Category: DAB Transcripts

Ezekiel 39:1-40:27; James 2:18-3:18; Psalms 118:1-18; Proverbs 28:2

Today is the 19th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you at the shiny threshold of a brand-new week. And greetings from Louisiana, from the deep South, from the Shreveport area. We’re excited to bring the Sneezing Jesus message this morning, but we can talk about that at the end. Looking out in front of us for the week, we will touch for different books of the Bible this week. We’ll complete the book of Ezekiel before the week is out and move our way into Daniel. And we’re in the book of James in the New Testament. We’ll complete that and get into first Peter. So, that’s kind of the outlook for the week. And let’s dive in. And we’re reading from the New International Version this week. Ezekiel chapter 39 verse 1 through 40 verse 27 today.

Prayer:

Okay. So, we have to talk about the book of James at the threshold of this brand-new week because the implications are fairly profound, what’s being said here, profound enough for us to snap ourselves to attention. The first shot across the bow is that you can’t just say you have faith, you can’t just declare you are a person of faith, and that there’s nothing in your life to back that up, like, it has not transformed you because that’s not real. That’s like you walking around saying that you are wealthy when you have a negative balance in your bank account. Just because you say it doesn’t make it true. Or to stick to the themes found in James, you can’t oppress the orphan and the widow and then claim that you are full of faith. It’s not true. You can’t compartmentalize your spirituality and wherever you put your faith into a segment of your life that doesn’t touch any other part of your life. Your faith informs everything and it informs your thoughts, words and deeds. It affects the way you operate in the world profoundly or it’s not really there. And you can’t say you believe in God but live as if there is no God. That won’t work either. Or as James says, you believe that there is one God, good. Good for you, even the demons believe that and shudder. And, so, to summarize his point, James says, a body that is without its spirit is a corpse. It’s dead. And in the same way faith, without it transforming the way you behave, without it affecting your deeds, is dead. And, so, we can see that James is very direct. He’s not messing around at all with this letter. It becomes a mirror into our own souls as the Bible often does, but this is like a full-length mirror because were being clearly told that if we claim to have faith but it is not affecting our behavior, it is not transforming the way that we live our lives, then it’s dead. And we have to examine ourselves in this. And we can stop there, as if someone had thrown ice water in our faces to wake us up and contemplate this, but James isn’t done. He turns to a practical example of what this looks like when he turns the conversation to what comes out of our mouths. He talks about how a small bit in the mouth of a horse can turn the entire large powerful animal or the way in which a small rudder can steer the course of a large ship. And then tells us that’s how our little tongs, these little things that live behind our teeth, inside of our mouth, steer the trajectory of our body and our entire life and then summarizes his point in a clear and concise way - with the tongue we praise our Lord and Father and with it we curse human beings who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Okay. So, if you skated through the faith checkpoint that we just talked about with his full-length mirror in front of you and you’re like, now, my faith actually does change the way that I do things, and then we get to the words bit of this and we realize, oh my gosh, I really do have the capability of worshiping God and cursing my brothers and sisters out of the same mouth. I’ve done that. And according to the Scriptures this should not be. So, if nothing else, at this point James should have our attention. And he’s not done. He has one more point in this trifecta of confrontation that we find in the book of James today for us to ponder. And that is this, if you think you‘re wise and have understanding then it should be evident, it should be visible in your life, but if you’re harboring bitterness and envy and selfish ambition in your heart, if you’re keeping that compartmentalized and keeping it inside you, then you need to understand that that’s not coming from heaven, it’s unspiritual and demonic. And it being called demonic here, this isn’t just, like, you know, a word from Greek that could have many different meanings. Like, that’s a literal translation, demonic. And James says, where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. And where is the there that you find disorder and every evil practice? Inside you. That’s pretty stark. That’s full-length mirror stuff. And then he contrasts that disorder with the wisdom that comes from heaven and describes that which should embody all believers who profess faith - the wisdom that comes from heaven is, for starters, pure, then peace loving, and considerate, and submissive, and full of mercy and good fruit, and impartial, and sincere. Peace makers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness. And that contrast brings us to a fork in the road as the Bible so often does. We can see where the two paths are going to lead. Do we want to be led into the unspiritual and demonic, into disorder in every evil practice or do we want to follow the path of righteousness? The choice is ours to make.

Prayer:

Father we have plenty to contemplate and we invite Your Holy Spirit into that contemplation into the ways that we follow the well-worn paths of our lives and behave accordingly and the things that should not be. And we invite Your Holy Spirit into that. We surrender all of that to You. Come Holy Spirit and lead us into all truth. Lead us on the path of righteousness. Show us what You are after in this. Come Jesus. We pray in your name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

And what’s going on today is that we’re in Louisiana and looking forward to being at River Valley church in Bossier City this morning. Looking forward to spending time among friends today. So, looking forward to seeing some of you.

And, of course, we’ve just launched ourselves into Thanksgiving week. I know that’s not how it is all over the world, but that’s how it is here in the United States and that usually launches us into the holiday season. So, this is a big week and we’ll talk about that as we go.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link, it’s right on the homepage. Thank you deeply for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO 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.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hi. This is Melody from Canada and today was the reading about discipline in Hebrews. And it really struck me about piano practice because I know that God has given me a gift of music to bless others with and I just recently started piano lessons again and it’s been really hard to practice. Just kicking my butt and trying to get myself to practice is really hard and it kind of makes sense now in that passage about resistance and things not always being easy. So, I would ask that for prayer that I would be able to discipline myself and with joy. I’m a teacher and I know that if I try to force my kids to do something than its not really fun and it won’t work very well. So, I just want to motivate myself to do that and also break through any obstacles so that I can be a blessing. Thanks so much. Bye.

Good day Daily Audio Bible family. This is Pamela, the teacher / pastor’s wife, calling from Huntington, NY. I just want to give a praise report. First of all, hello to everyone. Thanking God for Brian and his wonderful wife and family, taking their time and ministering to us on a daily basis. I so appreciate it. It’s such a blessing to my life. But, at any rate, I want to move quickly. I have a praise report. I came home work and was exhausted and wanted to make a cup of tea. And I put the kettle on. I went to bed just to lie down but I ending up sleeping all night, and to my surprise, I got up the next morning, and I just thank God, that the tea kettle was still going. All the water was gone and it was still on. It had burned. It leaked…leaked for nine hours but it never caught on fire. And the pot didn’t even burn. And I just give God the praise. I give him the glory and the honor for protecting me and my family as we slept. Danger, He protects us from seen and unseen. And I’m just so grateful. And I just want to give this praise report, how God allowed an angel to protect us. My house did not catch on fire. And I will never do that again. Just praying for everyone. God bless you everyone. Have a great day. Bye.

Hi. This is His 100^th Sheep and I’m from Maine and it’s 15^th of November and I am calling for a dear sister in Christ who just left a message that she and her husband had lost two daughters to gun violence and now her husband is facing cancer. And she was asking for our prayers. My dear sister, I want to let you know that I will pray for you and I know that many people who heard your cry are going to pray for you. I’m glad that you listen to the dream that that pointed you in the direction of DAB for prayer. Stay with us and keep us updated.

Hi Daily Audio Bible community. This is Ashley. I just wanted to offer some thanks to this community for helping with loneliness. I’m divorced and I know that I have sought comfort in very and sinful ways to kind of combat my loneliness and it has only brought me a lot of pain and sadness. And hearing ways that other people are drawing closer to God to help with loneliness instead of committing sin is very uplifting for me and very helpful. So, I just wanted to offer my praise and thanks that you guys are there and that you are helping me. Thank you. Bye.

Ezekiel 37:1-38:23, James 1:19-2:17, Psalms 117:1-2, Proverbs 28:1

Today is the 18^th of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as we officially close down another one of the weeks that we have together in this year. And we’ve been reading from the Common English Bible this week, which is what we’ll do today and move our way into Ezekiel and then the book of James. But first, Ezekiel 37 verse 1 through 38 verse 23.

Commentary:

Alright. Let’s talk about Ezekiel chapter 37 for a quick minute before we talk about James because I just need a second to get over the spanking I just got from James, like, you know what I mean? So, Ezekiel 37, The Valley of the Dry Bones has always been a riveting picture to me - this vast field of bones, bleached by the sun of long dead people probably fell on a battlefield or fell as they tried to escape. Of course, this is happening in a vision that Ezekiel has been swept into. And so, these are bones, like, they’re long dead, it’s long over, and they’ve just been left, and God asks Ezekiel, what you think, can these bones live again? I mean, how would you answer a question like that, other than how Ezekiel did, which is, only You Lord would possibly know the answer. And God tells him to speak out, to call the bones together, to prophesy out to them. And he does. And as he is saying those words the bones begin to come back together and they become like full skeletons and then tendons and muscle and skin, like, cover them. And, so, now you have this vast horde of people who have been killed and were long dead all back together again, but they’re not alive. And then God invites Ezekiel to call to the four winds the breath of life. And that’s what he does. And life returns to these dead, long dead, bones, a great army. The imagery is so riveting because it’s calling back to life something that was long dead. I remember being in Washington DC, which is our nation’s capital, one year many, many years ago. I was with a friend and we went to Arlington Cemetery, which is our national military cemetery. And, you know, most states, probably all states, have them too. But this is a national Cemetery and I remember we were walking around and we found this tomb of the unknown soldier and found a bench and pulled out the Scriptures and spoke this out, not expecting mass resurrections, but just considering the church and the good news and how only the breath of life that comes from the mouth of God can bring back to life that which is dead. And several weeks after that, I was out on a walk talking to God about this when I felt the strong impression - I want you to build a wind farm. This was several years after the Daily Audio Bible started. It certainly wasn’t a vision like Ezekiel or anything like that. It’s just this impression. I saw people all over the world calling the breath of life from the four winds through prayer for one another, speaking life over one another. And I feel like every day when we get to the end of our reading for the day and the words of prayer and encouragement come in from all over the world and we hear them, that’s what we’re doing, and that’s what we are going to continue to do and it has become one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen, the way that this community behaves toward one another, and the freedoms that we have extended toward one another, the grace that we have offered one another - to speak, out loud, the deepest darkest things in our lives without fear of retribution. To me, that’s calling the breath of life and it’s been a beautiful thing since we began to do it all those years ago. And if you’ve ever gotten our coffee or tea, you’ll notice that it’s called Wind Farm. Now you know why. And if you’ve ever seen the Daily Audio Bible logo and wondered, what is this, what is this, an airplane propeller, what is this? No, it’s four blades that make a windmill and as the four blades come together in the middle, it creates a cross. And now you know why. And Jill and I have a son, a five-year-old little boy, whose name is Ezekiel. And now you know why. And we would do well to remember this story in Ezekiel, chapter 37, because every day we have a choice to speak out death and darkness into this world and over people, even those that we love. We have no shortage of pointing out our failings to each other, but how often are we calling the breath of life over each other? And what would happen to the world if we all did?

