Genesis 48:1-49:33, Matthew 15:29-16:12, Psalms 20:1-9, Proverbs 4:20-27
Today is the 24th day of January. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is always great to be here with you for the next step forward as we continue to move through our weeks and our months and eventually our year, taking steps that lead us through the entire Bible. We’ve taking 23 steps. So, this is our 24th step and we’ve been chasing the story of Joseph and it’s been a dramatic story to say the least and it will carry us through…well…through tomorrow and tomorrow we’ll finish the book of Genesis. So, we’re reading from the English Standard Version this week and today, Genesis chapter 48 and 49.
Commentary:
Okay. So, like I mentioned, tomorrow we’ll be finishing the book of Genesis, which will finish the first book of the Bible. So, we’re kind of down to the last pages of that book and in today’s reading now we have experienced the death of Jacob. So, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their lifespans and their children and their stories were all covered in the book of Genesis. And the idea of “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” will carry forward through the rest of the Bible. So, Jacob lays his head down in death even as he blesses his sons and grandsons and then he requests that his bones be buried in the family burial cave. So, they’re in Egypt at this point. So, it’s a bit…it’s a long way back, but we remember, I mean we keep visiting this cave of Machpelah, right, in the valley of Eshkol. And, so, in grand procession, Jacobs bones are taken back to this burial place that still exists until today in the city of Hebron. And, so, we keep coming back here and basically, yeah, we keep coming back because when someone dies they get buried there, but we’ll be coming back here to this to this burial place again a little later from now with great consequences.
And then in today’s reading from the book of Proverbs we’re hold…I mean…I don’t know how to build this up big enough at this point, we’re told something that is absolutely essential to us being able to navigate this year and this life at all. We’re told to guard our hearts above everything else because our hearts determine the course of our lives. So, the Scriptures say, “keep your heart with all vigilance for from it flow the springs of life.” So, let’s not forget, our hearts are where we commune with God and our intimacy with God charts the course for our lives. So, if we’re not going to guard our hearts are have vigilance over our hearts and we’re going to give our hearts to anything that will come along and just promise life and pleasure and we end up giving ourselves to unworthy things then this can become like a tainted water source that becomes corrupt and then eventually makes us sick. Our hearts are like ground zero for our lives. And, so, we have to be intentional and vigilant and absolutely devoted to protecting our hearts if…well…if we want to be in a relationship with God.
Prayer:
Father, we invite You into that. We invite You into our hearts. We invite You and ask that You reveal the ways in which we’re crowding You out of our hearts by putting unworthy things in our lives. “Above all else, guard your heart with all vigilance.” This is what You told us today and You told us to do that because it determines the course of our lives. So, come Holy Spirit, be within our hearts because the course that we want to walk with our lives is something we want to be determined by You. We want to walk in relationship with You in all things at all times in all places. So, come Holy Spirit and show us what it means to guard our hearts above all else. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Announcements:
dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what’s going on around here. So, be sure to stay tuned and stay connected.
Check out the resources that are available in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. Stay connected at the Prayer Wall.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link, it’s on the homepage. If you are 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 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:
Hello DAB family this is Joe from Connecticut. Brian thank you and to your family for another year of the Daily Audio Bible. This is an incredible ministry, strong in God’s love and faith thanks to your dedication. Thank you. I’m calling today to lift up my friend Denise in prayer who continues to struggle with fear and anxiety from her early childhood sexual abuse from her father. Nothing is impossible with prayer so please pray for Denise to receive God’s healing to her heart, her mind, body, soul, and spirit, that God will call Denise to be one with Him in His love, joy, hope and happiness. And please pray that Denise will be able to open her heart to know God and for His redemptive healing. Thank you, family for your prayers. Also, please pray that I will continue to be strong in God’s love and faith and be blessed with the wisdom to know His will and have the strength and courage to do His will. Thank you. And welcome to all the new DAB family members in 2019. You are now part of a wonderful supportive spiritual family. I pray for all the DAB prayer requests. I keep all of you are in my prayers every day. I love you family. Thank you. Stay strong in faith.
