Month: December 2017

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

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

Second John:

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

Commentary:

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

Prayer:

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

Announcements:

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

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

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

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

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

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, here in the last weeks of the year, thank you, humbly and profoundly for your partnership. There’s a link that’s on the homepage. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or comment, or right now, also a holiday greeting, 877-942-4253 is the number to call.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hosea 1:1-3:5, 1 John 5:1-21, Psalms 124:1-8, Proverbs 29:5-8

Today is the 5^th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be here with you today. It’s so good to be here with you every day as we keep taking a step forward every day that leads us through the whole Bible in a year. And speaking of our progress, we finished the book of Daniel yesterday, we will finish first John today, but having completed Daniel, that leads us to the book of Hosea. So, let’s talk about that a little bit.

Hosea:

The theme of marriage is often used in the Bible to represent God’s love for His people, especially in the Old Testament between God and those He was in covenant with, the children of Israel. And the truth is, there is no better metaphor, because we often find God’s people off with other lovers committing adultery, as it were. And God’s reaction to this is very understandable. And, often when we’re reading about vengeful wrath that seems over the top, we’re actually reading the words of a scorned lover who deeply cares for his lost love. And nowhere in the Bible is this more clearly presented than in the book of Hosea, a book of prophecy. Because God asks Hosea to use his very life as living prophecy. The instruction to marry a prostitute named Gomer, and this represents the idolatry, adultery, and harlotry of Israel. The couple of children and each child is given a prophetic name that speaks directly to Israel. And then Gomer is unfaithful. Hosea divorces her as God thrusts away Israel and in an about-face, Hosea goes in pursuit of Gomer, once again. And this woman, who has been unfaithful, who was played the harlot, actually has to be purchased back, which Hosea does, representing God’s passion for His people, even to the point of rescuing and buying them back, buying back what He loves. It’s a beautiful picture of God’s love for us and we’ll find in Hosea. And we also get a good picture of our betrayal when we chase after other lovers and its impact on God. Most of us have experienced a broken heart or had a sense of betrayal at one point or another in our lives. The book of Hosea gives us a good picture of what that looks like from God’s eyes. And, so, we begin. Hosea 1:1 through 3:5 and we’re reading from the English Standard Version this week.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for every day, something new, something that moves things inside of us. We thank You for all of the people that we’ve been able to meet in the Scriptures this year, all of the narratives and stories, all of the letters and accounts of Your work in this world, and Your hopeful and redemptive nature, Your patience and kindness toward us. And we are grateful, and with great anticipation, looking forward to all that You have yet to speak through Your word. So, our hearts are open. Come, Holy Spirit. Continue to perfect Your love in us as we love one another. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. And there’s plenty going on around here, but something new today.

We have an annual tradition around here. It’s kind of our annual Christmas party for the Daily Audio Bible community. And, of course, we’re far-flung, we’re all over the world. Wouldn’t it be fun if we could all get together? But for now, it’s a virtual party. And we do this by just hearing from each other, Christmas wishes and we read through the Christmas story together. And Jill and I, we talk for a little while about the past year and talk about our hopes for next year and even our word for next year. And it’s just a beautiful time and we all get to participate. So, here’s the deal. Starting today, you can call in your holiday wishes and greetings to the Daily Audio Bible community at large. And we’ll do this for about a week and collect them all together and then put this whole thing together. And in a couple weeks we’ll have the Daily Audio Bible family Christmas 2017. So, there aren’t a lot of rules about this, but there are some instructions. There are no new numbers to call. Our normal prayer line 877-942-4253 is the number. Of course, we have a couple of other numbers. If you are in the UK or Europe, you can call 44-20-3608-8078, or if you are in Australia or in the lands down under, 61-3-8820-5459 is a number you can call. Of course, those are the other prayer request numbers. You just use that line and call in your holiday greeting. Here is the only instruction. If you actually have a prayer request, don’t combine that with the holiday greeting.  Call in your holiday greeting then call back with your prayer request. That keeps everything focused and moving in the right direction. We just don’t have the capacity to edit all of that. So, just make them separate. You can start doing that today and we’ll do this for about a week and begin putting this all together. It’s a beautiful time. I mean, there are many things that happen Daily Audio Bible community in any given year that can bring me to tears, but our family Christmas gathering is definitely one of those things. It’s just beautiful to reflect back. And just so wonderful to hear holiday greetings from around the world, inside this community. So, jump on that and you can start today.

The other things are going on are the annual Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box that is chock full of goodies, some you’ll want to keep, some that you’ll want to give away. And it's…I mean…they always go fast. We always sell out of them. So, check that out. You can find it at dailyaudiobible.com in the shop, in the Christmas section.

And then we’ve been mentioning the More Gathering for women, our annual women’s conference that will take place this coming April. Early registration is open for that, along with early registration pricing that lasts till the end of the year. You can find out all about it at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. All the details, everything that you’d need to know or want to know can be found there. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link that’s right on the homepage. And, certainly, thank you for your partnership here at the end of the year. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Morning everybody. This is a call for whoever said they were praying for their coworker fighting cancer. They have multiple jobs and can’t pay the bills. So, I pray Lord Jesus, please lift up this coworker in Your name. Thank You for putting them on their colleagues heart and I pray that You will give them the word to  encourage to facilitate in their daily walk and if they are not with You Lord, I pray that You will bring them to Your heart and make a way for them to be saved. I pray also for Gloria and Tony, who both their parents are fighting Parkinson’s disease and dementia ___ as well. And I pray that You will make a way for them to be helped in any way possible. Thank You Jesus for Your love and Your kindness ___ authority ___ them. Please increase that. ___ in whatever way ___ Lord that you can make a way. Thank You. And all those with anxiety ___. And the lady’s daughter struggling with bi-polar, lift them up Lord. Thank you. Amen. Bye guys.

Hello everyone. This is Tammy, Wrapped in the Arms of Jesus from Pennsylvania and I just want to call and let…I believe it was Sharif from Canada that called a while back and I’m kind of a little nervous about calling. She called about my granddaughter that went into psych ward. She’s home. They stayed with me for the summer and I worked with her mom and my son to help them understand bi-polar more. And also, I need prayer…just for my life in general. I have no idea where it’s supposed to go. I’m struggling with, not just my alcohol addiction, but also sin, sexual sin, and lust over someone that is from my past. So, I want to thank everybody and I pray with everybody. As I hear every prayer, I pray with you. I’m always listening. I’m always praying and I love DAB and I would not know what to do or how to be without it if I didn’t start my day with it. And thank you, Brian, Jill and everyone behind the scenes doing all this. And the guy that mentioned Tumblr. Thanks, that’s so great that we have that there so we can go back and listen and actually follow with each and every one of the days. So, I hope you guys have a great day and a wonderful Christmas and I’ll talk to you all soon. Take care. God Bless you all. Thank you.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible people. This is Diane Olive B. from Newburgh Indiana. And it is November 30^th at a few minutes before 8 in the morning. And I really feel like I want to call in this morning to confess and repent and to be forgiven. I have had diabetes for over 20 years. It’s type 2 diabetes but lately I’ve been out of control in my eating and my A1C is at 11. It should be around 7. And I just want to repent and confess to you all that I’m sorry and I ask for your prayers. And I thank you. And Father, I just…I’m sorry I’ve been so out of control and I ask for Your help and I humble myself before You, Your throne of mercy and grace. And I ask for Your mercy and Your help. And I thank You for this community. I pray for this community and I know that the Lord has heard and answered my prayers. Thank you and God bless you. Shalom, shalom.

