Isaiah 37:1-38:22, Galatians 6:1-18, Psalms 65:1-13, Proverbs 23:24
Today is the 21st day of September welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is great to be here with you today as we do what we do and take the next step forward together. We are working our way of course, through the book of Isaiah and we have definitely crossed the halfway point in Isaiah. We are also working our way through Galatians. We’re reading from the Evangelical Heritage Version this week. Isaiah 37 and 38 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So, we just concluded the letter to the Galatians in our reading today. Tomorrow we will move forward to the letter to the Ephesians. So, just looking back. Galatia is more of a province that has many towns in it and this letter was sent…sent to the churches that had been developing in the region of Galatia. Tomorrow we’ll read Ephesians and that will be a letter written to the church in a specific city, Ephesus. And as we concluded Galatians, Paul left a little bit of a list. If we’re looking for it we can find all kinds of little…little characteristic lists, little things that we should be paying attention, little bits of counsel. And, so, as Galatians concludes today, we kinda have that and we can see it basically from verse 2 until verse 10 of chapter 6. So, let’s just look at these suggestions and just invite our own heart to speak, like invite ourselves to be reflective about whether or not we’re heeding any of this counsel. So, first…I’m gonna just be quoting all this. “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ. For if someone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.” So, we can…we can sit with that one for a while. Next. “Let each person test his own work and then he will take pride in regard to himself and not his neighbor. For each man will bear his own burden,” right? So, basically keep your eyes on your own life. Get that in order. Get that straight before you try to organize somebody else’s life. The way Jesus would put this is, why don’t you go ahead and get that log out of your own eye before you try to get the speck out of your brother’s eye. Again, some things worthy of contemplating and thinking about as it applies to the way we live our lives. Then next up. “Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with his teacher.” In other words, give honor where honor is due. And next up. “Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. To be sure whatever a man sows, he will also reap. Indeed, the one who sows for his own sinful flesh will reap destruction from the sinful flesh, but the one who sows for the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit”, which kind of begs the question if we’re sitting here thinking things through - what are we doing here? What are we about? What are we doing? What is our motivation? What are we after? Because there are two paths laid out here. Following the path of the sinful flesh will reap destruction from the sinful flesh. But one who is focused on the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. Again, any one of these we can sit and just kinda put in our…the back of our minds and contemplate this all day long, just observing ourselves, watching the things that we do and the attitudes that we have and inviting God in as we compare our functional lives to the advice that Paul’s getting here. And then next up. “Let us not become weary of doing good because at the appointed time we will reap if we do not give up.” So, what’s the encouragement. Keep going. You can do this. Keep going. One foot in front of the other. Don’t be weary of doing good just because you’re not seeing the payoff yet. Keep going. You will reap if you don’t stop, if you don’t give up. Keep going. Some of us need to hear that. And then lastly here. “As we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the household of faith.” And we could look at that go okay, yup, got it. I’ll do that as I have opportunity. And then we’re so selfish that we never have opportunity. We should look at this flipped backward. When the opportunity is presented, let us do good to all people, and especially those who belong to the household of faith. And if we’re looking for opportunity to do good to all people. Then we will be fulfilling what was previously said, which is don’t be weary of doing good because at the appointed time we’ll reap if we don’t stop, if we don’t give up. And, so, there are a number of things that we can carry around with us from Galatians, just from the last chapter of Galatians to help us to reflect on the way that we are conducting our lives.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, come. It’s something that we ask every day, something that we need every moment, something that we need every breath. In fact as we become aware of our breath, we become aware of Your presence. When we breathe in we are inspiring, which means in spirit and we release in faith knowing that the next breath will come and we thank You that that’s how simple it can be. Sometimes in the fog of life to become aware that You are here, that Your presence is with us. And we need Your presence. We need Your counsel. We need Your comfort. We need Your correction. Even as we look at what’s here in Galatians today just applying this to the way that we live, show us how to not give up. Show us how to look for the opportunity to do good. Show us how to not draw attention to ourselves or to just be self-absorbed so that we’re only ever comparing ourselves to somebody else, which is useless. Show us how to grow up and live into this to be a mature son and daughter of the kingdom, we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Hi this is Denise Saved by Grace in Southern California. I want to pray for the…the lady…the mother who called and said her son was an ER nurse and her son just taken