Genesis 31:17-32:12 ~ Matthew 10:24-11:6 ~ Psalm 13:1-6 ~ Proverbs 3:16-18
Today is the 15th day of January. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you at the shiny threshold of a brand new week. And as we step through, we step into week #3 of our adventure that will take us 52 weeks and through the entire Bible this year. This week we’ll spend reading from the New International Version. Of course, we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday, following Jacob’s decision to leave Laban and move back toward his homeland. Jacob had to flee from his brother Esau in the first place, but it has been a couple of decades so will Jacob find his brother or will he have moved away too? We’ll find out. Genesis chapter 31, verse 17 through 32, verse 12 today.
Commentary
In the proverb today:
Long life is in her right hand and in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace.
Isn’t that describing the life we all aspire to? So who is she? We need to know her, whoever this is that we’re talking about. This her that we’re talking about is wisdom. In other words, wisdom has long life in her right hand and in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and her paths are peaceful paths. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her and those that hold her fast will be blessed.
That sounds like a life with margin in it, spaciousness, room. So how do we get to know her? How do we get to know wisdom? We have to learn to slow down enough to walk with God. You may be a person who prides yourself on being able to make very quick decisions and a lot of them. I get that. I mean, I have to make a lot of decisions in a day and some of them have to be quick, but I have learned and I learned it from my own father. I didn’t understand until I was an adult. When I was a teenager, I would go to my dad and go like, “Hey, here’s what I’m thinking and can I do this?” And I would want yes or no. Mostly I would want yes, and he would say, “I’m going to need to think about that.” And it would always drive me crazy because I’m like what is there to think about?
One time I asked him that. I, standing there in his office, said “What is there to think about?” And he just said, “I can’t make a knee-jerk decision on something that could have consequences. I have to live with it.” And that would make me crazy, but he was modeling wisdom for me, slowing down enough to weigh the consequences, slowing down enough to follow the paths and the repercussions of the choices. So I don’t come to any major decision in my life that I don’t follow his lead at this point.
As I became more of an adult, I began to fall into that rhythm. That rhythm that I learned and was modeled for me by my own father is given to us in the Bible. Part of laying hold of wisdom is slowing down enough to listen to it. We do that by certainly inviting the Holy Spirit into the choices that we make. We invite the Holy Spirit to illuminate our path and part of that is looking down the different pathways that we can choose. The wisdom and the margin in that is slowing down enough to know that we are reaching forks in the road all of the time and they are leading somewhere.
So may we consult wisdom, get ourselves and our desires out of the way, the desire for the most immediate path that will bring us to something that has pleasure in it for us, and look out even further than that, what is the trajectory of this choice, and invite God in, because as we have already learned from the scriptures and as we will continue to learn all year, God is creative and counterintuitive. It’s not that he is so mysterious. It is that we are so backward. It is time to reverse that. It is time to become like Christ and to be like Christ means that we will walk with the Father and that we will create the margin in our lives, the unhurriedness that steers us away from the chaos we continually create for ourselves.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, we invite you into that because we need this, we need this desperately as a foundational piece in our lives and decision making process. We need your wisdom and you have the wisdom of the ages. You have the wisdom that can create the universe and that is just for starters because that is all we know about. You are infinite. You are eternal. You are powerful, all-powerful and all-knowing. And you are within us and our Father. And you were intentional enough to come and rescue us. So why we move through this earthly life thinking that we can manage it without you, that is lunacy. So show us, Holy Spirit, the places that we need to slow down and consider the fact that every choice is a fork in the road for us. Even the little choices lead places. They alter the trajectory. Holy Spirit, come. Show us the direction we are to head into and help us to know the paths that lead there. Come Jesus, we pray. In your name we ask, amen.
Announcements
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I haven’t mentioned this yet this year, but we have a women’s conference each year and this year it will be April 6-9. This is called The More Gathering for Women. It is epic. I’m not overstating. It’s amazing. So if you’re brand new or if you’ve been around a little bit, if you’ve been around a little bit, then you know about this, but if you’re new here this year and you’re a woman and this new rhythm of the scriptures each day is bringing about a reset in you, then The More Gathering is a place to completely reset, to unplug and just give yourself a few days to be among other women moving in the same direction and give your heart the space to expand, slow down, and really look at where you’re going. You can check that out at www.DailyAudioBible.com as well. All of the details about our forthcoming women’s conference this year can be found there. So check that out.