Maybe we should listen to the words found in the book of James, ‘know this my dear brothers and sisters, everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to grow angry. This is because an angry person doesn’t produce God’s righteousness. Therefore, with humility, set aside all moral filth in the growth of wickedness and welcome the word planted deep inside you, the very word that is able to save you’. You see, those are instructions, which means we have to participate, which means we have to turn our hearts in this direction, which is what James is saying. ‘You must be doers of the word and not only hearers who mislead themselves’. Then James goes on to say later in our reading, ‘claiming to have faith can’t save anyone. Faith is dead when it doesn’t result in faithful activity’, according to James. And of course, at length, we went through the book of Hebrews and learned that faith was the very thing that we need to navigate a new thing that God is doing in the world, a new covenant. And, so, may we build a wind farm together. Not only as the community of the Daily Audio Bible, but in everything that we do. May the Holy Spirit’s energy flow through us as it blows throughout the earth, bringing back to life that which has long been dead.

Prayer:

Father, what can we say? But Holy Spirit come and fall upon us. Restore to life what is dead inside of us, bring us back and help us to call the breath of life from all corners of this earth, understanding that it makes a profound difference in Your kingdom on this earth. Open our eyes. Help us to lift our eyes to the horizon and get our equilibrium back and get our balance back. We’ve been looking down so long, trudging along, moving forward, step-by-step, feeling like there’s no hope when there is. Give us the ears to hear the need around us. Help us to call life into it. Help us to not be hearers only but, by hearing, moved to action and may that action be the work of Your kingdom in this world. 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 offer my humble, heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has ever clicked that link. This is how we are here. Thank you profoundly for your partnership. If you prefer the mail, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And, of course, if you have a prayer request or comment, there are numbers that you can call. If you’re in the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number. In the UK and Europe 44-20-3608-8078 and in the Lands down under 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to call.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Ezekiel 35:1-36:.38, James 1:1-18 , Psalms 116:1-19, Proverbs 27:23-27

Today is the 17th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as we kind of move our way toward the back side of the week. And today we will continue our journey through the book of Ezekiel and then when we get to the New Testament, we’ll begin the book of James, and we’ll talk about that when we get there. But first, we’re reading from the common English Bible this week. Ezekiel chapter 35 verse 1 through 36 verse 38.

Alright. So, today we will begin the book of James as we move to our New Testament reading. This is an epistle or letter of James, and there are plenty of things that are very interesting about this book because throughout church history it’s been questioned in a number of ways. And it’s hard to place exactly when the book was written because it’s not exactly known which James authored the book, although there are plenty of traditions around this. There are several candidates; however, the one that seems to bubble to the top of the debate is James, the half-brother of Jesus, who, interestingly, did not believe that Jesus was the son of God during his earthly ministry, but he had a change of opinion when he saw Jesus raised from the dead. This James was a pillar of the early church, leader of the early church, the Jerusalem church. And with him as the author, it would put this book being written in the 40s. And if that is so then it would be one of the earliest New Testament writings. Other interesting facts about the book are that the reformer, Martin Luther, considered this epistle to not be a book found in the canon of the New Testament. His doctrine of Sola Fide or by faith alone seems to be called into question. In the book of James where he says that, faith without works is dead, and seems to support the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic view that grace and faith are what lead to salvation. Either way, I believe that it is in Christ alone that we are saved and perhaps this clarifies the works issue. When Jesus comes into our lives a fundamental shift takes place and that affects everything about us, including our behavior or our works. One thing is for certain, the book of James is a very direct and very bold book written to instruct and correct and even rebuke those who were falling away from their faith, who had allowed questions to cloud their minds under the threat of persecution. And if it had all be summed up, which is never the easiest thing to do, it would be like, live your life by faith and live your faith through what you do. It’s such a poignant message for today that in some ways, the book could’ve been written last week. So, let’s embrace this together. Buckle up. It’s a butt kicker. Let’s embrace the challenge that the book of James brings to our lives. It’s not enough to know what the word of God says. We can’t just know it, we have to live it.  And in living it we must answer it’s call to action. And, so, we begin. James chapter 1 verses 1 through 18.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. And here we are at a time just before things start to amp up and get so very busy, as we move into a season where we’re contemplating and rejoicing in Your arrival. And it’s a time of goodwill and good cheer to be sure. The entire world celebrates Your life and Your coming, but it’s also a very, very intense time. So, here we are, just a beat before all that gets going and want to thank You for all that we’ve been through and all that You have brought us through and all that we have gone through together with You so far this year and all that You have spoken to us from Your word. And we look forward to every day until the end of the year as we move our way to concluding reading the entire Bible. And we commit ourselves to not being overwhelmed by the season of joy but to stick to this rhythm, allowing You to speak into our lives each and every day through Your word. 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.

Just a couple of days from now, day after tomorrow, we’ll be out on the road for the last time this year, bringing the Sneezing Jesus message in Louisiana. And we’ll be in Bossier City, Louisiana, just near Shreveport, at River Valley church. And we’re looking forward to that very much. So, if you are in that area be sure to come say hello. You can get all the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section. And we’ll look for that.

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 offer my humble, heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has ever clicked that link. This is how we are here. Thank you profoundly for your partnership. If you prefer the mail, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And, of course, if you have a prayer request or comment, there are numbers that you can call. If you’re in the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number. In the UK and Europe 44-20-3608-8078 and in the Lands down under 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to call.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hi. My name is Betty and I’ve been listening to the Daily Audio Bible since 2011. Today is November the 14^th. My first time calling. I’m calling for my sister. Her name is Maria and she’s going through two procedures this week and we’re just asking you to join us in prayer for complete healing and restoration. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful day.

Hello fellow DABbers this is Theo from Ohio. Praise the Lord for He is good. Bless you Brian and Jill for your global ministry now. It is as real and as personal to me as that of Ed and Kathy’s, my pastor and first lady of my church. To Joyful Noise, to Song of Joy, to Salvation is Mine, to Victoria Soldier, to Redeemed in Him, Lisa the Encourager, and Tony the Blind, your prayers, your poems, your professions of faith are awesome. They touch me and me and I know they must touch the entire family. Thank you. To Kristi of Kentucky, Julie of Maryland, Janice of Arizona, and Candice of Oregon, like Sarah, Jenn, Darrell, and Heather, you are on my prayer list too. Miguel, it seems as if your song of joy suggests that you are doing a little bit better. For Sandy of Arkansas, I stand in agreement with Monica of Missouri. Get out of that house. I say that to you as I would talk to my 18-year-old daughter. There is a difference between dating a male and dating a man. Men are providers and protectors and sacrificial. The definition of what a man is supposed to be to a woman is in Ephesians. He’s supposed to love his wife as Christ loved the church. And the first thing about that, he should be on his knees begging you to marry him. That has not come about. So, don’t try to change him, rather just pray for him. May God bless you and keep you in the hollow of his hand.

Hey there Daily Audio Bible family. This is Julie M. in North Louisiana and I’m really excited because Brian is going to be at our church this Sunday morning. So, if you live in the North Louisiana area, I just want to invite you to River Valley church at 10 o’clock Sunday because we are going to have a great time. He was here last year and we had an awesome day with him and his family. So, we can’t wait for this Sunday. Want to give a shout out to Annette A. I heard you say, Annette, that you are going to be here this Sunday from Oklahoma City and I can’t wait to meet you. Would you please find me and hug my neck? I feel like we would be best friends. I feel like I know you because I’ve prayed for you many times. You know, around here, we are kind of DAB-aholics. We listen to the DAB every day. Three years ago, I started listening to the DAB and two years ago I started a small group. So, we all listen together, listen every week, and meet once a week to talk about it. A year ago, one of the couples in our group started a Sneezing Jesus small group and they meet every week and discuss the book. And so, we have two groups here that meet at our church to talk about what God is doing and we love this ministry. We drink our Wind Farm coffee we drink out of our Clean Canteens we have a Global Campfire poster. And that’s because we love what God is doing through this ministry. Brian and Jill, we love you and we appreciate your work, your efforts, and everybody behind the scenes. We love you guys. So, I just wanted to pray for you, Brian. Lord, I just pray God You are anointing on Brian and protection over him as he travels. Lord, I pray, I thank You for the fire that You’ve put in his heart and may we all catch it and be part of this Global Campfire, God, is to spread Your word anywhere in the nation anytime day or night. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hi family. This is Shannon in Oregon and I am praying right now for Gloria. Gloria, you left a message saying, right now at this time, 10 o'clock on November 14^th that you’re starting a hearing for your mom’s guardianship in Nevada. And, so, I am praying, singing over you this morning. And one of the songs I was singing was Victorious by Mandisa. So, I’m singing this over you know. [singing] With You on my side I am victorious. With you on my side I have got nothing to fear. I can walk through this valley with confidence knowing you will deliver me [singing stops].  Yes Lord, we ask for Your deliverance over your sister Gloria right now. Please empower her by Your Holy Spirit to speak the truth and love. And we ask that Your truth and Your love will win out. And that You will make a way for her mom to be able to come home with her if that’s Your will. Let Your will be done right now. On earth as it is in heaven and make a way for her brother to be transformed by Your love and Your power. Lord we love this family. We’re so thankful that we get to be part of the Daily Audio Bible family and lift each other up even though we’ve never met face to face. Our Spirits are already connected because we’re sons and daughters of You, we’re family in You. Thank You Lord. You are so good. I lift up my uncle to You, who has had just such a hard heart toward You and toward anybody who loves You. And I just ask that Holy Spirit would continue to draw…

