2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34, Romans 9:25-10:13, Psalm 20:1-9, Proverbs 20:2-3
Today is the 26th day of July, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I’m Brian. July, July, I guess that’s how we say it here in the South. It’s the 26th day of July and it’s great to be here with you today as we move into this new week, get settled in and make the right choices with the right posture of heart and actually have a wonderful week. If we do that we’ll be oriented to God and so one of the ways that we do that every day is to come to the Scriptures. And so, let’s dive in, we’re reading from the New English Translation this week, continuing…continuing our journey through 2 Chronicles today, chapters 17 and 18.
Commentary:
Okay, let’s take a few seconds here to explore what Paul is saying in this letter to the Romans in our reading from today. And let’s begin with…with this and I quote Paul “the Gentiles who did not pursue righteousness, obtained it, that is a righteousness that is by faith, but Israel even though pursuing a law of righteousness did not attain it. Why not? Because they pursued it, not by faith but as if it were possible by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.” In so many ways those couple of sentences really do explain the rift or the rub, like why Paul gets controversial because what Paul is saying here is a reinterpretation of their understanding of the law and that is a big deal for people practicing Judaism and understanding that…they…the goal, their goal is to obey the law and if they obey the law that that will be credited to them as righteousness before God. In other words, their…their humble obedience to God’s law is their service to God and it is how they…how they achieve some form of righteousness. Paul’s argument is that that’s not really the purpose of the law, which is why this then gets controversial and why people want to kill Paul. Paul is ultimately saying is the law is perfect and if somebody could obey that law perfectly, then it is a…it is a path to perfection. However, it can’t be done, which actually is the underlying point, it can’t be done. So, everything that you do to obey the law, is an act of righteousness and is a good thing. But if you’re trying to achieve righteousness before God, because you obey this, you invariably will fail because you will not be able to be perfect. You will not be able to adhere to it perfectly always, so that on your own, you can claim that you are righteous. Paul’s argument is that it is good, but that it also is there to reveal that we cannot achieve it on our own, that we cannot become righteous on our own before God. That is something that is bestowed not earned. That is a gift given, not something that you are earning or getting paid for and that gift is freely offered to anyone who believes through faith which is interesting because we’re sort of preprogram that we gotta go through all the hard stuff we gotta do all of these things to achieve something or another. When this is gift, a very, very different thing. A gift of unmerited favor, a gift that we don’t deserve, a gift that the law shows us we can never earn, but it’s given to us. This is controversial for the Jewish people hearing Paul. And…and I quote Paul “brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation. For I can testify that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth for ignoring the righteousness that comes from God and seeking instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s righteousness, for Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes.” Right, and so that’s exactly what we’re just talking about. Paul is saying that they are seeking by adherence to the law to establish their own righteousness. In other words, they’re building up their alone right standing with God through their adherence to this law, Paul is saying that’s not the point. The point is that yes, with all of your heart you should try to obey this law while understanding that you can’t do it perfectly. You will not achieve righteousness and that’s the point. You try to do the right thing. You will realize that in your own strength you are incapable of perfection, you throw up your hands in surrender and say I can’t do it, which is the point or as Paul says Christ is the end of the law, with the result that there is righteousness for everyone who believes. And then Paul unpacks that, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart, one believes and thus has righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation. For the Scripture says, and I continue to quote Paul “for the Scripture says, everyone who believes in Him will not be put to shame. For there is no distinction between the Jew and the Greek”, right, so the Jew and the Gentile, “for the same Lord is Lord of all, who richly blesses all who call on Him, for everyone calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” So, the bottom line here in the Christian faith is that we need to be righteous before God, but we cannot attain righteousness before God no matter what we do, can do all the right things but eventually we’re going to do something wrong, we cannot achieve perfection and righteousness before God on our own and we don’t have to. It is a gift and when we realize this, the utter relief of it all. Like, we’re not walking around wondering when we’re going to get smashed some way. We’re not having to live our lives as if God is in some distant region of the universe so appalled by our very breathing. That’s not how He looks at us. He looks at us as righteous. He looks at us like we were intended to be, He looks at us and sees this process of restoration because God is a Redeemer. He redeems what He touches. And when we believe He touches us, it is available. So, we can try our best to be our best and that is a good thing. But if we’re trying to achieve perfection before God, so that He will either do nice things for us, or not be mad at us, we’re after…we’re doing something that’s not going to provide those results. We already have them. It’s already been given to us; He already sees us that way. He would like it if we would live as if we saw ourselves that way because if we did, then we would be the light of the world and we would be able to show through our very lives, an example that there is another way to be in this world; a way to be true. A way to not be false. This is the invitation of the gospel and so we’ve got it very, very clear in Romans today.