his life and how the new…the second surge has seemed hopeless for him. I too am a nurse in the second surge, and I just want to lift up all of the frontline healthcare workers and nurses and doctors. Father God, I just thank You and praise You Father for…that You are the divine healer Father and we thank You God for all of the…the talents that You’ve blessed us with in order to be able to use these…these gifts that You’ve given us to others. I just lift up all my brothers and sisters in healthcare Father, the doctors, nurses, even the EVS and dietary, everyone Father God that are putting their selves on the line Father to take care of others as this…this devastating disease hits us once again. Father we trust You Lord that You will see us through. I pray for strength in each and every one of us to Your God and I pray Father that You would just comfort us as…as we go through our daily struggles Father. Even with…even not in the hospital setting, even in our homes Father. I pray for the mother of that child…of her son Lord and I pray that You comfort her as she grieves and I pray Father God that there’s anyone else Lord that thinks that there is no hope, Father help them to see them that…that…that You are our hope Lord God and that they don’t need to take their own lives but give their lives to You for You can care for them better than…
Hi there, DAB family this is Daniella calling from Arizona I have an update, a praise report and a prayer request at the same time. I called in just a few nights ago asking for prayer for a young lady of 19 who went missing. And the praise report is that by God’s grace amazingly she has been found. She is alive and she has been rescued from an evil man. So, she’s no longer in the fangs of the enemy being mistreated to say the least by this evil individual. So, that…that’s a great amazing praise to…to just praise God for. So, I’m very thankful she is alive. She’s no longer being held captive. But unfortunately, along with that comes also a prayer request for her as in that week she went through hell to say the least. She was repeatedly assaulted, sexually assaulted. And I just ask form prayer for her healing physically, emotionally, spiritually on all fronts. That takes a long time to heal from to even recover, to just be better let alone in the long haul. So, that could be a lifetime. So, I pray that you would just intercede for her and her grandma who loves her and cares for her and who raised her. Please pray for her. Thank you so much.
Good morning Daily Audio Bible community this is Diane Olive Brown from Newburgh IN. I am an encourager, one of very many. Shalom shalom. Nothing is missing nothing is broken. And I was listening to Ezekiel this morning in August somewhere looking back making sure that I didn’t miss anything. I missed a day in August. I think it was the 20th and where Paul was talking about, I can’t give you solid food yet because you’re like babies. And let’s throw our log on the campfire and listen to this, that, listen to this…you’re not…you’re not able to eat solid food yet. I can only give you milk that we give to babies because your jealous of each other and you’re saying I’m apollos and I’m of Paul and you’re biting and devouring each other just the world. So, Ezekiel prayer that we would be…learn to eat solid food, food you give mature Christians. And if we’re fighting and dividing amongst each other, if we’re saying this one is better than this one or I want this one and I follow this one, where Jesus is the only one we should follow…
Hey DAB this is Tiffany from northern New Mexico and I just wanna tell you how much I love all of you. I love this family and I love how we are so united despite the fact that many of us have never met, actually most of us have never met and we may even live halfway across the world from one another. But the Lord connects us all. The hardest part for me is with every prayer request that comes in I just want to hug you. Whoever you are it doesn’t matter I just want to hug you and take you out for coffee and hear more of your story and really been blessed to do that with a couple of you. But I guess I’ll just have to look forward to meeting the rest of you when we’re all living in our eternal home. But in the meantime, I just wanted to let you know that I love you guys and I’m lifting you up. I know that many others are as well. And I just wanted you to know, Trent from Ozwell thank you for continuing to share your story. And Vicki, my heart breaks for you. I have two boys and can’t imagine what you’re going through. Praying for you through grief. Giovanni I’m praying for you with COVID that God would heal you and your family. Tammy I'm…I’m praying for you to have that piece that you truly want. Brenda I’m praying for your mom Nancy with dementia. I have a loved one also with dementia and see how hard and…and just how hard it is. And Anointed I’m praying for your husband Ron for spiritual and physical and mental health. Val in Vegas we love you and I just pray that your surgery went well and that the surgeon’s hands were…
Hi this is Toni and I’m calling in response to a message that a gentleman from Alabama left on…we heard it on September 17th, and he talked about the hard struggles in your life, you know, abused as a child, cancer on the nose, and other things. And you talked about the importance of…you know…or the realization of the importance of counting one’s blessings. And just hearing your voice I just suspect you have been and that you are a significant blessing and that you’re living your life in a way where you are the hands and feet of the Lord blessing others. And, so, I just felt I need…that needed to be said and maybe that was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Just recognition and love of God coming through. So, God bless you and thank you for leaving your message for us. Bye-bye.