Zechariah 12:1-13:9 ~ Revelation 19:1-21 ~ Psalm 147:1-20 ~
Proverbs 31:1-7
Today is the 28th day
of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio
Bible. I’m Brian. It is great to be here with you today, just
one of the few days left. We’ve ground
this year down to the nub. It is almost
finished. It is like a good pencil that
you’ve loved and it is almost gone or a delicious cup of coffee that you’ve
drained to the dregs or, I don’t know, we could go on and on with the
analogies, but it is true. We’re down to
the last few days, so may we appreciate these days. Rather than just looking into the new year,
may we go, ‘wow, these are the last moments of opening my heart to the
scriptures for this year’ and enjoy this time that we have together in the year
2016.
So we’re reading from The Voice
translation this week and so we have four days left in this year and two of
them will be spent in the book of Zechariah that we’ve been reading for the
last week and then two of them in the final book of the Bible, the book of
Malachi. So today, Zechariah chapter 12
verse 1 through 13 verse 9 today.
Commentary
We’re getting down to the end of
the year which invariably means that we have probably begun to think about what
the next year is going to look like. It
is this space between Christmas and New Year’s that the whole world gets
reflective. We’re looking back at all of
the things that have happened in the year and there are all these news programs
taking us back through all of the things that we’ve forgotten that happened in
the world. We’re also looking back in
our own lives at the things that we would like to change. So this is the time we’re like, ‘January 1st,
that’s it. I’m going to the gym. January 1st, that’s it. I’m going to eat salad. January 1st, that’s it. I’m going to carve out space for this or that
or I’m going to let that go or I’m not going to struggle with that
anymore. I’m going to actually put
myself into this.’ We do this every year
and it is kind of a natural rhythm and flow, but the book of Psalms today gives
us something really powerful to contemplate as we do this sort of
contemplation. The psalmist says,
But the Eternal does take pleasure in those who worship him, those who
invest hope in his unfailing love.
That language is sort of powerful
because when we think about hope, we think about finding ways to hold onto it,
not ways to invest it. Hope is something
we try to store up and protect. It is
kind of like the rainy day thing, like we’ll always have hope and we always
will need hope, so it is something we try to treasure and hold onto and not
necessarily something we are sowing into.
Yet the psalmist is saying,
The Lord takes pleasure in those who worship him and invest hope in his
unfailing love.
So as we’re in this little
transition between the end of the year and the new year and considering all the
things we might be led to change or that we want to be different in the next
year, may we consider investing hope in the unfailing love of God. Imagine the dividends that will pay out in
our lives in the coming year. Imagine
the bedrock that becomes, that we have invested our hope in God’s unfailing
love, that that is really where our hope is paying off, that his love endures
forever, that it is unfailing for us.
Imagine that. That we finally
realize his love toward us cannot, will not, would never fail. He would never withdraw it from us. He is willing to be intrusive with it,
disruptive with it, pervasive with it.
He is fathering us and if we invest our hope in his unfailing love, oh,
we are not only setting ourselves up for quite a stable year out in front of
us, but we are also bringing pleasure to our Father.
Prayer
Father, we take this deeply to
heart because yes, hope is the thread and it is the one thing we cannot live
without. When we have become hopeless it
is such a horrible, horrible thing. So
we hold onto the treasure of hope, of having hope. You are inviting us to invest that hope in
your unfailing love which will only produce more and more hope. So come Holy Spirit. Again we ask that you plant this deep in our
lives at the level of our identity, transforming us, changing who we are,
sanctifying us, continuing to pull us forward into your divine nature where we
see and operate in this life as we were made to do. Come Jesus.
Come Jesus. We need you in this
because this feels weighty and very important to what comes next for us in the
coming year. Come Holy Spirit, teach us
how to invest our hope in your unfailing love.
We ask this in your precious name, amen.
Announcements
Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the
website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what is going on
around here and there is always something going on around here. Most of what is going on around here is a lot
of work behind the scenes getting ready for the new year. But the More Gathering for Women that we’ve
talked about here the last couple of weeks, the advanced pricing for that is
still available through the end of the year, so I’ll just mention that
briefly.
If you want to partner with the
Daily Audio Bible in the year 2016, then of course I thank you. Of course I’m humbled and we all are, that we
get to do this, that we get to serve each other in this way. It is humbling every day that we get to do
this together. It is amazing.
So if Daily Audio Bible has been
a life-giving source for you, then invest in the lives of those who are not
here yet but are on a collision course right now because they are doing exactly
what we were just talking about, considering life and all of its dysfunction
and the things that need to change in the coming year. This brings tens of thousands of people
searching inside of their spirituality, finding that it is lacking desperately,
that it is gasping. And then Google
searches start happening and Facebook posts start happening and Instagram posts
start happening and the conversation begins to happen and invariably people who
belong here find this place that they didn’t even know existed, this global
campfire known as the Daily Audio Bible.
They will be here and they are coming now, people that belong in this
community, at least for the next year, to travel along with each other as a
community as we all do each and every year.
So if you want to partner with
the Daily Audio Bible in keeping that a daily rhythm of life in the new year,
then thank you. There is a link on the
home page. If you use the app, you can
push the More button in the lower right-hand corner or the mailing address is
P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.
And, as always, if you have a
prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to dial.
And that is it for today. I’m Brian.