Ezekiel 33:1-34:31, Hebrews 13:1-25, Psalm 115:1-18, Proverbs 27:21-22

Today is the 16th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian, it is great to be here with you. And here we are, pretty much smack in the middle of the 11th month, which only leaves us a month and half left in the year 2017, if you can believe it. And we’re going to cover a lot of ground in that six weeks. When we get to the New Testament reading today we will conclude the book of Hebrews. But first, Ezekiel chapter 33 verse 1 through 34 verse 31. We’re reading from the Common English Bible this week.

Commentary:

Alight. So, we concluded the book of Hebrews today. And it’s conclusion, we had begun yesterday, with kind of postures up for our lives that continued today like: keep loving each other like family, don’t neglect to open your homes to guests, you don’t know who is coming in, you might even be entertaining an angel, remember those who have been imprisoned, remember them like you were in prison with them, and look at those who are being mistreated as if you were in their place, honor your marriage, adultery is going to take you nowhere, and you should be free from the love of money, and you should be content with what you have. And then Hebrews tells us what we have, the promise - I will never leave you or abandon you, which is far more valuable than currency. And then we’re told to remember though those who brought the good news to us in the first place and imitate their faith. And all of these things still apply to us today. And then finally we’re told not to be misled by the many strange teachings out there. And this is interesting because if we just look at our lives in the world today, we can say, yea, there’s all sorts of people saying all kinds of things out there. But where the writer of Hebrews goes is completely Hebrew. The writer of Hebrews is saying, don’t be misled by many strange teachings out there and then moves back toward the Jewish traditions, essentially saying that Jesus is the next step in the same story. And they do this by talking about an altar, and how, when a sacrifice is given, the high priest will take the blood in as an atonement for sin but the body of the animal be taken outside the camp and burned. And then showing how Jesus was taken outside the city walls and crucified. And then tells us, so, let’s go to him, outside the camp, bearing his shame. And we should remember this because all of the noise of all of our religious practices and rituals aren’t actually the things that get us anywhere. And sometimes we remember, we have to go outside the camp, bearing his shame in getting back to the core essentials of our relationship with Christ. And the writer of Hebrews counsel in this is, that we go outside the camp and continue to bear His shame and continually offer up a sacrifice of praise through Him, which is the fruit from our lips that confess His name. And may we remember this as we conclude our reading from the book of Hebrews this year. God has done a new thing through Jesus. A new covenant has been instituted, one that allows us to personally go into the holy of holies, to personally collaborate and have a relationship with God in our lives, a relationship that is built upon faith and hope in what we can’t see what we know is there. And may we hold on to the final words in the book of Hebrews, ‘may Grace be with all of you’. And may we not only read it as the conclusion of a letter but may we understand what’s being said, ‘may grace be with all of you’.

Prayer:

Father, we confess that without Your mercy and grace in our lives there is literally no telling where we would be. Were it not for Your kindness and Your sacrifice and a new covenant, we could never come into Your presence righteous and holy. And now there is no where we can flee from Your presence, nor would we want to. Come Holy Spirit, indwell us, fill us, guide us, lead us into all truth, rebuke, and correct us, and lead us on the narrow path that leads to life. We ask 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.

Looking at the calendar, I’ve been saying this for a few days, a couple days from now, on the 19^th, this Sunday we will be out on the road sharing the Sneezing Jesus message one final time this year and that will be in the Shreveport Louisiana area, Bossier City at River Valley church. So, if you are in the deep South, we would love to see you. Come say hello. You can get all the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section. And we’ll look forward to that.

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. It stays there. Thank you for clicking that link. Thank you for your partnership and allowing the Daily Audio Bible and the community that we have, that we share together every day to exist at all. Thank you for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 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.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hi guys. It’s June at Perseverance in Indonesia. I wanted to first say thank you to Shannon and Mellissa, I think, that I just heard on the November 11^th call. Thank you for praying for teachers as well as be a reminder to go into the workplace ready for spiritual warfare and ready to conquer. So, that’s what I am going to pray for today. Heavenly Father, thank You so much for the opportunity to work and to go out on the mission field to glorify You, not in our own strength but by being the witnesses who can say, that’s a amazing and that’s because of God or this is a miracle and it’s only through God that it happened. Please help us to keep our eyes on that and to take them off of ourselves and the pain or the challenge that comes with being in spiritual warfare and help us to see it, to recognize it for what it is, and to turn to You and say, this is Yours, be glorified through it, and I know you will deliver me in it. In the name of Jesus, I pray for continued strength from You as each teacher who is a believer in You goes into the classroom. I ask that you will fully equip us, that we will fully surrender to You so that You can grow Your fruit of the Spirit in us and we can be empowered in those places that are broken and that are at a loss and all of the toxic and negative aspects of these…

Hi. This is Mermaid Girl South Carolina. I’m a long time listener but first time caller. Lately I have, for many and various reasons, kind of lost my joy. I’ve been diagnosed with Hypothyroidism, which has caused me to gain weight and be depressed. I really am coveting your prayers that I will back the Lord, find His joy, find His and happiness, and handle all of my illnesses. I listen to you all pray for you all and I thank you very much. Love you. Bye-bye.

Hi. This is Lisa from Southern California. I’m new to the Daily Audio Bible but I want to say hello to all of the Daily Audio Bible family. I just want to say that you guys have encouraged me. I’ve been listening ever since the end of August and I’ve been encouraged by the Bible reading and the commentary, the prayers, and I want to thank the lady who called on November the 12^th and was talking about our jobs and how we’re on assignment on our jobs. And it’s been pretty rough for me at my job and I was, you know, just really seeking the Lord on what I should do. It was a very hostile environment, but I began, one of the Daily Audio Bible programs told me to pray for my management and pray for my supervisor. And I began to do that and I’m seeing right now, the hand of God move at my job. So, I just want to say thank you all. I will continue to pray for all of you. I listen to you in the morning before I go to work and even when I’m on my off days. You guys are so much of an encouragement to me. Again, this is Lisa from Southern California. God bless you all. God bless you Brian. Have a wonderful day.

Hi beautiful family. This is Pastor Gene from Bradenton Florida. I would like us to lift in prayer, Pastor P.,  his wife, and that family. This is the pastoral family that suffered the attacks a few weeks ago, or maybe a couple of weeks ago, or last week, I don’t know where my mind is, the church in Texas, this happened while he was preaching. And, so, let’s just pray. Father, we just thank You for we are members of the same body and when one member is hurting all of us hurt. And Father I just want to lift up Pastor Paul P., his wife, his family. They lost, not only members of the congregation, but they lost their own 14-year-old daughter to that madman and I pray Father that Your comfort, Your peace, Your strength, Your courage will be with him and will be with every member of that congregation and every person that lost someone in that congregation. Like to quiet the voice of the enemy that is telling them that it is not worth it to follow God, that it’s not worth it to remain faithful because of what happened. I rebuke that in the name of Jesus. I thank You for the strength that You are giving Pastor P. to give glory to God, to point people God in the midst of this tragedy. And I pray that You will continue to use him and other voices that will come out of that tragedy and would testify of Your goodness and Your kindness. In the midst of the unthinkable tragedy, may what has happened, somehow, turn around and bring glory to Your name as You have promised and work for the good of those who love You as You have promised, Lord. We pray all this in Jesus’ name. I love you family. Pastor gene from Bradenton Florida. Bye.

