11/04/2019 DAB Transcript

Ezekiel 10:1-11:25, Hebrews 6:1-20, Psalms 105:16-36, Proverbs 27:1-2

Today is the 4th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you as we move into our work week together and really get fully moved into this brand-new month that we’re engaging with. So, it’s great to settle into the rhythm, keep moving forward, taking the next step. We’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. Today, Ezekiel chapters 10 and 11.

Commentary:

Okay. So, let’s have a little real talk here the beginning of this week. From the Proverbs today, we probably…probably know people who are really, really self-absorbed. Like, we might be that person, but you know people that when you when you have a conversation with them even though you love them, the conversation no matter what the conversations about is going end up being about them in one way or another and is going to be the subtle comparison. Like maybe you’re having coffee, you’re talking about, I don’t know. What…what your kids are up to, what they’ve been doing, but you can’t even finish your story before they have jumped over you and they’re telling an even better story about their own kids so that…so…so that you’ll see that they’re just overcoming in every possible way and we should look at them and really acknowledge that. So, that…that’s what Proverbs is talking about today. “Don’t brag about tomorrow each day brings its own surprises. Don’t brag about yourself, let others praise you.” The interesting thing about those kinds of relationships, at least in my experience, is that it actually can’t hold up, like it can’t last. You can’t maintain an ongoing relationship with a person like that forever and ever without there being some kind of conflict along the way because eventually you’re repelled by that behavior. Like a person who’s so self-absorbed that they’re not even aware that everything is about them, you eventually get tired of it so you start making distance cause it’s not life-giving back-and-forth, right? It’s a one-sided thing. Usually underneath that is somebody who really, really needs or wants to be seen, and they don’t feel seen unless they’re being praised in some way. Bu the kind of “seen” that they’re kind of demanding isn’t really being seen at all. Like, it’s simply allowing a person to observe the life you’ve curated and given to them but they’re not really seeing you because of the self-absorption and the bragging that gets in the way and…and that’s repellent. So, if you have… if you have people in your life that are like that then the proverb here gives some perspective. If it’s you and you find yourself in that situation, then the Proverbs is inviting some pretty…pretty soul-searching reflection. And if we’re honest, maybe we’re not behaving to this extreme, like what we’re talking about but this actually does speak to all of us in some sort of way because it is all of us. We’re wanting to be seen, we’re wanting to be validated. On the path that we’re walking, often we’re looking in the wrong places for that validation and then if we don’t feel validated by God, then we will do what we’ve seen all through the Bible we’ll chase the imposter. What we really want is to actually be seen for who we are and what we usually do is try to curate who we are so that what’s seen, it is palatable and good but isn’t true or real. So, the bottom line is that we need someone that we can trust that we can be completely vulnerable that we can actually truly be seen because a person only sees of you what you reveal. That…that’s all they know. So, you can have relationships with people where you have just revealed a very, very small part of your life and that’s who they think you are because that’s all they’ve ever known of you, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg on who you truly are. And we want to actually be seen truly, as we are and accepted and validated from that place. And, so, we’ll search for the imposter when there’s only one place to get. We have to trust God, which brings us to a leap of faith as the Scriptures do and as faith always does. We have to step out into the unknown and believe that our Father does see us and He does love what He sees and He is eager about the possibilities that we could share together because the proverb tells us we don’t know what the day will bring. And we can live in fear of the day or we can treat today as an adventure with God. So, what would happen if we did like throw caution to the window however you want to describe it and just take that leap of faith and go all in? The book of Hebrews talks about that today. It says now His promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us. This hope is like a firm and steady anchor for our souls. In fact, hope reaches behind the curtain and into the most holy place. That’s what we’re really looking for friends. Isn’t that what you’re…that’s what I’m looking for. And we won’t get there by inflating ourselves and living as if the world revolves around us.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that. It’s challenging. It’s challenging on so many levels but thank You for the challenge. Thank You for exposing us to ourselves so that we can even see what’s true. And, so we invite Your Holy Spirit into what it is that we’re projecting out into the world. Are we being true because we know were being seen and validated and loved by our Father, our Creator or are we chasing the imposter? Come Holy Spirit Into this question we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

