Ezekiel 1:1-3:15; Hebrews 3:1-19; Psalms 104:1-23; Proverbs 26:24-26
Today is the first day of November, the first day of the 11th month of our year. So, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is great to be here with you as we take this step into the new month. And this next step forward takes us into a new book. So, having wound our way through the warning prophecies of Jeremiah and then seeing those prophecies come true in the fall of Jerusalem and the carrying off of the Jewish people and exile in Babylon in the book of Lamentations, we find ourselves at the threshold of the book of Ezekiel. And Ezekiel is the first of two prophets from the Babylonian exile. Ezekiel prophesied to the Jewish people for the first two decades of their exile in Babylon. And true to form, the prophet prophesies and the people are too busy assimilating themselves into the new culture to listen. Ezekiel also contains descriptions of almost cinematic visions that in many ways parallel the visions of John on the island of Patmos when he wrote the book of Revelation. And these parallels are often cross-examined in eschatological studies, the studies of the end times, but this doesn’t make it a lofty and unapproachable book. These visions have a great impact, personally, on Ezekiel and if we’re able to allow ourselves to approach the book and the imagery from the perspective of what it speaks to our hearts, rather than trying to force it into a timeline of some sort or a linear ABC list, we’ll be able to revel in its deep and rich textures, allowing it to speak to us as a sunrise would rather than how the morning newspaper does. The book of Ezekiel holds much promise for us today and is one of the most relevant books of prophecy we have. Ezekiel may have spoken these words thousands of years ago, but it is as if he is saying them now. And, we, once again, have the opportunity to ignore or embrace what God is saying. And with that, from the Good News translation this week, Ezekiel chapter 1 verse 1 through 3 verse 15. And we’ll begin with Ezekiel’s first vision of God.
Prayer:
Father, as we begin this brand-new month, this 11th of the 12 months that are the revolution through a year, we look back, as we do at the beginning of most months and we see Your continued faithfulness and counsel and guidance through Your word each day. And as we begin the book of Ezekiel and begin to move our way through those prophetic utterances, we invite Your Holy Spirit to speak to us. As we continue through the book of Hebrews, we invite You to speak to us. And of course, we are led into your faithfulness and worship and adoration in the book of Psalms, but we also find ourselves there, for they speak true, the cry of the heart. And we receive Your counsel from the book of Proverbs. And we continue to meditate on Your words in the way that we use them, the way that we use them for good and the way that we use them falsely, as You have been challenging us. So, come Holy Spirit. We consecrate this month and our hearts to You and Your service in this world in this brand-new month. Come Jesus. We pray in Your name. We ask. Amen.
Announcements:
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So, couple things. As we bring to the closing, the Global Campfire initiative. I just want to thank those of you who participated. Thank you for hearing me and understanding what we’re trying to do and why we’re trying to do it, in building out this platform and the new integrated app that goes along with it and making it free, free for anyone. We are full steam ahead and kind of our wrapping up development of phase 1 of this. Those of you who participated will be getting an invitation with instructions on how to access the app and begin to use it. And it’ll take a couple of days for the us to get that all organized together and out but we’re beginning that today. Super, super excited, like perma-grin on the face about this day because it’s been a long slog forward to get this point. So, I can’t thank you enough. And I’ve already said it all, but it just bears repeating. Thank you for sewing into the lives of those who are coming in making a better way to experience the spoken word of God in and among this community. Thank you.