Hello. This is Mary from Mississippi. This is my 3^rd year listening to the DAB and I am so thankful to God for the strength in the family from the DAB. I just called to just say I’m just grateful to God just for being a member. When I found myself drifting away and going about my own thinking I said…oh…go back to the DAB. Get back on that every day. And that has been my strength. There’s power in hearing the word of God every day of my life and I share it with everybody that I know. I do call to the DAB just praying for everyone that has prayer requests. And mine, specifically, is for the youth of our world, they are disconnected with the Scriptures and the way we were brought up and I just pray for the youth of our world that they believe ___ God’s word and that we, as strong believers, would be an example to them and share with them our plight. It was not as easy for us but to staying true to the bible, staying true to God’s word, has been a light in my life and I’m sure it can be a light in our youth life. So, I just want the DAB to pray for our youth in the world, that they would draw back to the word of God and draw less to the world. Thank you for Jill. Thank you for Brian for bringing this podcast to the world and Merry Christmas to you all. Bye-bye.

Hey family. Drew from the Bay Area. Listen, I’m calling today to give thanks to this family and encourage some of you. Give you a little history. Many of you know me for a while. I believe that the Holy Spirit led me to this family back in 2011. I was a broken man. I give thanks to this family and I don’t think I would be here today without your encouragement and your love. I’m holding back tears now and I’ve been praying for you the last hour and a half with tears of joy and sadness, and coming to more and more knowledge of the truth. Brian, you are amazing. We’ve watched you grow and grow and grow. And what you’ve done for us is immeasurable. I know that God deserves all the glory, but we thank you and Jill. There’s people like Glenn who called in that are addicted, and people like me that call in that are broken and don’t know what to do with our lives, we’re confused, we’ve lost our identity. But family, we’re spiritual beings and one thing I found out is that this is eternal, that what we are going through, it seems it’s so big, but really, in the grand scheme of things, we’re a part of God’s plan. And just worshiping Him here is probably the most important thing that we do every day. If you look at your life and what you’re going through, it’s like a couple grains of sand in your hand compared to all the grains of sand in the whole world. And when we all come together it’s so important, what we do and what we say, how we pray…

Daniel 11:36-12:13, 1 John 4:1-21, Psalms 123:1-4, Proverbs 29:2-4

Today is December 4^th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as it always is and as we take the next step forward in the Scriptures. And it won’t be long now before we can start to see the finish line off in the distance out in front of us. We’re getting close, but we still have a ways to go. And today we will finish up the book of Daniel. So, we’re reading from the English Standard Version this week. Daniel 11:36 through 12:13.

Commentary:

Okay. In first John, we reached the climax of the letter and it’s some thoughts on God’s love and what it does and what it is and how it affects us. And in this reading alone, we have three different passages that are very famous, things that are quoted all of the time. Things like ‘greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world’ or ‘beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God’ or ‘there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear’. I mean, this is a formidable trifecta of quotations. So, let’s look at them in their context because we learn so much when we understand the context in which these things are said. So, a lot of this letter is dealing with people who have walked away and subsequently become enemies or anti-Christ’s, even though at one time they were a part of the community of faith. And that thought continues into the first part of today’s reading. And John is basically encouraging his readers to test the spirits, to not believe everything that they’re being told. There’s a lot of false teachers that are out there and he gives us a litmus test, ‘by this you know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist.’ And this is actually specific. So, when John says, ‘every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God’, he’s refuting what he’s calling false teachers, false prophets, spirit of the antichrist. There was a lot of trying to figure out how it is that Jesus works. And this is an oversimplification, but there was a lot of debate about whether or not Jesus was an apparition or a true human flesh and blood person. In other words, was he a divine being, that was simply made visible or was he a divine being made flesh? And we don’t have time to go into all of that right now, but we can safely say that that distinction can spin you off in all kinds of different directions and it did. So, John is clarifying. Anything, anyone that says that Jesus didn’t come in the flesh isn’t from God. So, it’s in that context that John says, ‘little children, you are from God and have overcome them’. And ‘them’ that John is talking about is those who have become apostates. Right? Those who have walked away and rejected their faith and become anti-Christ’s. ‘You have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than He who is in the world.’ Then he basically says, people who are of the world listen to those kind of people because they are all of the world. People who are of God listen to us. So, he’s harkening back to this simple gospel, this, that what you were taught to begin with was the right thing and all this other stuff swirling around is not from God. But you can overcome all of this. You don’t have to listen to all this. You don’t have to be in all this. The one who is in you, who is God, is greater than anything in the world. And then he turns to love as the glue that holds the whole thing together with some pretty profound implications. So, he’s saying, test the spirits. The spirit of God is in you the Spirit of God overcomes anything that’s in the world. And nothing that is of the spirit of the anti-Christ or anything or anyone that opposes Christ can’t truthfully confess that Jesus is Lord. And since God is in you, let us love one another, because love is from God. And whoever loves has been born of God and knows God, and anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. Okay, so here’s where it starts to get interesting. John says, ‘in this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.’ So, in other words, Jesus wasn’t an apparition, Jesus was the flesh and blood, Son of God. But what was made visible, what was made manifest in Jesus, was the love of God. So, in Jesus, we actually see the love of God in action. And this didn’t happen because we love God, we’ve been loving God for a long, long time. We didn’t get to see this love of God in action through Jesus because we loved God. We get to see it and experience it because He loved us. And if He loves us like that, then we are to love each other like that. And here’s where it gets huge. So, I’m quoting first John 4:11 and 12 here. ‘Beloved, if God so loved us.’ So, ‘if God loves us like that, we also ought to love one another. No one had ever seen God. But if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.’ So, what John is saying, and this has some pretty big implications, is that when we love one another, we are manifesting the love of God in this world, we are making the love of God visible in this world, just like Jesus did. And this gives us the awesome weight of responsibility in this. God is loving everyone, in part, through his people. And according to John, that’s how we even know that we’re abiding in Him and that He is in us. And I’m quoting John here, ‘by this is love perfected with us so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is, so also are we in this world.’ So, no longer is the love of God being demonstrated, manifested through just this one person, who is God’s Son, Jesus, but rather, this Spirit of Christ now indwells all who believe. And this is manifested in the world, this is made visible in the world by our love. And there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear. So, it’s perfect love that casts out fear. How do we achieve perfect love? Well, to quote John, ‘no one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.’ So, in other words, God’s love is perfected in us, and perfect love casts out fear, and God’s love is perfected in us as we love one another, truly. And when you find that place, you’re not afraid, your walls are not up, you are not in a defensive posture all the time, whether it be out in the world or in your workplace or in the walls of your home. And John says that, ultimately, fear is connected to punishment or judgment and if you’re operating out of that space, out of that place, then love hasn’t been perfected in you yet. So, what is our take away -  loving one another perfects God’s love in us, and it makes the love of God visible and active in this world. It’s not that we have empathy and compassion and try to love the world, ourselves, it’s that God is doing it through us. And as we practice this it’s becoming more and more perfect in us. And all fear is cast away from us as God’s love is perfect in us. So, we must love one another, which is exactly what Jesus said when He said, I’m giving you a new commandment and that commandment is that you love one another as I have loved you. And John simply shows us what that looks like.

