1 Chronicles 15:1-16:36, Romans 1:18-32, Psalms 10:1-15, Proverbs 19:6-7
Today is the 13th day of July welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it is wonderful to gather together with you today as we come together around the Global Campfire like we do every day and find our place and just understand that we’re here and we are here together. And that’s not like just a metaphor. There’s never…we’re not alone. At whatever point we’re listening, somebody else is too. And, so, it is wonderful that we can come together around the Global Campfire and take the next step forward and move forward together one step at a time. And our next step in the Old Testament leads us back into the book of first Chronicles. We’ve been working our way through the genealogies and we’ve pretty much come out of the genealogical portion of Chronicles and are more in the narrative portion. And then yesterday we began Paul’s letter to the Romans. And we talked about that. And, so, we’ll be taking the next step forward in Romans as well, which is a wonderful season that we get to move through each year as we listen to Paul explain to us how it is that he arrived…his understanding of the gospel, how it is that he migrated from devout Pharisee persecuting the way of Jesus to becoming a persecuted advocate of the Lord Jesus Christ and the message of the gospel. So, excited to take that next step. And let’s go ahead and do that. First Chronicles chapter 15 verse 1 through 16 verse 36 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So, yesterday we began Paul’s letter to the Romans and we kinda did a flyby a little flyover just to orient ourselves into what we we’re moving into and then he started reading and it became really clear even in Paul’s introduction where we’re going. Paul was saying that the good news tells us how God makes us right or righteous in his sight. And according to Paul, this is accomplished by faith. So, that is and will be the crux of many of Paul’s arguments. Like he will…that…that is the flag that he’s planting in the sand. Today Paul is beginning…because this is a bit of a lengthy letter, so we’ll be spending some time as we go through it. We just have to remember they we’re reading a letter and not like a theological textbook. So, Paul begins to lay things out today by telling us, reading this letter, that…that God has made himself obvious to everyone. There isn’t an excuse for not acknowledging God. And it’s not God’s fault that we’re confused about Him and it’s not God’s fault that humanity has suffered greatly because we refuse to acknowledge Him. It’s just that when we were reading through the book of Genesis, and we reached the third chapter of Genesis we saw an exchange happen. God was exchanged for the knowledge of good and evil. And, so, through the knowledge of good and evil we’ve been trying to figure everything out, which has created an enormous amount of distortions about God throughout the human story because we cannot contain God in our minds, in our knowledge only. Paul puts it like this, and I quote, “although they knew God, they didn’t honor God as God or thank Him. Instead, their reasoning became pointless and their foolish hearts were darkened.” And then he says, “they traded God’s truth for a lie, and they worshiped and served the creation instead of the creator”, which simply left humanity to create gods for itself or to…to make gods of themselves, which ultimately created corruptions that human beings were never intended to experience. Paul says it like this. “Since they didn’t think it was worthwhile to acknowledge God, God abandoned them to a defective mind to do inappropriate things. So, they were filled with all injustice, wicked behavior, greed and evil behavior. They are full of jealousy, murder, fighting deception and malice. They are gossips, they slander people, and they hate God. They are rude and proud, and they brag. They invent ways to be evil and they are disobedient to their parents. They are without understanding, disloyal, without affection, and without mercy.” So, what Paul’s laying out here is a bleak picture of life on earth after the rebellion that we talked about in Genesis 3. And its…its still an accurate picture of life on earth. And what Paul’s doing this portion of the letter is simply painting a picture of how things are so that we can begin to get a glimpse of how things ought to be and so that we can begin to understand that there is a way. And we will certainly be getting to that in the days ahead.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You. We thank You. We thank You for Your word and we thank You that we have this document that we can hold in our hands tangibly that spans thousands of years and introduces us to the human heart, our heart, and introduces us to You and Your presence in our lives to restore our hearts. And, so, we are grateful. And as we continue in the days ahead, through the letter to the Romans, Holy Spirit come. May we see things that maybe we’ve never seen before or understand things in a way that we hadn’t before, quickening or awakening things in us that change us irreversibly. We ask this in the name of Jesus our Savior. 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:
Thank you God for giving me everything that I’ve asked
you’ve freed me from my demons and my true self now unmasked
