The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday December 8, 2018 (NIV)

Hosea 10-14

Israel Is Like a Rotten Vine

The people of Israel are like vines that used to produce fruit.
The more fruit they produced,
the more altars they built.
The more their land produced,
the more stone markers they set up to honor other gods.
They are hypocrites. Now they must take their punishment.
God will tear down their altars and destroy their stone markers.
So they’ll say,
“We have no king because we didn’t fear the Lord.
Even if we had a king, he couldn’t do anything for us.”
They say many things. They lie when they take oaths,
and they make promises they don’t intend to keep.
That’s why lawsuits spring up
like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.

Those who live in Samaria fear the calf-shaped idol at Beth Aven.
The people will mourn over it.
The priests will cry loudly
because its glory will be taken away into captivity.
The thing itself will be carried to Assyria
as a present to the great king.[a]
Ephraim will be disgraced.
Israel will be ashamed because of its plans.
The king of Samaria will be carried away
like a piece of wood on water.
The illegal worship sites of Aven will be destroyed.
Israel sins there.
Thorns and weeds will grow over those altars.
People will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Israel, you have sinned ever since the incident at Gibeah.
You never change.
War will overtake the wicked people in Gibeah.
10 “I will punish them when I’m ready.
Armies will gather to attack them.
They will be punished for their many sins.

Israel Is Like a Cow That Threshed Grain

11 “Ephraim is like a trained calf that loves to thresh[b] grain.
I will put a yoke[c] on its beautiful neck.
I will harness Ephraim.
Judah must plow.
Jacob must break up the ground.

12 “Break new ground.
Plant righteousness,
and harvest the fruit that your loyalty will produce for me.”

It’s time to seek the Lord!
When he comes, he will rain righteousness on you.
13 You have planted wickedness and harvested evil.
You have eaten the fruit that your lies produced.
You have trusted your own power and your many warriors.
14 So your army will hear the noise of battle.
All your fortresses will be destroyed
like the time Shalman destroyed Beth Arbel in battle.
Mothers and their children were smashed to death.
15 This is what will happen to you, Bethel,
because you have done many wicked things.
At daybreak, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.

Israel Is Like a Bad Son

“When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
The more I called them,[d] the farther they went away.
They sacrificed to other gods—the Baals,
and they burned incense to idols.
I was the one who taught the people of Ephraim to walk.[e]
I took them by the hand.
But they didn’t realize that I had healed them.
I led them with cords of human kindness, with ropes of love.
I removed the yokes[f] from their necks.
I bent down and fed them.

“They will not return to Egypt.
Instead, Assyria will rule them
because they have refused to return to me.
War will sweep through their cities,
demolish their city gates,
and put an end to their plans.
My people are determined to turn away from me.
Even if they call to the Most High,
he will not pardon them.

“How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboim?
I have changed my mind.
I am deeply moved.
I will not act on my burning anger.
I will not destroy Ephraim again.
I am God, not a human.
I am the Holy One among you,
and I will not come to you in anger.

10 “My people will follow me when I roar like a lion.
When I roar, my children will come trembling from the west.
11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt
and like doves from Assyria.
I will settle them in their own homes,”
declares the Lord.[g]

12 “Ephraim surrounds me with lies.
The nation of Israel surrounds me with deceit.”
Judah rebels against God, against the Holy One who is faithful.

The People of Israel Ignored What the Lord Had Done for Them

12 [h] The people of Ephraim try to catch the wind
and try to chase the east wind all day.
They are very violent and destructive.
They make treaties with Assyria and take olive oil to Egypt.

The Lord brings charges against Judah and punishes Jacob
because of the way their people act.
He will pay them back for what they have done.
Their ancestor Jacob held on to his brother’s heel
while the two of them were in their mother’s womb.
When Jacob became a man, he struggled with God.
He struggled with the Messenger and won.
Jacob cried and pleaded with him.
Jacob found him at Bethel,
and he talked with him there.
The Lord is the God of Armies.
The Lord is the name by which he is remembered.
Return to your God.
Be loyal and fair, and always wait with hope for your God.

The Lord says, “The merchants use dishonest scales.
They love to cheat people.
The people of Ephraim say, ‘We’re rich. We’ve made a fortune.
With all this wealth, no one will find us guilty of any sin.’
I am the Lord your God.
I brought you out of Egypt.
I will make you live in tents again
as you did during your appointed festivals.
10 I spoke to the prophets and gave them many visions.
I taught lessons through the prophets.”[i]

11 The people of Gilead are evil.
They are worthless.
They sacrifice bulls in Gilgal.
But their altars will become like piles of rubble
beside a plowed field.
12 Jacob fled to the country of Syria.
Israel worked to get a wife; he took care of sheep to pay for her.
13 The Lord used a prophet to bring the people of Israel out of Egypt.
He used a prophet to take care of them.

14 The people of Ephraim made the Lord bitter.
He will hold them guilty of murder.
The Lord will pay them back for their insults.

The People of Israel Will Be Punished for Their Idolatry

When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, people trembled.
The people of Ephraim were important in Israel.
Then they became guilty of worshiping Baal,
so they must die.
They keep on sinning more and more.
They make idols from silver for themselves.
These idols are skillfully made.
All of them are the work of craftsmen.
People say this about the Israelites: “They offer human sacrifices
and kiss calf-shaped idols.”
That is why they will be like fog in the morning
and like morning dew that disappears quickly.
They will be like straw blown away from threshing floors.[j]
They will be like smoke rising from chimneys.

“I am the Lord your God. I brought you out of Egypt.
You have known no god besides me.
There is no savior except me.
I took care of you[k] in the desert, in a dry land.
When I fed you, you were full.
When you were full, you became arrogant.
That is why you forgot me.
So I will be like a lion.
Like a leopard I will wait by the road to ambush you.
Like a bear that has lost her cubs, I will attack you.
I will rip you open.
Like a lion I will devour you.
Like a wild animal I will tear you apart.
You are destroying yourself, Israel.
You are against me, your helper.

10 “Where, now, is your king, the one who is supposed to save you?
Where in all your cities are your judges?
You said, ‘Give us kings and officials!’
11 I gave you a king when I was angry,
and I took him away when I was furious.

12 “Ephraim’s wickedness is on record.
The record of the people’s sins is safely stored away.
13 They have the opportunity to live again,
but they are not smart enough to take it.
They are like a baby who is about to be born
but won’t come out of its mother’s womb.

14 “I want to free them from the power of the grave.
I want to reclaim them from death.
Death, I want to be a plague to you.
Grave, I want to destroy you.[l]
I won’t even think of changing my plans.”

15 The people of Ephraim have become important among their relatives.
However, the Lord’s scorching wind will come from the east.
It will blow out of the desert.
Then their springs will run dry,
and their wells will dry up.
The wind will destroy every precious thing in their storehouses.[m]
16 The people of Samaria are guilty as charged
because they rebelled against their God.
They will be killed in war,
their children will be smashed to death,
and their pregnant women will be ripped open.

The Lord Offers to Forgive Israel

14 [n] Israel, return to the Lord your God.
You have stumbled because of your sins.
Return to the Lord, and say these things to him:
“Forgive all our sins, and kindly receive us.
Then we’ll praise you with our lips.
Assyria cannot save us.
We won’t ride on horses anymore.
We will never again say
that the things our hands have made are our gods.
You love orphans.”

The Lord says, “I will cure them of their unfaithfulness.
I will love them freely.
I will no longer be angry with them.
I will be like dew to the people of Israel.
They will blossom like flowers.
They will be firmly rooted like cedars from Lebanon.
They will be like growing branches.
They will be beautiful like olive trees.
They will be fragrant like cedars from Lebanon.
They will live again in God’s shadow.
They will grow like grain.
They will blossom like grapevines.
They will be as famous as the wines from Lebanon.

“The people of Ephraim will have nothing more to do with idols.
I will answer them and take care of them.
I am like a growing pine tree.
Their fruit comes from me.”

Wise people will understand these things.
A person with insight will recognize them.
The Lord’s ways are right.
Righteous people live by them.
Rebellious people stumble over them.

Footnotes:

  1. Hosea 10:6 Or “to King Jareb.”
  2. Hosea 10:11 Threshing is the process of beating stalks to separate them from the grain.
  3. Hosea 10:11 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts.
  4. Hosea 11:2 Greek; Masoretic Text “The more they called them.”
  5. Hosea 11:3 Or “I was the one who guided Ephraim.”
  6. Hosea 11:4 A yoke is a wooden bar placed over the necks of work animals so that they can pull plows or carts.
  7. Hosea 11:11 Hosea 11:12 in English Bibles is Hosea 12:1 in the Hebrew Bible.
  8. Hosea 12:1 Hosea 12:1–14 in English Bibles is Hosea 12:2–15 in the Hebrew Bible.
  9. Hosea 12:10 Or “I brought destruction through the prophets.”
  10. Hosea 13:3 A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks.
  11. Hosea 13:5 Greek; Masoretic Text “I knew you.”
  12. Hosea 13:14 Or “Death, where is your plague? Grave, where is your destruction?”
  13. Hosea 13:15 Hosea 13:16 in English Bibles is Hosea 14:1 in the Hebrew Bible.
  14. Hosea 14:1 Hosea 14:1–9 in English Bibles is Hosea 14:2–10 in the Hebrew Bible.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Jude

Greeting

From Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James.

To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father, and who are kept safe for Jesus Christ.

May mercy, peace, and love fill your lives!

Warnings about False Teachers

Dear friends, I had intended to write to you about the salvation we share. But something has come up. It demands that I write to you and encourage you to continue your fight for the Christian faith that was entrusted to God’s holy people once for all time.

Some people have slipped in among you unnoticed. Not long ago they were condemned in writing for the following reason: They are people to whom God means nothing. They use God’s kindness[a] as an excuse for sexual freedom and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

I want to remind you about what you already know: The Lord once saved his people from Egypt. But on another occasion he destroyed those who didn’t believe. He held angels for judgment on the great day. They were held in darkness, bound by eternal chains. These are the angels who didn’t keep their position of authority but abandoned their assigned place. What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities near them is an example for us of the punishment of eternal fire. The people of these cities suffered the same fate that God’s people and the angels did, because they committed sexual sins and engaged in homosexual activities.