I love you. I will be waiting for
you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
Hello, my name is Angie and I’m a
first-time caller. This will be my first
year completing the Bible. I’m calling
for a bit of an emergency prayer request that my sister-in-law, she is not
being given much time left. Her liver
and kidneys are failing due to her drinking a lot of alcohol. She is down to like only functioning 2%. If you could please pray for her. Her name is Brittany. Thank you.
Hello brothers and sisters from
the Daily Audio Bible. This is Sam,
Washed in the Blood of the Lamb from Perth, Western Australia. Today’s date is the 21st of
December and I basically just want to pray today for vindication for those that
have ever been wronged, done wrong by, so I want to pray. Lord Jesus, Father God, I come before you
right now into your throne room of grace, into your Holy of Holies, Lord
God. I pray right now that you would
vindicate those that have ever been wronged, my Lord God, by false words, by
malice, by any type of backbiting, by any hatred, my Lord God, whether it be in
workplaces, whether it by friends or family, my Lord God. I pray that you would vindicate them and
bring them and restore them, my Lord God, unto the glory that is deserved unto
them, my Lord Jesus. So I’m praying and
I ask that my saints join along with this, Lord. I also just want to say thank you to each
and every one of you that prayed for souls in Rockingham. Three people gave their lives during our
Carols by Candlelight concert on the 18th of December just past, so
thank you very much for all those that did pray with us because souls saved is another
person going to heaven or, you know, people rededicating, so I thank you all
and I just praise you all. I say thank
you to you all for praying with me. In Jesus’
name I pray, amen.
Good morning Dabbers. I’m a burning bush that will not be devoured
to the glory of our God and King. And I’m
just calling to say Happy New Year, but also to pray. This is not my Christmas message. Don’t worry.
I already called that in. I love you
guys. I have not called in as
often. Before I pray, I just want to
praise God. I drove to Georgia to see my
family, my husband and aunt who is in hospice and got all the way back to
Charlotte before my car broke down and I just couldn’t help but think what would
have happened had my car broken down on the road coming where I knew no one to
come and help me? So God is so
good. And I got it fixed, so praise the Lord. I’m just rambling. But Father God, we thank you for this family. I thank you for all the members, the listeners,
the callers. Lord, I praise you for Brian
and his family. Lord, I pray many blessings upon them going into the new year, God. Father Lord, we just place all our cares
before you because we know you care for us.
We trust that you are faithful and just, not only to forgive our sins, O
Lord, but that you are a faithful God, you are faithful, Lord, to see your plans
through to fruition. We love you. We love you, God. In Jesus’ name, amen. I love you all and talk to you soon,
hopefully more in 2017.
Hi, this is Beloved by the Beach. Today is Wednesday, December 21st and
I’m in my kitchen putting together some Christmas cookie dough, listening to
the Community Prayers from the week of the 17th and I just wanted to
call for Pastor Gene. Sister, it’s heartbreaking
to hear you cry. You’re such a strong woman
of God and we all love hearing you encourage us and we love to hear your testimony
and I just wanted to encourage you. You are
going through this trial. You’re suffering
and you’re in pain and you’re still on the air encouraging us through it. Do you see what a thing of beauty that is? I’m sitting back and I’m watching God’s masterpiece
and I’m so sorry for your pain and I’m so sorry for your suffering, but know that
we’re all praying with you and that we’re all there with you. We’re all part of his family and we love you so
very much. I’m praying for resolution for
you and for peace and for comfort for you.
God bless you, sister.
Hi family. This is Sally from Massachusetts. Please, please pray with me. Heavenly Father, I lift up every single
person that is listening to the Daily Audio Bible. Father God, we come together as a community to
grow closer to you, to learn more about you and to invite you into our
lives. Father God, you know about our
illnesses, our weaknesses, our addictions, marriages, parental relationships,
health problems, financial problems, those of us that need jobs, those of us
who are lonely and hurting, and those of us who praise you, Lord, for your blessings. Father God, we come here to this community because
we believe in the power of prayer.
Father God, you know every single one of us. You know the hairs numbered on our heads. We praise you, Lord, for this community. We praise you, Lord, for the love we feel for
the people all across the earth that we have never met but we are sisters and
brothers in Christ. Thank you, God, for your
blessings. In Jesus’ precious name we
pray, amen.
Hi, this is Tish. I’m calling from the Seattle area. This is my second time calling. I’m a second-year listener, a first-time
attender of the More Gathering. I know they’ve
been advertising for that, and there are nothing but wonderful things to
say. If you get the opportunity, do
go. And this is where the Lord gave me a
new name, faithful, so when I do call I’ll be saying Tish, Faithful that the Lord
has Named Me. I was calling today because
I just wanted to lift up Bonnie’s son. Today
is December 21st and he had his court hearing and I’ve been praying for
him since this morning. Dear Heavenly
Father, we just thank you. Touch the hearts
and the minds of all who make the decisions in the courtroom. We ask that you see him in the light that God
sees him. Restore favor and mercy upon
him and that things will work out in his favor.
Lord, I want to pray for all the children of the world, Dear Lord, that are
lost unto worldly things and peer pressure, dealing with drug addiction,
prostitution, homelessness or in jail or prison involving criminal
activity. Dear Lord, we just thank you for
them, Dear Lord, right now. __________ instill
the love and the comfort and peace of the Lord and return to him, to have a
desire and to have a relationship with him, Dear Lord. We just thank you. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.