Jeremiah 44:24-47:7, 2 Timothy 2:22-3:17, Psalm 94:1-23, Proverbs 26:6-8
Today is the 24th day of the month of October, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is a joy and an honor to be here with you today, as we gather and move forward together, day-by-day, step-by-step. And taking the next step forward which leads us to the exact place where we left off yesterday, which leads us back into the book of Jeremiah. And today we will read Jeremiah chapter 44 verse 24 through 47 verse 7 and we’re reading from the New Living Translation this week.
Commentary:
Okay so, in our reading from second Timothy, today we encountered a verse, it’s a famous verse, but it is a verse that, of all of the verses in the Bible, most succinctly describes why it is we come around the Global Campfire every day. And I quote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work”. Paul says this to Timothy, because as a pastor, he’s telling him, you have to be faithful to the text and you have to be true to those who taught it to you. So, Paul, Timothy’s father in the faith, is telling his son in the faith, where he needs to focus his energy, what he needs to embrace, what will bring value to the task that he has of leading God’s people in the congregation. And he’s telling Timothy this because he believes that difficult times are on their way. We talked about that when we began the letters, the pastoral epistles, Paul is imprisoned, he is not likely to get out and he doesn’t. But he knows that he is probably going to die, and this isn’t what he thought when he began the journey, he did not see that it was gonna go this way, but he could see that his life was drawing to a close, and that persecution of the congregations that he had planted, seemed not only inevitable but imminent. So, Paul is helping Timothy to focus his attention on where it belongs so that, he and the congregation are not unprepared for the trials and tribulations and persecutions that seem to be right on the horizon. So, Paul is telling Timothy to press into the Scriptures, press into what he has been taught, press into the people that are true and that he can trust. By contrast, there are things that Timothy should not press into and should indeed avoid. And we too must know and avoid these things. Paul says, people will love only themselves and their money, they will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred; they will be unloving and unforgiving. They will slander others and have no self-control, they will be cruel and hate what is good, they will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Paul tells Timothy, stay away from people like that. So, if we would spend some time in second Timothy, or at least spend some time in meditation today, considering we are being told where the truth lies, what to press into, what to hang onto, no matter what comes our way. And in this case, persecution is literally coming their way. So, Paul is saying, this is what you got a hold onto for dear life. The Scriptures, the message you were taught, those who are true. But he’s also being told what to avoid and we look at those characteristics of what to avoid, we realize, okay that wasn’t just in the first century. These things are totally on display at everywhere in our culture today, people are boastful and proud. There are those who definitely love only themselves and their money, there are definitely those who are ungrateful and those who consider nothing sacred and those who are unloving and forgiving, who will slander others and have no self-control. There are those who are cruel and hate what is good, they will betray their friends. They will be reckless and puffed up with pride and love pleasure rather than God. And indeed, they will act religious, but they will ultimately reject the power that could make them Godly. So, the thing is, we read that list of characteristics and go, yeah, you should stay away from people like that, but we should also realize the Bible will never lead us to be that kind of a person. So, if we’re doing what Paul was saying, understanding the value of the Scriptures, understanding that it teaches us what is true and makes us realize what is wrong, that it corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us how to do what is right and that God is using it to prepare and equip us for every good work. We would understand the Bible never lead us to be selfish and ungrateful and to consider nothing sacred and to not be loyal, to be unloving and unforgiving instead. Being willing to slander other people and having no self-control in our lives, and on and on it goes. The Bible will not lead us on that path. So, let’s remember why we come around the Global Campfire every day. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work.
Prayer:
And so, Father, as we do every day, but especially today, we thank You for Your word and what it represents in our lives. And as we look back over this year, we see how the Scriptures have been used to transform us in so many ways, on so many levels, and we open ourselves fully to it, doing exactly what Paul is encouraging Timothy to do, to hold on to what we’ve been taught, to hold on to what is true and to trust in what You are teaching us through Your word. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com that is home base, home of the Global Campfire, that is where you find out what’s going on around here, you can also do the same thing by using the Daily Audio Bible app, which you can download from…from whatever app store that you use, so check that out as well. And there are some new things going on around here. In particular, a brand-new resource called Sleep, A Contemplative Journey, will be releasing a week from tomorrow. And this is a resource that I’ve been mentioning at the end, every day here for the last few days, just talking about the story, the need for rest, the need for intentionality around being restful and just how I have had my own challenges in that area, which is part of the inspiration for creating this resource. How do we create a space that is specifically intended to calm us down, to use musical passages that are pleasing and calming and bring a sense of wholeness, to bring Scriptures into the mix, to be spoken over us, words of encouragement, words of rest words, words of hope? And that is what Sleep, A Contemplative Journey is, a journey toward rest. And as we look at the rhythm of any given year, we all kinda know that we are right on the threshold of it getting pretty busy and pretty crazy. And we all kinda know that we’re running around, and our rhythms are disrupted, and our sleep can get scarce and when that happens, any number of anxieties can have free access to steel rest and sleep from us. What if we were intentional about creating space to allow our minds and our hearts to rest and to be bathed in the Scriptures? So, if that sounds like some things that may be a good addition into your toolbox then Sleep, A Contemplative Journey is available for pre-order right now. And so, go grab that from whatever…whatever music store it is that you use to download your music and then it will show up automatically for you on the first day of November. And I look forward to hearing your experience as you navigate towards intentional rest. And so, Sleep, A Contemplative Journey, search for that, search for my name Brian Hardin and you should have no problem finding it, wherever it is that you get your music.