Ezekiel 31:1-32:32, Hebrews 12:14-29, Psalms 113:1-114:8, Proverbs 27:18-20

Today is the 15th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today around this global campfire that we share together, where no matter where we are, no matter when we’re listening, someone else is as well, and we’re never alone here. And it’s a beautiful. It’s a beautiful thing. And we’ve come together to take the next step forward in the Scriptures. We’re reading from the common English Bible this week and we’ll continue our journey through Ezekiel and Hebrews. Tomorrow we’ll conclude the book of Hebrews, but Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Ezekiel chapter 31 verse 1 through 32 verse 32.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of Hebrews we’ve been talking for the last couple of days about faith and the fact that its presence in our lives is a necessity to operate in this kingdom or to enter into this new covenant. And we went through many examples from the Old Testament of biblical people who were regarded as the most influential people to the Hebrews. And they were all used as examples of people who had faith, people who saw something that they could not see, and hoped in it, hoped in the promise. And then we were led into the understanding that we find ourselves in the same place. We have to have the same kind of faith in what we can’t see but in what we know is coming, because at the time of this writing those were following Jesus were being marginalized and sidelined and persecuted and it didn’t feel like things were getting better, it felt like things were getting worse. And, so, that’s where faith comes in. And Hebrews counseled us on perseverance and discipline and the fact that what we can see right this minute isn’t all there is there is, there’s much more going on, there’s a larger story happening, but the only way to renew our hope in this coming thing is through faith. And so, today we’re kind of reaching the climax. We’re just about done with the book of Hebrews. We’ll complete it tomorrow. And so, we’re instructed on how to navigate, how to navigate life, and how to look at things. And, so, we’re instructed and we should pay attention to this because it applies to our lives. ‘Pursue the goal of peace along with everyone and holiness as well because no one will see the Lord without it. Make sure that no one misses out on God’s grace. Make sure that no root of bitterness grows up that might cause trouble and pollute many people. Make sure that no one becomes sexually immoral or ungodly like Esau’. These are postures. These are instructions on what our lives are supposed to be shaped like in order to cultivate faith that will bring hope. And then we’re led into a contrasting example of Mount Sinai and Mount Zion. Mount Sinai, of course, representing God meeting with the people in the wilderness, and giving the 10 Commandments, and instituting the first covenant. And the writer of Hebrews reminds them that everyone was freaked out. Like, no one could even touch the mountain. Even Moses said that he was terrified and shaking. And that was brought up to represent the institution of the old covenant, but then the writer says ‘but you have drawn near to Mount Zion’ and goes on to explain how this represents this new thing that God is doing, this new covenant through Jesus. And then we’re given a warning and a hopeful picture. The warning is that everything is going to get shaken up because of this. And certainly 2000 years later, we can see that Jesus has indeed shaken the world. Before the Hebrews, at this time, it’s just counsel. Everything that can shake his calling to get shaken up because of this new covenant because it’s a new era, a new dawning of a new day. Things among the human race have profoundly been changed. So, it’s going to shake things up but that’s necessary. Everything that can shake is going to get shaken and the things that aren’t shaken are the things that will remain. And because of this new covenant we are entering into and receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken and our response to that can only be gratitude. And we can take the last statement from our reading today and place it in our hearts as we move forward in our lives. ‘With this gratitude let’s serve in a way that is pleasing to God, with respect and awe because our God really is a consuming fire’.

Prayer:

Father, there is no doubt that we experience shaking and shake up in our lives. And most of the time we see this is a horribly bad thing. And rarely do we look at it as everything that needs to be shaken lose. Everything that needs to fall away is falling away because of the shaking and rarely do we run to You and embrace the process and move through it by the council and power of Your Holy Spirit. Usually we’re asking You why You let this happen. And from the book of Hebrews today, we can see that things need to be shaken up. Things need to fall away so that that which is stable and solid and cannot be shaken is what remains. And Your kingdom cannot be shaken. And You have invited us to participate in it. And, so, we embrace all of the things that we are going through. And we invite Your Holy Spirit. We run to You, not with accusation, but with gratitude. We express our gratitude that You can continue to pursue us and to shake loose the things it will only take us down in the end. We are grateful that You are a consuming fire, You consume the things that do not belong in and around us, and You consume us with the power of Your Holy Spirit to operate as Your image bearers, ambassadors, and representatives on this earth. And we invite Your Holy Spirit to give us this awareness, a much larger perspective on all of the issues that we face in our lives. Come Holy Spirit, give us the eyes and the ears of Your unshakable kingdom. We ask 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.

And we have this one date left on our calendar for travel this year and it’s the 19^th, which is this Sunday. We’ll be in Louisiana in the Shreveport area, in Bossier City at River Valley church and we are looking forward to it. So, if you’re in the area we’d love to say hi. Come say hello. You can get the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section.

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 thank you for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment there are numbers that you can call. We have a few of them. If you are in the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number to dial. If you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number to dial. And if you are in Australia or the lands down under 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to call and that’s it for today.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hi Daily Audio Bible this is ___ from Maryland. Just wanted to say, this message is for Jill. Jill, I hear everybody talking about you when they thank Brian and Jill. And I’ve heard Brian’s voice and I haven’t gotten to know you yet. But yesterday I started listening to some of the resources that are on the app, the first videos and the women resources, it was your interviews with Stacey. If I am saying her name wrong, I’m sorry. But you are awesome Jill and it was so great to get to know you. I was listening to the interviews that were from 2014, but so profoundly, exactly what I needed here in the moment that I heard it. And I could hear your heart and your love of God and I just wanted to thank you, and nice to meet you, Brian and Jill, both of you. Thank you for everything. I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for God and for you all for the resources that you’ve provided us with to be in his word every day. I cannot thank you enough. Just thank you. And anyone who feels inspired to tap into the resources that Jill has put forth through DAB with Brian, just do it. I highly recommend it. Love you guys.

Windows of opportunity surround us each day
Choices are chances to do things God’s way
Is there healing or venom in the things that you say
Help us sweet Jesus to do things your way
Do you do unto others before they do you
Do you render to Caesar the all that he’s due
Do you humbly ask Jesus your strength to renew
Are you really for God or is it all about you
Storm clouds may gather but they will not prevail
God has all power and his word will not fail
Satan is a liar, a robber, a thief
Help me sweet Jesus with my unbelief
Windows of opportunity surround us each day
Choices and chances to do things God’s way
Is there healing or venom in the things that you say
Help us sweet Jesus to do things your way
Mom was a Christian and daddy was too
They did all the good things that parents can do
Sometimes we’d listen and sometimes we’d stray
But we always had chances to do things God’s way
Jobs, friends, and family, they all have their place
They all can add balance if we run the good race
But they also add attention and trials each day
Help us sweet Jesus to do things your way
Do you encourage your family
Do you uplift your friends
Do you know that your jobs are just means to your ends
Do you glorify Jesus in all that you do
Are you really for God or is it all about you

blindtony1016@gmail.com. Victory S. I missed you last week, I didn’t hear your voice last week and I definitely missed it. Hope all is well. Anyway, thank you once again Brian for this wonderful Podcast for Gods Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flowin’ y’all. Alright. Bye-bye.

This is Peg in Texas, praying with the DAB family. Almighty, all-powerful God, who loves with an everlasting love, I come asking, asking for Sharon in California whose daughter is bipolar. This diagnosis is up and down and so often unstable Lord. I ask, Father, for all that is needed for stabilizing the brain of this loved one. For Zander, the one man who is missing the blessing as Tony said so well in a poem, show him to Yourself, open his eyes to his own addiction and open his heart to see you, to find Christian friends, to remove himself from a harmful relationship. Oh God, in the name of Jesus, redeem the child in the situation. For Sandy in Arkansas, help her to see that this playing of marriage and playing house but living in an abusive and sinful situation is not in accordance with Your will. The culture may say it is but your word does not give proof. Give her the courage to leave, to walk out and away from a man who is taking advantage of her availability. Yes, we do ask for his salvation, we ask for his healing, but at the same time, I ask for Sandy’s healing for she is helping to create a sick and really a sinful situation. And, oh Lord, for Gloria in New York and her deep concern for her mom. She wants to move her mom to New York. If this is for the mother’s situation to be greatly bettered, for stability, for peace, for kindness or attentive care or more attentive care, maybe I should say Lord, I ask that the move will be made. I pray for brothers, that Gloria sees as controlling and cruel and abusive, that in the name of Jesus, You will work powerfully, bringing healing in lives between siblings, for I believe it to be Your divine will. And for Jordan the teacher, give him the desire and ability to firmly hold onto Your word…

Hi Daily Audio Bible family. I’m asking you to please, please pray for my husband. We’ve lost two daughters to gun violence and now my husband, John, has been diagnosed with cancer. I can’t describe the pain and anxiety we’re feeling right now but God showed me in a dream to call Daily Audio Bible and ask for prayer. So, we trust in the power of prayer and the power of the blood and the power of God’s love. So, I’m asking all of you guys out there to pry for us. And I want to thank you in advance for covering us in prayer

Ezekiel 29:1-30:26, Hebrews 11:32-12:13, Psalms 112:1-10, Proverbs 27:17

Today is the 14^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. We’re probably far enough in the year for you to know that, but I’m Brian. It’s good to be here with you today. And I’m excited to take the next step forward. We’ll move into Ezekiel and then into Hebrews, where we will talk about faith. But first, Ezekiel chapter 29 verse one through 30, verse 26. And we’re reading from the Common English Bible this week.

Commentary:

Alright. So, in Hebrews, as I’ve been saying most every day, Hebrews was written to Hebrews, which is not me saying, because it was written to Hebrews it has no meaning for us, it’s to say, that’s the context and context is important in the Bible. These are early Jewish believers in Jesus and they are declaring that God is doing a new thing among the Hebrew people, that Jesus is a part of the Hebrew story and that God is doing a new thing among the Hebrew people. The old covenant is accomplished and a new covenant is instituted. Well, this is not widely accepted at the time or now among the Hebrew people. And so, this letter is to restate what is believed about Jesus in a Hebrew context among the early believers in Jesus because they are on the margins. At best, these early Hebrew believers in Jesus were thought to be just a part of another Jewish sect, sort of like a weird new denomination of Judaism, who are following a rabbi named Jesus, who happened to be executed by the Romans. 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 an 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. And, so, right now we can’t just disappear into the scenery. We can’t just fade. We have to follow our ancestors example and move this forward. And, 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 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. And 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’s in his legitimate child. So, they are basically saying, look, 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. And, so, we too, can take council 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:

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.

