A Walk Through The Word

Zechariah 10:1-11:17, Revelation 18:1-24, Psalm 146:1-10, Proverbs 30:33

Today is the 27th day of December, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is fantastic to be here with you today, around the Global Campfire as we navigate through this in between week. Such strange week between Christmas and New Year’s, as we move past December, like move past the holiday season, but immediately prepare our hearts to move into a brand-new, sparkly year. And I can think of no better place to be informed about what’s coming next than in the Scriptures in community around the Global Campfire together. So, it is awesome to be here with you today, and let’s take the next step forward together. Our next step leads us back into the book of Zechariah. We’re reading from the New International Version this week and today, Zechariah chapters 10 and 11.

Commentary:

Okay so, we are navigating through this final week of the year together, and I can feel it, I can feel it today and I know it will just increase. I can feel a fresh start coming like I know that a brand-new year is coming and this week between Christmas and New Year’s, this is the time where we begin to think about what that’s gonna look like. Maybe we just renewed our gym membership today, thinking about what the New Year’s gonna look like. This is the time when we think about that or we’re watching video documentaries or reading books on a more healthy lifestyle or a more organic lifestyle or a simpler lifestyle. Maybe the New Year will get here and we’re gonna throw everything away become minimalist. We start thinking about these kinds of things, what’s coming next. Because we know and New Year’s coming. Maybe this is the year where my spouse and I, we finally, like some of these things that we’ve constantly been tripping over, we can finally get past those things and grow together. Maybe I’m gonna get that…that job promotion this year. Interestingly enough, most of the things that we think about that become our New Year’s resolutions, have a lot to do with us and have a lot to do with our exterior lives. So, I just remind us, the same as when we started this journey at the beginning of the year, there is a book in the Bible. It’s called Proverbs and it is full of the voice of wisdom, wisdom that has stood the test of time, wisdom that is at every crossroads. So, at every decision we have to make, wisdom is there, pointing the way, if we’re even paying attention. But Proverbs is a resource that can speak into the interior life that we live. And Proverbs is very accessible. It’s the wisdom that has stood the test of time. In one sentence, often it can tell us where we are, where that’s going to lead us, what we should do about it. Even if we look at the one sentence Proverb that we just read today, there is a ton for us, “for as churning cream produces butter and as twisting the nose produces blood, so stirring up anger produces strife.” So, there are three things that get produced in this Proverb: butter, blood and strife. And it’s not all that complicated to process what’s being said here. We know that churning cream produces butter right, probably. If you didn’t know that that’s where butter comes from. And as twisting the nose produces blood, we’ve probably had a bloody nose in our lives. In the same way, stirring up anger produces strife. So, a fantastic reminder, a good piece of wisdom to carry forward with us, but just think about it. If we’re thinking about New Year’s resolutions, at the top of that list may be to lose 20 pounds and we may have a top 10 things we would like to see accomplished this year, but probably what’s not on that list is, I would like to experience significantly more conflict in the New Year. I would like that to begin in my marriage and then hopefully spill into my family, so that by the end of the year, we have caused so much conflict in our neighborhood that nobody will speak to anyone. That is probably on, no one’s New Year’s resolution list. So, if we want to experience less strife and conflict in our lives, then we have to stir up and participate in less anger. Right, because with the Proverb, the opposite is also true, not churning cream does not produce butter. Butter will not be produced without churning cream. A bloody nose will not be produced, if the nose isn’t twisted or punched or knocked in some sort of way to produce the blood. So, strife and conflict will not be produced, if anger isn’t stirred up. And so, maybe stirring up less anger or finding ways to have less anger stirred up within us might, be just as valuable of a New Year’s resolution as losing 20 pounds is. The Proverbs can give us the wisdom that we need to think about, the things that we need to think about and ask the questions that we need to ask of ourselves. So, I just remind us again of things like Daily Audio Proverb, a couple minutes a day moving through the entire book of Proverbs, every single month, pouring that wisdom into our lives, a dozen times in a year, may be something that we should consider, maybe becoming wise is worth putting on the list.

Prayer:

And so, Father, we thank You once again for Your word and the way that it works in our lives. We thank You for the wisdom that is contained in the book of Proverbs. We thank You for what the book of Proverbs brought into our story and in our lives today. And each of us desire wisdom. Wisdom in life and Your wisdom. And we can come about that the hard way, through the school of hard knocks or we can simply decide I need to immerse myself in wisdom, so that I might learn and become wise and put it into practice. This is our desire, Lord. Lead us on the pathways of righteousness, lead us to be wise sons and daughters of Your kingdom, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website. It’s where we find out what’s going on around here and so certainly check that out. Check out the Community Section. This is where you find the links to get connected on social media and the different channels that we are participating in. It’s also the home of the Prayer Wall, which is a resource for us, here around the Global Campfire that is always available. We can always reach out for prayer; we can always reach back with encouragement and prayers for our brothers and sisters. So, certainly check that out. You find that in the app or on the web.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, here in the remaining days of our year, the few remaining days we have left, thank you deeply and humbly. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, that’s the little red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