Prayer:

Father, we will never find a loophole. You have commanded us to love one another. And, in fact, it is this act of loving one another that shows us that we are in You and You are in us. And this was put starkly in first John, if anybody says I love God and hates his brother, he’s a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And we’re being told that even though we cannot see You with our physical eyes, Your love in this world can be seen and must be seen and that happens when You love through us. And as we open ourselves to allowing this, Your love is being made perfect in us and casting away all fear. So, we want it. We want that. We embrace this. Come, Holy Spirit, and fill us with Your love and may it spill out onto everyone we encounter today, and not just today. Today is the starting point that we are being conscious of what’s happening here. We want Your love to spill out of us every day that you give us. And the fact that we get to exist today at all is a gift and a demonstration of Your love. And, so, with gratefulness we open our hearts to anyone You want to love through us. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.  

Announcements:

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

Early registration for the More Gathering for women that is coming up this April is now open. And Jill was on here the other day just talking about her anticipation, her excitement. And I can tell you that that’s true. I see that in her. She’s thinking about this and praying over it continuously, as is the entire team. Literally, hundreds of hours of prayer and intercession over this event happen each year. And it’s already begun, I mean, it never really stops. So, if over the years that you’ve been around the Daily Bible, you’ve thought, I want to go, I want to go to that but what if something comes up or I’m afraid or I just don’t know what, if I’ll be alone. You won’t. Not only because of the canopy of prayer that goes up over this event. But, let’s be honest, this is the Daily Audio Bible community. The kind of love we were just talking about first John, we demonstrate that for each other in this community. And we don't…I mean…we travel all the time and I never don’t experience it. And it is manifest. Right? It’s made visible at the More Gathering. You’re not going to be alone. You might come alone. You might think you don’t know anyone. But I’m telling you, by the time you get out of your car and take a short walk to registration, that will be over. So, come. Registration is open and this is a fantastic gift idea for your wife or your sister or your loved one. This is a great idea to get some friends together and come. It’s not something that you will go, and that was good, and you’ll forget all about it. It’s something that you will remember fondly. So, you check out the More Gathering for women dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. Every detail that you would want or need to know can be found there.

And then, the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box is available now. And they’re going quickly, like they always do. We have lots of goodies in there - things that you will keep for yourself, things that you will pass on and give away. So, we have the Advent CD that I have talked about from our friends at Mission Chattanooga. Of course, yesterday was the first Sunday in the season of Advent. So, these are contemplative songs just written to aim your heart into the contemplation of the mystery of the arrival of the Savior. And there’s some just gorgeous stuff on there. Also with the family Christmas project that I produced and arranged, it’s the Christmas record I always wanted to make with the lush instrumentation and contemplative traditional carols. It’s the kind of thing that you just turn the lights out after a long day and the Christmas lights are on and it’s quiet and you have a cup of coffee or cocoa or tea or whatever and you just listen through and allow the essence of the season to be experienced. So, that’s in the Box as well. Two copies of Sneezing Jesus are in the Box. The Road Back to You, which is a book that my friend Ian wrote. I’ve been able to have great conversations with him because it was just so helpful. And, so, that’s in the box. A Black Wing pencil is in the Box. The Daily Audio Bible Christmas bulb, the annual Christmas bulb that only comes in the Box is in the Box. It’s got our word for the year, ‘Margin’, on it with the year 2017. So, that’s in there. A pack of the Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards for this year, the 2017 edition. So, there’s 20 cards with matching envelopes in the Box. And then, your choice of our DAB blend of fresh roasted coffee that will be roasted at altitude in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and sent fresh to you or our honey bush and ribose tea, your choice. So, check out the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box at dailyaudiobible.com in the shop in the Christmas section.

And then I’ve also been reminding us of our brand-new Daily Audio Bible journals and all of the Black Wing pencil goodies that just make for a wonderful writing and journaling environment. We have some great bundles in the shop and they make exquisite Christmas presents. So, you can find those in the Daily Audio Bible shop in the Lifestyle section.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here in the ending weeks of the year, thank you profoundly for your partnership. And of course, all contributions to the Daily Audio Bible are tax-deductible, so we will send you a receipt just after the first of the year. Thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage, at dailyaudiobible.com or if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hi. This is Dave from North Carolina. I just wanted to share that just last year I took a new job that resulted in a much longer commute – about an hour one way – and there were a lot of good reasons why I took that job and I think that it was something that God wanted me to do for my family and many reasons. But at first what seemed like a negative has turned out to be a positive because…mainly because of this podcast…because I now have the time…I mean…I’ve always had the time…but I’ve struggled with getting into God’s word and taking the time…and this podcast has been so helpful to me, to be in his word. Not every day. I miss some days but I know it’s always there. And also, I want to thank all of you who call into the prayer line because I try to use the time for prayer as well and I know that I should be praying, not just for myself, but for others. And the prayer requests that come in always give me people to pray for. And I also want to throw out one other quick encouragement that I heard my pastor say this last week, that if we don’t know how to pray, just ask the Holy Spirit to pray for you. Because sometimes I feel like I don’t know how to pray. And if any of you feel that way, just remember that the Holy Spirit will pray on your behalf. Thank you and God bless you.

Good morning family. This is Salvation is Mine in San Angelo California. Let’s pray. Dear heavenly Father, we come before You right now just bowing at Your feet for who You are, for the merciful God that You are. We want to thank You for the life You have given us so far and the life You have given us this day. Help us to use it to glorify You in word, action, and deed. Lord God, we just want to say, please protect, keep hold, show Your merciful love to those who do not know You. Help them to find an inkling of hope within their hearts today. Help them to reach out to You, Lord God, and come before You, confessing their sins, Lord God, and asking You to come into their lives, Lord God, and be with them. Minister to their hearts, minister to their minds, minister to their Spirits Lord God.  Bring people in their lives that will help facilitate this path that they need to be on, Lord God, that we all need to be on to draw closer to You each and every day. We love you Father God. We thank You so much for the blessing of Your son, Jesus Christ. Every time I think about the sacrifice on the cross it just hurts my soul so much to know that He suffered in such a horrific way just for me, just to save me, someone who wasn’t even thought of yet in the eyes of the world, who didn’t even know would be born in the eyes of the world, Lord God. But you saw fit to extend to all of us, hundreds of millions of years into the future, a Savior, and we thank You and we bless Your holy name for that. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Have a great day family. This is Salvation is Mine. Take care.

Hello sweet Daily Audio Bible family. This is Sheryl in Arizona. I just got done listening to the podcast for the 29^th, November 29^th. That I just have to say, I am so humbled and I am so grateful for this family. You all are truly priceless. I just am so blessed to Sheila in Massachusetts. Thank you for your beautiful prayer and your words, your kind words. And I want to mention beforehand that all three that I am going to mention, I have also prayed for you and over you, including the community. And Sheila, I heard you say that you have generalized anxiety and that your daughter Annie struggles with bipolar. So, bless you both. Like I said, I have prayed for you. That’s why I called in. And then there was someone, a young man, I didn’t get your name, you called in and you talked about checking my diet and my caffeine and sugar intake. Thar was spot on with the caffeine. Thank you so much and for your prayer. And I’ve also prayed for your coworker who is dealing with cancer and is working multiple jobs with the financial struggle. And then the gentleman who called at the end. Again, I didn’t get your name. I listened twice to make sure I didn’t miss something. What an incredible prayer. I cannot even…I just…words and time don’t allow me to express my gratitude but thank you so much. God bless you all. I love you so much. Thank you so much. Just thank you. I hope that you all have a beautiful day and week and God bless you. Bye-bye.

