06/04/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Samuel 22:1-23:23, Acts 2:1-47, Psalms 122:1-9, Proverbs 16:19-20

Today is the 4th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is great to be here with you today. You feeling moved into this new month yet? I’m trying to get there. I just keep thinking it’s May, but it’s not. It’s the 4th day of June and it is a wonderful thing to be able to come around the Global campfire, day or night. No matter what time it is, it’s always burning, we’re never alone here. There’s always somebody else here listening as well. In fact, lots of somebodies are always listening as well. We can never be alone at the Daily Audio Bible. Whenever where listening somebody else is too, always, whenever it is. So, yesterday we stepped into some new territory. We finished the Gospels day before yesterday, and we moved into the book of Acts yesterday. And we talked about that so we’re gonna continue that journey, but this is the journey…this is the story of what came next after Jesus resurrection. So, we will get to that soon enough. But first we’ll go into our Old Testament portion today, which leads us back into the book of second Samuel and the story of King David. And we really only have two or three days left in second Samuel. So, we’re making progress and we should be. We’re in the 6th month of the year so we should be making progress. And let’s make some progress. Let’s take the next step forward. Second Samuel chapter 22 verse 1 through 23 verse 23.

Commentary:

Okay. So, let’s just kind of catch ourselves up to where we are in the stories that we’re moving through in the Scriptures. In second Samuel, obviously, we’ve…we’ve been kind of working to the story of David’s life and his reign, while being able to observe pretty up close and personal his strengths and weaknesses. And we can kind of tell that the book of second Samuel is drawing to a close because it’s kind of inserting all these different things, like these…that these are the last words, like the last songs of David. These are David’s elite warriors. So, we’re kind of getting all these lists and closing down that story. We haven’t got to it yet, but as a we’re reading the lists of the warriors and all the different things that they did we’re going to find the name in…in this list in the Bible of the elite warriors of David and that person’s name is Uriah, Uriah the Hittite. This is the man that David had killed in battle so that he could cover up the fact that he had gotten Uriah’s wife Bathsheba pregnant.

Then in the book of Acts today we see the coming of the Holy Spirit with the sound of a mighty wind, and what appears to be tongues of fire or flames of fire. And that famous, a very, very famous story, but this is actually the birth of the church as we know it. All of the people are speaking in these languages that foreigners who are in Jerusalem understand. Their confused about it and Peter steps forward to explain and he gives a message that we read today this kind of first almost evangelistic sermon. That’s probably not quite right, but Peter’s talking to the crowd and telling them about Jesus and their listening, because of the effects of the Holy Spirit, these languages that the people are hearing. And, so, Peter’s unpacking the message of Jesus and his ministry and who he was and that he was killed and…and who he is. And this cuts them to the heart. And, so, they want to know what they’re supposed to do. And, so, Peter explains, “all of you must turn to God and change the way you think and act, which is essentially to say, repent. Repent - change the way you think and act. That’s what repentance is. “And each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift.” So, this is all part of his message. According to the book of Acts, 3000 people, 3000 people were added to the followers of Jesus Christ that day. So, this is the flashpoint. This is sort of the birth of the church as we know it. And 3000 people, that’s been an intriguing thing. Like where do you baptize 3000 people. And really the only candidate would be the temple, like would be where the ritual baths are large and lots of people are ritually cleansing themselves continually to go into the temple. And some of those Mikvah, some of those ritual baths, they still exist in the old city. So, this is the beginning of the church after Jesus ascended.

And we learned also from the book of Acts today just how they were living. They were living altogether kind of single-mindedly with purpose, caring for one another, meeting at each other’s houses and sharing meals together. And according to the book of Acts, at this point there’s sort of this aura around these people. The way the Bible describes it is, “a feeling of fear came over everyone as amazing things and miraculous signs happened through the apostles.” So, there’s sort of this air of respect, curiosity, and this awareness that something mystical seems to be happening. Of course, as we continue our journey through the New Testament, we’ll find out that that’s not how it stays. The church for sure goes through some really trying times but right here at the flashpoint we see that the people are gathering together, and every day new people are coming in.

Then in the Proverbs we are told, “whoever gives attention to the Lord’s word prospers. And blessed is the person who trusts the Lord.” We have talked about Proverbs many times on our journey so far this year and we have understood that this is wisdom speaking to us. And in so many cases it’s like what we learn is that wisdom isn’t complicated, wisdom is simple. It’s just hard to be aware and pay attention and have self-control enough to obey it. “But whoever gives attention to the Lord’s word prospers. And blessed is the person who trusts the Lord.” May we live into that this very day.

And then in the book of Psalms today we were told to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for where it’s leading us even as we are transitioning in the Old Testament and moving into the book of…the book of Acts in the New Testament. So, we’re kind of transitioning. And we thank You because we are constantly transitioning too. And we thank You that Your word in our lives each and everyday changes things. And we’re told today in the Psalms to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. So, Father we pray for the peace of Jerusalem. May those who love You prosper. May there be peace inside Your walls and prosperity in Your palaces. For the sake of my relatives and friends let me say, may it go well for You. For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek what is good for You. We pray these things 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.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi I’m a first time caller my name is Galena and I want to pray for the young man who called who was in the dark place and his marriage was falling apart and his mother was on the deathbed. Lord I want to lift up this Young man to You and give them into Your hands. Would You comfort him Lord? Would You pour Your grace upon him? Would You give him strength to go through this season of his life Lord and help him see how much You love him Lord. Send him the Angels Lord all around him. Surround him Lord with Your heavenly angels and earthly angels to help them through this time Father, to pray for him, to listen to him, to give him love. And Lord remind him how much love he has so he will spend the days with his mother Lord feeling blessed and he will continue Lord growing in his knowledge of You.

Hi it’s Sherry from Kansas and I’m about to say something I’ll probably be embarrassed about later but I just want to tell you that I just finished mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors and I managed to dust and vacuum. And you don’t know what that means to me because I have not either physically or emotionally been able to do this for quite some time. And I know that whenever I accomplish something like this, like even just taking a shower is a huge thing for me then I give glory to God because I know that it is by His grace and His strength that I am able to accomplish anything, even such seemingly small things is doing a little cleaning. So, I just want to publicly right now thank God for all that He does and all that He gives and how He takes care of us even in the small things and that without Him…without Him there’s nothing worth accomplishing. Without Him there is there is no life, no breath, no…no joy, no nothing to be thankful for. So, thank You most gracious and loving heavenly Father for hearing our prayers and for giving us what we need of for each day, that we go from strength to strength by Your will and by Your love. Thank you, Father.

Aloha dad family this is Robin from Hawaii. Just as Kristi from Kentucky called in today talking about her heart being so burdened, mine too. Our country and our world’s still recovering from COVID and now we have such conflict in our United States due to man’s sinful heart. Oh God, forgive us. May the church be the light in the darkness. God may they know we are Christians by our love for one another and for all mankind. Lord help us as individuals to make an impact. And God equip our pastors and our leaders to guide us and bring about transformation in our country and in the world. God, I pray that you would anoint another Billy Graham, another Martin Luther King to speak to the hearts and minds of your people. God may your Spirit reign in the United States and in the whole world and may we see revival. In Jesus’ name I pray. Love you DABbers. Aloha Kaia Coua - God is love.

On this Pentecost Sunday, this is Stephanie Avery, a long-time listener from Rwanda days. I have a prayer for these troubling times here in the United States. Father God I come in Your son Jesus name asking You to forgive us of all our wicked ways. I pray, Holy Spirit just come afresh on us to break down the walls of fear, hate, and __ . Holy Spirit bring Your love, Your righteousness and Your justice. Let us who are believers speak boldly of You the son of the living God and the soon coming King. Jesus… Jesus You said that we will have trouble but take heart You have overcome the world and we are victorious in Jesus’ name. Shalom. Stephanie from North Carolina.

Good morning DAB family this is Laura from Georgia A.K.A. walking in the wilderness. Today is June the 1st and I want to say thank you to Abby who called in. Thank you for your empathy and thank you for your sympathy for black America. This journey is…is…hasn’t been easy for us and no matter how we protest, whether it be silently, whether it be calmly… and then when we don’t know what else to do unfortunately it erupts into heated…and violent at times. But we’re tired. We’re so tired. But I’m so thankful when I hear people like Abby who realize that it’s not the same for us as it is for you. Just thank you. And I know that God is bigger than any situation and that is who I’m drawing on. I’m raising two sons who are now adults and I had to teach them so many things, especially when they come across the police. And every day when they travel to a different place, I’m always saying I need to hear from you when you make it to your destination. So, thank you Abby and for all those who are praying and show empathy and sympathy and understand. And thank you DAB family. Blessings. Peace.

Today is June 1st and this is Julie from Texas and I wanted to read you guys something that I God has just shown me as of yesterday being Pentecost Sunday and I wrote this. It is never in my life have I ever had such a clear and burning desire to be the daughter, the child that You Father have called me to be flowing with Your authority and power that would allow me to do as Jesus did. Jesus You said now go and do the same. And that is exactly what I am going to do. The kingdom of God is here in and among us and in obedience and with the authority that You authorized. I will do as You did Jesus. You healed the sick, You raised the dead, You cast out demons and most of all You loved perfectly. You commanded it. So, it should be obvious obedience in which I follow Your order and share the good news of the kingdom of God. Have Your way in me, I’m ready.

Good morning today is June 1st and I am a first-time caller. This is Lady and I am a very recent Daily Audio Bible listener. First of all, I’ve been blessed but this morning I wanted to just call to say thank you Abby. You blessed me, literally brought me to tears because I felt your heart. And, so again I just want to say thank you.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday June 4, 2020 (NIV)

2 Samuel 22:1-23:23

David’s Song of Deliverance(A)

22 David sang this song to the Lord when the Lord rescued him from all his enemies, especially from Saul. He said,

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my Savior,
my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, my shield,
the strength of my salvation, my stronghold,
my refuge, and my Savior who saved me from violence.
The Lord should be praised.
I called on him, and I was saved from my enemies.

The waves of death had surrounded me.
The torrents of destruction had overwhelmed me.
The ropes of the grave had surrounded me.
The clutches of death had confronted me.

I called on the Lord in my distress.
I called to my God for help.
He heard my voice from his temple,
and my cry for help reached his ears.
Then the earth shook and quaked.
Even the foundations of the heavens trembled.
They shook violently because he was angry.
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
and a raging fire came out of his mouth.
Glowing coals flared up from it.
10 He spread apart the heavens
and came down with a dark cloud under his feet.
11 He rode on one of the angels[a] as he flew,
and he soared on the wings of the wind.
12 He surrounded himself with darkness.
He made the dark rain clouds his covering.
13 Out of the brightness in front of him, he made lightning.
14 The Lord thundered from heaven.
The Most High made his voice heard.
15 He shot arrows and scattered them.
He flashed streaks of lightning and threw them into confusion.
16 Then the ocean floor could be seen.
The foundations of the earth were laid bare
at the Lord’s stern warning,
at the blast of the breath from his nostrils.

17 He reached down from high above and took hold of me.
He pulled me out of the raging water.
18 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
because they were too strong for me.
19 On the day when I faced disaster, they confronted me,
but the Lord became my defense.
20 He brought me out to a wide-open place.
He rescued me because he was pleased with me.

21 The Lord rewarded me
because of my righteousness,
because my hands are clean.
He paid me back
22 because I have kept the ways of the Lord
and I have not wickedly turned away from my God,
23 because all his judgments are in front of me
and I have not turned away from his laws.
24 I was innocent as far as he was concerned.
I have kept myself from guilt.
25 The Lord paid me back
because of my righteousness,
because he can see that I am clean.

26 In dealing with faithful people you are faithful,
with innocent warriors you are innocent,
27 with pure people you are pure.
In dealing with devious people you are clever.

28 You save humble people,
but your eyes bring down arrogant people.
29 O Lord, you are my lamp.
The Lord turns my darkness into light.
30 With you I can attack a line of soldiers.
With my God I can break through barricades.

