Month: August 2022

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’s great to be here with you today, it was great to be here with you yesterday and will be great to be here with you tomorrow, but it is really great to be here with you today since this is happening right now so I’m glad…glad that we can gather around the Global Campfire and take our next step forward together. And that next step will lead us back into the book of Nehemiah. We’re reading from the Evangelical Heritage Version this week. And today Nehemiah chapter 11 verse 1 through 12 verse 26.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in our reading from first Corinthians today Paul seems to be answering a question that at its core, basically boils down to can we be guilty by association, which is a really good question? So, basically what we have going on here is that Corinth is a pagan city. And, so, polytheism is being practiced within the city, which means many gods are being worshiped. And there’s many temples and many ways to worship these gods. And as we have learned from the Scriptures, people do sacrifice to false gods. And, so, the sacrificial system is in place, which actually creates a market, the meat market. Sounds a little bit weird in our day and age of very very nicely packaged grocery stores where we just go and and grab whatever meat, if we’re meat eaters we’re going to eat, but at this point in time, the meat market is populated by the sacrifices of people who have been sacrificing. So, if you go into the market, it’s like virtually impossible to understand whether or not the hamburger you’re going to buy was sacrificed to a false idol or or…or where it came from or what its origin is etc. etc. And the people in the church of Jesus were…were just kind of wondering like how do we parse this? How do we sort this out? How to we have the proper discernment? Can we…like if we don’t know any better can we just eat the meat? Or what if we have friends that are pagan and we know that they worship false idols, and they invited us over for dinner, can we go? Can we be friends? Can we meet with them? Which in so many ways boils down to, can we extend and receive hospitality from one another? And then to make matters even more complicated, how do you associate vocationally with coworkers and…and authorities, bosses in your lives who are pagan and who do worship other gods. But maybe, I don’t know, maybe you’re a carpenter and maybe you are a part of, like at guild, a group of carpenters and this guild believes that a certain God protects the whole guild. And, so, they have like a weekly or monthly or whatever, they…they do something to appease this god, whether it be a sacrifice or some other kind of observation. Well then your kind of an in trouble if you’re a Christian, or if you’re a Jew because you can certainly go to the guild or whatever you’re a part of and say like, I’m a Christian and so I worship Jesus and this is how that goes. But that could actually very very much affect your job or your status among your peers who are all like, why is this one guy not on board with all of us being protected by our local got. And that’s not so hard to even understand in our own day and age. Maybe we don’t have a guild or we’re a part of a union of some sort that forces us into some sort of sacrifice to a pagan God, but the idea of needing to get on board and conform and stay on the same page with your group, that’s everywhere. So, we should understand what the dilemma is here. And, so, in answering this, Paul’s answering quite a comprehensive question. On the one hand he’s saying the idols that are being worshiped aren’t real gods. They’re man-made things. And, so, when people worship them, they’re worshiping nothing at all. And when people sacrifice…well…Paul goes so far as to say that sacrificing to demons, so you don’t want to eat me sacrificed to demons. But Paul’s basically saying, hey, like the meat that you’re talking about here, that’s not really the issue. The issue is how what you do affects those around you. So, if you go by a pound of meat the meat market and you’re not asking every vendor where this meat came from and whether or not it was sacrificed to an idol of some sort. If you’re just going grocery shopping then go grocery shopping. But if somebody volunteers, hey this meat was sacrificed to this particular pagan God. Well, then you have that awareness and now other people around you and so the decision you make becomes different than just grocery shopping. You’re actually being a witness in the moment. Or if you’re invited over to some friends house who you know are pagan and they put food in front of you and you guys are having a nice time of fellowship enjoy yourself. Have a good time but if somebody in the group in that family says, hey by the way, we know we are Christians and you know were not, and the hamburgers were having and I were sacrificed to such and such a god, well then Paul says you pay attention to that other person’s conscience. They cared about what you were going to feel enough to tell you and they’re telling you for a reason so that you don’t step out of bounds with your own conscience. In that case, then respect them, or to just quote it in Paul’s own words, “if one of the unbelievers invite you over and you wanna go, eat whatever you are served without asking questions for the sake of conscience, but if someone says to you, this is from a sacrifice, then do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. I mean the other person’s conscience, not your own.” And Paul goes on to say, “why is my freedom judged by somebody else’s conscience?” So, Paul is teaching a posture of…of being aware and caring for those who are around us not just so that we can just exploit our freedoms so that we can care for those who are around us that we are a witness to for Jesus. But underneath it all, there…it’s almost like the unspoken question is, how far can we go with this? How far can we push the boundaries? And also how can we know, in so many variable kinds of circumstances, how can we know how to navigate this? And Paul answers the question. “Whether you eat or drink or do anything else do everything to the glory of God. Do not give offense to Jews or Greeks, or God’s church just as I also try to please all people in all things by not seeking what is best for me but for the many so that they may be saved.” That counsel and advice right there speaks to a myriad of circumstances in our own lives. We may not be able to relate to this meat market whether or not meat was sacrificed or not, but we can certainly relate to the concepts that are underneath it, the things that make us question how far can I push this? What are the boundaries? Can I push the boundaries? Sure, you can. You can do whatever you want to do. But taking the advice from the Scriptures, whether you eat or drink or do anything else do what you do to the glory of God and try to be conscious of those around you and not give offense. And you do this by seeking what is best for the many instead of what is best for yourself because you are a living, breathing example, a witness to them so that they may also come to know Jesus. That is solid. Like, that is solid and pure good advice for the way that we conduct ourselves in the various circumstances that we find ourselves in. And, so, let’s remember this today and let’s carry this with us today. Whether you eat or drink or do anything else do everything for the glory of God.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that. That is our desire, to please You, to obey You, to fellowship with You, to make You happy. And, so, Holy Spirit lead us in whatever we do today, whether we eat or drink, or anything else. May it be to Your glory and Your praise. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