Looking at the calendar, just a few days from now, this coming Sunday the 19^th of November, we’ll be back out on the road bringing the Sneezing Jesus message at River Valley church in Bossier City, Louisiana. So, this will be last time we’ll be out on the road this year. Looking forward to seeing you. Come say hello. You can get all the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section. And we’ll look forward to that in a few days.

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 PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 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.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hi Family. This is His Little Sheri from Canada. And I finished listening to the community prayer for November 4^th and doodling my prayers for all of you. I have quite a long list of people I will be praying for. And just to mention a few, Kristi in Kentucky, your dad passed away on October 21^st. That was my birthday. And my heart goes out to you. I’m very close to my parents. And, so, I can imagine the grief you’re feeling after losing both your mom and now your dad. I’m praying for you Kristi. A man called in, didn’t leave his name, but you were saying that you were really needing companionship, that you are feeling lonely, and I’m praying for you. I’m praying for Julie from Maryland. Thank you so much Julie, for your message to me. That made my day. And you had mentioned that you’re praying for your parents and your brother for their salvation. I’m going to join you in praying for them. Miguel, you called you in and sang Victory in Jesus. Thank you, I was singing with you at the top of my lungs…because there was nobody home. So, thank you of reminding me of that wonderful old hymn. And Lisa the Encourager, you called in and talked about the miracle of our eyes. Thank you for that. That was so fascinating. And I just felt worship rise up in my hear as you were talking about the miraculous design of our eyes. And Candice from Oregon. You called in mentioning that you’re going to be meeting with your sister. I’m wondering how that went, so please call in and update us. There’s so many more here on my list. I love you family. I’m praying for so many of you and I’ll talk to you again soon. Bye for now.

Hello my darling family. This is Janice in Goodyear Arizona calling. I send greetings to all of you and my love. And I have a special request for my brother-in-law. His name is Tim. And Tim has been through a rough time, to say the least. He lost his beautiful 35 year old daughter a couple months ago in a car accident and now the doctors have discovered internal bleeding but they don’t know where it’s coming from. So, he’s got to go through a bunch of tests and we all know how those are. Please pray that the Lord will direct these doctors to find the cause of his bleeding and stop it. And please pray, most of all, that Tim will come to a knowledge of Jesus as his Lord and Savior. And I thank you all so very much. I still keep a book, I wish I could show you all my books, it’s full of with prayers and answers from my DAB family. God bless you all. Thanks again.

Good morning everyone, this is Mike from Washington state. I’m calling on 11/11. I’d just been listening to the community prayer line today and I just wanted to say thank you to all my Daily Audio Bible family and all the prayer requesters and everything for the beautiful podcast. I’ve been listening since 2009, full time listening since 2010. And felt compelled to call today to thank Tony for his great poem about the three trees. It just really turned something in me and made me want to call in for the first time. Everybody have a great day. And love you all.

Hi. Kristi from Kentucky, this is Valerie calling from Michigan. I heard your prayer request a few days ago about the loss of your mom and dad so close together and I totally feel for you. Feel my hugs right now for you. I understand. My mom and dad died 8 months apart. And my dad died middle of August. And, so, I’ve had a little time to reflect on their lives and their presence in my life and how much I miss them. And I know you’re probably…in the beginning…your heart just hurts…you actually feel pain in your heart because you miss them so much. And that will get a little easier. God is good. Rest in Him and feel the tears…let the tears flow…let the blankets of sorrow just come upon you. It’s OK. It will get easier. God is good. He is our eternal Father and our parents are home, which is our goal, is to one day go home. And this is a hard time of year to be at a loss, to be grieving. So, I’ll be praying for you Kristi and for you too Brian, for the loss of your mom, and for all out there who are missing loved ones. Remember that we are children to our parents, parents to our children. Some day we will be parents to our parents and children to our children -  circle of life. And there’s a lesson there. God bless you. Love you Kristi. Bye-bye.  

Ezekiel 27:1-28:26, Hebrews 11:17-31, Psalms 111:1-10, Proverbs 27:15-16

Today is the 13th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s wonderful to be here with you today as we launch ourselves into a new work week. So, let’s dive. We’re reading from the Common English Bible this week. Ezekiel chapter 27 verse 1 through 28 verse 26.

Commentary:

Alright. So, yesterday in the book of Hebrews, we started walking down what is known as the ‘hall of faith’. And it kind of turns the corner in the book of Hebrews. Previously, as we’ve already talked at length about, we were examining the sacrificial system and its completion in Jesus and the implications of a new covenant, a new thing God is doing. And then we turned the corner toward what activates, what fuels that new covenant, which is faith. And, so, we’ve been working through examples of people’s faith in what they couldn’t see but they believed to be true and hoped in. And, so, in today’s reading, we read about Abraham’s faith and Isaac’s faith and Jacob’s faith and Joseph’s faith and Moses faith and the faith of the Hebrew people when they crossed the Red Sea on dry land and the faith of the people when Jericho’s walls fell and the faith of Rahab, who was in Jericho but was spared. And the writer of Hebrews is saying all of these people demonstrated faith in something that they hoped for, but could not see, and it became a reality. And it, in fact, became the Hebrew story. So, once again, Hebrews is written to Hebrews. So, that is the context and that is the cultural backdrop so that we can see in all the names, like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob - all these names that we just read through - they were examples of faith as heroes from the Bible. That’s how we would see them in this time, but for the Hebrew people reading this letter, it’s their story being told back to them, showing them that faith is beyond a sacrificial system or a Mosaic law and it’s going to be faith that they have to leap into, a leap of faith, to move into this new covenant, this new thing that God is doing in the world through his son, Jesus, and how this new thing rearranges and changes things for them. And, so, tomorrow, when we get into the book of Hebrews, we’ll be moving out of these examples, this ‘hallway of faith’ that some people call it, we’ll be moving out of these examples, and into what this means.

Prayer 

Father, we have asked for You to come and well up within us and increase our faith because we know it’s impossible to please You without faith. And we know without faith our hope cannot grow and we can’t reach for what we can’t see. So, come Holy Spirit, increase our faith. And we know, we understand, we have to collaborate in that, we have to turn our heart toward You and run toward You in every decision in every word in every thought of our lives. But we can’t do that on our own. We’ve tried. We need your help. Come Holy Spirit, we turn and run toward You, knowing that You will meet us, You will guide us, You will lead us into all truth. And we put our hope in that. We pray these things in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

Looking at the calendar, this coming Sunday, which will be the 19^th of November, we’ll be out on the road for the final time of the year. And we’ll be in Louisiana, in Bossier City, Louisiana, which is near Shreveport. And we’ll be at River Valley church and we’re looking forward to that. So, if you’re in the area, love to see you. Come say hello. You can get the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section.

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 we thank you humbly for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 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.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hello Daily Audio Bible. I just want to say thank you for praying for my husband. I called in three years ago and didn’t know what was wrong with him. A lot of things came to light, but there was repentance and God is good. He is a believer in Jesus Christ. He is guiding and leading bible studies for men of addiction groups and it’s amazing. We’re reading scripture. Thank you for your prayers Daily Audio Bible.

Hi family. This is Melan in Northern California. I haven’t called in in a while. I do listen, I do pray. But I am going to have a prayer request. I know that God is beyond all time. And, so, that’s why I’m calling in now. I am currently on my way up to the hospital for a stress test / treadmill test. Earlier this week I had some serious symptoms of a heart attack. And everything was ruled out. We determined it’s just anxiety. I am suffering from severe anxiety. I have serious marital issues. My husband and I are on the brink of divorce and I keep telling myself that I can’t say that word anymore because thinking it is to strong but I also know that speaking the name of Jesus is even stronger. And, so, I have called so that you would please pray for my marriage and for my husband. We are just really, really on the verge. We’ve had a rough go of it for…well…we’ve been married for 16 years and it’s been 16 been of rough marriage. So, please pray for us. Pray for him to please turn his heart back to the Lord. His faith has grown cold. And I know that when he falls back in love with Jesus then all the right in his world and even if I’m not in the picture for that that his will world will be good and right and just. So, thank you family. Love you. Pray for you all daily. Bye.

Good morning. It is Beloved by Him in Gloucester in the UK. I want to thank Miguel for all his prayers for our churches and I hope to take up the challenge as well to continue praying for our leaders and for our church communities. Today I wanted to pray for the Polish Catholic Church ___ Stella. She is a Polish Catholic but she doesn’t worship regularly because there isn’t a church near her. I also wanted to pray for her as well and others like who are overwhelmed with work and stressed out by work so much so that their bodies have made them ___. Anyway, let’s pray. Father God, thank You so much for Your people, whatever denomination they are. Thank You that they know and love You and acknowledge You for who You are, the Creator of the universe, that You love us, that You sent Your Son to die for us, to die for our sins so that we might have a relationship with you, and might have eternal life with you. Father God, I lift up the Polish Catholic church. I pray Lord that You’d be blessing that church and that You’d be helping those communities of Polish Catholics, wherever they are Lord, find a way to worship. I pray Lord that there would be opportunities for Stella and people like her to worship You in the way they want to worship You. I pray Lord that You would become real to Stella and that You would be blessing her. Father God I lift up my brothers and sisters out there who are overworked by work at the moment, overwhelmed by stresses and things like and anxiety, so much so that it’s affecting their health. I pray Lord that You’d be giving them what they need, You’d be restoring their health and giving them peace. In Jesus’ precious name. Amen.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is Wrapped in His Unfailing Love and I just wanted to share something with you. Good morning. I love you all. This is what I’ve been doing. I’ve been keeping a copy of Sneezing Jesus in my car and I pray about who I can give it to. And I told you, I think, that I gave it to my massage therapist and she was very happy about it. And then I gave it to a lady that I see at a place where I exercise. And I really prayed about it first and she thanked me for it the next time she saw me and she said it was really interesting and it has given her allot to think about. So, I was so encouraged by that I wanted to share it with you and thought that that is a good idea. So, anyway I just wanted to say good morning on this beautiful day, that I love you all, and I think about you, and I pray with you as I listen to your prayer requests. And thank you for praying for me too. So, love you all and have a wonderful weekend. Bye-bye.