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

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hey family, this is Malisa calling from Albertville, Alabama. I just finished the Christmas Party and oh my goodness, so many voices I haven’t heard in a long time. Pamela, from Alberta, you didn’t give your name, but I know it’s you. I heard a sister, Unwavering in North Carolina and I’m wondering if you were Jillian’s mom. I remember praying for her some years ago. She had a brain tumor. If you are, I want you to know, I never stopped praying for that baby. And I welcome you back to the DAB. Brian and Jill, thank you so much. This is so beautiful. It’s amazing how we are a family, yet we’ve never met. And I heard that Pelim passed, and I didn’t even know. I had been sick during the week he passed, and I pulled up his obituary and I saw his face for the first time. I knew his voice, but I never seen his face. So ya’ll, let’s continue to love each other, lift each other up, pray for each other. Again, thank you Brian and Jill and family for this beautiful, beautiful ministry that you’re doing for the body of Christ. I love you family. Bye Bye.

Good morning, this message is for God is With Me. I heard your message yesterday afternoon. It hasn’t been, it’s a little over 12 hours, I believe, since I heard the message, maybe 18. Doesn’t even matter, I felt you then and in my prayer time this morning, I feel you again. My heart goes out to your son and the situation. My prayer is that God would as He heals, as He brings peace, as He delivers, as He eases the pain, brings comfort, just allow His presence to be felt. That He would turn the situation completely around. Expose the enemy for his nonsense and foolishness. And that your family would be a ministry that brings healing, deliverance and comfort to others that don’t know the Christ that you know. I love you. I’m sorry and I will continue to pray for you and with you. I love your moniker, God is With Me, God indeed is with you. This is Pray without Ceasing. Have a good day.

Hey DAB family, this is Byron out in Florida. A lot of you have been calling in to pray for and encourage the father who called in about his son having to go into a program, he’s autistic. And I’ve just been listening to these calls, just thinking and praying. Because I too have a young son who’s moderately autistic and I think about that sort of stuff and what the future my hold. Sometimes his behavior is very difficult to control. We had to recently scrap our Thanksgiving plans at the last minute because we were concerned about people’s safety. And we ended up eating Chinese food and that was fine, but this is when he’s 8 years old. What happens when he hits puberty, what happens when he gets taller than me and stronger than me? I just dread the idea of having to do that. But as I listen to you all praying and encourage and share your own experiences, I get reminded that my son is safer in the will of God, outside of my home, than in my home and outside of His will. And so, I trust that, should that time come, this community will be here to pray and encourage, just as you had for this gentleman and that God’s glory will be seeing, no matter what. So, I just wanna say thank you to everyone who’s has called and encouraged because it’s effecting more than you know. Love you.

Precious greetings to my wonderful DAB family. This is Chicago Peg, and this was my first year enjoying the Christmas Party and just this has been more of a blessing then I even expected. And I just keep listening to each day, different parts of the day, I’ll just turn it on again and hear all of our wonderful family and I’m so touched to hear all the familiar voices, whom I love so much, and we pray together. And I appreciate you so very much. So, God bless each of you. The Hardin family and all my wonderful DABers. And Merry Christmas to each of you. And let us remember as you breath in His grace, breath out His praise. God Bless you DABers. And Chicago Peg, signing off. Talk to you soon.

Dear Beloved Daily Audio Bible family. My name is Tony in Sunny Florida. Calling this first time to unfold the story of how much God has touched, loved, drawn me closer to Him through yet another faceted teaching through the continuing journey of studying the Bible every day through this wonderful platform. I have been comforted immensely through this difficult year of losing my father to pancreatic cancer, a precious pet who was with me for 13 years to cancer, and to my own health concerns, which thankfully, prayers have been answered. This community has been instrumental in strengthening my commitment to my faith, discovery my mission in serving others in whatever circumstance I find myself in, and very importantly, listening to the heartfelt, passionate, honest prayers of this family of believers. What an honor, a privilege, a treasured blessing to be woven into the fibers of love and acceptance here. God bless all of you. May you continue to be in love with our heavenly Father with every breath. Merry Christ’s Birthday and Blessed New Year of hope.

Good morning DAB family, I was just listening this morning on the 22nd, to the prayer requests. The first one was from a man whose son is in an institution and he’s apart from his wife and the second one was a young man who’s struggling in his marriage. He admittedly said he has problems with anger and control Lord. It just really touched my heart to hear these men who are coming to you Lord. I too have been through divorce and it’s not a good thing. And it’s not a good thing for our children. So, Lord, I just pray and ask for You to intervene in these men’s lives. I thank You for them, that they are coming to You, Lord. That they are coming to the foot of the cross, these men. They know that You are the answer, Lord. That You are the one that can help. That You can change things, Lord. That You can change us. That You can change our hearts. That You can make us better people. That You can make our husbands or our wives’ better people, Lord, when we put You first. That we put You at the center of our marriages, at the center of our homes, at the head of the home. Lord God, help, help these men. Help them, let their wives, let their wives hear Your voice speaking to them, let their wives not be proud and full of spite, Lord. But let them turn to you, Lord, and forgive and that You bring complete reconciliation and heal this young mans son, who’s in an institution right now, Lord God. Just bring healing there. Father, just really touch my heart and I just really pray for them and ask for You to do something, Lord. Cause You are greater than all these things. You are the great and mighty God. Amen.

