Month: August 2021

Nehemiah 11:1-12:26, 1 Corinthians 10:14-33, Psalms 34:11-22, Proverbs 21:14-16

Today is the 16^th day of August welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we move into this week and get settled in. I guess about the time we get settled in the week is over and that’s how it works. But here we are for the next step forward together and that will lead us back into the book of Nehemiah. We’ll actually conclude the book of Nehemiah in tomorrow’s reading but for today Nehemiah chapter 11 verse 1 through 12 verse 26.

Commentary:

Okay. So, maybe an underlying question in our read…from our reading from first Corinthians today would be how…how close to the line can we get? Like how close to the line of something that’s questionable can we get before we actually enter into something that’s sinful. And that’s a question I get asked several times in a year and I typically think, well if you're…I mean if that’s the question then probably take some steps backward and reevaluate. But because Paul is talking about this in detail and in specific then we can surmise that this was a question was in the church of Corinth. And in specific it was about eating…eating food that that might’ve been consecrated to an idol, a false God. So, we can read this kind of stuff and go, man I have never ever, you know, you don’t go to the grocery store and think…and ask those questions to yourself when you’re picking out your selection to meet. And, so, it’s a very, very different culture. And, so, just to have the background here, in the Roman Empire we understand that there’s a pantheon of gods, the gods of the Empire. Lots of gods are being worshiped. There are the gods of the Empire and then there is generally freedom to worship whatever you want to worship as long as you have an allegiance to the gods of the Empire. The Jews have the worship of the most-high God, and they were excluded from this and then Christians were excluded from this for a while and then they got in a lot of trouble and a lot of persecution. So, this is kind of right in the thick of this as this is all getting sorted out because how would they go to their meat market, their grocery store, as it were and know the origin of the meat. I mean we might ask the questions today like, is this organically fed, grain fed, like were these happy animals, that kind of stuff. And you can track that information down if you go hard enough after it but a meat market in a cosmopolitan city in the Roman Empire, kinda going around and saying, okay was this sacrificed in a ceremony? And to whom was this sacrificed and when and all of this could get complicated. But the church didn’t want to participate in idolatry even passively. And, so, Paul’s instructions then were, eat. You don’t have to ask those questions. According to Paul, the earth and everything in it belongs to the Lord. It becomes an issue when it touches somebody else’s life in a way that causes them confusion or it becomes a problem when were just looking for a loophole so that we can have 1 foot in the kingdom of God and following Jesus while at the same time honoring other deities, consuming meat that we know was ritually sacrificed to a false God, and honoring that in the process, not passively but actually participating and knowingly doing it.  And, so, this last one that we just talked about, like trying to ride the fence basically to have 1 foot in one place in 1 foot in another place and have the best of both worlds, as it were, Paul’s like, and I quote “you cannot drink from the Lord’s cop and also from the cup of demons. You cannot eat at the Lord’s table and also at the table of demons. Or do we want to make the Lord jealous? Do we think that we are stronger than He?” And, so, that’s pretty clear. You’re not gonna have your foot in Baal worship and in Christ worship at the same time because that’s not how it works. There is only one God, only one, the most-high. And then the issue of, how can you know? Like, if…if…if you’re not actively trying to have 2 feet in two different worlds, you really are a follower and a disciple of Jesus, you want to keep yourself pure and so you’re trying to avoid sinning passively by consuming food that may have been consecrated to an idol. Paul’s basically like don’t worry about that, unless it affects somebody specifically. And he uses an example. Like, what if we’re invited over to a friend’s house who isn’t a believer and they actually believe in a different god, and they worship that other god and they sacrifice to that other god, but you are friends, you are associates you’re trying to be the light of the world, you’re trying to share the good news of the gospel and you’re invited over, then go and don’t worry about what’s put before you. Eat the food. It’s not about the food. It’s about the posture of heart. Eat the food. However, if those people who are your friends understand that your religious convictions are different and there’s, and in an attempt to honor you, they let you know, like hey, yeah, this steak here, this was sacrificed to, you know, our god. Well then, they’re letting you know so that you don’t have to break a conviction. Like they’re honoring you in honoring your convictions and allowing you to know that. So rather than going oh, it’s no big deal, no problem than honor them back and show allegiance to the Lord because they’ve made it a point to let you know this. And, so, this is the posture of heart that Paul is instructing the church in Corinth and by way of the letter to Corinth us, how we are supposed to act toward each other, honoring each other while not getting lost in the weeds about things that we can’t know or convictions that we do not have. And Paul kind of preempts by giving the follow-up question. And that is, why should my freedom to act be limited by another person’s conscience? If I thank God for my food why should anyone criticize me about food for which I give thanks? Which is a super individualistic concept that we should be very familiar with because it’s dominant in the world today. Why do…why does what somebody else thinks, why should that affect my life? I should be to live my life without worrying about what everybody else might see or do? And I believe that Paul would argue, yes you are absolutely correct when you are following hard after God. But when you are trying to take the freedom that you found in Christ and exploit it to the point that it’s confusing to people who might seek Christ you gotta take a second look, maybe a couple steps back and re-examine the situation. And we can see that, you know, we’re using this specific example. There are all kinds of sets of circumstances. Basically, this is a conversation about gray areas and some words and language to give us insight into the fact that it’s not about the gray areas so much. It’s about the why. It’s about the posture and motivation of our hearts. So, Paul boils this issue down really brilliantly with something that’s tangible enough for us to carry around and remember. When we walk into that kind of a scenario and we’re not quite sure how…how…what our decisions, what our choices should be. Paul says, well, whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for God’s glory. Live in such a way as to cause no trouble either to Jews or Gentiles or to the church of God. Paul says just do as I do, I try to please everyone in all that I do, not thinking of my own good, but the good of all, so that they might be saved. That distills down very nicely into a core. Can I do this for God’s glory? If that is just a checkpoint that we can insert between the decision and the action. If there’s just that little checkpoint that says, can I do this for God’s glory. We might do it anyway, even if the answers like…we might willfully go forward, but we won’t be confused. We do have a will and we can make our choices, but that could save us a lot of trouble. And, so, let’s consider that as we move through our day.

