1 Kings 14:1-15:24, Acts 10:1-23, Psalms 133:1-3, Proverbs 17:7-8
Today is the 15th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is fantastic to be here with you today as we gather yet again and move forward together on our journey, the journey through this year together, the journey through the Bible this year together. And we have navigated our way, obviously if we’re here we kinda know where we’re at. We have navigated our…our way all the way into the book of first Kings. We have moved through the establishment of the monarchy with King Saul then King David then King Solomon. And then we have watched the kingdoms divide into two, the northern and the southern kingdoms and we have watched the northern kingdom be led into full-blown idolatry by their king, king Jeroboam. And, so, let’s pick up the story. First Kings chapter 14 verse 1 through 15 verse 24 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in the book of Acts today we began a story that we will continue over into tomorrow’s reading, but what we are reading right now is one of the most monumental things. It's…it’s given in this kind of understated way but it’s one of the most monumental things that happen in the New Testament. And like I said, it’s gonna take us a couple of days for us to move through this story, but we began it today. And we began by meeting this person named Cornelius. Cornelius is a Roman. He is a centurion. He has hundred men under his authority. He is a Roman soldier. He is a Gentile. He is unclean and to most of the Hebrew people he is a part of the problem. However, he is a God-fearing man. He is well respected by people. He gives to the poor. He loves God. And he is talking to God when he receives a vision. And in this vision, he is told to send for Peter in Joppa. That’s not a terribly far distance away. It’s very easy in a car today, but Joppa is like sort of the coastal suburbs of Tel Aviv, whereas Caesarea…Caesarea Maritima, where we’re talking about here is north of there also on the Mediterranean coast. And, so, Cornelius has this vision to send down a Joppa to find Peter and he sends some of his people to go and do just that, sends them south of Joppa to find Peter. Meanwhile Peter’s having a vision of his own. He’s on the rooftop of Simon the tanner’s house in Joppa and he receives a vision. And in his vision, he sees this sheet come down with animals that are forbidden, are unclean. And in this vision, he is told to kill and eat. In other words, eat these unclean animals. And of course, he responds by saying I would never do such a thing. I’ve never eaten anything unclean in my life. I wouldn’t do that. And then in this vision, he hears a voice tell him that he should not call something unclean if God has made it clean. And then Peter gets instructions that men are coming to look for him and that he should go with them. Meanwhile the men that were sent to Joppa to find Peter arrive and sort of explain the scenario. And that’s where we leave off today, but we leave off today with some things to think about. Cornelius, a Roman soldier, a Gentile receives a vision to send for Peter. Peter also receives a vision about clean and unclean, and then he is told to go back to the home of…of Gentiles, into a Gentile home where he is not supposed to be fraternizing, where he is not supposed to be mixing. Something is going on here. Like, so even from this part…portion of the story we can see something is going on here because this isn’t quite adding up. What is happening? And what is actually happening is monumental, is a…is an awareness that is monumental to the Christian faith going forward until this very day and really changes the complexion of the church going forward after this event. So, it’s a pretty monumental thing that’s happening here and we will continue that story tomorrow.
Prayer:
Father, we love You and thank You for the Scriptures and we thank You for the stories in the Scriptures and the people that we get to meet and all of the different facets and nuances of the human heart and human life on planet Earth that we get to engage with as we engage with the Scriptures. And we thank You that we see You revealing Yourself in every conceivable way in all of the different cultural contexts throughout all of the thousands of years that we read of in the Scriptures. We see You revealing Yourself as You continue to do today. And may we have eyes to see and ears to hear what You are saying and teaching and where You are leading, and we pray this in the mighty and victorious name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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And that’s it for today. I am Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer and Praise:
God is our refuge and strength
an ever present help in the time of trouble
and even if the earth be removed
he’s able to lift us above the bubble
with the strength of his powerful right hand
fully equipping us to stand
knowing that all his ways are just and come from above
and nothing can separate us from his wonderful love
nothing can pluck us from out of his hand
and from the foundations of the earth that was part of the plan
a plan of redemption a plan of salvation
a plan that creates and me evaluation as well as relation
for every day I see his mercies made new
and every day I see his love for me proven true
the fact that I live and I move and I breathe
are more than adequate proof of the grace that I receive
and it makes me say bless the Lord O my soul
and all that is within me bless his holy name
and ever since I’ve embraced his love and plan my life has not been the same
I read his word daily I fast and I pray
and I share the good news with all those who pass my way
and even though I still have problems, afflictions, and stress
I feel fully equipped for any and all tests
because God reassures us that even if the mountains were to crumble and fall
into the sea
that there’s nothing in this life that can separate his love from you and me
so take courage for Jesus has overcome the world and he reassures us that we
can do the same
keep the faith, stay in the word, and keep giving praises to God’s holy name
blindtony1016@gmail.com. I’d like to give a shout out to Annette Allison from Oklahoma City. Haven’t heard from you lately. Miss the sound of your voice and a shout out to Mark Creef down under and your mother Lynn.
I’m calling today to pray for Ethan from Texas. Ethan I feel you and i know what you’re going through and i come today and prayer standing with you to give you the strength I pray to…heavenly Father to break the chains that are holding you back, to let go and let God to…to…to…to release the anxiety, to release the fear, release the pain and to let you know that God is with you, that God is with you even when you feel like you’re taking two steps forward and then all the sudden taking five steps back, that God is with you. And I ask you to help you to realize that you are not letting anyone down, that you are a wonderful God gifted child of God and God has a plan for you. I ask you God to bring you clarity, bring you wisdom, bring your direction and understanding of the majesty of His blessings in your life, to give you the ability to open your eyes and open your ears to hear the majesty and the love in your life and give you the clarity needed to make the right choices at the right time, to enable you to make the right choices, to be the best you could possibly be, but also to know the you’re wone the test because you’ve given it to God. That is the first thing towards wisdom, is giving your problems to God and you have done that. And press in that. Let go, let God and you will see the freedom that you’re looking for. And you’ll have a peace that passes all understanding in Jesus’ name we pray. __ Help enable others to have a truly…
Hello brother Ethan from Texas you are not alone brother and I want to pray for you in the name of our Lord Jesus. I pray that He gives you the strength, the wisdom, and the understanding to help you let go of the things in your life that are not of God. Brother you are not alone. You have all of us. You have Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior who will be there for you. Keep strong in your faith and you will see those changes. 1 Peter 5:10 tells us the God of all grace who calls you to His eternal glory in Christ after you have suffered a little while will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, steadfast. Stay strong my friend. I’m praying…
Hi Asia from the city of angels this is Christopher from the pretzel city and after hearing your call about the woman you encountered who had lost her child, I just wanted to commend you not only for what you did right then but the fact that you asked God for this opportunity and he trusted you with something big. And that speaks to where you are as a servant. And I just want to encourage you to keep going and keep looking for these opportunities and He’s gonna make changes to the world through you that last for eternity. Well done. Take care.