The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Wednesday September 26, 2018 (NIV)

Isaiah 48:12-50:11

Freedom from Babylon

12 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob,
Israel my chosen one!
I alone am God,
the First and the Last.
13 It was my hand that laid the foundations of the earth,
my right hand that spread out the heavens above.
When I call out the stars,
they all appear in order.”

14 Have any of your idols ever told you this?
Come, all of you, and listen:
The Lord has chosen Cyrus as his ally.
He will use him to put an end to the empire of Babylon
and to destroy the Babylonian[a] armies.

15 “I have said it: I am calling Cyrus!
I will send him on this errand and will help him succeed.
16 Come closer, and listen to this.
From the beginning I have told you plainly what would happen.”

And now the Sovereign Lord and his Spirit
have sent me with this message.
17 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
who teaches you what is good for you
and leads you along the paths you should follow.
18 Oh, that you had listened to my commands!
Then you would have had peace flowing like a gentle river
and righteousness rolling over you like waves in the sea.
19 Your descendants would have been like the sands along the seashore—
too many to count!
There would have been no need for your destruction,
or for cutting off your family name.”

20 Yet even now, be free from your captivity!
Leave Babylon and the Babylonians.[b]
Sing out this message!
Shout it to the ends of the earth!
The Lord has redeemed his servants,
the people of Israel.[c]
21 They were not thirsty
when he led them through the desert.
He divided the rock,
and water gushed out for them to drink.
22 “But there is no peace for the wicked,”
says the Lord.

The Lord’s Servant Commissioned

49 Listen to me, all you in distant lands!
Pay attention, you who are far away!
The Lord called me before my birth;
from within the womb he called me by name.
He made my words of judgment as sharp as a sword.
He has hidden me in the shadow of his hand.
I am like a sharp arrow in his quiver.

He said to me, “You are my servant, Israel,
and you will bring me glory.”

I replied, “But my work seems so useless!
I have spent my strength for nothing and to no purpose.
Yet I leave it all in the Lord’s hand;
I will trust God for my reward.”

And now the Lord speaks—
the one who formed me in my mother’s womb to be his servant,
who commissioned me to bring Israel back to him.
The Lord has honored me,
and my God has given me strength.
He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me.
I will make you a light to the Gentiles,
and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

The Lord, the Redeemer
and Holy One of Israel,
says to the one who is despised and rejected by the nations,
to the one who is the servant of rulers:
“Kings will stand at attention when you pass by.
Princes will also bow low
because of the Lord, the faithful one,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Promises of Israel’s Restoration

This is what the Lord says:

“At just the right time, I will respond to you.[d]
On the day of salvation I will help you.
I will protect you and give you to the people
as my covenant with them.
Through you I will reestablish the land of Israel
and assign it to its own people again.
I will say to the prisoners, ‘Come out in freedom,’
and to those in darkness, ‘Come into the light.’
They will be my sheep, grazing in green pastures
and on hills that were previously bare.
10 They will neither hunger nor thirst.
The searing sun will not reach them anymore.
For the Lord in his mercy will lead them;
he will lead them beside cool waters.
11 And I will make my mountains into level paths for them.
The highways will be raised above the valleys.
12 See, my people will return from far away,
from lands to the north and west,
and from as far south as Egypt.[e]

13 Sing for joy, O heavens!
Rejoice, O earth!
Burst into song, O mountains!
For the Lord has comforted his people
and will have compassion on them in their suffering.

14 Yet Jerusalem[f] says, “The Lord has deserted us;
the Lord has forgotten us.”

15 “Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child?
Can she feel no love for the child she has borne?
But even if that were possible,
I would not forget you!
16 See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands.
Always in my mind is a picture of Jerusalem’s walls in ruins.
17 Soon your descendants will come back,
and all who are trying to destroy you will go away.
18 Look around you and see,
for all your children will come back to you.
As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“they will be like jewels or bridal ornaments for you to display.

19 “Even the most desolate parts of your abandoned land
will soon be crowded with your people.
Your enemies who enslaved you
will be far away.
20 The generations born in exile will return and say,
‘We need more room! It’s crowded here!’
21 Then you will think to yourself,
‘Who has given me all these descendants?
For most of my children were killed,
and the rest were carried away into exile.
I was left here all alone.
Where did all these people come from?
Who bore these children?
Who raised them for me?’”

22 This is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“See, I will give a signal to the godless nations.
They will carry your little sons back to you in their arms;
they will bring your daughters on their shoulders.
23 Kings and queens will serve you
and care for all your needs.
They will bow to the earth before you
and lick the dust from your feet.
Then you will know that I am the Lord.
Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.”

24 Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior?
Who can demand that a tyrant[g] let his captives go?
25 But the Lord says,
“The captives of warriors will be released,
and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved.
For I will fight those who fight you,
and I will save your children.
26 I will feed your enemies with their own flesh.
They will be drunk with rivers of their own blood.
All the world will know that I, the Lord,
am your Savior and your Redeemer,
the Mighty One of Israel.[h]

50 This is what the Lord says:

“Was your mother sent away because I divorced her?
Did I sell you as slaves to my creditors?
No, you were sold because of your sins.
And your mother, too, was taken because of your sins.
Why was no one there when I came?
Why didn’t anyone answer when I called?
Is it because I have no power to rescue?
No, that is not the reason!
For I can speak to the sea and make it dry up!
I can turn rivers into deserts covered with dying fish.
I dress the skies in darkness,
covering them with clothes of mourning.”

The Lord’s Obedient Servant

The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom,
so that I know how to comfort the weary.
Morning by morning he wakens me
and opens my understanding to his will.
The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me,
and I have listened.
I have not rebelled or turned away.
I offered my back to those who beat me
and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard.
I did not hide my face
from mockery and spitting.

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore, I have set my face like a stone,
determined to do his will.
And I know that I will not be put to shame.
He who gives me justice is near.
Who will dare to bring charges against me now?
Where are my accusers?
Let them appear!
See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side!
Who will declare me guilty?
All my enemies will be destroyed
like old clothes that have been eaten by moths!

10 Who among you fears the Lord
and obeys his servant?
If you are walking in darkness,
without a ray of light,
trust in the Lord
and rely on your God.
11 But watch out, you who live in your own light
and warm yourselves by your own fires.
This is the reward you will receive from me:
You will soon fall down in great torment.

Footnotes:

  1. 48:14 Or Chaldean.
  2. 48:20a Or the Chaldeans.
  3. 48:20b Hebrew his servant, Jacob. See note on 14:1.
  4. 49:8 Greek version reads I heard you. Compare 2 Cor 6:2.
  5. 49:12 As in Dead Sea Scrolls, which read from the region of Aswan, which is in southern Egypt. Masoretic Text reads from the region of Sinim.
  6. 49:14 Hebrew Zion.
  7. 49:24 As in Dead Sea Scrolls, Syriac version, and Latin Vulgate (also see 49:25); Masoretic Text reads a righteous person.
  8. 49:26 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 14:1.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Ephesians 4:17-32

Living as Children of Light

17 With the Lord’s authority I say this: Live no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their minds are full of darkness; they wander far from the life God gives because they have closed their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They have no sense of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and eagerly practice every kind of impurity.

20 But that isn’t what you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

25 So stop telling lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth, for we are all parts of the same body. 26 And “don’t sin by letting anger control you.”[a] Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 for anger gives a foothold to the devil.

28 If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need. 29 Don’t use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them.

30 And do not bring sorrow to God’s Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember, he has identified you as his own,[b] guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption.

31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Footnotes:

  1. 4:26 Ps 4:4.
  2. 4:30 Or has put his seal on you.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 68:1-18

Psalm 68

For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David.

Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies.
Let those who hate God run for their lives.
Blow them away like smoke.
Melt them like wax in a fire.
Let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
But let the godly rejoice.
Let them be glad in God’s presence.
Let them be filled with joy.
Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.[a]
His name is the Lord
rejoice in his presence!

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

O God, when you led your people out from Egypt,
when you marched through the dry wasteland, Interlude
the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain
before you, the God of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
You sent abundant rain, O God,
to refresh the weary land.
10 There your people finally settled,
and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
you provided for your needy people.

11 The Lord gives the word,
and a great army[b] brings the good news.
12 Enemy kings and their armies flee,
while the women of Israel divide the plunder.
13 Even those who lived among the sheepfolds found treasures—
doves with wings of silver
and feathers of gold.
14 The Almighty scattered the enemy kings
like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.

15 The mountains of Bashan are majestic,
with many peaks stretching high into the sky.
16 Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains,
at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live,
where the Lord himself will live forever?

17 Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots,
the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.
18 When you ascended to the heights,
you led a crowd of captives.
You received gifts from the people,
even from those who rebelled against you.
Now the Lord God will live among us there.

Footnotes:

  1. 68:4 Or rides through the deserts.
  2. 68:11 Or a host of women.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 24:5-6

The wise are mightier than the strong,[a]
and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger.
So don’t go to war without wise guidance;
victory depends on having many advisers.

Footnotes:

  1. 24:5 As in Greek version; Hebrew reads A wise man is strength.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


09/24/2018 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 43:14-45:10, Ephesians 3:1-21, Psalms 68:1-18, Proverbs 24:1-2

Today is the 24th day of September. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. And it’s great to be here with you as we get the work week rolling. And we put one foot front of the other, take the next step forward as we continue these 365 steps through the year. And we’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. And back into the book of Isaiah we go. Chapter 43 verse 14 through 45 verse 10 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, as we continue to follow the path of this letter to the Ephesians, which is one of the most epic descriptions of what faith in Christ brings to the believer. So, we’re climbing higher and higher. And we’ll get to see these grand vistas of our faith and the implications of what God has done for us. But it’s when we contrast these implications that are written in Ephesians against our own life experience that we find we may be missing out on plenty that is available to us. We’re missing out on things that are just about too good to be true. So, in our reading today Paul wrote, This is God’s plan. Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the good news share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body and both enjoy the promise of blessing because they belong to Christ Jesus. So, that verse, which is Ephesians 3:6, that applies to every believer in the world. Jew and Gentile alike. And the promise is the riches of God’s blessings. But why would God be so gracious to us? According to Ephesians, there’s a reason. God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus, our Lord. So, here, the implications of what we’re talking about, we could just blow by this day after day after day, but the implications are pretty profound. Had you ever considered God’s goodness in offering you eternal life makes his wisdom known and displays it into the unseen realms? This is a big picture view of our faith. That because of our faith in Jesus, according to Ephesians, we can come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. So, what else would a person want but to be able to come boldly and confidently into the presence of God? What would be more far reaching than that? What mountaintop must we climb to get above that? Think of the implications. We’re permitted to enter the presence of the Almighty God, creator of all things seen and unseen, as boldly and confidently as a beloved son or daughter what with any loving parent. Even the Apostle Paul trying to write this down, it’s overwhelming to him. And he says as much in his benediction. When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. And Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love is. That’s profound stuff, my friends. And so let’s receive the benediction that the Apostle Paul spoke over the Ephesians as our prayer today. Long ago, this letter would have arrived at Ephesus to the church and it would have been read aloud and Paul closed with a benediction prayer that we can all receive. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Prayer:

Father, we receive that prayer of blessing. And we ask that You make it so, in the name of Jesus and by the power of Your Holy Spirit. Come Jesus,  we pray in your mighty name. Amen.