31 God’s way is perfect!
The promise of the Lord has proven to be true.
He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.
32 Who is God but the Lord?
Who is a rock other than our God?
33 God arms me with strength.[b]
His perfect way sets me free.
34 He makes my feet like those of a deer
and gives me sure footing on high places.
35 He trains my hands for battle
so that my arms can bend an archer’s bow of bronze.
36 You have given me the shield of your salvation.
Your help makes me great.
37 You make a wide path for me to walk on
so that my feet do not slip.
38 I chased my enemies and destroyed them.
I did not return until I had ended their lives.
39 I ended their lives by shattering them.
They were unable to get up.
They fell under my feet.
40 You armed me with strength for battle.
You made my opponents bow at my feet.
41 You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and I destroyed those who hated me.
42 They looked, but there was no one to save them.
They looked to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
43 I beat them into a powder as fine as the dust on the ground.
I crushed them and stomped on them like the dirt on the streets.
44 You rescued me from my conflicts with my people.
You kept me as the leader of nations.
A people I did not know will serve me.
45 Foreigners will cringe in front of me.
As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me.
46 Foreigners will lose heart,
although they are armed[c] in their fortifications.

47 The Lord lives!
Thanks be to my rock!
May God, the rock of my salvation, be glorified.
48 God gives me vengeance!
He brings people under my authority.
49 He frees me from my enemies.
You lift me up above my opponents.
You rescue me from violent people.
50 That is why I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the nations
and make music to praise your name.
51 He gives great victories to his king.
He shows mercy to his anointed,
to David, and to his descendant[d] forever.

David’s Last Words

23 These are the last words of David:

“Here is the declaration by David, son of Jesse—
the declaration by the man whom God raised up,[e]
whom the God of Jacob anointed,
the singer of Israel’s psalms:

“The Spirit of the Lord spoke through me.
His words were on my tongue.
The God of Israel spoke to them.
The rock of Israel told me,
‘The one who rules humans with justice rules with the fear of God.
He is like the morning light as the sun rises,
like a morning without clouds,
like the brightness after a rainstorm.
The rain makes the grass grow from the earth.’

“Truly, God considers my house to be that way,
because he has made a lasting promise[f] to me,
with every detail arranged and assured.
He promised everything that helps me,
everything that pleases me.
Truly, he makes these things happen.

“Worthless people are like thorns.
All of them are thrown away, because they cannot be picked by hand.
A person who touches them uses iron tools
or the shaft of a spear.
Fire[g] will burn them up completely wherever they are.”

David’s Three Fighting Men(B)

These are the names of David’s fighting men: Josheb Basshebeth from Tahkemon’s family was leader of the three. He used a spear[h] to kill 800 men on one occasion.

Next in rank to him was Eleazar, another one of the three fighting men. He was the son of Dodo and grandson of Aho. Eleazar was with David at Pas Dammim[i] when the Philistines gathered there for battle. When the soldiers from Israel retreated, 10 he attacked and killed Philistines until his hand got tired and stuck to his sword. So the Lord won an impressive victory that day. The army returned to Eleazar, but they only returned to strip the dead.

11 Next in rank to him was Shammah, the son of Agee from Harar. The Philistines had gathered at Lehi, where there was a field of ripe lentils. When the troops fled from the Philistines, 12 he stood in the middle of the field and defended it by killing Philistines. So the Lord won an impressive victory.

13 At harvest time three of the thirty leading men came to David at the cave of Adullam when a troop from the Philistine army was camping in the valley of Rephaim. 14 While David was in the fortified camp, Philistine troops were at Bethlehem. 15 When David became thirsty, he said, “I wish I could have a drink of water from the well at the city gate of Bethlehem.” 16 So the three fighting men burst into the Philistine camp and drew water from the well. They brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out as an offering to the Lord and said, 17 “It’s unthinkable that I would do this, Lord. This is the blood of men who risked their lives!” So he refused to drink it.

These are the things which the three fighting men did.

David’s Thirty Fighting Men(C)

18 Joab’s brother Abishai, Zeruiah’s son, was the leader of the thirty. He used his spear to kill 300 men. He was as famous as the three 19 and was honored more than they were. So he became their captain, but he didn’t become a member of the three.

20 Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was from Kabzeel and was a brave man who did many things. He killed two distinguished soldiers from Moab. He also went into a pit and killed a lion on the day it snowed. 21 And he killed a handsome Egyptian. The Egyptian had a spear in his hand. Benaiah went to him with a club, grabbed the spear from him, and killed him with it. 22 These are the things that Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, did. He was as famous as the three fighting men. 23 He was honored more than the thirty, but he was not a member of the three. David put him in charge of his bodyguards.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Samuel 22:11 Or “cherubim.”
  2. 2 Samuel 22:33 Dead Sea Scrolls, Psalm 18:33, Greek, Syriac, Latin; Masoretic Text “my refuge is strength.”
  3. 2 Samuel 22:46 Hebrew meaning uncertain.
  4. 2 Samuel 22:51 Or “to his descendants.”
  5. 2 Samuel 23:1 Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek; Masoretic Text “who was raised up high.”
  6. 2 Samuel 23:5 Or “covenant.”
  7. 2 Samuel 23:7 Or “The fire.”
  8. 2 Samuel 23:8 1 Chronicles 11:11; Greek “drew his sword”; Hebrew meaning of Masoretic Text uncertain.
  9. 2 Samuel 23:9 1 Chronicles 11:13; Masoretic Text “when [the Philistines] challenged.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Acts 2

The Believers Are Filled with the Holy Spirit

When Pentecost, the fiftieth day after Passover, came, all the believers were together in one place. Suddenly, a sound like a violently blowing wind came from the sky and filled the whole house where they were staying. Tongues that looked like fire appeared to them. The tongues arranged themselves so that one came to rest on each believer. All the believers were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak.

Devout Jewish men from every nation were living in Jerusalem. They gathered when they heard the wind. Each person was startled to recognize his own dialect when the disciples spoke.

Stunned and amazed, the people in the crowd said, “All of these men who are speaking are Galileans. Why do we hear them speaking in our native dialects? We’re Parthians, Medes, and Elamites. We’re people from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, and the country near Cyrene in Libya. We’re Jewish people, converts to Judaism, and visitors from Rome, 11 Crete, and Arabia. We hear these men in our own languages as they tell about the miracles that God has done.”

12 All of these devout men were stunned and puzzled. They asked each other, “What can this mean?” 13 Others said jokingly, “They’re drunk on sweet wine.”

Peter Talks to the Crowd

14 Then Peter stood up with the eleven apostles. In a loud voice he said to them, “Men of Judea and everyone living in Jerusalem! You must understand this, so pay attention to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning. 16 Rather, this is what the prophet Joel spoke about:

17 ‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour my Spirit on everyone.
Your sons and daughters will speak what God has revealed.
Your young men will see visions.
Your old men will dream dreams.
18 In those days
I will pour my Spirit on my servants, on both men and women.
They will speak what God has revealed.
19 I will work miracles in the sky and give signs on the earth:
blood, fire, and clouds of smoke.
20 The sun will become dark,
and the moon will become as red as blood
before the terrifying day of the Lord comes.
21 Then whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

22 “Men of Israel, listen to what I say: Jesus from Nazareth was a man whom God brought to your attention. You know that through this man God worked miracles, did amazing things, and gave signs. 23 By using men who don’t acknowledge Moses’ Teachings, you crucified Jesus, who was given over to death by a plan that God had determined in advance. 24 But God brought him from death back to life and destroyed the pains of death, because death had no power to hold him. 25 This is what David meant when he said about Jesus:

‘I always see the Lord in front of me.
I cannot be moved because he is by my side.
26 That is why my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices.
My body also rests securely
27 because you do not abandon my soul to the grave
or allow your holy one to decay.
28 You make the path of life known to me.
In your presence there is complete joy.’

29 “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that our ancestor David died and was buried and that his tomb is here to this day. 30 David was a prophet and knew that God had promised with an oath that he would place one of David’s descendants on his throne. 31 David knew that the Messiah would come back to life, and he spoke about that before it ever happened. He said that the Messiah wouldn’t be left in the grave and that his body wouldn’t decay.

32 “God brought this man Jesus back to life. We are all witnesses to that. 33 God the Father used his power to give Jesus the honored position—the one next to him on the heavenly throne. Jesus has also received and has poured out the Holy Spirit as the Father had promised, and this is what you’re seeing and hearing. 34 David didn’t go up to heaven, but he said,

‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Take the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne
35 until I put your enemies under your control.”’

36 “All the people of Israel should know beyond a doubt that God made Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

37 When the people heard this, they were deeply upset. They asked Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”

38 Peter answered them, “All of you must turn to God and change the way you think and act, and each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift. 39 This promise belongs to you and to your children and to everyone who is far away. It belongs to everyone who worships the Lord our God.”

40 Peter said much more to warn them. He urged, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted what Peter said were baptized. That day about 3,000 people were added to the group.

Life as a Christian

42 The disciples were devoted to the teachings of the apostles, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. 43 A feeling of fear came over everyone as many amazing things and miraculous signs happened through the apostles. 44 All the believers kept meeting together, and they shared everything with each other. 45 From time to time, they sold their property and other possessions and distributed the money to anyone who needed it. 46 The believers had a single purpose and went to the temple every day. They were joyful and humble as they ate at each other’s homes and shared their food. 47 At the same time, they praised God and had the good will of all the people. Every day the Lord saved people, and they were added to the group.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 122

I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of the Lord.”
Our feet are standing inside your gates, Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built to be a city
where the people are united.[a]
All of the Lord’s tribes go to that city
because it is a law in Israel
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
The court of justice sits there.
It consists of princes who are David’s descendants.

Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper.
May there be peace inside your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.”
For the sake of my relatives and friends, let me say,
“May it go well for you!”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek what is good for you.

Psalm 123

A song for going up to worship.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 122:3 Hebrew meaning of this verse uncertain.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 16:19-20

19 Better to be humble with lowly people
than to share stolen goods with arrogant people.

20 Whoever gives attention to the Lord’s word prospers,
and blessed is the person who trusts the Lord.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

06/03/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Samuel 20:14-21:22, Acts 1:1-26, Psalms 121:1-8, Proverbs 16:18

Today is the 3rd day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it’s great to be here with you today as we move through the midpoint of the first week of this 6th month of the year that we’re moving into. It is wonderful to be around the Global Campfire with you today. And today we’re moving into some new territory in the New Testament. We concluded the Gospels yesterday, which means that we will move into the book of Acts today and we’ll talk about that when we get there but we’re not quite there yet. In the Old Testament we are continuing our journey along the side King David and learning of his reign. So, we’re reading from the God’s Word Translation this week. Second Samuel chapter 20 verse 14 through 21 verse 22.