Yet, in a similar way, the people who slipped in among you are dreamers. They contaminate their bodies with sin, reject the Lord’s authority, and insult his glory. When the archangel Michael argued with the devil, they were arguing over the body of Moses. But Michael didn’t dare to hand down a judgment against the devil. Instead, Michael said, “May the Lord reprimand you!”

10 Whatever these people don’t understand, they insult. Like animals, which are creatures of instinct, they use whatever they know to destroy themselves. 11 How horrible it will be for them! They have followed the path of Cain. They have rushed into Balaam’s error to make a profit. They have rebelled like Korah and destroyed themselves.

12 These people are a disgrace at the special meals you share with other believers. They eat with you and don’t feel ashamed. They are shepherds who care only for themselves. They are dry clouds blown around by the winds. They are withered, uprooted trees without any fruit. As a result, they have died twice. 13 Their shame is like the foam on the wild waves of the sea. They are wandering stars for whom gloomy darkness is kept forever.

14 Furthermore, Enoch, from the seventh generation after Adam, prophesied about them. He said, “The Lord has come with countless thousands of his holy angels. 15 He has come to judge all these people. He has come to convict all these ungodly sinners for all the ungodly things they have done and all the harsh things they have said about him.”

16 These people complain, find fault, follow their own desires, say arrogant things, and flatter people in order to take advantage of them.

17 Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you to expect: 18 “In the last times people who ridicule God will appear. They will follow their own ungodly desires.” 19 These are the people who cause divisions. They are concerned about physical things, not spiritual things.

Final Advice

20 Dear friends, use your most holy faith to grow. Pray with the Holy Spirit’s help. 21 Remain in God’s love as you look for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you eternal life.

22 Show mercy to those who have doubts. 23 Save others by snatching them from the fire of hell. Show mercy to others, even though you are afraid that you might be stained by their sinful lives.

24 God can guard you so that you don’t fall and so that you can be full of joy as you stand in his glorious presence without fault. 25 Before time began, now, and for eternity glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Footnotes:

  1. Jude 1:4 Or “grace.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Psalm 127

If the Lord does not build the house,
it is useless for the builders to work on it.
If the Lord does not protect a city,
it is useless for the guard to stay alert.
It is useless to work hard for the food you eat
by getting up early and going to bed late.
The Lord gives food to those he loves while they sleep.

Children are an inheritance from the Lord.
They are a reward from him.
The children born to a man when he is young
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them.
He will not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the city gate.

Psalm 128

A song for going up to worship.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Proverbs 29:15-17

15 A spanking and a warning produce wisdom,
but an undisciplined child disgraces his mother.
16 When wicked people increase, crime increases,
but righteous people will witness their downfall.
17 Correct your son, and he will give you peace of mind.
He will bring delight to your soul.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

12/07/2018 DAB Transcript

Hosea 6:1-9:17, 3 John 1:1-15, Psalms 126:1-6, Proverbs 29:12-14

Today is the 7th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s always the joy of the day to sit down in front of the microphone and know that we’re gathering around the word of God and around our global campfire in community for the next step forward. And the next step forward’s gonna take us into some new some new territory in the New Testament. We have a new letter to explore together. But first we’ll take the next step forward in the book of Hosea. Si, we’re reading from the God’s Word Translation this week. Hosea chapter 6 verse 1 through 9 17 today.

Introduction to Third John:

Alright. So, we read the entirety of Second John yesterday, the second letter of John and we’re gonna do the same thing today, only it will be Third John. And this letter was probably written around the same time that the other two letters were written, and it was also likely written from Ephesus, where church tradition tells us that John spent the latter part of his life. But Third John is a bit different than John’s other two letters because of one specific thing. Like the apostle Paul’s letter to Philemon, Third John is a personal letter and it was written to a man named Gaius. And Gaius was a respected believer within the network of churches that John had leadership over. And John wrote this letter as a word of personal encouragement to Gaius for his passion for the gospel and his willingness to put that passion into action and his willingness to serve and support traveling teachers who were sent out by John throughout the churches. And this was not an uncommon thing in that day and it’s not an uncommon thing now, the custom of welcoming itinerant ministers and caring for their needs. This has been a common thing in the church and John saw this letter as a necessary communication because another church leader named Diotrephes had distanced himself from John and in the process, he refused to offer hospitality to the traveling missionaries and to make this even a worse situation, Diotrephes was throwing people out of the church who disagreed with him and assisted these itinerant ministers. So, John wrote to Gaius because Gaius wasn’t going along with that story. So, John wrote to commend him for his care in showing hospitality to those who were traveling around sharing the gospel and building up and encouraging in the faith the churches. So, this letter from John would’ve affirmed Gaius and that would’ve put it in writing, that Gaius was doing the right thing. And you can only imagine that a personal letter from one of the 12 disciples of Jesus would’ve carried a lot of weight with the churches involved. So, we’re gonna read the whole thing in just a second. But Third John does give us a glimpse into some of the tensions that existed during the formative years of the church. We so often look through rose colored glasses into the time of the book of Acts and think that, you know, everything just went perfectly and swimmingly and smoothly. But then we read the Bible and realize, oh, all of the struggles that that we face in our time may be contextualized different, they may be wearing different clothes, but the struggle existed. And, so, there’s plenty to learn from that. And, so, we begin. And we will also end Third John.

Prayer:

Father as we end this, another work week, and move into the weekend, we recall what we’ve read today, the encouragement that we were given today from the book of Hosea. Let’s learn about the Lord. Let’s get to know the Lord. He will come to us as sure as the morning comes. He will come to us like the autumn rains and the spring rains that water the ground. We believe that father, you have always come for us. It is only that so often when you come for us we’re not there, we’re somewhere else, we’re distracted by the future or we’re distracted by our past and we’re not here when you come for us. And this season that we’re in, as things speed up and we go running toward Christmas and we go running toward the new year, it’s so easy to be distracted from the fact that you are coming for us, that you are near, that you want to fellowship and have intimacy with us. And that’s ironic because of the season that we’re in. If there’s one season of the year that we should slow down and rest in you and marvel that you would draw near, that you would come for us, it’s this season. And, so, we confess these things, we acknowledge these challenges and we invite your Holy Spirit. Come Holy Spirit, rejuvenate us with rest and calm and shalom as we move into the weekend. Come Jesus we pray. In your mighty name we ask. Amen.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday December 7, 2018 (NIV)

Hosea 6-9

Israel Rejected the Lord’s Promise

Let’s return to the Lord.
Even though he has torn us to pieces,
he will heal us.
Even though he has wounded us,
he will bandage our wounds.
After two days he will revive us.
On the third day he will raise us
so that we may live in his presence.
Let’s learn about the Lord.
Let’s get to know the Lord.
He will come to us as sure as the morning comes.
He will come to us like the autumn rains and the spring rains
that water the ground.

“What should I do with you, Ephraim?
What should I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like fog in the morning.
It disappears as quickly as the morning dew.
That is why I cut you down by sending the prophets.
I killed you with the words from my mouth.
My judgments shined on you like light.
I want your loyalty, not your sacrifices.
I want you to know me, not to give me burnt offerings.

“Like Adam, you rejected the promise.[a]
You were unfaithful to me.
Gilead is a city filled with troublemakers.
It is stained with bloody footprints.
The priests are like gangs of robbers who lie in ambush for a person.
They murder on the road to Shechem.
Certainly, they have committed a crime.

10 “I have seen horrible things in the nation of Israel.
Ephraim is acting like a prostitute,
and Israel is unclean.[b]

11 “Yet, Judah, I have set a harvest time for you
when I bring my people back from captivity.
“Whenever I want to heal Israel,
all I can see is Ephraim’s sin and Samaria’s wickedness.
People cheat each other.
They break into houses and steal.
They rob people in the streets.
They don’t realize that I remember
all the evil things they’ve done.
Now their sins surround them.
Their sins are in my presence.

“They make kings happy with the wicked things they do.
They make officials happy with the lies they tell.
They all commit adultery.
They are like a heated oven,
an oven so hot that a baker doesn’t have to fan its flames
when he makes bread.
On the day of the king’s celebration,
the officials become drunk from wine,
and the king joins mockers.
They become hot like an oven while they lie in ambush.
All night long their anger smolders,
but in the morning it burns like a raging fire.
They are all as hot as an oven.
They consume their judges like a fire.
All their kings die in battle, and none of them calls to me.

Israel Turns to Other Nations for Help

“Ephraim mixes with other nations.
Ephraim, you are like a half-baked loaf of bread.
Foreigners are using up your strength, but you don’t realize it.
You have become a gray-haired, old man, but you don’t realize it.
10 Israel, your arrogance testifies against you,
but even after all this, you don’t turn to the Lord your God
or look to him for help.
11 Ephraim, you are like a silly, senseless dove.
You call for Egypt and run to Assyria for help.
12 When you go, I will spread my net over you.
I will snatch you out of the air like a bird.
I will punish you for all the evil things you have done.

13 “How horrible it will be for these people.
They have run away from me.
They must be destroyed because they’ve rebelled against me.
I want to reclaim them, but they tell lies about me.
14 They don’t pray to me sincerely,
even though they cry in their beds
and make cuts on their bodies
while praying for grain and new wine.
They have turned against me.
15 I trained them and made them strong.
Yet, they plan evil against me.
16 They don’t return to the Most High.
They are like a defective bow.
Their officials will die in battle
because they curse.
The people in Egypt will ridicule them for this.

The Lord Will Punish Israel for Its Rebellion

“Sound the alarm on the ram’s horn.
The enemy swoops down on the Lord’s temple like an eagle.
The people of Israel have rejected my promise
and rebelled against my teachings.
They cry out to me, ‘We acknowledge you as our God.’
However, they have rejected what is good.
The enemy will persecute them.

“They chose their own kings, kings I didn’t approve.
They chose their own princes, princes I didn’t know.
They chose to make idols with their own silver and gold.
Because of this, they will be destroyed.
Get rid of your calf-shaped idol, Samaria.
My anger burns against these people.
How long will they remain unclean?[c]
Samaria’s calf-shaped idol was made in Israel.
Skilled workers made it.
It is not a god.
It will be smashed to pieces.