If you’ve been tagging along here at the Daily Audio Bible every day since the beginning of the year because you can’t get on board, church culture, but you really do desire to know what’s in the Bible; be confused about the subculture and all the things that are going on the different rifts and battles that just got waged on social media and this kind of stuff. And you’re here just to find out what the Bible actually says, then you’ve come to this moment. Maybe this is your time. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe that, believe it in your heart believe that God raised him from the dead, and that is what He’s going to do for each of us, then you will be saved.
Prayer:
And so, Father, we thank You for that. That is the reality we are supposed to be living into. That is the thing that is supposed to be our normal. You aren’t angry and vengeful toward us, that you are a loving Father toward us, one that we can come to boldly and intimately that we have an intimate relationship like a father and a child would. And we’ve been told all kinds of things about what You will and won’t do and who You will and won’t do it with and how You will get Your will done. We acknowledge here in this moment that Your will is that we would believe You and that we would enter into an intimate and personal relationship with You where everything that we know about You, isn’t something that’s being passed around from somebody else. It’s what we know of You because we know You. And so, come Holy Spirit into this journey we pray. And we thank You for those who are beginning this journey in this moment. Come Holy Spirit we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. Totally forgot yesterday, I totally forgot: Happy birthday Ezekiel. Ezekiel, Daily Audio Bible kids Ezekiel, our son. I don’t know how I spaced out, he turned nine yesterday as we began this week. Of course, we didn’t forget to talk about it over on Daily Audio Bible kids, but happy birthday Ezekiel, your ninth birthday. And yeah, first time through the New Testament all the way through in your eighth and ninth year and I’m so proud of that little man. So happy birthday Ezekiel. Let’s see what else, well dailyaudiobible.com is where you find out what’s going on around so definitely check that out, especially the Community section and this can be accessed from within the Daily Audio Bible app as well using the drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner. But the Community section, that’s where all the links are to get connected on social media which is a good idea, even if you’re just following Daily Audio Bible, that way, announcements, stuff like that come your way, but it’s also a place to get connected. But even more, that’s where the Prayer Wall lives and the Prayer Wall is always on and never off. You can always go there and pray for your brothers and sisters and let them know, let them know that they’re being prayed for, but you can also have a place you can go to matter what time of day or night it is and just ask for prayer. And so, we’re a Community that prays for each other. It’s one of our finest distinctives. So, knowing about the Prayer Wall is important, so check that out.
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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.
Prayers and Encouragements:
Hello fellow DABers, my name is Liz and I live in Stockport in England near Manchester. I was listening this morning and I heard Traded Possession talking about being autistic and being very anxious about the changes that are about to happen in her life with her husband getting a new job and moving away or going out of the household and disrupting her routine. I have a daughter who’s autistic and was only diagnosed when she was 34. She has had loads of problems and I know that it’s always worse for her when there are changes in her life. But I also know that through prayer and her efforts she has always managed to come through to the other side. I now realize knowing a lot more about how hard it is for people with autism to cope in a newer atypical world and I just wanted to reach out to Traded Possession and say that your message really touched my heart and I shall be praying really hard for you, especially on Monday and for the next foreseeable future that everything starts to go okay for you and that you cope and are given strength to cope. Take care. God Bless.