Revelation Deep Dive - Part 9

Okay, so, in the book of Revelation, we witnessed the fall and destruction of Babylon, in today’s reading. And again, as I’ve been saying like a broken record, we have to decide how we’re gonna look at this. Mostly why bring that up today has to do with time. When we started the book of Revelation, we talked about time. Like when is this happening, where is this happening, how all of these questions that come up? And you can read the book of Revelation from front to back, as a linear book and go, well, this happens, then this happens, then this, then this, then this, because it’s all in order. While many scholars would point out, this is probably the order that John saw things in but that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the order in which they will occur, which is completely valid. And to pour some more vegetables into that stew and stir it around, a very generous portion of the scholarship on the book of Revelation identifies the fact that it’s cyclical and a lot of confusion arises trying to read it linear, because it feels like we’re jumping all over the place and it’s hard to grasp the flow of time. But if you’re reading from a cyclical perspective, you begin to realize that you’re reading the same story from different perspectives, several times. So, we read of the judgment and destruction of Babylon. But Babylon has been a theme that we’ve been kind of traveling with throughout the book of Revelation. And we’ve looked at literal views of it, we’ve looked at historical views of it. We’ve looked allegorical views of it. We’ve looked at futuristic views of it. Presentence views of it and have come to realize that we have to, we have to at least in part be willing to look figuratively. And so, Babylon figuratively represents ancient Rome likely from the perspective of John, the writer in the time that John was writing in, but more broadly it represents an entire world system of evil that is, that is set on total domination and control, so that the evil one can make an attempt at establishing sovereignty of some sort and attempt to battle with God. So, figuratively what we read today is the judgment of the entire system. The façade of this world system is exposed, for the façade that it is, and its underpinnings are exposed. The skeleton is exposed and at the core there is only evil. The serpent, the evil one has been guiding this all along. And in this judgment, it is completely exposed. Then another angel from heaven calls God’s people out, come out of Babylon my people so that you do not participate in her sins and suffer from any of her plagues. This is patterned after Isaiah’s prophecy in the 48th chapter, in the 52nd chapter, but also from Jeremiah, where we’re told in the 51st chapter, come forth from her midst my people. And since we’re talking figuratively, we’re not talking about God’s people fleeing a city, like literally fleeing from a city to try to hide somewhere else. Rather, this is a call to not participate in the sins that brought, like the evil that brought the whole thing down, don’t participate in any of that. Which doesn’t mean don’t go to the grocery store to buy groceries, don’t buy clothes, like don’t participate in the economy, like that’s not what’s being said here. This is a spiritual thing. Do not get involved with the darkness. It is being exposed. It is being judged. It is being done away with. Don’t find yourself in that camp. This understanding goes all the way back to the church fathers. And it’s been pointed out that this is likely a parallel or a reference to clean and unclean, a concept that’s introduced in the Torah and that follows throughout the entire Bible. So, although this is and I’m speaking in reference to physical cleanness and uncleanness by the Torah, this is talking about the same thing, spiritually. Get away from what is unclean, don’t touch it, don’t make yourself unclean, don’t disqualify yourself, stay away from it. Stay away from evil altogether. And then judgment comes and it affects everything. The great and powerful who had participated with Babylon, who had participated in this darkness, who had grown rich because of it, who had found fame and prestige because of it. They’re all standing back watching the whole thing fall apart and they lament because of the implications. It’s gonna affect them so profoundly. And God’s people are invited to rejoice over this, not in an arrogant or insensitive way, but rather this system of udder evil that had dominated and had done everything conceivable to stamp out the gospel and the witness, the lampstands, from the earth. To do away with God’s people completely, has failed. Evil has been judged and those who have given themselves in worship to evil, who have given themselves over to the, to the dark side have no power to come against God’s people any longer. And that’s where we end up today.

Prayer:

So, Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for the way that it speaks to us, the way that it unsettles us, the way that it stir things, stirs things up with in us, the way that it comforts us and directs and guides our steps. It's…it touches everything about us, and we thank You for the gift of it. And we invite Your Holy Spirit to plant these words deep in our lives. Help us to hold onto the hope that Babylon will fall, that evil will be eradicated from our…our experience ultimately. And help us to stay true and keep the light burning. And Father, part of that is certainly not stirring up anger that produces a fight for no reason. It is sure to happen, just like churning milk or punching a nose. So, we take that to heart as well as we move forward. Help us to remember the Proverb that tells us a gentle answer turns away wrath. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus name. Amen.