“The people of Israel plant the wind, but they harvest a storm.
A field of grain that doesn’t ripen will never produce any grain.
Even if it did produce grain, foreigners would eat it all.
Israel will be swallowed up.
It has already mixed in with the other nations.
It has become worthless.

“The people of Israel went to Assyria.
They were like wild donkeys wandering off alone.
The people of Ephraim sold themselves to their lovers.
10 Even though they sold themselves among the nations,
I will gather them now.
They will suffer for a while under the burdens of kings and princes.

11 “The more altars that the people of Ephraim build
to make offerings to pay for their sins,
the more places they have for sinning.
12 I have written many things for them in my teachings,
but they consider these things strange and foreign.
13 They offer sacrifices to me and eat the meat of sacrifices,
but I, the Lord, do not accept these sacrifices.
Now I will remember their wickedness
and punish them because of their sins.
They will go back to Egypt.
14 The people of Israel have built palaces,
and they have forgotten their maker.
The people of Judah have built many fortified cities.
I will send a fire on their cities and burn down their palaces.”
Israel, don’t rejoice.
Don’t celebrate as other nations do.
You have been unfaithful to your God.
You have sold sex on every threshing floor.[d]
There won’t be enough grain to feed people.
There won’t be enough wine to go around.

The people of Ephraim won’t stay in the Lord’s land.
They will return to Egypt,
and they will eat unclean[e] food in Assyria.
They won’t pour wine offerings to the Lord,
and their sacrifices won’t please him.
Their sacrifices will be like the food that mourners eat.
All who eat this food will be unclean.
Their food will only satisfy their hunger.
It will not be brought as an offering to the Lord’s temple.

What will they do on the day of an appointed festival
or on the Lord’s festival days?
Even if they escape without being destroyed,
Egypt will capture them
and Memphis will bury them.
Weeds will grow over their silver treasures.
Thorns will grow over their tents.
The time for them to be punished will come.
The time for them to pay for their sins will come.
When this happens, Israel will know it.
They think that prophets are fools
and that spiritual people are crazy.
They have sinned a lot, and they are very hostile.
Prophets are God’s watchmen over Ephraim.
Yet, traps are set on every prophet’s path,
and people are hostile in the temple of their God.
People have deeply corrupted themselves as they once did at Gibeah.
God will remember their wickedness
and punish them because of their sins.

Israel Is Like Rotten Grapes or Rotten Figs

10 The Lord said, “When I found Israel,
it was like finding grapes in the desert.
When I saw your ancestors,
it was like seeing the first figs of the harvest.
But they went to Baal Peor and worshiped shameful idols.
They became as disgusting as the things they worshiped.

11 “Ephraim’s glory will fly away like a bird.
There will be no more pregnancies, births, or babies.
12 Even if they bring up children,
I will take those children away before they grow up.
Yes, how horrible it will be for them when I leave them.
13 I have seen Ephraim, like Tyre, planted in a pleasant place.
But the people of Ephraim will bring out their children
to be killed.”

14 Lord, give them what they deserve.
Make the women miscarry,
or else make them unable to nurse their babies.

15 “All Ephraim’s wickedness began in Gilgal; I hated the people there.
I will force them out of my temple because of their wickedness,
and I won’t love them anymore.
All their officials are rebellious.

16 “The people of Ephraim are like sick plants.
Their roots are dried up.
They have no fruit.
Even if they were to have children,
I would kill their dear children.”

17 My God will reject them
because they refused to listen to him.
They will wander among the nations.

Footnotes:

  1. Hosea 6:7 Or “You have walked all over my promise as if it were dirt.”
  2. Hosea 6:10 “Unclean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.
  3. Hosea 8:5 “Unclean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.
  4. Hosea 9:1 A threshing floor is an outdoor area where grain is separated from its husks.
  5. Hosea 9:3 “Unclean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

3 John

Greeting

From the church leader.[a]

To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love because we share the truth.

Encouragement for Gaius

Dear friend, I know that you are spiritually well. I pray that you’re doing well in every other way and that you’re healthy. I was very happy when some believers came and told us that you are living according to the truth. Nothing makes me happier than to hear that my children are living according to the truth.

Dear friend, you are showing your faith in whatever you do for other believers, especially when they’re your guests. These believers have told the congregation about your love. You will do well to support them on their trip in a way that proves you belong to God. After all, they went on their trip to serve the one named Christ, and they didn’t accept any help from the people to whom they went. We must support believers who go on trips like this so that we can work together with them in spreading the truth.

Criticism of Diotrephes

I wrote a letter to the congregation. But Diotrephes, who loves to be in charge, won’t accept us. 10 For this reason, when I come I will bring up what he’s doing. He’s not satisfied with saying malicious things about us. He also refuses to accept the believers we send as guests. He even tries to stop others who want to accept them and attempts to throw those people out of the congregation.

Praise for Demetrius

11 Dear friend, never imitate evil, but imitate good. The person who does good is from God. The person who does evil has never seen God.

12 Everyone, including the truth itself, says good things about Demetrius. We also say good things about him, and you know that what we say is true.

Farewell

13 I have a lot to write to you. However, I would rather not write. 14 I hope to visit you very soon. Then we can talk things over personally.

15 Peace be with you! Your friends here send you their greetings. Greet each of our friends by name.

Footnotes:

  1. 3 John 1:1 Or “pastor,” or “elder.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Psalm 126

When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,
it was as if we were dreaming.
Then our mouths were filled with laughter
and our tongues with joyful songs.
Then the nations said,
“The Lord has done spectacular things for them.”

The Lord has done spectacular things for us.
We are overjoyed.
Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
as you restore streams to dry riverbeds in the Negev.
Those who cry while they plant
will joyfully sing while they harvest.
The person who goes out weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
will come home singing, carrying his bundles of grain.

Psalm 127

A song by Solomon for going up to worship.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Proverbs 29:12-14

12 If a ruler pays attention to lies,
all his servants become wicked.

13 A poor person and an oppressor have this in common:
The Lord gives both of them sight.
14 When a king judges the poor with honesty,
his throne will always be secure.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

12/06/2018 DAB Transcript

Hosea 4:1-5:15, 2 John 1:1-13, Psalms 125:1-5, Proverbs 29:9-11

Today is the 6th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is a pleasure and an honor to be here with you today as we continue to take these steps forward that lead us to the end of the year and the final pages of the Bible. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Even though we don’t have a lot of days left we have a lot of territory to cover. And, so we began the book of Hosea yesterday in the Old Testament, which we will continue with today. We concluded the apostle John’s first letter, known as First John yesterday, which means we will begin Second John when we get to the New Testament and we’ll talk about that when we get there. But first we’re reading from the God’s Word Translation this week. Hosea chapter 4 verse 1 through 5 verse 15 today.

Introduction to Second John:

Okay. So, as we mentioned at the top of our time together, when we get to the New Testament we will be beginning a new letter and it’s known as Second John. And that’s what we’ll do. And we’ll read second John in its entirety today. And second John was probably written very shortly after First John was written and it was likely written to the same people because of its similarities. And, incidentally, it is those similarities that are reasons most scholars accept John as the authentic writer of these letters. And since it’s believe that John spent the latter part of his life in the city of Ephesus, then that is the likely origin of second John. So, this letter contains a whopping thirteen versus and the first three of them are our words of greeting and then the next three remind us of the importance of love, specifically loving each other, which was so much of the focus of first John. And then the next three verses speak against the false teaching of Docetism like the first one did. And then the next two verses offer instruction now found in the first letter, and these verses advise the readers how to behave toward a itinerant teacher who attempts to introduce false teaching into the church. And they’re specifically encouraged not to offer encouragement or hospitality. And then the final two verses conclude the letter. And it would be easy to allow first and second John a blur together because it’s like the same kind of terrain and subject matter. But if we just take a deep breath, because we’re gonna read this all one sitting. And just imagine, like, between yesterday and today, between first John and second John, imagine that months have gone by, and that the impact of first John is diminishing because of all the challenges that are being faced in the church. And that will put us in the right head-space to read second John because this would’ve come several months later as a reminder and an encouragement of what had been written before. And, so, we begin, Second John.

Prayer:

Father, every day we thank you for your word because it speaks into our lives into the deepest parts of our motives and our hearts posture. And, so, we thank you for that and we take to heart what we read today in the Psalms, that those who trust you are like a mountain that can’t be shaken. And as the mountains surrounding Jerusalem, and they certainly do, so You surround your people now and forever. And, so, we take comfort in that, knowing that you are present, that you are surrounding us, that we are in a bubble surrounded by you. What exactly is it that we have to fear? Come Holy Spirit into this question. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudibible.com is home base, its the website, its where you stay connected to community.

The Prayer Wall is there, continual prayer is happening there, all of the ways to connect with your brothers and sisters who are on this journey on social media, those links are available at dailyaudiobible.com as well as the Daily Audio Bible shop where it’s Christmas time.

So, the Daily Audio Bible family Christmas Box for 2018 is available and it’s crammed as full as we can get it, full of goodies and resources that you’ll want for yourself and some things that you’ll want to give away. And you can see all of the contents of the Christmas Box in the Daily Audio Bible Shop in the Christmas section. So, check that out.

Also, great gift idea in the lifestyle section of the Daily Audio Bible shop is all of our writing kits. They make for fantastic gifts. I couldn’t love them any more than I do because I use them every day. And, so, if your journaler, if you’re a writer, if you’re an artist, if you like to draw, if you…I mean..if you just want to be a little more tactile and intentional in your life, and that’s funny because we’re very digital, and I had a digital journal for a long time but it’s not the same. It’d not the same as writing things down with your own hand and, you know, having those to refer back to at some point in your life or to save them for future generations, written in your own hand, the story of your own life. Yeah, that’s hard to beat and it’s not the same when you type it out, you know, in digital form. So, some fantastic selections in the Lifestyle section at dailyaudiobible.com.