Hi. This is Kristi from New York. I am so grateful for this new wonderful family that I have, the Daily Audio Bible. I’m pretty new the last couple weeks here and am just amazed by how I am being lifted up in prayer even though you don’t know me. I am calling to pray for Donna in California. Donna, I just want to pray for you. We pray for our sister Donna, who has strongholds. Girl I’ve got strongholds too and we shut down those strong holds by the power of Jesus Christ in His name. By His glory we strike down shame and regret and we bring on Jesus healing in Jesus’ name. And you can be a blessing. Your destiny is all of our destiny. And I have a quick prayer request. Please pray for marriages in general. Mine are too, are, pretty obviously under spiritual attack right now, so, I really could use prayer from strangers. So, love you family. Bye.

Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Paul from Houston and I just wanted to Pray for Heather from Chicago from October 29^th that was asking for prayer for depression and I just wanted to…just…pour out my heart. In some ways, I’ve struggled with depression. Just certain things that I have been challenged with but have found that God…I found my renewed purpose in life is now pouring into the lives of other people. Through opportunities through a men’s group at church, I found ways to pray for other brothers. And I just want to pray that God would present opportunities to you to find His will and that as you seek Him, that He would make Himself known to you and that you would find your purpose and your calling in life. And I ask that God would just go with you, Heather, and that just spend time with Him, and that He would show you how valuable, how much of a daughter of Christ you are, and that he would open up the doors of opportunity to bless other people and to use you to bless others and as you do that you would find joy and fulfillment and the calling that God’s given you. And I just pray that God would stir in your heart those things that would draw you to Him. And I thank You Lord that the depression would leave and any of the anxiety and hurts would go and just thank You Lord for being with Heather. In Jesus’ name.

Daniel 11:2-35; 1 John 3:17-24; Psalms 122:1-9; Proverbs 29:1

Today is December 3^rd. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s good to be here with you today at the threshold of a shiny, sparkly new week. And this will lead us into the first full week of the last month of the year, December. And today is the first Sunday of Advent. We begin the season of Advent today and we can talk about that in a little bit. This week we will read from the English Standard Version and we will pick up where we left off yesterday in the book of Daniel chapter 11 verses 2 through 35.

Commentary:

Alright. So, we had a short reading in first John today, but there’s a lot in there and in a lot of ways, first John mimics or harmonizes with the ideas found in the book of James. So, John asks a provocative question and then uses that question to reveal the posture of life and heart that assures us that we are intertwined with God. So, here’s the question. ‘If anyone has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Which brings up the important question, is God’s love within you for your benefit alone? Does He just want to love and restore you and that’s the end of the story or does He love and restore us so that He can love through us? Aren’t we to be known by our love for one another? Isn’t God’s love present in us the thing that lets the world now we belong to God? Right? Didn’t Jesus say, by this all men will know that you are my disciples, that you love one another as I have loved you. And John, as did James, tells us that this isn’t just something you can talk about. Like, you can’t just hear this stuff and then talk about it. You become a hearer and then you talk about it, but that leads you to action. And John makes that clear, ‘little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.’ And then he turned toward our posture of heart by telling us, ‘by this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him’. So, when he says ‘by this’ what’s he talking about? Well, he’s talking about everything we just talked about. We are sure that God’s love is in us and He is loving people through us when we’re willing to do more than just talk about loving them, and by this we’ll know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before God. For whenever our heart condemns us, John says, God is greater than our heart and He knows everything. So, what does this mean? Well this word, condemn, literally translated, means to see accurately, to catch yourself. So, when you see your heart shutting down, when you see yourself closing off, when you are receiving the generosity and love of God within yourself, but are not willing to pass that on, to allow it to flow out of you because you don’t feel like it or whatever, then our posture is to understand that God is greater than our heart. What we’re doing, how we’re closing off, why we’re closing off, why we’re shutting down, why we’re unwilling to be a conduit of God’s love. God knows everything and He is pulling us out of that and calling us higher. He is greater than what we’re feeling or what we’re seeing. And then John goes on to show the other side of that coin. ‘Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.’ So, in other words, if we are living open and we aren’t understanding that the generosity and love of God that flows into us is something that we don’t deserve, and yet it is our unmerited reality, and part of its purpose isn’t just for us alone, it’s that it is to flow out of us and God is loving people through us, then we’re connected to a much larger story, one that keeps us from self-absorption, because it’s not all about us. It never was. It’s about us receiving God’s goodness and then giving it away in every conceivable way, knowing that there is an endless supply. And the more of God’s love that we can demonstrate in and to this world, the more of God’s love that will be in this world, and things will change around us. And this is why whatever we ask, we receive from Him. Because we keep that commandment and we do what pleases him. Right? So, when we live open hearted, allowing God’s love to flow out of us toward everyone and everything, whatever we ask, we receive from God because were in total alignment. Or as John says it, ‘we abide in God and God abides in us, a perfect and holy collaboration, where we become like Christ, and love as He does. It’s a beautiful picture of our reality. And it’s a beautiful picture of what is available, but it challenges us to examine the posture of our own heart. Are we self-absorbed and selfish? If so, then we’re becoming a stagnant pond. Things are flowing in, but nothing is flowing back out. If our hearts are open, then it’s going to compel us to do more than talk about it. It’s going to compel us to do it, to love. And we live from this place, we realize that there is no shortage and we can always be full because we are intertwined with God. And in this scenario, He will give us whatever we ask for because whatever we’re asking for is in alignment with His wishes. We are truly collaborating. We are actually being the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. And God is loving through us. And there is no shortage. Pretty big stuff to think about today and most definitely compelling this time of year.

Prayer:

Father, we enter into that. We see so clearly that life isn’t about me and mine, but about You and Yours. All that we have has been given from Your hand and there is no lack or shortage in Your kingdom. And You have invited us all to be the vehicle by which Your love is poured out into this world in every conceivable way. And we turn our hearts toward You. We open our hearts to You. Even when we don’t feel like we can open our hearts to others, we open our heart to You and reach beyond ourselves to Your endless supply of love and mercy and grace. And may this pour out of us, spilling all around us, infecting this world with light, and life, and good news. We ask this in Your precious name. Amen.

Announcements:

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

As I mentioned at the beginning, today is the first Sunday in the season of Advent. Advent, of course, meaning, coming or arrival. And it’s just a season that we turn our hearts toward understanding and contemplating the mystery of the arrival of the Savior of the world and our continued longing for his return. It kind of sets us or resets us by allowing us some space to contemplate the reason this season exists at all. So, when you got the Daily Audio Bible today, there was an additional program and that is chapter 1 from the Audio Addition of Sneezing Jesus and chapter 1 is called Advent. So, you can use that to just reset and aim your heart toward the arrival of the Savior. So, be sure check that out.