Introduction to the book of Acts:

Okay. So, like we were talking about at the beginning we are moving into some new territory in the New Testament today. Yesterday we finished up the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And I was telling you if you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app and you’ve been checking off the boxes than we get the Gospels achievement yesterday. And I love that. So, that shows us that we’re ending a certain section of the Scriptures moving into a more historical account of the early church. This is a new era, the beginning of the church era. That’s the era that we’re in right now. We’re with just a couple of thousand years into it. The book of Acts sort of unpacks what happened after Jesus ascended, after he returned to the Father. And in a lot of ways we could call this book that we call the Acts of the apostles, this could almost be second Luke because Luke and Acts share the same author and that is thought to be Luke who was a physician. So, if you read the book of Luke and then immediately read the book of Acts you see they’re like volume 1 and volume 2 and this vast accounting of Jesus life and ministry and of the repercussions of that ministry and the reverberations that happened after His ascension. So, the first chapters of the book of Acts we’ll…we’ll get to understand the ministry of the apostle Peter. And, of course, Peter is somebody that we’ve met in the Gospels. We’ll get to focus on his ministry and then we’re gonna meet this person that is gonna affect the rest of the Bible and we’ll be traveling with him most of the rest of the way. His name was Saul, right? Not the same Saul that was the first king of Israel that we’ve been reading about in the book of Samuel. This is a Pharisee in the first century who very, very much opposes this new message of Jesus. And it’s not because His ethics were off or something like that. It was that people were saying he was the Son of the most-high God, which for Saul and for the rest of the Pharisees and Sadducees and scribes and leaders, this is blasphemy. So, Saul was doing everything he could to oppose this when he met Jesus. And, so, we’ll spend the latter part of the book of Acts getting to know Saul whose name becomes Paul. And we know him now as the apostle Paul. And we will find that his letters makeup like the bulk of the remainder of what we’re going to read in the New Testament. The book of Acts we also encounter the comforter, the one Jesus says He would send, the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is the energy that sets the hearts of Jesus disciples on fire and then sets the world on fire. When you understand a bit of church history, and you understand a bit about the Roman Empire, and you understand a little bit about the first century you realize the chances of this message succeeding were small, very small. And yet this message has swept the entire world. Nothing of the early church would’ve been possible without the Holy Spirit, without the Spirit leading into all truth, right, as is promised in the Scriptures. And we should remember that because it’s the same Spirit that is empowering us to bring the good news and light and life and shalom into the world today. So, we’re moving it is a new territory and it’s exciting. And, so, let’s buckle up for the book of Acts. Today Acts chapter 1.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for bringing us into this new territory. It’s like we turned the page and we finished the Gospels and now we’re in the accounting of the early church. And as we watch the story unfold we ask that Your Holy Spirit, whom we will read plenty about in the book of Acts would awaken us, would lead us into all truth, would help us to understand that this is the beginning of the story that we are in right now. And we also Father thank You for the comfort found in the 121st Psalm, that You are with us, that You will not leave us, that You are sustaining us, that You are watching over us and guarding us, that You are here and You have always been. And we are so grateful. So, come Holy Spirit into what we’ve read today and plant it in our hearts. May our hearts be good soil for Your word. And may the fruit of the spirit be harvested in our lives we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello DAB family today is May the 29th and I had to say man those prayers I heard at the end of today’s podcast made my spirit soar. I can’t tell you. I was hooting and hollering and saying yes Lord yes Lord. Man, this DAB family is something else. The prayers that you lift up to God, wow. Especially his little Cherry and the other lady you were praying for the unleashing of our…of the potential of our children who have been breathed life into by our Creator. Never thought of it that way but yes Lord. I just…I gotta say amen to those prayers and I gotta say thank you Lord for this DAB amazing prayer warrior family that you have put in here, the ones who call in for prayer and the ones who answer prayer. And I just have to say also, blessed are you oh Lord our God who hears our prayers who is faithful to answer and who daily carries our burdens. Thank you, family. That was some powerful today. I just had to call in and say that. Woo. Pray for our kids as well, that their potential is unleashed, and I think that’s going to be an ongoing prayer from now on. Thanks very much. Be blessed family and be a blessing.

Hi this is Missy from the Midwest. I’m listening to a podcast from the community prayer line May 1st or 2nd I’m not sure what it was but at the 2 hour 28 minute 33 second mark John Ofsoul from South Sudan in East Africa came in and he…he just sang a song with a guitar, the song “they’ll know we are Christians by our love.” And as I heard him sing this I’m…I’m next door in Wisconsin to the state of Minnesota the city of Minneapolis that’s been burned and rioting and awfulness and the song just really really touched me. Thank you, John for singing this. I saw the evil of a man having his life taken and I saw the city burning to the ground and I saw the Father crying from heaven and it broke my heart and it caused me to weep. And I just ask for you all DABbers to please pray for Minneapolis as we go through these this awful time. Thank you.

Hey everybody this is Pelham from Arab calling in. It is the 29th of May and time to call in and tell you guys that it’s pretty much been a year and I’m I am gonna finish this program on the second but they’re letting me leave early. Today I paid my last payment to the house. You pay a percentage of your paycheck and that was my last one. The Lord got me through this thing, which is incredible. It’s unbelievable. I now can check a piece of chicken better than…well I don’t know who else…anyways I know how to make some really good chicken tenders. I work in a chicken plant now and I’ve been doing it for a while. So, I’m calling to let you guys know that we made a year and I’m about to be out, I’m about to move. So, I need prayer warriors out there to please pray for the Lord to lead me to where me and Otis are supposed to be. There are several men that want to come with me wherever I go. And I need guidance there because they…there’s opportunity for me to start something of my own and I’m scared of that. I’m scared of…of that type of calling or what that may mean. I…I covet you all’s prayers on this. There’s so many amazing things happening that two minutes is not nearly enough. But man, everybody out there, think about when I first called in a year ago before going into this. I think I called from jail even, possibly. But I’ve been calling in for 14, I think, 14 years now or 13 years and just another chapter coming to an end and I want to let everybody know I love you. Okay. I’ll here you later. Bye.

Good morning DAB, this prayers for I believe his name is Terry and Australia. [singing starts] The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies never come to an end. They are new every morning, new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness oh Lord. Great is the high faithfulness [singing stops]. Terry this is your sister Blessings Flow in Pennsylvania. I heard your prayer request about the 20-year pornography addiction. I just want you to know that I’m praying for you brother. I so appreciate your vulnerability and I know that hit home with many people. As I was thinking about you, I remembered when I was a missionary and I remember there was a time, a short season I was going to be furloughed going back home and I was just kind of anxious that I would fall back into certain patterns of…of sin and I remembered I was anxious about this and I had this dream in that season where I told a leader about it and in the dream she just laughed a belly over laughed and laughed and when I woke up I knew for me it meant that, you know, I’m anxious about this but the Lord wasn’t. And it calmed me and it just reminded me as I pray for you brother, that one day at a time the Lord loves you and as you grow in that love and knowing that love I think you’re going to desire the addiction even less. Praying for you. God bless you.

Hi DAB family this is Will from beautiful Bozeman Montana. And I am a little behind, probably maybe a month or less than a month behind. But I just want to say that I’ve been thoroughly blessed this year with the DAB, and I’ve been kind of holding back on calling and just listening. I’d do a roll call, but I might mess up because I don’t have a list. But I just listened to the prayer request and Victoria Soldier, thank you so much for your inspiring prayer and your anointed prayer. I do have a prayer request. I told a young man he is a coworker that I would have thousands of people praying for him. His name is Justin. Justin is not a believer. He’s on blood thinners and just has had some health issues. He’s a little overweight but more than anything he’s not a believer and I just want God to show himself to him and I thought I’d just step in and just offer that. And not only that but just make myself known in a sense I have…we have an advocate who can go before us in the name of Jesus and pray. And part of the issue of his…of his illness is the stress that he’s been carrying, his wife is very ill, and he’s had to take time off of work to deal with that. So, pray for her healing as well. Pray that God would reveal himself. DAB family I love you. Thank you. This little app is awesome, being able to just push a button and record like this. And, so Brian, Jill thank you all for your ministry. Thank you all for everything you do, and DAB family thank you for your contributions. And it’s been a blessing. I love you.

Hi DAB family this is Steven in Florida. I’d like to lift up and pray for the young man that called in today and said that his marriage was on the rocks and his mother was kind of not doing well and he said he was going through a dark time. And I just want to lift him up brother and let him know that dark times…God is always with us during our dark…dark times and the gospel is telling us…the Gospels are telling us that Jesus went through really hard times and…but God definitely has a plan for you and he will see you through this and…and when this is all over you’re gonna a see that He has blessed you more than you ever imagined that he had blessed you before. And, so, hang in there man. And another prayer of praise for the father who called in a few days ago and said his son that had run away has come back. And, you know, I’d like to just praise God and thank God for doing that and hopefully it opens…it opens up a new relationship in the family and its…we have the…we have the stories of the prodigal son where God does not reject his children. You know, a father never lets his children go, a mother never lets her children go. And, you know, it’s…it’s…it’s a gift from God. Family is a gift from God. And that’s it. Thank you, Brian again and I’m taking the Old Testament man. King David rockn’.

How do I ride when I don’t have the fare
how do I eat when the cupboard is bare
how do I hold on if my faith just ain’t there
some people would say it’s the power of prayer
take your burdens to the Lord and just leave them there
I mean he really does care
your burdens you share
but ain’t Satan the ruler and power of the air
he got the whole world in his hands
he got the whole world in his hands
he got the whole world in his hands
but he gives us the power to make our own plans
and therein the crux of the whole matter stands
because the choices we make chances we take
laws that we break for our own selfish sake
it becomes hard to admit that you made a mistake
and then you ask yourself over and over again
didn’t I know that the Lord was truly my friend
that his kindness and his grace and his mercy don’t end
that all of my battles eventually I’d win
now here I am with this big stupid grin
on the floor on my knees in a jam once again
knowing my actions was nothing but sin
and Satan’s still telling me you’re going to win
he never stops tryin’ and lyin’ Amen
but what if I had stayed what if I had prayed what if I just trust and obeyed
but what if’s are fruitless because I can’t change the past
but one thing I pray God and humbly ask
help me a better person to be
a better son a better father a better servant for the
because one thing even my blindness I see
and that’s nothing that will ever change until I change me

blindtony1016@gmail.com. Once again Brian and the Hardin family thank you for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit to flow keep the flow and yell. All right. Bye-bye.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday June 3, 2020 (NIV)

2 Samuel 20:14-21:22

14 Sheba passed through all the tribes of Israel to Abel (Beth Maacah). All the Berites were gathered together and followed him to the city. 15 Joab’s army came and attacked him in Abel (Beth Maacah). They put up a dirt ramp against the city, and it stood level with the outer wall. All the troops with Joab were trying to destroy the wall and tear it down.

16 Then a clever woman called from the city, “Listen, listen! Tell Joab to come here so that I can talk to him.”

17 He came near, and she asked, “Are you Joab?”

“I am,” he answered.

“Listen to what I have to say,” she told him.

“I’m listening,” he answered.

18 So she said, “There’s an old saying: ‘Be sure to ask at Abel before doing anything. That’s the way they settle matters.’ 19 We are peaceful and faithful Israelites. Are you trying to destroy a mother city in Israel? Why should you swallow up what belongs to the Lord?”

20 Joab answered, “That’s unthinkable! I don’t wish to swallow it up or destroy it. 21 That isn’t the case. A man from the mountains of Ephraim by the name of Sheba, son of Bichri, has rebelled against King David. Give him to me, and I’ll withdraw from the city.”

“That’s fine,” the woman told Joab. “His head will be thrown to you from the wall.” 22 Then the woman went to all the people with her clever plan. They cut off Sheba’s head and threw it to Joab. He blew the ram’s horn, and everyone scattered and withdrew from the city and went home. Joab went back to the king in Jerusalem.

David’s Officials

23 Now, Joab was put in charge of Israel’s whole army. Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was in charge of the Cherethites and Pelethites. 24 Adoram was in charge of forced labor. Jehoshaphat, son of Ahilud, was the royal historian. 25 Sheva was the royal scribe. Zadok and Abiathar were priests. 26 And Ira, a descendant of Jair, was a priest to David.

David and the People of Gibeon

21 In the time of David, there was a famine for three successive years, and David asked the Lord’s advice about it. The Lord answered, “It’s because of Saul and his family. They are guilty of murder because they killed the people of Gibeon.”

(The Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were left over from the Amorites. Although the Israelites had sworn to spare them, Saul, in his eagerness, tried to destroy them for Israel and Judah.)

The king called the Gibeonites and asked them, “What can I do for you? What should I give you to make peace with you so that you will bless what belongs to the Lord?”

“We do not want silver or gold from Saul’s family,” the Gibeonites answered him. “And none of us wants to kill anyone in Israel.”

The king asked, “What are you saying that I should do for you?”

They answered the king, “Give us seven of the male descendants of the man who wanted to finish us off. He planned to wipe us out to keep us from staying anywhere in Israel’s territory. We will execute them in the Lord’s presence at Saul’s town Gibeah.” (It was Saul whom the Lord had chosen.)

“I will give them to you,” the king said.