Prayer:

Jesus, we invite You into that. It's…we’re all wearing masks in this world. And, so, there’s situations all the time where it’s not always clear how to navigate, but to have this little checkpoint in our lives that says, “well, can I participate for the glory of God in this” really really helps, not only whether or not we should proceed, but if we do proceed, how? How we should proceed. With what posture we should proceed because we understand that we are doing it for Your glory and we are trying to bring honor to Your name in what we do as we are a witness, the light in the situation to reflect Your glory into it. So, come Holy Spirit because we certainly do need help. If we’re paying attention, we…we may be somewhat successful. But if we’re not paying attention, which is a lot of the time, we don't…we don’t consider what we’ve done until it’s already over and then we’re reflecting back. So, come Holy Spirit. We…we need to change that. We need to think these things through in advance and we need Your help. And, so, we humble ourselves before You and ask for Your help 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 this is Donna from California and today is August 11^th. I finally got caught up and was out this evening on a beautiful walk listening to the podcast and then the prayers and a prayer came across that just made my heart just…just lift up doctor John, our dear friend and brother Doctor John to you Lord. He’s recovering from surgery for glaucoma and bent over, felt a pain, and is now having some…some disturbances in his vision and fears blindness in that eye. Lord Jesus please rush to him please heal him. We…we ask that…that you…you bring healing to him from the surgery from the glaucoma and restore his vision. Thank you, Jesus for…for doctor, John and let him know how loved he is by our community. Thank you doctor John for all the times that you’ve called in prayers for…for us and lifted us up and we cherish you. I will be keeping you in prayer. And please let us know how you’re doing too and how we can continue to pray for you. And we love you. Thank you, Jesus. Amen.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is Renzo in Florida and I just want to pray for Doctor John. Father God I just thank you for everything that you give to us Lord and I just please pray for doctor John and that what he’s going through right now God for what…with the glaucoma surgery God I just please pray that what just happened to him as he called in today on the 11^th God I just please pray that…I just please pray that…that that vision that was just turned into black and white God would be completely restored, that the surgery go well, that his vision to be completely restored in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus. Yes. God please just help him to just be touched by the Holy Spirit and let him be guided in everything he does. And father God I just please pray as he’s recovering from that, and I please pray for him to just keep trusting You Lord in everything. And father God please, I want to pray for I think he said Jonathan…I think his name was Jonathan and Bethsaida. But he said they were struggling with COVID. God I just please pray that they’re completely hailed in name of Jesus. God You can do all things. You’re the great physician God and You do all things. All things are possible through You. Please heal them. Let them be completely recovered in the name of Jesus. Amen. God bless you guys. You have a blessed rest of your day. Jesus loves you.

Good morning DAB family this is John O'Connor calling from Juba South Sudan. This morning I would like to ask you to join me in praying for my son Steven John. Steven John is my second child but my first son. I have three sons. He’s the first one. Steven John has been diagnosed with bipolar and we have seen him go through the phases with severe depression that lasts for quite some time and then the manic phase that is erratic, pressured speech, and poor judgment and, you know, very restless. And we have gone through the phases that families go through when you're…when you have such a thing in the family. We have been filled with shame. We’re going through denial. But now I can only call on…on God to help us with my son. So, your prayers are really really important. I have seen what God can do when people in this community pray. So, I need your prayer. And thank you for praying. Have a good day. Bye-bye.

This is God’s Life Speaker. Hello DAB family. I was listening on the 12^th, and I heard a 16 year old young lady call in to encourage another DABber who’s pregnant. And what she pointed out is that, I can’t. And then she gave biblical scripture to back that up. Oh yes you can when you lean on God. I can do all things through Christ. And that is just amazing First off. 16-year-old. God bless you sweetheart. May you be speaking life into those around you which I sure…I am sure that you are. I wanted to point out some of the I cants of the Bible. And those would be, I can’t, Moses. That’s right, he couldn’t until he took off his shoes on that holy ground and turned his attention towards that burning bush. Jeremiah, I can’t because I’m too young. That’s right until you believed that God said that I picked you for this and you will. Gideon, I can’t because I’m not. That’s right until you put on what God has called you. There are so many I cants. We need to stand for Christ, who He is, what He has called us to do, who He tells us we are and start speaking them out loud, and walking with that scripture exactly like the 16-year-old has blessed us with and reminded us. So may we all take up what is put on us like Nehemiah. Just take the next step. Go in Christ. Meet with Him first and then step it out, walk it out, speak it out. Amen.

Hi DAB family this is Jessica from California. Today I’m calling to leave a message for Kingdom Seeker Daniel. This is regarding your…your check in after not being able to get in to see her son and how your friend said that God is in the know sometimes. And I have to agree with that because I was actually in the position that your sons end. I was on the other side of the wall, and I had a really bad drug problem. I wound up going crazy. I was schizophrenic on meth and I…I went to this lady’s house and I thought that these people were creeping on my daughter and all this strange stuff and I entered their home and to make a Long story short I wound up in jail. I was confused. I was lost and that’s right where God met me. And if I wouldn't…if I hadn’t of had so much time between…to myself between me and God, you know, with no interference from my family and to realize…to sort it all out mentally then I probably wouldn’t be where I am today. Well, this was in 2015 and I’m telling you the Lord delivered me from it all. I lead a normal life. I’ve been out for three years. I went to a massage therapy school. My whole entire lives changed. All my relationships have been healed because I had that one-on-one time with the Lord. And just trust that the Lord’s working and that He can change your son’s heart to realize where…where you were there for him and how much you love him. And I just I hope you stay strong. Thank you.

Nehemiah 9:22-10:39, 1 Corinthians 9:19-10:13, Psalm 34:1-10, Proverbs 21:13

Today is the 15th day of August, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I’m Brian, it’s great to be here with you as we well, as we’ve reached the center of another month and the beginning of a brand-new shiny sparkly week out in front of us. And so, it’s a new week. It’s a reset and here we go we’ll live this week and it will tell the story of what we believe through our actions and thankfully we have the Scriptures to inform us and guide us and give us examples. Examples like Nehemiah which is the book that we are in right now. And so, as we begin this new week, we’ll read from the Good News Translation. Nehemiah chapter 9 verse 22 through 10 verse 39.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and we thank You that we have the opportunity to greet this new week together in Your presence together in community and as we move into this second half of this month, Holy Spirit come, come into all of the words in the Scriptures that are coming into our minds and going into our hearts, guide and direct our spirits so that the things that need to be planted deep within are and that we are open to You and Your leadership and correction in our lives. We worship You. We love You. We humble ourselves before You, we open ourselves to You fully. Nothing is off limits to You. Come, Holy Spirit and lead us into all truth. We pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Prayers and Encouragements:

Good morning. I’m praying this morning for healing for those who have called in. For Jaden and Bethesda suffering from COVID and recovering, but slowly. I also am praying for all who are long haul COVID afflicted. For Dr. John whose eye had recent surgery for glaucoma, but maybe bleeding that his, that this could be resolved and his vision restored that his eye would be saved and his vision restored. I pray for those in chronic pain. The two Cindy’s and so many others with various afflictions and I pray for those in need of mental clarity and hope in very difficult situations. In Jesus name I ask all of these things be lifted up to our loving Father because nothing is impossible for Him who loves us and because we are His children, all who call upon Him to be saved will be and will be lifted up. It may not be in a way we think should happen or in our timing, but He cares for us. He loves us, Lord, for your mercy and grace and healing power on these and all who listen and call on Your name in Jesus name. Amen.

Dear family, please join me and coming around our dear sister God’s Princess Warrior. We are so sorry to hear of the loss of your nephew, your sister’s son who passed away from a drug overdose, that was 17-years-old. Dear sister, we are so sorry, we mourn with you, we cry with you and we come before the Father with you, knowing that He is the only comforter in this situation, Lord Jesus, we thank You. We thank You that we know that You are moved with compassion. We thank You that you will bring the healing and the peace through this whole thing. We thank You for protecting their hearts from the enemy that would try to pull them down with guilt. Father, we thank You for Your great love for them. We are here with you sister. We are here for you; continue to reach out to us. We love you. Please give your sister Chrissy a big hug for us and our love for us and let her know that we are praying for all of you. We’ll continue to pray in the days ahead too honey, love you.