Hello this is Alisha, My God’s is Abundance. Today is January 21st and I have just finished listening to today’s message. Thanks Brian for your ministry and for bringing us your word, this word about wisdom today. I’m taking a page out of Victoria Soldier calling in to pray for some of the DABbers today. Walta, the Burning Brush, may you be blessed with a wide path to stand on as you continue to fight the good fight, may you be strengthened enough that your hand may bend the bows of bronze that we learned about today in the Psalm as you battle for your DAB family. Ken from Michigan, trying to find faith and to become a believer. Well Ken, it sounds like you’re just about there or already there. May you be blessed with the wisdom of Proverbs 4:7-10 that was read today. I pray that wisdom just throws a crown upon you so that you can continue to hear and accept the words of our heavenly Father. As you listen and hear may you be led to bow your knee, repent to whatever you are holding on to that might be holding you back, and acknowledge that Jesus is your Lord, our King. And we look forward to walking through this year with you Ken. May Madison…or Max Madison who shared his wisdom and insight about reaching to nonbelievers by showing them God’s love. Max, I’ve long believed the same thing and as a sister, friend, and partner to family and friends who are nonbelievers, I thank you for your insight and pray that you are surrounded by the love of Christ each day in a tangible and undeniable way. May you also be blessed with an unshakable love of life, that you might choose life each day and not hate life ever again, and that’s to consider suicide again. And for Julie who was burdened by prayers for her younger brother. My sister, I share your struggle as the sister of a brother who proclaims himself to be an atheist…
Hi, my name is Angela, I’m calling from California. I don’t really know what I was going to say today but I need prayer. I’m the one with that has voices in my head and I’m just not doing really good. I still feel like killing myself every day. I don’t feel like living anymore. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my family because of these thoughts and the physical illness that I have. It’s like I’m planning for it to happen. Every day I plan to…just something happen to me or I plan to do this every day and it’s gotten so close that I’ve almost done it and it’s an everyday occurrence for me and I just need you guys to pray that I can get through this and that God will do a miracle for me and that He’ll just to touch me and heal me because I know He can do it but I’m just struggling really hard right now. I’ve got my children to think about and everything else and I try to think about but when these things hit me I don’t think about anything else and I walk around and people think I’m normal when I walk around but it’s not, I’m not, I have all these things going on inside me and I just really need your prayers. It’s really been hard on me and I can’t take it anymore. I don’t know what to do anymore. I’m down to my lowest point in life. I went through a phase where I just got so depressed I didn’t want to do anything, and I couldn’t get up and do anything. I just sat in one spot for about a week and I just…I was to that point where I just wanted to take my life and I am not, I’m not doing…
Hi, this is Jackie calling from Colorado. Last time I called I was living in Hawaii. That was just a little over a year ago and I called several times for my son Justin who was involved in quite a few court cases and I just kind of let it go and I never, you know, called back again and about six weeks ago I started listening to the Daily Audio Bible podcast again and I just…God opened up a whole new area in my life and I’m so grateful that he did and I…my prayer…I actually have a praise report for my son, he’s been incarcerated now for a little over year and he’s getting out in a couple months. I.E. that’s why I’m here in Colorado. And he’s doing really well. He was delivered from alcoholism and at the same time, during the same period, I was delivered from drug addiction that I had not confessed to anybody really. I just accepted it as a part of my life and just always would be, but I was delivered from that and I’m just so grateful that the Lord listened to me and gave me the strength to go through it and I just wanted to tell other people that I listen…
Good morning brothers and sisters, my name’s Mike, originally from South Africa and now living in London. I just want to encourage some of you that are calling in because I feel your pain. I tell you, God can heal everything, He can take everything away. You just have to be patient, you just have to pray and then lean on Him. It is not in our own understanding brothers and sisters, but God takes it care of it, He really does. Honestly and truly, I know where you’re at, I hear some of those calls coming in and some of you are close so close to tears and so close to breaking, but I’m gonna to tell you one thing now, God’s prayers never go unanswered, may not be in your time, may not be instant, but God is working on your behalf. The moment you pray that prayer it is done. Be in peace, be in joy, whatever happens today God is in control of your life and that prayer that you’ve prayed is being answered. Just believe, just believe. God bless and have a wonderful week. It’s Monday morning today. Have a wonderful week.