Ecclesiastes 4:1-6:12, 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:7, Psalms 47:1-9, Proverbs 22:16
Today is the 3rd day of September welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is…it is a joy to be here with you today as we exhale, as I say often. Let it all go, it’ll all be waiting but we need a change of atmosphere. And, so, we come around the Global Campfire and we let God’s word wash over us, wash into us and then we go back with a new perspective into what we were doing into the world and what a joy it is that we can do this together. So, let’s take that next step. We began the book of Ecclesiastes yesterday and we’re gonna continue that journey today. We’re reading from the New International Version this week. Ecclesiastes 4, 5, and 6 today.
Commentary:
Alright. So, in second Corinthians today Paul is essentially talking about or unpacking the fact that there are…there are things that will never be in harmony with each other. He says, “what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? What fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?” Belial is this word that simply means, like worthlessness or maybe meaningless. “What harmony is there between Christ and that which has no value? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?” We could push back on that and say, “well a believer and an unbeliever, their human beings. There’s a lot in common.” But in Paul’s view, those who believe are new creatures, new creations, which for Paul isn’t like a reset, like a restart of humanity. It’s a different kind of species, like a new humanity upon the earth, one that has been restored and made righteous before God, a different kind of thing of which Jesus was the firstborn which we’ve already talked about. Paul’s talking about all this in the context of not being yoked together with unbelievers. And if you have the choice you shouldn’t. I mean my two cents on that, which is probably worth about two cents is that life is a winding road and marriage is difficult enough as it is. With no faith to fall back on…O…that’s very difficult. But what Paul is saying is also beyond just whether or not you should marry an unbeliever. This goes to Paul’s philosophy in general. We are new creatures upon this earth part of God’s divine family knit together as a body, the body of Christ. And basically trying to live with one foot in the world as a person who has already died to it while keeping one foot in this new creation that we are living into is essentially the same as God inviting His chosen people to separate themselves so that they become…can become a nation of priests to the rest of the world. And we read that story already and we saw what that mixture did. It all fell apart. So, why do we often find ourselves in a position where we did…where basically we’re wondering, “how dark…how much of the…like how much into the shade can I go, like before the actual darkness…like how far into the darkness can I go, while remaining in the light?” When Paul deals with these kinds of issues he’s basically saying, “why would you do that? Why would you do that?” And it’s fair. Like why would we do that? Why do we do that? Why do I do that? Like, why are we doing this?” Because like borrowing from Solomon, it’s meaningless. It’s chasing the wind. And, so, Paul gives words of encouragement. And I quote Paul. “Therefore, since we have these promises dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. And, so, we find that the Scriptures have led us to consider like what is the defiling us. What are we allowing to contaminate the new creature that we have been made? What are we allowing to tell us who we are? Because if it’s not our faith in God then we are chasing the wind. And, once again we find Paul saying it’s a bigger story, like “look higher. Live into this. Be righteous because you can now. You can be holy, be set apart, because you can be in union with God because you can, He’s your father, you are adopted into His family. Don’t waste this gift, don’t waste your life. And the pollution that you once lived in, you don’t have to do that
Prayer:
Father, once again we find ourselves challenged, we find the Bible being a mirror and forcing us to look at ourselves and we thank You for that. It shakes us. It disrupts us. It’s necessary. It’s You, Fathering us. It’s You, loving us and saying there’s more. And, so, we reach for You and invite Your Holy Spirit to show us the ways that we’re trying to mix things up in unhealthy ways with…with things that can never be in harmony with one another. We need You. We need You alone. We need Your Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth. And we trust in that promise that You will. Come Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus, we ask. 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:
I’m basking in the spirit and I’m still lying in my bed
the sun has not yet risen and I’m very glad that I’m not dead
it’s quiet and it’s dark and it seems the world is still asleep
but I feel you all around me God inside too real deep
it feels just like I’m glowing and I know that can’t be true
pre-dawn is my favorite time to come in prayer to you
there are no real distractions no voices cars or lights
no human interference no arguments or fights
only me reflecting thoughts that spring from deep within
thoughts now filled with gratitude that used to be about sin
I come to you for power I come to you for grace
I come to you my father because there really is no other place
I lift you up for what you’ve done because you’ve done so much for me
I praise you God for who you are and how you set me free
it seems like I can’t get enough of praising you each day
the closer that I get to you the more I love to pray
thank you God for lifting me, for loving me, for setting free
I thank you God my eyes can see a concept like eternity
the suns now up and I’m still in prayer
I still can feel you everywhere
inside outside all around even deep below the ground
because you Are truly awesome
blindtony1016@gmail.com. I’d like to give a shout out to God’s Smiles and Peter and Gentle Ben and Rebecca from Michigan. Know you are all loved and prayed for daily. And once again, Brian and the Hardin family, thank you for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit flow. Keep it flowing y’all. All right, bye-bye.