This is Gwenn from California. Gigi, I heard your desperate cry and I was moved by your conflict over the strong desire to stay on track with nursing school and what feels like an inopportune time to be expecting a child. I was in a similar position many years ago. When I was accepted into nursing school, I had a nine-month-old son and I was a four-month pregnant with our second son. But like you I had a lot of support from husband, family and in-laws, so I decided to move forward with school. I didn’t know how I would do it since I could only miss three days during the program, but God. God went before me and made a way I had our son during Easter break, which gave me two weeks off, and God used the kindness of a clinical instructor to give me a light assignment when I returned, giving my body time to rest. When I graduated the whole family deserved to be wearing a cap and gown. They loved on those babies and we got through it together. I don’t know the exact path our sovereign God has chosen for you, it may be to postpone school for a year or two, but I do know what seems to be the most difficult and disappointed time right now will soon look like God’s appointed plan as He is working all things out for your good because you love Him and are called according to His purpose. If He placed this desire to be a nurse in your heart He will fulfill His plan. It’s a wonderful career that allows you the flexibility to be at home with your children and the ability to minister to those who are in need. So, just be encouraged. God see’s you and your future. I’ll be praying.

Hey Daily Audio Bible family, it’s Doctor John from Jordan, New York. I really need urgent prayer on my eye, the pain has gotten significantly worse and it’s got me nauseated and I don’t even think I can go into work today. So, if you could pray for healing from my right eye, after the glaucoma surgery for relief from the pain, I would really appreciate it. Love you, bye bye.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family, this is Diana His Dearly Beloved calling from Minnesota soon-to-be from Washington state. I just listened to the August 11th podcast and heard, I think, he said PG from NCI, just a most wonderful prayer for all of DAB family and I’m just so grateful when people do that and I’m just blown away by the prayers of this community and how well people pray, and how God’s Spirit moves through, through all of us and very, very grateful for this podcast. I’m calling for prayers. I am in the process of moving from Minnesota to Washington state and I do so this weekend, and I’ve been dealing with ulcer pain. Mayo clinic found three ulcers and this is after having five surgeries this year. I had a hysterectomy and then I had surgeries for cancer and then a nicked bile duct, it drains and stints and so I guess the ulcers aren’t completely a surprise. I’ve never had them before but they’re very painful and I’ve been on medication for two months and they’re not helping and I’m driving out this weekend and afraid, so I would really appreciate prayers. Thank you DAB family. I love you and I’m gonna keep praying for you. Take care, keep the faith. Love you. Bye.

Jeremiah 26-29

It’s the 14th day of August. Welcome to Daily Audio Bible Chronological. I am Jill. So happy you have found your way here- that you’re here intentionally, or if you’re here accidentally. Welcome. Stick around. We hope you’ll stay. We’re walking through the word together every day in chronological order until we get through the Bible together in a year. We do that individually as we listen ourselves. And the great thing is we do that collectively as a whole community of people that are friends and family, complete strangers, but yet not really, go through the Bible in community together. Today, our reading continues in the book of Jeremiah. We’re reading Jeremiah twenty six through twenty nine. And it is the last day in the Christian Standard Bible. Tomorrow we will start a brand new translation. So, Jeremiah, chapter twenty six.

Commentary:

Well, here we are. We’re at the one of the most quoted scriptures in biblical context, the most marketable. You might see it on a wooden plaque in someone’s house or, you know, a pretty picture painted with, for I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope. It’s a beautiful passage. We say it to comfort people, to encourage people going through a really hard time. We say it with the intention of, oh, God has a plan in all of this. Like if you just endure a little longer then God’s going to come through, you’re going to come out the other side and your life will go back to Pinteresque, picture perfect worthiness. OK, first of all, we don’t live picture perfect lives through perfect filters. It’s such an injustice to enduring, well, when we keep comparing ourselves to the the filtered phony baloney, but that’s not what we’re talking about, we’re talking about Jeremiah 29:11. Let’s break it down. Jerusalem had been conquered. The people were forcibly being deported out of the land that they knew, into a foreign land in which they have never lived in and never known. Families completely torn apart. Some people lost in battle. Some people perhaps don’t even know if their family has been killed, if they’ve been captured, so Jeremiah writes a letter to these people that have been uprooted. This within this letter is the context of Jeremiah 29:11. Now, if those two sentences stood alone, then we could keep quoting them the way that we do. We can take our selfies and put the scripture. You know, we’re just enduring here. We’re enduring because God has plans. But this is not the whole context. Let’s go back a few verses and grab the letter in its entirety. This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon, build houses and live in them, plant gardens and eat their produce, find wives for yourselves and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons and give your daughters to men in marriage so that they may bear sons and daughters multiply. Therefore do not decrease. Pursue the well-being of the city. I have deported you to pray to the Lord on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive. Do you hear that a little differently now in the context? It’s your families have been ripped apart. You have been uprooted from a land that you knew and taken to a completely unfamiliar land. But start all over again, remarry, start having children. And you’re going to be here a while, a while being seventy years, Jeremiah 29:11. But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised and I will bring you home again for I know the plans I have for you. OK, 70 years, it’s a long time. 70 years and five kids, I have three grandchildren and one on the way due next month. And I’m not quite close to 70, 70 years is a long time to wait and to start over again. This would not be a quick fix, this would not be a quick resolution, this would be settle in. You’re going to be here a while. How easy would it be to be bitter, to be discouraged, to be hopeless and want to give up? How badly would you be thinking about just the injustice, the unfairness and the desire to return to the things that you know, that you knew, that were familiar and comfortable? Does this sound at all familiar? Can we relate at all? It reminds me of two words: endure well. But we get so caught up in overcoming, overcoming. I’m an overcomer get me there as fast as possible, as quickly, as painless, as inexpensively as possible. Well I think the message that I hear is endure well, settle in. Change your mindset. It’s going to take a minute. I did a little math for us- 70 years, two thousand one hundred and twenty nine months. Twenty five thousand five hundred and fifty days. One million five hundred and thirty three thousand minutes. Got to settle in. Got to endure well.