But the king spared Mephibosheth, Jonathan’s son and Saul’s grandson, because of the oath in the Lord’s name between David and Jonathan, son of Saul. The king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons whom Rizpah (Aiah’s daughter) gave birth to for Saul, and five sons whom Merab[a] (Saul’s daughter) gave birth to for Adriel, son of Barzillai from Meholah. The king handed them over to the Gibeonites, who executed them on the mountain in the Lord’s presence. All seven died together. They were killed at the beginning of the harvest, when people started harvesting barley.

10 Rizpah (Aiah’s daughter) took sackcloth and stretched it out on the rock for herself from the beginning of the harvest until the sky rained on the dead bodies. She wouldn’t let any birds land on them during the day or any wild animals come near them during the night.

11 When David was told what Saul’s concubine[b] Rizpah (Aiah’s daughter) had done, 12 David went and took the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan from the citizens of Jabesh Gilead. They had stolen them from the public square of Beth Shean, where the Philistines had hung them the day they killed Saul at Gilboa. 13 When David brought up the bones of Saul and Jonathan, his men gathered the bones of those who had been executed. 14 Then they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin, in Zela, in the tomb of Saul’s father Kish. They did everything the king ordered. After that, God answered the prayers for the land.

The Giants of the Philistines Defeated(A)

15 Once again there was a battle between the Philistines and Israel. So David and his men went to fight the Philistines, but David became exhausted. 16 A descendant of Haraphah named Benob, who had a bronze spear weighing 7½ pounds which he wore on a new belt, captured David and intended to kill him. 17 But Abishai, son of Zeruiah, came to help David. He attacked the Philistine and killed him. Then David’s men swore an oath, saying, “You’ll never go into battle with us again. The lamp of Israel must never be extinguished.”

18 After this, there was another battle with the Philistines at Gob. Then Sibbecai from Hushah killed Saph, another descendant of Haraphah. 19 When more fighting broke out with the Philistines at Gob, Elhanan, son of Jaare Oregim from Bethlehem, killed Goliath of Gath. (The shaft of Goliath’s spear was like a beam used by weavers.) 20 In another battle at Gath, there was a tall man who had a total of 24 fingers and toes: six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. He also was a descendant of Haraphah. 21 When he challenged Israel, Jonathan, son of David’s brother Shimei, killed him. 22 These four were descendants of Haraphah from Gath, and David and his men killed them.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Samuel 21:8 1 Samuel 18:19, two Hebrew manuscripts, some Greek manuscripts, Syriac, Targum; other Hebrew and Greek manuscripts “Mical.”
  2. 2 Samuel 21:11 A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Acts 1

Introduction

In my first book, Theophilus, I wrote about what Jesus began to do and teach. This included everything from the beginning of his life until the day he was taken to heaven. Before he was taken to heaven, he gave instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles, whom he had chosen.

Jesus Ascends to Heaven

After his death Jesus showed the apostles a lot of convincing evidence that he was alive. For 40 days he appeared to them and talked with them about God’s kingdom.

Once, while he was meeting with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for what the Father had promised. Jesus said to them, “I’ve told you what the Father promises: John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

So when the apostles came together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you’re going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Jesus told them, “You don’t need to know about times or periods that the Father has determined by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

After he had said this, he was taken to heaven. A cloud hid him so that they could no longer see him.

10 They were staring into the sky as he departed. Suddenly, two men in white clothes stood near them. 11 They asked, “Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking at the sky? Jesus, who was taken from you to heaven, will come back in the same way that you saw him go to heaven.”

A New Apostle Takes Judas’ Place

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called the Mount of Olives. It is near Jerusalem, about half a mile away.

13 When they came into the city, Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon the Zealot, and Judas (son of James) went to the second-story room where they were staying.

14 The apostles had a single purpose as they devoted themselves to prayer. They were joined by some women, including Mary (the mother of Jesus), and they were joined by his brothers.

15 At a time when about 120 disciples had gathered together, Peter got up and spoke to them.

He said, 16 “Brothers, what the Holy Spirit predicted through David in Scripture about Judas had to come true. Judas led the men to arrest Jesus. 17 He had been one of us and had been given an active role in this ministry. 18 With the money he received from the wrong he had done, he bought a piece of land where he fell headfirst to his death. His body split open, and all his internal organs came out. 19 Everyone living in Jerusalem knows about this. They even call that piece of land Akeldama, which means ‘Field of Blood’ in their dialect. 20 You’ve read in Psalms, ‘Let his home be deserted, and let no one live there,’ and ‘Let someone else take his position.’”

“Therefore, someone must be added to our number to serve with us as a witness that Jesus came back to life. 21 He must be one of the men who accompanied Jesus with us the entire time that the Lord Jesus was among us. 22 This person must have been with us from the time that John was baptizing people to the day that Jesus was taken from us.”[a]

23 The disciples determined that two men were qualified. These men were Joseph (who was called Barsabbas and was also known as Justus) and Matthias. 24 Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s thoughts. Show us which of these two you have chosen. 25 Show us who is to take the place of Judas as an apostle, since Judas abandoned his position to go to the place where he belongs.”

26 They drew names to choose an apostle. Matthias was chosen and joined the eleven apostles.

Footnotes:

  1. Acts 1:22 Verses 21–22 have been rearranged to express the complex Greek sentence structure more clearly in English.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 121

I look up toward the mountains.
Where can I find help?
My help comes from the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let you fall.
Your guardian will not fall asleep.
Indeed, the Guardian of Israel never rests or sleeps.
The Lord is your guardian.
The Lord is the shade over your right hand.
The sun will not beat down on you during the day,
nor will the moon at night.
The Lord guards you from every evil.
He guards your life.
The Lord guards you as you come and go,
now and forever.

Psalm 122

A song by David for going up to worship.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 16:18

18 Pride precedes a disaster,
and an arrogant attitude precedes a fall.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

06/02/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Samuel 19:11-20:13, John 21:1-25, Psalms 120:1-7, Proverbs 16:16-17

Today is the second day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it’s great to be here with you today as we get ourselves moved in and settled into this brand-new 6th month of the year. And, so, as we’re getting settled into this new month let’s take the next step forward on our journey through the Scriptures this year. We’re reading from the God’s Word Translation this week and we are certainly continuing with the journey through the life of King David in second Samuel. But today is a day of importance, a day to recognize. Today we will complete the book of John, which means that we will conclude the Gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John today - which means we will be leaving the stories that center around Jesus ministry in his earthly life and moving toward what comes next, what came next. So, we’ll kind of be leaving a whole category in the Scriptures, the Gospels and moving forward, which also means that if you’ve been kind of checking off your days using the Daily Audio Bible app and you’ve kind of listened through from the beginning of the year and they’re all checked off, that when we check off today we will achieve the Gospels badge. But let’s…let’s talk about that later. Let’s get into the Scriptures and let’s pick up the story of David. Second Samuel chapter 19 verse 11 through 20 first 13.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we concluded the gospel of John today even as we watched kind of topsy-turvy way that the king was restored to the kingdom, King David in second Samuel. But we watched the very last conversation that is written down in the Gospels today and it is a picture of Jesus cooking breakfast for his friends who were on the Sea of Galilee fishing. It’s like the story is coming to a conclusion at the same place in the same kind of setting that it began. It was Jesus who was walking along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, right, saying, “come follow me” to these men who left everything and followed him. And now here they are back on the sea. Jesus is back in the Galilee making some breakfast telling them to cast their net on the other side. And they…they begin to become fully aware of who they’re interacting with because of that. And they catch all those fish. And you remember those fish, all those fish that they caught when Jesus told them to cast their nets on the other side the first time? They left those according to the Scriptures. They dragged them on shore, and they left them and followed Him. So, almost poetic, almost beautiful, that after the resurrection He comes back and gives them a big catch of fish that they can pull onto shore. And, of course, then at breakfast Jesus is talking to Peter and he asks him three different times if Peter loves Him, if Peter loves Jesus. And each time Peter’s like, “you know I love you.” So, there’s, you know, a theological understanding here or a parallel here as well. Peter denied Jesus three times. And, so, over the centuries many theologians have seen this parallel. Maybe Jesus is pressing into that, into those betrayals, going after his heart, healing him, restoring him and inviting him into his destiny to “feed my sheep.” And that scene there, it…I mean the whole thing is really, really beautiful, but that scene there is the one that usually gets the attention, Jesus pressing in on Peter, maybe restoring him from the denials back in Jerusalem. But what comes next is like one of the most compelling things in the whole Bible to me. Like, so I can’t go by it any time we pass this particular territory. I can’t go by it without mentioning it because it’s riveting to me. Like it…it’s personally challenging to me. It’s something that I ask myself throughout the rest of the year. Like, all of the time. So, basically Jesus is talking to Peter and telling him, you know, “when you were young you could go wherever you wanted to go but when you’re old, you’re gonna…you’re gonna go somewhere you don’t want to go. And the gospel then unpacks the fact that Jesus is telling Peter in advance that you will die a martyr’s death. Peter’s reaction to that news is to turn around and look at John, the beloved disciple, at least that’s the way it seems to be depicted here and then look back to Jesus and go, “what about him? Lord, what about him?” Jesus response to Peter is, “if I want him to live until I come again, how does that concern you? Follow me.” In other translations Jesus says something similar, “what is that to you?” Right? “How does that concern you?” So, let’s pause. How does that concern you? I ask myself that all year long. “What is that to you? How does that concern you?” And its good exercise to get into because, you know, the offenses that we take, the slights that we are given, the things that happen that set us off, “what is that to you? How does that concern you? You follow me.” Those are the last words of Jesus depicted in the Gospels, “follow me.” That’s the last thing that Jesus says that’s recorded in the Gospels. “How does that concern you? You follow me.” If we could…if we could take that little piece at the very, very last sentences of the gospel of John and remember that, remember that beautiful scene of Jesus cooking breakfast for his friends, of restoring them, of loving them and then speaking directly to the comparison game that we all play because that’s what’s happening here, Jesus is telling Peter about his…his life and Peter just wants to compare to…to the other disciple, “what about him?” Let’s remember Jesus words, “how does that concern you?” Does that concern you? Does that have anything to do with you? If it does what is it and why? “As for you, you follow me”

Prayer:

Jesus it is wonderful to reach this point in the year. It is wonderful to know that we’ve made progress and that we’ve progressed through the Gospels, but it’s also a little bit of bittersweet moment to get here because we’ve been walking with You since we began this journey. And it’s not as if we’re leaving it’s just that we’re moving into the things that began to occur after Your resurrection. And, so, we’re not walking through stories that tell of Your humanity and Your life, Your earthly life. We’re moving into the stories where Your Spirit flows upon the earth and begins to change things dramatically. So, that is exciting, but we mark it. We mark the moment here on this day that we conclude the Gospels. And, so, we thank You for all that You have spoken to us through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John as we’ve gotten to know Your personality, as we’ve gotten to know Your ways. And we can see them in human form in ways that we can fully comprehend, even though comprehending You is beyond our capacity, So, we thank You for all that You have shown us and we invite You into the days ahead. Come Holy Spirit. And that is exactly what we will be reading about in the days ahead. Come Holy Spirit and lead us into all truth we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask, Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find what’s going on around here. There’s always something or another going on around here, but today is a special day because we concluded the Gospels today. So, if you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app and you’re checking off the days that you listened to and you’ve listened to everyday up till now then you should get the pop-up that tells you you have completed the Gospels and have been awarded the Gospels badge for this year. You can always go look at these in the achievement section. So, you push that little Drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner of the app and look for achievements. And clicking into there shows you kind of the progress that you personally are making through the Scriptures this year and where you are in the different categories or sections of the Bible. Like for example, we’ve concluded the Pentateuch, so we’ve achieved that badge a while ago, but today we achieve the Gospels. And we just continue to go forward until we have achieved the entire Bible. So, that’s exciting. It was exciting to achieve my badge. It was particularly exciting because I’ve drew…like these badges, like this progress, this has been on drawing board and dreaming board for years. And, so, it’s just very, very complicated because everybody has a different journey. And, so, to have individual journeys like this…there’s a lot of computation going on. But, yeah, such a joy to reach the end of the Gospels and achieve the Gospels badge for this year. So, make sure you check into that. Check it out. If you don’t have the app yet make sure you download it and get involved.

