A Walk Through The Word

Joel 1:1-3:21, Revelations 1:1-20, Psalms 128:1-6, Proverbs 29:18

Today is the 9^th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and, of course, it is always great to be together around the global campfire. And as it gets colder and colder outside, it’s warmer and warmer when we’re snuggled up in community. So, it’s great to be here with you today. And today marks a little bit of a shift. And that is this, for the last little while we’ve been moving more rapidly through the New Testament, as we read through a lot of letters and those are shorter documents. Today, we reached the final book of the New Testament and will be spending the rest of the year in that book, the book of Revelation. At the same time, we’re moving through, what is known as the minor prophets, not so much because the profits were minor, but because the books are shorter, some as short as the letters that we read in the New Testament. And we’ll start moving more rapidly through the Old Testament. So, for example, in just a second, we’re going to read in its entirety, the book of Joel from the Old Testament.

Joel:

So, let’s talk about the book of Joel. The prophet, Joel, wrote this book of prophecy, more than likely, somewhere around the mid-800s BC. So, we’re talking seven or eight centuries before Jesus. And he writes of a vast horde of locusts that have invaded the land and subsequently obliterated the crops and just about everything else causing great famine. And he uses this natural disaster as his backdrop to call the children of Israel toward repentance. And, as is true with most of the Bible, this brings the children of Israel to a fork in the road where a choice must be made. They can return to God and enjoy his blessings and restoration or they can continue to reject God and face what is called the day of the Lord, the day of God’s judgment. And of course, as we can see the arching narrative of the Bible, it’s not ever God’s will that His people suffer these terrible repercussions. So, He’s constantly calling them back, just like He still does today. And we’ll see that there is some of the most beautiful promises of restoration and hope that we’ll find in the entire Bible. And they are spoken in this very short book of prophecy, the book of Joel. And, so, we begin with Joel chapter 1 verse 1 through 3:21. And we’re reading from the English Standard Version this week.

Revelations:

Okay. So, as we move into the New Testament, like I said at the beginning, we’re moving into the final book of the Bible. But the book of Revelation is not really a book at all. It’s more like a letter. But from a literary perspective, it would be classified as apocalyptic, apocalyptic literature. In fact, for a long time this writing was known as the Apocalypse or the Apocalypse of John. And apocalypse is Greek, it means Revelation. And we know this writing by that name because that’s what an Apocalypse is, a revelation. It’s this unveiling of things that were not known previously and that couldn’t be known outside of the Revelation, outside of the unveiling. And we normally think of, like, the word apocalypse as a scary word that speaks of like the ultimate end in destruction of everything, but there’s all a lot more going on in the book of Revelation than that. And there are a lot of other apocalypses. Like, so, there’s a lot of other apocalyptic writing in many cultures, and other apocalyptic writings that were, or that came out of the Christian tradition, the early Christian tradition. This one was canonized into the New Testament. And traditionally, the author has been thought to be the apostle John. And that this was written on the isle of Patmos, where he had been exiled. And there’s a lot of scholarly debate, there has been a lot of scholarly debate for a long time, about who this John is. Is this really the apostle John, or was this a Christian prophet who was a follower of John, or whose name happened to be John? And that continues to be debated. However, early Christian writers, apostolic fathers, so like the second generation after the apostles, so like the grandchildren of the apostle’s generation, identify John the apostle as the John of Revelation. And the isle of Patmos is an island that’s southwest of Ephesus. And the Romans used this island to banish people who had committed crimes against Rome’s. So, if we’re talking about the apostle John writing this from the Isle of Patmos, he would’ve been a very old man at this point. And he wrote this letter to different churches that had been established during the time of Paul’s missionary journeys in the early church’s activity some 50 years earlier. So, some of the earliest Christian churches that were now into and moving into their second generation. And Revelation is one of the more controversial or misunderstood books of the Bible, but no matter which school of interpretation you adhere to, when you boil this all down, it’s a call to repentance and spiritual renewal. It’s a letter to encourage Christians, not to scare them and freak them out, to encourage Christians and bolster their faith in the face of tribulation and trial. And it’s actually a letter of great hope, because once again it shows that our Lord and Savior, Jesus, is in fact all-powerful. And in the end, He remains victorious and because He remains victorious we can remain victorious with Him. And, so, we begin the final book of the New Testament, Revelation chapter 1.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You so much as we do every day for Your word and the gift that it truly is in our lives. And we see the promise today from the book of Joel that You will pour out Your Spirit on all people, and Lord, let us be those people. Our hearts are open to You God. we ask that Your Holy Spirit lead and guide us, rebuke us, correct us, shape us as we move deeper and deeper into the relationship that You have offered us. Come Jesus. Come, we pray in Your holy name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. And a lot of Christmas things are going on around here right now.

And one of those things is your calls, your holiday greetings back into the Daily Audio Bible community. We do this every year. It’s a joy, a joyous time. It’s our version, as a virtual community, of our annual Christmas party, our family gathering for Christmas time. So, we take these calls for a period of time and then we start assembling this all together and move through the Christmas story and talk about the year and hear from each other and it’s just a wonderful time. And you can get involved in that. You should get involved in that. All you have to do is call the prayer line. 877-942-4253 is the number. But you can call any of the prayer lines. If you’re in the UK or Europe, 44-20-3608-8078, or if you’re in Australia or that part of the world, 61-3-8820-5459 is the number. And you just call in your Christmas greetings. And the only rule about that, because these are the prayer lines, are that you don’t mix a holiday greeting with a prayer request in the same call. Make those separate. And it’ll just be a beautiful time as it always is. So, we’re doing that right now for the next few days.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box is available and it’s full of resources and goodies - some that you’ll give away as gifts, some that you’ll want to keep for yourself and you get to kind of go through and pick. So, that’s available in the Daily Audio Bible shop at dailyaudiobible.com.