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And that’s it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I will be waiting for you here, tomorrow.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Good evening Daily Audio Bible Community. This is Diane Olive and Jeff Brown on October the 16th 2022 at 10 something at night central time. The reading for today was very poignant to me and I just want to say that how important forgiveness is. Jeremiah, we all need to learn how to forgive from our heart. For none of us deserves what Jesus did for us. But if you forgive and if you repent before him humbly, he will change you. He’s changing me, my husband sees it. I don’t know if other people see it yet, but he sees it. So, Father, I pray, I pray for everybody who has been bullied or hurt and this man was certainly bullied and hurt. And he needed to forgive. And is a terrible thing, it’s terrible what those people did. But Jesus got oh, so much worse than we ever could receive. What yet innocent. So, Father, I pray for everybody who’s ever been bullied or hurt, that they’ll find it in their heart to forgive as Jesus forgives, to love as …
Good morning Daily Audio Bible family this is Jazz from the Bay. I’m calling in to request prayer for myself. December 2021 I was attacked by a very drunken man that I knew and was very close with. And ever since, I mentally, have been messed up. But as soon as that happened, the first thing I did get back into the DAB family and listen every day and that’s the only thing that’s kept me sane, so far. But recently, with the coming on to my one-year anniversary, it’s hard. I can’t sleep, if I do, I’m up every 10/15 minutes, every time I hear a noise, I think it’s this person that I’m actually very, very close with. Since I, who I’ve since forgiven, not for him but for myself. My anxiety is just horrible. And to think that somebody so close to me would do something so bad it hurts, and I don’t know, it’s just a constant fear; if somebody so close to me could do it, what makes me think that somebody else that’s a stranger, wouldn’t do it to me. So, I just ask for prayer. I want to be able to sleep peacefully, I want to be able to not have to fake a smile and fake encourage everybody else, it’s not fake but encourage everybody else. And I’m just so broken. So…
Good morning DAB this is Amber for California. I’ve never called in before, but I heard a prayer today from Widow in Montana, calling about her daughter that’s ran away. And I just related to this so much because I also have teenagers that run away and threaten to kill themselves and stuff like this in the past. And I do want to encourage you that it does get easier, and it does get better. Just keep praying for them and praying that God moves on their hearts and I know they just lost their dad, so that’s probably a huge reason why she’s acting out. I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be praying for you and your children and your daughter. And I pray in Jesus name that she would return home safely and that God would give you peace about the whole situation and all the kids would deal with this grief and pain, of losing their dad. I love you all and I’m praying for you all every day. Have a good day.
Hi DABers, this is Prisoner of Hope calling in to pray for some other DABers. Scottish Tom, you requested prayer for your co-workers; one who lost a grandmother, one who lost everything in a fire and another who lost his father in an accident. Heavenly Father, we just come to You just in brokenness for the tragedies that have struck these people at his work, Lord. I just know that You are the God of all comfort, You are the God who has perfect timing and who see’s everything and You know our hurts and you catch our every tear. I ask that You please bring comfort and healing to all of these people who have lost and their families. Lord, we just know that You are the one that we can turn to, we thank you for that. We thank You for being everything to us. I’m also calling to pray for Kayla, you said you had mitochondrial disease with extremely bad stomach problems, it sounds like. I can’t imagine what that’s like, to be in extreme discomfort each and every day and not finding the relief you need and to suffer with this disease. So, Kayla, I just pray that our Heavenly Father will put His hand on you, that He will bring healing to you. That He will help physicians find what it is you need to find some kind of relief. I just pray for your spirit that you will not be in lowly spirits, that somehow you will still be able to find the joy of the Lord in your life. As He is our strength, it says the joy of the Lord is our strength in, I believe it’s Nehemiah 8: 10. And so, I pray for that. I also pray for this family whose grandchildren were taken, who have been away from their parents and that the father wants them back. I just, Valeria from Arkansas, I am praying for your kids, your grandkids and asking that the will of the Lord be done and that the judge would have wisdom and see what needs to be done. We ask all these in the precious, beautiful name of Jesus. Amen.
Good evening my family, it’s Susan from Canada, God’s Yellow Flower. And yes, it’s evening, I had Bible study this morning and so I’m doing my DAB in the evening, but I’m doing it. So, anyway, I heard Widowed Mom today on todays. And I just need to tell you sweetheart, I was a widow, or I guess I still am, a widowed mom. And but my children were very small, not quite 2 and 3 when their dad passed away. And it’s not easy, I know sweetheart. But you know God provided for me another single mom who was a Christian, or is a Christian, and we were able to sort of blend our families together, spiritually. And oh, it was a God send. So, I’m gonna pray that for you. Lord God, Widowed Mom needs someone to help her with the decisions that she has to make and what she needs to do to know what she needs to do. She needs a good Christian counselor to walk this walk with her. And I pray that You would provide, just like You provided for me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. And if you would like to contact me through messenger, I’m Susan Jobin, J O B I N. In Belville, Canada, Ontario, Canada. Okay, sweetheart, I know that I will keep praying for you.