Announcements:

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

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

Community Prayer and Praise: 

Hey, this is Cory up in __. I was just listening to today’s podcast and I heard a call from Denise, first time caller who is recently diagnosed with follicular lymphoma. That call kind of hit close to home. That’s something that my dad has been living with for about 10 years now and I just wanted to say that I am thinking about you, I’m praying for you, and I can feel from what you’re going through. I don’t know firsthand but, I mean, yeah, I hear you, and I’m praying for you and I just wanted to give you hope that it is not a life sentence. My dad has been living a very full life with that for quite some time now. So, I’m hopeful that it’s…will be okay for you, yeah, I just want to lift you up today. So, thinking about you, praying for ya. All right. Bye.

Hello family this is Aaron in Michigan. Thank you Brian and Jill for this podcast. Thank you for family because the moment that someone entrusts a prayer request to me that I know is bigger than me that I can’t handle, I’ve got you all on speed dial. So, thank you family. Tonight I want to lift up my pastor. He has just come back off sabbatical and at a time where in he should feel fully rested and ready to go again. I know he’s facing some trouble because throughout his sabbatical his…his precious wife our…our pastor’s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and has had undergone surgery and in the midst of chemo. And, so, that of course is laying high and heavily. And just this past weekend…this past week his father passed away. So, he is devastated, understandably so, and we just need to come around him and lift him up. He’s a man of God. He leads us and he makes sure we have what we need and is completely selfless. So, in this time of desperation for my pastor, please remember to pray for him. His name is Tom and he is the true power of God. He’s a man of God. He’s a leader. He is an amazing father and husband and he just needs our prayers. So, appreciate your family. Thank you for praying. I love you and I’ll continue praying as we go. Peace.

Good morning everybody. Hey, this Annette heading into work this morning. Gonna go build some freedom parts. Ha ha ha. Hey, I love you guys but my son Alex, as many of you know who, of course, has chosen the path of incarceration. So, but anyways, he’s asked for me to send him some books and things. And, so, I sent him some Reframe books and I posted that on the DAB friends page. And I thank you guys. Ah…so many wonderful, helpful, encouraging responses and I thank you and I pray for every one of you, especially one in particular and I think you know who you are sir. Thank you. And, so, anyways, I told my son that I was sending him a gift from my Daily Audio Bible family. So, I sent in a couple of Reframe books. And those of you who have read it, including myself, know what a difference it  makes in everyone’s life. And he was very encouraged and he was he was really….really excited about receiving one. So, if you guys would, pray for…pray for these books. Okay? Not, obviously, the book itself but the power of the book to invite Jesus into our lives. And, let’s pray for this…it’s San Miguel County prison in Telluride Colorado. Let us pray for these people, that God will just bust open the doors over there, bust open the doors of their hearts. So, I love you guys. Have a wonderful, wonderful day. People on the East Coast you are in all of our prayers here in Oklahoma. You’re in all of our prayers. And God bless you all. And make the path easy for you all. Have a great day. Bye-bye.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is Lee from New Jersey. Today is September 21st and I’m not calling into pray today, not that I haven’t prayed today, but just praying against anger, I just don’t feel it. And I’m just calling to be honest. You know, you guys are my family and I had a meltdown with my daughter this morning. And it’s something that’s been going on all night. Just…just dealing with her…I mean…I think I have __ patience. I think I’m expecting way too much from her. You know what I mean? And she just got a new phone. And it all…it’s all starting again, you know, the nasty attitude. And I don’t know if it has to with her being a teenager. __ some books on teenagers and, you know, what their mind is going through, what their the brain is going through. So, I’m just very confused. Am I doing what’s right? Am I getting on her case? Am I being patient? Is she feeding herself stuff and she’s just hiding it? I mean…it’s not necessarily…it’s music, it’s his literature, it’s everything. And it comes out. And I’m just afraid that my daughter’s gonna come out worse than me. But you know, I didn’t come out right, I didn’t have anyone to guide me. You know, my mother __ but she tried. She was still a mother. My dad was gone. And I pretty much taught myself and I didn’t do a good job at it. I made a lot of mistakes. I had a child at 16. And then from there I made so many mistakes that I keep beating myself up over. And I gotta stop doing that. But then when I see my children and I see that there’s a potential for them going down that road, which I may be exaggerating because they’re far from that but…but just the thought of my daughter or my son, who are both on the path as well, It kills me. So, family please pray for me today, that I just…I just…I gotta get through this…I gotta make some sense out of this childbearing thing…out of this…

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday September 25, 2018 (NIV)

Isaiah 45:11-48

11 This is what the Lord says—
the Holy One of Israel and your Creator:
“Do you question what I do for my children?
Do you give me orders about the work of my hands?
12 I am the one who made the earth
and created people to live on it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens.
All the stars are at my command.
13 I will raise up Cyrus to fulfill my righteous purpose,
and I will guide his actions.
He will restore my city and free my captive people—
without seeking a reward!
I, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”

Future Conversion of Gentiles

14 This is what the Lord says:

“You will rule the Egyptians,
the Ethiopians,[a] and the Sabeans.
They will come to you with all their merchandise,
and it will all be yours.
They will follow you as prisoners in chains.
They will fall to their knees in front of you and say,
‘God is with you, and he is the only God.
There is no other.’”

15 Truly, O God of Israel, our Savior,
you work in mysterious ways.
16 All craftsmen who make idols will be humiliated.
They will all be disgraced together.
17 But the Lord will save the people of Israel
with eternal salvation.
Throughout everlasting ages,
they will never again be humiliated and disgraced.

18 For the Lord is God,
and he created the heavens and earth
and put everything in place.
He made the world to be lived in,
not to be a place of empty chaos.
“I am the Lord,” he says,
“and there is no other.
19 I publicly proclaim bold promises.
I do not whisper obscurities in some dark corner.
I would not have told the people of Israel[b] to seek me
if I could not be found.
I, the Lord, speak only what is true
and declare only what is right.

20 “Gather together and come,
you fugitives from surrounding nations.
What fools they are who carry around their wooden idols
and pray to gods that cannot save!
21 Consult together, argue your case.
Get together and decide what to say.
Who made these things known so long ago?
What idol ever told you they would happen?
Was it not I, the Lord?
For there is no other God but me,
a righteous God and Savior.
There is none but me.
22 Let all the world look to me for salvation!
For I am God; there is no other.
23 I have sworn by my own name;
I have spoken the truth,
and I will never go back on my word:
Every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to me.[c]
24 The people will declare,
“The Lord is the source of all my righteousness and strength.”
And all who were angry with him
will come to him and be ashamed.
25 In the Lord all the generations of Israel will be justified,
and in him they will boast.

Babylon’s False Gods

46 Bel and Nebo, the gods of Babylon,
bow as they are lowered to the ground.
They are being hauled away on ox carts.
The poor beasts stagger under the weight.
Both the idols and their owners are bowed down.
The gods cannot protect the people,
and the people cannot protect the gods.
They go off into captivity together.

“Listen to me, descendants of Jacob,
all you who remain in Israel.
I have cared for you since you were born.
Yes, I carried you before you were born.
I will be your God throughout your lifetime—
until your hair is white with age.
I made you, and I will care for you.
I will carry you along and save you.

“To whom will you compare me?
Who is my equal?
Some people pour out their silver and gold
and hire a craftsman to make a god from it.
Then they bow down and worship it!
They carry it around on their shoulders,
and when they set it down, it stays there.
It can’t even move!
And when someone prays to it, there is no answer.
It can’t rescue anyone from trouble.

“Do not forget this! Keep it in mind!
Remember this, you guilty ones.
Remember the things I have done in the past.
For I alone am God!
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 Only I can tell you the future
before it even happens.
Everything I plan will come to pass,
for I do whatever I wish.
11 I will call a swift bird of prey from the east—
a leader from a distant land to come and do my bidding.
I have said what I would do,
and I will do it.

12 “Listen to me, you stubborn people
who are so far from doing right.
13 For I am ready to set things right,
not in the distant future, but right now!
I am ready to save Jerusalem[d]
and show my glory to Israel.

Prediction of Babylon’s Fall

47 “Come down, virgin daughter of Babylon, and sit in the dust.
For your days of sitting on a throne have ended.
O daughter of Babylonia,[e] never again will you be
the lovely princess, tender and delicate.
Take heavy millstones and grind flour.
Remove your veil, and strip off your robe.
Expose yourself to public view.[f]
You will be naked and burdened with shame.
I will take vengeance against you without pity.”

Our Redeemer, whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
is the Holy One of Israel.

“O beautiful Babylon, sit now in darkness and silence.
Never again will you be known as the queen of kingdoms.
For I was angry with my chosen people
and punished them by letting them fall into your hands.
But you, Babylon, showed them no mercy.
You oppressed even the elderly.
You said, ‘I will reign forever as queen of the world!’
You did not reflect on your actions
or think about their consequences.

“Listen to this, you pleasure-loving kingdom,
living at ease and feeling secure.
You say, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.
I will never be a widow or lose my children.’
Well, both these things will come upon you in a moment:
widowhood and the loss of your children.
Yes, these calamities will come upon you,
despite all your witchcraft and magic.

10 “You felt secure in your wickedness.
‘No one sees me,’ you said.
But your ‘wisdom’ and ‘knowledge’ have led you astray,
and you said, ‘I am the only one, and there is no other.’
11 So disaster will overtake you,
and you won’t be able to charm it away.
Calamity will fall upon you,
and you won’t be able to buy your way out.
A catastrophe will strike you suddenly,
one for which you are not prepared.