Registration, early registration, is open for the More Gathering for women that’s coming up this April. That’s our annual women’s conference. And you can find out all about that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. Just go to the Initiatives section and you’ll find the More Gathering 2018. And all the information that you want or need to know is there. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible as we approach the end of the year, thank you. Thank you, humbly, profoundly, deeply, gratefully for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage of dailyaudiobible.com. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And I mentioned the numbers before, but if you have a prayer request, or comment, or holiday greeting, 877-942-4253 is the number.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hello my DAB family. This is Goddess, the Kings Daughter. I am praying for every single request that comes through. As I’ve stated on here before, I’m not really the one to call in but I am praying in the background. I feel that is where I am called to operate. So, I am calling to speak to my sister Gloria. I’ve been praying about your mom’s situation, and also the situation between your brother and yourself. And all I hear in my spirit is that you should be still and know that God is God. Be still and know that he is God. I will encourage you to read Psalm 46, with emphasis on verse 10, saying that be still know He is God. He is our refuge in times of need. He is not going to…He hasn’t abandoned you. He is fighting for you. Because you’re not hearing from Him doesn’t mean that He’s not working. So, be still and have that peace in your heart my dear and know that God is working on your behalf. You may not see it, but I for one, if I have to tell you what I’ve been through, what I went through all of last year, and I’m still going through, which I need to actually call for a prayer request for myself and I haven’t done so yet. My sister be still and know that that God is with you. All is well. Praying for you. Bye-bye.

Good morning DAB family. This is Spoken By Faith from New York City. Today is December 5^th and I’m calling to just let you guys know that I’m praying and I heard Christi from New York asking for prayer for marriages and that’s always been on my heart. I’ve have a request also for my sister in Virginia, she’s doing much better. She was bleeding out from a vain in her esophagus and have made several transfusions and now they are finding bandings and therapy so hopefully they will stop the bleeding and she won’t need a __. I’m asking for prayers for her. Her name is __. And I ask for prayer for my brother also in his marriage. And today my heart is broken because my son’s wife, just yesterday, told him that she needed space and just…my grandson…and I’m just broken hearted for him. That’s why I just feel such a burden, I’ve always had such a burden for marriages, and I’m praying with him to be able to…just… hold onto the Lord as so many are going through…spouses that just want out for no reason…they want space…whatever it is…it just doesn’t make any sense. God is in control and I pray that you would intercede with Him as he’s going through this very trying time. And I intercede with those that are also in difficult marriages and difficult situations and need healing. Whatever your need is, and I’ve been listening every day and I pray and intercede and I ask you to keep my son in prayer as he’s also going through this and that. That God would speak to…

Hello Daily Audio Bible community. This is Greg from Stow, Ohio. And my prayer request is for all international students that are visiting our country, that they would hear the gospel and respond to the gospel, especially during this holiday season. There’s over a million international students from countries where the gospel is not really proclaimed. So, let’s pray that God draws them to Himself while they are here visiting us and that Americans would reach out to them. Lord, thank You God for bringing these people from all across these nations, from all across the world to our doorstep and God, I pray that You would draw them to yourself and that Christians would be motivated to invite them to church services, to Christmas programs, to befriend them, and to share the love of Jesus with them. I pray that many would find Christ and become missionaries to their own countries. Thank You Lord. And I pray for the missionaries that work with these students, that You would bless them and protect them from the enemy, protect them from the spiritual warfare they encounter and guard their marriages, provide for them, funding wise. And I just thank You for their work and I thank You for the amazing opportunity we have as believers to share the gospel with people who don’t know You. Help us to do it with this with boldness but with humility. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Thanks a lot. This is Greg. I’m on Instagram actually on @daily_bible_devotional or you can find me at gospeldriven.org. God bless you guys. Thank you so much for your ministry. I’ve been reading through the bible every year for the last 20 years and your audio broadcast…

Lord, our God, how majestic is Your name in all the air. The heavens and creation all around us declare Your glory. You are the source of all things. You sustain all things. You keep this world spinning and my feet moving. Lord, the cares of this world are threatening to overwhelm me. You know what they are. Help me to let them go and give them to you. Help me to cast my anxieties on You. Help me to trust in Your love, Your strength, and Your provision. Help me learn to be content. Help me know that I can do all things through You who gives me strength. I’m sorry Lord for all the times I’ve relied on myself to get me through when I should have trusted and relied on You. I’m sorry for the times I’ve doubted. Help me to remember Lord that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank You Lord for how you’ve made me and help me to remember that I am loved by You and that You made me to be me. [singing] If I were a butterfly, I thank You Lord for giving me wings. And if I were a robin in a tree, I thank You Lord that I could sing. And if I were a fish in the sea, I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with thee. But I just thank You Father for making me me. For you gave me a heart and you gave me a smile. You gave me Jesus and You made me your child but I just thank You God for making me...