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And that is it for today. I’m Brian. I love you. I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports
Hey Brian, I just saw your Facebook post about your mom and want to let you know I love you, man. I love you. I really do and I’m praying for you and your family. There is no way in this lifetime I could ever thank you enough for what you’ve done for me in my life. I just love you, Bro. Dusty from Orlando, bye.
Hi Brian. This is Ben. I’ve been a listener for about five years. I’m a first-time caller. I just heard your announcement about your mom passing on into glory. I am so sorry. I know that there is comfort in knowing that you will see her again in the kingdom, but there has still gotta be a huge loss that you feel. So I’m praying for you, Brian and Jill and the kids and the grandchild, and just know that we love you and we’re praying for you for peace and hope and comfort, just that her memory be honored for years and years to come. So I thank her for giving birth to you because you’ve been such a blessing in my life. It’s been five years of listening to the Daily Audio Bible and my life has been transformed. I’m not the same person that I was before. I know you hear that a lot, but something like this, Brian, has brought me out of… I haven’t called in the five years I’ve been listening, but my heart goes out to you and your family. Just know that you are thought about and loved and prayed for, for you all, the best. Thank you for who you are and what you’ve done and God bless the memory of your mother’s name.
Hey Brian. My name is Rita. It’s the first time I’ve been calling you. I just listened to your reading on the 14th of January and I heard your mom passed and I’m just calling you to tell you that we are mourning with you. The Bible says that we rejoice with the ones that rejoice and we mourn with the ones that mourn. Yes, we know where she is and know we’re all going to be together again, but I just want you to know that we are with you in this one. We are your family. We are here to lift you up, to support you in prayer, you and your family. We love you and you are not alone. We are here, Brian, with you and rejoicing with you for the fact that you know where she is. Be strong and courageous, my Brother. We still have a long ways to go thanks to this. Love you. Thank you, Brian.
Brian, my prayers are yours and your family’s. I am so sorry to hear of your mother’s passing, but honored to know that she is with our Lord Jesus. I am just so grateful that Jesus had her to give you us. Without you, Brian, we wouldn’t have the DAB and I thank your mother for that, for bringing you up and teaching you and raising you the way the Lord told her to. So grateful for her. Well done. Well done, mom. Brian, my prayers are with you and your family and I thank her. I thank you for what you’ve done for us and what you’re going to continue to do for us until we all meet together in heaven. What a reunion that will be.
Hi, this is Rachel from __________ Scotland. Brian, I was so moved when I heard your recording when you let us know that you had lost your mum and I just wat to pray for all those who have lost people that are dear to them over this Christmastime and the New Year and over this time. Father God, I thank you that you are the God of all comfort. I thank you, Lord, for those that have left us knowing you, Father God, and I pray for all those who are left behind, Father, who are uncertain of where their loved ones have gone or who are sad and just missing their loved ones. I just pray, Lord, that they would know the comfort of your Holy Spirit today, that they would know that you are very close to them, Father, in that grief and in their walk with you. And Father God, that you would draw the rest of our families into your loving __________ and into relationship with you as well. I ask this in Jesus’ name, amen. I love you all, Daily Audio Bible family. God bless and take care.
Good morning. I just received the message of your mother’s passing, Brian. I’m so heartbroken for you. I could feel the pain. I have not lost my mother, but I’ve lost a husband and it is a hard thing to get through, so I’m praying so hard for you and Jill to get through this hard time. Brian, you’ll make it. Your mother is in heaven. I know she is and everybody in this family knows she is. She will be waiting for you when your time comes. I really, really appreciate you for making this family, creating this family, and like you said, if it was not for her, there would not be a podcast, a family. There would be nothing that I can depend on for my faith. I look forward to every day listening to you. I’ve been in the family for over a year and I finished the Bible at the end of the year, but I’m going to continue doing what I need to do for my faith. I’m praying for you to get through this. I love you. I love Jill. I love your family. I love all the family. We’ll be there for you, Brian. I love you and keep the faith. Amen.