Also, the More Gathering registration is open now as well for the a More Gathering coming up this April in the mountains of north Georgia just outside of Atlanta. We were doing women’s events before we went to the mountaintop at Sharp Top Cove there in the mountains, but the More Gathering was kind of birthed…it’s only ever been there, and this is the last time it will be there. We’re feeling like God is saying this is the last year. And really not exactly sure…we don’t have like the whole story. I don’t like that. Like, that’s not my thing. I usually like to hear from the Lord and Him say, okay, this season is ending because this other season is beginning. And here’s where you’re to head. We don't…we just…we just know that this season is ending, and this is it. So, if you’ve been up to Sharp Top before then come back. This is your chance to end strong and well up there. If you’ve never been but you’ve wanted to come all of these years, you’ve gotta see it. It’s absolutely fantastic. And this is the year. We have we cut the pricing to the bare bare bone. Like we are at cost. The cost is $350 but that’s for nine cooked meals and three nights of lodging and all of the resources, all of the teaching, and just to be able to witness the team in action is magnificent. So, yeah, I mean, just can’t make it a better deal because that’s bone cost for us. Like, there’s nothing in this for the Daily Audio Bible other than that we love to build community around the rhythm of the Bible and this builds community, lifelong friendships. I mean there are groups of women that come every year because this is where they get back together because they live all over the world. The friendships that are formed at the More Gathering, they’re the kinds of friendships that last because the things that you go through together and the things that you can remind each other of are so necessary, that sisterhood is so necessary. So, yeah, More Gathering registration is open now and you can find that at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section or moregathering.com.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here in the waning moments of the year 2018, then I thank you humbly and profoundly, of course. All of your contributions to the global campfire and the community that we are are tax deductible and you will certainly get an end of the year receipt. So, I thank you profoundly as you are considering your charitable giving at the end of the year to…well I mean…bottom line is, if what’s happening here is life and light and good news to you then thank you for helping that light and life and good news to continue to burn on into the new year where we will great tens of thousands of new friends who are on a collision course with the Scriptures. They just don’t know it yet. It’s this time of year those, you know, those little pangs of contemplation are starting to settle in and then the holidays usually mask all that because we’re very, very busy but then we’ll get between the holidays and that’s when we start thinking about our spirituality and what comes next for us and how much weight we’re gonna lose…and yeah…that’s when people who have been on a collision course with the Scriptures find the Scriptures and become a part of this community and we take another revolution around the sun together. So, if that has been something that’s meaningful to you, then thank you. Thank you for your partnership. We really, truly wouldn’t be here, would have been long gone if we didn’t do this together. So, there’s a link on the homepage of dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill 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.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday December 6, 2018 (NIV)

Hosea 4-5

The Lord’s Legal Case against Israel

Listen to the Lord’s word, you Israelites. The Lord has brought these charges against those who live in the land:

“There is no faith, no love, and no knowledge of God in the land.
There is cursing, lying, murdering, stealing, and adultery.
People break my laws, and there is one murder after another.
That is why the land is drying up,
and everyone who lives in it is passing away.
Wild animals, birds, and fish are dying.

“No one should accuse other people or bring charges against them.
My case is against you priests.
During the day you stumble,
and during the night the prophets stumble with you.
So I will destroy your mother, the nation of Israel.
I will destroy my people because they are ignorant.
You have refused to learn,
so I will refuse to let you be my priests.
You have forgotten the teachings of your God,
so I will forget your children.
The more priests there are,
the more they sin against me.
So I will turn their glory into shame.
They feed on the sins of my people,
and they want them to do wicked things.
So the priests will be punished like the people.
I will punish them for their wicked ways
and pay them back for what they have done.

10 “They will eat, but they’ll never be full.
They will have sex with prostitutes, but they’ll never have children.
They have abandoned the Lord.
11 Prostitutes, old wine, and new wine have robbed them of their senses.
12 My people ask their wooden idols for help.
A piece of wood tells them what to do.
A spirit of prostitution leads them astray.
They commit adultery
by giving themselves to other gods.
13 They offer sacrifices on mountaintops,
and they burn incense on the hills
under oaks, poplars, and other trees.
They think that these trees provide good shade.

“That is why your daughters become prostitutes,
and your daughters-in-law commit adultery.
14 Yet, I will not punish your daughters when they become prostitutes
or your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery.
The men go to prostitutes
and offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes.
These foolish people will be trampled.

15 “Israel, you act like a prostitute.
Don’t let Judah become guilty too.
Don’t go to Gilgal.
Don’t go to Beth Aven.
Don’t take the oath, ‘As the Lord lives. . . .’

16 “The people of Israel are as stubborn as a bull.
How can the Lord feed them like lambs in an open pasture?
17 The people of Ephraim have chosen to worship idols. Leave them alone!
18 When they’re done drinking their wine,
they continue to have sex with the prostitutes.
Their rulers dearly love to act shamefully.
19 The wind will carry them away in its wings,
and their sacrifices will bring them shame.

The Lord Announces the Verdict against Israel

“Listen to this, you priests!
Pay attention, nation of Israel!
Open your ears, royal family!
This is my decision about you.
You set traps at Mizpah
and spread out nets on Mount Tabor.
You are deeply involved in sin.
So I will punish all of you.[a]
I know Ephraim,
and Israel isn’t a stranger to me.
Now, Ephraim, you are acting like a prostitute,
and Israel is unclean.[b]

“The wicked things that the people have done
keep them from returning to their God.
They have a spirit of prostitution,
and they don’t know the Lord.
The people of Israel’s arrogance testifies against them.
Israel and Ephraim stumble because of their sins,
and Judah stumbles with them.
They go with their sheep and their cattle to search for the Lord,
but they can’t find him.
He has left them.
They have been unfaithful to the Lord,
because their children do not belong to him.
Now their New Moon Festivals will devour them and their fields.

“Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah.
Blow the trumpet in Ramah.
Sound the alarm at Beth Aven, you descendants of Benjamin.
Ephraim will become a wasteland
when the time for punishment comes.
I will make the truth known among the tribes of Israel.
10 The leaders of Judah are like those who move boundary markers.
I will pour my fury on them like water.
11 Ephraim is oppressed—crushed by punishment,
because its people are determined to chase idols.[c]
12 I will destroy Ephraim as a moth destroys clothing.
I will destroy the nation of Judah as rot destroys wood.

13 “When Ephraim saw that he was sick
and when Judah saw his own wounds,
Ephraim went to Assyria to ask the great king for help.[d]
But the king couldn’t cure them or heal their wounds.
14 I will be like a lion to Ephraim
and like a young lion to the nation of Judah.
I will carry them off, and no one will rescue them.
15 I will go back to my place until they admit that they are guilty.
Then they will search for me.
In their distress they will eagerly look for me.”

Footnotes:

  1. Hosea 5:2 Hebrew meaning of this verse uncertain.
  2. Hosea 5:3 “Unclean” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.
  3. Hosea 5:11 Greek, Syriac, Targum; Masoretic Text “to chase commands.”
  4. Hosea 5:13 Or “to ask King Jareb for help.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

2 John

Greeting

From the church leader.[a]

To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love because we share the truth. I’m not the only one who loves you. Everyone who knows the truth also loves you. We love you because of the truth which lives in us and will be with us forever.

Good will,[b] mercy, and peace will be with us. They come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, who in truth and love is the Father’s Son.

Living in the Truth

I was very happy to find some of your children living in the truth as the Father has commanded us. Dear lady, I’m now requesting that we continue to love each other. It’s not as though I’m writing to give you a new commandment. Rather, from the beginning we were commanded to love each other. Love means that we live by doing what he commands. We were commanded to live in love, and you have heard this from the beginning.

Reject Teachers Who Don’t Teach What Christ Taught

Many people who deceive others have gone into the world. They refuse to declare that Jesus Christ came in flesh and blood. This is the mark of a deceiver and an antichrist. Be careful that you don’t destroy what we’ve worked for, but that you receive your full reward.

Everyone who doesn’t continue to teach what Christ taught doesn’t have God. The person who continues to teach what Christ taught has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and doesn’t bring these teachings, don’t take him into your home or even greet him. 11 Whoever greets him shares the evil things he’s doing.

Farewell

12 I have a lot to write to you. I would prefer not to write a letter. Instead, I hope to visit and talk things over with you personally. Then we will be completely filled with joy.

13 The children of your chosen sister greet you.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 John 1:1 Or “pastor,” or “elder.”
  2. 2 John 1:3 Or “Grace.”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Psalm 125

Those who trust the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which can never be shaken.
It remains firm forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds his people now and forever.

A wicked ruler will not be allowed to govern
the land set aside for righteous people.
That is why righteous people do not use their power to do wrong.

Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
to those whose motives are decent.
But when people become crooked,
the Lord will lead them away with troublemakers.

Let there be peace in Israel!

Psalm 126

A song for going up to worship.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Proverbs 29:9-11

When a wise person goes to court with a stubborn fool,
he may rant and rave,
but there is no peace and quiet.
10 Bloodthirsty people hate an innocent person,
but decent people seek to protect his life.
11 A fool expresses all his emotions,
but a wise person controls them.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

12/05/2018 DAB Transcript

Daniel 11:36-12:13, 1 John 4:1-21, Psalms 123:1-4, Proverbs 29:2-4

Today is the 5th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is an honor and a pleasure to be here with you today. I’m kind of chuckling because these are the first words I’ve spoken out of my mouth today. Usually I have conversations before Daily Audio Bible but this is it, like, your the first person I’m talking to today out loud. So, it’s great to be here with you for the midweek as we take the next step forward in our adventure through the Scriptures this year. Yesterday, from the Old Testament reading, we concluded the book of Daniel, which means that we’ll be beginning a new book in the Old Testament today and that will be the book of Hosea, which will bring us, right now, into the final grouping of books that we will encounter in the Old Testament this year. And this grouping of books is called the minor prophets. And lest we tune out and think, well, these are less important books, that’s not why they’re called the minor prophets. They’re called the minor prophets because they’re shorter in length, compared with, like, longer books of prophecy like Isaiah or Ezekiel. So, in terms of the territory ahead in the Old Testament, this is where we’ll be camping out, in the minor prophets. And there are 12 books beginning with Hosea and ending with the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi. So, obviously it’s December 5th and we have 25 days left in this year. So, we’ll be moving through these 12 books rapidly as we make this final push into the end of the year. But let’s talk about the territory that we’re immediately heading into. the book of Hosea.