And there are few other things going on.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box 2017 is available in the Daily Audio Bible shop in the Christmas section. And it’s full of resources, some that you want to keep and some that you want to give away. And that’s kind of the purpose of the Christmas Box. So, you can check that out at dailyaudiobible.com

Early registration for the More Gathering for women that will take place this April is now open and that’s in the Initiatives section at dailyaudiobible.com. So, check that out. It certainly makes for a special and very unique gift idea. So, you can get all the details, everything that you would need or want to know at the website. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here at the end of the year, that’s so appreciated, I don’t even have the words. Thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage or if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hey Daily Audio Bible. This is Rebecca from Michigan and I think allot of you guys are like…are like…making me pause and stuff in my heart. I know I need more than two minutes to talk to you but I’m going to use what I have. But I know my mom once told me that God was more forgiving than people. And my grandfather would always say’s, when you fall down, get up and do it again. And I think Dave from New Jersey really has be pondering that, I’ve made mistakes and I’m…you know…I’m so glad I found Jesus Christ in my life because if I didn’t find Him none of us would be on here talking to each other, none of us would be on here praying for each other because we’ve all messed up, we’ve all fallen short of the glory of God. We’ve all messed up in our lives some way, maybe not the way someone else on here has, but we have all messed up. And I know that if you have a child and the child messes up, you do not turn your back on this kid, you do not disown that child, you love that child enough that you would put down your life for this child, you would discipline him out of love and you would hug him and you would kiss him and you’d still receive him even though he’s messed up. You still love your child. And that’s the same way with God. He still loves us. No matter what we’ve done, He still loves us. And one of the things I learned at financial __ university and I probably already knew it anyways is that when God gave His Son, He gave everything, He gave it all. And in return He wants all of us…He wants all of you…He wants all of me…

Good morning or afternoon or evening Daily Audio Bible family. This is John from Bethlehem Pennsylvania. I hope everyone is doing well today and that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, for those of you that celebrated Thanksgiving. For those of you that didn’t, I hope you are able to give thanks in some way, shape, or form, and have an attitude of gratitude in everything that you do. I love you guys. Specifically, I wanted to call today in response to Glenn’s prayer. Glenn from Irving Texas, I hope you’re listening. Today’s the 28^th and I heard your prayer request on the 27^th podcast. Glenn, you called in and said that you’re addicted to pain medication and alcohol and that you’ve tried everything you could to quit and you’ve been asking God to take it away from you and the urge just keeps coming back. And Glenn I hope I encourage you. I had an addiction to alcohol and various and sundry drugs at a point in time in my life. And I don’t know if you’re anything like me or if you can relate the same way but that addiction…you know…I would find myself saying like…oh…like ok…today’s the day I’ll stop doing that and I thought I was asking God for his help to overcome that and then when it came time to come hang around with the people I was hanging around with and they were doing all sorts of things too, I just kept on doing the same thing and I’d convince myself that tomorrow was just another day I maybe I’d just pick it up then. But then just one day…I made the decision…I had to make the decision…and I did it with God…the whole entire time…to just stop doing that. Glenn, I encourage you to just make that decision in your mind that you can stop. You can do everything through Christ. And I want you to know that I’m praying for you. You can stop doing this right now. Today. I love you and I believe in you.

This is Cheryl in Arizona. Duane from Wisconsin, I heard you mention my name another time from my other call regarding the anxiety. Thank you so much for your prayers. Absolutely appreciate them, they are invaluable. Chery, from British Columbia Canada, I love hearing your voice when you sing and when you talk it is so lovely. Thank you so much for your prayers. Oh, my goodness. This just so touched my heart, I listened to all of this this morning. Today is…I don’t even know what the date is…but it’s Tuesday. Ah…let’s say…Kayla from Nashville, I want to let you know, I listened to your prayer request and then you mentioned my name and said you were praying for me and it just absolutely blew me away. I want to let you know that I love you, absolutely, and you are so loved. There’s something about hearing our name mentioned and I want you to know that I’m praying for you as well. And then Phil in Sydney I heard your call talking the anxiety and sleep issues and other things going on and what God has done for you and how you had already prayed for me. Oh, God bless you so much. Thank you. That was so encouraging. I’ve listened to these a number of times today and I can’t tell you all how much I love you, every single one of you. You are my precious DAB family and I thank God for all of the you, including those who don’t call in that are part of this community. And I do covet your continued prayers. I have some big decisions ahead of me that I can’t go into right now. But thank you all so much for praying. And again, I love you. Brian and Jill, tremendous blessing that you are. Thank you. Bye-bye everyone.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is Laura from San Diego. I just wanted to call and give you a report. I had asked for prayer for my small group and not feeling really a part of the community. And, thank you for praying, it’s been matter of prayer for me too. But I feel like I’ve moved through the hurt, I guess, into a place and wanting to create that community, just like I hear you guys doing for each other when you call in and pray for each other. So…and I was thinking about Wind Farm and how Brian described the wind of…or the word of God coming out of our mouth and it’s created…it’s a Wind Farm…he’s making us…God is creating us into these people who can breathe life into dead bones all around us all the time. And, so, that’s what I’ve been convicted to do in my small group, is to create that community to speak that life to people who may be more of a taker than a speaker. And anyway, I just like wanted to share that thought. Thank you. Love you guys. Bye.

Sneezing Jesus - Chapter 1, Advent - On Brokenness and Wholeness 

Hey friends, Brian here. And today is the first Sunday of Advent. And, although I didn’t grow up observing Advent over the years, it has become really helpful to me to keep me tethered to the reason this season is happening. Advent, of course, means arrival. And in these days leading up to Christmas we make some space and some time to contemplate the implications of the arrival of the Savior, while at the same time, longing for His Second Advent, His second arrival, His return. So, to help us all move into that season and aim our hearts in that direction, I’d like to read for you, Chapter 1 of my book Sneezing Jesus, which is entitled, Advent.

Advent

God’s movement is often abrupt and unsettling rather than predictable and settling. - Michael Joseph Brown

LONG AGO, in a land far away, there was an unspoiled garden created for a special purpose: to cradle and nourish the most captivating of God’s creatures - humans. Among all the intricate life born out of creation - the plants and the insects, the birds and the beasts - these human creatures were unique. They were God-like, crafted in the image of their Creator. God had, indeed, breathed His own life into them, offering them living souls.1 And to these exquisite creatures, God bequeathed the earth in all its elaborate wonder.

In this time, before time was being counted, these humans lacked nothing. The world was without conflict. Everything was in harmony. All was perfect and whole, as it was intended to be. This essential state of being would later have a name: shalom. God’s peace and order were perfect in all places, at all times, and in all things. Wholeness was completely normal. Upon these human creatures, God bestowed incredible abilities. In collaboration with their Creator Father, they could in turn create other life after God’s image. God also gave them the gift of a will, one of the most powerful of all gifts, which allowed them the choice to enter into relationship with their Creator—the essence of true love. And true love it was.

These human creatures were a seamless and perfect transition between the physical and the spiritual. They could at once be present in their humanness and commune with their Creator in spirit. The soul of the divine and the physicality of the human occupying the same space at the same time was, like shalom, completely normal. God was within them and around them, and they knew and experienced nothing but perfection.

Unfortunately, it was not to last.

Among the swaying grass and intricate forestry of the garden, God placed two specific trees. One became known as the tree of life, and God’s children were invited to eat their fill of its fruit and enjoy life eternal. The other tree was known as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This one was forbidden. In all of creation, the fruit of this tree was the one thing God asked His children not to partake of.

Although the Creator had prohibited His children from eating this fruit, He did not take away their ability to choose otherwise. Love isn’t love if there’s no way out. And allowing this choice created a vulnerability. After all, loving and collaborative relationships require this kind of trust.

A time came when the first man and woman found themselves before the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, absorbing a deception that would bring devastating results. Satan told them that if they ate the fruit dangling before them, they would become like God. In perhaps the cosmic irony of all time, they had somehow forgotten that they already were.