time is running short now and as they say this too shall pass
I praise and thank you constantly there’s not much that I ask
the relationship I have with you I pray will always last
last is first and first is last a simple little verse
some men go from good to bad some from bad to worse
help me just be patient God and follow where you lead
help me not be selfish and consumed with lust and greed
wherever two are gathered I know that you’ll be there
keep my mind’s eye simple God and strip my ego bare
make me over in your image God I’m flesh but still I’m clay
fill me with your spirit God and renew my strength each day
one and one and usually two but you are and I are one
finish God the work in me you clearly have begun
Good morning Daily Audio Bible family it’s Soaring On Eagles Wings from Canada. You know, when I was growing up as a little girl in my culture men were supposed to be strong. They don’t cry, they don’t show their emotions. Thank God that’s changing now. And when I listen to all the men coming on the DAB praying or being…or asking for prayer it just stirs my heart. And, so, today I choose to pray for those who are going through marriage difficulties whether they want a separation, or the wife wants a separation. I don’t know but god sees everyone. And DAB men who are struggling with all of this, God sees your heart. He knows everything that concerns you. He created marriages and it was his intent that a wife and husband should be together until death part them. But you know when this world fell and went into sin all sorts of things happened. But Abba You see their heart, You see the emotions, You see the pain. I pray for them, Lord. I pray that they would be guided to knowing what they should do and what they shouldn’t. And I pray for the wives Lord. O God, You’re able to do abundantly more than we can ask or imagine. And I pray for relationships to be mended and marriages come back together again in the mighty name of our Savior. Renzo, I haven’t heard you for a while. I’ve been missing you. I pray the lord continues to guide you into the right path for you…
Good morning Daily Audio Bible family this is Saved by Grace in California. I just want to lift my sister up who called in for prayer who’s having financial problems with taxes and husband who’s also having some health challenges and her faith is truly being tested. And I just thank God for you sister for your sharing that and your wanting…reaching out. So, Father God in the name of Jesus I lift my sister up to You in her situation and her circumstance Father God. I thank You God that we can continue to look to You Father God and keep our focus on You because You said seek ye first the Kingdom of God and all things You got all these things, You’ll take care of everything. I pray for my sister Lord that You would increase and help her strengthen, solidify her trust and faith in You God. I pray Father that You show her little glimpses of You in these circumstances, that You…that she is not alone, that You have not leaving her and that You have not forsaken her oh God. I pray Father God that You’d give her favor in the eyes of the IRS and her job Father that they would not garnish her…her checks Father she would be able to provide for her husband and herself financially as You have always done in the past. Remind her that You are that same God that got her through all those difficulties and circumstances and You are the same God that would deliver her on today.
Hey DABbers, this is Slave of Jesus in North Carolina. Alright Holy Spirit let’s roll. Amen to prayers for Writer for Christ. I love how you said you got an answer to your prayer. So, you’ve been praying for…I guess a smaller commute. I think I missed the first or just can’t think of it at the moment. But this is your second time calling. And…but your answer to the prayer was wait. What great insight. What great wisdom. Like, we think if we don’t get what we want from God that He’s not answering our prayers or even that it’s no. That’s not necessarily true. And, so, thank you for pointing that out to everyone. Sometimes wait is some of the best. I’ve debated this job I’m at. I commute 45 minutes each morning. You know, I’m getting old. I’ve kind of got some weird signs that I’m toward the end of my life and that, you know, can make me wanna go, you know, like OK, let’s focus on family and focus on important things. But I know God’s giving me so many signs that this job is where I’m supposed to be. But my drive into work is my…is my God time. That’s when I listen to DAB. That’s when I listen to little Ezekiel on the way in. That’s when I call a guy and pray on the way in every single day. And if I didn’t have this job and this commute even if I was home you’d think I’d have more time for God but I think I’d spend less time with God. So, it’s just weird that the commute is actually helping me and as…as long as I keep hearing that message, you know, I haven’t thought of it as a wait every time I think about God. Should I just quit and do something more godly, do something more for You. It's…it’s just been a blessing to actually have this time away. It’s sad for my family but it’s God time that’s kind of made for me and I don’t have to try to force. It…it’s drive time. So, thanks for calling us and reminding us. Sometimes God answers our prayers with the wait. Love you all. Have a great day.