Thanks for reaching out. Part 7 was aired on the 23rd of December. The transcript was just updated to include Brian’s deep dive commentary. You should see it there now.

Zechariah 9:1-17, Revelation 17:1-18, Psalms 145:1-21, Proverbs 30:32

Today is the 26^th day of the December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you one day post-Christmas. How’s everybody recovering? I hope all is well and that the lingering joy that Christmas brings is just like this mist all around you as we continue to enjoy the glow that Christmas is and brings, and that the hope of Christmas is more real than ever. And I guess I also hope that you find some good deals if you’re going shopping. But for and how here we are around the Global Campfire one day post-Christmas coming together all over the world as we have done every day this year to take the next step forward together because there is only one way to go and that is forward and it’s best to do it together. And, so, let’s dive in and take the next step for together which leads us right to that place where we left off yesterday and that would be back in the book of Zechariah. Today, Zechariah chapter 9.

Commentary:

Okay. So, it is the day after Christmas and likely it’s been a busy month. It certainly has been around here in the rolling hills of Tennessee. So, we get like one day past Christmas and there’s still festivities, but we know that Christmas has passed us and so now it’s like cleanup time and maybe some shopping on some deals or to make some exchanges of that sort of thing. We may have had a feast yesterday. We probably had a feast yesterday. And, so, we’re either still really full or it’s leftovers today. Nobody’s gonna be doing the cooking. But some of those day-after Christmas feasts are the best. and maybe it’s time to start thinking about getting back on the plane and going back to our city and back to our home or getting back in the car and driving those hours back to where we live or maybe we hosted everybody and that’s what’s being thought of by everyone else. It’s time to move forward. And we know that. The day after Christmas we move into that, but we know that it’s time to begin to move forward. And, so, over the course of these next several days, this in between week is such an interesting week between Christmas and New Year’s because the disruption of the month of December is still there, like the flow of things, the rhythm of things is still a little bit different. Even if we’re going back to work it’s still a little bit different and we begin to start thinking, wow, this year…this year is almost in the history books. Just a few days left and then we start thinking about next year and what that might look like. And invariably that gets us to setting some goals that we end up calling New Year’s resolutions because there are things, although we have grown this year, there are things in our lives that we look at and think, I can do better. Like, I can handle these situations better or I need to take better care of myself. I want to have a lot many more experiences of Christmas. And, so, into the time of the year that we’re in drops Proverbs today offering us some advice not only for kind of navigating through this week, but as we’re thinking about a fresh start in a fresh ear what that’s gonna look like. And Proverbs speaks to us. If you’ve been foolish and arrogant, if you’ve been scheming put your hand to your mouth. This may feel fairly immediate. We’ve been through Christmas week. We’ve been disrupted and we’ve been around people that we’re probably not around on a daily basis. It’s pretty hard to imagine that we have not seen pride or foolishness or arrogance or even scheming. It wouldn’t be unusual if we haven’t gotten trapped on the corner of a couch listening to a conversation that we don’t necessarily want to be in because it’s a one-sided conversation where we’re getting a huge offload of pride and arrogance or a huge helping of opinion, or maybe…maybe…maybe we’ve offered that unsolicited. What Proverbs is telling us is put your hand to your mouth. In other words, kind of enough with the foolishness. That’s not going to get us anywhere. That's…that’s like in a false way trying to puff ourselves up to be larger and bigger and more dominant than we actually are. But the thing is it’s not true. It's…it’s inflated. It's…it’s puffed up. And, so, we can hear the words from Proverbs and go, put my head on my mouth. Who are you to tell me? Even though it’s the voice of wisdom. We can bristle at that. It seems like, confrontational, especially the day after Christmas. But confrontational as it might be, it’s only confrontational if we need to be confronted. And inside of what we’re being told is a beautiful freedom and that is that we are enough, and we don’t need to falsely inflate ourselves and make fools of ourselves. We can put our hands over our mouth and remember that we don’t have to be anybody else besides who we are. And who we are children of God, which invites us to think about why were…what…what…what are we trying to measure up to when we go down those roads when we puff ourselves up, when we act foolishly, when we’re arrogant and we’re scheming? What is that about? Because if there’s one thing that we’ve learned in the Scriptures is that the truth will set us free, and the truth does matter. And we went through the Gospels, and we watched our Savior be true. We have examples for what it looks like. Wouldn’t it free us if we didn’t have any pressure to be anything but what we are? Wouldn’t it be freeing to be true? And although we may need to lose a few pounds in the coming year and get more healthier or although we may need to make any number of changes and set any number of goals, wouldn’t a foundational principle or goal for our new year be to be true? And, so, as we take this first step forward beyond Christmas and we begin to start to think about what’s coming next for us let’s remember this today. Let’s remember what the proverb is telling us and let’s remember that we are invited, and it is necessary that we be true.