Hosea 6:1-9:17, Jude 1-25, Psalms 126:1-6, Proverbs 29:12-14

Today is December 8th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today. And even as we get to the end of the year and just things speed up in the culture as we begin to move into the holiday season, things also speed up in the Bible because we’re moving through shorter epistles or letters in the New Testament and the minor prophets in the Old Testament. So, we’re moving quite rapidly. And that will continue today. We will conclude, in the Old Testament, the book of Hosea and we will read in its entirety, the epistle of Jude, in the New Testament. So, from the English Standard version this week, Hosea chapter 10 verse 1 through 14 verse 9.

Jude:

Okay. So, like we were talking about the beginning, we read through first John, then second and third John each in one day because there are short. And that’s what we’ll do here with the epistle or letter of Jude because it’s just 25 verses. And yet, it’s going to pack the punch of more than 25 verses. It’s very direct and succinct. And we don’t know a whole lot about Jude’s background and his life, but we do believe he was the half-brother of Jesus and the brother of James, neither of whom believe that Jesus was the Christ, right, the son of God, during his earthly ministry. But His resurrection from the dead seems to have changed their viewpoints considerably and that’s understandable. We don’t know exactly who Jude wrote this letter to other than that we know he was writing to believers in Jesus. But he wrote this letter to aggressively, to vigorously combat a false doctrine that was going through the church that basically said that, God’s grace through Jesus covers everything and we can do anything that we want, like you have license to do whatever you want to do because God’s grace covers it all. And, so, that led to some people but misbehaving in all sorts of inappropriate ways. And Jude writes this letter to hit this on the head and calls it false doctrine and challenges the believers to contend for their faith. And these are really, really important words for today because, as were turning the corner and heading into the final chapters, of the Bible, if there’s one thing that we’ve learned through the year in the Bible and through our experience as believers, the life of faith is something that you have to contend for. It’s something that we have to be vigilant about. It’s not something that we finally get everything right and then everything just stays right. It’s a vigilant collaboration, a relationship that needs constant maintenance just like marriage does. So, with that, we read the letter or the epistle of Jude.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we talked about the epistle of Jude before we read it to get a little bit of an overview. And, in a broad sense, we’re dealing with the same issues in first and second Peter, first, second, third, John and Jude. So, we kind of know there’s a lot of teachings that are not what was taught from the beginning, and people are moving in all kinds of directions, and some of them are very unhealthy and very unhelpful to the faith. And, so, we see, you know, the corrections made in these letters, the renouncing of a number of these behaviors or ideas. And, so, we kind of have the lay of the land there. But there are some peculiarities in the book of Jude, the epistle of Jude, and they actually capture for us extra biblical thought, that is documented in extra biblical writings. That is to say, they are not explicitly found in other parts of the Bible, kind of like when we talked about Melchizedek in the book of Hebrews. So, Jude talks about angels who were given a position and a job by God who then overstepped those boundaries and were chained up in gloomy darkness until judgment day. And the interesting thing is that Jude doesn’t really explain ways talking about. He just refers to it. And what we can take from that is that everybody that he’s talking to, they already know what he’s talking about. Like, he’s writing a letter not a theological treatise. And, so, he refers to this as if everybody knows what he’s talking about. It’s just an understanding in their culture. But we don’t have that embedded into our culture, so we can be, like, what is going on here? And some scholars think that what he’s referring to is, back in the book of Genesis, when the sons of God see the beauty of the daughters of Eve and then they come and have sex with them and giants are born, in order to tie it back to something in the Hebrew Bible. But what we can see is a fascination with angels and what they do and what happens to rebellious angels. And, so, you know, a lot of discussion happened over the centuries. It still happens today. But one of the places that some of this thought was captured is found in a writing called the book of Enoch. And, although the book of Enoch wasn’t canonized into the Bible, people were aware of it, read it, used it. Some churches in the second century used it as the in the authoritative word of God. And Jude seems to be referring to it here. And speaking of fascination with angels, Jude also refers to this confrontation, where the devil confronts the archangel Michael over the body of Moses. Well, that story is not found anywhere else in in the Bible and it’s not found in Enoch either, although Enoch talks about six different archangels of God. And the two that we would recognize from the Bible would be Michael and Gabriel. And people were trying to figure out the hierarchy of the Angels, like, how does that whole angelic world work? And it was thought that archangels were like the top, the chief angels, and they were in charge of different territories. And some of that thought is found in the book of Daniel. And from the book of Daniel, the idea that Michael was an archangel who was over the territory of Israel, God’s people, he was in charge of protecting them from evil. So, for the devil to confront the archangel Michael over the body of Moses doesn’t particularly mesh with the rest of the Old Testament because the devil has the personification of evil. Right? Like the Prince of evil, the Prince of darkness is an understanding that came over time. I mean, there is some language like this in the book of Job, but even there it’s not quite as we understand it now. But the awareness that he’s evil and the accuser and the adversary, these things are clear and present in the writings of the New Testament. As for Michael,  his role that kind of expands by the time we get to the book of Revelation, where he is a protector of the church from the dragon. But as for the devil confronting the archangel Michael over the body of Moses, I mean, the only thing we have about the body of Moses in the book of Deuteronomy is that nobody knows where he’s buried. But there is a writing that is dated to around the first century, so, basically contemporary with the New Testament writings called the Assumption of Moses. And in it, after Moses died, Michael was given the job, the task, of burying him. And the devil comes along and basically claims that he has jurisdiction and Michael refuses and then the devil claims that Moses was a murderer because he killed the Egyptian who was mistreating his fellow Hebrew. So, it’s very similar to what Jude is saying, but in that story Michael doesn’t rebuke the devil or anything like that. He just simply buries Moses. So, that is all fascinating stuff. But Jude doesn’t unpack any of the story. And, so, what we can assume from that is that the people that that Jude is talking to, they know all of this and there’s a common understanding of it, which gives us an intriguing look at some of the thoughts and discussion happening early on in the development of the church. So, I didn’t tell you all that to make a theological statement. It’s just interesting when you read certain things in the Bible and you’re like, what is being talked about here? When you dig into it you find intriguing snapshots and in those snapshots you find thoughts, ideas, and convictions take form and it gives us a wider scope of understanding, not only in the lives of our ancestors, but in the way that we form these things still today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for all of the journey that we have been on for every day of this year so far and we look ahead and we have 11 different books to move through in a very short space of time. And tomorrow we will begin the final book of the New Testament. And we are awed by all that You’ve done inside of us. Your word is so comprehensive, such a treasure. This book that we all looked at one point or another as something big and unattainable, and maybe antiquated, hard to understand, and even archaic is anything but. It speaks into our human experience from every conceivable direction and peels back the layers and changes us and we are thankful. And we invite Your Holy Spirit to continue to speak through Your word and to continue to speak into our lives and to continue to speak through our lives as we continue to open ourselves fully to You. Come Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