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And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Coming soon…

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 am Brian. It is great to be here with you today as we approach the center of another one of our months together on our journey. It’s great to be here with you today, great to just exhale, let it all kinda slip away for a little bit, focus our attention on the Scriptures, focus our affection upon the Lord and take the next step forward together, which leads us back out into the book of Nehemiah. And we’ll pick up the story from where we left off, today Nehemiah chapter 9 verse 22 through 10 verse 39.

Commentary:

Okay in first Corinthians, Paul is continuing to sort of layout his formula of ministry. He’s answering questions that he had been asked, let’s remember that like, this is a letter and so, Paul answers questions that we don’t know exactly what those questions were, we can just sort of determine it by the way that he answers it. But he, he says like, about the thing that you wrote to me about and then he answers this, and so, there’s some of that in all these letters because it’s kind of a back-and-forth. Like, they couldn’t text each other, they couldn’t email each other. They couldn’t check up on anybody’s status. So, these letters were a way of communication when they were apart. And so, Paul was talking like, in yesterday’s reading that carries over and gets concluded in today’s reading, some of the different things about freedom and his philosophy of ministry. So, he was saying yesterday, like, it’s right and appropriate and proper that the person who comes and teaches you or brings the word of God into your life and gives you counsel, that that person is able to supply and support his family by doing this like, it’s a job. And then Paul kinda goes on to say but I don’t like, I haven’t done that, I haven’t put a burden on anybody but it’s right and good, because it’s actually a comprehensive and full-time job. And Paul has talked about freedom, freedoms from the perspective of a person saying I can do whatever I want because I’m free. Paul’s applying this to his ministry outlook by saying I’m free, and we know Paul was free like, he’s a free Roman citizen, but he’s free in Christ, but he is found it meaningful to look at himself as a slave to everybody. So, he’s completely free but he is humbling himself and trying to behave as a servant and kinda taking on that posture changes the way you look at everybody. If you’re not superior and looking down at somebody because you’re better than they are, if, even if you are, even if you got more money, got a better job, have more kids, have a bigger house, have better cars like, whatever you, whatever criteria you want to create, even if you are those things, to humble yourself from within and look at everyone as if you are their servant, changes the way you look at everyone. Or pulling this back in Paul’s own words and I quote, “to the Jews I became like a Jew, so that I might gain Jews. To those that were under the law, I became like a person under the law. Thought, I myself am not under the law, so that I might gain those who are under the law. To those who are without the law, I became like a person without the law, though I am not without God’s law, but I’m within the law of Christ, so that I might gain those who are without the law. To the weak, I became weak, so that I might gain the weak. I have become all things to all people, so that I may save at least some and I do everything for the sake of the Gospel, so that I may share it along with others.” And it is indeed, a game changer when we are not vying for superiority. It is a game changer that when we humble ourselves, looking at everyone as an opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus, to serve. However, it’s a whole lot easier to say things like this than to live things like this and be like this. And so, we can listen to that posture and that is a game changer to just, no matter what status in life you are in, to understand that you are here as an ambassador of the kingdom of God, to reveal the kingdom and introduce people to Jesus. And in God’s kingdom, nobody is superior to anyone. None of us deserve anything. That might be something we can do, if we are consciously paying attention but we would have to say at minimum, it takes incredible vigilance and awareness and self-awareness and self-discipline. So, Paul gives us a picture of what that looks like, one that they could certainly understand when he wrote the letter, but when we can very easily understand today. And I quote Paul, “do you not know that when runners compete in the stadium, they all run, but only one receives the prize, run like that to win. Everyone who competes in the game’s exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable victor’s wreath, but we do it for an imperishable one, that is why there is nothing aimless about the way I run.” Right, and so, Paul’s running is to look at everyone and try to serve them and to fit into their context, as opposed to trying to draw them into his story, he tries to get into their story, right. So, if there Jews, he understands that story, he enters into that story. If they’re Gentiles, he’s been among them, he understands them, he acts like the. If they’re weak, then he enters into their weakness. This is his diligent, vigilant way of running and he is running to win, and it requires incredible vigilance and awareness, to live within that posture. And so, Paul is saying, and I quote, “that is why there is nothing aimless about the way I run. There is no pummeling of the year, in the way I box. Instead, I hit my body hard and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be rejected.” So, we are getting insight from Paul’s own testimony about himself and his ministry philosophy, we are also getting counsel that was given to the early church. So, these are the postures that they’re trying to espouse, as they go out into the world and conduct their lives. And they apply to us in the same way. And it’s not hard for us to understand like, if we’re gonna live for Jesus, then let’s live like a runner who has disciplined themselves and made it to the stadium right, an elite athlete, who is trying to win. That’s the picture before us, which right, it’s gonna take self-discipline, awareness, vigilance, humility, and self-control. But this is also the path to true freedom.