Ezekiel 24:1-26:21; Hebrews 11:1-16; Psalms 110:1-7; Proverbs 27:14

Today is the 12th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today and every day. And, of course, here we are at the sparkly, shiny, threshold of a brand-new week. And looking at the week, we will continue to journey our way through the book of Ezekiel and in the New Testament we will conclude this week, the book of Hebrews, and move forward into James and we will read from the Common English Bible this week. So, let’s dive in. Ezekiel, chapter 24 verse 1 through 26 verse 21.

Commentary:

Okay. In our reading from Psalms today we read Psalm 110, which refers to Melchizedek, one of the two only references to Melchizedek in the Old Testament. We talked about that at length when we began the book of Hebrews. So, I’m just pointing that out. In the book of Hebrews, we turn the corner and begin to move into the next piece of what is being laid out in Hebrews. So, since we began Hebrews we’ve been examining from a Hebrew context, a Jewish context, the sacrificial system, the way to get to God and to be absolved of sin. And the writer of Hebrews is saying that in Jesus death that system is completed and is no longer necessary. We now have a high priest in heaven. A new covenant has been instituted. We can now ourselves go into the holy of holies. So, in other words, we can now, ourselves as individuals, stand clean and righteous before God and enter His presence ourselves. And we’ve talked about what a monumental paradigm shift that was for the Hebrews that this was written to. Today we begin to talk about what enables all of that - the reality that we have to enter and live from within in order for this to become true. And that reality is called faith. So, as we turn the corner and begin Hebrews chapter 11 we’re greeted with that. Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don’t see. And then we spent the rest of our time in Hebrews today seeing examples of this from the Scriptures. And we started at the beginning and began to work our way forward. And we will continue with those examples as we read forward, as we go forward tomorrow. Some scholars call this the hall of faith – the hall of faith in the Bible - because it’s example after example of people who lived by faith in order to move into a reality that would otherwise be impossible. And we should enjoy this because it’s kind of a fast motion move through a number of the stories that we’ve encountered as we’ve moved through the Bible this year, but it also shows us this common thread, faith is a necessary part of our humanity, of our journey, and, certainly, is the rocket fuel of our relationship with God. So, we should enjoy ourselves as we move through these examples, but then Hebrews will lead us to a place where we realize, okay, the examples are wonderful, but I can’t move into this on someone else’s faith, it’s going to come down to some choices and decisions that I have to make. And we’ll get to that over the next couple of days.

Prayer:

Father, the Scriptures tell us that it’s impossible to please You without faith. And, so, now as we begin to explore faith from the book of Hebrews, we invite Your Holy Spirit to strengthen and increase our faith in You as we look at these examples of people who had faith against all odds, faith in a reality that they could not see, faith in You and You alone. Come Holy Spirit and make this a reality in our lives. We ask 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.

Looking at the calendar, one week from today we will be back out on the road sharing the Sneezing Jesus message. This will be the final time for this year. We’ll be Louisiana, in the Shreveport area, Bossier City, to be specific, and we’ll be at River Valley church. So, we’re looking forward to that very much. If you are in the area or want to come into the area, looking forward to seeing you, hugging your neck, shaking your hand, and seeing your face in person. So, all of the details are at dailyaudiobible.com in the events section and I will see you next week.

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. Thank you profoundly and humbly for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 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.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hi family. This is Malisha from Alberville, Alabama. Hey Brian. Hey Jill. I love you all.  Kristy from Kentucky, I heard your call this morning about losing your daddy. I am so sorry. I just want you to know I have lifted you up in prayer. Candice, I’m continually praying for you and everybody that’s lost a loved one. It’s so hard, but God knows. The bible says, blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted. So, I’m praying for y’all.  Brian from Wisconsin, your nephew Nicholas, I’m praying for him. I’m praying that God will heal him from the crown of his head to the soul of his feet. And, Victoria S., you called in and were praying for somebody but you didn’t say you were sick but you sounded like you were a little under the weather. I’ve already prayed for you just in case you are sick because we love you and we need you praying for us sister. Let’s see, Jillian’s mom, with the brain tumor, I hadn’t heard from you in a while. She’s been on my mind. I’m praying for her still. I’m praying for all y’all. Rayna, praise God for you. I love y’all so, so much. Talk to you later. Bye-bye.

Hi, this is Melissa from Baltimore. I am a two-year listener. This is the first ti me I’ve called. The teachers that have called in this week have just broken my heart and I just want to tell you guys, thank you for all that you all do. As a mother of three children in a city that is so broken, Lord, oh gosh, we just need teachers, just the ones that have called in, just like that Lord, with broken hearts. And Lord we just trust that You will move in their lives Lord God, that they will see and get a glimpse of what they do, Lord God, and how You have a bigger purpose for them and Lord I just ask that you would help, just, to reveal this in a small way, Lord God, that they will see that they’re impact…that there’s power…there’s a purpose. Lord, we thank You for these people that are really laying down their lives and their hearts trying to do Your work. Thank you, teachers, all of you guys that do so much. And know that you are not unnoticed. Thank you.

Hi family, it’s Shannon from Texas. I was thinking this morning and listening to the prayer requests and if you heard me call in about my job, I just wanted to kind of reassess my situation and speak to those of us that are going through situations in our jobs. I’m trying to look at it like I’m a missionary and this is my mission from the Lord and I’m going to go into my job every day like it’s war and it’s a spiritual war. And the way I look at it is, I just proclaim God, this is a takeover, this is holy takeover. And I just cry out that every day, because I feel like I’m going into a place that, it is a battle for soul and the Lord has sent me there and it doesn’t belong to them anymore. It belongs to Him and they might not know but they have a date with destiny. And it is over for them. And they might not know why I am there and they might hate me and they might talk about me and they might think it’s this or that. And that I’m there do some kind of job, but not that’s why I’m there. I’m there because the Lord has sent me on a mission, a mission for schools, and that is how we have got to start looking at it. Because that is what it’s about. It’s not about the job. It is about our duty for the Lord and that is how we are going to have to look at it. And we are going to have to pray, day and night. And we are going to have to realize that we are servants. And that is what this about. And I know it’s hard, but we’ve got to keep lifting each other up. And We’ve got to stay out of negativity in our talking and in our thinking. So, let’s lift each other up.

Ezekiel 23:1-49; Hebrews 10:18-39; Psalms 109:1-31; Proverbs 27:13

Today is the 11th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today, kind of bringing this week in for a landing together. I have some nice, steamy wind farm coffee to my left, in my new roasted red pepper Clean Canteen, which I’ll tell you about at the end. Let’s dive in. Ezekiel chapter 23 verses 1 through 49 today. And we’re reading from the New Living translation this week.

Commentary:

Okay. So, some saucy stuff in the book of Ezekiel today. God compares Samaria and Jerusalem, so the northern and the southern kingdom, to prostitutes who lust for lovers who are hung like donkeys. And I don’t think we need to…I don’t think we need to go into that, it’s pretty self-explanatory, other than to say God is using a graphic metaphor to show how this constant generational mixture with all of the nations around them, we’re there mixing themselves in with these people and adopting all of their culture and mixing it with their own, including the worship of foreign and false gods is an utter betrayal of God. And God is pretty clear about how he feels about it.

But in the book of Hebrews we reach this kind of breakthrough moment, where everything that we’ve been talking about in the book of Hebrews leads to this place where the implications become apparent. So first, we have to remember, Hebrews was written to Hebrews. So, everything that’s being said is from a Hebrew cultural perspective. And at length, we’ve been looking at the sacrificial system that every Hebrew who grew up Hebrew would understand. We spent some time looking at things that happened before the sacrificial system, so before the Mosaic law, which is something that the apostle Paul also did in his writings. We talked about how there was precedent in the Hebrew culture, that something new was going to happen, that redemption would happen by God doing a new thing. And then we watched as the writer of Hebrew declared that Jesus is that new thing and then referred back to the Old Testament to show how. And, so, today we see the implications of Jesus being this new thing, this new high priest, this final sacrifice in the sacrificial system, and the institution of this new covenant, this new thing. And the implications are found in the 10th chapter of Hebrews, beginning with verse 19. ‘And so, dear brothers and sisters, we can boldly enter heavens most holy place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the most holy place. And since we have a great high priest who rules over God’s house, let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts, fully trusting Him, for our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water’. Okay. So, this is something we take for granted, that we have instant and always on access to God. That’s not the story for the readers here. The only way they can get to God is by offering a sacrifice and the high priest once a year entering the most holy place and entering the presence of God on behalf of the people. So, the writer of Hebrews is saying, all of that has come to its completion. And now, because we have this high priest, Jesus, presiding over a new covenant, directly from heaven, we can actually go into the holy of holies. In other words, we can actually, personally individually, enter the presence of God. This is a massive, massive paradigm shift. A completely different way of looking at things and a giant leap of faith for the early Hebrew believers. It forces them, by default, to be at odds with their culture and flies in the face of their religious tradition. And the pressure that brings upon these people is remarkable. But the promise of intimacy, and union, and collaboration, and a personal relationship with God is also remarkable. Now, because the pressures are so remarkable, I mean, to the point of persecution, the writer of Hebrews leaves words of encouragement, words that echo across time, words that find themselves in our lives today, right now, because in a lot of ways we face these same kind of pressures, maybe not pressures of persecution like they were facing, but definitely the crush of culture in the world. So, I’m going to read the last little portion of Hebrews that we just read as words of encouragement to you, whatever is going on in your life and invite you to meditate upon it as you go through your day. So, beginning at verse 32. ‘Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail. And when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever. So, do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you. Patient endurance is what you need now so that you will continue to do God’s will, then you will receive all that He has promised. For in just a little while the coming One will come and not delay and my righteous ones will live by faith, but I will take no pleasure in anyone who turns away.