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

So, it’s time to call in your holiday greetings in anticipation of our annual Daily Audio Bible family Christmas program. And then we get together and wish each other Merry Christmas and good will toward each other and we move through the gospel story of Christmas and we just talk about the year and what’s to come in the year. Jill and I usually get on and talk about that for a while. So, that’s coming up pretty soon. It’s time to call in your holiday greetings. You just use the prayer line, 877-942-4253, for that. The only request is that you don’t combine a prayer request with a holiday greeting. We just don’t have a way to manage all of that. Just call in your holiday greeting and if you also have a prayer request then call that in separately.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box 2017 is available. And as I’ve been saying, it’s chock full of goodies -  some you will want for yourself, some you will want to pass on his gifts, and you get to choose, and that’s the magic of the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box. In the Christmas Box this year is a CD called Advent, full of contemplative songs meant to put us in the season, to put us in the contemplative mode of considering the mystery of the coming of the Savior and our longing for His return. The family Christmas CD is in there, full of traditional carols, set in a backdrop of lush instrumentation, and just wonderful to shut the lights off and just take a minute in this busy season. Two copies of Sneezing Jesus are in the box. A book called The Road Back to You, which has been a really helpful book for me this year, written by my friend Ian, who is a fellow pastor, a brother in Christ, and also a licensed therapist, is included in the box. The Daily Audio Bible Christmas bulb for 2017 is in the Box. A Black Wing pencil is in the Box. A pack of the Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards for 2017, so 20 Christmas cards with the envelopes is in the Box. And your choice of the DAB blend of coffee or our honey bush and ribose tea. So, it’s a great Box this year as it always is.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards are available outside the Box. You can just get as many packs of 20 as you want. They’re $4.99 for a pack of 20 with the envelopes. So, probably can’t be that anywhere. And it’s a great opportunity to invite those that are in your sphere, those that you love, to take the journey with you in 2018 through the Bible.

Also, in the Daily Audio Bible shop is the new Daily Audio Bible journals and the Black Wing pencils and all of the associated instruments that work for journaling. And we’ve got a number of bundles that I think are great gift ideas. So, check that out.

Early registration for the More Gathering, which is our annual women’s conference that will take place in April is open now and makes for a great gift idea as well. And that can be found at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible at the end of the year here, then thank you very, very much, very humbly. The global campfire that we share together burns because we do it together. So, there’s a link on the homepage of dailyaudiobible.com. 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 Requests and Praise Reports:

Help me shine brightly within this dark place
I want men to see You when the see my face
Let love surround me and light up this place
Kiss me with kindness I’ve been touched my Your grace
My smile is enormous and reflective of You
It’s stretching my insides and making me new
Changing my heart my desires my tongue
I know that I’m aging but it’s keeping me young
So let me shine brightly each moment for You
And not be deterred by what others do
And when shadows fall as often they do
Help me stay focused on that which is of You
Let me shine brightly within the dark place
Making a statement the world can’t erase
The Spirt is light the Spirit is Love
The Spirit is joyful and comes from above
Caring forgiving it’s patient It’s kind
It gives me Your peace that surpasses the mind
It looks for the best from out of the worst
It safeguards the tongue when one wants to curse
It doesn’t bring up the past when often we sin
It gives you a mindset and power to win
Let me shine brightly my Savior for the
I want men to see You when they look at me

Blindtony1016@gmail.com. I’d like to give a special shout out to Dean S. and Kim. Hope all is well. And Michelle from LA, know you’re very much loved. Marvin and Cynthia, know you’re daily y’all in my prayers. Anyway. And thank you Brian for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flowin’ y’all. Alright. Bye-bye.