Prayer:

And so, Holy Spirit, we invite You to come into that, we confess, we have biases, we have stories, we have convictions, we have all kinds of things that are going on within us, that would keep us from looking at another person and allowing us to be humble enough to humble ourselves and’s see if there’s anything that we can do, on Your behalf to serve. And just to have that posture, doesn’t mean that we go out walking down the street and we can’t get anything in our lives done. Because we’re just trying to see who we might serve in some way, it’s being available always at a moment’s notice, as opportunity arises, that we are aware that we are Your ambassadors and can do so much good and so small amount of time, if we’re just paying attention. Help us to put this in practice today, because as we practice these postures of heart, we’re going to be doing good in the world. And as we practice, we will get better, like a self-disciplined runner who makes it to the stadium, like a boxer who trains their body to be able to take a punch and also to give one. We confess, we’re not all that self-disciplined and we’re not all that self-aware. And so, we need Your Holy Spirit to guide us, and lead us, to shine the light of truth into the dark recesses of our hearts. So, come, Holy Spirit that we might change the rhythm and continue to become aware that opportunity to love our fellow human beings, on Your behalf and in your name, those opportunities are everywhere. Come, Jesus, and lead us we pray. In your mighty name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, home of the Global Campfire. It’s where, you can now find out what’s going on around here. The Daily Audio Bible app will do the same thing and more, and you can download the app free from the App Store that is connected to your device, so check that out. Check out the Community Section, whether in the app or on the web, that is where to get connected, different links to the different social media channels that we participate in, different groups etc. can be found there. That is also the home of the Prayer Wall, and the Prayer Wall is an always on, never off, resource available to the Global Campfire community moving through the Scriptures together. So, no matter what time of day or night it may be, if the bottom seems to have dropped out of your life for a minute and you’re tumbling and you’re not sure which way is up anymore, you can come share your story, knowing that brothers and sisters will respond and pray for you. Or maybe you’ve been through that before and you know what it feels like, and you know that it makes a difference, to know that you’re not alone and that somebody is praying for you. Then you go to the Prayer Wall, and we pray for each other and let each other know where praying for each other. It is, like I said, always on, never off, doesn’t matter the continent you’re on, doesn’t matter the time zone you’re in, doesn’t matter what’s even going on, there’s a place to come reach out and that is the Prayer Wall and that can be found in the Community Section, so check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage or if you’re using the app, there is a Give button in the upper right-hand corner. Or if you prefer the mail, 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 and share from there. No matter where you are in the world, 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:

Giving all praise, glory and honor to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is the head of my life. This is Laura, Walking in the Wilderness, in Georgia. And today, is August the 10th but I’m a day behind on the DAB. I just heard, yesterday, August 9th prayer from, or call in from Audrey from Reno Valley, California. Sweety, your message was, I know a gift from God right to me because I haven’t had relations with my 35-year-old Chris, who has an addiction. Which his addiction has torn him away from his family, his friends. He has a daughter who’s six, who lost her mother last year and so, he has not stepped up and taken a role in her life at all because of the addiction. But hearing your testimony was a blessing to me. I was having a shout, praise fest over here for you. And I’m gonna continue, and then to hear your son, halleluiah. Thank you, Jesus, for your power, your grace and your love. I will continue to lift you and your son up in prayer. Oh, what a mighty God we serve. God can deliver, He can, and He will. Oh, I love my DAB family. Everybody, have a blessed day. Peace.

Hi, DAB family, my name is Olu, I’m calling from the UK. Today’s August the 5th. I’ve been a listener for four years; this is my first time calling. I felt compelled, you know, call for the first-time in response to Shawn who reached out for prayer. Shawn, you said that you were a drug addict. That you’ve fought, you’ve walked away from God’s word, the Bible. And now, you’ve come back to the Bible, and you felt that you needed to reach out and ask for prayer. I can hear the, you know, I can hear from your voice that you know, this is not something that you wanted in your life. And thank you Shawn for reaching out, you know, I really appreciate that. And as I was listening to you, what came to mind was the prodigal son. I think you’ll find that in Luke chapter 15 verse 11 to the end of the chapter. Shawn, my brother, my message to you is to read that particular portion of Scripture and pray. And I’ll be praying with you; you’re not alone. Again, thank you for reaching out. My thoughts will be with you. Amen.

Hi, this is Victorious Soldier, just calling to pray for some of the DABers. I want to pray for Rosie from Oregon, congratulations! Praying for your new job, victory, glory to God. I also want to pray for Audrey and say that the praise report of her precious son. I pray that God keeps you and take way that desire and give you, give you victory like never before my brother and the mother that is so excited. I’m praying with you and rejoice highly. I also want to pray for Tom, he’s going through some things. I wanted to pray for you for the victory, Tom. You can make it, God is faithful and He’s just. I also want to pray for the Danny from Oregon. I want to pray for Judy, the first-time caller, that she grew up with a dad to go to Quebec. Just want to pray for them and just praise for the young man who’s going through the drug rehab and those who are going through anxieties and depression, that God would lift these where that He’s willing. He’s willing and able, Lord, take away the desires from my precious brother. Continue to take away the desires Lord, and knock down the cobwebs of life, that he can live a victorious life like never before. Father, You have Your way. You continue to bless that mother to rejoice with her son. Father, we thank You for Your blessing, we thank You for those who are going through the names I called Lord, that sister that just put in for that new job. Lord, You be with her and You guide her and give her the victory, Father. You have Your way. Give her joy like never before. And You be with her as You always have. Lord, we just thank You for being with Brian and Jill and also a special prayer for my precious China and just let her know that we love her, and that God loves …