Aba Father I’m calling about your child Treasured Possession. She’s such a blessing to all of us. And now she’s facing some problems on her own. She used to the structure of having her husband around her and her grandchildren. And because of the good news that her husband is able to go back to work and her grandchildren will be able to go back to their normal lives, her structure is falling apart and she’s reached out for help, her name is Treasured Possession. And I know she is your treasured possession. Please, Aba, let her feel your presence, fill the gaps that are made by her husband and her grandchildren, leaving. Help her to be able to establish a routine with You and feel Your preference to uphold her and keep her steady. Help her to feel safe and if it be Your will bring a trusted friend into her life to also help fill that empty spot. I know you love her, we love her but you love her more than we can imagine, so I left her up to you in Jesus mighty name. Amen.
Hey fellow DABers this is D in Florida. I’ve been listening for about a year and off and on and heard everybody’s prayers. And have held you in my heart. I’m really needing some prayers myself right now. As of five years back I’ve just been in this funk that started with the loss of my husband in a violent motorcycle accident. Followed by losing my mom to Alzheimer’s, followed by having an accident that caused me to break bones in my ankle and need surgery to install hardware and it was a long rehabilitation by myself. Then lost my dad about eight months ago. So, really feeling like an orphan don’t have any children and I’m dealing with a lot of lack of motivation, lack of energy. My house is just a cluttered mess and I really need spiritual intervention. If you could keep me in your prayers, I’d appreciate it. Thank you.
Hey DABers, this is Katie in Kentucky and I cannot believe that I’m calling to tell you guys this. Back in February I started diligently, consistently praying about my job for this Fall as I was working on my teaching degree. And in the past two months I had interviewed for nine positions, five in the past week and got rejected for basically everything and three rejections on Friday alone. And Friday night, got the call for my #1 choice job that I have been wanting and praying and praying and praying for from the beginning and I’m just in awe of God right now. I am so excited so I’ve called in for prayer about this before, thank you for all the DABers who have prayed for me about my job. I am ecstatic to announce that I will be a Kindergarten teacher at the school that I’ve been at ___ Learning Village and God is just so good. I’ve had so many people praying for me and praying with me and rejection after rejection for all the things that were wrong. So, encouragement everyone out there who is waiting for the right thing and feels like nothing is turning out, just getting constant rejections. If I had been accepted for any of these eight other jobs that I wouldn’t be…then this perfect one wouldn’t be there. So, encouragement to you guys today and just celebrating along. God is so good. Have a blessed day.
Hi, this is Victorious Soldier just calling to pray for some of the DABers. I want to pray for Adrian Graffeson the one who died last night that Laura Lee was telling us about, I want to pray for that family. I also want to pray for the disciple that loves me in Ohio, I want to pray for her 15-year-old daughter who don’t know Christ and also Joe the Protector daughter and all of the young people that don’t know Christ. Because you are our future and we need you all the be guided in God’s perfect will. I wanna pray for those who are going through with … and need assistance and I wanna just pray for all of our DABers who are all having challenges and who have lost their loved ones: Kingdom Seeker’s son and Joe the Protector’s daughter and the Piano Man and bless him in his endeavors. Gracious Father we just ask You to bless our people. Bless those that lost their loved ones Lord, even in my life, my neighbor across the street died on yesterday and I didn’t even know it, I went outside and the family told me today. So many are dying and we need to reach out and lettem know about Christ Lord. We just ask you to touch those families Lord. And love their precious loved ones and strengthen them and guide them Father in the name of Jesus. Those who are having problems getting around, those who are having challenges, they need finances, they need guidance, even my two brothers have Corona Virus, I pray for those that are going through the sickness with Corona Virus and even just sickness period. I ask You to touch Lord. You are the great physician.