Prayer:

Father we invite your Holy Spirit to sear these words on our hearts, that we may remember the magnitude of what You have done in doing this new thing through Jesus our Lord, that this relationship that we often take for granted is only available to us because of Jesus, and that we can come clean and righteous before You, into your presence, into the holy of holies, as it were, and be in Your very presence. Come Holy Spirit, and let us see what this means, because all of the other circumstances of life begin to fade away in the truth of this reality. 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.

And what is going on?

Yesterday we talked about the new clean canteens that we have in stock. We get them in stock a couple of times a year and this will be the last time this year they are in stock. And these are a special edition. In the past, we’ve imprinted our logo on the food grade stainless steel that these are made out of and they are awesome. This time we made them in a roasted red pepper color, a deep red color, that we use a lot at Daily Audio Bible with the Daily Audio Bible logo in white and they are striking, really beautiful. I may be a little biased, but I think they stand out. So, the way that it usually works is that they’re gone in a matter of days and that is definitely proving to be the case. So, they won’t last long. And I’ll be surprised if we have any left before the weekend is over. So, grab them while you can. They’re in the Daily Audio Bible shop, in the active and drink wear section, until we run out of them.

And then, looking at the calendar, the 19th of November will be the final travel date for Sneezing Jesus this year. And that will be in the Shreveport Louisiana area. We’ll be in Bossier City, Louisiana at River Valley church and we’re looking for that. You can get the details at dailyaudiobible.com by scrolling down to the events section and clicking this event. And we’ll look forward to seeing you on the road.

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. Thank you profoundly for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 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.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hey, good morning everybody. This is ___ from Oklahoma City. I hope you all are doing well today. Good news, my young son Alex in Colorado got a new job building tanks for oilfield stuff, which is going to pay him pretty good. Thank you. Praise the Lord. Hey, I’m praying for everybody who is thinking about attending the Louisiana, Bossier City family gathering. I’m pretty sure I’m going to go or get to go. That’s a long drive but I love and I get to stop in Dallas and that’s cool. Hey, my husband, Lloyd, is going for an interview this Friday with the power plant to become a supervisor and it looks like it’s pretty much like one of those shoe-in kind of jobs where he’s been doing it for a while and you’ve pretty much got it but he is going to be up against some of his friends. And I would just pray that everybody goes through the interview and does well and the person that they would like to select, whoever God wants to put in that position, let Him put him them there. And we are both on that page for sure. So, I would appreciate all the prayers that cover that. And then, hopefully, there’s no any animosity afterwards, you know? Because sometimes it can be that way among your friends. So, anyways, guys, I love you guys. Kristy from Kentucky, my sister, I couldn’t even imagine being in your shoes. If something happened to my dad, I mean, he was like, I mean, is my best friend and I’m sure your dad was the same way. So, I’m giving you some great big hugs about that. Okay, I love you guys. Have a great day. Bye-bye.

Good morning. This is November the 7^th and I’m calling anonymously because I don’t want to offend anyone that knows me, but Brian you said it today, you said something that I’ve been trying to, I guess, put in the words for six years since I’ve been listening to the Daily Audio Bible, every day. And what you said is you said it’s the covenant being talked about here and not the scriptures. You see, I grew up in a religion that discredited the Old Testament and I was told things like, music was wrong in worship, and this and that were wrong. And when I started reading the Daily Audio Bible, listening in, and reading along, within a few months of the first year, I would read in the Psalms about one of my heroes, David, who would often talk about worshiping the Lord with cymbals and harps and the liar. And my encouragement to everyone today is to, with your life, is to, if you are just getting started with this, to continue on and read these Scriptures for yourself and ask God to speak directly to you. And He’ll reveal to you the truth like he did to me. And Brian, I don’t think you, in your talk about the Global Campfire initiative, I don’t think you gave enough credit to your commentary and your prayers, and I just thank God for your insight and your wisdom and your prayers that continue to teach me and so many others the truth. So, I thank you for that and that’s why I invested in the Global Campfire Initiative. I’m so excited about my print coming and I’m going to be able to put it on the wall of my office.

Good morning DAB family. It’s Patty calling from Calgary Canada. Just want to say hello to everybody and thank you so much for Brian for your ministry and Jill for supporting him. I’ve been listening for about 7 years. I’ve only called in a couple of times. Once was about 4 years ago when our son was heavy in an addictive addiction and I just want to say, praise the Lord. He is now over 2 years in recovery, doing very well. But I do have a prayer request today. My husband has been out of work for 18 months because of a down turn in the economy here in Alberta. And, so, could you please pray for him for employment. It’s really weighing heavily upon him. I’ve gotten a job in order to help support us. But we’re pretty close to retirement and it’s not working for us. So, if you could please pray for my husband Neil to find employment in his field I would so appreciate it. Thank you so much I love listening to you all. I lift you all up in prayer when I hear your prayers and see you on the Facebook page. Love you and God bless.

Hey guys. If you could pray for my wife, that would be great. She is like 26 weeks pregnant or something with twins and she having some Braxton Hicks and lots of discomfort and stuff. It’s still within the normal range of things, but could use some prayers for her that would be great. The longer they’re in there the better. I’m praying for you guys. I love you all. I will keep you updated and I will be praying for you guys. God bless you.

Ezekiel 21:1-22:31; Hebrews 10:1-17; Psalms 108:1-13; Proverbs 27:12

Today is the 10th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today. And both of those things are totally true. I am Brian and it is great to be here with you today as we take the next step forward in the adventure that we’re on through the Bible this year. And our journey leads us back into the book of Ezekiel and back into the book of Hebrews when we get to the New Testament. So, first, Ezekiel chapter 21 verse 1 through 22 verse 31. We’re reading from the New Living translation this week.

Commentary:

Okay. In the book of Hebrews today, things continue to unfold and blossom like a flower before us as the greater context materializes, the greater story emerges. It’s been emerging all along, but it’s like we’re at this vista now. And it’s disruptive because it’s a true paradigm shift and we’ve been talking about it all along, but it’s explicit. The old system under the law of Moses was only a shadow, a dim preview of the good things to come, not the good things themselves. The sacrifices under that system were repeated again and again, year after year, but they were never able to provide perfect cleansing for those who came to worship. On the other hand, Jesus came and His one sacrifice is for all time and sacrificial offerings are no longer required. We kind of talked about how this is like a paradigm shift. So, kind of, controversial and troubling on the one hand, but if it were true, what an utter relief it would be. And we talked about this yesterday. And today we see this is explicitly what’s being said. So, you have to imagine how Hebrew people, who had the Mosaic law baked into their culture, who were trying to live right in devout, would have difficulty embracing this because their whole lives have been taught a different way. And now they kind of to open up their eyes and wake up to something new that God is doing in the world and realize that their the first ones in. So, it’s not like this group mentality, where something is, over time, been brought into culture like we experience now in our faith. They’re, like, the first ones. So, this is a big step of faith forward. So, like, if someone came along and started saying, okay, all of you Gentile believers, you now need to practice animal sacrifice. God is doing a new thing and we’re going back to the old way. But it’s a new thing and you need to offer these sacrifices. Right? It would be hard for us to get our minds around in the same way that would be difficult for them to make that step forward, even though, even though this was supposed to happen, even though there was precedent for this new thing to come. All kinds of new things are coming down the pipe, just like they are now. And, so, we can see the tension in this that we don’t normally see without context because this is just a doctrinal statement about our faith. Like, we understand these things, that like, that Jesus was the sacrifice once and for all. His blood covers all sins for all time. We no longer need to sacrifice. Like, that’s the normal way of thinking. But if it weren’t. Right? We’d have to take some time to be able to move in that direction prayerfully. And yet, the writer of Hebrews is skilled enough to continually look back into the sacred Hebrew Scriptures. So, when we were talking about Melchizedek, we were talking about Psalm 110, but all throughout there’s these references back to prophetic utterances that are revealing that this is what’s happening and it’s happening right now. So, Psalm 40 is quoted today as a prophetic utterance supporting what they’re saying. Jeremiah chapter 31 is quoted today as a prophetic utterance to show - this is what’s happening. And for we, who are so far removed from this time, like, we can get the book of Romans and we get the book of Hebrews together and read them and go like, there, there’s the complete doctrine of the Christian faith. But what’s really going on historically is that Paul is out moving among the Gentiles, the gospel is spreading like wildfire among the Gentiles, the Jewish people, Hebrew people, are having a much more difficult time embracing this, and for the most part they’re not embracing this, but this letter to the Hebrews is intended to be circulated, and wrestled with, and talked about among those people. This is the document to those people to explain all of this in a very Hebrew centric context. So, it’s not just a book of theological understandings and doctrines. It’s a very missional letter, offering language to explain the good news to a people who had rejected Jesus at face value, but because of all that came afterward were considering. So, we have the book of Hebrews as the basis for so much Christian doctrine, but the story that kind of lingers here, behind the story, is the tension that arises when God begins to do a new thing. So, if we go back to the time when the book of Hebrews was written, God is doing a new thing and the writer of Hebrews is using the Scriptures to show how that works. And in the process, it’s setting aside old things. In this case, the whole sacrificial system. But God does new things when He chooses to do new things. And we see the ways in which we struggle to move forward as God does new things inside of us or around us or among us. And we’ll start telling each other our doctrine stories to explain away what God might be doing when it starts to mess with a little tidy box of theology. And all the sudden we become just like the Hebrew people that this was written to. And, so there’s attention in a disruption exposed there behind the story. So, ultimately, we have to learn to hold onto our theology and doctrine loosely and hold onto the Father and the guidance of his Holy Spirit tightly when believe God is beginning to do a new thing. And that is our prayer.