Prayer:

Father, we love you. We thank you for bringing us here. We’re still kind of glowing from Christmas. We’re also kinda tired from it all and this is a time where we begin to think about what comes next and we invite your Holy Spirit into that. Reveal to us in each of our contexts in each of our stories what the next steps are, how it is that we step into the new year together with you. We love you. We trust you. We have asked nearly every day that you would lead us into all truth, and so we ask that, and we ask you to give us a picture of what it might look like if we had nothing to hide, if we were true and the freedom that that would bring. We pray this in the mighty and precious name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, that is the website, and that us where you can find out what’s going on around here. The Daily Audio Bible app will do that as well and you can get the app free from whatever app store works with your device, Just look for Daily Audio Bible and you should find it, be able to download that, get all set up to take the journey in the new year and keep track of your progress and all kinds of stuff. Check it out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here in the final days of the year, thank you profoundly, thank you with all humility. The Global Campfire is us, and it wouldn’t be here if us weren’t here if we weren’t here in this together. And, so, thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you are using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app. That’s the little red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

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:

Hi Daily Audio Bible family and friends this is a Girl After God’s heart. I am calling in to pray for the dad whose son has autism and he had to place him with the state. My…my dear brother I just…I wanted you to know that you have been on my mind since you called in and I was reminded again today by the prayers of others that I needed to call in and pray for you specifically as well as pray for all of the people that I know who are raising children with special needs. I am a special education teacher of…of severe children those with more challenging…those with more challenging diagnosis. And at any rate, I have met with so many parents over the years and myself being one, a parent of children with special needs, people with specifically developing children sometimes don’t understand exactly how hard it is and raising a child with special needs whether it be ADHD, autism, down syndrome, mental health issues, any of those kind of things can be so very difficult. And sometimes we feel very alone in this world and as if nobody understands. But what I have learned over the years is that we are not alone. We’re not alone on this journey at all. And, so, I just wanted to let you know that I am praying for you and I wanted to lift you up right now. Father God, bless this son and bless his father. Lord, lead them in the path of righteousness for your namesake. Give them peace that passes all understanding Father. Direct their paths to You. In Your son’s name I pray. Amen.

This is Spunky from snowy Michigan calling in a prayer request for the first time. I have been with my employer for three years. In October my manager left and the new one is a challenge to work with. In November she hired her friend, my replacement. It is clear that I need to find other employment and I just ask for your prayers as I do that. Medical insurance is a must for me as my spouse is self-employed. I do lack good references and interview skills. Pray for clear direction for me in my next steps. Thank you.

Hi everybody it’s Susan from Canada God’s Yellow Flower calling, and I’ve been listening to the family Christmas party. I love it, love it, love it. But you know what I…I…I want to lift up in prayer, Sampson Ellis, and all the men and women incarcerated for one thing or another rightly or wrongly. I worked with people who had been in prison for…for 10 years before I retired. And actually I married one. We were married for 18 wonderful years. So, anyways I just want to lift you guys up, guys and gals. I know this is a very difficult season for you. So, Lord God I just lift up all our incarcerated family that need Your presence in their life right now. Help them to remember that Christmas is Your day, where we celebrate Your birth. And I pray a new birth in each and every one of them as they seek Your face Lord God and seek Your wisdom for their life. Be the joy that they need in their hearts, the hope they need in their lives. In Jesus’ precious and holy name, I pray. Amen.

Good morning family it’s Marylynn in New Brunswick and I’m calling just to kind of add a tag line to Rockhound in Georgia. I listened to you and your encouragement for People on the Water on the community prayer and encouragement for December the 17^th. And it was so funny because as you were talking about changing locations and following your husband while he’s driving RV and you’re in the personal vehicle. I knew that feeling because while he didn’t…my husband doesn’t drive an RV we both drive motorcycles. And many times, during the summer we will take a road trip together. And one of my biggest pet peeves is when a car will get between us because we like to drive a safe distance between each other. I don’t…I don’t drive abreast like some drivers do because I’m just not confident enough of my own ability. But many many many times we have gotten into a situation where we have 1, 2, maybe 3 cars in between us and I know that anxiety. I can’t see him. And it…and it causes me to make really bad judgment sometimes. I almost had a wreck two summers ago because of that very thing. I couldn’t see him and a car pulled in between us and then another car was backing out and that car in front of me stopped to let him out and I almost rear-ended both of them. Anyway, I'm…I’m telling you all this to say this. Your point was smack on for us to keep our eyes ahead, but you know what I learned is that my husband loves me so much that when he sees that I can’t see him he slows down, sometimes he even pulls over and waits for me. And if I don’t come just when he thinks I should he turns around and he comes and gets me. So, I see Jesus doing that for you People on the Water. So…