And now we need to talk about something a little more serious. And this is such a strange year, isn’t it? Yeah, I’ve never seen a year like this one so far in my lifetime and I think that’s true. And we’ve had some really, really horrible things happen in the United States over the last week. And I find myself for the second time in only a couple months saying things about what’s going on because I’m really, really trying to maintain a space for us that God’s word speaks, we listen and then we go back into the world refreshed because there’s no shortage of places to find bad things to focus upon. But the…the unrest that has been happening throughout our cities, like you’re in those cities, we’re in those cities. It’s in my city. It’s in all of our cities. So, we’re all aware and it’s bothering us all on many many levels. I’m pretty sure it’s not a secret that I’m a white guy, but I’m a white guy that was never raised to consider skin color to be anything of importance in terms of…in terms of eternity, in terms of spirituality because we all need Jesus. And I’m not sure but I don’t think…I don’t think our spirits have color. And for me, it was a black man who took a 16-year-old kid who was bound and determined to find some way into the music business, it was a black man who took me under his wing and brought me into his studio and let me figure things out for free at nighttime. I was the white kid going into the black community to learn. I can remember…I mean this is the time when gangsta rap was like starting to happen. And, so, I can remember working in one studio trying to work on Christian music while gangsta raps happening in the other studio and guys would come and get me because I’m the only white person around to come listen to what they’re saying and offer opinions. So, I’ve been seeing all this stuff that’s going on like everybody else and I’m shaking my head like most everybody else going like, “I don’t think this is how it’s supposed to go. In fact, I know this is not how it’s supposed to go.” And I’ve been thinking about it a lot. We probably all have. It’s kind of wall-to-wall in the news. You can’t escape it. So, you think about it. And, so, I just wonder if I could just tell us a little story, a true one, that happened…that happened a long time ago.

Once upon a time there was an empire and its capital was Rome and it was known as the Roman Empire and the Roman Empire continued to expand until in the first century there was a province called Syria. And within that province there were many many cities and millions of people, but there was a city called Jerusalem. There was also a region known as the Galilee, and there were people there. They had previously been there for a long time. In fact, they even ruled the land for a time, but they were conquered and carried away. And, so, the land kind of changed hands over time. And when we get to the first century this is a part of the Roman Empire and these people who were kind of living in the land, it had previously been theirs, but that….and they believed it was their ancestral homeland and…but it was occupied by this empire. And the people of this empire, they were pagan, they believed very, very differently than the original people, the Hebrew people, the Jewish people. But Rome was in control and this was a part of the Empire. And, so, Roman people were all throughout the land and Roman soldiers were all throughout the land. In fact, they policed the land. And the Hebrew people felt oppressed by the Roman people. They felt marginalized by these people. There was brutality toward these Hebrew people. And these Hebrew people were afraid, and they were crying out to God, but some of them, they would…they would kind of ambush and cause harm and mayhem and burn things and they would attack things. And, so, that escalated things. And, so, there was this incredible amount of tension percolating just waiting to boil over. And into that environment, a little baby boy was born and His name was Jesus and He grew up around it all. And when He became a man, He began to teach and speak to His people who were oppressed and marginalized and pushed to the side and were unheard. They were at an economic disadvantage and they felt like they had no voice. And the forces set against them, if they stepped out of line was brutal. And, so, they were simmering in their culture. You might say that if they had the chance, they would have held up a sign that said, “Jewish lives matter”, but they had it bad. They weren’t even allowed to be citizens of Rome. They were truly a people occupied or truly a people living in and among another people with no real way forward. After this little kid Jesus grew up and did His ministry, He ended up being killed by these Romans on a cross. Of course, He was given up and betrayed by His own people. So, this little kid, Jesus who grew up and was killed, was executed unjustly. And these tensions, they kept happening until one day these people completely revolted and they took over for a while but then the Empire came and crushed them and destroyed Jerusalem altogether.

But this Jesus, He ministered to these people who were feeling the way that they were feeling. He knew how they were feeling because He was feeling it too. He was raised in it. It was His ethnicity. And He came to them and they came to Him and He had words for their situation. And He said, “blessed are those who are poor and realize their need for God, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. Blessed are those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for justice, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. Blessed are those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for doing what’s right, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs.” Certainly, I say the story as a way of bringing comfort even to my own self. But I say the story because the gospel is no less relevant right this minute.

Jesus told us to open our eyes and see. May we do that, my brothers and sisters, may we open our eyes and see. And rather than engaging in useless rhetoric and…and fighting on the Internet and binge watching the news, maybe we could open our eyes and see because we can add to the noise and there’s plenty of it, there’s no shortage or we could reveal this kingdom. Is this real or not? I mean, like are we here believing this is real or are we here because it’s just a calming place to go every day to have a few minutes to catch our breath so we can face the rest of the day? Like do we believe this? If we believe this, then we must open our eyes and see. What that means for you may be totally different than what that means for me and that is okay. We are part of the same body. And friends, we are the body of Christ. That means black people, white people, Asian people, Hispanic people, all people are in the body of Christ. Believers all over the world have all kinds of skin colors and somehow Jesus lets us all in as His body, right? Red and yellow, black and white, all are precious in His site. Jesus loves the little children of the world and the gospel is as relevant now as when it was forming under the ministry of Jesus Christ in the first century in Roman Syria. And they didn’t have eyes to see or ears to hear, but do we?

And, so, you know, the way things usually go around here is that I’m gonna tell you I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow. And that’s true. I love you. I don’t care what color you are. I care what color you are, as it relates to the story that you have but it doesn’t change anything for me. I don’t care if you’re green although that would be unusual. So, I am telling you I love you and I will be waiting for you here tomorrow. And this is the time that the voices come, and we hear each other’s voices and we pray for each. We’re not gonna do that today. I’m just gonna let the music play for the next few minutes. This is the time to be silent. This is the time to pray for the mercy of Christ. So, use this time however you want. Shut it off and move into your day or linger here for a moment and listen for the leading of the Holy Spirit. We just observed and celebrated Pentecost the day before yesterday. We are told in the Scriptures that the Holy Spirit is here, is here to be our comforter, the one who will lead us into all truth. We need that now more than ever and at least as bad as they needed it when it fell upon them in the upper room in Jerusalem on Pentecost. Use this time to invite the Holy Spirit to lead you forward in the way that you should go. And may the Lord bless you and keep you. Amen.

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

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday June 2, 2020 (NIV)

2 Samuel 19:11-20:13

11 What all Israel was saying reached the king at his house. So King David sent this message to the priests Zadok and Abiathar: “Ask the leaders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last tribe to bring the king back to his palace? 12 You are my relatives, my own flesh and blood. Why should you be the last to bring back the king?’ 13 And tell Amasa, ‘Aren’t you my flesh and blood? May God strike me dead unless you are given Joab’s place to serve me always as the commander of the army.’”

14 All the people of Judah were in total agreement. So they sent the king this message: “Come back with all your servants.”

15 The king came back to the Jordan River, and the people of Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and bring him across the Jordan River. 16 Shimei, Gera’s son from the tribe of Benjamin and the town of Bahurim, hurried down with the people of Judah to meet King David. 17 One thousand people from Benjamin were with him. And Ziba, the servant of Saul’s family, rushed to the Jordan River across from the king. Ziba brought his 15 sons and 20 servants. 18 They crossed the river to bring over the king’s family and to do anything else the king wanted.

Shimei, Gera’s son, bowed down in front of the king as he was going to cross the Jordan River. 19 He pleaded with the king, “Don’t remember the crime I committed the day you left Jerusalem. Don’t hold it against me or even think about it, Your Majesty. 20 I know I’ve sinned. Today I’ve come as the first of all the house of Joseph to meet you.”

21 But Abishai, Zeruiah’s son, replied, “Shouldn’t Shimei be put to death for cursing the Lord’s anointed king?”

22 David responded, “Are you sure we’re from the same family, sons of Zeruiah? You are my enemies today. Should anyone in Israel be killed today? Don’t I know that I’m king of Israel again?”

23 The king promised Shimei, “You won’t die,” and the king swore to it.

24 Mephibosheth, Saul’s grandson, went to meet the king. He had not tended to his feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day the king left until he came home safely. 25 When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked him, “Why didn’t you go with me, Mephibosheth?”

26 He answered, “My servant deceived me, Your Majesty. Since I am disabled, I said, ‘Saddle the donkey for me, and I’ll ride on it and go with the king.’ 27 He told you lies about me, Your Majesty. However, you are like God’s Messenger. Do what you think is right. 28 You could have killed anyone in my entire family, Your Majesty. Instead, you’ve seated me with those who eat at your table. So I no longer have the right to complain to the king.”

29 The king asked him, “Why do you keep talking about it? I’ve said that you and Ziba should divide the land.”

30 “Let him take it all,” Mephibosheth told the king. “It’s enough for me that you’ve come home safely.”

31 Barzillai, the man from Gilead, came from Rogelim with the king to the Jordan River to send him on his way. 32 Barzillai was an elderly man, 80 years old. Because he was a very rich man, he had provided the king with food while he was staying at Mahanaim.

33 The king told Barzillai, “Cross the river with me. I’ll provide for you in Jerusalem.”

34 Barzillai replied, “I don’t have much longer to live. I shouldn’t go with Your Majesty to Jerusalem. 35 I’m 80 years old now. How can I tell what is pleasant and what is not? Can I taste what I eat or drink? Can I still hear the singing of men and women? Why should I now become a burden to you, Your Majesty? 36 I’ll just cross the Jordan River with you. Why should you give me such a reward? 37 Please let me go back so that I can die in my city near the grave of my father and mother. But here is Chimham. Let him go across with you. And do for him what you think is right.”

38 “Chimham will go across with me,” the king said. “I will do for him whatever you want. Anything you wish I’ll do for you.”

39 All the troops crossed the Jordan River, and then the king crossed. The king kissed Barzillai and blessed him. Then Barzillai went back home.

40 The king crossed the river to Gilgal, and Chimham went with him. All the troops from Judah and half of the troops from Israel brought the king across.

41 Then all the people of Israel kept coming to the king. They asked, “Why did our cousins, the people of Judah, kidnap you and bring Your Majesty and your family and men across the Jordan River?”

42 All the people of Judah answered the people of Israel, “Because the king is our relative. Why are you angry about this? Did we eat the king’s food, or did he give us any gifts?”[a]

43 The people of Israel answered the people of Judah, “We have ten times your interest in the king and a greater claim on David than you have. Why, then, do you despise us? Weren’t we the first to suggest bringing back our king?”

But the people of Judah spoke even more harshly than the people of Israel.

Sheba’s Rebellion

20 A good-for-nothing man by the name of Sheba, Bichri’s son, from the tribe of Benjamin happened to be at Gilgal. He blew a ram’s horn to announce,

“We have no share in David’s kingdom.
We won’t receive an inheritance from Jesse’s son.
Everyone to his own tent, Israel!”

So all the people of Israel left David to follow Sheba, Bichri’s son. But the people of Judah remained loyal to their king on his way from the Jordan River to Jerusalem.

When David came to his palace in Jerusalem, he took the ten concubines[b] he had left to look after the palace and put them in a house under guard. He provided for them but no longer slept with them. So they lived like widows in confinement until they died.

The king told Amasa, “Call the people of Judah together for me, and in three days be here yourself.” Amasa went to call Judah together, but he took longer to do it than David had given him.