And so they ate. The juice of rebellion that flowed into their bodies was fatal to their souls. A breach was opened. Trust was broken. The misused gift of will and choice shattered the intimate love and trust between Creator and created. With one decision, humankind created a new reality for itself - one that had never been intended, one that fractured humanity at its core. No longer were humanity and divinity intertwined in a state of shalom. Eden had fallen.

Armed with the knowledge of good and evil but separated from divinity, humans forged their way forward, only to systematically discover their powerlessness. Hate was born. Conflict was created. Murder was committed. Death was introduced.

As humankind tried to find its way back to shalom on its own terms, the consequences of the breach between the human and the divine became more and more apparent: Humanity had fallen into inhumanity. They had become subhuman, like animals, separated from God. The human soul was empty. Every attempt to fill the void created further devastation on a planet meant to be filled with the unfiltered glory of the Creator. Humanity became entombed in its own knowledge of good and evil. But the knowledge could not lead it back to its Creator, and so humanity began to forget who it was. All was lost.

And yet - the Creator Father had not abandoned them. He was waiting, watching, preparing to redeem the whole devolved mess. But a rescue would require something daring, painful, and unspeakably vulnerable. One day, at the precise moment of His choosing, God would invade the earth to rescue a species He had fashioned in His own image - an image He would not surrender to the darkness. And the invasion would be so counterintuitive, most wouldn’t even understand what had happened until the victory was already won.

And that’s what brings us to Jesus.

Mary was about fifteen years old, and she was engaged to be married. On this day, a day like any other, she had much to contemplate: leaving home, joining a new family, creating a new home, having sex for the first time, becoming a woman. But she had no idea that her world - and the human story itself - was about to change.

“Hello, favored woman. The Lord is with you.”

The speaker’s name was Gabriel. He was a chief among the angels of God.

Mary, startled from her daydream, couldn’t figure out what this strange man was trying to say - or who he was. To reassure her, Gabriel began to state his business.

“Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. I have great news! You’re going to be a mother! The baby will be a boy, and you will name Him Jesus. He’ll be a King! He’ll be known as the Son of God, and His Kingdom will never end!”

Mary’s blank stare revealed her confusion. Was he talking about the children she would have with her beloved Joseph? He must be. But who was this stranger? What if someone saw her talking to him? It was highly irregular for her to be approached by a man who wasn’t in her family - and this man was saying crazy things. What was going on?

Stepping back, she stammered out the first words she could think of: “How? I’m a virgin.”

When Gabriel spoke again, something shifted inside Mary. Curiosity began to rise up in her. What if this really was an angel of God? Either she had lost her mind - or she was truly being visited by Heaven.

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” Gabriel said, “and the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”

He then spoke about her cousin Elizabeth. Mary was taken aback. How could he know Elizabeth was part of her family? How could he know about Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy? Could what he said be for real? And what could she do? All her life she’d loved God. And if this angel was from Him - he must be from Him! - and God was asking this of her, Mary, who was no one special from nowhere special…how could she say no?

The words spilled from her lips before she could catch them. “I am the Lord’s servant,” she said. And then, words that resonated from the center of her soul - “May everything you’ve said come true.”

And the angel was gone.

Mary slowly turned, looking for Gabriel, listening for his voice, but heard only the light breeze. The conversation had lasted but a minute. And while the world looked the same, everything had changed.

Imagine that first minute. Imagine that young peasant girl standing alone, the only human being in the world who knew anything had happened. This was how counterintuitively the Creator chose to invade the world.

The thoughts twisting and rolling in her mind must have been overwhelming. She had agreed to the most preposterous thing she’d ever heard. She had become vulnerable in a way that would alter the trajectories of everyone she loved. She did trust in the Lord and had offered herself with her whole heart - but trust was all that she had to hold on to. She wasn’t sure what had just happened.

The world began to spin. She could feel herself teetering when two thoughts brought her back to her senses: What am I going to tell my father? What am I going to tell Joseph?

For days those questions consumed her. She needed to tell someone, but what if her story proved untrue? She would be punished severely for such a completely outrageous prank - or worse, she would be considered mentally unhinged. She battled between believing she’d been visited by an actual angel…and fearing she’d lost her senses.

The conversations, when they finally came, must have been awful. If my beautiful daughter told me she was unexpectedly pregnant, with the caveat that she’d not had sex at all and the father was actually God, I would have no small amount of skepticism. I would need an angel experience of my own.

And no one believed Mary at first. Joseph was brokenhearted - but he still loved her. He began considering plausible ways to keep the matter quiet, to avoid humiliating Mary publicly and destroying her and her family. At the same time, Mary was spirited out of town as quickly as possible, sent off to the hill country to visit Elizabeth. Mary hoped that visiting Cousin Elizabeth would be the breath of grace that she needed. And it was.

But then, back in Galilee, everything changed. Amid heartache and betrayal, an angel went to Joseph in a dream - and Joseph was invited into the story in a rush of grace. The angel told Joseph that Mary was pure and true, that this baby was truly from God and of God. Mary was to be Joseph’s wife, and Joseph was to name the baby boy Jesus. And this is what he would do as soon as Mary returned from the south. Mary returned home during her second trimester. The adjustment was awkward at first, but everyone managed. Those who didn’t believe Mary kept it to themselves. After all, Joseph was sticking by Mary, so what else was there to say? It wasn’t the grand celebration that had been planned, but this was the best possible solution. Joseph and Elizabeth appear to be the only ones who believed Mary’s story without reservation. So as the months went by, Mary grew a thick skin along with her expanding midsection. The baby was kicking now, and Mary was amazed and in love.

The announcement that everyone would be required to migrate to their ancestral homes for a census couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time. The baby was expected any day, but Joseph couldn’t refuse to participate in the census. Much of his livelihood came from the Romans. And people knew him—he was a respected artisan with skills in both wood and stone. He couldn’t just disappear. But he couldn’t leave Mary either.

He led their colt out of Nazareth; Mary rode on its back with a couple of extra blankets to cushion her. An agile and light traveler could make the journey in about four days, but Joseph and Mary were neither agile nor light. Joseph worried about how and where the baby would be born - because the baby was certain to come before they made the journey back. When they finally tottered into Bethlehem, dusty and weary, all they wanted was something to eat and a place to sleep. Unfortunately, as the Bible puts it, “there was no room for them in the inn.”

The hospitality business was booming, thanks to the census. It seemed as though everyone in the entire province had been displaced. No matter how much Joseph begged for shelter for a very pregnant woman, there simply was nowhere to stay. Finally, one man took compassion on them: They could stay in his stable, which was a cave where animals were kept. Joseph and Mary were grateful to have a place to lie down. The cave wasn’t so bad. And at least they’d made it to Bethlehem.

Joseph was talking about whether to leave Mary for a short excursion to find food when she felt the first real contraction. It tightened like a belt around her waist and radiated deep into her back. She held her breath until she finally had to cry out. She locked eyes with Joseph. The baby was coming.

Joseph unloaded their belongings and set about attempting to make the place slightly more sanitary. Mary tried to get comfortable, which was difficult on a dirt floor in an open cave filled with animals. But the animals cooperated. They knew instinctively that new life was coming.

And it did.

Before the night was over, the shrieking of Mary gave way to the tiny whimper of a newborn baby boy. In the most normal of ways, God had come to be with us.