12 “Now use your magical charms!
Use the spells you have worked at all these years!
Maybe they will do you some good.
Maybe they can make someone afraid of you.
13 All the advice you receive has made you tired.
Where are all your astrologers,
those stargazers who make predictions each month?
Let them stand up and save you from what the future holds.
14 But they are like straw burning in a fire;
they cannot save themselves from the flame.
You will get no help from them at all;
their hearth is no place to sit for warmth.
15 And all your friends,
those with whom you’ve done business since childhood,
will go their own ways,
turning a deaf ear to your cries.

God’s Stubborn People

48 “Listen to me, O family of Jacob,
you who are called by the name of Israel
and born into the family of Judah.
Listen, you who take oaths in the name of the Lord
and call on the God of Israel.
You don’t keep your promises,
even though you call yourself the holy city
and talk about depending on the God of Israel,
whose name is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
Long ago I told you what was going to happen.
Then suddenly I took action,
and all my predictions came true.
For I know how stubborn and obstinate you are.
Your necks are as unbending as iron.
Your heads are as hard as bronze.
That is why I told you what would happen;
I told you beforehand what I was going to do.
Then you could never say, ‘My idols did it.
My wooden image and metal god commanded it to happen!’
You have heard my predictions and seen them fulfilled,
but you refuse to admit it.
Now I will tell you new things,
secrets you have not yet heard.
They are brand new, not things from the past.
So you cannot say, ‘We knew that all the time!’

“Yes, I will tell you of things that are entirely new,
things you never heard of before.
For I know so well what traitors you are.
You have been rebels from birth.
Yet for my own sake and for the honor of my name,
I will hold back my anger and not wipe you out.
10 I have refined you, but not as silver is refined.
Rather, I have refined you in the furnace of suffering.
11 I will rescue you for my sake—
yes, for my own sake!
I will not let my reputation be tarnished,
and I will not share my glory with idols!

Footnotes:

  1. 45:14 Hebrew Cushites.
  2. 45:19 Hebrew of Jacob. See note on 14:1.
  3. 45:23 Hebrew will confess; Greek version reads will declare allegiance to God. Compare Rom 14:11.
  4. 46:13 Hebrew Zion.
  5. 47:1 Or Chaldea; also in 47:5.
  6. 47:2 Hebrew Bare your legs; pass through the rivers.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Ephesians 4:1-16

Unity in the Body

Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.

There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all,
who is over all, in all, and living through all.

However, he has given each one of us a special gift[a] through the generosity of Christ. That is why the Scriptures say,

“When he ascended to the heights,
he led a crowd of captives
and gave gifts to his people.”[b]

Notice that it says “he ascended.” This clearly means that Christ also descended to our lowly world.[c] 10 And the same one who descended is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that he might fill the entire universe with himself.

11 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.

Footnotes:

  1. 4:7 Greek a grace.
  2. 4:8 Ps 68:18.
  3. 4:9 Some manuscripts read to the lower parts of the earth.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 68:19-35

19 Praise the Lord; praise God our savior!
For each day he carries us in his arms. Interlude
20 Our God is a God who saves!
The Sovereign Lord rescues us from death.

21 But God will smash the heads of his enemies,
crushing the skulls of those who love their guilty ways.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring my enemies down from Bashan;
I will bring them up from the depths of the sea.
23 You, my people, will wash[a] your feet in their blood,
and even your dogs will get their share!”

24 Your procession has come into view, O God—
the procession of my God and King as he goes into the sanctuary.
25 Singers are in front, musicians behind;
between them are young women playing tambourines.
26 Praise God, all you people of Israel;
praise the Lord, the source of Israel’s life.
27 Look, the little tribe of Benjamin leads the way.
Then comes a great throng of rulers from Judah
and all the rulers of Zebulun and Naphtali.

28 Summon your might, O God.[b]
Display your power, O God, as you have in the past.
29 The kings of the earth are bringing tribute
to your Temple in Jerusalem.
30 Rebuke these enemy nations—
these wild animals lurking in the reeds,
this herd of bulls among the weaker calves.
Make them bring bars of silver in humble tribute.
Scatter the nations that delight in war.
31 Let Egypt come with gifts of precious metals[c];
let Ethiopia[d] bring tribute to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth.
Sing praises to the Lord. Interlude
33 Sing to the one who rides across the ancient heavens,
his mighty voice thundering from the sky.
34 Tell everyone about God’s power.
His majesty shines down on Israel;
his strength is mighty in the heavens.
35 God is awesome in his sanctuary.
The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God!

Footnotes:

  1. 68:23 As in Greek and Syriac versions; Hebrew reads shatter.
  2. 68:28 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Greek and Syriac versions; most Hebrew manuscripts read Your God has commanded your strength.
  3. 68:31a Or of rich cloth.
  4. 68:31b Hebrew Cush.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 24:3-4

A house is built by wisdom
and becomes strong through good sense.
Through knowledge its rooms are filled
with all sorts of precious riches and valuables.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


09/23/2018 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 41:17-43:13, Ephesians 2:1-22, Psalms 67:1-7 , Proverbs 23:29-35

Today’s the 23rd day of September. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you from the rolling hills of Tennessee. It’s great to greet a brand-new, shiny, sparkly week together. And this week we’ll read from the New Living Translation. And obviously, we are following a path, a path that leads us through the entire Bible in a year. So, we’ll be picking up where we left off last week, which was yesterday, and that’ll take us back into the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. And then we just got going in the letter to the Ephesians in the New Testament and we’ll continue with that. So, first, Isaiah chapter 41 verse 17 through 43 verse 13 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for this, this shiny, sparkly, new week, that threshold that we cross through every seven days, this reminder that there are rhythms and there are beginning’s. And we thank You for these Lord because this is a new beginning to a new week and we look forward to all that You have to speak to us. And it gives us the opportunity to reset, to reset our hearts and our minds and live into this week as we walk with You. None of the story’s written yet and we’re gonna write the story of this week either in collaboration with You or in an attempt to live it out in our own strength. And Your word has shown us over and over and over where those paths lead. So, come Holy Spirit, lead us on the narrow path that leads to life, lead us into all truth we pray. In the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, home base, of course where you find out what’s going on around here, so be sure to check in.

Check out the resources available in the Shop. Check out the Prayer Wall. Pray for your brothers and sisters. You can do all of this from the app as well. Stay connected and praying for each other. One of the great distinctives and beautiful things about this community is our love and prayer for one another. So, let’s keep that rhythm going.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that it dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link that’s on the homepage. Thank you, thank you, humbly and profoundly for your partnership. What we have done, as I’ve said hundreds of times over the years, what we’ve done we’ve done together. So,  thank you for your partnership. As I said, there’s a link on the homepage. If your using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment there are a number of numbers that you can use. If you are in the Americas, you can dial 877-942-4253. If you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number or if you are in Australia or that part of the world 61-3-8820-5459 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 and Praise: 

Hey Daily Audio Bible family, this is Jeff Bernhardt calling from Canada. I am so pumped. I just listened to today’s reading and heard call from Grant’s parents I think out of Washington state and I’m just, you know, I prayed I believed in my heart that God was going to do a miracle in his life and that he would be able to walk and he would not be paralyzed and God is awesome. He answered the prayer. And the fact that he went from being an atheist to an agnostic is also awesome. But I did want to call in because I want you to understand that our God is not a halfway God. I think about in the Bible when Jesus was praying for the blind man and he prayed and He said, what can you see. And he said, well, I can see people that look like trees. And then He prayed again and there was a complete healing. So, I’m just going to pray and believe there is a complete healing for Grant. Father, I lift him up to You the name of Jesus and I thank You for healing. I command his body to be completely healed from all complications of this accident of his decision Lord. Father, I also pray over his soul and I thank You for complete salvation Lord, that he’s not just an agnostic, that he goes all the way to becoming a believer. Lord command him in every way shape or form. Let everybody around him be believers. Let him see and know and taste that You are God. And while I’m praying, I want to pray for anybody else who has health conditions, any kind of sickness or disease. You said that we were healed and I just command that healing to come to be touching bodies right now in Jesus’ name. Amen. You know, this is the power of this. You know, although we call in and it’s over phone lines and distance. God doesn’t know any of distance. We’re all one family under the same God. Thank you Brian and Jill for putting this together. God is moving on the earth today and He still heals and He’s still in the miracle working business. God bless you guys and have a great rest of your week.

Well hello from beautiful Cincinnati Ohio. This is Daniel Johnson Junior. It’s been a long time since I called last. Been listening to the Daily Audio Bible for, gosh, I think nine years now and my heart is heavy. Actually, right now that I’m calling it’s about quarter til four AM on Thursday, September the 20th. And I’m just out here because I need to reclaim my heart back to God. I’ve just let habits creep in over time. You know, we talked today, interestingly enough, Galatians chapter 5 and I’ve noticed my heart being more and more drawn toward sin, toward getting into my sinful nature and to not please the Spirit. And I see it affecting my marriage, most importantly. My wife and I right now, we are more like roommates and we’ve had a lot of things going on and she’s got stuff that she’s need to work on but for me I need to be working on me. And out here we started to wake up even earlier than we normally would wake up just so I can get out here and spend some time with the Lord. I’m out here in one of my favorite prayer places. And I remember coming out here and looking up I can see the constellation Orion in the sky. It’s so beautiful. It’s so awesome. I can hear birds singing in the background, a few cars traveling along the highway in the distance. But God is so good here and I’m just really praying for myself, for my heart to be drawn back to Him and not toward and shackling me back to sin. God bless you from beautiful Cincinnati Ohio this is Daniel Johnson Junior. Make it a great day.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is Mimi and it’s my first time to call and I just heard a prayer request from Jackie today who is asking for prayer for her family. You’re dealing with your sister who has depression. and Jackie, I just want to reach out to you and let you know that I’ve been there. I have a sister that suffers from serious depression and has been homeless and I know what you’re going through and you wake up in the night worrying about where your sister is and whatever. So, having her there with you probably comforts and being able to help her. So, I’m praying for you and your husband and your sister. and I also want to live José from Austin Texas who lost your grandmother, I can just hear in your voice how much pain you’re going through with the loss of your grandmother. I just pray that God would comfort you. And I’m going to be praying for your both throughout the week. And I also have a prayer request. I’d just like to ask for prayer for me and my husband going through some trials. And anyways, thank you for doing this Daily Audio Bible. And I think it’s a wonderful group and a wonderful family. God bless you all. Bye.