Prayer: 

Father, help us, help us to endure. Help us to grasp the message that endurance is so much more a relatable part of our story, rather than overcoming. We can overcome again and again and again because we overcome and we fall down, we overcome and we shrink back. We overcome and we lose ground. But we never stop enduring. Renew our patience, renew our strength, renew our hope, take away our bitterness, take away our anxiety and depression for what we cannot change in the past and what we cannot control in the future. But I do thank you and I praise you that you do have plans for us, plans for us to prosper. But like endurance, prosperity is not the only part of that story. Give us hearts of gratitude in every phase of the journey, every situation, every day of our lives. We thank you and we praise you, our hope. We pray this in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Announcements: 

Daily Audio Bible, that’s home base. Check it out if you haven’t already. Take a look around and download the app, send it to a friend, tell a friend about the Bible, journey with them. Stay accountable, keep each other accountable. It’s also fun to have someone to to talk about what you learn- to bounce it off. I used to listen to some of the comments and feel a tinge, bit of shame, like, oh, why didn’t I talk about that? Why didn’t I? Why didn’t I get that out of the reading, the perspective when God really spoke to my heart. And said, no, no, no, no, everyone hears different things. This is who he created us to be. We all are on different journeys. We are all going to get different things out of the journey. That’s the beauty of our uniqueness and our individuality. Individuality. There we go. OK, if you would like to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you so much for your partnership. If you’re giving by mail DAB PO Box one nine nine six Springhill, Tennessee three seven one seven four. Or you can hit that give icon. It’s up at the top right hand corner of your mobile device. Also look for the give icon on the website. If you’re using that, if you would like prayer, if you would like to call in and pray for someone that’s previously called in asking for prayer of God so moves on your heart, you can do so by calling eight hundred five eight three two one six four or you can hit the red circle button. It’s up at the top right hand corner of your mobile device. Make sure you click, submit and turn the little wheel dial to chronological and it will get off to the right place. That’s going to do it for me today. I love you. Grateful to be on this journey through the word together. And I’m Jill. Until tomorrow, love one another.

Community Prayer Line: 

Hey, my precious DABC fam, this is Kingdom Seeker Daniel. I just want to pray for….I want to pray a general prayer for all the DABCers here. The last couple of days, maybe even three days have just been some heavy calls. I wish I just had time to call everybody’s name, but I don’t. So I just want to pray a general prayer for all of us here at the DABC, specifically those of you that are going through some extreme hardship. So let’s all hold hands family, around this global campfire. Father, oh Father, we need you. We desperately need you right now. Lord, we know that there is absolutely nothing too hard for you, nothing impossible with you, so I come with my brothers and sisters all around the global campfire here at the DABC, asking that you would touch every family member, every home represented here, every situation, every circumstance, every trial, every hardship, every struggle, every problematic issue that so many of your children are faced with. God, would you reach your hands into the lives of these your sons and daughters and cause your perfect will to be established in every detail of every issue of every household? You know the stories and you’re the author and the finisher of them all. God, give peace, give comfort, give strength, give hope and give endurance to the glory of your name. Amen.

Nehemiah 8:1-9:21, 1 Corinthians 9:1-18, Psalms 33:12-22, Proverbs 21:11-12

Today is the 14^th day of August welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we bring week number two of this month to a close together. This week we’ve been spending our time in the book of Nehemiah which we’ll continue to do. And it’s…well…that story is quite a ride and there’s an awful lot for us there in our own lives. And, so, let’s dive in. We’ve been reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week, which is what we’ll do today. Nehemiah chapter 8 verse 1 through 9 verse 21 today.

Prayer:

Father, we love You and we thank You for Your word. We thank You for bringing us through another week. All of these weeks, all of these verses, all of these books that we’ve engaged with thus far, all of the thoughts and intents of our hearts being challenged, all of the comfort, all of the counsel, all of the encouragement that comes from the Scriptures, we love You, we thank You. Our hearts are open with gratitude, and we just take this moment and as we kind of approach the middle of another month to just look back in awe at what You’re doing inside of us from the inside out and we also look forward to what You have yet to do in our lives this year. So, come Holy Spirit into all that we’ve read this week, all that we’ve learned from sources like the book of Nehemiah and applied to our own lives. May this sink in, may this stick, may this transform us we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. If you’re using like a laptop or a computer, a desktop, if you’re using your…your phone or your tablet you can find out what’s going on around here if you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app. In the Daily Audio Bible app there’s a little drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner and that opens up a Drawer and you can find things like the Community section or the Daily Audio Bible Shop.

And in the Shop, there are a number of categories that have resources in them all for this journey, whether that be a journal to journal your way through the Scriptures or things to write with. I have…well…since my mom got sick…so 2016 is when I discovered writing and journaling with a pencil and kind of moving away from the digital and back to actually in my own hand which my penmanship is not that great but I can read it, kind of, sort of usually if I have to refer back. But to write things down with our own body with our own hand from our mind to our hand to the page, and there’s something about that that’s a little different than typing things out and I just to pause and think and contemplate and be able to refer back in the days when it just feels like everything has gone sideways and nothing is working, or even a season where it just feels like you’re just slogging through and it’s so difficult. To be able to go back to different seasons in our life and see God was faithful to us, it’s our own testimony, it’s our own testament in our own hand. So, we certainly encourage journaling our way through life and through the Bible. It’s a precedent that’s set in Scripture. Remembering what God has done in certain places at certain times is all throughout the Scriptures. And, so, you can check that out as well as any other number of resources in the Daily Audio Bible Shop.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible…well…first of all thank you, we wouldn’t be here if we weren’t here together. That’s a beautiful thing that we are here because we are here together, and we show up every day and take the next step forward together and it’s a remarkable thing. But if we weren’t in this together, we wouldn’t be here. And, so, thank you for your partnership, especially as we navigate summertime. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the 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 you can hit the Hotline button in the app 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 DABbers Bubba D here with you August 10^th, 2021. I listened to yesterday’s message today this morning. Oh my gosh Brian it was amazing, just hit the nail on the head with the message and the psalm and…and repentance and tying it all with Ezra definitely spoke to my heart and I want to join in with that prayer. Father God You know where we have made so many compromises and rationalized and reasoned ourselves out of Your will out of Your goodness out of Your peace. All the other things that come as a free gift, the fruit of Your spirit. Holy Spirit we have offended You we have grieved You. Asking You forgive us. All the different lacks the lack of faith, the lack of trust. Lord so many times we’ve reasoned ourselves out of it and grieved You for Your word is very plain, do this, trust, be filled, walk in my joy. And we have not done so. Lord help us get back to the clear very easy to understand word of trusting You with all we have and take everything foreign out of us to be back to a square one commitment to Abba. Thank You, Lord in Jesus name. Amen.

Hey everybody this is Jonathan from Denver. This is my first-time calling in. I’ve been listening for maybe a month, a month and a half now. This has been a season of slow, slow growth for me. I’m 20 years old. I have struggled with lust and pornography addiction since I was 12, 13, very young. And for the first time in a very long time, I’m starting to feel like this might be something that I might one day be free of, but it’s very, very slow. And sometimes it feels like what feels like progress to me would be embarrassing to any normal person. And I’m just tired of trying to be different and be better. It feels like I try and bathe myself in scripture all day and I try my best all day to be better than I am and then still at the end of the day I still struggle with these things. And it's…I feel gross, I feel terrible. So, I just…I’m asking for your prayer and asking that you would intercede for me as I try to be better. And I just thank you for what this community means to me. I haven’t been listening long, but this is a place to go and it’s a relief when things are difficult. And, so, I thank you. Thank you for your prayer.