Introduction to the book of Hosea:

Hosea as a prophet probably lived in the eighth century BC and was able to see firsthand the disintegration and the destruction of the northern kingdom of Israel, which happened to be his homeland. But even though his homeland had been the northern kingdom, many biblical scholars believe that Hosea’s prophecies were collected together in the southern kingdom of Judah after the Assyrians had destroyed Israel, the northern kingdom, and carried the 10 tribes and exile. Now, one of the most poignant themes that are in the Bible we also encounter in the book of Hosea and that is the theme of marriage. And the theme of marriage in the Scripture is often used to represent God’s love for the people that He entered into covenant with. And this theme is vividly captured in Hosea and it’s a fitting metaphor because we’ve been through a number of books of prophecy and we’ve observed God’s people chasing other gods over and over and over committing spiritual adultery. So, obviously the theme of marriage is poignant and that when placed in the context of marriage, God’s reaction to the betrayal of his people is totally understandable. He behaves like a scorned lover who is heartbroken and shocked and longs for His lost love. And that is portrayed more clearly in the book of Hosea than pretty much anywhere else in the Bible because God instructed Hosea to use his actual living life to speak as living prophecy. God instructed Hosea to marry a prostitute and her name was Gomer. And this represented the idolatry and the adultery and harlotry of Israel. And, as the story goes, Gomer and Hosea had children together and at God’s instruction each of the children was given a prophetic name that spoke directly to Israel. And then Gomer was unfaithful to Hosea he divorced her, representing God’s casting away of Israel. And then at God’s instruction, in an about-face, Hosea was sent in pursuit of Gomer once again. And the irony is that Hosea had to buy back the woman that had been his wife and who had played the harlot and committed adultery. And he did, he bought her back, representing the lengths God was willing to go to in order to be reunited with those He loves. So, the portrayal of God’s love is potent in the book of Hosea because it’s a picture of His love for each of us individually and it forces us to look at the ways that we continue to betray the lover of our soul and it forces us to see the impact that this has because so often we’re moving through life as if whatever we do has no impact on God, but the book of Hosea shows us otherwise. And most of us, you know, you live long enough, and you experience a broken heart at some point or other in your life, usually. Abs, so, most of us have probably experienced what it’s like to have you heart broken or to have like a sense of betrayal. And the book of Hosea provides us with a good picture of what that looks like through God’s eyes. And, so, we begin. We’re reading from the God’s Word Translation this week. Hosea chapter 1 verse 1 through 3 verse 5.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for the promise that the person who has the son is the person who has eternal life because eternal life is found in the son. And, so, Jesus, we thank you that this is something that we have already begun to participate in. Like, so often we are thinking that our eternal life is something that begins after we die. And yet we are alive and we will not die because you have come for us, which means that our eternal life has begun and we are living within it now. And this promise found in this little letter of first John is a game changer and should alter our perspective and give us such a wide view of what we are participating in as we move through life here on earth in collaboration with you. So, come Holy Spirit, lead us into all truth, this is Your promise. Show us the narrow path that leads to life and may we follow you all the days of our lives, which is forever. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudibible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here.

And it’s hard to miss that it’s Christmas time. And, so, that means it’s Christmas time around here too and so are Christmas traditions. They come out as we decorate, you know, we have our traditions here around the global campfire.

One of those traditions is the announcement of the More Gathering for women because we believe, and not only do we believe, we have heard that the More Gathering given as a gift has been one of the most profound gifts ever received by many. And we know why, because we see it every year. So, the More Gathering early registration is open now. And, yeah, this is a fantastic thing to sew into the life of your wife or your mother or your sister or your sisters or your best friend. Just come and bring them along and in enjoy, not only the beauty of being on the mountaintop there in North Georgia, but also the mountaintop experience that it is with God and the reset that it that it becomes in life. So, I registration is open and available. You find out all of the details at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section or you can visit moregathering.com. That’ll take you to the same place.

Also, the Daily Audio Bible family Christmas Box for 2018, and those are flyin’ out the door, is available. We have packed it chock-full of resources, things that you will want for yourself, things that you will want to give away, all of them worthy gifts that can be life-changing resources. So, the Promise Land DVD set, just a virtual tour of the land of the Bible where you can see and allow the geography of the places where the stories that we’ve spent so much time in the Scriptures actually happened. And then there are three books included in the boxes here. Two are mine, Sneezing Jesus and Reframe and then the third is for my friend Robert, who was written what I believe to be the most impactful book on the solo parenting journey on just being a single parent. And it pours into the life of that unique experience in way that it is so needed right now. So, you may be a single parent and you may need this, but whether you are or not, I seriously doubt that you have someone in your life that could. That’s in there. And then you’ll have your choice of our Windfarm fresh roasted coffee at altitude in the Rocky Mountains. I mean, what gets more Christmasy than that? Or our boutique tea. This year its honey motion rooibos that we’re putting in the box. It’s delicious. I drink it often. And, you know, I’m kind of partial to coffee, but tea is something that, especially in the cold weather, it’s something that’s in my life most every day. And, so, I drink…I mean…Windfarm brand is our brand and it represents exactly what we do as community – call to the four winds the breath of life. And we are a praying community. And that’s what we’re building, a spiritual windfarm that calls life into the world every day. And, so, yeah, your choice of our Windfarm coffee or our Windfarm tea is in the box this year. And 20 of our Christmas cards for this year that say “Hope” on them. There beautiful. You can see them at dailyaudiobible.com along with their matching envelopes. The Daily Audio Bible Christmas bulb is in there and a Black Wing pencil.

And I need to say, yes, definitely order your Christmas boxes, but also check out the Lifestyle section at dailyaudiobible.com for all of our…I mean…our writing kits are fantastic gifts because it’s the best of the best. I mean we went to painstaking troubled to create the journal. We went to painstaking trouble to find the right paper and the right writing instruments and it's…yeah…just check it out at dailyaudiobible.com in the Lifestyle section.

Okay. If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. I thank you profoundly for those of you who’ve clicked that link. If you are using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill 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 Prayer and Praise:

Hey family, this is Judy in Salt Lake. I’m calling for Sharon. Sharon, I heard your call. Steve and I have been praying for you nonstop. I can’t even begin to imagine the heartache and suffering that you’re going through, but I want to pray for you now. Father in heaven, first I ask You to forgive for my sins, that You hear my prayer. Father, I hold up Sharon to You. I hold up her entire family but mostly her right now. Lord, wrap Your arms around her. Don’t let her go. Let her know that You are there for her no matter what. Don’t let her second-guess herself. Father, we know that You only hold us accountable for what we know. We don’t know what her daughter knew or didn’t know but we do know that she was suffering, or she wouldn’t have done what she did. Father, don’t hold it against her. Don’t hold it to her charge. Whatever it is I ask forgiveness for her, that she can meet her mom someday in the kingdom. Father, please bless the family. It’s such a tragedy, a loss of a child. And a loss of any life is tragic but when it’s Your child Lord. You know, You watched Your own child die on the cross. Father, please, please comfort Sharon in her distress, in her anguish. Father, all of our hearts go out to her.

Hi, this is Victoria Soldier, just calling and wanted to pray for one of the DABbers and some of the DABbers. I wanted to pray for this beautiful mother who lost her baby who committed suicide. I wanted to…she said her name was Sharon and was victorious and she didn’t feel like she was victorious any longer. Lord, You touch my sister. You touch her in a mightily in special way. Oh Lord in the name of Jesus You help her to be victorious Lord. Oh Lord You speak to her and let her know that her baby is fine, that her baby made her peace with You Lord. Oh Lord she need You Lord. She needs You. She lost this beautiful baby that You entrusted her with. And Lord, let her not feel the guilt of the depression or whatever that the Young woman goes going through Lord. It’s just sin that hangs around and tries to take over our lives, but Lord I pray the victory in that Young girl’s life, that she reaches heaven, that her mom would get to be with her again. Lord, touch that mom and that family Lord of that Young girl Lord. In the name of Jesus touch her Lord, touch that mom to hold on Lord. Touch that mom and that family to hold on in the name of Jesus. Lord, You have Your way. Lord we pray for this nation and we pray for our Young people who are going through things and are going through depression Lord. We ask that You be with them Lord. We ask that You be with them every step of the way and help us to be there with them in the name of Jesus. And Lord we ask You that You have Your way in that woman’s life. You strength her Lord and You give her some peace Father in the name of Jesus. And Lord I would be ever so careful to give Your name the glory and the honor and the praise. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Have a good day DABbers. I just wanted to say hi to Brian and Jill and…

Hi, my name is Eva Armstrong, I’m calling from Pennsylvania. I’m calling for Sharon victorious in Northern California. Your call just struck my heart about losing your daughter because Sharon, I lost my son. It’s been 20 years ago but he’s my firstborn son. So, I know where you’re coming from. I wanted to tell you that you can still be victorious. Don’t give up the name because that’s what God says you are. I know I felt like Satan had left me bleeding on my doorstep after my son died of his own doing. It was probably accidental, but it was one of those things teenagers do. Anyway, you are victorious. You are much loved, and I want you to know that I’m going to be praying for you and please, go easy on yourself. Don’t take on too many extra tasks. Don’t punish yourself for things you didn’t say or do. Take every little bit of encouragement that people give you, every scripture, every song. If you can, maybe write them down. God will bring something good out of it. Let’s just go to the Lord for a minute. Heavenly Father, I pray that You would put Your arms around Sharon, that You would comfort her, that You would guide her step-by-step. when she’s too weak to walk Lord pick her up and carry her because this is a very difficult time. And You know what it was like to be wounded Lord. We just put ourselves in Your arms and Your hands. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Karen, if you can I am ema94rn@gmail.com. I’d be happy to share with you some more. Bye.