And then, I haven’t mentioned the calendar in a few days, but coming up on the 19th of this month, so in a couple weeks, we will be in Shreveport, Louisiana, in Bossier City, Louisiana, to be specific, and we will be bringing the Sneezing Jesus message at River Valley church in Bossier City. So, if you are down south then come say hello. For sure, come say hello. You can get all the details at dailyaudiobible.com. Just scroll down to the events section and you’ll find everything you want to know there and we’ll see you soon.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link and it’s on the homepage. And I thank you, thank you every day for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the More button in the lower right-hand corner and if you prefer the mailing address is PO 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’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayers and Praise Reports:
Hey DAB family this is Byron calling from Florida. I’m calling for Lee in New Jersey. Hey brother, I’m so sorry that your family is going through this difficult time, this conscious moment, where it seems to be coming apart due to your anger issues. You know I’m praying for you and that we’re all praying for you coming together as a community to cover for you guys man. But here’s the thing, do you deserve, perhaps, for your family to leave because of your anger issues? Yeah. Maybe. But is it in God’s will for your family to stay together? Yes. Yes. 100% absolutely yes. You need to understand that those two things are not related to each other. We are Christians. The very story of our live is that we are getting from God what we don’t deserve. So, take all that anger, all that frustration, and all that screaming and direct it upward, direct it towards God, direct it toward Your Father because He can take it and moreover, He can do something about it. Don’t take this lying down. Don’t resign yourself that you have to lose your family because you deserve it. Our God is bigger than that, stronger than that, and more merciful than that. So, trust Him and wait for Him and allow Him to show up and do something awesome to you so that when it’s done, all you can say is, God is gracious, He is merciful and He’s done so much for me. That’s all of our story. And I know, particular to my family, that’s my story too. I have a family I don’t deserve and I praise God for it. Praise Him for it to man. Love you. Praying for you.
Hello global campfire. This is Drew from Dallas. Today is October 28th and I’m calling to express gratitude because last week marked one year since I began listening to the Daily Audio Bible. And last week we also celebrated my son’s first birthday. And those two milestones are related because I learned about the DAB from our doctor, who told us about it as he delivered our son, whose name is Jack, into this world. And, so, over the past year, as baby Jack has grown, so has my love for God, thanks to the Daily Audio Bible. Jack and I often listen together. And, so, he is quite familiar with Brian’s voice. And I can’t wait to see what God has in store for us in year two. So, thank you so much Brian and everyone else who’s behind the scenes for sharing the spoken word of God with us. It has made such a difference in our lives and we continue to be deeply grateful.
This is Peg in Texas. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, I lift up the one who called from Kentucky. I think her name is Karen and yet I’m not sure I remember correctly. But you know exactly who she is and you know the concerns of her heart before they were even shared with the DAB family, a part of Christ’s body on earth. Now I pray for her and all those who have expressed tremendous loneliness. Father, You understand better than we understand ourselves. You understand that there is a sadness in not being connected, there is a sadness in being surrounded with one’s thoughts and not having feedback. Sometimes we need to hear that our requests are taken seriously. Sometimes we need to hear our name placed before You. And, so, now I place her name and I just ask for the others that have expressed the same thoughts of loneliness that You will minister to each one. Even in being alone, I pray that she and others will begin to experience the truth in that You have said that You will never leave and that You will never forsake. How grateful l am that You are ever present, that You see, that You hear, that Your spirit invades, and that You convict and convince through the Holy Spirit. I pray that Karen and for all those who are lonely. I pray that they will make the choice to talk with You, to listen to You as You speak through Your word. I pray that You will grant her and others, and even myself, the joy of friendliness whenever and wherever we rub shoulders with others. I pray that You will grant her an interest in those that cross her path, nurses and doctors and other patients, maybe family far away or maybe someone down the street or maybe someone at church.
Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Paul from Houston and I’m calling in response to a September 3rd call by Tony the painter from London. And he was asking for prayer regarding his marriage with his wife from North Carolina that they hadn’t seen each other since January. So, I was just wanting to pray that God would open the doors for Tony and for his wife and that they will be reunited and I ask that God would just orchestrate that and that openings would come at the right time and his green card would come at the right time. And I just thank God and ask that his marriage would just be the whole and it will be together and I thank you Lord for blessing his marriage and I thank You Lord for being with him, with Tony and with his family. I thank You Lord for blessing them wherever they are, whether it’s in London, North Carolina, or wherever they end up. Thank You God that You ordained it and that You orchestrated it and I thank You God that You are in control of him and of our lives. I thank You Lord for the marriages out there, Lord, that You would unite husbands and wives. And I thank you Lord that You would orchestrate these different things. In Jesus’ name. Amen.