Father God thank you for the Daily Audio Bible, thank you for Brian and his family for…for being obedient to your calling Father God. And Father I just want to lift up all my brothers and sisters who have family members or they themselves are going through eating disorders Father God. I’m thinking of bulimia and anorexia Father. Father You are God and the great physician the great psychiatrist the great counselor who can only intervene for our spirit our souls our bodies Father God. You delivered me from anorexia and bulimia Father God, and You can work miracles in these children and in these people’s lives Father. We need to put You first Jesus on the throne of our hearts, do not care what men have to say about our bodies or our minds or who we are. It’s You that tells us who we are. We are Your children born in Your image, created in Your image, knitted together in our mother’s womb to be who You want us to be not what the world wants us to be Father. And we truly do not want to be someone that we are not meant to be. You have given us our identity Father God. The world doesn’t tell us who we or how much we weigh or what we should and shouldn’t eat. Father God deliver all these children from this evil spirit in Jesus Christ name we pray in the name of the Father the son and the Holy Spirit Lord. I love you DAB family. I love you Brian. And thank you so much for your commentaries. They are life changing and I can tell that the Holy Spirit just speaks through you and uses you. Thank you for being obedient. I love you brother. I love all my brothers and sisters in Christ. This is your sister Julie signing out. God bless you. Bye-bye.

Hi everybody this is Susie from Colorado I just wanted to call in and give you a little update on me. Your prayers just took me out of an incredibly dark place. Doctor John from Illinois, thank you for reminding me that even Jesus lied down and went to sleep in a boat during a storm because He was so tired. And so many times He was…He was tired. And I never even thought about that. And I just thank everybody out there who called in and said, you know, I understand that you’re weary we’re here for you. Kathy from Aspen CO you know what you mean to me. Thank you so much. It was honestly like cold water to a parched soul. That was really, really, really struggling and I realize that I still will struggle. I do have a lot…a lot of burdens to bear but, you know God, said that He would help…that He would help. So, that is my hope and when I feel like I don’t have help I gotta remember that He said that He would help me. And you guys just lift me up and I pray for every single one of you, every call that comes in I’m praying for you. And you have just really helped me get through a really bad time. So, God bless you all. Thank you.

Happy Wednesday my DAB family it’s Melissa from Jamaica and it’s 6:09 AM in the morning. And I just heard my brother BG give an incredible testimony about the miraculous healing power, that of God and it just ignited a flame on the inside of me to remember that our God still heels. He still does that. I mean when you were talking about it brother goosebumps ‘cause I’m saying you never had another headache in your life, you don’t know what that feels like. That’s amazing. And to hear how __ God has worked in your life, it has just built my faith this morning and I just want to say thank you so much for sharing. And it…and it reminds us. You know, before that I listened to Doctor John about having adjusted his operation. Doctor John it is well, you are well. I declare healing over you right now. All the COVID sufferers, I declare healing over your life. The God who heals is still in that business. I will decree and declare it mighty God. We thank You, we thank You God for reminding us of who You are. You are the great and awesome God and we give You thanks, we give You glory. We believe, we believe You are still able and therefore God we know we will see Your glory in our lives. We know we will see the glory of God if we believe, and we believe with clarity. And we’re standing on Your word and all that You’ve done before in the past. Thank You, Jesus. Thank You, Jesus. Glory to Your name. Father God be with every situation that needs You this morning. We thank You; we bless Your holy name. Be with every single member of our DAB family. Cover us under your blood Lord. And it’s in Jesus’ precious and holy name we pray.

Nehemiah 5:14-7:73, 1 Corinthians 8:1-13, Psalm 33:1-11, Proverbs 21:8-10

Today is the 13th day of August, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I’m Brian, it is wonderful as it always is to be here with you today as we take the next step forward together through the Scriptures and we find ourselves sitting in the book of Nehemiah at the moment, in the Old Testament. And, we will continue our journey today by reading chapter 5 verse 14 through 7 verse 73.

Commentary:

Alright so, as we continue our journey through the book of Nehemiah, we are getting a first, like a front row seat to an excellent picture of leadership and calling and mission and so and we’ve been working through that over the last couple of days which we continue to do today by simply observing the events that happened and Nehemiah’s responses to them. And so, we did see how Nehemiah planned the whole thing out and how things moved along really, really quickly, until they didn’t. And then all the obstacles of intimidation and taunting and discrediting and the threat of actual violence against the people, the inside job of the nobles taking advantage of the commoners right…right within the Israelite community. All these things we’ve watched Nehemiah deal with over the last couple of days. Today, we see a couple of things. One, we…we see an account of Nehemiah saying that he as the governor did not impose the needs of the governor, the resources that the governor needed upon the people because they were already stretched as thin as they could be. And so, essentially out of his own pocket, he cared for the needs, well his own needs as the governor which included feeding 150 people a day and so quite a few animals and cooking and resources were needed and wine and oil and all of this. And he paid for it so as not to put the burden on the people, so as not to slow down the work. So, we see that this calling, that this mission that Nehemiah is on to complete this objective of giving a wall, a secure wall around Jerusalem, nothing is making him deviate. It is such a burning thing that he’s doing it for free. It’s that kind of a thing, I would do this for free, I love this. This is what I’m supposed to do, well that’s exactly what he’s doing, only it’s more than that, he’s doing it for free but he’s also paying for it to happen. And so, that gives us a sense of the single minded, purposeful commitment that Nehemiah had to what he was called to do. And, he also mentions how there weren’t a bunch of houses in Jerusalem, it’s a pretty empty place and man, like he’s the governor, this is the time to pick the prime real estate in the forming city. Like this, this is the time to build the legacy for generation after generation after generation in your family because you have this ground-floor opportunity, but that wasn’t his calling and that wasn’t his mission and so that’s not what he did and then he faced some really, really dirty politics. So, a conspiracy theory was hatched against Nehemiah and he was invited to come talk about what was going on to have a meeting in the Ono Valley and Nehemiah’s response was I’m up on this wall doing good work, I’m not coming down off this wall. Like, I’m not abandoning my mission to come talk with you guys, who have only threatened and taunted us. And so, four times he does the same rejection, I’m not coming down off this wall. This is my mission. I am not coming down off this wall, to commune with you and hear garbage that is coming out of your mouth. And so, they send him an open letter so that he can become, well he’s supposed to be terribly intimidated and incredibly threatened by…by the rumor because the rumor, if it gets back to the king and the king believes it, Nehemiah is dead because the rumor that’s being hatched is that Nehemiah wanted to rebuild this wall and have the temple in place and the prophets in place so that he could be declared the king and that he would be the king of Jerusalem, there was no truth in that. Nehemiah wanted to finish the wall. It wasn’t trying to be the king. There was no truth in that. And he said as much, and then he redoubled his efforts to continue the work so that the people would not be discouraged or intimidated. And, then there’s this prophetic utterance that Nehemiah should go into the temple because people are coming to kill him, and these prophets quote, unquote prophets had been hired by the very people doing the taunting, so that Nehemiah would flee to the temple and this would discredit him like he needed to flee there to escape some sin, some kind of thing that he had done wrong, so that he would be discredited and so that this story could start to take root and discourage the people away from Nehemiah. Nehemiah is like somebody like me, the governor doing this specific job should I…should I be on the run. And so, we see again as with every other situation that Nehemiah faces, he turns to God and actually that’s how this narrative works, is it Nehemiah’s explaining a lot of the situation in prayer form. That’s how we find out what’s going on is that he’s pouring this out to God. This is where he’s taking his complaint or is discouragements. He turns to God because this is his mission and he is doing this mission on behalf for God believing this is what he supposed to do and so he turns to God in these circumstances, because only God can rescue them. This is an act of service to God for God. And so, we see Nehemiah doesn’t deviate. When opportunity arises, he doesn’t deviate. When challenge arises, he doesn’t deviate. When the progress has to be slowed down, he doesn’t deviate he just moves forward slower. When they can redouble their efforts, they move faster but they don’t deviate from the mission. This is where it becomes so helpful for us to consider, because all the things that Nehemiah and the people are facing as they try to rebuild the wall are the kinds of things that we face in one way or another, and they have every reason to quit. I mean, they have plenty coming against them to say that this…we just can’t get this done but they don’t stop and that’s usually how success materializes. We don’t stop we keep going until we get there because we have a burning passion inside to see the completion of whatever it is, no matter what happens.