This is Jordan from Michigan. Day 28 of my 30-day challenge and today I’m thankful for Brian Hardin. Let’s pray. Dear incomprehensible maker of everything, who from the treasures of your wisdom have established three hierarchies of angels. You have arranged them in marvelous order above the fiery heavens and have marshaled the regions of the universe with such powerful skill. We come humbly before you thanking you for Brian Hardin. Father, when I first started with the Daily Audio Bible, I had just lost my best friend. He passed away in a motorcycle accident. Brian’s voice day in and day out gave me comfort and reassured me of all the blessings that you had in store for me. So I pray for Brian because now he is going through a tough loss and he’s lost his mother. He’s lost his mother’s physical body here on earth, Heavenly Father, but we all know that she is in a special place in heaven and I pray for comfort, for hope, for peace, and for unshakeable joy in Brian and that through this time, that you will come through and show him your unfailing love. Thank you, Father, and we love you. In your name we pray, amen.
Hey Brian, this is Archie from Florida. Brian, I never really say it, and I’m sorry, how much I love you. You’ve been like a spiritual father to me ever since I started listening and so I pray for you and I mourn with you over my spiritual grandmother and your mother. I can’t be eloquent. I’m not going to try to be. I just say Jesus, comfort your son Brian. Comfort and then hug him and love him and embrace him and just walk with him. I love you, Brian. My heart breaks with you, Brother, Father. Alright, that’s all I’ve got, but it’s from the heart, I can promise you that.
Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is Lee from New Jersey. Today is January 14th and just finished listening to today’s podcast and just wanted to, of course, give my condolences to Brian and family in the loss of your mother. All the men in this community are __________ with you, Brian. You know that already and of course your wish is our command. We are going to pray for wisdom during this time for you, for peace, and we embrace you as a family. Even though we’re not there with you physically, virtually we are one __________ and we embrace you as a brother and we hug your neck and we’re going to love you as much as we can to help you get through this, just like the rest of the family that is going through their loss, as you mentioned. So Brian, this one is for you. You are our brother, our pastor, Brian Hardin, whose family has suffered a great loss which is their mother. May she be with you at this moment. We know she is with you at this moment and we know that she is smiling down and looking at her son and now she is saying well done and she is so dedicated to you first and foremost and then to us. And of course, the __________. Lord, we pray that you shine your peace and remind Brian how much you love that his mom is with you. Although physically we will miss her, physically Brian will miss his mother, we know that she is in a better place now, no more suffering, no more pain, no more grieving. She is now looking down and sending blessings to you.
Hello Brian. I’m broken and I am so sorry for your loss. I’ll be praying for God’s peace that surpasses all understanding for you and your family. Brother, we love you.
Hello family, this is Candace from Oregon. Brian, I just heard today’s Daily Audio Bible when you told us about your mom’s passing and so I just want to thank you for being so faithful to us, even on your hardest days. You always tell us that we’re in this together and our hearts are broken with you. Family, please come around to pray with me for Brian. Lord, Brian has asked us to pray that he be given wisdom and hope and comfort. I pray that you will give these hour by hour and everything else that he needs along the way. Bless him and keep him. And we pray for his whole family in the loss of this dear, vital person in their lives. Thank you for all that she has meant to each one of them. And I know that she is one of the saints who is interceding now for us, one of the saints who has gone before. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Thank you, Jesus.
Dear Brian, this is Ruth calling from Arkansas and I listened to the Daily Audio Bible on the 14th and found that your mom had gone to be with the Lord and I want you to know that we’re praying for you, my husband and I, and although you know in your heart you’ll see your mom again, the pain of separation may seem overwhelming right now, but please know that there are many who understand and care, who will uphold you in prayer until he who loves you best heals your heart and restores your joy. You are not alone. I empathize with you because I know how it feels to lose (or I shouldn’t say lose) but to be separated from your mom and your dad because that has happened to me and it is like no other pain. It is pain like no other pain, but God understands and God comforts us because he says it in his word, that he comforts us and that he comforts those who mourn and he will comfort the brokenhearted. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Psalm 115:15. Love you, Brian, and you, Jill, and praying for your whole family. God bless and God keep you. Bye-bye.
Good morning Daily Audio Bible. My name is __________. I’ve been listening to the Daily Audio Bible for the last seven years and I just heard from Brian that he has lost his mom. My heart goes out to you, Brian, and I pray that God will be with you and bless you, your family. May he wrap his hands of love around you and your family, Jill, China and all them. I just ask in the name of Jesus, Father God, that you will just touch Brian right now with your love and to bless them, that the love that he has shared with his mother would continue with him, O Lord. Father Lord, I just pray at this time that you are the God, O Lord, that comforts those that grieve. I ask that your Holy Spirit goes and comforts Brian and Jill and the family members, O Lord, in Jesus’ mighty name we pray, amen.