David then told Abishai, “Sheba, son of Bichri, will do us more harm than Absalom. Take my men and go after him, or he will find some fortified cities and take the best ones for himself.”[c]

So Joab’s men, the Cherethites, Pelethites, and all the soldiers went with Abishai. They left Jerusalem to pursue Sheba, Bichri’s son. When they were at the large rock in Gibeon, Amasa met them there. Joab wore a military uniform, and strapped over it at his hip was a sword in a scabbard. As he stepped forward, the sword dropped into his hand. “How are you, my brother?” Joab asked Amasa. He took hold of Amasa’s beard with his right hand to kiss him. 10 Amasa wasn’t on his guard against the sword in Joab’s left hand. Joab stabbed him in the stomach, and his intestines poured out on the ground. (He died without being stabbed again.) Then Joab and his brother Abishai pursued Sheba, son of Bichri. 11 One of Joab’s young men stood beside Amasa[d] and said, “Anyone who favors Joab and is on David’s side should follow Joab.” 12 Amasa was wallowing in his blood in the middle of the road. When the man saw that all the troops stopped as they came to the body, he carried Amasa from the road to the field and threw a sheet over him. 13 As soon as he was moved from the road, everyone followed Joab and pursued Sheba, Bichri’s son.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Samuel 19:42 Greek; Hebrew meaning uncertain.
  2. 2 Samuel 20:3 Hebrew “concubines/wives”; a concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.
  3. 2 Samuel 20:6 Hebrew meaning of this phrase uncertain.
  4. 2 Samuel 20:11 Greek, Latin; Masoretic Text “him.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

John 21

Jesus Appears to His Disciples Again

21 Later, by the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus showed himself again to the disciples. This is what happened. Simon Peter, Thomas (called Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two other disciples of Jesus were together. Simon Peter said to the others, “I’m going fishing.”

They told him, “We’re going with you.”

They went out in a boat but didn’t catch a thing that night. As the sun was rising, Jesus stood on the shore. The disciples didn’t realize that it was Jesus.

Jesus asked them, “Friends, haven’t you caught any fish?”

They answered him, “No, we haven’t.”

He told them, “Throw the net out on the right side of the boat, and you’ll catch some.” So they threw the net out and were unable to pull it in because so many fish were in it.

The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It’s the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put back on the clothes that he had taken off and jumped into the sea. The other disciples came with the boat and dragged the net full of fish. They weren’t far from the shore, only about 100 yards.

When they went ashore, they saw a fire with a fish lying on the coals, and they saw a loaf of bread.

10 Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you’ve just caught.” 11 Simon Peter got into the boat and pulled the net ashore. Though the net was filled with 153 large fish, it was not torn.

12 Jesus told them, “Come, have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared to ask him who he was. They knew he was the Lord. 13 Jesus took the bread, gave it to them, and did the same with the fish.

14 This was the third time that Jesus showed himself to the disciples after he had come back to life.

Jesus Speaks with Peter

15 After they had eaten breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than the other disciples do?”

Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus told him, “Feed my lambs.”

16 Jesus asked him again, a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”

Jesus told him, “Take care of my sheep.”

17 Jesus asked him a third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?”

Peter felt sad because Jesus had asked him a third time, “Do you love me?” So Peter said to him, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus told him, “Feed my sheep. 18 I can guarantee this truth: When you were young, you would get ready to go where you wanted. But when you’re old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will get you ready to take you where you don’t want to go.” 19 Jesus said this to show by what kind of death Peter would bring glory to God. After saying this, Jesus told Peter, “Follow me!”

20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved. That disciple was following them. He was the one who leaned against Jesus’ chest at the supper and asked, “Lord, who is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he asked Jesus, “Lord, what about him?”

22 Jesus said to Peter, “If I want him to live until I come again, how does that concern you? Follow me!” 23 So a rumor that that disciple wouldn’t die spread among Jesus’ followers. But Jesus didn’t say that he wouldn’t die. What Jesus said was, “If I want him to live until I come again, how does that concern you?”

24 This disciple was an eyewitness of these things and wrote them down. We know that what he says is true.

25 Jesus also did many other things. If every one of them were written down, I suppose the world wouldn’t have enough room for the books that would be written.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 120

When I was in trouble, I cried out to the Lord,
and he answered me.
O Lord, rescue me from lying lips
and from a deceitful tongue.

You deceitful tongue, what can the Lord give you?
What more can he do for you?
He will give you a warrior’s sharpened arrows and red-hot coals.

How horrible it is to live as a foreigner in Meshech
or to stay in the tents of Kedar.
I have lived too long with those who hate peace.
I am for peace, but when I talk about it,
they only talk about war.

Psalm 121

A song for going up to worship.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 16:16-17

16 How much better it is to gain wisdom than gold,
and the gaining of understanding should be chosen over silver.
17 The highway of decent people turns away from evil.
Whoever watches his way preserves his own life.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

06/01/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Samuel 18:1-19:10, John 20:1-31, Psalms 119:153-176, Proverbs 16:14-15

Today is the 1st day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is great to be here with you today. So, yesterday we turned the knob and stepped into a shiny, sparkly new week and now we’re turning the knob and walking into a shiny, sparkly new month that is out in front of us waiting to be lived into, this 6th month of the year. So, by the time we finish this month we will have experienced quite a bit a transition we won’t be reading in the Gospels anymore. That’s just…that’s just briefly in front of us. So, we will be moving into new territory in the Bible, but we will also be reaching the center point of the year as…as we end this month. So, wow! And if I’m counting right this is the 153rd day of the year if we’re counting for leap year this year. So, we’ve been at this a while day by day step-by-step, allowing God’s word to continue to do what God’s word does. Sort of just touches the places in our lives that need to be touched. It just continues to pull us forward. And, so, let’s allow that flow. Let’s be pulled forward by picking up where we left off yesterday. King David is on the run from his son Absalom who’s trying to take over the kingdom and…and…and in the process trying to do away with his father. So, some family drama to say the least is going on. Today second Samuel chapters 18 verse 1 through 19 verse 10. We’re reading from the God’s word translation this week.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we've…we’ve kind of come to the end of this story where Absalom the son of King David is trying to take over the kingdom of his father because Absalom is dead. And, so…so, he won’t be trying to take over the kingdom of his father anymore. And it’s really interesting what we observe today. David has run from his own son, fled Jerusalem, the capital city, like fled from his son. His son has disgraced his father in a number of ways publicly and had the intention and sought the advice on how to kill his father. David, of course, does indeed know this story. It was his story when King Saul was pursuing him. So, he is stealthy, he does know what he’s doing even though he’s got a much larger and different kind of entourage and he’s older. So, it works out that there’s gonna be a battle and David tells his commanders to go kindly toward Absalom. In other words, try to spare Absalom. In the end though Absalom is killed in battle. And David comes apart at that point. Like he goes into complete grief. He just begins to disintegrate, which certainly causes dissonance, right? Because the armies of…who were loyal to the King, who have basically rescued and saved the king’s life and his kingdom now feel bad for what they’ve done because the king is so distraught. And, so, they don’t know how to feel, which is when Joab steps in is like basically, “if you do not go out to your men who have saved you they won’t be here tomorrow you won’t have anybody left.” So, what kind of things happen in a person’s life that can bring them to this kind of behavior? Like why is David so completely undone? Obviously, he’s lost a child. He’s lost his son. So, that is completely understandable, but like what is fueling this? Probably regret. Some of you…some of you kind of like know…you’ve been through this to some sort of degree. Others of you may not, but you can go through your life estranged from someone. I have seen this so many times in my life. An offense can happen in your life that estranges you. And it can be a serious offense that should estrange you, but it then goes on and on. Maybe it’s between a…a child and a parent, or between siblings or between best of friends. Something happens, something happens that probably shouldn’t have happened. It causes a rift, the rift grows into estrangement, separation. And then that can go on for decades until somebody dies. And then all the sudden the time lost, like it…it liquefies basically, and the loss becomes overwhelming because the realization that like, that…that the story is written and there’s no modifications that can be done anymore. That reality creates its own kind of dissonance inside of us where we’re realizing and maybe even wishing that we had…that…that we had walked the path differently because we lost something and we didn’t realize how much it meant until it was gone. And, so, that’s the kind of reaction that we sort of see in David’s behavior. And it would make sense why because he had this son Absalom, a beautiful boy, beautiful young man, a very respectable, very good-looking person. But David kind of undermined himself in his own family by taking another man’s wife and…and having that man killed. And then one of David’s other sons rapes his daughter Tamar and David basically doesn’t really step into that much. And, so, Absalom kills Amnon who raped his sister and he has to go on the run for his life. And he’s estranged with…from his father for years in Geshur. And then when he’s brought back to Jerusalem, he’s not allowed to see his father’s face for a couple of years while living in Jerusalem. So, now Absalom’s dead and David’s realizing that, you know, he had a role to play in the animosity that happened between son and father. And maybe one of the things we can consider in the scene that has played out before us is whether or not it’s worth it. I mean we can be right. We can be right for decades. We can be convinced. We can be cemented in for decades that we’re right but when that person that we have some kind of connection to that we’re holding an offense against for so…for a long period of time when they are not in the picture anymore, that disappears. It…it was vapor in the first place. Maybe it’s better to say what you need to say now. Maybe it’s better to do what you need to do now before the story comes to a conclusion.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into our regrets. We don’t like to often think about them. They usually have a lot of pain associated with them. And once You’ve kind of wrestled with regret, you come to a realization that You can’t win really. And, so, you’re gonna wrestle and wrestle and wrestle or you’re gonna decide to just move on because there’s no other way. And maybe we’ve never really invited You into those things. And maybe we have a regrets in the making in our lives right now, things that are gonna really really hurt later because we so desperately needed to be right right now. And, so, we’re inviting You into this because we see a glimpse of it, we see a picture of it, we see hints of it coming out of the pages that we’re reading today. So, we invite You into these areas. Some of the stories can’t be rewritten. They can’t be modified. They are what they are, and we invite You into that and we release it to You and offer it to You and invite You to lead us on the path that is forward. In other cases, maybe things have just been festering and they’ve blown up and time has gone by and we’ve just let it go by. And not all these things are entangled with other people. Some of these things are just based on the decisions that we’ve made, some of the choices that we wish we hadn’t made because we made them completely without You and now, we have the scars. We invite You into the places of regret Father and we open ourselves fully to You and we invite You fully into these experiences and we take comfort in knowing that we’re not carrying this alone. You are with us and You will never leave us. Come Holy Spirit into all of these matters that we’re talking about today. Permeate these things. Be in and among us as we consider. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, which makes it home base for community like ours. It’s virtual and all over the world. Of course, home base can also be found in the Daily Audio Bible. Most of the stuff that’s on the website’s in the app as well. So, stay connected.

Stay connected in the Community section. That gives you all the different links to different social media channels to interact on. That’s where the Prayer Wall lives, which is…man it is there all the time. When we’re at the lowest of lows and we’re reaching up or when we’re at the highest of highs and we’re reaching out it is there for us. And, so, make use of that.

Check out the resources that are in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. They are there and have been created for this journey, the journey that we’re on through a year. So, check that out.

And if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, I cannot thank you enough. Thank you for your partnership. We would be here no other way. So, there’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. 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, just press the Hotline button in the app, 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.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi this is Rachel from Pennsylvania. Would you join me in prayer? Dear Lord, we lift up the family struggling with the pregnancy. Lord You know what’s going on with the baby in the womb and where and how this baby will be best taken care of and what this couple can handle with You to lean on. So, I pray Lord that You ease their pain and that You bless them with the desires of their hearts. I also want to lift up Laura…Laura Lee from Boynton Beach. Please bless her and bless her business and her family and her friends. I thank You for her encouragement. I also…I also want to pray for Rosie and her children and grandchildren as she lifts up our children and grandchildren regularly. I just pray that You bless her and I thank You for her and her prayers and how thoughtful they are and how well put together they are and I just thank You for how she relates them to You and the word of God and it’s just such a blessing. And also, I wanted to say to Valerie, welcome. We’re so happy that you are with us and I pray that you will become best friends with God. Welcome to the family.

Hello DAB my name is Perry Sky I’ve been listening to the broadcast for more than 12 years, but I’ve never called in. I want to wish everyone a happy Pentecost weekend. I’m praying for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon us this weekend. I’m praying for the salvation of my husband’s soul and the restoration of my family. My family is very broken and has been for some time. My husband had…has issues that have caused alienation in my family and my children have abandoned us. My family is gone. I have no close friends and I have no support system and I’m disabled, and life has become hopeless, but I know that God is the restorer of families and He can restore mine too. So, I need prayer over restoration and hope and inspiration. Thank you for listening.