Hello Daily Audio Bible __. Today’s September the 20th. This is __ and I’m calling from __ Columbia and I want to say hello to everyone. You know, I used to live in Minnesota for about __ I was there. But interestingly enough, I started listening to the Daily Audio Bible when I came back in 2008. Today I’d like to ask you to pray for me as I haven’t been able to overcome a sense of loneliness and lack of purpose. And I know there is a purpose from God. And I long to be in couple relationship but I’m not sure if it’s what the Lord wants for me. So, please pray for that. And I want you to know that I am really grateful __. And please know that I always keep you in my prayers. Also, Brian thank you for your love and dedication. This is also in my prayers, your ministry. And I would love to partner with you but…well…hopefully in the near future. Blessings to all of you. Take care.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday September 24, 2018 (NIV)

Isaiah 43:14-45:10

The Lord’s Promise of Victory

14 This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:

“For your sakes I will send an army against Babylon,
forcing the Babylonians[a] to flee in those ships they are so proud of.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator and King.
16 I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters,
making a dry path through the sea.
17 I called forth the mighty army of Egypt
with all its chariots and horses.
I drew them beneath the waves, and they drowned,
their lives snuffed out like a smoldering candlewick.

18 “But forget all that—
it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.
19 For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.
20 The wild animals in the fields will thank me,
the jackals and owls, too,
for giving them water in the desert.
Yes, I will make rivers in the dry wasteland
so my chosen people can be refreshed.
21 I have made Israel for myself,
and they will someday honor me before the whole world.

22 “But, dear family of Jacob, you refuse to ask for my help.
You have grown tired of me, O Israel!
23 You have not brought me sheep or goats for burnt offerings.
You have not honored me with sacrifices,
though I have not burdened and wearied you
with requests for grain offerings and frankincense.
24 You have not brought me fragrant calamus
or pleased me with the fat from sacrifices.
Instead, you have burdened me with your sins
and wearied me with your faults.

25 “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for my own sake
and will never think of them again.
26 Let us review the situation together,
and you can present your case to prove your innocence.
27 From the very beginning, your first ancestor sinned against me;
all your leaders broke my laws.
28 That is why I have disgraced your priests;
I have decreed complete destruction[b] for Jacob
and shame for Israel.

44 “But now, listen to me, Jacob my servant,
Israel my chosen one.
The Lord who made you and helps you says:
Do not be afraid, O Jacob, my servant,
O dear Israel,[c] my chosen one.
For I will pour out water to quench your thirst
and to irrigate your parched fields.
And I will pour out my Spirit on your descendants,
and my blessing on your children.
They will thrive like watered grass,
like willows on a riverbank.
Some will proudly claim, ‘I belong to the Lord.’
Others will say, ‘I am a descendant of Jacob.’
Some will write the Lord’s name on their hands
and will take the name of Israel as their own.”

The Foolishness of Idols

This is what the Lord says—Israel’s King and Redeemer, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies:

“I am the First and the Last;
there is no other God.
Who is like me?
Let him step forward and prove to you his power.
Let him do as I have done since ancient times
when I established a people and explained its future.
Do not tremble; do not be afraid.
Did I not proclaim my purposes for you long ago?
You are my witnesses—is there any other God?
No! There is no other Rock—not one!”

How foolish are those who manufacture idols.
These prized objects are really worthless.
The people who worship idols don’t know this,
so they are all put to shame.
10 Who but a fool would make his own god—
an idol that cannot help him one bit?
11 All who worship idols will be disgraced
along with all these craftsmen—mere humans—
who claim they can make a god.
They may all stand together,
but they will stand in terror and shame.

12 The blacksmith stands at his forge to make a sharp tool,
pounding and shaping it with all his might.
His work makes him hungry and weak.
It makes him thirsty and faint.
13 Then the wood-carver measures a block of wood
and draws a pattern on it.
He works with chisel and plane
and carves it into a human figure.
He gives it human beauty
and puts it in a little shrine.
14 He cuts down cedars;
he selects the cypress and the oak;
he plants the pine in the forest
to be nourished by the rain.
15 Then he uses part of the wood to make a fire.
With it he warms himself and bakes his bread.
Then—yes, it’s true—he takes the rest of it
and makes himself a god to worship!
He makes an idol
and bows down in front of it!
16 He burns part of the tree to roast his meat
and to keep himself warm.
He says, “Ah, that fire feels good.”
17 Then he takes what’s left
and makes his god: a carved idol!
He falls down in front of it,
worshiping and praying to it.
“Rescue me!” he says.
“You are my god!”

18 Such stupidity and ignorance!
Their eyes are closed, and they cannot see.
Their minds are shut, and they cannot think.
19 The person who made the idol never stops to reflect,
“Why, it’s just a block of wood!
I burned half of it for heat
and used it to bake my bread and roast my meat.
How can the rest of it be a god?
Should I bow down to worship a piece of wood?”
20 The poor, deluded fool feeds on ashes.
He trusts something that can’t help him at all.
Yet he cannot bring himself to ask,
“Is this idol that I’m holding in my hand a lie?”

Restoration for Jerusalem

21 “Pay attention, O Jacob,
for you are my servant, O Israel.
I, the Lord, made you,
and I will not forget you.
22 I have swept away your sins like a cloud.
I have scattered your offenses like the morning mist.
Oh, return to me,
for I have paid the price to set you free.”

23 Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done this wondrous thing.
Shout for joy, O depths of the earth!
Break into song,
O mountains and forests and every tree!
For the Lord has redeemed Jacob
and is glorified in Israel.

24 This is what the Lord says—
your Redeemer and Creator:
“I am the Lord, who made all things.
I alone stretched out the heavens.
Who was with me
when I made the earth?
25 I expose the false prophets as liars
and make fools of fortune-tellers.
I cause the wise to give bad advice,
thus proving them to be fools.
26 But I carry out the predictions of my prophets!
By them I say to Jerusalem, ‘People will live here again,’
and to the towns of Judah, ‘You will be rebuilt;
I will restore all your ruins!’
27 When I speak to the rivers and say, ‘Dry up!’
they will be dry.
28 When I say of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,’
he will certainly do as I say.
He will command, ‘Rebuild Jerusalem’;
he will say, ‘Restore the Temple.’”

Cyrus, the Lord’s Chosen One

45 This is what the Lord says to Cyrus, his anointed one,
whose right hand he will empower.
Before him, mighty kings will be paralyzed with fear.
Their fortress gates will be opened,
never to shut again.
This is what the Lord says:

“I will go before you, Cyrus,
and level the mountains.[d]
I will smash down gates of bronze
and cut through bars of iron.
And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness—
secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the Lord,
the God of Israel, the one who calls you by name.

“And why have I called you for this work?
Why did I call you by name when you did not know me?
It is for the sake of Jacob my servant,
Israel my chosen one.
I am the Lord;
there is no other God.
I have equipped you for battle,
though you don’t even know me,
so all the world from east to west
will know there is no other God.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I create the light and make the darkness.
I send good times and bad times.
I, the Lord, am the one who does these things.

“Open up, O heavens,
and pour out your righteousness.
Let the earth open wide
so salvation and righteousness can sprout up together.
I, the Lord, created them.

“What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator.
Does a clay pot argue with its maker?
Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying,
‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’
Does the pot exclaim,
‘How clumsy can you be?’
10 How terrible it would be if a newborn baby said to its father,
‘Why was I born?’
or if it said to its mother,
‘Why did you make me this way?’”

Footnotes:

  1. 43:14 Or Chaldeans.
  2. 43:28 The Hebrew term used here refers to the complete consecration of things or people to the Lord, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.
  3. 44:2 Hebrew Jeshurun, a term of endearment for Israel.
  4. 45:2 As in Dead Sea Scrolls and Greek version; Masoretic Text reads the swellings.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Ephesians 3

God’s Mysterious Plan Revealed

When I think of all this, I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the benefit of you Gentiles[a] . . . assuming, by the way, that you know God gave me the special responsibility of extending his grace to you Gentiles. As I briefly wrote earlier, God himself revealed his mysterious plan to me. As you read what I have written, you will understand my insight into this plan regarding Christ. God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed it to his holy apostles and prophets.

And this is God’s plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God’s children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus.[b] By God’s grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving him by spreading this Good News.

Though I am the least deserving of all God’s people, he graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone[c] this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning.

10 God’s purpose in all this was to use the church to display his wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was his eternal plan, which he carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord.

12 Because of Christ and our faith in him,[d] we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. 13 So please don’t lose heart because of my trials here. I am suffering for you, so you should feel honored.

Paul’s Prayer for Spiritual Growth

14 When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father,[e] 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.[f] 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Footnotes:

  1. 3:1 Paul resumes this thought in verse 14: “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father.”
  2. 3:6 Or because they are united with Christ Jesus.
  3. 3:9 Some manuscripts do not include to everyone.
  4. 3:12 Or Because of Christ’s faithfulness.
  5. 3:14 Some manuscripts read the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  6. 3:15 Or from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 68:1-18

Psalm 68

For the choir director: A song. A psalm of David.

Rise up, O God, and scatter your enemies.
Let those who hate God run for their lives.
Blow them away like smoke.
Melt them like wax in a fire.
Let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
But let the godly rejoice.
Let them be glad in God’s presence.
Let them be filled with joy.
Sing praises to God and to his name!
Sing loud praises to him who rides the clouds.[a]
His name is the Lord
rejoice in his presence!

Father to the fatherless, defender of widows—
this is God, whose dwelling is holy.
God places the lonely in families;
he sets the prisoners free and gives them joy.
But he makes the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

O God, when you led your people out from Egypt,
when you marched through the dry wasteland, Interlude
the earth trembled, and the heavens poured down rain
before you, the God of Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
You sent abundant rain, O God,
to refresh the weary land.
10 There your people finally settled,
and with a bountiful harvest, O God,
you provided for your needy people.

11 The Lord gives the word,
and a great army[b] brings the good news.
12 Enemy kings and their armies flee,
while the women of Israel divide the plunder.
13 Even those who lived among the sheepfolds found treasures—
doves with wings of silver
and feathers of gold.
14 The Almighty scattered the enemy kings
like a blowing snowstorm on Mount Zalmon.

15 The mountains of Bashan are majestic,
with many peaks stretching high into the sky.
16 Why do you look with envy, O rugged mountains,
at Mount Zion, where God has chosen to live,
where the Lord himself will live forever?

17 Surrounded by unnumbered thousands of chariots,
the Lord came from Mount Sinai into his sanctuary.
18 When you ascended to the heights,
you led a crowd of captives.
You received gifts from the people,
even from those who rebelled against you.
Now the Lord God will live among us there.