This is how Jesus became a human being. This is how the Creator Father chose to become a person and dwell among us. It’s how the prophecy of Immanuel moved from a concept into a reality. And while this tells us much about God’s heart toward people, it also tells us much about ourselves.

If this were our story to tell, we would have imagined God arriving a little higher up the food chain, in full adulthood and total competency. It would make sense for Him to skip the messiness of infancy, the awkwardness of childhood. It would make more sense for Him to come to earth as royalty. But this is precisely what God didn’t do. And this is the first clue that God’s view of humanity is different from our own. Jesus would proclaim this message relentlessly throughout His ministry.

We shouldn’t overlook this. God chose to slide through a birth canal and come helpless, naked, and screaming into the world like any other human baby - completely vulnerable. He wasn’t born potty-trained. He had to have His bottom wiped. He probably peed on His mommy more than once. He suckled at her breast in order to be nourished. He had to grow in strength and learn balance before He could take His first steps. He took no shortcuts. In every way He was a human being. And that is the point. He was perfect, and perfectly normal. He was a human as humanity was intended all the way back in the Garden.

God chose to fully become one of us in every respect, and He came in a way that was baffling and unsettling. His coming twisted so many cultural norms out of shape - and perhaps it should similarly challenge us. God, who could have come to Earth in any way He wanted, chose to come as a peasant to a place few knew of. God chose to be ordinary.

Jesus was born into a family, and He grew up in the context of human relationships. He had a keen sense of the people around Him and their connection to the earth that provided their home. He understood the bond between parents and children. He learned all the things children discover as they mature. He learned to work with wood and stone alongside Joseph - to get into the soil, craft with His hands, and create things. Creating was - and is - His nature. Relationship was - and is - His nature. And these things are the essence of what we are made of.

But Jesus did more than identify with and embody our humanity - His very human arrival revealed the extent of humankind’s loss of identity. After all, God arrived through the scandal of an unwed pregnancy. He was born into relative poverty and total obscurity. Before He could talk, He was a homeless refugee. In all of humanity, there seemed to be no place for the Creator in whose image humans were made.

Our humanity was fractured long ago in a garden. At the Fall, we actually fell. We slid downward and backward away from the way we were created to be. We were never supposed to be separated from God. And the effects of this separation aren’t hard to miss in the world - which is to say that it’s not hard to see how far we have fallen.

And this is why Jesus’ arrival, the ordinary moments and details of His coming, are so important. Because although we look at Jesus’ arrival as an extraordinary event - and yes, the very fact that God came at all is extraordinary - we can’t forget the radical importance of the ordinary. That perhaps Jesus’ human life was more about what ordinary humanity was supposed to look like - that His life was largely spent reminding His creation what they were supposed to be from the start.

Daniel 9:1-11:1, 1 John 2:18-3:6, Psalms 121:1-8, Proverbs 28:27-28

Today is the second day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as we close down another week, which means that tomorrow will begin the first full week of December and today would’ve been my father’s birthday. He’s been experiencing shalom, wholeness, rest, and health for 16 years now, but I always remember his birthday. I don’t always say it, but I always remember his birthday because his influence in my life is so profound. He’s the most influential man I’ve ever known and he gave me the foundation that my life is built around and was the first person to teach me the Bible as a pastor. So, today would’ve been his birthday. And what a more fitting thing to do than to take the next step forward in the Scriptures. We have been reading from the Contemporary English Version all of this week, which we’ll do today. Daniel chapter 9 verse 1 through 11 verse 1.

Commentary:

Okay. So, have you ever dealt with doubt in your faith? I mean, that’s a bit of a rhetorical question because at one point or another we probably all have for various reasons. And if we’re honest, a good majority, a generous majority of that comes from God not doing what we want Him to do. We’ll actually talk about that a little bit in tomorrow’s reading, but doubt and walking away from the faith has a lot to do with what we read today. So, let’s take a little look out why that was happening, what was happening, and the solution that leads us right back to the original leap of faith we took in the first place, when we believed. So, let’s dive into this a little bit. John says, ‘it’s the last hour and as you’ve heard the enemy of Christ is coming.’ Right? So, the anti-Christ is coming ‘and there’s a lot of enemies, antichrists, that have already come and that’s how we know it’s the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out, and it might become plain that they all are not of us.’ So, pretty long sentence that basically says, if they had been with us for real they would’ve never left in the first place, but they did. And why did they doubt? And why were they willing to walk away? And not just walk away, but become an enemy of Christ? And what does that even mean? So, we’re going to have to peel this back like an onion. So, several days ago we talked about the worldview of the early believers and their expectation that the return of Christ was imminent and that the new world that they were expecting was upon them. And this is known as an apocalyptic worldview that, in many ways, we share even today. So, we see this in first John, right off the bat, in our reading today. It is the last hour and as you have heard, enemies of Christ are coming. Even now many antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. So, this is how we know, kind of, what they’re thinking or specifically what John’s thinking. And from there, he talks about people who have doubted and walked away, and even become anti-Christ or an enemy of Christ. But, why would someone doubt like that and completely turn their back and walk away? Well, in part, it’s because what they thought was immediate and imminent didn’t happen that way, which eventually compelled some people to deny their faith and walk away. And in some cases, not just walk away, but become an enemy of the faith. And John basically is saying they we’re…it was never real…they were never with us from the beginning. And if we go one layer below that we can surmise that these people were signing up to be a part of this new world. They didn’t want to miss out on this imminent change and they wanted to have a place in this new thing, but when it wasn’t delivered in the time period they were expecting, right, so, when they didn’t get what they wanted when they wanted it, they fell away and became antagonistic. Because rather than getting this new world and a place in it, they were getting ridicule, marginalization, and persecution. So, what were these people saying that made them anti-Christ or the enemy of Christ? John tells us. ‘He who denies the Father and the Son is the enemy of Christ.’ Now, we can read past that and just go dah, but John is referring to something that is specifically happening in the stew that was the early formation of the church. Many things were being thought and said about Jesus and the implications of Jesus and they were coming from a lot of different perspectives. So, for example, Jewish people had no problem acknowledging God, but they had a much more difficult time acknowledging Jesus as being one with the Father. And from the Gentile side you had a culture of philosophy and a pantheon of gods, largely influenced by Greek culture, which could and did lead to conclusions of its own. So, John denounces this. He says, ‘a liar is anyone who says that Jesus isn’t truly Christ. Anyone who says this is an enemy of Christ and rejects both the Father and the Son. If we reject the Son, we reject the Father, but if we say that we accept the Son then we have the Father.’ So, he’s refuting specific things that are going around. And then he offers counsel and instruction for those who have decided to remain true to Jesus. ‘Keep thinking about the message you first heard and you will always be one in your heart with the Son and with the Father. It is the Son who has promised us eternal life. And, so, I’m writing to warn you about these people who are misleading you. But Christ has blessed you with the Holy Spirit. Now the Spirit stays in you and you don’t need any teachers. The Spirit is truthful and teaches you everything. So, stay one in your heart with Christ just as the Spirit has taught you to do.’ So, John isn’t saying, don’t ask questions of your faith, don’t continue to grow deeper in your understanding of it, or anything like that. He’s specifically saying, anything that denies that Jesus is the Christ or anything that separates Jesus from the Father isn’t true. That is the bedrock of the faith and when you encounter this all you have to do is go back to the beginning. This is what you were told from the beginning. Go back to that place. And this is supremely good advice for all of us who believe, especially when we’re going through a patch where we can’t remember why. Go back to the beginning and you will remember.