Hi, it’s Wednesday, August 10th. My name is Soul Sister by the Sea in North Carolina. And I just heard Christ from Brooklyn call in asking for prayer for anxiety and depression. And Chris, I grew up in Brooklyn and I have struggled with anxiety my whole life. And I have to say that actually I surrendered my soul and my heart to the Lord, due to that blessing. And often, I’ve struggled, overtime, you know, seeking out different solutions for it. And I want you to know that you’re not alone. That in Christ, very often, it’s what we feel, we struggle the most with that drives us to the foot of the cross. And I want you to know that there are a lot of us out here who struggle with that, but that God can be your peace in the midst of the storm. I would encourage you to find fellowship with other believers. Don’t isolate and I would also pray that you would find out ways to also address your physical health, cause a lot of times you know, our surroundings and how we take care of ourselves, I’m talking about our bodies being a temple today, are really important: your sleep, your exercise, your nourishment. But most of all, just know you’re not alone. I’m gonna pray for you every day, as I pray for, I have a child that struggles with this. I still have my ups and my downs. I hope to hear back from you soon on the program just saying that, you know, you’re holding His hands closely. And just every time that you get to these places where you’re struggling, you just remember that He is with you and that you’re being uplifted by your Soul Sister by the Sea here in North Carolina.

I’m calling to pray about Vicky from the Desert. This is Topdemerick from Alexandria, Virginia. Vicky called to say she didn’t know what she needed, and she wanted us to pray for her. So, let’s pray for Vicky. Lord Jesus, we lift up your daughter Vicky before You. Lord, God Almighty, You who know all of our needs, we pray that Vicky will be touched by Your Holy Spirit. That You will bring strength unto her, Lord God, for whatever she’s going through, at this time. We pray that she will find comfort, we pray that she will find strength in You dear Jesus. Touch her from the top of her head to the soul of her feet. Whatever it is that the enemy is doing, we bind it, in the name of Jesus. Bind every spirit of condemnation, in the might name of Jesus. Cause Vicky, there’s definitely no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. We pray, dear God, that You would cause that Vicky would find acceptance and love in You, Lord God. Touch her at this moment. And every person of God in DAB that is feeling condemned, we need strength, oh God. We pray that You would touch them right now and let them know, dear God, that You are by their side and that whenever they call, You will answer them. So, Father, thank You for hearing our prayers. Give You all the praise and the glory. For it is in Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.

Hello, Daily Audio Bible family, my given name means famous fighter. I have been listening to Daily Audio Bible for many years and I’m a first-time caller. I need to call in and say a special thank you to Hands to Heaven. I am one of the silent ones. I am standing at the end of a 30-year marriage that was filled with emotional, sexually and spiritual abuse. I wondered, how could I call in for prayer, what would I say. I had allowed myself to become silenced. As I walk this very dark valley, crying out to God for healing, for hope and for change. I daily listen to Brian cover me in God’s precious word and God began changing me. There was no judgement in what he read. God’s word is so incredibly powerful, and it spoke love, peace and new life to me. And as he shared his commentary, I never felt the twisting of Scripture that wasn’t being spoken over me in other parts of my life. The Daily Audio Bible became my lifeline and it helped me be able to stand and say “nope, that is not how God sees me, He loves me and created me perfectly”. And as I listen to the praise and prayer requests and prayed along, I often cried, sensing, that although the prayer being offered was for someone else, God meant it for me as well. So, thank you, Hands to Heaven, for praying for me, one of the silent ones. I’m silent no longer and I pray that others like me will know that God absolutely cherishes them and adores them and is holding them beneath his wings, just as He has been holding me.

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 gather around the Global Campfire and greet a brand-new week. Out in front of us much to discover, much territory to cover, and life to live together in community around the Global Campfire. And, so, brand-new week. We’ll read from the Evangelical Heritage Version this week. And of course, we’ll be picking up where we left off, which is in the book of Nehemiah. Today, chapter 8 verse 1 through nine verse 21.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for the Global Campfire. We thank You for one another to be together taking these steps forward as we move through the Scriptures. We thank You for all that You have spoken to us and all that You have yet to speak to us through the Scriptures. And as we move forward into this brand-new week, Holy Spirit we be aware of Your presence around us always, that we don’t have to conjure You up we simply need to become aware that You are already here. And mainly be aware of that in all of the moments, in all of the decisions and everything that we choose and all that we think and what we choose to say. May these things that shape our lives be informed by Your truth. Come Holy Spirit, and lead us into all truth, we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Coming soon…

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 am Brian and it is great to be here with you today, today and every day. Literally, every day. It’s wonderful to gather around the Global Campfire and take the next step forward together. So, that next step forward leads us to the place where we left off, which happens to be in the book of Nehemiah, in the Old Testament. And so, let’s dive in and take the next step forward, which will be Nehemiah chapter 5 verse 14 through 7 verse 73, today.

