Jeremiah 22:1-23:20, 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12, Psalms 83:1-18, Proverbs 25:11-14
Today is the 13th day of October, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you for another day has we step into the Scriptures and out of whatever else is going on and just, come into the oasis that we create for ourselves that we call the Global Campfire. We just, yeah, come in and let God speak and it’s amazing what He does in transforming the way we’re looking at the day and the circumstances that are facing us and re-orients us to His…His guidance and His love and compassion and leadership in our lives. So, let’s dive in. We’re reading from the New International Version this week. Jeremiah chapter 22 verse 1 through 23 verse 20.
Introduction to second Thessalonians:
Okay. So, yesterday we concluded First Thessalonians, Paul’s letter…first letter to the church in Thessalonica, also strongly believed by scholars to be the earliest Christian document in existence and the earliest of Paul’s letters. But now we’ve turned the page and here we are at the threshold of another letter and this one is also to the church in Thessalonica called Second Thessalonians. And we can remember from the letter but also from talking about First Thessalonians that this is a church that was formed quickly and was continually pressed in upon by persecution and marginalization. And really the church was never like, was never not shoved to the side, was never not persecuted. So, these people are like early believers in Jesus young in their faith facing persecution, which brings up eventually a lot of questions like, does this ever get easier? Like, what’s going on here? You said that Jesus was coming back. What do we do? And, so, Paul writes this second letter to the church in Thessalonica. And this is one of the letters that would be considered more…more disputed as far as did Paul write this or did someone write this in Paul’s name. There’s some theological nuances that are more developed. There’s just little things that get looked. But we could say many scholars also would say, no, Paul wrote this. Even the earliest church fathers quoted from second Thessalonians. So, likely if this is written by Paul it…it came…it came pretty quickly after the first letter. He is clarifying things that he wrote about before and broadening them and he’s like correcting specific assumptions. Basically you have to know…I mean we’ve talked about this before, but these early letters that are being passed around at the churches are coming from the perspective that Jesus return, like this is an eminent, very, very, like immediate…there’s no time to do anything else but focus upon this, that Jesus is coming back. That’s the kind of context that they’re in. So, in Thessalonica because the people are being marginalized and persecuted there are some that are like, “well, I’m quitin’ my job. Like…like Jesus is already on the white horse. He just hasn’t got to earth yet. Like this is happening now and things are just heating up all around us. So, this is an imminent thing. We don’t have time to think about getting married and stuff. So, I don’t really have time to think about working either because it’s only like…it’s only bringing me persecution and…and hardship and trouble. So, I’m not gonna…I’m not gonna work. I’m just goona wait for Jesus.” And we’ve seen…I mean…that’s…this isn’t the only time this has ever happened. This kind of stuff has actually happened in our own lifetimes where people believe the return of Christ is imminent. It's…you know…everything has lined up and here we go. And, so, people quit their jobs, take extravagant vacations, sell their houses, do all kinds of stuff, wait for the day and then the day…the day comes and…and then they gotta figure it out and start over again. Paul’s kind of addressing this because as people were waiting, they were just idle, and idleness usually doesn’t lead to positivity. Like it usually leads to like meddling and getting in other people’s business and having opinions that you don’t have any right to have and having running commentary on topics that have nothing to do with you. And, so, this is kinda getting in. And, so, Paul ends up telling the church family there that, “you know, if you’re not gonna work then just, you know, you’re not gonna just leech off everybody else who does. Like, you gotta…you gotta work if you…if you want to eat.” And there are other things that Paul wants to address. And it’s not just like a corrective letter, like, “let me set the record straight on some of these things.” These people, this church happened so quickly and under such pressure, that they hold a special place in Paul’s heart. And you can imagine that people who are waiting for Jesus and being faithful and loyal to the cause of Christ and to the message of the gospel but who are just getting pummeled by society, they need a voice of encouragement like continually because they’re…they’re under fire continually. And Paul’s tells them, “I see you”, basically, “your endurance, you’re not doing this is under a cover. Like, I see you. This isn’t being overlooked. Everybody sees this. Everybody sees what you’re doing, that you’re being faithful. And as you are faithful and endure, you’re being made worthy of the kingdom of God. And in the end, although you are experiencing injustice in the end, justice will prevail. And, so, we begin. Second Thessalonians chapter 1.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for another day. This is a continual prayer. We’re always grateful for another day but we are grateful for the way that Your word comes into our lives and it becomes a part of the fabric of the days that we live and Your Holy Spirit brings to mind things when we need them. Sometimes we don’t heed those things and then we have Your word to kind of show us where those pathways lead. And it’s not surprising. Yet, we have Your comfort that You always come for us wherever we are, that wisdom is always there leading us the way back. We are so grateful and as we continue to move forward through the letters of Paul, we ask Your Holy Spirit to ignite in us the joy of our salvation and the understanding of endurance. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus our Savior. Amen.