Hi everyone, it Sharon in St. Louis. Sharon the Victorious one and you are still victorious because your victory is in Jesus. Your call yesterday, oh gosh, I cried and sister I am grieving with you and I can’t even imagine, I can’t even imagine what you’re going through sister. And I pray for salvation is mine. It’s so good to hear from you. Father God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus who’s interceding for us right now, for You right now, I just pray that You would show up, that You would come quickly Lord in a miraculous way Father God to minister to Sharon’s heart, to minister to salvation is mine’s heart, to minister to those hearts of all those in the DAB family that are hurting. And I pray Lord that You would rule Your people to be around them and about them. Lord, that You would show up in such a supernatural way that they would just know, that You would encourage their hearts Lord, that You love them because You do love them in spite of these horrible things that happen, that You are a good good Father. So, I just pray that You would come quickly Lord Jesus. I pray for this pain to be lifted from salvation is mine. I pray that You would direct her to a good doctor. And I pray for this little __ Father, that You would make Sharon’s grand-daughter or grandson just resilient in this Lord. And we thank You Father God. We thank You Lord that You are Lord of all, that our hope is in You. In Jesus’ name.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday December 5, 2018 (NIV)

Hosea 1-3

The Prophet Hosea

The Lord spoke his word to Hosea, son of Beeri, when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah and when Jeroboam, son of Joash, was king of Israel.

Hosea Marries a Prostitute

When the Lord first spoke to Hosea, the Lord told him, “Marry a prostitute and have children with that prostitute. The people in this land have acted like prostitutes and abandoned the Lord.” So Hosea married Gomer, daughter of Diblaim. She became pregnant and had a son.

The Lord told Hosea, “Name him Jezreel. In a little while I will punish Jehu’s family for the people they slaughtered at Jezreel. Then I will put an end to the kingdom of Israel. On that day I will break Israel’s bows and arrows in the valley of Jezreel.”

Gomer became pregnant again and had a daughter. The Lord told Hosea, “Name her Lo Ruhamah [Unloved]. I will no longer love the nation of Israel. I will no longer forgive them. Yet, I will love the descendants of Judah. I will rescue them because I am the Lord their God. I won’t use bows, swords, wars, horses, or horsemen to rescue them.”

After Gomer had weaned Lo Ruhamah, she became pregnant again and had a son. The Lord said, “Name him Lo Ammi [Not My People]. You are no longer my people, and I am no longer your God.[a][b]

10 “Yet, the Israelites will become as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore. No one will be able to measure them or count them. Wherever they were told, ‘You are not my people,’ they will be told, ‘You are the children of the living God.’ 11 The people of Judah and Israel will be gathered together. They will appoint one leader for themselves, and they will grow in the land. The day of Jezreel will be a great day.

Israel Is the Lord’s Unfaithful Wife

[c] “So call your brothers Ammi [My People],
and call your sisters Ruhamah [Loved].

“Plead with your mother; plead with her.
She no longer acts like my wife.
She no longer treats me like her husband.
Tell her to stop acting like a prostitute.
Tell her to remove the lovers from between her breasts.
If she refuses, I will strip her.
I will leave her as naked as the day she was born.
I will turn her into a dry and barren land,
and she will die of thirst.
I won’t love her children,
because they are children of a prostitute.
Their mother acted like a prostitute.
The woman who became pregnant with them did shameful things.
She said, ‘I’ll chase after my lovers.
They will give me food and water,
wool and linen, olive oil and wine.’

“That is why I will block her way with thornbushes
and build a wall so that she can’t get through.
She will run after her lovers, but she won’t catch them.
She will search for them, but she won’t find them.
Then she will say, ‘I’ll go back to my first husband.
Things were better for me than they are now.’

“She doesn’t believe that I gave her grain, new wine, and olive oil.
I gave her plenty of silver and gold,
but she used it to make statues of Baal.
That is why I will take back my grain when it has ripened
and my new wine when it’s in season.
I will take away the wool and the linen
that I gave her to cover her naked body.
10 I will show her naked body to her lovers,
and no one will rescue her from my power.
11 I will put an end to all her celebrations:
her annual festivals, her New Moon Festivals,
her weekly worship days—all her appointed festivals.
12 I will destroy her grapevines and fig trees.
She said that they were gifts from her lovers.
I will turn her vineyards into a forest, and wild animals will devour them.
13 I will punish her for all the times she burned incense
as an offering to other gods—the Baals.
She put on her rings and jewelry,
and she chased after her lovers.
She forgot me,” declares the Lord.

The Lord Continues to Love Israel

14 “That is why I’m going to win her back.
I will lead her into the desert.
I will speak tenderly to her.
15 I will give her vineyards there.
I will make the valley of Achor [Disaster] a door of hope.
Then she will respond as she did when she was young,
as she did when she came out of Egypt.

16 “On that day she will call me her husband,” declares the Lord.
“She will no longer call me her master.[d]
17 I won’t allow her to say the names of other gods called Baal.
She will never again call out their names.

18 “On that day I will make an arrangement with the wild animals,
the birds, and the animals that crawl on the ground.
I will destroy all the bows, swords, and weapons of war,
so people can live safely.

19 “Israel, I will make you my wife forever.
I will be honest and faithful to you.
I will show you my love and compassion.
20 I will be true to you, my wife.
Then you will know the Lord.

21 “On that day I will answer your prayers,” declares the Lord.
“I will speak to the sky,
it will speak to the earth,
22 and the earth will produce grain, new wine, and olive oil.
You will produce many crops, Jezreel.
23 I will plant my people in the land.
Those who are not loved I will call my loved ones.
Those who are not my people I will call my people.
Then they will say, ‘You are our God!’”

Hosea’s Adulterous Wife

Then the Lord told me, “Love your wife again, even though she is loved by others and has committed adultery. Love her as I, the Lord, love the Israelites, even though they have turned to other gods and love to eat raisin cakes.”

So I bought her for 23 ounces of silver and 10 bushels of barley. Then I told her, “You must wait for me a long time. Don’t be a prostitute or offer yourself to any man. I will wait for you.”

In the same way, the Israelites will wait a long time without kings or officials, without sacrifices or sacred stones, and without ephods[e] or family idols. After that, the Israelites will turn and look to the Lord their God and David their king. They will come trembling to the Lord for his blessings in the last days.

Footnotes:

  1. Hosea 1:9 Or “I am no longer I Am to you.” (See Exodus 3:14.)
  2. Hosea 1:9 Hosea 1:10–11 in English Bibles is Hosea 2:1–2 in the Hebrew Bible.
  3. Hosea 2:1 Hosea 2:1–23 in English Bibles is Hosea 2:3–25 in the Hebrew Bible.
  4. Hosea 2:16 Or “her Baal.”
  5. Hosea 3:4 Ephod is a technical term for part of the priest’s clothes. Its exact usage and shape are unknown.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

1 John 5

Those Who Believe in Jesus Are God’s Children

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah has been born from God. Everyone who loves the Father also loves his children. We know that we love God’s children when we love God by obeying his commandments. To love God means that we obey his commandments. Obeying his commandments isn’t difficult because everyone who has been born from God has won the victory over the world. Our faith is what wins the victory over the world. Who wins the victory over the world? Isn’t it the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

This Son of God is Jesus Christ, who came by water and blood. He didn’t come with water only, but with water and with blood. The Spirit is the one who verifies this, because the Spirit is the truth. There are three witnesses: [a] the Spirit, the water, and the blood. These three witnesses agree.

We accept human testimony. God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony that he has given about his Son. 10 Those who believe in the Son of God have the testimony of God in them. Those who don’t believe God have made God a liar. They haven’t believed the testimony that God has given about his Son.

11 This is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is found in his Son. 12 The person who has the Son has this life. The person who doesn’t have the Son of God doesn’t have this life.

Conclusion

13 I’ve written this to those who believe in the Son of God so that they will know that they have eternal life.

14 We are confident that God listens to us if we ask for anything that has his approval. 15 We know that he listens to our requests. So we know that we already have what we ask him for.

16 If you see another believer committing a sin that doesn’t lead to death, you should pray that God would give that person life. This is true for those who commit sins that don’t lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I’m not telling you to pray about that. 17 Every kind of wrongdoing is sin, yet there are sins that don’t lead to death.

18 We know that those who have been born from God don’t go on sinning. Rather, the Son of God protects them, and the evil one can’t harm them.

19 We know that we are from God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

20 We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we know the real God. We are in the one who is real, his Son Jesus Christ. This Jesus Christ is the real God and eternal life.

21 Dear children, guard yourselves from false gods.

Footnotes:

  1. 1 John 5:8 Four very late manuscripts add verses 7b–8a: “in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit. These three witnesses agree. And there are three witnesses on earth:”
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Psalm 124

“If the Lord had not been on our side . . .”
(Israel should repeat this.)
“If the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us,
then they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger exploded against us.
Then the floodwaters would have swept us away.
An overflowing stream would have washed us away.
Then raging water would have washed us away.”

Thank the Lord, who did not let them sink their teeth into us.
We escaped like a bird caught in a hunter’s trap.
The trap was broken, and we escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.

Psalm 125

A song for going up to worship.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Proverbs 29:5-8

A person who flatters his neighbor
is spreading a net for him to step into.
To an evil person sin is bait in a trap,
but a righteous person runs away from it[a] and is glad.
A righteous person knows the just cause of the poor.
A wicked person does not understand this.
Mockers create an uproar in a city,
but wise people turn away anger.