Commentary:

Okay so, in the book of Nehemiah, we see this completion of a dream, a goal, to rebuild the wall around Jerusalem, but we probably should have noticed is that, as they got closer to the conclusion, to the completion of the goal, things got more difficult. Which can often be the case right, in any kind of project that we are on, finishing, just finishing is so difficult sometimes. And that’s when the whole thing can fall apart, after we’ve used all of the energy to get somewhere just finishing, can be a problem. We see Nehemiah continuing forward, continuing to turn to God and he explains some things that even reveal more of his heart. Though the why, what’s going on inside of him, because he has been appointed a governor and he is entitled to certain things to get, to get paid. In certain ways, things that he is allowed to impose upon the people so that, so that he’s enriched, and he’s cared for and what Nehemiah showed us in his narrative today was, although there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s not what he did. Like, he carried a burden of his own, so as not to impose a heavier burden on a people who are already working really, really hard toward a goal and who had already been exploited by their own people. And so, he’s paying out of his own pocket to support himself and those that he is charged to care for so that, the people are burdened and so that the…the goal can be achieved. So, that they can finish, so that they can continue to move forward. Nehemiah, even reported to us in the reading today that Jerusalem had a wall around it, and it was spacious inside right, because Jerusalem had been destroyed. So, there’s a city wall but it’s spacious inside, it’s ruins on the inside and he comments that they did not buy any land. We can be like, whatever, who cares but this is Jerusalem, and this is a city that has a wall around it now and he has led the building of that wall. And it would seem like at walled city called Jerusalem, that the real estate inside that wall, would be valuable and would only grow. And so, for him to comment that, he didn’t even mess with that, he didn’t even by any land, like a ground-floor opportunity that he created, and he didn’t exploit the opportunity. So, that reveals a lot about what’s going on inside of Nehemiah and his heart toward this is goal of rebuilding the wall. And then this ridicule and threatening and taunting and threatening ambush, this kind of stuff, actually turns political. Nehemiah’s enemies wanted to come down from Jerusalem, come down from the wall and have a summit meeting, because rumors are flying around that Nehemiah wants to make himself king and he’s gonna finish this wall and he’s going to declare himself king and he’s got false prophets ready to prophesy and he’s gonna take over. And surely that’s going to get back to the king of Persia, so they’re trying to intimidate him to come to the summit meeting with they’re likely to taken captive or kill him and they even have trusted leaders inside the city trying to set Nehemiah up, trying to get them to flee to the temple where he will look weak because the enemy is coming and Nehemiah’s like, how can, I mean, I can’t do that. How can a person in my position, go run and hide in the temple? But then he realizes, they’re trying to discredit me, even some of the people on the inside here, are trying to discredit me. It’s almost as if, Nehemiah had a compass that pointed to his true North and he consulted that at every single step of the way to make sure that his orientation was correct and that true North was that he turned to God in everything, knowing that he had a mission to accomplish, that God had provided for and it cared for and affirmed and that was what he was there to do. He wasn’t there to acquire rental property inside the city of Jerusalem. He wasn’t there to leave the project, to go deal with the politics of the situation, even though those, they were threatening that the politics were threatening and were they to be believed, Nehemiah would be arrested and probably executed, back in Persia. There was a goal and that was the purpose for Nehemiah being there and he was passionate enough about…about it, to be paying out of his own pocket to sustain his work there, and those around him. And so, we get another incredible picture of goals and dreams and leadership, which is something that Nehemiah really brings to the surface, as we consider our own lives.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You, yet again, for more and more examples of this leader, Nehemiah and how he accomplished the building of the wall of Jerusalem, to protect Your temple and how he turned to You and how You turned to him. May we apply this to our own lives, our own goals our own dreams, the things that You are planting within us. We pray, in the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it is the website, it’s where you can find out what’s happening around here. The Daily Audio Bible app can do that as well. And you can download the app free, from whatever app store is connected to your phone or tablet or smart device, search for Daily Audio Bible and you should be able to find that, so, check it out. While you’re there, check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop. There are resources there, in a bunch of different departments, bunch of different categories, of different kinds of resources that have been developed over the year, for taking this journey through the Bible together, around the Global Campfire. In fact, there’s an entire Global Campfire line of things to just connect us, like there’s a Daily Audio Bible like, a commemorative coin I know that sounds weird, but I carry it around. If I reach my hand in my pocket and I touch that, it’s like, we’re all together like, we’re in this together, we’re a part of something together, something that is, really life-giving in this world, the word of God, spoken aloud, out into the world. So, yeah, just check out the resources and the Global Campfire department or in any of the different categories at the Shop.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if being around the Global Campfire gives a sense of not being alone and that we are on a journey together, and that the Scriptures in our lives every day do matter and do make a difference in giving us counsel, about the way that we should go. If you found life in the Scriptures around the Global Campfire together, then thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage and 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 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, that’s the little red button up at the top 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.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hello DAB, this is Allissa, from Colorado. I called quite a few months back to let you guys all know that my kidneys were failing. And you all are so amazing and prayed for me and I so appreciate that. So, my husband and I have been trying to get pregnant with our second child and have been struggling with secondary infertility for over two and a half years. And, of course, we found out, with the kidney failure, that’s probably why we weren’t getting pregnant. Anyways, my kidneys got so bad that I started dialysis in May, and I’ve been on for a couple weeks now, on dialysis. But anyways, about a week and a half ago, I found out that I’m pregnant and we were not even trying. So, yes, total miracle. It is less than one percent that dialysis patients are able to get pregnant. So, this is a miracle, but the reason I’m reaching out is because I’m obviously scared. I’m very excited, I’m praising God so, so much. I’m six weeks along now. There is a percentage, a risk, a pretty high risk of leaving my baby. Dialysis patients often do. And so, I’m just asking for your prayers for my sweet little growing baby. That it would grow to full term, that God would bless, his or her life. And that if it’s his will, that I will be able to see this baby and hold him in my arms. But if not, that God would give me the strength to trust Him through it and to praise Him anyway. And just to trust, no matter what happens and to lean on Him. So, I’m just praying for a miracle. So, if you could all join me in praying for my baby, I’ll keep you guys posted. I have an ultrasound in a little over two weeks. Thank you so, so, much. God bless you all. I’m so thankful for this community. I listen every day. God bless and have a wonderful day. Bye.