Hello this is Jamie from Phoenix. I need your prayers for a friend of my husband. Her name is Andy and she has a young 3-year-old son that is at Phoenix Children’s hospital right now. And needing a lot of prayers. Long story short, his father tried to kill her and the baby, stabbing the baby in the head and he had brain surgery a couple of months ago and has been in the hospital ever since. He has not woke up in the last 4 days and she feels that God is punishing her. So, please pray for a miracle that this all turns around and God is glorified so that she can see that God does not hate her. Please join me with this and I will keep you posted. God bless you all. I love you. Bye-bye.

Hi DAB family. This is Brandon from western Colorado. I was wondering if you could pray for me and my family. I’ve been having a bunch of weird anxiety lately and been having a hard time sleeping and my wife’s been having a hard time sleeping too. So, if you could pray…we’ve been praying and stuff like that, but I wanted you guys help as well. So, we all appreciate your prayers and love you all. Alrighty. Bye-bye.

What’s up everybody. It is a Miguel from Santa Rosa. And this might sound a little bit out of left field but I’m going to trust that this is the Spirit leading this prayer, but I’m actually traveling through San Francisco right now and driving down 19th Ave. and just in awe of the lights of the night right now. And I feel led to pray for this city and the people in this city. So, I just want to do that and invite you to do that with me. Father God, as I travel through here and I see people in the hustle and bustle in the malls and the streets in this great city that has been built, Lord I ask that You would move here Lord, that Jesus, Your Spirit would move, that your church would move in this place Lord. And that people would be brought to you Jesus, and that there would be healing in Jesus name, that there would be a unification of churches under the name of Jesus, and God, that you do a mighty work in this city, that there would even be a revival of your church here in this city. I don’t even know what this looks like. I barely even know what I’m asking here, but God, I believe You are leading me to pray this because You have plans for this city. You have plans for San Francisco and You have plans for California, for the United States, for the world, Lord. I pray in faith, fixed on You, asking You to do exactly what Your willed to do Lord. Would You bless every Daily Audio Bible listener in this city Lord that’s listening to this, that they would be healed, that they would be met by Your Spirit Jesus? God, do mighty, great, unexplainable things in San Francisco. And I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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

Today is the 7^th day of December. I was trying to figure out what month we were in. That was a complete brain freeze. But yes, the month of December, the last month of the year, and we’re seven days into it. So, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible for the 7^th of December. I’m Brian and it is great to be here with you around this global campfire that we share every day. And today is going to take us further into the book of Hosea. We’ll finish Hosea up tomorrow. And then, when we get to the New Testament today, we will read, in its entirety, Third John. So, let’s dive in. We’re reading from the English Standard Version this week. Hosea 6:1 through 9:17.

Third John:

Okay. So yesterday we read Second John and in its entirety, which brings us to the third letter of John or Third John, which we will also read in its entirety today. And this was probably written right along with the second letter, shortly thereafter. And it’s a little different than John’s first and second letters, in that, this one is a personal letter and it’s sent to a man named Gaius. So first and second John dealt largely with people who had abandoned their faith and then become enemies of Christ, like completely rejected Jesus, and then tried to remain in fellowship with other people and seduce them away or give them a false teaching to believe in and lead them astray. And John said, basically, he said look, you have to go back to what you were told in the first place. That was the truth and everything has to be surrounded in love. We have to live in love for this to work. In fact, it is our love for one another that makes God’s love manifest or apparent, visible in the world. So, that gave us a glimpse into some of the controversies that were happening around this time. Third John does the same thing. It’s a bit different issue, but it also gives us a glimpse into the conflicts that were happening early on in the faith. So, this letter is written to a man named Gaius. And if John was an Ephesus, which many scholars believe, that this is probably written from there, where John spent the latter years of his life traditionally. And Gaius was a good person an upstanding believer who was a member of one of the nearby churches. And he was passionate about helping those who had been called as missionaries, those who go out and plant churches and share and spread the gospel. He was passionate about helping them in this region and thereby furthering the gospel of Jesus. So, in a fascinating picture of church politics, a man named Diotrephes inserts himself into the equation because he doesn’t like the way Gaius is doing his missionary assistance. And John writes this letter to Gaius to affirm him and what he’s doing and to let him know that he will deal with the issue. Right? So, he’ll deal with Diotrephes. This letter helps us see lines of spiritual authority, also helps us see that some of the issues that we see around us today have been struggles for the church all along. And so, we begin. Third John.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and all of the places that it takes us, all of the things that it churns up inside of us, all of the things that it plants inside of us, all of the harvest and change and goodness that comes from it. And we’re grateful for this Psalm, Psalm 126, and we pray into the that today. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion we were like those who dream. When You rescued us we were stunned. There was a beat where we thought; did that just happen? And we’ve experienced this in our lives as You’ve rescued us so many times. Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy. The Lord has done great things for them. The Lord has done great things for us. We are glad. Restore our fortunes oh Lord, like streams in the desert. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy bringing his harvest with him. This is what You do Father. You restore, You rescue, You write a new ending to our story. And we are stunned by Your goodness and we laugh. We shout with joy and we worship You for Your goodness. And may we reflect that goodness. May we be agents of that goodness in the world. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. And, so, there are several things going on.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box is going on. Those are available and full of goodie - some stuff you’ll want to keep for yourself, some stuff that you will want to give away. And you can check all that out it dailyaudiobible.com in the shop, in the Christmas section. And they’re going fast, as they always do. So, check it out while we still have them.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards are also available. I mean, there are Christmas cards in the Christmas Box, but you get the Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards individually as well. They come in packs of 20 with the associated envelopes. We make them new every year. And they’re just Christmas cards. So, they’re not like Daily Audio Bible commercials or anything like that. The only thing that says Daily Audio Bible on it is on the back, like where you would find the brand, like Hallmark or whatever. So, you get a beautiful passage from the Gospel of Luke about the coming of Jesus and the rest is blank for you to write to whoever you are writing too. We think this is a great opportunity to invite those that you are closest to, those that you love, to take the journey through the Scriptures in community with you next year. So, we’ve got these. They’re $4.99. So, $5 for 20 cards. You probably can’t beat that. And they’re beautiful. And you can see them in the Daily Audio Bible shop, in the Christmas section as well.