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 29:6 Hebrew meaning of “runs away from it” uncertain.
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

12/04/2018 DAB Transcript

Daniel 11:36-12:13, 1 John 4:1-21, Psalms 123:1-4, Proverbs 29:2-4

Today is the 4th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as we come around the global campfire. And if you’re in the northern hemisphere, the campfire sounds pretty good to keep us warm now that it’s getting cold. But those of you in the southern hemisphere even though it’s nice and warm a campfire’s always a good thing. So, let’s dive in and take the next step forward. We’re reading from the God’s Word Translation this week. Daniel chapter 11 verse 36 through 12 verse 13.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we had a small conversation yesterday about the love of God and our role in that love and we continued with that theme today as we reached the climax of John’s first letter and implications are pretty far-reaching because they reveal the role that we each have to play in making God’s love known. So, this is basically the theme that we’ve been talking about in the letter of first John. So, that’s the context, but inside that context, we encountered a couple of very famous passages of Scripture. And, so, let’s look at them in their context because John was trying to lay groundwork and he was trying to tell his readers to be a people of discernment first so that the implications of God’s love could explode into vivid color. So, as we’ve been moving our way through first John it’s become apparent that many were being deceived and abandoning faith in Christ and some began to follow new teachings, while others, they didn’t start following like, yeah know, some sort of side bunny trail theologically, they became antagonistic, and even anti-Christ. One of these teachings that we’re going around and deceiving people claimed that Jesus was a spiritual apparition, kind of like a ghost that you can see, rather than a flesh and blood human being, which means that the question was ultimately whether or not Jesus was the divine made visible or whether He was the divine made flesh. And, so, this teaching would later be called Docetism and John addressed this issue specifically in discerning the spirit of God. And this was an important thing - to discern the spirit of God in order to reveal the implications of God’s love. So, here’s how John said it, “this is how you can recognize God’s Spirit. Every person who declares that Jesus Christ has come as a human as the Spirit that is from God, but every person who doesn’t declare that Jesus Christ is come as a human has a Spirit that isn’t from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that you have heard is coming. That spirit is already in the world.” So, we might wonder, like, why is it so important for John to clarify Jesus humanity, and what that has to do with God’s love. But we’ll see this as it all comes together. According John, the people who abandoned what they’d first been taught in favor of a false teaching, they didn’t have God’s Spirit. Instead they were embracing the antichrist spirit. And in that context John said something that became very famous, that became first John 4:4, “dear children, you belong to God so, you have won the victory over these people because the one is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” So, basically in the context, John is telling his readers that the Spirit of God isn’t this distant, veiled, ghostly, esoteric thing as some of the false teachings were suggesting. Instead the Spirit of God resides within those who believe and is greater than any deception from the world. So, I mean, if we just want to go theological we could say, okay, there we go, John has made his theological point clear, but his point was like a lot more, a lot deeper than theology. John wanted his readers to comprehend the reality, and even as I say this, like, I’m wanting us to comprehend this same reality because it’s mind blowing. So, the reality John wanted his readers to understand was that the Spirit of God was within them. In other words, because of Jesus, the human and the divine could be in collaboration, intertwined like Jesus was. And what would be the evidence of that? What is it that will be the evidence that the Spirit of God is within each and every one of us, living within us and we are living within him? Love. Here’s how John said it, “Friends we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love. God has shown us His love by sending His only son into the world so that we could have life through Him. This is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His son to be the payment for our sins. Dear friends, if this is the way God loves us, we must also love each other. No one has ever seen God. If we love each other. God lives in us and His love is perfected in us.” So, this is the point where the implications of John’s message that we’ve been leaning toward since the beginning of the letter begin to have the impact that was desired. We’re being told that Jesus was the physical human embodiment of God’s love for us, right? Let that sink in for a second. Jesus was the physical human embodiment of God’s love for us, a love we could see in action. It wasn’t demonstrated by a ghost or an apparition. It was offered by God in the flesh. He came in person to make this so. And when we love each other, we’re making the same love visible in the flesh, our flesh, just like Jesus did, Christ-like. Here’s how John said it, “We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God and God lives in them. God’s love has reached its goal in us. So, we look ahead with confidence to the day of judgment. While we are in this world we are exactly like him with regard to love. No fear exists where His love is. Rather perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.” So, again that’s a very famous passage of Scripture and it’s been quoted, you know, for a long, long time, but in its context we’re starting to see that this is, like, colossal, what John is saying. So, he tells we can’t see God but we can see each other. And when we live within the reality that the Spirit of God lives within us, we begin to understand that being the body of Christ is not a metaphor, it’s a reality. We can physically bring the love of God to the world just like Jesus did, right? Again, Christ-like. I mean to be Christ-like means to be like Christ. And, so, we’re supposed to be moving in that direction because it’s the same Spirit. It’s the same Spirit animating and guiding our lives. It’s the Spirit of God. And God’s love is made perfect in us as we open ourselves to not become a stagnant pond like we were talking about yesterday, as we become a reservoir, an oasis. And as we do that our love is perfected, and perfect love casts out all fear. So, we talked about love a lot when we were in Paul’s writings, right? So, we’ll remember, like, first Corinthians chapter 13, the love chapter, giving us such a beautiful description of what love is. But if there were ever a case to be made about why we must live in love, it’s here in the chapter of 1st John. When we love we’re are assured of God’s Spirit within us. It’s the evidence. And when we love we’re physically demonstrating God’s love. Like, it’s reflecting it, we’re being that oasis, it’s flowing through us to the world. And while this is going on we’re being perfected. And when we love we’re being Christ-like. So, how we respond to this today, how we respond to this in the waning weeks of the year, that’s gonna have to be contextualized into our own stories, but it’s the same Spirit of God. And we can invite that Holy Spirit to lead us and heed what the apostle John said today, “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, because love comes from God.”

Prayer:

Father, the implications are truly astounding. All the sudden the purpose for our lives snaps into clear focus and all of the little circles that we keep making, they get blurry. We are here to be animated by your Spirit and to be like our Savior and to love the world like You do, to actually be Your physical hands and feet, a visual embodiment of your love. That changes everything. And, so, come Holy Spirit and begin to transform us from within. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudibible.com its home base, its the website, its where you learn and find out what’s going on in the global community of the Daily Audio Bible that we lovingly refer to as the global campfire. So, be sure to check it out.

It’s family Christmas time around here. And, so, the Daily Audio Bible family Christmas Box for 2018 is available and flying out the door and it’s chock full of goodies. We’ve packed as many resources as will fit in the Box to make them as available as we can. And, so, the Christmas Boxes your has the Promise Land to DVD set, which has over four hours of content, allowing you to see the land of the Bible, to allow the Bible to come alive, like, the stories that we’re so familiar with, to see where they happened and what that actually looks like. So, that’s in there. Two of my books, the two books that I’ve ever that I feel like are really about spiritual transformation. If you’re really wanting to understand what your faith is supposed to do in your life, rather than it being some kind of esoteric thing that is more about what happens after we die, th,en what happens while we’re here living on planet Earth. Yeah, then these…these are for you. My book, Reframe, and my latest, Sneezing Jesus, is in the Christmas Box as well as Going Solo a book written by my friend Robert. I actually wrote the forward to his book because I think the topic is so crucial right now. And it’s called Going Solo for a reason. It’s about the single-parent journey. And as I’ve said a few times when we’re talking about the Christmas Box, man, there are tens of thousands who are here in this community every day, who are Going Solo every day. But there’s probably no one in this community that doesn’t have someone in their lives who are Going Solo. And this is…this is the book for that person because it’s not trite, it’s not simplistic, it’s not pandering, it’s like…it’s like the friend you need who will speak to you honestly and pour into your life but not expect anything back from you. And that is rare. Not only is that rare in life, certainly rare in the solo parenting journey. So, we’ve included this resource because we want it out there. All of these, we want them out there helping people, ministering, explaining, pulling people forward because that’s what we’re here to do. Like, that’s why this community exists, that’s why this rhythm of the Scriptures every day exists, and that’s why we’re so passionate about it. It’s pulling people forward into spiritual maturity. So, these resources are in the Christmas Box as well as the annual Daily Audio Bible Christmas bulb that has the year on it, of course, and our word for the year, “Hope”. Then you also can choose from our DAB blend fresh roasted coffee at altitude in the Rocky Mountains and its being roasted fresh and sent to you. So, it’s as fresh a coffee as you’re gonna get anywhere. Or if you’re a tea drinker, you can choose. We have our honey bush and rooibos tea this year in the Box if you’re a tea drinker. And I love tea. I’m a tea drinker too and I’m a coffee snob and I love coffee. But I’m a tea drinker too. I drink tea most every day at some point. So, those are your choice…will be in the Box…as well as a pack of 20 of our Hope cards. The Christmas cards for this for this year have the word “Hope” on the front, which has been our word for the year. So, you get 20 of those along with their matching envelopes. And the Daily Audio Bible Black Wing addition, a Black Wing pencil, which is from all of our writing kits and stuff. And incidentally, check those out. Our Daily Audio Bible journals and the Black Wing pencils that I use every day to journal with. Every day of my life I’m writing with these. I fell in love with them a couple years ago when I discovered them, man, just late in my mom’s life. Really, she only had weeks. I didn’t know it, but she only had weeks with us. And it was Christmas time. It was really hard, really hard, really hard. And Jill and I were doing everything we could to try to have some sort of Christmas spirit. And we had just gone out to this gallery and we’re just looking around and I stumbled on these pencils. I’ve kind of had…I don’t want to say I’ve had love affair with them because, how do you do that with a pencil? But I’ve loved these pencils ever since and they’re my favorite thing to write with. Their just old-school, analog, you know, they’re just the best pencil you can. So, we have some fantastic writing kits, journaling kits in the Daily Audio Bible shop in the lifestyle section. Check those out. I love them, which is why we have them, but I think you’ll love them just as much as I do. So anyway, long story short we talked to black wing and they were willing to make us some pencils. They weren’t willing for us to sell them, but they were willing to make them and they’re embossed with Daily Audio Bible on them. And, so, we’ve included one in all of the Christmas Boxes this year. So, check that out. And we’re also throwing in a mystery item. So, in addition to everything that I just said, something else will be in the Box when it arrives. So, you can find out all of the details and order your Christmas Box at dailyaudiobbile.com in the Shop, in the Christmas section.

And don’t forget More Gathering registration, early registration for this upcoming More Gathering in April is open and filling as we speak. So, you find out more information about that in the initiatives section at dailyaudiobible.com or just go to moregathering.com. That’ll take you to the same place.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage and I thank you profoundly for those of you who have clicked that link. We wouldn’t be here if we didn’t do this together. So, thank you. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always if you have a prayer request or comment there are a number of numbers that you can use. 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. And if you are in Australia or that part of the world, 61-3-8820-5459 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.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday December 4, 2018 (NIV)

Daniel 11:36-12:13

36 “The king will do as he pleases. He will highly honor himself above every god. He will say amazing things against the God of gods. He will succeed until God’s anger is over, because what has been decided must be done. 37 He will have no interest in the gods of his ancestors or desire for women. He will have no interest in any god, because he will make himself greater than anyone else. 38 Instead, he will honor the god of fortresses. With gold, silver, precious stones, and other expensive things he will honor a god his ancestors never heard of. 39 With the help of a foreign god, he will deal with strong fortresses. He will give high honors to those who acknowledge him, make them rulers over many people, and distribute land for a price.