Hi, this is Bonnie from Virginia. Today, is Monday, August 8th. And I heard hands to heaven calling. It made me feel that she was really praying for me. This morning, I was crying and, in my tears, thinking about my life and living at my daughter and son-in-law’s house. My daughter has stopped going to church and is married to a guy who is not a believer. And in my culture, parents, we’re supposed to live with the son, but my son left home, so I had to move out from my apartment, since my daughter asked me to come live with them. I didn’t know that she had stopped going to the church, because she was planning to go to different church then mine, where we all three were attending before. And now, I see that my daughter has all the Hindu, I mean, son-in-law’s faith, god and art and statues, decorated at the house. There is no prayer, no worship, nothing in this house. And it really makes me feel very sad, regret myself moving out my apartment. And now, I’m not able to rent apartment because I do contract interpretation job and I do not make enough in order to qualify to rent an apartment. Thinking all these things makes me very sad and I really don’t find God …

Hello, Daily Audio Bible family, this is Justin from Virginia and I have a bit of a praise report and just ask for your continued prayers. So, last time I called I was going through a really rough time. A lot of anxiety and stress issues. But I feel God has worked some miracles. So, when I was having kind of, some of my darkest moments, I actually got physically sick from all of it. My dad actually came out and visited me and it was some of the best bonding time, I think I’ve ever had with him. It was great, it was really a blessing. That and seeing a counselor and doing some other things, I think has really helped. God has really worked through that. You know, I still have the same job, I haven’t been blessed with a new one yet but even that, I feel, is a bit less of a burden then it was before. So, God is good, and He’s moved in mysterious ways and used some really challenging moments in my life over the past few months, to apparently, bring me closer to my dad and other things. So, just, I wanted to give a praise report and let you know I’m doing better but to also ask for your continued prayers as I’m trying to get a new job and trying to find, continue to find peace and grow in Christ. So, love you everyone. Thank you, once again. God be praised.

Hey family, this is Kent. And, last week I heard Shawn from the UK call in, asking for prayers with his addiction to drugs. This morning, Travis, from Alberta called in to pray for Shawn. Well, Shawn, you’ve been on my mind, I have been praying for you because I know what addiction is like. And Travis, this morning, your prayer felt like it was for me, as well. My addictions are not the same as Shawn’s, an addiction is still, something that I deal with. So, thank you Travis, for that prayer and those thoughts and those words of encouragement to Shawn and to me. And Shawn, know that you are prayed for, and I love you both, brothers. Thank you.

Good morning, my name is Angie and I live in Chattanooga, Tennessee, this is my first-time calling in. Today is August 9th and I was listening to the prayers, and I heard Jed on there from Quebec, Canada, 19 years old. Super encouraging. I am a single mom. I raised three, almost by myself. I’ve been single for 11 and a half years and his prayer request for his mom, really touched my heart because my kids pray for me for a Godly husband and it just got me thinking that there’s a lot of us single women, who are waiting for Godly men. And it’s probably a sign of the times, where it seems like there are more spiritual Godly minded woman, then men. But my prayer request is that the Lord would raise them up, that the Lord, would raise these men up. That He would pour out His Holy Spirit on men and right them and put their eyes on Him. Cause there’s a lot of us ladies who would really love Godly husbands who are just one fire and head-over-heals in love with Jesus. Thanks fam.

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 am Brian coming to you from the steamy rolling hills of Tennessee, where we are in the thick of the summer. And it’s a great to be here with you today as we gather. Like every day, we gather around the Global Campfire move forward together. And, so, our next step forward leads us back into a book that we began yesterday, the book of Nehemiah. And, so, we’ll read from Nehemiah first before arriving back in first Corinthians, Paul’s letter to the church in Corinth. So, we are reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Nehemiah chapter 3 verse 15 through 5 verse 13.