Then, I’ve mentioned, we’re taking the holiday greeting calls now for the annual Daily Audio Bible family charisma’s party. And there’s not a lot of rules about this. You call in your holiday greeting. You just use the prayer line, any of the prayer lines from around the world. The only rule about it is, don’t combine your holiday greeting with a prayer request. Make that separate. So, you can call them and now and we’ll do that for several more days and then we’ll start putting this all together.

The other thing is the More Gathering for women. Early registration has opened for that. It will last until the end of the year. And gives us the chance to out make the conferences economical as possible. And it also happens to make for a very unique gift for your wife, for your sister, for your daughter, for the one that’s in your life that happens to be a woman, because the More Gathering is our annual women’s conference. So, check that out as well. You can find that at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. And all of the details that you would need to know or even want to know are there. And it has never been anything short of a wonderful experience. So, we’re looking forward to that this spring.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link, it’s on the homepage. And I thank you with all of my heart for your partnership here as we approach the end of the year. If you prefer the mail, 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 Requests and Praise Reports:

Good morning everybody. Happy weekend DAB. Brian, I am so blessed by the reading you just did on December 1^st. It was so timely with all the things I’ve been praying about and, honestly, it’s been a season of lamentation, but God has just been so present and comforting and He’s blessed me so much about what I’ve been learning about myself, about our place in this world, and just about the tension in waiting for the King to come and knowing that we are part of the Kingdom already. It’s so amazing. But that word that you said afterward about that fear of disappearing has been something that I have been struggling through, processing lately, as a black woman in so many white spaces. Even out here in the mission field, being in the Jordy White ministry, it’s been a really important thing to struggle through as I’m learning about my identity and being pushed more and more to find my identity in Christ and not let all the craziness in the world drive me away from God and all the craziness in the church, honestly, with silence and so many arguments and misunderstandings. It’s really a great battleground for the enemy to try to pull people of God away from the Lord through the difficulty and the challenge of…

Good morning DAB. Happy 2^nd day of Advent today. The patient Lord is coming, save us all. And I just thought to call in about an article I looked up in the week. I was writing CVs and I just go the sense I needed to recoup, readjust my perspective, on who God called me to be and who God says I am, rather than what I’m writing in CVs or cover letters to jobs and writing applications for work. I just thought I’d share some with you, those of you who have been discouraged on who they are in Jesus. So, the first one is, I’m a child of God. Second, I’m a branch of the true vine and a conduit of Christ’s life. I’m a friend of Jesus. I’ve been justified and redeemed. My old self was crucified with Christ and I am no longer a slave to sin. I will not be condemned by God. I accept being set free from the law and in death. As a child of God, I’m a fellow heir with Christ. I have been accepted by Christ. I’ve been called to be a saint. In Christ Jesus, I have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in me. I am joined to the Lord and I am one Spirit with Him. God leads me in triumph, knowledge of Christ. The hardening of my heart has been removed in Christ. I am a new creature in Christ. I have become the righteousness of God in Christ. I have been made one with all who are in Christ Jesus. I am no longer a slave but a child and an heir. I’ve been set free in Christ. I’ve been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place. I am chosen, holy, and blameless before God. I am redeemed and forgiven by the grace of Christ. I’ve been preserved…

Good morning DABbers. I’m a burning bush that will not be devoured for the glory of our God and King.  Family, thank you all for your prayers. My mother was in the hospital for two weeks and she couldn’t move her body. She has a lot going on. She’s battling cancer. They thought she had fluid on her brain and she had not moved herself out of her bed for…I’d say…approximately…two to three months. And praise God for answered prayers the week before thanksgiving…I think it was a Thursday night…or Wednesday…Thursday night. She just sat up in the bed, praise God, she sat up in the bed. I went and held her hand and she said, your hands are cold. And She wasn’t speaking prior to that so, praise God for healing. Thank you all for praying for her. Right now she’s in a rehabilitation center. She’s been in there for about a week and she’s getting better each day and I just praise God for a miraculous healing of my 83-year-old mother. There’s nothing impossible for God. He can do all things. He can do it beyond our expectations. I just wanted to give that praise report. I love you guys. Bye.