Prayer:

Father, we believe that and we thank You for the gift of your Son, we thank You for the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, leading us deeper into You, into collaboration and union with You. And, so, we go back. We go back to the beginning, to the moment that we met You, we think about that moment when our hearts awakened to the truth, to what’s really going on here. And we invite your Holy Spirit to remind us of what we know is true. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

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

Tomorrow, as we start a new week, we begin the season of Advent. Tomorrow is the first Sunday in Advent and many of you already know that and some of you are like, yeah, I’ve heard of it, I don’t really participate in anything like that, which is fine, but it’s a beautiful tradition that’s ancient in the faith and its intentions are to simply point our hearts in a very busy time toward what’s really going on here - the longing for the Savior to come. In the Christmas story, this puts us in the place where we are waiting for God to move in this way, but we also acknowledge that we are still longing, we are waiting for the second Advent, Advent meaning arrival, coming. We are waiting for Christ’s return. So, tomorrow, when you get your Daily Audio Bible, there will be a second program available. And to inaugurate the Advent season, I’ve grabbed chapter 1 of the audio addition of my book Sneezing Jesus, which is called Advent, to move our hearts toward this and help us focus on the reason for this season. So, look for that tomorrow and use it to set your hearts posture.

And, of course, there are some of the things going on.

The More Gathering for women, our annual women’s conference is open for early registration. It will take place in the mountains of Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, in April. And it’s certainly a good thing to look forward to and makes for a very unique and life-changing gift. So, you can find out all about that at dailyaudiobible.com. Just find the initiatives section and everything that you would want or need to know is there.

And then the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box that we do every year and try to pack it full of resources, some that you’ll want to keep, some that you’ll want to give away is also available at dailyaudiobible.com in the Daily Audio Bible shop. And as is always the case, they’re going fast. So, check that out.

Also in the shop, and a great gift idea, is the Daily Audio Bible Journal, paired with any of the writing utensils and paraphernalia that we have in the shop, a great way to plan to Journal your way through your life next year and chronicle your way through the Bible. We’ve always encouraged journaling around here because it becomes invaluable when things get misty. It’s good to be able to look back over the years and see where you’ve come from. So, all of that is available in the Daily Audio Bible shop as well.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link that lives on the homepage and I thank you humbly for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you. Happy birthday dad. I’ll be waiting for all of us here tomorrow.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hi there. This message is for Gloria. And Gloria, I just wanted to say, regarding your mom, I think you might have listened to the Daily Audio Bible for this last community prayer. So, you can reach out to me. But I’m going to pray for a sign for you. God is in this. And I think the community will too. So, what I would say is this, we search the dark side of the soul and that’s a period of time where it feels like God is not in our life, but He is, and He’s working powerfully. When do you know that it’s ended? And that is that you receive an abundance of blessings that come. I will say I’ve been through it before and more than once that has been the case. So, trust that the Lord is with your mom even in dementia. And too, I would say this is about your brother, that the Lord goes to the end of the world to save every soul and I believe He will be using this to save him. And if your mother knew this is what it was all about, would she not agree to it? Would she not agree to it? And would you not too, if in the end it will mean peace between you and him and that you would rejoice in him making it to heaven? So, just know that I’m glad you’re reaching out so we can pray for you. God bless. Bye. And for your brother. Yes. And for your mother. Amen. God bless.

Hi this is Kristi and God just impressed upon my heart to call because I have three little kids and I love them to death but…you know…as a mom with three little kids under the age of 6, sometimes you just lose your cool and yell. And I’ve just been easily…just been quick to anger lately. And So, God is really convicting me about that and my life group’s praying for me at church, but just to share it here, too, so I can have more people praying. And then I just wanted to offer a prayer to all the other moms like me who are struggling too. And just say, God I thank You that anger isn’t something we have to experience in order to be able to handle __ and I pray that You will help us do it well and that we will help our children and be slow to anger and patient and gentle teachers. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hi family, it’s Sally from Massachusetts. I want to thank everyone for their prayers. I know people are praying for me. I can feel it and God is parting waters for me. I want to pray for everyone who listens to the Daily Audio Bible. Please pray with me. Holy Spirit, please fill us with Your presence. Intervene for us on our behalf as we pray for every single person that listens to the Daily Audio Bible and visits the prayer wall and does not call in and for everyone who calls in with a prayer request. Lord, You know our struggles. You know those of us that are suffering with a loss of a loved one, those of us who are waiting for the impending death of a loved one, You know those of us with financial struggles, You know those of us who are trying to pass a class, You know those of us who are waiting for promotions at work, You know those of us who are waiting for You to open doors to find a job, You know the struggles of those of us who are sick, You know the struggle of us those of us who are facing the holidays alone and want so much to be a part of something. Father God, we come to You because we believe in You. We believe in the power of prayer. Please, God, answer our prayer. Comfort us, love us, Lord. Open doors for us, close doors for us, help us recognize when a door is closed on something that we want it’s because you have something far more than we could ever ask. Please help us trust in You. In the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Hi Daily Audio Bible people. This is Elaine from Victoria and it’s November 27^th and God is so merciful and kind and loving. I was on my knees yesterday, Sunday, asking for God’s mercy through this trial of family. And I had a mission. I wanted to go to Shoppers Drug Mart to get a special Christmas card for a friend in prison and as I entered the door of Shoppers, I was met with a lady from the cosmetic counter remarking on what a beautiful day - the sun was going through the window. And she said, it’s a beautiful day to go to church. And I said, yes, that’s what I’m doing today. We shared our plights with each…we had children…saving Lords…we shared with each other and I asked her name. Her name was Bonnie and told her my name and she just hugged me…hugged me…a sister…because she belonged to __ Pentecostal church and I belong to ___ church. So, she just hugged me. She said…oh sweetheart…it was a God divined, appointed meeting of two sisters wanting to share the love of Jesus. Now I want to…He’s given me such peace in this trial. So, Lord God, just be with all my brothers and sisters at Daily Audio Bible. Let them enjoy Your presence. Just get into the Word people, get into the Word. He meets you there. He does meet you there.

Hi this is Drew from the bay area again, calling back. This is for Gloria. Gloria and those like Gloria; Sharon and Shannon and Lee, Chris, Kerry, Rebecca, Rhombi. My sisters, I love you and my brothers that are going through the same thing, Jordan. And this is for myself. This goes to Psalm 40, I believe it is, but I would ask you to close your eyes and imagine that you’re little eaglet’s and you’ve just been blown out of a high nest in a serious storm and you’re falling, falling, falling, bouncing off the edge of a cliff and then you stop and you grab on, you just fall on a ledge, you grab on mercy and you’re stuck there in this storm. Imagine yourself, cold and wet, and you call out to the Lord. You call out to the Lord and you don’t think He hears you. The storm is roaring, there’s rain and lightning, you’re alone, and you’re certain that you’re going to fall off the cliff and die, but You call out and you call out and then the storm breaks. The sun opens up through the cliff, you can see, you can the sun, and you feel it’s warmth, and you’re still scared and shivering. But you’re an eaglet. God has opened up the skies for you. And you’ve called out to him and he’s answered.  And you’re an eaglet. You’re not a chicken or turkey. You’re an eaglet. And God has giving you everything you need to be and eagle.