Announcements:
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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:
Hello DAB family this is Carma in Fort Wayne Indiana. On October 6th Joyful Jay in the Everglades called and talked about how hard it is to pick up the heavy hairy phone. I knew the Holy Spirit was indeed talking to me as God has been prompting me to call for quite some time. And yet the enemy has been feeding me lies that my problems are not that big of a deal. Besides I’m blessed with some great friends who faithfully pray for me. So, Satan led me to believe that I don’t need others to pray too. But I am part of this DAB family and have listened every single day since September 2017 after a tragedy in my life. And when one part of the body hurts, we all hurt. So, today I’m asking you to pray for my family and me. For 19 months we have been living in crisis mode. My sister’s family was completely torn apart by infidelity, lies, greed, drugs, and the list goes on. She had a beautiful family by all outward appearances, but it was completely destroyed. Now her four children live in four different places and my mom and I are blessed to have the youngest was 13 years old living with us. I’ve always longed to be a mom myself but it’s quite a challenge to suddenly become the parent of a teenager who has been through so much trauma. I need your prayers family. I feel like I take one step forward and two steps back and it is just so emotionally exhausting. In addition, I recently resigned my job which had become a poor fit for my skills. So, I’m job searching too which is also emotionally taxing. I want my life to exude joy in the midst of so much hard, but I need the Holy Spirit and the faithful prayers of others to do it. Thanks for praying. It is a joy to be on this journey together.
Hello, my name is Lydia and I like listening to the Daily Audio Bible Kid’s radio. I’m from Georgia and I would ask that…ask you would pray for me for my cold and for my daddy since he’s going to Louisiana to help build the hurricane and for mama and I in that we would be comforted. Thank you.
Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is Jane Ruth from Nebraska. And, you know, I came face-to-face with reality today. I realized that the reason why I have been unwilling to talk and ask for prayer is because I am so proud. I don’t want to admit that I am 62 ½ years old and I’ve never been married, and I don’t have any children, and I want a partner. I want to be married. And the reason I don’t want to admit this, is because all of my history is based on that. Why are you not married? And why don’t you have children? And if I tell why it brings the whole story of where I’ve been and what’s happened and if I stay in the problem, I can’t live this way. If I live in the solution, I can’t live alone because I cannot support my story without a firm foundation in Christ. So, I need help.
Hello, my dear Daily Audio Bible family this is Maria the Missionary in Mexico. I want to give a shout out specifically to Cheryl from Ontario Canada. Thank you so much, what a blessing and an encouragement. I called in with an update about my coworker Barb and you said you were praying for her and for us as well. Well that just couldn’t come at a more timely moment. We are thriving in Jesus. We love Mexico, we love our ministry here. So much to love but I’d be dishonest to say that it’s just been a breeze and that lately we haven’t been having a bit of stress. Of course, Covid has added to it because my husband’s not only a missionary pilot down here, he’s also part of the contingency team which as you can imagine with Covid has a lot more to do. So, he’s very busy in that ministry. And then just because of random and unforeseen circumstances none of our other coworker pilots in all of the country are here at the moment or can fly. They have their medical things going on or medical that their spouse has, and they have to leave or paperwork stuff. So, it’s just kind of interesting and obviously my husband has had tons to do. Also, when he was on a trip, a commercial flight, he picked up what looks to be Covid now because the people that caught it from him on that trip, they tested positive Covid. He thankfully is getting over that fine. Our kids all started getting sick and they seem to be fine. I can feel some stuff in my lungs happening. So, I really appreciate your prayers. Barb our coworker, her tumor in behind her ear, in her air canal is too large for the Gamma knife so we’re just praying that God directs her to the right surgeon. Anyway, thank you all. I love you and I will update you as I know more. God bless.
Hey, my wonderful DAB fam this is Kingdom Seeker Daniel and fam I want to pray for just a couple DABbers. So, would you please be so kind to join me. Let’s look to the Lord. Father, we thank You and we praise You for who You are. You are the God of another chance. And Lord You…You designed marriage. And, so, God we pray that You would be the restorer of Dimitri from Oregon’s marriage Lord as his wife has filed for divorce. But he does not want to divorce. And, so, the court the court date is set for November 4th. God, we ask that You would manifest Your will in this situation. Satan comes to kill, steal, and destroy but God, Jesus came that we might have life. And I pray that Dimitri and his wife would experience that life being given back to this marriage in the name of Jesus. Will You cause life to be revived through this marriage? Touch that wife’s heart and mind. You know where she is and what’s standing in the way. I plead Your precious blood over…over Dimitri and I pray God that You would turn this marriage around to the glory of Your great name. In Jesus’ name. And then remember Candace from Oregon’s sons, specifically Micah who’s going through a difficult time. Lord I pray that You would save all of the…the boys God but specifically do a work and Micha’s heart. I pray that You would comfort Candace’s heart and let her know that You are at work concerning her sons in the name of Jesus. We thank You and we praise You for the restoration, for the healing, for the deliverance and the breakthrough coming to Candace’s home and boys in Jesus’ name.
Hi there DAB family this is Sean Sean of the mountains calling in from Fayetteville Arkansas and I’m calling in response to Sonia from Austin Texas who called or I at least heard her on October 9th and she was talking about her father who had committed suicide and I just want to pray for her and for others who may have been dealing with the suicide of a family member. My brother, my only sibling took his life four years ago and it was just really a shock and really devastating and I mean I and my family members have walked through that in these past four years and we’re coming to some good places and the Lord has met us very sweetly. So, I’d like to pray. Dear Jesus we are so grateful and thank You that You have walked through suffering, that You are acquainted with deepest grief, that You…You put our tears in a bottle and You bring new life to us, You bring what’s needed. I pray for those who are walking through this, who may be walking through this thing recently. Lord would You just meet them in their deepest need. Help them to grieve well and to be able to remember their loved ones in good ways and not just the suicide. And we put all these things in Your hands in Jesus’ name. Amen.