Prayer:

And so, Father we’ve all felt pulled toward something in some direction. And our culture really, really pulls, even our Christian subculture pulls us toward how big and how much influence and how many people and how spread out can this be, when that’s not really the normal way of things. We each have assignments. We each have missions and we each face challenges as we work toward those objectives and goals and so often, we might keep trying to endure and have stamina but this picture in Nehemiah of continually turning toward You is beautiful and necessary and so often is the missing piece in our own story. We get discouraged. We think You’re not in it, we think You’ve abandoned us so we abandoned it. When it was just challenge, we just needed to endure. We just needed to keep moving forward. And so, come Holy Spirit into this. Reignite the things within us that have gone by the wayside that we have not completed because we gave up, but they’re still there. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, that’s the websites. It’s where you find out what is afoot, what is happening around here and so be sure to check that out. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, just push the drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner, that’ll open up a drawer and you can check everything out from there. Check out the Community section. In the community section, you’ll find different links that can connect you to other listeners on social media. It can keep you informed on the things that we post and any announcements that need to be made so check that out. But also in the Community section is the Prayer Wall and that is…that is something that is always available, always there, day or night. No matter where you are in the world, no matter what is going on, you can always reach out for prayer. And, if you find yourself, I don’t know, just kind of swirling in a fog of things that keep you focused on yourself because you’re in pain or because just the circumstances of life, bringing a lot of anxiety or maybe keeping you awake at night. It’s profound what happens when we force ourselves to turn outward and may be away from just focusing on ourselves. We begin to focus on others realizing that we’re not the only one going through something. Maybe what we’re going through is unique, maybe nobody else in the whole world is experiencing it, but everybody, everybody is enduring something at some point. If we ever get to experience absolute perfection, it's…it’s brief. We have challenges and we have to cling to the Lord, of course, but clinging to one another, knowing that we are one body, and when one part of the body hurts, we all hurt. The prayer wall is just a place to know, like, I can, yeah, I can reach out for prayer but this anxiety that I’m feeling, I can focus this energy into good by praying for my brothers and sisters who are also enduring something. And so, the Prayer Wall is always there, so check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right hand corner. Or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app which is the little red button up at the top and that works no matter where you are in the world as long as you have internet. 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.

Prayers and Encouragements:

Hello DAB, it feels nice to just be kind of more constantly in this prayer wall/prayer call, it’s just nice. This is People on the Water from Indiana and I’m calling just because I’m happy. I’m calling because I just heard Zach’s message on, gosh, the 22nd of July and he just, it just, it was just nice to hear it. He was saying Psalm 42 caste your cares upon Him for He cares for you. Considering another ladies ship wrecked situation and he himself is going through a rough patch in marriage and just the way he explained that I wanted thank you Zach that was encouraging and eye-opening and just your faith to see beyond your own struggle calling in for a prayer but then also calling in to pray for someone, that’s cool. So, thanks for that. Love you DAB. Bye.

Good morning DABers, John O’Conner here calling in from South Sudan, it’s been quite a while since I called in but anyway. I’m calling in to speak to a young man, 24 years old, who said his father recently passed away and he’s found himself growing closer to the Lord. But then, that his struggle with loneliness which, because of some physical deformity, he found it difficult to be around people. Lord I pray for this young man. He could have easily been one of my Shawns. I speak to his heart even right now. May Your peace that passeth all understanding undergird his heart and mind. Open his eyes, spiritual eyes, that he will see that his identity is in Jesus Christ, not in some physical deformity. Father help him to understand that regardless of whatever deformities we have in this world you have brought us out in this world for a purpose. May he develop that sense of purpose and maybe pursue that purpose. Thank you for answering this prayer. Thank you for touching him, and Father, thank You for healing him in all areas of his life and elevating him so that he will understand that he is the righteousness of God in Christ. In Jesus matchless name. Amen.

Hello, DAB family this is the Disciple that He Loved in Ohio. I am calling with an update and a praise. Thank you so much for all of you who prayed for my daughter. I have a 15-year-old whose been suicidal for years. I have noticed such a change in her heart and behavior since I called and asked everyone to pray. She did make a really bad decision last week but she was repentant when I corrected her and didn’t threaten to commit suicide, which is a big step in the right direction for us. We have an appointment with a psychologist on Thursday, we really hope that he will be able to get to the root of what’s causing all these behaviors and mental health problems. I just really covet your prayers family. I just, my daughter is so lost right now. I spent my whole life teaching her about Jesus and she’s committed her life to him once as a very young child and once in a public confirmation ceremony at church when she was 12. But now she says she doesn’t even think He exists. So just pray that she would turn back to Him, that she would know who He is. I just pray for everyone out there who has kids that have wondered away from God or have mental health issues. I thank you for all of your prayers. They are working. Please keep praying for my daughter Alexis.

Greetings Brian and DAB family this is Viv. My encouragement to everyone today is that you are not here by chance. Whether you stumbled on the app or found it through a friend or got handed a DAB card, with God nothing is by chance. He wastes nothing. And we use even the worse days of our lives to His glory and to give us a testimony of His love and redemption. Susan, God’s Yellow Flower, I am rejoicing with you what an amazing answer to prayers. I’m overjoyed to hear that Keith’s tumors are gone and you’re being able to breath a little and enjoy your grandchildren. Thank you for the update. Well and how wonderful to hear James’ encouragement just after Susan’s call, to God be the glory. Father God, Lord Almighty, we thank you for these two praise reports and the countless others that are being celebrated in this community. We acknowledge that you are the giver and sustainer of life and there’s nothing to hard for you. So, as we celebrate the victories and continue to submit the needs to you, I just ask Father for Your grace over all of us. I think of Eugene and his social challenges and pray that You will encourage and surround him with love wherever he goes. Thank You for his faith in You and may You continue to strengthen him in this regard. Thank You for this community and for Brian and his faithfulness and thank You for Your grace and mercies that are new everyday. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. This is Viv, peace to all and by for now.