Hey DAB family this is Abby. I am just calling in tonight because I have just been following the news about the murder of George Floyd and I don’t know what to say. I…I…I don’t know if what I’m gonna say is the right thing to say. I just do know that as a white woman, I can’t keep quiet about this and I cannot just not say anything. I just want to say to all of my black brothers and sisters who are listening right now that I am so sorry that you have to endure the pain and the trauma and everything that you have to endure being a citizen in the United States and even across the world. I’m so ashamed. I’m so ashamed that, you know, if I’ve been part of the problem, I’m so ashamed of what people who look like me have done to you. I just wanted to put that out there and say that because I just…I don’t know what words to say but I’m just so sorry and I love you and I recognize my privilege and I’m doing everything I can to educate myself and to learn to do better and I promise you that I will raise kids who will do better and I just want you to know that I love you and I’m sorry.

Hello, I would like to pray for the lady that called in on April 8th who suffers satanic abuse. Father God please heal my sister in Christ. Minister to her heart in a deep and personal way so that through the word of God she may learn how to be truly intimate so that she may experience healthy relationships. Bring Christian warriors in her life who understand what she’s going through and can walk through the spiritual battlefield alongside her. Break any strongholds. I also pray that this satanic abuse is brought into the light. So many people don’t acknowledge that it exists or turn a blind eye to it and I just pray that we all just wake up and see that this does go on. It went on before and it goes on still now. If we say nothing, do nothing we’re complicit. So, I just pray that we have open…we have eyes to see and ears to hear not only the good that’s going on but also, I just pray that we’re equipped to handle satanic attacks and help our fellow brothers and sisters. Amen.

Good morning family this is Soaring on Eagles Wings from Canada and I’m calling in to lift up a few people to you. Terry from Australia was so transparent about his addiction with pornography. He doesn’t want to be in that space anymore and he’s tried all that he can try with no success. So, Father God I’m asking You now to take over and intervene in his life and remove this…this bondage that’s upon him Lord God. Help him to be the overcomer that You have created him to be. Let truth be poured into his life Father God and send him all the tools that he needs spiritually and in every other way to deliver him from this. Terry we are standing with You and we’re supporting You as You continue to fight the good fight. Shannon from Texas. You had a job offer, You moved, now Your job has been rescinded. What is she to do Father, God? She needs direction and she needs help. So, I’m asking You to guide her steps and show her the path that she should go. May she walk in Your footsteps Lord as You lead her to the right job in the right direction and I thank You. And I continue to lift up my friend Susan whose son has stage IV cancer. And now somebody else in her life as cancer. It’s been such a difficult time for her lately. So, precious Jesus, shine Your light into her life. Lift her up. Plant her feet on solid ground. When she gets anxious or fearful, remind her Lord God of what You have done and what You will continue to be. Surround her and her son in her family in the name of Jesus I pray…

06/01/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Samuel 18:1-19:10, John 20:1-31, Psalms 119:153-176, Proverbs 16:14-15

Today is the 1st day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is great to be here with you today. So, yesterday we turned the knob and stepped into a shiny, sparkly new week and now we’re turning the knob and walking into a shiny, sparkly new month that is out in front of us waiting to be lived into, this 6th month of the year. So, by the time we finish this month we will have experienced quite a bit a transition we won’t be reading in the Gospels anymore. That’s just…that’s just briefly in front of us. So, we will be moving into new territory in the Bible, but we will also be reaching the center point of the year as…as we end this month. So, wow! And if I’m counting right this is the 153rd day of the year if we’re counting for leap year this year. So, we’ve been at this a while day by day step-by-step, allowing God’s word to continue to do what God’s word does. Sort of just touches the places in our lives that need to be touched. It just continues to pull us forward. And, so, let’s allow that flow. Let’s be pulled forward by picking up where we left off yesterday. King David is on the run from his son Absalom who’s trying to take over the kingdom and…and…and in the process trying to do away with his father. So, some family drama to say the least is going on. Today second Samuel chapters 18 verse 1 through 19 verse 10. We’re reading from the God’s word translation this week.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we've…we’ve kind of come to the end of this story where Absalom the son of King David is trying to take over the kingdom of his father because Absalom is dead. And, so…so, he won’t be trying to take over the kingdom of his father anymore. And it’s really interesting what we observe today. David has run from his own son, fled Jerusalem, the capital city, like fled from his son. His son has disgraced his father in a number of ways publicly and had the intention and sought the advice on how to kill his father. David, of course, does indeed know this story. It was his story when King Saul was pursuing him. So, he is stealthy, he does know what he’s doing even though he’s got a much larger and different kind of entourage and he’s older. So, it works out that there’s gonna be a battle and David tells his commanders to go kindly toward Absalom. In other words, try to spare Absalom. In the end though Absalom is killed in battle. And David comes apart at that point. Like he goes into complete grief. He just begins to disintegrate, which certainly causes dissonance, right? Because the armies of…who were loyal to the King, who have basically rescued and saved the king’s life and his kingdom now feel bad for what they’ve done because the king is so distraught. And, so, they don’t know how to feel, which is when Joab steps in is like basically, “if you do not go out to your men who have saved you they won’t be here tomorrow you won’t have anybody left.” So, what kind of things happen in a person’s life that can bring them to this kind of behavior? Like why is David so completely undone? Obviously, he’s lost a child. He’s lost his son. So, that is completely understandable, but like what is fueling this? Probably regret. Some of you…some of you kind of like know…you’ve been through this to some sort of degree. Others of you may not, but you can go through your life estranged from someone. I have seen this so many times in my life. An offense can happen in your life that estranges you. And it can be a serious offense that should estrange you, but it then goes on and on. Maybe it’s between a…a child and a parent, or between siblings or between best of friends. Something happens, something happens that probably shouldn’t have happened. It causes a rift, the rift grows into estrangement, separation. And then that can go on for decades until somebody dies. And then all the sudden the time lost, like it…it liquefies basically, and the loss becomes overwhelming because the realization that like, that…that the story is written and there’s no modifications that can be done anymore. That reality creates its own kind of dissonance inside of us where we’re realizing and maybe even wishing that we had…that…that we had walked the path differently because we lost something and we didn’t realize how much it meant until it was gone. And, so, that’s the kind of reaction that we sort of see in David’s behavior. And it would make sense why because he had this son Absalom, a beautiful boy, beautiful young man, a very respectable, very good-looking person. But David kind of undermined himself in his own family by taking another man’s wife and…and having that man killed. And then one of David’s other sons rapes his daughter Tamar and David basically doesn’t really step into that much. And, so, Absalom kills Amnon who raped his sister and he has to go on the run for his life. And he’s estranged with…from his father for years in Geshur. And then when he’s brought back to Jerusalem, he’s not allowed to see his father’s face for a couple of years while living in Jerusalem. So, now Absalom’s dead and David’s realizing that, you know, he had a role to play in the animosity that happened between son and father. And maybe one of the things we can consider in the scene that has played out before us is whether or not it’s worth it. I mean we can be right. We can be right for decades. We can be convinced. We can be cemented in for decades that we’re right but when that person that we have some kind of connection to that we’re holding an offense against for so…for a long period of time when they are not in the picture anymore, that disappears. It…it was vapor in the first place. Maybe it’s better to say what you need to say now. Maybe it’s better to do what you need to do now before the story comes to a conclusion.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into our regrets. We don’t like to often think about them. They usually have a lot of pain associated with them. And once You’ve kind of wrestled with regret, you come to a realization that You can’t win really. And, so, you’re gonna wrestle and wrestle and wrestle or you’re gonna decide to just move on because there’s no other way. And maybe we’ve never really invited You into those things. And maybe we have a regrets in the making in our lives right now, things that are gonna really really hurt later because we so desperately needed to be right right now. And, so, we’re inviting You into this because we see a glimpse of it, we see a picture of it, we see hints of it coming out of the pages that we’re reading today. So, we invite You into these areas. Some of the stories can’t be rewritten. They can’t be modified. They are what they are, and we invite You into that and we release it to You and offer it to You and invite You to lead us on the path that is forward. In other cases, maybe things have just been festering and they’ve blown up and time has gone by and we’ve just let it go by. And not all these things are entangled with other people. Some of these things are just based on the decisions that we’ve made, some of the choices that we wish we hadn’t made because we made them completely without You and now, we have the scars. We invite You into the places of regret Father and we open ourselves fully to You and we invite You fully into these experiences and we take comfort in knowing that we’re not carrying this alone. You are with us and You will never leave us. Come Holy Spirit into all of these matters that we’re talking about today. Permeate these things. Be in and among us as we consider. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, which makes it home base for community like ours. It’s virtual and all over the world. Of course, home base can also be found in the Daily Audio Bible. Most of the stuff that’s on the website’s in the app as well. So, stay connected.

Stay connected in the Community section. That gives you all the different links to different social media channels to interact on. That’s where the Prayer Wall lives, which is…man it is there all the time. When we’re at the lowest of lows and we’re reaching up or when we’re at the highest of highs and we’re reaching out it is there for us. And, so, make use of that.

Check out the resources that are in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. They are there and have been created for this journey, the journey that we’re on through a year. So, check that out.

And if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, I cannot thank you enough. Thank you for your partnership. We would be here no other way. So, there’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. 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, just press the Hotline button in the app, 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.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi this is Rachel from Pennsylvania. Would you join me in prayer? Dear Lord, we lift up the family struggling with the pregnancy. Lord You know what’s going on with the baby in the womb and where and how this baby will be best taken care of and what this couple can handle with You to lean on. So, I pray Lord that You ease their pain and that You bless them with the desires of their hearts. I also want to lift up Laura…Laura Lee from Boynton Beach. Please bless her and bless her business and her family and her friends. I thank You for her encouragement. I also…I also want to pray for Rosie and her children and grandchildren as she lifts up our children and grandchildren regularly. I just pray that You bless her and I thank You for her and her prayers and how thoughtful they are and how well put together they are and I just thank You for how she relates them to You and the word of God and it’s just such a blessing. And also, I wanted to say to Valerie, welcome. We’re so happy that you are with us and I pray that you will become best friends with God. Welcome to the family.

Hello DAB my name is Perry Sky I’ve been listening to the broadcast for more than 12 years, but I’ve never called in. I want to wish everyone a happy Pentecost weekend. I’m praying for the power of the Holy Spirit to come upon us this weekend. I’m praying for the salvation of my husband’s soul and the restoration of my family. My family is very broken and has been for some time. My husband had…has issues that have caused alienation in my family and my children have abandoned us. My family is gone. I have no close friends and I have no support system and I’m disabled, and life has become hopeless, but I know that God is the restorer of families and He can restore mine too. So, I need prayer over restoration and hope and inspiration. Thank you for listening.

Hey DAB family this is Abby. I am just calling in tonight because I have just been following the news about the murder of George Floyd and I don’t know what to say. I…I…I don’t know if what I’m gonna say is the right thing to say. I just do know that as a white woman, I can’t keep quiet about this and I cannot just not say anything. I just want to say to all of my black brothers and sisters who are listening right now that I am so sorry that you have to endure the pain and the trauma and everything that you have to endure being a citizen in the United States and even across the world. I’m so ashamed. I’m so ashamed that, you know, if I’ve been part of the problem, I’m so ashamed of what people who look like me have done to you. I just wanted to put that out there and say that because I just…I don’t know what words to say but I’m just so sorry and I love you and I recognize my privilege and I’m doing everything I can to educate myself and to learn to do better and I promise you that I will raise kids who will do better and I just want you to know that I love you and I’m sorry.

Hello, I would like to pray for the lady that called in on April 8th who suffers satanic abuse. Father God please heal my sister in Christ. Minister to her heart in a deep and personal way so that through the word of God she may learn how to be truly intimate so that she may experience healthy relationships. Bring Christian warriors in her life who understand what she’s going through and can walk through the spiritual battlefield alongside her. Break any strongholds. I also pray that this satanic abuse is brought into the light. So many people don’t acknowledge that it exists or turn a blind eye to it and I just pray that we all just wake up and see that this does go on. It went on before and it goes on still now. If we say nothing, do nothing we’re complicit. So, I just pray that we have open…we have eyes to see and ears to hear not only the good that’s going on but also, I just pray that we’re equipped to handle satanic attacks and help our fellow brothers and sisters. Amen.

