So, these guys are being marginalized, sidelined, cast-out, mistreated, even persecuted. And if we remember the story of the apostle Paul, he was one of the persecutors. This is who he was after, Jewish Hebrew people who were converting to following Jesus. So, they had, they had considerable opposition. So, on the one hand they were adopting this way of Jesus and following Jesus teachings and believing that this rewired and reframed things, that God was doing something new in the world and this would lead them to eternal life. But on the other hand, it had only made their human physical lives much more difficult to navigate. So, we can begin to see how this all fits together, a lengthy explanation of how Jesus connects to the Hebrew story and fulfills so many prophecies and brings to an end in era, and begins a new one that follows in a tradition of faith in what can’t be seen but is hoped for and in. And then we walked through all of the examples, Hebrew examples by the way of people who are deeply respected by all Hebrew, all practicing Jewish people. And so, now the writer of Hebrews is saying look, those guys believed in a promise and hoped in it and moved forward and they moved the world and our culture forward in the process. But it was very difficult for them. So, we shouldn’t be surprised that moving this forward, that our place in this story is difficult. So, right now we can’t just disappear into the scenery. We can’t just fade. We have to follow our ancestor’s example and move this forward. So, the conclusion, not of the book of Hebrews, but the conclusion of this thought, so then, let’s also run the race that is laid out in front of us since we have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. And that great cloud of witnesses being all of the examples of the ancestors that had gone before them. This hall of faith that we walked down over the last couple of days. Let’s throw off any extra baggage and get rid of the sin that trips us up and fix our eyes on Jesus, faith’s pioneer and perfecter. He endured the cross, ignoring the shame, for the sake of the joy that was laid out in front of Him, and sat down at the right side of God’s throne. We should take great encouragement in that because it gives us the lay of the land for our own lives. It’s not always going to be easy. This isn’t even about making things easy. Which is one of the great misconceptions about this journey of faith that we’re on, and one of the things that deeply estranges us from God because for some reason, we think that everything is supposed to be unopposed and without challenge and easy. And when it’s not, we blame God for it. Now, we can see clues that this is somewhat happening in this time because the writer of Hebrews then begins to talk about discipline. And the way that it’s brought out is look, a parent who doesn’t discipline their children and shape them and guide them, doesn’t love them. And if that’s not happening to a child then the child is an illegitimate child. So, they’re basically saying look, we have to, we have to endure this, we have to move through this and get everything that God has for us that’s in it, into our lives. We’re being shaped, we’re being remade new for this new covenant, things have changed, and we are carrying it forward. So, we to can take the counsel found in the last verses that we read today. So, strengthen your drooping hands and weak knees, make straight paths for your feet, so that if any part is lame, it will be healed, rather than injured more seriously.
Prayer:
So, Father, we have to reframe some things, we actually have to keep reframing them, that the obstacles that we face and the challenges that come our way aren’t purposeless. They are an invitation to grow strong in our faith, which we need to be, and they are assisting us with stripping away all of the things that are going nowhere in our lives. So, come Holy Spirit, strengthen our faith. We embrace You and we cling to You in all things. You are the author and perfecter of our faith. So, come Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link, it’s on the homepage. And I can’t thank you enough for those of you who have clicked that link. Thank you. If you prefer the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.
And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.
And that’s it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Hi, family, this is Guide my Footsteps. I wanted to call in because it’s been one year, November 10th, since a lady named Barbara called in. And previously, the night before her husband passed away. And she called in to thank Brian for the nighttime readings that had helped to ease him in his final moments. And he actually passed with a smile on his face. And then, she proceeded to…to pray for other people. This is just a few hours after her husband had passed and she was obviously grieving. This made a huge impression on me. I’ve been listening for years and years and there’s been people over that time that have really, really made impressions on me in this community. Blind Tony, Victorious Soldier, I could go on and on and on. But thank you so much for being there. Barbara, I hope you’ve had a good year, if you’re listening. And thank you so much.
Hey DAB brothers and sisters. This is Byron out in Florida. I hope you all are doing well. I’m listening to the reading from today in Hebrews and the commentary that Brian is talking about and it’s just resonating with me so deeply about this idea of God doing a new thing to the Hebrews back then. And also, to us. And it’s absolutely true. Although a little while ago I was asking for prayer because I was dealing with my emotional self, and I got a lot of calls back and encouragement which was amazing but people were saying things I wasn’t expecting. Like I’m heading into a period of wilderness and heading into a period of testing. Or I’m heading into a period of deep intimacy. And I had to wrestle with all those things. And it turns out that it’s very much true. It’s amazing what God does. And so, I 100% resonate with what Mariah was saying, I think that, if God doesn’t occasionally stick His finger into our you know, perfect Christian life every now and then, then maybe we really are on the spiritual journey and we need that humility to realize that no matter what kind of experiences that we have or what we’ve been through, that there’s always more. And He’s inviting us. So, Father, we thank you that there’s no end to You. That Your love is deep and that You keep inviting us to go deeper and deeper and deeper. Help us not to get any kind of swelled head about what You show us, Heavenly Father. But instead, let’s just lean more and more to You. That You can be glorified in every single part of our lives. We give You the glory today, in Jesus name. Amen.
Hey DAB fam, this is People on the Water from Indiana. I’m calling in today because, because my counties sheriff, I got an alert that I may be on watch. So, that’s what woke me up this morning, along with my dad. And it was honestly, it was for a second it was like seeing Jesus. You know, I was really shocked. Like, I was like sleeping and that, you’re sleeping, you head doesn’t work. And it was really confusing. But yeah, so I guess pray for my mental health. Pray for my girlfriend’s mental health, as well. And I’ll see you in a little bit. Bye.
Good morning Daily Audio Bible family, this is Wrapped in His Unfailing Love, Dorothy from Destin. And I wanted to call in this morning for a few people that I heard this morning on the 11th of November. First, I’d like to pray for Grace, the passing of your dad, that you believe is imminent. And that you had a wonderful dad. How wonderful and you will get to see him again. So, I pray for your comfort. And I pray for all the things that you prayed for, peaceful passing, no pain and just a wonderful time that you have left with him and comfort. And Lord, we lift up Debbie’s friend Kathy’s husband and this terrible chemo that he’s going through. But Lord, we know that You are the ultimate healer and that You can provide a miracle. You’ve also provided the miracle of friendship and we pray; we praise You for that. And that Debbie will be a great friend and that she is a great friend to Kathy and her husband. Lord, I’d also like to lift up Anonymous and Confused to You. And this is the Scripture I have for you, 1 Timothy 1:7 For God gave us a spirit, not of fear, but of power, love and self-control. And Anonymous, you know the truth and the truth will set you free. And walk in faith. Just start out, start by doing and God will give you the strength that you need to leave this relationship. Lord, we…we bless her. We ask You to give her strength and mercy and grace. I love this family. I pray that you all have a wonderful day. Thank you, Brian, for this wonderful ministry. Bye.