Footnotes:

  1. 68:4 Or rides through the deserts.
  2. 68:11 Or a host of women.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 24:1-2

24 Don’t envy evil people
or desire their company.
For their hearts plot violence,
and their words always stir up trouble.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday September 23, 2018 (NIV)

Isaiah 41:17-43:13

17 “When the poor and needy search for water and there is none,
and their tongues are parched from thirst,
then I, the Lord, will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, will never abandon them.
18 I will open up rivers for them on the high plateaus.
I will give them fountains of water in the valleys.
I will fill the desert with pools of water.
Rivers fed by springs will flow across the parched ground.
19 I will plant trees in the barren desert—
cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine.
20 I am doing this so all who see this miracle
will understand what it means—
that it is the Lord who has done this,
the Holy One of Israel who created it.

21 “Present the case for your idols,”
says the Lord.
“Let them show what they can do,”
says the King of Israel.[a]
22 “Let them try to tell us what happened long ago
so that we may consider the evidence.
Or let them tell us what the future holds,
so we can know what’s going to happen.
23 Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead.
Then we will know you are gods.
In fact, do anything—good or bad!
Do something that will amaze and frighten us.
24 But no! You are less than nothing and can do nothing at all.
Those who choose you pollute themselves.

25 “But I have stirred up a leader who will approach from the north.
From the east he will call on my name.
I will give him victory over kings and princes.
He will trample them as a potter treads on clay.

26 “Who told you from the beginning
that this would happen?
Who predicted this,
making you admit that he was right?
No one said a word!
27 I was the first to tell Zion,
‘Look! Help is on the way!’[b]
I will send Jerusalem a messenger with good news.
28 Not one of your idols told you this.
Not one gave any answer when I asked.
29 See, they are all foolish, worthless things.
All your idols are as empty as the wind.

The Lord’s Chosen Servant

42 “Look at my servant, whom I strengthen.
He is my chosen one, who pleases me.
I have put my Spirit upon him.
He will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout
or raise his voice in public.
He will not crush the weakest reed
or put out a flickering candle.
He will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
He will not falter or lose heart
until justice prevails throughout the earth.
Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for his instruction.[c]

God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out.
He created the earth and everything in it.
He gives breath to everyone,
life to everyone who walks the earth.
And it is he who says,
“I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness.
I will take you by the hand and guard you,
and I will give you to my people, Israel,
as a symbol of my covenant with them.
And you will be a light to guide the nations.
You will open the eyes of the blind.
You will free the captives from prison,
releasing those who sit in dark dungeons.

“I am the Lord; that is my name!
I will not give my glory to anyone else,
nor share my praise with carved idols.
Everything I prophesied has come true,
and now I will prophesy again.
I will tell you the future before it happens.”

A Song of Praise to the Lord

10 Sing a new song to the Lord!
Sing his praises from the ends of the earth!
Sing, all you who sail the seas,
all you who live in distant coastlands.
11 Join in the chorus, you desert towns;
let the villages of Kedar rejoice!
Let the people of Sela sing for joy;
shout praises from the mountaintops!
12 Let the whole world glorify the Lord;
let it sing his praise.
13 The Lord will march forth like a mighty hero;
he will come out like a warrior, full of fury.
He will shout his battle cry
and crush all his enemies.

14 He will say, “I have long been silent;
yes, I have restrained myself.
But now, like a woman in labor,
I will cry and groan and pant.
15 I will level the mountains and hills
and blight all their greenery.
I will turn the rivers into dry land
and will dry up all the pools.
16 I will lead blind Israel down a new path,
guiding them along an unfamiliar way.
I will brighten the darkness before them
and smooth out the road ahead of them.
Yes, I will indeed do these things;
I will not forsake them.
17 But those who trust in idols,
who say, ‘You are our gods,’
will be turned away in shame.

Israel’s Failure to Listen and See

18 “Listen, you who are deaf!
Look and see, you blind!
19 Who is as blind as my own people, my servant?
Who is as deaf as my messenger?
Who is as blind as my chosen people,
the servant of the Lord?
20 You see and recognize what is right
but refuse to act on it.
You hear with your ears,
but you don’t really listen.”

21 Because he is righteous,
the Lord has exalted his glorious law.
22 But his own people have been robbed and plundered,
enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped.
They are fair game for anyone
and have no one to protect them,
no one to take them back home.

23 Who will hear these lessons from the past
and see the ruin that awaits you in the future?
24 Who allowed Israel to be robbed and hurt?
It was the Lord, against whom we sinned,
for the people would not walk in his path,
nor would they obey his law.
25 Therefore, he poured out his fury on them
and destroyed them in battle.
They were enveloped in flames,
but they still refused to understand.
They were consumed by fire,
but they did not learn their lesson.

The Savior of Israel

43 But now, O Jacob, listen to the Lord who created you.
O Israel, the one who formed you says,
“Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you.
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through deep waters,
I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
you will not be burned up;
the flames will not consume you.
For I am the Lord, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
I gave Egypt as a ransom for your freedom;
I gave Ethiopia[d] and Seba in your place.
Others were given in exchange for you.
I traded their lives for yours
because you are precious to me.
You are honored, and I love you.

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you.
I will gather you and your children from east and west.
I will say to the north and south,
‘Bring my sons and daughters back to Israel
from the distant corners of the earth.
Bring all who claim me as their God,
for I have made them for my glory.
It was I who created them.’”

Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind,
who have ears but are deaf.
Gather the nations together!
Assemble the peoples of the world!
Which of their idols has ever foretold such things?
Which can predict what will happen tomorrow?
Where are the witnesses of such predictions?
Who can verify that they spoke the truth?

10 “But you are my witnesses, O Israel!” says the Lord.
“You are my servant.
You have been chosen to know me, believe in me,
and understand that I alone am God.
There is no other God—
there never has been, and there never will be.
11 I, yes I, am the Lord,
and there is no other Savior.
12 First I predicted your rescue,
then I saved you and proclaimed it to the world.
No foreign god has ever done this.
You are witnesses that I am the only God,”
says the Lord.
13 “From eternity to eternity I am God.
No one can snatch anyone out of my hand.
No one can undo what I have done.”

Footnotes:

  1. 41:21 Hebrew the King of Jacob. See note on 14:1.
  2. 41:27 Or ‘Look! They are coming home.’
  3. 42:4 Greek version reads And his name will be the hope of all the world. Compare Matt 12:21.
  4. 43:3 Hebrew Cush.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Ephesians 2

Made Alive with Christ

Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.[a] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Oneness and Peace in Christ

11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. 13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.

14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. 15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups. 16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.

17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. 18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.

A Temple for the Lord

19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. 20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. 21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. 22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.

Footnotes:

  1. 2:2 Greek obeying the commander of the power of the air.
New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Psalm 67

Psalm 67

For the choir director: A song. A psalm, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.

May God be merciful and bless us.
May his face smile with favor on us. Interlude

May your ways be known throughout the earth,
your saving power among people everywhere.
May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Let the whole world sing for joy,
because you govern the nations with justice
and guide the people of the whole world. Interlude

May the nations praise you, O God.
Yes, may all the nations praise you.
Then the earth will yield its harvests,
and God, our God, will richly bless us.
Yes, God will bless us,
and people all over the world will fear him.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


Proverbs 23:29-35

29 Who has anguish? Who has sorrow?
Who is always fighting? Who is always complaining?
Who has unnecessary bruises? Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 It is the one who spends long hours in the taverns,
trying out new drinks.
31 Don’t gaze at the wine, seeing how red it is,
how it sparkles in the cup, how smoothly it goes down.
32 For in the end it bites like a poisonous snake;
it stings like a viper.
33 You will see hallucinations,
and you will say crazy things.
34 You will stagger like a sailor tossed at sea,
clinging to a swaying mast.
35 And you will say, “They hit me, but I didn’t feel it.
I didn’t even know it when they beat me up.
When will I wake up
so I can look for another drink?”

New Living Translation (NLT)

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.


09/22/2018 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 39:1-41:16, Ephesians 1:1-23, Psalms 66:1-20, Proverbs 23:25-28

Today is the 22nd day of September. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as we close down another week. And we just keep moving forward, day by day, step by step. So as we close this week down, we’ll be going back into the book of Isaiah and then when we get to the New Testament, we are at the book of Ephesians. And we’ll talk about that when we get there. But first, Isaiah 39:1 - 41:16. And we’ve been reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week, which is what we’ll do today.

Introduction to the book of Ephesians:

Okay. So, like we said at the beginning, we completed the book of Galatians yesterday, which is a letter and a letter from the Apostle Paul. Which brings us to the book of Ephesians, which is also a letter from the Apostle Paul to the Ephesians. And this letter is quite a bit different than many of Paul’s other letters, including Galatians. Which leads some biblical scholars to propose that maybe Paul didn’t write this letter, but that someone else had written it in his name. But other scholars would argue that the circumstances surrounding Ephesians and the way these letters, these early letters of Paul, were passed around among the churches, have way more to do with the nuances in Ephesians than who the writer is. So, the Apostle Paul we’ve been getting to know pretty well since we began the book of Acts. Spent three years in Ephesus among the community that he’d established. At that time, the city was one of the most important in the Roman Empire. And as a thriving and cosmopolitan port city, Ephesus had become a melting pot of ideas and culture. But Paul didn’t write this letter to combat false teaching, he didn’t write it to correct misbehavior. He knew his readers. He spent a lot of time among them, which makes this letter even more compelling. Because in Ephesians, we get a sense of the big picture. The big story that’s going on in our faith. Vast mountaintop vistas lead us to consider the massive implications of what God has been and continues to do among his children. As we go through this letter, if you’ll pay attention to what is being said and the implications of what is being said, it is absolutely astounding. One of the things that makes this big picture so captivating is the environment that Paul wrote this from. So, as we learn from the book of Acts, Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem and then he was held in custody in Ceserea Maritima for two years. And then he was pressured to have his case tried in Jerusalem, but as a Roman citizen, Paul knew going back to Jerusalem was probably going to put him in a position to be assassinated since that’s what the plans had been. So, as a Roman citizen, he appealed to Caesar and then he endured this crazy journey by ship to Rome, where he was incarcerated awaiting his trial before the emperor. And it was from this imprisonment in Rome that Paul likely wrote Ephesians. Probably around 60 AD. And knowing that Paul was in captivity when he wrote this letter will make what we read all the more poignant because Paul’s imprisonment, it would have cast doubt on the validity of his message. If people are out saying, this guy, the Apostle Paul, this is what he teaches, but he’s in prison in Rome. That sort of messes with his credibility because unbelievers who are hearing this message and awakening to this message, they’re not signing up to go to prison like Paul. But this didn’t discourage Paul from writing way beyond his circumstance and detailing a spiritual awareness that cannot be altered by imprisonment and can’t be altered by any trial of life. So, Paul poured out his heart and hope in Ephesians. And there are passages in this letter that could be pondered for days. And should be pondered for days. Paul wrote from his heart and appealed to the hearts of his readers. And if we’ll approach this letter with that in mind, it can have the very effect it was intended to have on the Ephesians in our own lives. And so, we begin. Ephesians chapter 1.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for another week. You have been faithful. Another week that we can claim and declare that. And we can look forward into the coming week and know that You will always be faithful. And we pray, Holy Spirit, come. We want to be faithful to You as You are to us. And we confess our shortcomings and we acknowledge our need for mercy and grace every moment of everyday. And we acknowledge Your love, Your profound love for us. And we rest that You are our father and we are Your children. You will always come for us. Come Holy Spirit, we pray. In Jesus name, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, it’s home base, and it’s, of course, where you find out what’s going on around here, so be sure to check in.