Commentary:

Okay. So, when we were talking about the book of Nehemiah and getting going in the book of Nehemiah one of the things that I said is that if we just watch Nehemiah himself and the way that he conducts himself as a leader there’s a lot, a lot for us to take counsel in as we consider our own calling, as we consider the passions that we feel like our burning in her bones and as we seek the Lord’s direction. And, so, we watch this idea to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem materialize in Nehemiah. And then we watch Nehemiah pray and wait and plan and think and pray and then invite the king into the story and seek the king’s favor to go to Jerusalem, which he got. And then we watched him look the whole situation over in Jerusalem before he ever told anybody what was going to happen. And then he cast the vision and everybody working really really hard and things were progressing fantastically ahead of schedule even, which is what we would want, right, if we got this idea, and it starts to burn inside our heart and we pray and intercede and everything starts to fall in place and there’s like affirmation and permission to move forward and resources are there. And, so, we move forward. What we would want, everything to go smooth. And, so, things began smoothly, but anybody who has ever done anything probably knows like if you’re…if you’re on a long-term project of some sort obstacles are going to materialize in some way. Things aren’t going typically to just go all the way smooth, no problem. Let’s move onto the next smooth sailing win for us. Typically, we have to face challenges. And challenges did arise in Nehemiah’s story among the people. First of all, it’s just the taunting and ridicule and demoralization of the other people around who did not want to see this project up and move forward in any way and so they just start ridiculing and taunting people, intimidating people, right? And, so, they’re just out there going who do they think they are? They think they’re gonna build a wall? Even a fox could knock this wall over if it ran on top of it. They’re just like intimidating and demoralizing the people with their words. If you’ve ever been on a lengthy project that you are pouring your soul into, you are going for it with all of your heart and you have the words of discouragement all around you, that takes the energy, that takes the wind out of the sails and that was true for Nehemiah. Nehemiah didn’t go after the taunting people to get in a big big argument, a shouting match, all kinds of threats wasting all kinds of more energy. He turned to the Lord, basically saying, don’t forget what they’re saying. Like you sent us here to do this. Hear what they’re saying. He reaffirmed his dependence upon God for success, and they kept building. And that’s something for us to see. Nehemiah turned to God in the obstacles and kept moving forward regardless of the taunting and pretty soon they were half done. There was a wall around Jerusalem. It wasn’t a great wall, but it was half as high as it needed to be. They were halfway done. And then these taunting voices turned into threatening voices that…that they are…that…that that the enemies of the Jews who were rebuilding the wall will be attacked. And, so, the threat of just ambush and killing indiscriminately because people are spread out all around the city or the threat of a full on attack against the people in the city was actually a real thing. So, Nehemiah’s got a situation where they’re trying to rebuild this wall, but they could be attacked at any moment of any day at any time. And, so, Nehemiah turned to the Lord and then began to guard day and night the worksite. Nehemiah had to make some hard decisions because he needed to arm half of the workforce, while half of the workforce continued to build which means they had to slow to half pace, essentially, and everybody had to wear a weapon and be ready, which would slow things down further. And yet they were prepared if they were attacked, and they didn’t stop moving forward. So, they had obstacles coming against them that were real, even life-threatening and Nehemiah turns to God and arms the people to defend themselves and they keep going. Progress has slowed down considerably, but they keep moving forward. And then we saw this problem happening among the Jews, a demoralizing thing for a leader like Nehemiah to realize that…man, not only do we have threats from the outside, we have threats from the inside. Like everything is difficult. Maybe we have felt that at times, as we’re working toward something. Everything is difficult. Every step I take is hard on. Sometimes it’s like that. And we’re watching that in Nehemiah’s life. And in this case, people with money are exploiting people without money. They’re trying to build this wall. They’re trying to stay faithful to it. They’re also trying to feed themselves and their families. And there’s a famine. And, so, those with resources are exploiting those without resources and they’re exploiting their own brothers and sisters. And Nehemiah actually confronts his own people who are part of the same mission after the same goal. He confronts them, saying, look, look we’re doing everything we can to buy everyone back that we can and here you are like turning around and exploiting them and reselling them into slavery. Like, this is ridiculous. And once the perpetrators were confronted, when the light was shined upon the situation then they had to acknowledge what they were doing and they had to acknowledge that it wasn’t right and they had to agree to give back everything that they had earned through exploitation, which they did and to stop preying on their own people. So, basically in this rebuilding of the wall in the reading that we read today, we watched its leader Nehemiah face, taunting, ridicule, demoralization, the threat of attack, the need to create an armed force for security to protect themselves, the slowing of the project to half speed, problems from within the ranks, people going after each other inside this workforce, people exploiting other people. And Nehemiah is continues to turn to God and be devoted and to endure and to persevere because there is a goal in mind and that is that the temple of the most high God would be protected by a wall around the city. Watching Nehemiah should inform our aspirations may be convictions, dreams, goals, the things that we’re going after. What’s being modeled for us is character in  leadership with a clearly stated goal and a willingness to endure to see that goal accomplished.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for the opportunity to have dreams and aspirations and goals, that we have the opportunity to take risks and move into things, and that Your spirit is here to guide us. May we learn from this story of Nehemiah. Because a lot of times we get a dream and the dream begins to fade when the dream actually becomes hard work and the dream fades more when we get discouraging words and the dream almost disappears when we feel threatened and the dream completely goes away when we feel betrayed from the inside, all things that we watched happen in our reading today. And yet we didn’t see the dream go away. We saw that it was continuing, and that Nehemiah was turning to You, and adjusting, adjusting and pivoting in such a way that things could continue to move forward toward the goal. Let that speak into our lives and into our situations we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com, that is home base, home of the Global Campfire that has been ongoing now for a long time. That’s where you find out what’s going on around here. The Daily Audio Bible app will allow the same thing and more. So, check that out. You can download the app for free at whatever app store is connected to your device. So, certainly check into that.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if this mission that we share to continue to bring the spoken word of God read fresh every day and offered freely to anyone who will listen anywhere on this planet any time of day or night and to build community around that rhythm so that we know we’re not alone we’re in this together, if that is life-giving to you then 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, 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, my name is Brooke I am calling in for the first time and I’m calling in because my family and I help a elderly woman who was previously homeless and, you know, we rent her a home and just try to help her to have some stability in her life and she struggles with mental illness and some other health problems. And anyway, it’s just very taxing because of her mental illness. You know, she just has very strong reactions to things and sometimes, you know, goes through spurts like right now where she won’t talk to me and she’s mad at me for things that I didn’t do and, you know, for not really reason at all. And anyway…and it just feels really hopeless sometimes. And I decided to call in because I just was thinking, you know, about her situation and other peoples situations with mental illness and how hopeless it can feel and I just know that it cannot be hopeless because God is capable of anything. And all of the ways that we fail and feel like we can’t help He can. And, so, I just asked that you would pray for my friend her name is Leda and just pray for her mental illness and for a miracle and that for hope, that there would be hope in this situation. Thanks. Bye.