Good morning family this is Soaring on Eagles Wings from Canada and I’m calling in to lift up a few people to you. Terry from Australia was so transparent about his addiction with pornography. He doesn’t want to be in that space anymore and he’s tried all that he can try with no success. So, Father God I’m asking You now to take over and intervene in his life and remove this…this bondage that’s upon him Lord God. Help him to be the overcomer that You have created him to be. Let truth be poured into his life Father God and send him all the tools that he needs spiritually and in every other way to deliver him from this. Terry we are standing with You and we’re supporting You as You continue to fight the good fight. Shannon from Texas. You had a job offer, You moved, now Your job has been rescinded. What is she to do Father, God? She needs direction and she needs help. So, I’m asking You to guide her steps and show her the path that she should go. May she walk in Your footsteps Lord as You lead her to the right job in the right direction and I thank You. And I continue to lift up my friend Susan whose son has stage IV cancer. And now somebody else in her life as cancer. It’s been such a difficult time for her lately. So, precious Jesus, shine Your light into her life. Lift her up. Plant her feet on solid ground. When she gets anxious or fearful, remind her Lord God of what You have done and what You will continue to be. Surround her and her son in her family in the name of Jesus I pray…

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday June 1, 2020 (NIV)

2 Samuel 18:1-19:10

David Defeats Absalom

18 David called together the troops that were with him. He appointed commanders in charge of regiments and battalions. David put a third of the troops under Joab’s command, another third under Joab’s brother Abishai (Zeruiah’s son), and the last third under Ittai from Gath.

“I am going into battle with you,” the king said to the troops.

“You’re not going with us,” the troops said. “If we flee, they won’t care about us, and if half of us die, they won’t care either. But you’re worth 10,000 of us. It’s better for you to be ready to send us help from the city.”

“I’ll do what you think best,” the king responded. So the king stood by the gate while all the troops marched out by battalions and regiments.

The king ordered Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” All the troops heard him give all the commanders this order regarding Absalom.

So the troops went out to the country to fight Israel in the forest of Ephraim. There David’s men defeated Israel’s army, and the massacre was sizable that day—20,000 men. The fighting spread over the whole country. That day the woods devoured more people than the battle.

Absalom happened to come face to face with some of David’s men. He was riding on a mule, and the mule went under the tangled branches of a large tree. Absalom’s head became caught in the tree. So he was left hanging[a] in midair when the mule that was under him ran away. 10 A man who saw this told Joab, “I saw Absalom hanging in a tree.”

11 “What! You saw that!” Joab said to the man who told him. “Why didn’t you strike him to the ground? Then I would have felt obligated to give you four ounces of silver and a belt.”

12 But the man told Joab, “Even if I felt the weight of 25 pounds of silver in my hand, I wouldn’t raise my hand against the king’s son. We heard the order the king gave you, Abishai, and Ittai: ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’ [b] 13 If I had done something treacherous to him, would you have stood by me? Like everything else, it wouldn’t stay hidden from the king.”

14 Then Joab said, “I shouldn’t waste time with you like this.” He took three sharp sticks and plunged them into Absalom’s heart while he was still alive in the tree. 15 Then ten of Joab’s armorbearers surrounded Absalom, attacked him, and killed him.

16 Joab blew the ram’s horn to stop their fighting, and the troops returned from pursuing Israel. 17 They took Absalom, threw him into a huge pit in the forest, and piled a large heap of stones over him. Meanwhile, all Israel fled and went back to their homes.

18 (While he was still living, Absalom had taken a rock and set it up for himself in the king’s valley. He said, “I have no son to keep the memory of my name alive.” He called the rock by his name, and it is still called Absalom’s Monument today.)

19 Then Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, said, “Let me run and bring the king the good news that the Lord has freed him from his enemies.”

20 But Joab told him, “You won’t be the man carrying good news today. You can carry the news some other day. You must not deliver the news today because the king’s son is dead.” 21 Then Joab said to a man from Sudan, “Go, tell the king what you saw.” The messenger bowed down with his face touching the ground in front of Joab and then ran off.

22 Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son, spoke to Joab again, “Whatever may happen, I also want to run after the Sudanese messenger.”

“Now, son, why should you deliver the message?” Joab asked. “You won’t be rewarded for this news.”

23 “Whatever happens, I’d like to run,” replied Ahimaaz.

“Run,” Joab told him. So Ahimaaz ran along the valley road and got ahead of the Sudanese messenger.

24 David was sitting between the two gates while the watchman walked along the roof of the gate by the wall. As he looked, he saw a man running alone. 25 The watchman called and alerted the king.

“If he’s alone,” the king said, “he has good news to tell.” The runner continued to come closer.

26 When the watchman saw another man running, the watchman called, “There’s another man running alone.”

The king said, “This one is also bringing good news.”

27 The watchman said, “It seems to me that the first one runs like Ahimaaz, Zadok’s son.”

“He’s a good man,” the king said. “He must be coming with good news.”

28 Then Ahimaaz came up to the king, greeted him, and bowed down in front of him. Ahimaaz said, “May the Lord your God be praised. He has handed over the men who rebelled against Your Majesty.”

29 “Is the young man Absalom alright?” the king asked.

Ahimaaz answered, “I saw a lot of confusion when Joab sent me away, but I didn’t know what it meant.”

30 “Step aside, and stand here,” the king said. He stepped aside and stood there.

31 Then the Sudanese messenger came. “Good news for Your Majesty!” he said. “Today the Lord has freed you from all who turned against you.”

32 “Is the young man Absalom alright?” the king asked.

The Sudanese messenger answered, “May your enemies and all who turned against you be like that young man!”[c]

33 The king was shaken by the news. He went to the room above the gate and cried. “My son Absalom!” he said as he went. “My son, my son Absalom! I wish I had died in your place! Absalom, my son, my son!”

David Restored to the Throne

19 [d]Joab was told, “The king is crying and mourning for Absalom.” The victory of that day was turned into mourning because all the troops heard that the king was grieving for his son. That day the troops sneaked into the city as if they had fled from battle and were ashamed of it. The king covered his face and cried loudly, “My son Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!”

Then Joab came into the house. “Today you have made all your men feel ashamed,” he said. “They saved your life and the lives of your sons, daughters, wives, and concubines[e] today. You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. Today, you have made it clear that your commanders and servants mean nothing to you. I think you would be pleased if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead. Now, get up, go out, and encourage your men. I swear to you by the Lord that if you don’t go out, no one will stay with you tonight, and that will be worse than all the trouble you’ve had in your entire life.”

The king sat in the gateway. When all the troops were told, “The king is sitting in the gateway,” they came to the king.

Meanwhile, Israel had fled and went back to their own homes. All the people in all the tribes of Israel were arguing with one another, saying, “The king rescued us from our enemies and saved us from the Philistines, but now he has fled from Absalom and left the country. 10 However, Absalom, whom we anointed to rule us, has died in battle. Why is no one talking about bringing back the king?”

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Samuel 18:9 Dead Sea Scrolls, Greek, Latin, Syriac; Masoretic Text “he was put.”
  2. 2 Samuel 18:13 Two Hebrew manuscripts, Greek, Syriac, Targum, Latin; meaning of other Hebrew manuscripts uncertain.
  3. 2 Samuel 18:32 2 Samuel 18:33 in English Bibles is 2 Samuel 19:1 in the Hebrew Bible.
  4. 2 Samuel 19:1 2 Samuel 19:1–43 in English Bibles is 2 Samuel 19:2–44 in the Hebrew Bible.
  5. 2 Samuel 19:5 A concubine is considered a wife except she has fewer rights under the law.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

John 20

Jesus Comes Back to Life(A)

20 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary from Magdala went to the tomb. She saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb’s entrance. So she ran to Simon Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved. She told them, “They have removed the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they’ve put him.”

So Peter and the other disciple headed for the tomb. The two were running side by side, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and came to the tomb first. He bent over and looked inside the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there but didn’t go inside.

Simon Peter arrived after him and went into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there. He also saw the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head. It wasn’t lying with the strips of linen but was rolled up separately. Then the other disciple, who arrived at the tomb first, went inside. He saw and believed. They didn’t know yet what Scripture meant when it said that Jesus had to come back to life. 10 So the disciples went back home.

Jesus Appears to Mary from Magdala

11 Mary, however, stood there and cried as she looked at the tomb. As she cried, she bent over and looked inside. 12 She saw two angels in white clothes. They were sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying. One angel was where Jesus’ head had been, and the other was where his feet had been. 13 The angels asked her why she was crying.

Mary told them, “They have removed my Lord, and I don’t know where they’ve put him.”

14 After she said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there. However, she didn’t know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus asked her, “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?”

Mary thought it was the gardener speaking to her. So she said to him, “Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I’ll remove him.”

16 Jesus said to her, “Mary!”

Mary turned around and said to him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (This word means “teacher.”)

17 Jesus told her, “Don’t hold on to me. I have not yet gone to the Father. But go to my brothers and sisters and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

18 Mary from Magdala went to the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord.” She also told them what he had said to her.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples(B)

19 That Sunday evening, the disciples were together behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jews. Jesus stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you!” 20 When he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were glad to see the Lord.

21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 After he had said this, he breathed on the disciples and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 Whenever you forgive sins, they are forgiven. Whenever you don’t forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

24 Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, who was called Didymus, wasn’t with them when Jesus came. 25 The other disciples told him, “We’ve seen the Lord.”

Thomas told them, “I refuse to believe this unless I see the nail marks in his hands, put my fingers into them, and put my hand into his side.”

26 A week later Jesus’ disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Even though the doors were locked, Jesus stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Take your hand, and put it into my side. Stop doubting, and believe.”

28 Thomas responded to Jesus, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Jesus said to Thomas, “You believe because you’ve seen me. Blessed are those who haven’t seen me but believe.”

30 Jesus performed many other miracles that his disciples saw. Those miracles are not written in this book. 31 But these miracles have been written so that you will believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and so that you will have life by believing in him.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Psalm 119:153-176

153 Look at my misery, and rescue me,
because I have never forgotten your teachings.
154 Plead my case for me, and save me.
Give me a new life as you promised.
155 Wicked people are far from being saved,
because they have not searched for your laws.
156 Your acts of compassion are many in number, O Lord.
Give me a new life guided by your regulations.
157 I have many persecutors and opponents,
yet I have not turned away from your written instructions.
158 I have seen traitors,
and I am filled with disgust.
They have not accepted your promise.
159 See how I have loved your guiding principles!
O Lord, in keeping with your mercy, give me a new life.
160 There is nothing but truth in your word,
and all of your righteous regulations endure forever.

161 Influential people have persecuted me for no reason,
but it is only your words that fill my heart with terror.
162 I find joy in your promise
like someone who finds a priceless treasure.
163 I hate lying; I am disgusted with it.
I love your teachings.
164 Seven times a day I praise you
for your righteous regulations.
165 There is lasting peace for those who love your teachings.
Nothing can make those people stumble.
166 I have waited with hope for you to save me, O Lord.
I have carried out your commandments.
167 I have obeyed your written instructions.
I have loved them very much.
168 I have followed your guiding principles and your written instructions,
because my whole life is in front of you.

169 Let my cry for help come into your presence, O Lord.
Help me understand as you promised.
170 Let my plea for mercy come into your presence.
Rescue me as you promised.
171 Let my lips pour out praise
because you teach me your laws.
172 Let my tongue sing about your promise
because all your commandments are fair.
173 Let your hand help me
because I have chosen to follow your guiding principles.
174 I have longed for you to save me, O Lord,
and your teachings make me happy.
175 Let my soul have new life so that it can praise you.
Let your regulations help me.
176 I have wandered away like a lost lamb.
Search for me,
because I have never forgotten your commandments.

Psalm 120

A song for going up to worship.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.

Proverbs 16:14-15

14 A king’s anger announces death,
but a wise man makes peace with him.
15 When the king is cheerful, there is life,
and his favor is like a cloud bringing spring rain.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God's Word Mission Society.