Hey Daily Audio Bible family it is Doctor John with a praise report. All you prayer warriors, you know, I’m calling and I say I’m a huge fan of miracles, I love miracles but mostly they’re experienced by other people, I experienced a miracle on Friday. I called you guys, I could not, literally could not see out of my right eye. It was dark and light if I looked at something really bright, I saw visuals of light coming through. I was blind in my right eye, when I called as a complication of my glaucoma surgery last Tuesday. And, I called you guys, my wife prayed over me and she had another one from our church put me on the prayer team. I laid down, two hours later I got up and my vision was back. And, I’m a medical person, I’m a doctor and I’m like, yeah that’s just a miracle. So, all of you Daily Audio Bible prayer warriors, thank you so much for those of you who called, for those of you who don’t call. It’s the majority of us that don’t call in but are still praying for everybody on the prayer line. And it makes a difference. So, if you ever feel like your prayers don’t make a difference just, I’ll tell you, they do. This is the second, absolute miracle that I have seen through prayers for me and my family. So, I was prepared to be blind. My wife was really upset and she’s like why and I said I don’t care because we are so blessed and if I lose my vision, it will be for God’s glory. You know, naked I came into the world and naked I will leave. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. And so, God is glorified through your prayers. Thank you everybody.

Nehemiah 3:15-5:13, 1 Corinthians 7:25-40, Psalms 32:1-11, Proverbs 21:5-7

Today is the 12^th day of August welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is awesome to be here with you today, every day as we come around the Global Campfire and just find a place here in the serenity of…well…of this little space that we create for ourselves each day, a space for the Scriptures to speak into our lives. And we are in the book of Nehemiah. We’re just getting started. It’s not a long book so it won’t take that long, but it reveals a lot for us to consider as we watch Nehemiah as he lives out a burning passion, a desire, a calling even to be a part of the rebuilding of the holy city of Jerusalem, and in specific rebuilding the wall in order to protect the temple. And, so, we pick up the story. Nehemiah chapter 3 verse 15 through 5 verse 13 today.

Commentary:

Alright. So, in the book of Nehemiah which we began yesterday and in yesterday’s reading we saw sort of the methodical approach that Nehemiah took from hearing about the exiles in Jerusalem and that kind of planting a seed as he pictured the temple of God in Jerusalem unprotected. And, so, he began to envision a wall, he began to pray about it and to intercede about it, think about it all the time until he had an opportunity as the Kings cupbearer to inquire of the king and ask permission to go and help restore and rebuild Jerusalem. And he was given permission. And, so, we watched that planning and what he took with him and their journey to Jerusalem. And then we watched him settle into Jerusalem for a few days and then go and inspect the wall all by himself, like not bringing a bunch of voices into the mix, assessing the situation, getting a true understanding of the scope of what it was that had been burning inside of him because he was in Babylon. He was several months journey away from Jerusalem. So, he’s seeing this and inspecting what he’s imagined in his mind for quite some time. And then he brings leadership into the mix, and everybody catches the vision and that’s kind of where we pick up today in the middle of rebuilding. So, there are a bunch of people rebuilding different stretches of the wall and there’s a lot of enthusiasm and vision for this. And, so, it’s happening. The dream is happening and it’s happening faster than was anticipated. The enthusiasm to continue the work is there. And that’s what we would want…like that’s what we would want. And it’s like that could be the end. The wall was built. The end. That’s how the story that we would like to be told. And that’s how we would like it to be in our lives. We prepare, we pray, we plan, we execute flawlessly, it’s awesome, it’s a great experience and then we move on to what’s next. It’s just that that…that basically never happens. And when we look into the Scriptures, we can see like it didn’t happen then either. And, so, the people of the region, some of the leadership of the region came to see what’s going on in Jerusalem and then they began the campaign of taunting and diminishing and criticizing. And we’re pouring our heart into something that we believe the Lord has commissioned us to do in some sort of way, and we’re pouring our life and our resources and taking the risk and doing these things than those of voices, those taunting words of criticism can be debilitating. In fact, they can take the whole thing down. And what we see is that they didn’t just ignore it or that they didn't…that…that…that it wasn’t acknowledged. It’s certainly acknowledged. We’re reading about it in the Bible. What we see is that Nehemiah turns to God. He essentially says Lord we’re here doing this work and you can hear what they’re saying. That is a different posture than getting pulled into the argument, like taking the bait of the critic and going in and having that constant debate of criticism and how you’re not doing it the right way and all of these things. Nehemiah turned to God and simply said, we’re gonna…we’re gonna keep going. You can hear what they’re saying. Let it not fall on us, let it turn around and let their words fall on their own heads. So, we move past this criticism, diminishment kind of phase, the taunting phase and then…then there’s the threat of actual attack almost as if the…the taunting can’t diminish them and stop the work then we’ll go in and disrupt the work. We’ll get into that city, and we’ll start sabotaging things. And people will start disappearing and we’ll disrupt and cause confusion and stop this work. Nehemiah’s response to that is essentially to cut the workforce in half so that half the people are working on the wall and half the people standing guard are ready for an imminent attack so that they can defend themselves while still continuing to take the next step forward, continuing to build out wall. And, so, you know, certainly discouraging. When…when things had gotten off to such a great start and were going so smooth and they got the wall all the way around the city half its height, and now they got to go at half the speed at a more difficult portion of building the wall because now it’s gotta get higher and higher and higher. And, so, things have gotten slow. They’ve been slowed down because of the threat of attack and because of the workload. What Nehemiah doesn’t do is get discouraged and quit. They just keep going with what they have to work with. And then finally in…in today’s reading, it’s an inside job as well. So, there’s an attack from the outside and an attack from the inside. And for any leader that’s like, okay I give up. I’m trying to serve here but the conflicting agendas are just overwhelming. So, it’s a time of drought and people rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem and then they can’t do all of the farming that they need to do and all the resources that they need aren’t there. And, so, they have to mortgage their property, or produce a certain amount of crops and resources for…for their lenders and it’s causing basically foreclosures and entrapments and enslavements that people are never going to get free from. And it’s the Jewish people with means, with the resources, with wealth, the nobles that are enslaving the commoners in various ways, demoralizing the people from within. And, so, Nehemiah has to step into that and confront that situation by saying we’ve been trying to buy our fellow Israelites back from slavery from different places and here you are re-enslaving them. This is not right. This is not how this is supposed to go. And, so, the nobles then sense the shame of it and respond appropriately when Nehemiah had to deal with the injustice of it. And, so, that’s all the way around this whole story, keeping one foot in front of the other. Even in the injustice of it keep moving. There is a destination. And, so, there is plenty for us to ponder from the book of Nehemiah today as we apply it to our own stories and our own callings and our own missions.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit come. Thank You for the counsel of the Scriptures. Thank You for allowing us to look back into that story and understand that we have similar stories at various seasons and stages in our lives. And we see Nehemiah turning to You, not giving up and moving forward even if it’s just a little bit at a time. So, come Holy Spirit and encourage us in our discouragement, in our seasons of trying to move forward as we turn our hope and affection and attention on You knowing that You are our only hope. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it is the website, and its where you find out what’s going on around here. I say it every day because…well…for lots of reasons we need to be reminded of it, but every day is a first day for somebody coming into the community. And, so, welcome. This is where you find out what’s going on around here. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can find out what’s going on around here in the app by pushing the little…some people call it a hamburger icon, I call it more of a Drawer icon, little three bar icon in the upper left-hand corner. And that opens up a drawer.