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

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi Emily from New Mexico and I’m calling in for prayer for my aunty __ cousin __ and thank you for the Daily Audio Bible. Lord, thank you for all you’ve done for everybody and I hope that you can help my aunty in what she does and help her through trying times that she is going through and that she can make better choices in life. Thank you, Lord amen. Thank you for the Daily Audio Bible. __ you’ve given.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible community that I love so much. This is Diane Olive of Brown calling from new brand work Indiana. It is 1253 in the morning and I’m listening to the Wednesday, October 30th, 2019 podcast. And a few people have cried out for help. One dear sister was really missing and wanting her sister back. Nobody knows where she is, and she has a problem with drug addiction. And Bernie, you have family members who have…have dealt with some not so nice issues and one of your family members struggles with bipolar and drug addiction. And my son struggles with drug addiction and also sometimes we don’t know where he is. And I know it’s easy…it’s easy for us to look at the situation and be concerned and be worried but one thing has really helped me since I’ve been doing this and I hope this helps you, is to listen to the daily reading and listen to the heart of God. And also, I stand on Proverbs 11:21 that says, “the seed of the righteous shall be delivered.” That doesn’t have anything to do them but you are righteous so your seed shall be delivered. Shalom shalom God is good.

Hi community this is Shelley I called about 6 to 8 weeks ago to ask for prayer for a couple by the name of Katie and Cameron Martin. Just to give you a little bit of background, in late spring Katie was diagnosed with sarcoma. She’s also pregnant with their first child. Doctors decided…they moved to Texas…doctors decided that she needed to go undergo a leg amputation while she was still pregnant, and this happened late August. She bounced back and everything was great. The baby was healthy during the operation. She was going to physical therapy for her amputation. She was fit with a prosthetic and as her cancer progressed doctors decided that they needed to deliver the baby early. And, so, there was a baby born, Abigail, Abigail James Martin was born on October the 3rd and she is gaining weight and she’s doing really really well. And Katie had to undergo chemo treatment after just a week or two of Abigail being born, which required that she live closer to the hospit. And, so, she had to make a move and she’s been undergoing chemo which has been really really difficult with her. The good thing is that Abigail’s gaining weight. But last week they found out that she had some spots on her lungs and Katie’s had such a positive attitude up until now. But this really truly broke her spirit. They’re hoping, the doctors are hoping that it’s just…

Hello DAB church this is Janet and Mobil. I went to the doctor today in the news was not so good. The test results came back with pretty ugly test results as the world always gives us ugly results. And I thank you all so much for your prayers. I thank you all so much for being my brothers and my sisters and I look forward to the day that we get to commiserate about heaven and about how much time we spent together caring for each other on the earth, but in the meantime just please stand with me that I see in my creative energy a health, a wealth, and a well-being that Jesus died to give me. I love you guys. I appreciate everything that everybody has done to keep this thing on the air because it’s a mainstay, it’s a part of my life, it is my life’s blood, it is part of my life’s blood every day hearing the word of God spoken out of Brian’s and Jill’s mouth and just testifying to how steadfast the word of God is. God bless every one of you. My time is up. I appreciate your prayers and I pray for each of you. Amen.

Hello DAB family this is Lisa from Wisconsin it’s a glorious day here. Brian, I want to thank you for persevering in this ministry and serving your community of believers with this Audio Bible. I’m very grateful for it as my husband has never been able to get into the word because of learning disabilities and reading is hard for him. So, it’s a wonderful blessing for us. Thank you. I also would like to pray for believers who struggle with discouragement as I often do. And I just would like to pray with all of you and hope that you can join me in this prayer. Lord God we humbly thank You for Your many blessings. Help us to know that we are right where You want us to be and that Your hand is on our lives even when we feel that You’re not paying attention to our circumstances. We know that You are in control. Help us to be content and to continue to serve You and be faithful even when You are…as You are faithful to us. Thank You in Jesus’ name. Amen.