40 “In the end times the southern king will attack him. The northern king will rush at him like a storm with chariots, horses, and many ships. He will invade countries, overwhelm them, and pass through their land. 41 He will invade the beautiful land, and tens of thousands will be defeated. But Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites will escape from his power. 42 He will use his power against many countries. Even Egypt will not escape. 43 He will control gold and silver treasures and all Egypt’s treasuries. Libya and Sudan will surrender to him. 44 But news from the east and the north will frighten him. He will leave very angry to destroy and exterminate many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at a beautiful holy mountain. When he comes to his end, there will be no one to help him.”

12 The person who looked like a human continued, “At that time Michael, the great commander, will stand up on behalf of the descendants of your people. It will be a time of trouble unlike any that has existed from the time there have been nations until that time. But at that time your people, everyone written in the book, will be rescued. Many sleeping in the ground will wake up. Some will wake up to live forever, but others will wake up to be ashamed and disgraced forever. Those who are wise will shine like the brightness on the horizon. Those who lead many people to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.

“But you, Daniel, keep these words secret, and seal the book until the end times. Many will travel everywhere, and knowledge will grow.”

The Words Are Sealed Up

When I, Daniel, looked up, I saw two men standing there. One man stood on one side of the river, and the other one stood on the other side. One of them asked the man dressed in linen clothes who was above the river, “How long will it be until these miracles are over?” I heard the man dressed in linen clothes who was above the river. He raised his right hand and left hand to heaven and swore an oath by the one who lives forever. He said, “It will be for a time, times, and half of a time. When the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, then all these things will be finished.”

I heard him, but I did not understand. So I asked him, “Sir, how will these things end?”

He replied, “Go, Daniel. These words are to be kept secret and sealed until the end times. 10 Many will be purified, made white, and refined. But wicked people will do wicked things, and none of them will understand. Only wise people will understand. 11 From the time the daily burnt offering is taken away and the disgusting thing that causes destruction is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 Blessed are those who wait until they reach 1,335 days. 13 But go on until the end. You will rest, and you will rise for your inheritance at the end of time.”

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

1 John 4

Test People Who Say They Have God’s Spirit

Dear friends, don’t believe all people who say that they have the Spirit. Instead, test them. See whether the spirit they have is from God, because there are many false prophets in the world. This is how you can recognize God’s Spirit: Every person who declares that Jesus Christ has come as a human has the Spirit that is from God. But every person who doesn’t declare that Jesus Christ has come as a human has a spirit that isn’t from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist that you have heard is coming. That spirit is already in the world.

Dear children, you belong to God. So you have won the victory over these people, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. These people belong to the world. That’s why they speak the thoughts of the world, and the world listens to them. We belong to God. The person who knows God listens to us. Whoever doesn’t belong to God doesn’t listen to us. That’s how we can tell the Spirit of truth from the spirit of lies.

God’s Love Lives in His People

Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love. God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. 10 This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 We know that we live in him and he lives in us because he has given us his Spirit.

14 We have seen and testify to the fact that the Father sent his Son as the Savior of the world. 15 God lives in those who declare that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God. 16 We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them.

17 God’s love has reached its goal in us. So we look ahead with confidence to the day of judgment. While we are in this world, we are exactly like him with regard to love. 18 No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.

19 We love because God loved us first. 20 Whoever says, “I love God,” but hates another believer is a liar. People who don’t love other believers, whom they have seen, can’t love God, whom they have not seen. 21 Christ has given us this commandment: The person who loves God must also love other believers.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Psalm 123

I look up to you,
to the one who sits enthroned in heaven.
As servants depend on their masters,
as a maid depends on her mistress,
so we depend on the Lord our God
until he has pity on us.
Have pity on us, O Lord.
Have pity on us
because we have suffered more than our share of contempt.
We have suffered more than our share of ridicule
from those who are carefree.
We have suffered more than our share of contempt
from those who are arrogant.

Psalm 124

A song by David for going up to worship.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

Proverbs 29:2-4

When righteous people increase, the people of God rejoice,
but when a wicked person rules, everybody groans.
A person who loves wisdom makes his father happy,
but one who pays prostitutes wastes his wealth.
By means of justice, a king builds up a country,
but a person who confiscates religious contributions tears it down.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)

Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group

12/03/2018 DAB Transcript

Daniel 9:1-11, 1 John 2:18-3:6, Psalms 121:1-8, Proverbs 28:27-28

Today is the 3rd day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is a pleasure and an honor to be here with you today as we gather to take the next step forward on our adventure through the Scriptures. And the days are counting down as we move toward the end of this year. And so, we’ll take that next step forward. We’re reading from the God’s Word Translation this week. Daniel chapter 11 versus 2 through 35 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in our reading from first John today, we were greeted with quite the provocative question, and that question is, “suppose a person has enough to live on and notices another believer in need, how can God’s love be in that person if he doesn’t bother to help the other believer? So, a stark penetrating question right out of the gate. And as a rhetorical as John’s question is, trying to answer it only brings about like other questions. For example, does God bestow his love individually and bless each of us for our own benefit alone or does He love and bless us so that he can then love and bless through us? And, you know, that’s something to chew on for a minute, but Jesus was quoted in John’s gospel with these words, “your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” So, in trying to answer John’s question we start to see the same point James and Peter were making. We can’t claim faith that has no action behind it and we can’t claim to walk in God’s love. If we have no outflow of that love beyond ourselves. True faith and love compels us into action and John’s said as much. Here’s what he said from our reading today, “dear children, we must show love through actions that are sincere not empty words. This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and how we will be reassured in His presence.” So, in other words, we are assured that God’s love is in us, and that He is loving through us when we become willing to give that love away. And this starts to peel back the layers and it starts to expose the ways that we assume we are lacking because we hoard things, we hoard God’s blessings as if the supplies limited, which leads us to become self-absorbed and self-ish, right, which according to John reveals that God’s love…and this is hard right here…is absent. Whew! So, it’s like we need to take breaks along the way to catch our breath because this is really direct, this is pretty stark. So, let’s take a look at this a different way. We’ve been exploring the land of the Bible this entire year, right, as we’ve gone through the territory in the Scriptures. We’ve rooted ourselves geographically lots of times. And the Dead Sea is something that is all throughout the Bible and is a real place that we’ve encountered lots of times on a journey through the Scriptures. It’s the lowest point on earth. So, like, just for reference, the lowest point in the United States, which is the country that I live in, is in California in this desert called death…well it’s in the Mojave Desert I think…but it’s in this place called Death Valley. And it’s like 250 feet below sea level. So, like, the Dead Sea is like a thousand feet below sea level, more. So, water is continually flowing into the Dead Sea because it’s the lowest point, but water never flows back out of the Dead Sea because it’s the lowest point. And, so, because of this there’s no life, which is why it’s called the Dead Sea. Now, if we just go north a ways, following the Jordan River which terminates in the Dead Sea. If we just follow the Jordan River we will eventually run into the sea of Galilee, which is the next body of water to the north. In fact, it is the lowest lying freshwater lake in the entire world. And in spite of the billions of gallons of fresh water that flow out of the Sea of Galilee, it has not run dry for thousands of years. It has not become stagnant because new water is constantly flowing into it and then it flows out of it through its tributaries, mostly the Jordan River, which brings life all the way down the line. So we might be wondering, like, what does this got to do with what we’re talking about. John’s challenge was that we need to realize that there is no shortage of God’s love, but we will only ever experience that reality if our hearts are open and flowing with it rather than being closed off and at the lowest point and stagnant. So, this gives us a picture of reality, but it challenges us to examine ourselves. Are we living in lack because we are selfish? If so, then we’re becoming stagnant and just like the Dead Sea there’s no life to be found on that path. But if our hearts are open, then we will invariably be compelled to do more than just run our mouths, right, just lip service to things. We’ll be compelled to love, which will compel us into action. But if John is right, then we’ll be surprised to find that the more love that flows out of us the more we are filled again anew every day. And with God’s love there is no lack. So, that means that if we will give God’s love away, this is the only way we can ever remain full, like the Sea of Galilee, right. Billions of Galleon gallons of water flow into that lake from all of the surrounding mountainsides and it’s not empty, it’s full, even though those billions of gallons of water are flowing back out of it. It stays full. And there’s no lack of God’s love. And we can we can stay full. And He will give us whatever we ask, because whatever we ask is gonna be in alignment with His wishes. This is what John tells us today. So, in this season, like, this holiday season that’s upon us, let’s remember that the greatest gift we can possibly offer, that will be our open hearts. If there’s one thing we’ve learned in Scripture, God can do miraculous things through the open hearts of his children. There is there is no lack of God’s love for the world. It has not been depleted. And we are each invited to be an oasis that never runs dry reflecting the glory of the Lord upon the earth and sharing the love of God to all of God’s creatures upon the earth, especially those created in His image. So, let’s just not say Joy to the world. Let’s not just sing these songs. Joy to the world the Lord has come. Let’s let that sink in today and allow the love of God to begin flowing through us so that we will never be empty and stagnant.

Prayer:

Father, we invite you into that. Thank you for that. That just shakes us awake, reorients us to what’s going on here, explains so much of the lack within because we’re being self-ish when we should be an open, flowing oasis for all who are thirsty. Come Holy Spirit fill us anew. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudibible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on.

And it’s Christmas time, of course. And, so, the Daily Audio Bible family Christmas Box, our annual tradition that contains the annual Daily Audio Bible Christmas bulb and all kinds of resources that we pack in here and try to make them is economical and inexpensive as possible because we know there are things in there that you will want to keep for yourself and that there are things in there that you will want to give away. And we love that and we’re praying over those resources as they go in into the world. So, the Daily Audio Bible family Christmas Box is available in the Daily Audio Bible Shop in the Christmas section.

Also, registration for More Gathering 2019, which will take place for the last time in the mountains of North Georgia about an hour outside of Atlanta, registration is available and open right now and you can find out all of the details dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section or you can just go to moregathering.com and that will take you the same place. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link, it’s on the homepage. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill 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. Today would have been my dad’s birthday, would have been his 74th birthday. So, I’m thinking of him today. Make sure you make sure you go out and love someone that you love today, and I will be waiting for you here tomorrow.