Prayer:

Father, like our brothers and sisters of old, we struggle. We try to put You in a box. We try to explain You in every way that we can. We try to make doctrine around it and these are our best efforts from finite minds and hearts to explain the infinite and Almighty. And yet, it is this infinite and Almighty Spirit that is within us, the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead. And, so, we live within that tension and that mystery. And often we’ll hang on to what we think that we know more tightly than we’ll hold onto You and we’ll trust what we think we know more than will trust You. And the same invitation given to the Hebrew people in the book of Hebrews at that time is still given to us - the opportunity to be in a personal, first-hand, first person relationship with You. And, so, what can we do but what we do most every day? Invite You. Come Holy Spirit. Well up within us. Spill out from us. Illuminate our path. Lead us into all truth. It is not information about You that we seek. It is to You, Your heart, Your essence, that we seek. And You have sought out the same thing in us from the moment of our birth – union, collaboration, relationship. 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. And there has been a lot going on around here lately.

So, let’s talk about an update, a date, and a new resource announcement.

First, the update on the Global Campfire Initiative. So, almost a week ago now, we deployed the first beta version of the new app to 500 people that were part of the Global Campfire Initiative. And that feedback has been invaluable. Throwing this out into the wild, even a limited wild, out into the world of multiple phones and platforms has been really helpful. So, those of you who are participating have helped us identify a couple of really key things and those are being worked on as we speak. And we’ll be pushing out an update, but you’ll be getting an email, but we’ll be pushing out an update as soon as we can, fairly shortly. And our goal is to kind of get this into the wide open world so everybody, anybody, can listen by mid-December. So, thank you, everyone, everyone. Thank you for your prayers as we keep taking steps forward and moving toward this.

And then the date, the date is November 19^th. And it will be the last travel date for us for the year as we move around the country and speak the Sneezing Jesus message. We’ll be in Louisiana, in the Shreveport area, Bossier City, at River Valley church and that will be Sunday the 19^th of November. So, you can get all the details at dailyaudiobible.com. And if you’re in the area, love nothing more than to see your face and hug your neck. And, so, come, say hello.

And then the resource announcement [clapping and rubbing hands], that’s me clapping my hands and  rubbing them together because I’m excited about this. So, several years ago, I mean we’ve been doing coffee, our own Windfarm coffee, for many, many years. And several years ago, I was on a quest to find the best possible thing I could find to drink my coffee out of and I ended up finding it in Oregon at a local coffee roaster. And, so, I bought this tumbler, kind of mug thermosee thing. Abd I wasn’t sure, it was kind of expensive, I wasn’t sure, but I bought it and then it became a favorite thing because it would keep my coffee, like I could pour a cup coffee early in the morning and still have hot coffee at lunchtime. And so, I looked at the brand. The brand was Clean Canteen. And I was like, oh, I know this brand, like, I see this brand around. And just started wondering, can we do this? And, so, a couple years ago, called Clean Canteen and yup, we could do this, and we made our first batch of Clean Canteen’s and offered them and they were gone in like two days. But because they’re kind of expensive to get and we don’t hold onto inventory like that, we didn’t have them again for a while. And then we got them again later in the year and then they were gone in two days. So, we get them a couple of times a year. And that’s the point. And, so, we got them earlier this year and they were gone, like usual. And now we’re getting to the end of the year and we have them back, but, but these are a little different. We’ve created a special edition. So, in the past, we’ve used the silver, the food grade stainless steel that these are made out of, they are double-walled and insulated. So, we’ve always kept that stainless look with the Daily Audio Bible logo imprinted on the side. This special edition Clean Canteen is a beautiful deep red color. Roasted pepper is the name of the color, which is one of the primary colors that we use a Daily Audio Bible. So, it’s this roasted pepper color with the Daily Audio Bible logo in white. And it’s a gorgeous. I’m literally looking at it right now. Like, I always have my coffee to my left every time I’m doing the Daily Audio Bible and I’ve been drinking out of this new one and I love it. It’s got their 2.0 version of their café lid so that it’s much more spill proof than in the past and it just works. It is the it’s best thing I found to drink out of. It will keep your coffee hot for like six hours. It’ll keep your, like, your iced tea cold for like 24 hours. I’ve actually tested that. I put ice water in mine before and come back a day later, 24 hours later and there was still ice in it. So, anyway, we have these. They are in stock on the Daily Audio Bible shop. This is a special edition and when they’re gone they’re gone. And we won’t be getting anymore Clean Canteens until next year. So, those of you who been writing in and saying when are you going to have them, I want to get some for gifts for Christmas, this your chance. And those of you who have just been waiting for them to be back in stock for yourself, they are in stock right now but they won’t last but a couple of days. So, you can check them out and see what they look like at dailyaudiobible.com in the shop.

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. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 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.

Community Prayers and Praise Reports

Hi this is Elaine from Victoria. I love you so much Daily Audio Bible. And God is so faithful. First of all, I want to thank God for all my Christian brothers and sisters that are with the Daily Audio Bible. And this is what really caught me at church yesterday. In my distress, I called to the Lord and he answered me. This is from Jonah 2:2. And he did answer. He gave me Ephesians 6, putting on the full armor of God. He stands when the enemy attacks. And Ephesians 6:10, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power put on the full armor of God so that you can take a stand against the devil’s schemes. So, Daily Audio Bible Family, we are covered.  We are covered by the blood of the Lamb. God bless you, all of you. I love you. I thank you for your prayers. Thank you, Brian for your love of family, God’s family. And Praise You Jesus for this. In Jesus precious and Holy name, cover all my Daily Audio Bible family. Amen.

Hi this is Tony and I am calling because today is my one year anniversary and I didn’t know exactly when it was until I heard the reading today, November 6^th. Basically, Ezekiel 16. And it resonates with me so much. And that is because I feel that I am attacked a lot. And those of you who are walking closely with the Lord know. And when we are walking with Him and trying to, you know, be that light, we are going to encounter a counter force, a negative counterforce. So…that’s…I know what this is about. And, so, I know also too, when we do it well then we will also find joy amidst the suffering. So, I just say that just to encourage people on. I just wanted to call…today is my anniversary. The other thing is, I think I have a name, and it’s Facilitator. I think I’m a facilitator for the Lord for health, primarily in mind, body, and soul. The other thing is, I’m praying for people, but I wanted to call out Rayna in California with fibromyalgia. There is hope. And I’m going to tell you’ve got health. You may email me if you wish at toni.m.08@gmail.com…and I can give you…but there is hope. I know people whose pain has gone away. So, God bless everyone. And Brian, we will be supporting you with…growing that 2% number…and supporting the enterprise…the global enterprise. Bye-bye.

When the Jews went into exile someone left the tended lamb
They mingled with the Canaanites and that went against God’s plan
The other Jews looked down on them and despised them very much
They even called them filthy dogs who were unworthy of Your touch
These people were called Samaritans, they were ostracized and kept away
In much the way the Ku Klux Klan treats all nonwhites today
Can you imagine telling the grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan the parable about the good black man
things would quickly deteriorate, you’d have a situation out of hand
But Jesus is the master and when He tells it, it gets told
Even in the things you don’t want to hear would be worth their weight in gold
There’s the legal and the illegal
There’s honor and there are thieves
Some are Godly and are moral but a true minister believes what’s thine is mine and what’s mine is thine
In Jesus’ parable both are clearly there
But people in His ministry should always make time to care
Robbers by the wayside
Robbers in the church
Begging in the name of God
Like vultures on a perch
Caveat emptor
let the buyer be ware
The IRS and con men too
Thieves are everywhere
Fleeced like sheep and tossed about, Gods people need to know
That the ones you think who will help you most are the first to tell you no
Pious and self-righteous, too good to soil their hands
But once they’ve seen light from the ditch they’ll clearly see God’s plans
We need to be good neighbors and help those who are in need
Freely giving of ourselves, true ministers in deed
And not be so caught up in our own rituals that our lives contain no power
To bind the wounds of those in need which should be our finest hour
Jesus loves all the same
He plainly made that true
His life He gave as a sacrifice
A pattern for me and you

Hello my DAB family this is Mark S. from Sydney Australia. Today’s Tuesday the 7^th of November and I’m calling in for a praise report and prayer request. The praise report is that this family is so wonderful. There’s quite a few members in Sydney…if there’s more members in Sydney…and Chris in the background had organized myself and Ruby get together, which we got together a few weeks ago and we were able to talk about the DAB and talk about the Christian life. And the other prayer request I was going to put in was, Ruby’s been sick. She’s been in the hospital. And she’s come out. She’s still in pain. So, family if you could kindly pray for her that she fully recovers. And she did give me permission to talk to other DAB people about it. And can you also pray, she’s a wonderful Christian lady, and pray that she can find a lovely Christian man for herself. She’s a young, lovely, Christian lady and she’s trying to find the right Christian man. So, let’s keep praying for her for recovery and for her to find a love partner with God. Alright. Thank you. Bye-bye. Love Mark S. from Sydney Australia. Bye.