Merry Christmas DAB family this is your…your sister Julie and I’m asking you for prayer for my coworker and friend’s daughter Kaylee who has been found in Mazatlán. She’s been under arrest by the government and she is been caught up in…it’s just a tough prayer. I’m sorry. I…it…she’s been caught up in human trafficking and she's…she’s alive but we’re not quite sure how everything’s going to turn out. So, I’m just praying that you would ask for a hedge of protection around her and that a Father would deliver her from this evil that’s going against her right now and that her mom will be able to bring her home safely and that our government would also help at the same time do the right thing to bring her home safely. And it’s just…it’s just really hard for her and it would be really awesome if God could just do a miracle and bring her home safely. So, family, I knew that you guys would be on the horn and that you would pray with me in her deliverance from this evil and to bring her home safely. So, thank you. I love you all and I’m praying for you all. December 20^th’s prayers were hard, but I know that God is on the throne and He is in control and as long as He’s in control we have nothing to worry about. I love you. Have a blessed Christmas in Jesus’ name. This is your sister Julie. Have a great day. Bye.

Hi, this is Scott Campbell from Olean NY. I like to wish all…everybody from the Daily Audio Bible a Merry Christmas and a happy new year. And happy birthday Jesus. I’m glad it’s Christmas.

They surely can. They can be found right here. Wasn’t able to post them until the 24th. Enjoy!

Zechariah 8:1-23, Revelation 16:1-21, Psalm 144:1-15, Proverbs 30:29-31

Today is the 25th day of December, also known as Christmas day, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is great to be here with you. We have taken this journey from the beginning of the year all the way to this day and this day marks the turn of human history. This day marks the arrival of the Savior of the world and there is nowhere that I’d rather be to celebrate this than here with you, around the Global Campfire Merry Christmas everybody.

Merry Christmas everybody. It is so wonderful to reach this point every year, in this most holy day and this most beautiful day of celebration and the fact that no matter where we are in the world, we can celebrate it together here. And I trust that wherever you are the peace of Christ descends upon you filling your heart with joy and filling the world with joy. And I’m glad even on this Christmas day we can gather together and move forward together and take the next step forward together in the Scriptures. So, let’s dive in. We obviously are picking up where we left off, no matter what day it is or what holiday it is, and we have been moving our way this week, through the book of Zechariah. And we will continue to move our way through the book of Zechariah, today and tomorrow and all the way up until a couple of days before the end of the year. Today, Zechariah chapter 8.

Commentary:

Okay, so obviously it’s hard to ignore and hard to miss that today is Christmas day and we are celebrating all over the world, the arrival of the Savior. And this is a passage of Scripture that I have read every Christmas day, well, this would be the 17th time in a row, 17th Christmas, reading these passages. And all of the while, I’ve read these passages and thought, man I wish we had a manger scene, like I wish we had the postcard Christmas reading but this is what comes up. And so often, I’ve thought, this is and all that encouraging for Christmas day, but I really enjoyed what we read in Zechariah today. Just hearing from the Lord and I quote from Zechariah, God speaking here, “I care passionately about Zion, I burn with passion for her. The Lord proclaims I have returned to Zion. I will settle in Jerusalem. Jerusalem will be called the city of truth, the mountain of the Lord of heavenly forces will be the holy mountain. Old men and old women will again dwell in the plazas of Jerusalem, the city will be full of boys and girls gathering in its plazas. Even though it may seem to be a miracle for the few remaining among his people in these days, should it seem to be a miracle for me, says the Lord of heavenly forces. I’m about to deliver my people from the land of the East and the West and I’ll bring them back, so they will dwell in Jerusalem, they will be My people and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness.” Just one more time where we get to see that God, no matter what happens, will not relent and surrender what He loves, His treasure, His people. And if Christmas day doesn’t tell us anything else, it has to tell us that, the lengths He’s been willing to go to. Not only to get our attention, but to capture our hearts because He loves us so much. And yet, with all of that I end up generally speaking, pretty much every year at some point during Christmas day listless. There’s like nothing that makes it happen, it just kind of comes blowing in, it is like all of the joy, all of the celebration, all of the gifts, all of the smiles, all of the laughter, all of the joy of the kids. Like a whole month of preparation for the day and maybe that’s part of it, all of this preparation and then it comes and goes and then you wake up and it’s over and it came and went so fast. I think that's…that’s part of it, but then there’s like the reading from…from Revelation today, wrath and judgment in bolts being poured out on the earth, really awful things and it just doesn’t feel like Christmas. And it took many, many years where I just really trying to reconcile the baby Jesus. And then this…this Jesus of judgment in the book of Revelation. Until one year, it just really hit me, this is the same Jesus and how does that work when Jesus came to earth, helpless, but He didn’t grow up and stay helpless. He grew up and rescued the world in udder humility. And then we read in Revelation about an all grown up Jesus who is the all-powerful One, who has come back to earth to eradicate evil like, to destroy the things that are destroying human beings, to eradicate from the world the things that are destroying and consuming His people. And so, over the years I’ve read through the book of Revelation many times and read through this passage on Christmas day, many times. And I’ve begun to realize, this is what He was coming to do. Whether as a little baby or as the resurrected Christ. He’s not mad at people, He’s very mad about the things that destroy people. And very mad about people being willing to participate in things that will not only destroy them but everyone around them. And we hate death. I hate death. I have been touched by it. I hate it, on a day like today. I miss my mom and dad enough to start crying right now just talking about it. I hate that death has separated us. But I love that they are hidden away with Christ in God. I love it that they are with Jesus on this Christmas day, and I love it that His coming, His arrival for us is hope that no goodbye is forever. And what we see happening in Revelation is the destruction of the destroyer, the destruction of the whole system that is kept mankind in bondage, telling us that in the end He will and reign for ever and ever and ever. I want that, I want to see that, I want to be there. I want to see the judgment on death. That death has no more sting, that grave has no more victory, that things that destroy us no longer exist and are no longer categories. And it seems to me as we read the Scriptures, we can love the baby Jesus, but if we want the ultimate victory, we need the warrior risen Christ, who will not put up with evil another minute. And so, we find ourselves in the in between. And I think that is what blows in upon me during Christmas week, during Christmas day. Some people call it the blues, the Christmas blues. That sort of tinge of, I guess almost depression, the blues. I’ve learned that really at its core that feeling at least for me is longing. No matter how we prepare, no matter how much we work, no matter how much joy that we can conjure on Christmas day, we still know that it’s not perfect and no matter how close to perfection we can get, it comes and goes so quickly. And then we got to think about going back to regular life. And there’s longing in that, we want to stay in this place of rejoicing and goodwill toward men and hope. But the work is not yet complete. Time is not full. So, we are here in the chaos of this world as witnesses, or as lights in the darkness, and we endure along with God in His patience, in His love for everyone, that all might know. And we’re invited to collaborate in being a light or a city on a hill or the salt of the earth, we’re not just here helplessly hoping to hide out and wait. We have a very visible role to play in drawing people to Lord. So, I expect that this longing that some of us may feel, is not unlike the longing of those who were waiting for the arrival of the Savior in the first place, wondering when things are going to change, wondering when there will be hope again, wondering when God will come with his mighty power and restore things. And then almost as if in secret, He came and did just that. And we are longing for His return when everything will be back together again. And so, if you end up feeling like that and I know like, I’m talking to brothers and sisters around the Global Campfire, around the world. And so, for some of you there is nobody else, here spending Christmas day by yourself and us being able to spend time together as a community. This is a bright spot in that day, but maybe you’re lonely or maybe there are missing people at the table this year that were there last year or maybe there were relationships that you had last year that you don’t have now, and things look quite different. Or maybe there are new additions around the table this year that are joyful and full of celebration. We’ve got a couple a little baby granddaughters who are just walking and running around and that is, that is about, that is about as close to pure joy as I can get to right now. But regardless of the scenario, if you find a point in your heart where you’re like my feelings do not match the festivities of what is going on. This is a very wonderful celebration, and I am feeling a little off from that feeling. Look inside your heart. We were made for things to be right, and we know they are not right, and we long for them to be put back together and we hope in the Savior for that to happen. And although it is happening. It has not reached its completion. But the further that we walk with Jesus, the more we can see the contrast between His hope for humanity and what we’ve made of this place. We long for restoration. And I have realized that is part of Christmas. The celebration isn’t just because He came, the celebration is that He came and changed everything, and He is coming again. So, if you feel little off at some point today, rest in that, this is the soul crying out to be made whole and the awareness that we cannot make anything perfect on our own. So, may we hope in this child born and laid in a feeding trough from livestock, in the lowliest state in a cave. He’s not a little baby anymore. And if Revelation is indicating anything, it’s indicating that He is not weak or timid. He is our Savior. He is within us. He will never leave or forsake us and one day He will return and make all things new again. Merry Christmas everybody, Merry Christmas. May the joy of the Lord be your strength, may the peace of Christ be with you always. Amen.

Zechariah 6:1-7:14, Revelation 15:1-8, Psalms 143:1-12, Proverbs 30:24-28

Today is the 24^th day of the December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it is wonderful to be here around the Global Campfire with you today on this Christmas eve. Ahh, it’s like…it seemed so far in the distance that we would arrive here when we began this journey at the beginning of the year. It felt like we…we just move through Christmas that’s a long long long way off, but day by day step by step around the Global Campfire we have navigated here again to Christmas eve another time and we are grateful Lord that you have brought us here to this point in the year and to this point in the Scriptures. And our next step forward in the Scriptures leads us back into the book of Zechariah. Today, Zechariah chapters 6 and 7.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for Christmas. And here we are. This evening may bring candlelight services or staying up till past midnight to bring in Christmas or any…any number of traditions that we have. We thank you for bringing us together, close together with family again, with friends again. And hopefully much of the labor is complete, we don’t have to stay up all night wrapping presents. But whether we do or whether we don’t Lord, may it be beautiful to you. May our hearts be open to you. May the gifts that we give represent the gift that you are and may we give the gift of our presence to one another, just being together without agendas. Help us learn to obey what we read of in Zechariah today. Help us to make just and faithful decisions, to show kindness and compassion to each other. We need this reminder, and we need to heed it. May the beauty of this season descend upon us and fill us with joy all over the world. Joy to the world the Lord has come. Thank you for that. Thank you for coming. We love you. We rejoice in you. We are lost without you, but we’re not without you. You have not withheld yourself from us. You have heaped gifts upon us every day of our lives and we reach to you with gratitude and return the only gift that we have, our hearts. We love you and we celebrate you and we pray this in your name, the name above all names, the name of Jesus. Amen.