Pray for your brothers and sisters at the prayer wall. Just stay connected.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, dailyaudiobible.com is the place to go as well. There’s a link on the homepage. I thank you, thank you humbly for every person who’s ever clicked that link. Thank you. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the give button in the upper right hand corner. Or if you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. 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 and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise: 

Hey, what’s up everybody? It’s Miguel from Santa Rosa. Gentlemen, I have a word for you, especially with all the gentlemen that have been calling in lately with struggles with sexual sin and pornography. So, check this out. It was last weekend on Saturday. Today is Wednesday. I was playing some soccer and I did a slide where I probably shouldn’t of, in some pretty hard turf and I got a pretty nasty abrasion on my shin now. It’s probably about 8” x 3”. Sorry for the imagery there for those that are squeamish. But here’s the deal, is that every single day that I’ve had this thing it’s been so irritating. It’s been so painful. Man it is terrible. Every single day I got a get up and I got to put a bandage on this thing to keep it sterile, keep it safe, to allow it to heal. Every day I get home from work, I gotta take that thing off and I gotta treat it and that O go to sleep and I wake up I’ve got to put a bandage on it again. And now as I drive to work this morning I’m like, hold up, check this out. Some you guys have a wound, an irritating thorn in the flesh, I’m telling you, you need a new bandage every day. Every day. Get a word every day. Look, it doesn’t take a whole lot of Google searching to find good Bible verses to fight sexual temptation. There are so many out there. Just a quick Google search will show you a lot. Get a new one every day. Memorize it every single morning. Cause you need this. You gotta protect that thing, you gotta keep it sterile, you gotta keep it healthy. That’s the way that I see healing. See, my wound is healing day by day by day. It’s not gone yet. I’m asking for healing in Jesus’ name. He’s given me the tools to do it. So, gentlemen, get yourself a word, get yourself a bandage. Allow that thing to heal. Bless you guys.

Hi this is Lori from Bakersfield California. It’s been a while since I’ve called but I still listen every day. I just got done listening to Lisa the Encourager about Jesus saying, I am the vine and you are the branches. Thank you for that Lisa. I was blessed to hear you talk about that. My favorite reference to this is in John 15. My job in California revolves around agriculture and I want to share a practical knowledge regarding grapevines and vineyards. To produce quality fruit a branch must be raised up from the ground and pruned. Once the branch begins to produce fruit the vine has to be trained using a crossarm or __ trellis to shade the branch and fruit, particularly with table grapes. With God as the vine dresser, he prunes and trains the branches. Then Jesus, as the vine, covers and shades the branches and fruit so the branch can produce and the fruit can remain beautiful. Lisa’s comments reminded me of this and God leaned on me to share. Abide in Jesus and seek his cover. God bless you all.

Hey DAB family this is Byron out in Florida. The last few days we’ve been reading in the book of Galatians and that book has been on my heart for well over a year now. What Paul is basically saying in Galatians is, look guys, Jesus died for your sins and He paid the full cost for your salvation. So, why is that you’re trying to live out the Christian life in terms of what you do instead of what He did?. See, God has a larger life planned for each of us that is bigger, more exciting, more daring, more expansive than anything we could plan for ourselves even in our wildest dream. And as we begin to live into that life that God has for us there will be confusion and there will be pain and there will be loss as God tears apart all the old structures that we use to hold ourselves up and makes room for the larger life that He’s setting aside for us. And as we begin to receive that life we will get things. I just found out a few days ago that I got the promotion I was looking for. God gave me what I needed when I needed it. But I got more than that. From all of that God has shown me that what I have is Him, that he will provide for me and my family, promotion or no promotion, whatever the circumstances will be. And if I have that I have more than anything. And God has the same thing set aside for each of you. If you’re willing to let him tear apart your old life and stretch you into the new larger full life that He has for the __. I love you all you all and God is worthy of all glory and I’ll talk you guys another time. God bless.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible. This is Isabel from Australia again. I was so great to be able to ring up again and just be able to share with you. I love you’s all. I’ve been praying for a lot of you’s always ringing up and I’m always praying for you every time I hear the prayer requests coming again. But I still would like some more prayer for my children, for my daughter and for my son, for Priscilla and Joseph. Joseph is addicted to drugs. He was in a relationship for three years and he’s broken his relationship and he’s had a baby and my granddaughter __ the same month. He left his partner when his baby was only 11 months old and now he’s with another woman. I just feel that this has been so planned by the enemy to destroy his life. This woman is really not for him. The mother of the daughter, I believe is a woman for his life, but she has gone also through a lot of not problems herself. Her name is Chanentel my granddaughters name is Arianna. They both need a lot of prayer. So, if you can please pray for them and please pray for my son that he returns to the things of God, that he…he leaves his woman and he starts going back to…you know…his first partner with my granddaughter and that the Lord can just be with my granddaughter too because she really misses him like anything. She’s 16 months but she so clever. She really understands and she’s hurting too. And it’s just too much abuse because my ex and their father was abusive man and also her ex-partner, her father was an abusive man too. So, all these things have really affected my son. So, if you can please pray for Joseph. He really needs prayer. And just help me because I’m struggling as a mom as I’ve always had to be a mom and a father for both of my kids all the time. I’ve been sort of basically a single parent for many years. So, please pray for my kids cause I really need this prayer. Thank you Daily Audio Bible. May God bless you. I love you’s all. And thank you Brian and Jill for this amazing podcast. God bless you.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday September 22, 2018 (NIV)

Isaiah 39:1-41:16

Hezekiah’s Folly

39 At that time(A) Merodach-baladan son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah since he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. Hezekiah was pleased with the letters, and he showed the envoys his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil—and all his armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries.(B) There was nothing in his palace and in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them.(C)

Then the prophet Isaiah came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did these men say, and where did they come to you from?”

Hezekiah replied, “They came to me from a distant country, from Babylon.”

Isaiah asked, “What have they seen in your palace?”

Hezekiah answered, “They have seen everything in my palace. There isn’t anything in my treasuries that I didn’t show them.”

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the Lord of Armies:(D) ‘Look, the days are coming when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until today will be carried off to Babylon; nothing will be left,’ says the Lord.(E) ‘Some of your descendants—who come from you, whom you father—will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.’”

Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord that you have spoken is good,” for he thought: There will be peace and security during my lifetime.(F)

God’s People Comforted

40 “Comfort, comfort my people,”(G)
says your God.
“Speak tenderly to[a] Jerusalem,
and announce to her
that her time of forced labor is over,
her iniquity(H) has been pardoned,(I)
and she has received from the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.”(J)

A voice of one crying out:

Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness;(K)
make a straight highway for our God in the desert.(L)
Every valley will be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill will be leveled;
the uneven ground will become smooth
and the rough places, a plain.(M)
And the glory of the Lord will appear,(N)
and all humanity[b] together will see it,(O)
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.(P)

A voice was saying, “Cry out!”
Another said,[c] “What should I cry out?”
“All humanity is grass,(Q)
and all its goodness is like the flower of the field.(R)
The grass withers, the flowers fade
when the breath[d] of the Lord blows on them;[e]
indeed, the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flowers fade,(S)
but the word of our God remains forever.”(T)

Zion, herald of good news,
go up on a high mountain.(U)
Jerusalem, herald of good news,(V)
raise your voice loudly.
Raise it, do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!” (W)
10 See, the Lord God comes with strength,
and his power establishes his rule.(X)
His wages are with him,(Y)
and his reward accompanies him.
11 He protects his flock like a shepherd;(Z)
he gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them in the fold of his garment.
He gently leads those that are nursing.

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?(AA)
Who has gathered the dust of the earth in a measure
or weighed the mountains on a balance
and the hills on the scales?
13 Who has directed[f] the Spirit of the Lord,
or who gave him counsel?(AB)
14 Who did he consult?
Who gave him understanding(AC)
and taught him the paths of justice?
Who taught him knowledge
and showed him the way of understanding?
15 Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
they are considered as a speck of dust on the scales;
he lifts up the islands like fine dust.
16 Lebanon’s cedars are not enough for fuel,
or its animals enough for a burnt offering.(AD)
17 All the nations are as nothing before him;
they are considered by him
as empty nothingness.(AE)

18 With whom will you compare God?
What likeness will you set up for comparison with him?(AF)
19 An idol?—something that a smelter casts
and a metalworker plates with gold
and makes silver chains for?(AG)
20 A poor person contributes wood for a pedestal
that will not rot.[g]
He looks for a skilled craftsman
to set up an idol that will not fall over.(AH)

21 Do you not know?(AI)
Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you
from the beginning?
Have you not considered
the foundations of the earth?(AJ)
22 God is enthroned above the circle of the earth;
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.(AK)
He stretches out the heavens like thin cloth(AL)
and spreads them out like a tent to live in.(AM)
23 He reduces princes to nothing(AN)
and makes judges of the earth like a wasteland.
24 They are barely planted, barely sown,
their stem hardly takes root in the ground
when he blows on them and they wither,
and a whirlwind carries them away like stubble.(AO)

25 “To whom will you compare me,(AP)
or who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
26 Look up[h] and see!
Who created(AQ) these?
He brings out the stars by number;
he calls all of them by name.(AR)
Because of his great power and strength,
not one of them is missing.