Hey. Good morning DAB family. To Be a Blessing in Northern California calling. Just wanted to ask for your prayers for a friend of mine. She was coming from a family party on Saturday, December 2^nd, with her mother, her elderly mother. And her mother had some ___. She was experiencing some dementia. Typically, they hold hands when they are walking together outside and somehow, my friend got distracted, she wasn’t holding her mother’s hand, and someone came speeding along, hit her, and killed her. So, please keep my friend in prayer. Her name is Alley. It was a hit and run. So, we need to find this person who did this horrific crime. So, please pray for justice as well. I know that God draws near to the broken hearted. His promises are sure. But the pain that I am feeling for her is just so deep. And I know that the pain that she is experiencing has no name. Thank you for your prayerful support. God bless you today. Bye-bye.

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

Today is the 6^th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today, right here in the middle of the week, all ready to take the next step forward. And I’ve got my routine going. So, I’ve my Wind Farm coffee to my left and the microphone, of course, right in front of me, and off we go. So, we began Hosea yesterday. We’ll begin second John today and we’ll talk about that in a few minutes, but first, we’re reading from the English Standard Version this week. Hosea chapter 4 verse 1 through 5:15

Second John:

Okay. So, coming quickly on the heels of John’s first letter, which is fairly short, is second John, the second epistle of John, written shortly after he wrote his first letter and probably to the same people he wrote the first letter to. And this letter was possibly written from Ephesus, where tradition holds that John spent the latter years of his life and was written to encourage and strengthen the church against the false doctrine that was so pervasive around them and to remind them that they needed to guard themselves against these false doctrines and live in truth and love, in contrast to these false teachings. So, similar themes to what we just went through in first John. And there’s no shortage of this today. There’s plenty of things out there to seduce us and it’s very important that we walk in truth and in love, guarding ourselves as we deepen our relationship with Jesus and carry the gospel forward into this world. And, so, we begin. Second John chapter 1.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we read the entirety of second John today. It’s pretty short. It’s more of a note than a letter. And it’s addressed to the elect lady and her children. So, we can only surmise that that means, like, another fellowship and the people that are in that fellowship. So, we don’t know if he’s using the elect lady and her children as a term of endearment or like a code or what, but he’s basically just reiterating what was going on in the first letter, which is a teaching that apparently is coming from people who were once in the fellowship, but who have walked away and rejected Jesus. John is basically warning against that by reminding them, if you have Jesus then you have God, but you can’t have one without the other and that this was the teaching from the beginning. Right? So, if you’re confused, go back to what you were told from the beginning. That hasn’t changed, that hasn’t wavered. And that if we’re going to live in Christ, then we have to obey his commandments and that begins with love. And we can see that things have progressed a bit between the first letter and the second letter about this person who is become an apostate or these people who have become anti-Christ’s because at this point he’s saying, you don’t, you shouldn’t even be around these people. John says, you shouldn’t receive him into your house or give him any greeting. So, him, that could be a specific person or it could be anyone who’s in this camp. And the teaching that is so problematic for John is that people are saying Jesus didn’t come in the flesh. And that is being utterly refuted by John. So, the main point of this letter, we can find beginning at verse nine and it’s essentially what he’s already instructed. ‘Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive them into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.’ So, things have progressed to that point. And tomorrow we will read third John.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You. We thank You for all the tapestry that Your word is, how it touches every point of our existence in every conceivable way. And how You continue to enrich us and grow us up through Your word. And, so, we’re grateful, as we are every day and we invite Your Holy Spirit to continue to lead us into all truth. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

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

So, I mentioned yesterday about the Daily Audio Bible family Christmas, which is kind of our annual Christmas party as a community. And in it, we hear each other’s greetings to one another all over the world and we read through the Christmas story together. And Jill and I, we have a conversation just looking back at the year, looking forward to the new year. And, so, you can call in your Christmas greetings now. And the way that you do that is just to use the prayer line 877-942-4253. And the only rule about that is don’t call a holiday greeting in mixed with a prayer request. If you have a holiday greeting, then call that in. And if you also have something going on that you want your brothers and sisters to walk through with you, call that in separately. But for the next few days we’ll be taking those calls. So, get them in and then we’ll start putting it together. And we’ll have our Christmas party in a couple weeks.

The other thing that is going…well…the other things that are going on are the Daily Audio Bible annual Christmas Box is available. And it’s full of resources, some that you’ll want to keep for yourself, some that you’ll want to give away. That’s the magic of it, you get to choose. So, that’s available at dailyaudiobible.com in the shop, in the Christmas category.

We also have the Daily Audio Bible journals and all of the writing, the Black Wing pencils, and all of the writing paraphernalia that goes with that. And we’ve got some great bundles that make for really wonderful Christmas gifts. So, you can find those in the Daily Audio Bible shop in the Lifestyle category.

And then, lastly, early registration for the More Gathering, our annual women’s conference, that will take place in April, is open. You can find that in the Initiatives section of the website. All of the details are there. So, we’re praying and looking forward to that happening this spring as new life begins to spring forth. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, here in the last weeks of the year, thank you, humbly and profoundly for your partnership. There’s a link that’s on the homepage. 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, or right now, also a holiday greeting, 877-942-4253 is the number to call.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Good morning from beautiful Cincinnati Ohio. This is Daniel J. Jr.

11 more months completed, one more month to go
A year almost gone, yet 31 more days to grow
A year much hard-pressed, much loss, much grief
Worn out with tears, longing for relief
A year with much joy too, much mercy, much grace
God’s blessings overflowing, days I’d not replace
Much deliverance, so much to rejoice
Love poured out praises to give voice
So a year hard-pressed, much grief, much loss
A month yet ahead to press hard like a boss

God bless you all. God bless us all. Let’s continue to press in hard and let’s see what God has for us this year yet. From beautiful Cincinnati, Ohio this is Daniel J. Jr. Make it a great day.