Hello this is Duncan the Piano Man from Fredericksburg Texas this on Sunday morning August 30th. Lincoln my prayers are for you. Let me pray right now. You’re the uppermost in my mind. A number of you have had deaths in your family this week from the terrible virus that we’re all dealing with. But for people to stay together for marriages to stay together I am burdened especially today. My wife and I went through 43 years of marriage and we had a lot of stormy times. God brought us through though and it will be a year in October that she’ll have been with the Lord in eternity. So, let me pray now Father before this thing runs out. I just pray for Lincoln and his wife. Father I am just praying that You would soften her heart. Lincoln wants so much for this marriage to stay together. And Father they’re still Young at and I don’t know if they have any children, but I bring him to You Lord Jesus. Also, Father that that marriage would be mended, and that marriage would be strengthened, and they would just stay together till death do them part. And Father that they would grow together in You. Quicken that spirit Lord. Father pray for also that lady in New York who is behind financially and a lot of things and deals with mental issues and also has no work. And Lord there’s probably a lot of other things. Be merciful to them Jesus. Thank You for hearing our prayer. Father I…we love You and we leave love each other in You. Thank You, Lord. Amen.
Good morning family. Hey, I had a revelation this morning. I every morning do the Daily Prayer which you can access on the app under the navigation bar under helpful links. And I’ve been doing it…well…for almost 2 years now every morning faithfully and I can’t tell you what a difference it’s made in my life. I really recommend it. What I thought this morning and I believe the Holy Spirit gave me was this is a prayer that is so socked full of what we need to know about our relationship with God that every morning you’re reviewing it and it gives God the opportunity to speak into your heart. So, that’s what the spiritual disciplines do. They in themselves do not make you holy or righteous or anything, they just give God the opportunity to pour like a faucet into your soul. And, so, one that I really appreciate too is solitude because it allows me to just sit and muse with God all day. Anyway, I better take off now. I just wanted to share that with you. Please during this really heartbreaking time in our country it’s…it’s so important to get everything straight, get your plumb line straight with God and have a clear conscience. It’s worth everything. Okay kids. Bye.
Hi this is Kristi from Kentucky this is about the eighth time I’ve tried to record this. It’s kind of difficult. I’ve been listening for 12 years and the first time I’ve ever called in for prayer. I put this on a Prayer Wall about a year ago but I’m still…I’m still patiently or impatiently waiting sometimes. I was involved in a Christian community in Ohio where I have two children that are still there. I was involved with them for many years. I lived there for a couple years but when I moved in, I saw that they were becoming increasingly more controlling over people’s time, their money, their interactions outside of the community and who they could speak to and who they couldn’t. And I saw red flags. Anybody that leaves is deemed either a sinner in love with the world or mentally ill. And, so, out of all of the years that they’ve been in existence only like five or six people that have left are actually in any kind of relationship with the church and most people in community aren’t even allowed to talk to them, which has happened to the two of my children and me. Since I left it has been, it’s been really ugly. It took me a year of some intense biblical counseling to really recover emotionally, spiritually. But my children are still there, and they refuse to have any relationship with me or to pursue restoration of any kind. I haven’t spoken to my daughter since December…it’ll be two years in December. I’d ask you to join me in prayer for all truth to be revealed whether it’s myself or them, all the darkness be revealed, and light come into that darkness. People are set free in Jesus’ name.
Hi, my names Sam from Texas and just calling in because…express my gratitude for this community, for this…Brian and everybody that listens in. About a year ago I found this just wanting to, you know, have the word of God, you know, to hear it in my life every day and now it’s…it’s…it’s a staple of my day. You know, I start my day before I put anything else into this mind, I put this podcast in this word of God. Prayer requests. Could you all please lift up my church community in Allen Texas? We…we’re going through a…a lawsuit. And not to get into any details but just lift up my pastor, his name is Dustin and the leadership. You know, sometimes you gotta rip off the Band-Aid to heal and I know the situations gonna be handled by God and He’s gonna get the glory. Another prayer request I have is for a new believer, her name is Taylor. She’s an alcoholic. She’s just got 60 days sober yesterday by the grace of God and I…I praise him for that. You know she came to the Lord about 3, 4 weeks ago, you know, and the Lord’s really been knocking on her on her door and seeking her her whole life. And I was in a previous relationship with her but I had to make a decision to end it so that she could focus on herself and I could also focus on myself because me and God get some business to do and I’m grateful for that. You know, just lift up Taylor and her recovery that she has a spiritual experience with the Almighty God and Jesus could continue to enter her heart, softens her heart and her mind to Him. Thank you, guys. Have a blessed day.
This is my second time prayer requesting. My names Ryan Kelleher I live in Santa Barbara California and my heart’s heavy and I’ve had a long journey of…I want to say mental illness but I’m not even sure. I just thought I’d reach out and receive some…some prayer. Thanks guys.