Good morning beautiful dab family this is Latula from Los Angeles and I heard yesterday’s message August 7^th and I was so touched by one of my fellow callers that called out the consistency and the commitment of the Hardin family how every morning they are for the last 13 years in her life speaking life, speaking words of promise, speaking words of wisdom and interpreting what the Holy Spirit has put into our brother Brian Hardin. And for the last year and a half…maybe almost two years I think I have been listening to the Daily Audio Bible consistently and I’ve grown. I feel myself just closer in my walk with the Lord and the long walk especially, the beautiful July 7^th long walk. And I was so touched that she proclaimed, you know, like let us tithe, let us tithe into this ministry that is consistently there for us day and night the spoken word available and accessible to all. And that's…that’s something that touched my heart and I’m encouraged, and I’m touched and I’m going to act upon this call of action, and I plan to start tithing into this ministry. So, I encourage anyone who is also just getting pointed to, that we continue this beautiful G;obal Campfire. In Jesus’ name I pray. Thank you, Brian Hardin you are my pastor also, not just the one I go to. I do go to my pastor Justin and Marissa they’re amazing. Just so I love you all. Have a great day.

This is Larry from Iowa and today I come to you with…guys with sad and also a glad heart. It’s to do with part of my family. My…my sister passed away earlier this year. And at the same time my brother-in-law, her husband bond had cancer earlier and he went to chemo, and it went away. And this was about six months ago. And Bob is a firm believer in the Lord. And the cancer has come back now, and he just spent a week in the hospital taking chemo and the chemo wasn’t working. And, so, they returned him to his home and called in Hospice. And I just ask you to pray for Bob and let him have the peace that passes all understanding or heal him, whatever the Lord desires. I thank you. I listen to you every morning and I hear you guys pray. I just ask you to pray for Bob today. Thank you.

Good morning DAB family my name is Sandy I want to be known as I’m Rooted. I’m from Lancaster CA. I have a client, I’m a hairstylist, I have a client that has a sister, her name is Rasheeda. I’m so sad because she’s been missing since August the first. She was last seen with two guys and a girl. They found her car burnt up and she’s still missing. And I would like for everyone to pray for her, that she would be found real soon. She has two children and I’m just I’m just really sad. I did her hair for a while. But just to think that somebody has taken her and what they could have done to her. But I know God is in control of all things and that He will bring her home safe. So, I know with all of us coming together and praying that God will answer the prayers because His word says when more than one are in agreement that His will will be done. So, DAB family let’s come together and pray that Rasheeda would get home safe to her children. And that I pray for the young people that’s involved…that’s involved with this and I hope that God will put the right things on their mind and their heart to do the right thing also. Have a blessed day DAB family.

Hello, my name is Patrick from Calgary AB Canada. I’m just asking for prayer because I’ve been a sickly person ever since I was born and seems like one thing after another. I’m 62 now and I just keep getting sick. I keep ending up in the hospital, chronic sickness. And I know it’s an attack of the enemy. I know he wants to try and take me out but it’s not going to happen because greater is He that is in me than he is that is in the world. So, I’m asking for prayer that I will just experience freedom from chronic sickness. It’s gotta stop. It stops because the Lord says that He intercedes for us at the right hand of the Father. So…and I know that people are praying around the world and appreciate all the prayers for this to go and be done with once and for all. Because God has not given me a spirit of fear but of power of love and a sound mind. I have bipolar disorder too and I just want to be healed. I’m sick of this bipolar. Just tired of it. Just tired of the enemy’s attacks. And I know it says in James 4:7 to resist the enemy and he shall flee. So, I try to do that on a daily basis…well actually on a minute basis because he attacks my mind. But anyway, I appreciate all the prayers. Thank you so much DAB community. Bye for now.

Hello this is Maurice Woodson calling from Indianapolis IN and I’m calling about my pastor friend John from Pittsburgh. His wife of 48 years was called home to heaven a few weeks ago and he and his children sent her on a wonderful home going service. At this time I’m calling to request prayer for him and his family as they go through the grieving process of losing a mother and a wife. And I ask for John for prayer for him because he has to continue to be a pastor as he grieves the homegoing of his wife. God bless you.