27 Jacob, why do you say,
and, Israel, why do you assert:
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my claim is ignored by my God”?(AS)
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,(AT)
the Creator of the whole earth.
He never becomes faint or weary;
there is no limit to his understanding.(AU)
29 He gives strength to the faint
and strengthens the powerless.
30 Youths may become faint and weary,
and young men stumble and fall,
31 but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;(AV)
they will soar on wings like eagles;(AW)
they will run and not become weary,
they will walk and not faint.

The Lord versus the Nations’ Gods

41 “Be silent before me, coasts and islands!(AX)
And let peoples renew their strength.
Let them approach; let them testify;
let’s come together for the trial.
Who has stirred up someone from the east?(AY)
In righteousness he calls him to serve.[i][j](AZ)
The Lord hands nations over to him,(BA)
and he subdues kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like wind-driven stubble with his bow.
He pursues them, going on safely,
hardly touching the path with his feet.
Who has performed and done this,
calling the generations from the beginning?
I am the Lord, the first
and with the last(BB)—I am he.”(BC)

The coasts and islands see and are afraid,
the whole earth trembles.(BD)
They approach and arrive.
Each one helps the other,
and says to another, “Take courage!”
The craftsman encourages the metalworker;(BE)
the one who flattens with the hammer
encourages the one who strikes the anvil,
saying of the soldering, “It is good.”
He fastens it with nails so that it will not fall over.(BF)

But you, Israel, my servant,(BG)
Jacob, whom I have chosen,(BH)
descendant of Abraham, my friend(BI)
I brought[k] you from the ends of the earth
and called you from its farthest corners.
I said to you: You are my servant;
I have chosen you; I haven’t rejected you.(BJ)
10 Do not fear, for I am with you;(BK)
do not be afraid, for I am your God.(BL)
I will strengthen you; I will help you;
I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.(BM)

11 Be sure that all who are enraged against you
will be ashamed and disgraced;(BN)
those who contend with you
will become as nothing and will perish.
12 You will look for those who contend with you,
but you will not find them.
Those who war against you
will become absolutely nothing.
13 For I am the Lord your God,(BO)
who holds your right hand,
who says to you, ‘Do not fear,
I will help you.
14 Do not fear, you worm Jacob,(BP)
you men[l] of Israel.
I will help you’—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
Your Redeemer(BQ) is the Holy One of Israel.(BR)
15 See, I will make you into a sharp threshing board,
new, with many teeth.
You will thresh mountains and pulverize them
and make hills into chaff.(BS)
16 You will winnow them(BT)
and a wind will carry them away,
a whirlwind will scatter them.
But you will rejoice in the Lord;
you will boast in the Holy One of Israel.

Footnotes:

  1. 40:2 Lit Speak to the heart of
  2. 40:5 Lit flesh
  3. 40:6 DSS, LXX, Vg read I said
  4. 40:7 Or wind, or Spirit
  5. 40:7 Lit it
  6. 40:13 Or measured, or comprehended
  7. 40:20 Or who is too poor for such an offering, or who chooses mulberry wood as a votive gift; Hb obscure
  8. 40:26 Lit Lift up your eyes on high
  9. 41:2 Or Righteousness calls him to serve
  10. 41:2 Lit to his foot
  11. 41:9 Or seized
  12. 41:14 LXX reads small number; DSS readdead ones

Cross references:

  1. 39:1-8 : 2Kg 20:12-19; 2Ch 32:31
  2. 39:2 : 2Kg 18:15-16
  3. 39:2 : 2Ch 32:25
  4. 39:5 : Is 28:14; Zch 7:4; 8:1,18
  5. 39:6 : 2Kg 24:13; 25:13-15; Jr 20:5
  6. 39:8 : 2Ch 32:26
  7. 40:1 : Is 12:1; 49:13; 51:3,12; 52:9; 61:2; 66:13; Jr 31:10-14; Zph 3:14-17; 2Co 1:4
  8. 40:2 : Is 13:11
  9. 40:2 : Lv 26:41,43; Is 27:9
  10. 40:2 : Ex 22:7-8; Jr 16:18; Zch 9:12; Rv 18:6
  11. 40:3 : Mal 3:1; 4:5-6
  12. 40:3 : Mt 3:3; Mk 1:3; Lk 3:4; Jn 1:23
  13. 40:4-5 : Lk 3:5-6
  14. 40:5 : Is 35:2
  15. 40:5 : Is 52:10; Jl 2:28
  16. 40:5 : Is 1:20; 34:16; 58:14
  17. 40:6-8 : 1Pt 1:24-25
  18. 40:6 : Jb 14:2; Ps 102:11; 103:15
  19. 40:8 : Jms 1:11
  20. 40:8 : Is 55:11; 59:21; Mk 13:31; Lk 21:33
  21. 40:9 : Is 52:7
  22. 40:9 : Is 61:1
  23. 40:9 : Is 25:9; 35:2
  24. 40:10 : Is 59:16-18
  25. 40:10 : Is 62:11; Rv 22:12
  26. 40:11 : Jr 31:10; Ezk 34:12-14,23,31; Mc 5:4; Jn 10:11,14-16
  27. 40:12 : Is 48:13; Heb 1:10-12
  28. 40:13 : Rm 11:34; 1Co 2:16
  29. 40:14 : Jb 21:22; Col 2:3
  30. 40:16 : Ps 50:9-11; Mc 6:6-7; Heb 10:5-9
  31. 40:17 : Is 29:7
  32. 40:18 : Ex 8:10; 15:11; 1Sm 2:2; Is 40:25; 46:5; Mc 7:18; Ac 17:29
  33. 40:19 : Is 2:20; 30:22; 41:7; 44:10
  34. 40:20 : 1Sm 5:3; Is 44:9-15; 46:6-7; Jr 10:3-5
  35. 40:21 : Ps 19:1; 50:6; Is 37:26; Ac 14:17; Rm 1:19-20
  36. 40:21 : Is 48:13; 51:13
  37. 40:22 : Nm 13:33
  38. 40:22 : Jb 9:8; Is 37:16; 42:5; 44:24
  39. 40:22 : Jb 36:29; Ps 18:11; 19:4; 104:2
  40. 40:23 : Jb 12:21; Ps 107:40; Is 34:12
  41. 40:24 : Ps 1:4; Is 41:2,16; 64:6; Ezk 17:10,24; Nah 1:4
  42. 40:25 : Is 46:5; Ac 17:29
  43. 40:26 : Is 42:5; 48:12-13
  44. 40:26 : Ps 147:4-5
  45. 40:27 : Is 7:13; 49:4,14
  46. 40:28 : Gn 21:33; Ps 90:2
  47. 40:28 : Ps 147:5; Rm 11:33
  48. 40:31 : Jb 17:9; Ps 103:5; 2Co 4:8-10,16; 12:9
  49. 40:31 : Ex 19:4; Dt 32:11; Lk 18:1; 2Co 4:1,16; Gl 6:9; Heb 12:3
  50. 41:1 : Is 11:11; Hab 2:20; Zch 2:13
  51. 41:2 : Is 41:25; 45:1-3; 46:11; Rv 16:12
  52. 41:2 : Is 42:6
  53. 41:2 : 2Ch 36:23; Ezr 1:2
  54. 41:4 : Is 43:10; 44:6; Rv 1:8,17; 22:13
  55. 41:4 : Is 43:13; 46:4; 48:12
  56. 41:5 : Ps 67:7
  57. 41:7 : Is 40:19
  58. 41:7 : Is 40:20; 46:7
  59. 41:8 : Is 42:19; 43:10; 44:1-2,21; 45:4; 48:20; 49:3; 54:17; Ezk 28:25; 37:25; Lk 1:54
  60. 41:8 : Is 42:1; 43:10,20; 44:1-2; 45:4; 49:7; 65:9,15,22
  61. 41:8 : 2Ch 20:7; Jms 2:23
  62. 41:9 : Is 43:5-7
  63. 41:10 : Gn 26:24; 28:15; Is 43:5; Jr 1:19; 15:20; 42:11
  64. 41:10 : Ezk 34:31
  65. 41:10 : Ex 15:6,12; Ps 18:35; 48:10; 63:8; 138:7; 139:10
  66. 41:11 : Is 45:24
  67. 41:13 : Is 43:3
  68. 41:14 : Jb 25:6; Ps 22:6
  69. 41:14 : Is 43:14; 44:6,24; 47:4; 48:17; 49:7,26; 54:5,8; 59:20; 60:16; 63:16
  70. 41:14 : Is 1:4
  71. 41:15 : Mc 4:13; Hab 3:12
  72. 41:16 : Jr 51:2
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Ephesians 1

Greeting

Paul,(A) an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will:(B)

To the faithful saints(C) in Christ Jesus[a] at Ephesus.[b](D)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

God’s Rich Blessings

Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ.(E) For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.[c](F) He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace(G) that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.(H)

In him we have redemption(I) through his blood, the forgiveness(J) of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding.[d] He made known to us the mystery of his will,(K) according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ(L) 10 as a plan for the right time[e]—to bring everything together in Christ,(M) both things in heaven and things on earth(N) in him.(O)

11 In him we have also received an inheritance,[f] because we were predestined(P) according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will, 12 so that we who had already put our hope(Q) in Christ might bring praise to his glory.(R)

13 In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit(S) when you heard the word of truth,(T) the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. 14 The Holy Spirit is the down payment(U) of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

Prayer for Spiritual Insight

15 This is why, since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I never stop giving thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers. 17 I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,[g] would give you the Spirit[h](V) of wisdom and revelation(W) in the knowledge of him. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope(X) of his calling,(Y) what is the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power(Z) toward us who believe, according to the mighty working of his strength.

God’s Power in Christ

20 He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand(AA) in the heavens(AB) 21 far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given,[i](AC) not only in this age but also in the one to come.(AD) 22 And he subjected everything under his feet[j](AE) and appointed him[k] as head(AF) over everything for the church, 23 which is his body,(AG) the fullness(AH) of the one who fills all things(AI) in every way.

Footnotes:

  1. 1:1 Or to the saints, the believers in Christ Jesus
  2. 1:1 Other mss omit at Ephesus
  3. 1:4 Or in his sight. In love
  4. 1:8 Or on us. With all wisdom and understanding
  5. 1:10 Or the fulfillment of times
  6. 1:11 Or In him we are also an inheritance,
  7. 1:17 Or the Father of glory
  8. 1:17 Or a spirit
  9. 1:21 Lit every name named
  10. 1:22 Ps 8:6
  11. 1:22 Lit gave him
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Psalm 66

Psalm 66

Praise for God’s Mighty Acts

For the choir director. A song. A psalm.