Hello Brian and family. This is Deborah from __________. I’m so sorry for your loss. And listening to you is such an inspiration because even at a time like this you are still positive and you really are living what you preach, what you read. You sure do understand the Bible. I’m so grateful for your mother, for both your parents. What a legacy they have left behind. You, Brian, for doing an amazing job and we thank God for you. We glorify him for you and I pray peace continues in you, in Jesus’ mighty name. Thank you, Brian. Thank you, Jill. Thank you. Thank you. God bless.
This is a phone call for Brian and Jill. This is Jocelyn in Atlanta and I just want you to know I’m lifting you and your entire family up in prayer right now. I am so sorry for the loss of your mom here on earth but so thankful for her being able to enter heaven and be able to be with our Lord and Savior. So I just pray over you right now. God, I just lift Brian and Jill and their entire family up. You know that they’ve lost a mother. They’ve lost a grandmother. They’ve lost a great-grandmother. Father, I just ask that you would cover them with peace and with comfort and with joy and rest and just to be able to be in your presence, God. We thank you for allowing us to come before you and ask for these things. We love you guys. We’ll continue to keep praying of you and thank you for sharing and being so transparent, Brian. You have a remarkable and beautiful spirit and I’m very thankful to have gotten to know you. Have a great day family. Bye.
Hello Brian. You mentioned today that you lost your mom and I just wanted to call in and let you know that my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family. Loss Is not easy but it is something that everyone goes through. Just know that your DAB family is there backing you up. I still think about the people that are lost every day and they’re not suffering anymore and that is what keeps me going. They are made perfect and they’re made whole and they are home. They are with the Lord. We’ll see them again, like you said. That is what makes the sting go away. God bless you, family.
Hi, this message is directed to you, Brian, as I’m sure many of the messages will be today. Brian, if I were there today on January 14th, I would hug you, friend, and I would tell you how incredibly proud your mom is of you and all you’ve accomplished and all that you are doing for the kingdom of God. And yes, one day we’re all going to be together again, but separation is really, really difficult. But we know that God still has an amazing work for us to do here on earth, and so I just encourage you, you friend. I’m asking the Lord just to wrap his arms around you and Jill and the children and I am praying that he will comfort you in a way that only he can do. And to my DAB family, let’s honor Brian’s mom by doing something really special. Since we can’t send flowers, let’s send a donation to DAB in memory of Brian’s mom. I think she would love that. Not knowing her, of course, but knowing how much she loved her son and the ministry, I think that would be an amazing thing for us to do. Alright everyone, I hope each of you are having a most blessed and lovely day. This is Christy from Kentucky.
Hello, this is Tish calling from the Seattle area, God-given name April. I just wanted to call today. Very touched by Brian, him sharing about the passing of his mother. I want to send my deepest condolences to you, Brian, and your family, for the loss of your mother. Thank you for your transparency in allowing the DAB family to share in your loss, sadness and pain as you honor your mother and lift you and your family up as well. Let’s pray. Dear Heavenly Father, I pray that your healing touch and comfort will be felt by Brian and his family. Surround him with your peace and love in this time of grieving. As in Psalm 34:18 which states, the Lord is close to the brokenhearted, He saves those who are crushed in spirit. Lord, we love you. We give you all the glory, honor and praise, in Jesus’ name, amen. Brian, I love you. Thank you for your daily faithfulness and commitment to the DAB family __________ and reading every day. Rain or shine, you are here. You are seen and it is noticed and we appreciate you. Thank you.
Hello, this is Roselyn from sunny south Florida calling to let the Hardin family know that you have my deepest sympathy in this hour. Just hold onto God’s unchanging hand because he is the only one that can carry you through. I am now fatherless and motherless, but I rely upon God’s daily strength to take me through. Cherish the moments.
Hello my DAB family. It’s Mark S. from Sydney, Australia. It’s Sunday the 15h. I just heard the day before day’s podcast and Brian, I want to keep this short because there are many, many calls coming in. I grieve for you after hearing that your mom has passed away. You’ve made us all feel a part of your family. I certainly feel a part of your family. __________ through, Brian. And the family, your whole extended family, I pray that God will send the Comforter, extend his wonderful blessing upon all of you. I just want to say that and my heartfelt wishes go to you and your whole family. Love, Mark S. from Sydney, Australia. Bye.