Good morning DAB family. Today is December 1^st, 2017. This is Patricia from Minnesota. I rarely call but I do listen daily to all of your prayers and lift all of you in your daily prayers. Today I pray that each of you and your loved ones knows that God wants to be with us, that He’s the best and most important part of our lives. Revelations 2:4-5. This month does mark the 4^th year for me listening to the Daily Audio Bible. All glory to God, thanks to the Hardin family and the dedication of staff that daily feed our souls. Thank You Father for this precious gift, in the name of Christ, Jesus, I pray. Amen. Family, today, specifically I pray for my oldest 31 year-old son, Tony. Tony travelled to Las Vegas with a new girlfriend. He has just broken up from a ___ relationship with a strong…a strong woman and felt that there was going to be hope and favor in his life and happiness forever. He just…he recently…Tony recently completed 13 years of court probation and this his first travel out of state. I do pray for Christ to cover him and his girlfriend. I pray that that there’s a strong hedge of protection just around him and that during this travel that he does stay sober, strong, and controlled, because we don’t know this woman. And I pray for…just…for all authorities __ and command…all authorities and forces of evil to depart, right now, away from us, our families, our homes and our lands, and cast __ …

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. This is my first call. I’m going by, Dependent on Him from Iowa. And I’ve been so taken aback by the love and support of this Daily Audio Bible family that I couldn’t help but call with a prayer request because I need prayer. So, family, please, if you would pray for my husband and for my marriage. My husband left me unexpectedly 10 months ago and filed for divorce…like…I don’t know…6 months ago, maybe. I have been fighting for this marriage. I know this marriage. I know God is working in this marriage. My husband had turned from God when he left. So, long story short, family, I need prayer for my husband, that he realize his need for Christ back in his life, that he realize that he cannot heal because my husband has been through so much trauma and tragedy in his life. So much, including the loss of a child, that he cannot…he is not healed from any of this and that he needs Christ and that’s the only way that will heal and that relationship is brought back together again. And then I ask family that you pray that my husband turn his heart, after he turns his heart back to God, that he turn it back to me, his wife, and to our marriage, and to the covenant we made. Now I ask that you pray for me for strength because I love my husband. Not only do I love my husband but I love God so much more and will not give up on this marriage and will not give up on my husband because I made a vow and a promise to God and a covenant in the heavenlies. But I’m tired and it’s painful, and the enemy…

Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Rebecca from Michigan. It is December 1^st. Can you believe that? Anyways, I’m already starting my journey of the Christmas Spirit because yesterday, one of my coworkers got a Christmas tree and put lights on and he said everyone can bring a Christmas ornament and decorate it. And it’s like…it’s like one big family even though we may not see Christmas the same way, maybe. But it’s just so awesome. It put me in the Christmas mood to want to go get Christmas ornaments or decorate or sing Christmas songs. And then I put some of the songs on that I got from DAB and with Brian’s daughter singing the Little Drummer Boy. I love that song. That’s my favorite song of that whole album, is The Little Drummer Boy. But right now my instruments in a repair shop. So, I’m praying it will hurry up and get out so I can play the Little Drummer Boy on my flute. And I put my name in a drawing for a piccolo. So, I’m hoping that I win it, but if I don’t I won’t cry. So, anyways, so far, I just wanted to let you know I’m having an awesome Christmas. The Spirit is kicking in and I’m just really enjoying life lately and I think…I miss the Daily Audio Bible it’s such an addiction because…it’s like…I need you guys…I need this…I the Word poured into me because I remember a colleague that…he like…used bad words and talked over you about people and things…

Hi DAB family. This is Joyce in California. It’s been about a year since I last called to update you. I pray along with each call but because of my schedule I don’t have time to listen to the community prayers. I’m the 4^th year medical student who failed my board exam twice even though I earned honors taking care of actual patients. I learned that my learning system were due to injuries when I was infant. My parents tried to strangle me the day I was born, December 20^th, because I was not the boy that they wanted. My aunt stopped them so I survived. But I was badly abused and neglected thereafter that. I praise God and I forgive my parents because they helped me to understand suffering. God is using all of our brokenness for His glory and restoration. Nothing is too hard for Him. Today is December 1^st and I’m asking my DAB family to lift me up in prayer for the next 30 days, especially on my birthday, December 20^th, because I have struggled with sadness to remember my worst injuries on that day. Thank you for helping me to stand strong and to live out God’s purpose for my life. My board exams will be on December 29^th and 30^th and I’m praying for God’s will to be done, that He will use any outcome for His glory. Family, I admit, I’m really afraid to ask for assistance, so, if you could help me contend for this I would appreciate it so much. I’ve worked so hard and I’ve seen so little improvement and I don’t want to be disappointed in myself of disappoint God, which I know I can’t do, but it just feels that way sometimes, you know? And please pray for focus, proficient study, for rapid recall, wisdom, insight, knowledge and understanding. Please pray for healing of my injuries so I can sleep deeply and consolidate memories efficiently. It would mean so much to me knowing that I am being prayed for. Thank you so much. This is Joyce in California. I love you family.