2 Chronicles 8:11-10:19, Romans 8:9-25, Psalms 18:16-36, Proverbs 19:26
Today is the 23rd day of July welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it is wonderful, it’s a joy and an honor to be here with you today as we dive in and take our next step forward on the journey that carries us from the first page of the Bible to the last page of the Bible in a year. And this is the 205th day of that journey. So, we are well on our way but there is so much yet out in front of us before we conclude our journey at the end of this year. So, let’s take that next step. We’re reading from the New English Translation this week. Second Chronicles chapter 8 verse 11 through 10 verse 19 today.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in the book of Romans, the letter to the Romans, we’ve been kinda working day by day through the things that Paul is saying as he lays out his…his argument or his persuasion, his interpretation of the Hebrew believers, but I mean…but today it’s like buckle your seatbelt because what he’s saying here, this changes everything. Like, if what Paul is saying is true, and as believers in Jesus, we believe this is true, then it’s so much of a game changer that that’s not even the right way…like there’s no proper way to describe the implications. So, let’s just listen…let’s just listen to what Paul says. “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will also make your mortal bodies alive through His Spirit, who lives in you.” Right? So, Paul’s saying, “you died to who you were and everything that had claim to that person is dead. And when your dead there’s nothing that has claim to you anymore. So, you will become free but dead. But not left dead because the same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead is raising you up as well into this whole new spiritual family that God is raising up on the earth of which Jesus is the firstborn.” O my gosh! Like…this…if we just stop there. That’s like crazy. What would it change if we like acknowledged and lived from that place? Like, how could we be abandoned by God if He is within us animating our very life like we’re not even alive without His Spirit present? How could He abandon us? And that’s just the beginning. If you just sit and think about what that would change…like what that would change if we understood it, and what it does change because it’s the truth, it’s phenomenal! Paul goes on to describe the implications. “We are under obligation not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God, like…like the children of God, like members of God’s divine family.” So, Paul’s saying, “the spirit of God is within us. This is how we live. And because we become aware that this is what’s going on and how we live, we become aware that we are a part of God’s family - sons and daughters of the most-high God.” And that’s not something we sing in a worship song, that’s who we are. And Paul says, “you did not receive the spirit of slavery leading again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry Abba Father.” Like Abba, this is Aramaic, it’s like papa or daddy. “The Spirit”, Paul says, “the Spirit Himself bears witness to our Spirit that we are God’s children. And if children, then heirs, namely, heirs of God and also fellow heirs with Christ if indeed we suffer with Him so we may also be glorified with Him.” So, we’re effectively saying, “life…life has challenges. This is a broken place. We are here. Even Jesus, God in the flesh, faced considerable challenges. This is a challenging refining place. So, this is part of it. But when we become aware that God is within us, reclaiming this broken place through us then we realize we are collaborating, that we are in lockstep with our papa and we can run to our Father at any moment constantly. He is within us, inviting us to participate in the redemption of this broken place.” I think…I don’t I know what…I mean…we need to meditate on this. Like we need to think about what that looks like for us, what this means for us, what it means to live into that fully. But I think that one thing that we could come out of this today understanding at the depths of our being is that God is here, he is present, we’re gonna make it, we’re gonna be okay. And when get this big picture view that Paul is giving us, we realize there’s way more going on than just us. Like we live self-absorbed so much of the time. It’s all about what’s happening to us. But when we get this view that we are joint heirs with Jesus to the kingdom of God…well…man that changes perspective in a hurry. And we realize the Spirit of God is within us and within all of our brothers and sisters around the world and this makes up the body of Christ and the work of Christ continues in this world through us because of us because we’re here, we then begin to realize we are participating in holding this whole thing together. We are here to reclaim and restore. It’s a way bigger picture and a way bigger story than…than the story of the world that continues to try to be divisive in our lives, dividing us. So, let’s give that some thought today as we move in and through this day.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, as we so often do, we open ourselves to become aware of Your presence that is already here, already within us. Well up within us. Come, reveal the way forward. Let these truths sink in and sink into the depths of our soul so that we can’t look at anything the same anymore. Come into this we ask in Your mighty name we pray. 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.