Song:

Silent Night

Deep dive into the book of Revelation:

Part 8

Okay. So, we read from Revelation chapter 15 today and what we read is actually a transition into what’s coming next. And at this point I’m gonna try to start zooming us out toward the major themes that arise in the rest of this book because we’ve spent substantial time together, you know, kind of diving into some of the minutia, which is so interesting because what we’ve talked about in the book of Revelation since we started this year is probably less than 5% about what scholars and interpreters and theologians and translators and anthropologists have to say. And we’ve been doing that in part to just simply acknowledge the complexities of interpretation of the book of Revelation. It’s easy enough to say, well in the end, Jesus wins that’s all I need to know about the book of Revelation. And yes, God having the final say in bringing His kingdom to the world is certainly good news. But this book wasn’t written just to give that assurance. This book was to remind believers to endure and stay true until the very end and that’s something that the book of Revelation will not allow us to forget and it’s very important that we do not forget it. But along with that comes a lot of symbolism and statements that have been interpreted in very diverse ways. And these diverse theological understandings have been so influential that entire denominations of Christian believers have formed around them. And at the Daily Audio Bible we’re all over the map, like literally all over the map geographically, but we’re also all over the map in the kind of church that we go to, the kind of understandings that we have. So, I’m trying to get behind all of that and look at some of the main ways that this book has been looked at. But I think we’ve gone into it sufficiently enough to know, okay, this has actually been looked at a number of ways and here are some of the main ways so that we can zoom out a little bit because it can certainly get a bit tedious. So, we began our reading today with something spectacular and amazing, another sign in heaven, and seven plagues that are the final expression of God’s anger. So, were told what’s going to happen and then John sees what looks to be a sea of glass mixed with fire and everyone who was victorious, everyone who stayed true, kept their witness, kept their light burning standing on this sea. What…what an amazing sight to see. And they’re standing on the glassy sea, which, you know, so they’re…they’re walking on water as it were, which may be an allusion to Jesus doing the same thing. And these people are holding God’s harps and singing something interesting. They’re singing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. So, we begin to see clearly Exodus imagery, the imagery when the children of Israel left Egypt and went into the wilderness in order to attain the promised land. And that imagery snaps a bunch of things into place by paralleling God’s judgment by sending plagues upon Egypt in order to force them to relent, acknowledge God, and set His people free. And in like fashion we begin to see that this is kind of the pattern God is using in the book of Revelation with these final judgments. So, when God is bringing plagues down upon Egypt what that does is make life harder for the children of Israel who have been enslaved. So, it gets harder for them before it gets better and they’re even complaining to Moses about the whole thing, that he’s come in and said he’s carrying the words of God and he’s going up against Pharaoh, but it’s only making things worse for them, which would parallel God beginning to bring his kingdom and all of the unrest that that brings and the conflict that brings simply makes it harder for God’s people temporarily, but in the end they find their freedom and eternal rest. And when the victory is complete, when the children of Israel are truly free Moses has a song to sing. And, so, we’re seeing this kind of addendum to that song sung by all God’s people, but they’re doing this while standing on a sea that is like glass and fire. And this has been paralleled with the Red Sea experience that the children of Israel faced when they had to go over on dry land and Pharaoh’s army was then washed away. So, after they sing their song then the temple opens in heaven, seven angels with seven plagues come out of the temple. One of the four living creatures gives the seven gold bowls full of God’s anger to the Angels and the temple was filled with the glory of God. And that’s where we end today with a set up. But we see the clear parallel imagery of the Exodus story. And these plagues, just as they descended upon Pharaoh are about to be poured out upon the earth, but we’ll have to wait for that until tomorrow.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word and we ask your Holy Spirit to continue the work of planting the word in our lives and in our hearts. We ask you to continue to bring up things in us that need to be healed and restored or let go of. It is our desire that we be among those who can sing this song. So, come Holy Spirit and continue to do the work of sanctification within us. And we also acknowledge that this is the eve of the day that we celebrate your birth, your arrival, your invasion of this planet on our behalf. And, so, even as we celebrate the joy of your arrival, the joy of Christmas, we also acknowledge that we long for your second arrival for your return. And we thank you for the glimpse that you have provided us with as we move to the book of Revelation. Come Holy Spirit we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.