And, so, you can access things like the Community section where the Prayer Wall is or the Daily Audio Bible Shop where there are…yeah…tons of resources there in different categories for the journey that we are on…not tons…but many resources there for the journey that we’re ongoing through the Bible this year. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, first of all thank you. Thank you humbly from…from my heart. Thank you. We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t in this together. And, so, thank you for your partnership, especially as we navigate summertime. Thank you. What is it like five thank you’s in the last 15 seconds. Thank you. We wouldn’t do this…we couldn't…we wouldn’t…none of this would be happening if we were in this together. And, so, thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement…well…first of all, you can hit the Hotline button in the app. That’s a little red button up at the top no matter where you are in the world and share your story from there. But if you want to use the telephone and actually dial a number there are a number of numbers you can use. In the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number to call. In the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number to dial. And if you are in Australia or that part of the world 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to dial.

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:

Hey DAB family I go by Little Leaf this is my first-time calling in. I’ve been listening for a while, but I’ve really been getting into this platform just this past year, especially after learning about the affair that happened sometime earlier this year. And while it’s helping me grow closer to the Lord, I’ve also been experiencing a lot of hardness of heart and unforgiveness. And I just…even though my husband has come home he only recently started to disconnect from this partner and I’ve just been having a real hard time accepting the fact that I’ve lost someone so near and dear to me as a trusted friend and trusted partner. And I know my God is good and He can do anything but I just don’t know how I can see myself with this person moving forward and I don’t know if I even want to as much as I hate to admit that. So, I just ask that you lift us all up, the other woman included, in prayer and just that God would take away all the confusion, take away all the pain and just allow me to love, to show His love and that His will would be done in our lives. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Thank you, guys.

Hello, my wonderful DAB family this is Rosie also known as great to be free in Jesus. I’m calling in to let you know that I’m still praying for you and your families. Just because I don’t call in doesn’t mean I'm…I’ve stopped praying because I still pray. And that’s still important to me because the Lord led me to do that. But I have a prayer request. My son Charles has been coming over now and he’s been talking to me and he’s been coming and seeing me but he is suffering with the spirit of fear and the spirit of rejection. And I told him a while back as part of my testimony, I told my family about how his dad wanted me to abort him because his dad had diabetes and he didn’t want any of his children to have diabetes and have to live the way he’s had to live. And I don’t think that helped out with his…with the spirit of rejection. But he really needs prayer because he’s been so hurt with rejection and now, he’s become an offender and he really needs prayer. I brought him up in church but every time I talk to him about that he reminds me that I forced him to go to church when he was younger. And I know that nothing is impossible for God and I would really appreciate your prayers for my son Charles and thank you and I’m still praying. I love you guys. Bye.

DAB family it’s Quiet Confidence from Virginia and I need your prayers I really need God to help me against the mental attacks, the fear, the anxiety, depression. I haven’t left my house in two months. Wasn’t able to work because the anxiety was so bad and my husband’s been the only one working and I don’t feel like this fear because he’s tired. But really need God to deliver me. I don’t want to go back on antidepressants or to the hospital because those drugs make me feel worse. But I know that God is able, and I just need your prayers. I need His strength. I want to be able to get a job. I want to be able to work and to help. And I know God can deliver me because He did it before. But I really need to be strengthened right now. I just can’t do this on my own. And every day I cry out to God and I ask Him to help me and to give me the strength. I ask Him for His grace and his mercy, and the enemy just keep speaking so many lies to me telling me I’m backslidden and I’m going to hell and that I’ve abandoned my faith. But my faith just got weak for a moment. But I really need God to just deliver me and strengthen me and I’ve seen the power of prayer in this community. Thank you so much. I love you. God bless you.

Hello today is Sunday August the 8^th and I just finished listening to July the 31^st. I am behind and trying to catch up. I wanted to pray for loving heart in Saint Louis. She had called in requesting prayer for her daughter that is anorexic. And I am a recovered anorexic. I was anorexic for…for years and years. Just purely the hand of God that I’m still here and I just right now Father and name of Jesus Christ I pray for a loving hearts daughter, Father that she would be set free from this addiction, Lord that her…her eyes would be open. God that she would be willing to get the help. Sometimes there’s such denial in anorexia or any addiction. Father, I just pray for her parents Lord that You would just comfort them and give them wisdom to know how to deal with their daughter and the situation. But we just pray Your intervention Father, that you would do it only you can do. We know that you can supernaturally deliver her or just lead her or to the right…the right treatment center. There’s some really good Christian treatment centers. God, You know what she needs. We pray Your protection upon her. God we just pray Father for her deliverance and her healing for her parents right now in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hello DABbers Bubba D here and my prayer goes out today to the sister of gods Princess warriors. Father God we ask that you would bless the family, give them peace God as they lost their teenage son, 17 year old son of a drug overdose. Lord we trust that he’s in Your hands we trust that You’ve given him a chance to see You to make that decision to follow even in his last minutes. We trust that You’re able to perform miracles like that and to reveal Yourself like that to people even that side of eternity father. We just cast all the cares and the troubles and the…the feelings and the hurt and the loss and the cutting off of something that was part of You. We ask for Princess warrior’s sister too be comforted by Your Spirit these day Lord. We pray that You would even confirm to her Your love in ways that only You can God in the midst of this tragedy. Father bring Your presence around her in a mighty way Lord God. Comfort her. Lord we ask that You would give her the strength to see that You’re with her, that You are walking right alongside her in this very very hard difficult times, hours, and days that will follow. Blessing her in Your name Jesus. Amen.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family this is LJ lavender Dream calling from western mass. I’ve been listening now for about a year, and I don’t usually call in. I’m praying for everyone who’s struggling right now and especially those with their children who’ve lost their children who are dealing with eating disorders and the family who lost their son because he was saving his little sister and everything. We’re going through something right now. I am with my son. I had to call psych crisis on him because he was suicidal and we’re waiting for inpatient and it’s very difficult. I tried to leave him where he was, and he was very upset that I couldn’t take him home and it took three staff members to allow me to be able to leave. And I just felt like he felt like I was abandoning him, but I am not qualified to keep him safe at home. So, I’m just asking for prayer for my son and for our family and I’m also trying to advocate for my mum and I had to do something that is causing a rift in the family but it’s also, you know, doing the right thing and doing the right thing doesn’t always mean it’s the easy thing. So, I’m just praying for mended bridges and that God will cover his hands and peace that will surpass all understanding and that He will give a clarity and an understanding for my son because he’s really having a difficult time dealing with my chronic illnesses. In Jesus’ name. Amen.