of within our hearts. We invite You fully to plant these words deeply into our lives. And we also acknowledge that You ended this by basically saying get rid of everything that is holding You back, money if that’s what it is, anything else, whatever it is understand that there is inexhaustible treasure in heaven where no one and nothing can steal it away from You. And, so, we acknowledge, we’ve lived a lot of our lives, most of our lives, from the outside in hoping that if…that if we just keep moving things around, if we just keep on the run, if we just keep motion happening that we’ll be distracted enough to think that something good is happening when we’re just moving around stuff. But You’re telling us from within can grow depths of living water. You’re telling us that where our treasure is that’s where our heart will be. And, so, we set our affections on You and we seek Your kingdom and we ask that You give us eyes to see and ears to hear it. Lead us into all truth Holy Spirit. Show us the changes that You are making in our lives so that we don’t fight against You because we acknowledge that we see in the Scriptures and what we have experienced in life is that You have no problem disrupting us in order to set us free. It’s just this we usually reinterpret disruption as some kind of inconvenience. And, so, we’ll ask You to take it away when You brought it to us in the first place. What You are doing in our lives, let us see this, let us embrace it, let us flow with it we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.