Let the whole earth shout joyfully to God!(A)
Sing about the glory of his name;
make his praise glorious.(B)
Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are your works!
Your enemies will cringe before you
because of your great strength.(C)
The whole earth will worship you
and sing praise to you.
They will sing praise to your name.”(D)Selah

Come and see the wonders of God;(E)
his acts for humanity[a] are awe-inspiring.
He turned the sea into dry land,
and they crossed the river on foot.(F)
There we rejoiced in him.(G)
He rules forever by his might;
he keeps his eye on the nations.(H)
The rebellious should not exalt themselves.(I)Selah
Bless our God, you peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard.(J)
He keeps us alive[b]
and does not allow our feet to slip.(K)

10 For you, God, tested us;
you refined us as silver is refined.(L)
11 You lured us into a trap;
you placed burdens on our backs.(M)
12 You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water,
but you brought us out to abundance.[c](N)

13 I will enter your house with burnt offerings;
I will pay you my vows(O)
14 that my lips promised
and my mouth spoke during my distress.(P)
15 I will offer you fattened sheep as burnt offerings,
with the fragrant smoke of rams;
I will sacrifice bulls with goats.(Q)Selah

16 Come and listen, all who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.(R)
17 I cried out to him with my mouth,
and praise was on my tongue.(S)
18 If I had been aware of malice in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.(T)
19 However, God has listened;
he has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.(U)
20 Blessed be God!
He has not turned away my prayer
or turned his faithful love from me.(V)

Footnotes:

  1. 66:5 Or for the descendants of Adam
  2. 66:9 Lit He sets our soul in life
  3. 66:12 Or a place of satisfaction
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

Proverbs 23:25-28

25 Let your father and mother have joy,(A)
and let her who gave birth to you rejoice.

26 My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes observe my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit,(B)
and a wayward woman is a narrow well;
28 indeed, she sets an ambush like a robber(C)
and increases the number of unfaithful people.

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.

09/21/2018 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 37:1-38:22, Galatians 6:1-18, Psalms 65:1-13 , Proverbs 23:24

Today is the 21st day of September. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and it is a pleasure and an honor to be here with you today to do our daily tradition, right? To take the next step forward in the Scriptures and just allow God’s word to wash into our lives, to wash over us to allow peace to come into our presence right now, wherever it is we are, whether we’re in car or on the train or in the shower or wherever we are, whatever we’re doing, we simply exhale. All of the things that are stressing us out can wait a few minutes. God wants to come into the center of all this, and allow His word to come and wash over us. And, so, we trust Him in that. So, we’re reading from the book of Isaiah and we’re past the halfway point in the book of Isaiah. We’ve been reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week and today we’ll read Isaiah chapter 37 verse 1 through 38 verse 22.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we concluded Paul’s letter to the Galatians today, which means we’ll be moving into another letter, the letter to the Ephesians tomorrow. But in his final chapter, Paul told us some of his final thoughts. And some of those final thoughts are immediate counsel to our lives. He said, carry one another’s burdens. In this way you will fulfill the law of Christ, right? So, that’s chapter 6 verse 2 and that one verse right there is something to meditate on, like, continually. We are to shoulder one another’s burdens, which is what we do here every day through prayer. But we’re to do this in everything. In this way we will fulfill the law of Christ. So, we can deduce that the law of Christ then is outward facing toward one another. And Paul clarifies that. For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he’s deceiving himself. So, like we were saying yesterday we’re free to deceive ourselves, we’re free to be deceived, if that’s what we want to use our freedom for. But again, deceiving ourselves, creating a false reality, and living a lie seems counterproductive. Paul goes on to say that each person can examine his own work then he can take pride in himself alone and not compare himself with someone else for everybody’s got their own load to carry on. And we need to remember that when we’re swept into this game of comparison, when we are trying to find our identity based upon how well we are doing versus how someone else is doing. It’s not helpful. It pulls us toward envy, which is deadly. It’s a poison to our souls. The way that we combat this is to keep our eyes on the path that we are walking, to keep our eyes on the road as it were, right? We’re driving in a car, we’re moving down the highway, we’re doing the speed limit, we’re watching where were going. If we start looking around at everyone, and I don’t just mean being aware. If we start looking around and comparing our car to their cars and we’re looking behind us, and we’re looking to our sides, we’re not looking where were going. It’s not going to go well. We each have a unique path. When we keep our eyes on that path while being outwardly focused and shouldering one another’s burdens of our brothers and sisters around us, then  we can truly celebrate whatever God is doing in anyone’s life because God is continuing to lead our lives forward an is doing what he needs to do in our lives and we can rejoice because were all moving toward shalom, we’re all moving toward wholeness, and we’re all being knit together as the body of Christ, one in the Spirit.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that. It’s a constant thing. It’s continual that we are invited toward envy. Everything in our culture pulls us toward what we don’t have and what someone else might. And what we don’t have but if we did have become the magic that will make our lives work. None of those things are true. You are the author of life. You are the only one who can make life work because You created life. And we are sitting here comprehending these words of this prayer because of that fact. You have given us life and it is a gift. And when we spend that gift of life by simply comparing it with someone else’s story or our own deficits we’re missing the point. We rejoice in You and we thank You for this gift of life and we invite Your Holy Spirit to lead us on our path. Come Jesus we pray. In Your mighty name, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is hone base, it’s the website, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. So, be sure to check in and check it.

Check out the Prayer Wall. Check out the resources that are available in the Shop.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can also get the Prayer Wall and to the Daily Audio Bible shop from the app. You can also partner with the Daily Audio Bible by pushing the Give button in the upper right hand corner 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 comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

09/20/2018 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 33:14-36:L22, Galatians 5:13-26, Psalms 64:1-10, Proverbs 23:23

Today is the 20th day of September. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is a pleasure, of course, every day and an honor to be here with you for lots of reasons. You’re very cool and I think it’s awesome that we can be together like this and we’re a community all over the world taking the next step forward and the very reason that we’ve come together is to do that, to allow God’s word to speak to us. So we’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. Isaiah chapter 33 verse 10 through 36:22 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we talked about two different paths and two different outcomes in the book of Isaiah. Yesterday and we see the same kind of thing today in the book of Galatians, two different paths and their outcomes - the path of the sinful nature the path of union with the Holy Spirit. So, Paul wrote, for the flesh desires what is against the Spirit and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh. These are  opposed to each other so that you don’t do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit you’re not under the law, right? So, two paths that are opposed to each other and are going in different directions that will end up in different places. So, we can see that we can choose the path that submits to sin, because it’s fighting for control. But how do we define that? Are there signs that reveal whether we’re choosing that path and whether we’re submitting ourselves to sin. According to Paul, there are. And in his own words. the works of the flesh are obvious - sexual immorality, moral impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambitions, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and anything similar. So, let’s just spend just a moment. And that’s a pretty good list. And we need to process it. And we can understand how sexual morality or lustful pleasures or drunkenness and wild parties would make the list, right? We’ve probably been warned against these since we entered puberty, but what about jealousy? What about envy? What about outbursts of anger? Have we ever considered that these are walking the path of the sinful nature? And we might think well, what’s the big deal? Everybody gets mad. For Paul, the big deal was that these do not lead us into anything other than more bondage. So yeah, you’re free to become in more bondage if that’s what you want to use your freedom on. But put in those terms it’s awfully counterproductive, right? And Paul is trying to contrast and reveal a freedom in Christ Jesus that is a boundless, right? So, let’s think about it. How free have you felt when you are burning with jealousy or comparing your life with someone else’s in envy? How free does that feel? I mean, did you get like the sense of complete wholeness the last time you had an uncontrollable outburst of rage? Right? When was the last time lust gave you this deep sense of spiritual joy? According to Paul, if these behaviors dominate our lives it’s because we’ve chosen the path of the sinful nature, and he tells us where the path leads. He says, let me tell you again as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the kingdom of God. So, some stuff to think about. Thankfully, Paul didn’t say that anyone who fails in these areas is hopelessly lost. Rather, the person who lives into that way of being, the one who walks not path will not inherit the kingdom of God. So, are we walking that path? If we are then it’s not gonna probably end where we had hoped it would. But, like we said, this is a contrast, there is another path that was outlined in our reading today, the path of the Spirit. And what does that path look like? Paul said, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things. Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. So, we can see the contrast pretty starkly and we can decide which one of these paths is heading in the direction that we were hoping to end up in because we’re going to have to follow the path that leads to where it is that were trying to go, right? Otherwise, we’re not going to get there. And this is often the case with the Scripture. The Bible continually shows us that our thoughts and our words and our deeds become the path we are walking and it reveals to us where those paths are leading so that we can understand where we’re going and that our choices have outcomes. So we’ve considered the path of the sinful nature and the path of walking in the Spirit. What path are you on? What path do you want to be on? As has always been the case, the choice is ours.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that because if we’re going to be honest we’re going to have to confess that we’re trying to walk both roads, a little of this a little of that, a little for You, Lord, and a little for us. I’ll give You my worship but I’m going to hold onto that bitterness because I think it defines me and gives me permission to lash out at other people for the deficits that I feel inside myself. This is childish behavior Lord and we confess it. You are inviting us to grow up in You, You are showing us the path that leads to life. You’ve told us in advance that it’s a narrow one and few find it. And is it any wonder that we’re so distracted? But we want to walk the path that leads to life, following Your Holy Spirit, allowing the Spirit to plant the fruit of the Spirit in our lives so that it grows up a bountiful harvest and overwhelms the weeds that we keep nurturing. And we confess we’ll never…we’ll never be able to do it in our own strength. We simply are not capable. And that’s not what You’re expecting. You’re expecting that we would surrender to the fact that we can’t do it and allow Your Holy Spirit to come and guide us. And our job isn’t to figure everything out. Our job is to be submissive and surrender to You, trusting You, knowing that You will only lead us into the truth, knowing that You would never do something that would hurt us. Everything that You would do in our lives is only for our good always and forever. We trust You Lord. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

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

That’s where the Prayer Wall lives. That’s where people are praying for each other continuously. The Daily Audio Bible shop is there with resources for this journey in the year through the Scriptures.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link on the homepage. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can also get to the Prayer Wall in the Daily Audio Bible shop but you can also partner with the Daily Audio Bible by pushing the Give button in the upper right hand corner. And 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 and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.