The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday June 23, 2020 (NIV)

2 Kings 4:18-5:27

18 The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers.(A) 19 He said to his father, “My head! My head!”

His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed(B) of the man of God, then shut the door and went out.

22 She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return.”

23 “Why go to him today?” he asked. “It’s not the New Moon(C) or the Sabbath.”

“That’s all right,” she said.

24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.(D)

When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite! 26 Run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’”

“Everything is all right,” she said.

27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress,(E) but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why.”

28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”

29 Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt,(F) take my staff(G) in your hand and run. Don’t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.”

30 But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.

31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.”

32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch.(H) 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed(I) to the Lord. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched(J) himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times(K) and opened his eyes.(L)

36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.”(M) 37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.

Death in the Pot

38 Elisha returned to Gilgal(N) and there was a famine(O) in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these prophets.”

39 One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine and picked as many of its gourds as his garment could hold. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. 40 The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “Man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it.

41 Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot.(P)

Feeding of a Hundred

42 A man came from Baal Shalishah,(Q) bringing the man of God twenty loaves(R) of barley bread(S) baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said.

43 “How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked.

But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat.(T) For this is what the Lord says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.(U)’” 44 Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the Lord.

Naaman Healed of Leprosy

Now Naaman was commander of the army of the king of Aram.(V) He was a great man in the sight of his master and highly regarded, because through him the Lord had given victory to Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy.[a](W)

Now bands of raiders(X) from Aram had gone out and had taken captive a young girl from Israel, and she served Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would see the prophet(Y) who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

Naaman went to his master and told him what the girl from Israel had said. “By all means, go,” the king of Aram replied. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents[b] of silver, six thousand shekels[c] of gold and ten sets of clothing.(Z) The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: “With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.”

As soon as the king of Israel read the letter,(AA) he tore his robes and said, “Am I God?(AB) Can I kill and bring back to life?(AC) Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy? See how he is trying to pick a quarrel(AD) with me!”

When Elisha the man of God heard that the king of Israel had torn his robes, he sent him this message: “Why have you torn your robes? Have the man come to me and he will know that there is a prophet(AE) in Israel.” So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and stopped at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, “Go, wash(AF) yourself seven times(AG) in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.”

11 But Naaman went away angry and said, “I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the Lord his God, wave his hand(AH) over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. 12 Are not Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters(AI) of Israel? Couldn’t I wash in them and be cleansed?” So he turned and went off in a rage.(AJ)

13 Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father,(AK) if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” 14 So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times,(AL) as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored(AM) and became clean like that of a young boy.(AN)

15 Then Naaman and all his attendants went back to the man of God(AO). He stood before him and said, “Now I know(AP) that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. So please accept a gift(AQ) from your servant.”

16 The prophet answered, “As surely as the Lord lives, whom I serve, I will not accept a thing.” And even though Naaman urged him, he refused.(AR)

17 “If you will not,” said Naaman, “please let me, your servant, be given as much earth(AS) as a pair of mules can carry, for your servant will never again make burnt offerings and sacrifices to any other god but the Lord. 18 But may the Lord forgive your servant for this one thing: When my master enters the temple of Rimmon to bow down and he is leaning(AT) on my arm and I have to bow there also—when I bow down in the temple of Rimmon, may the Lord forgive your servant for this.”

19 “Go in peace,”(AU) Elisha said.

After Naaman had traveled some distance, 20 Gehazi, the servant of Elisha the man of God, said to himself, “My master was too easy on Naaman, this Aramean, by not accepting from him what he brought. As surely as the Lord(AV) lives, I will run after him and get something from him.”

21 So Gehazi hurried after Naaman. When Naaman saw him running toward him, he got down from the chariot to meet him. “Is everything all right?” he asked.

22 “Everything is all right,” Gehazi answered. “My master sent me to say, ‘Two young men from the company of the prophets have just come to me from the hill country of Ephraim. Please give them a talent[d] of silver and two sets of clothing.’”(AW)

23 “By all means, take two talents,” said Naaman. He urged Gehazi to accept them, and then tied up the two talents of silver in two bags, with two sets of clothing. He gave them to two of his servants, and they carried them ahead of Gehazi. 24 When Gehazi came to the hill, he took the things from the servants and put them away in the house. He sent the men away and they left.

25 When he went in and stood before his master, Elisha asked him, “Where have you been, Gehazi?”

“Your servant didn’t go anywhere,” Gehazi answered.

26 But Elisha said to him, “Was not my spirit with you when the man got down from his chariot to meet you? Is this the time(AX) to take money or to accept clothes—or olive groves and vineyards, or flocks and herds, or male and female slaves?(AY) 27 Naaman’s leprosy(AZ) will cling to you and to your descendants forever.” Then Gehazi(BA) went from Elisha’s presence and his skin was leprous—it had become as white as snow.(BB)

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Kings 5:1 The Hebrew for leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin; also in verses 3, 6, 7, 11 and 27.
  2. 2 Kings 5:5 That is, about 750 pounds or about 340 kilograms
  3. 2 Kings 5:5 That is, about 150 pounds or about 69 kilograms
  4. 2 Kings 5:22 That is, about 75 pounds or about 34 kilograms

Cross references:

  1. 2 Kings 4:18 : S Ru 2:3
  2. 2 Kings 4:21 : ver 32
  3. 2 Kings 4:23 : S Nu 10:10; 1Ch 23:31; Ps 81:3
  4. 2 Kings 4:25 : S 1Ki 18:20
  5. 2 Kings 4:27 : 1Sa 1:15
  6. 2 Kings 4:29 : S 1Ki 18:46
  7. 2 Kings 4:29 : S Ex 4:2
  8. 2 Kings 4:32 : ver 21
  9. 2 Kings 4:33 : 1Ki 17:20; Mt 6:6
  10. 2 Kings 4:34 : 1Ki 17:21; Ac 20:10
  11. 2 Kings 4:35 : S Jos 6:15
  12. 2 Kings 4:35 : 2Ki 8:5
  13. 2 Kings 4:36 : Heb 11:35
  14. 2 Kings 4:38 : S 2Ki 2:1
  15. 2 Kings 4:38 : S Lev 26:26; 2Ki 8:1
  16. 2 Kings 4:41 : S Ex 15:25; S 2Ki 2:21
  17. 2 Kings 4:42 : 1Sa 9:4
  18. 2 Kings 4:42 : Mt 14:17; 15:36
  19. 2 Kings 4:42 : S 1Sa 9:7
  20. 2 Kings 4:43 : Lk 9:13
  21. 2 Kings 4:43 : Mt 14:20; Jn 6:12
  22. 2 Kings 5:1 : S Ge 10:22; S 2Sa 10:19
  23. 2 Kings 5:1 : S Ex 4:6; S Nu 12:10; Lk 4:27
  24. 2 Kings 5:2 : 2Ki 6:23; 13:20; 24:2
  25. 2 Kings 5:3 : S Ge 20:7
  26. 2 Kings 5:5 : ver 22; S Ge 24:53; Jdg 14:12; S 1Sa 9:7
  27. 2 Kings 5:7 : 2Ki 19:14
  28. 2 Kings 5:7 : S Ge 30:2
  29. 2 Kings 5:7 : S Dt 32:39
  30. 2 Kings 5:7 : 1Ki 20:7
  31. 2 Kings 5:8 : S 1Ki 22:7
  32. 2 Kings 5:10 : Jn 9:7
  33. 2 Kings 5:10 : S Ge 33:3; S Lev 14:7
  34. 2 Kings 5:11 : S Ex 7:19
  35. 2 Kings 5:12 : Isa 8:6
  36. 2 Kings 5:12 : Pr 14:17, 29; 19:11; 29:11
  37. 2 Kings 5:13 : 2Ki 6:21; 13:14
  38. 2 Kings 5:14 : S Ge 33:3; S Lev 14:7; S Jos 6:15
  39. 2 Kings 5:14 : S Ex 4:7
  40. 2 Kings 5:14 : Job 33:25
  41. 2 Kings 5:15 : S Jos 2:11
  42. 2 Kings 5:15 : S Jos 4:24; S 1Sa 17:46
  43. 2 Kings 5:15 : S 1Sa 9:7
  44. 2 Kings 5:16 : ver 20, 26; Ge 14:23; Da 5:17
  45. 2 Kings 5:17 : Ex 20:24
  46. 2 Kings 5:18 : 2Ki 7:2
  47. 2 Kings 5:19 : 1Sa 1:17; S Ac 15:33
  48. 2 Kings 5:20 : Ex 20:7
  49. 2 Kings 5:22 : S ver 5; S Ge 45:22
  50. 2 Kings 5:26 : S ver 16
  51. 2 Kings 5:26 : Jer 45:5
  52. 2 Kings 5:27 : S Nu 12:10
  53. 2 Kings 5:27 : Col 3:5
  54. 2 Kings 5:27 : S Ex 4:6
New International Version (NIV)

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Acts 15:1-35

The Council at Jerusalem

15 Certain people(A) came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers:(B) “Unless you are circumcised,(C) according to the custom taught by Moses,(D) you cannot be saved.” This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem(E) to see the apostles and elders(F) about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia(G) and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted.(H) This news made all the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.(I)

Then some of the believers who belonged to the party(J) of the Pharisees(K) stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”(L)

The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.(M) God, who knows the heart,(N) showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them,(O) just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them,(P) for he purified their hearts by faith.(Q) 10 Now then, why do you try to test God(R) by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke(S) that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace(T) of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders(U) God had done among the Gentiles through them.(V) 13 When they finished, James(W) spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14 Simon[a] has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles.(X) 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

16 “‘After this I will return
and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
17 that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things’[b](Y)
18 things known from long ago.[c](Z)

19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols,(AA) from sexual immorality,(AB) from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.(AC) 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”(AD)

The Council’s Letter to Gentile Believers

22 Then the apostles and elders,(AE) with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch(AF) with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas,(AG) men who were leaders among the believers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:

The apostles and elders, your brothers,

To the Gentile believers in Antioch,(AH) Syria(AI) and Cilicia:(AJ)

Greetings.(AK)

24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.(AL) 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives(AM) for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas(AN) to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit(AO) and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.(AP) You will do well to avoid these things.

Farewell.

30 So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. 31 The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. 32 Judas and Silas,(AQ) who themselves were prophets,(AR) said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. 33 After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace(AS) to return to those who had sent them. [34] [d] 35 But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached(AT) the word of the Lord.(AU)

Footnotes:

  1. Acts 15:14 Greek Simeon, a variant of Simon; that is, Peter
  2. Acts 15:17 Amos 9:11,12 (see Septuagint)
  3. Acts 15:18 Some manuscripts things’— / 18 the Lord’s work is known to him from long ago
  4. Acts 15:34 Some manuscripts include here But Silas decided to remain there.
New International Version (NIV)

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Psalm 141

Psalm 141

A psalm of David.

I call to you, Lord, come quickly(A) to me;
hear me(B) when I call to you.
May my prayer be set before you like incense;(C)
may the lifting up of my hands(D) be like the evening sacrifice.(E)

Set a guard over my mouth,(F) Lord;
keep watch over the door of my lips.(G)
Do not let my heart(H) be drawn to what is evil
so that I take part in wicked deeds(I)
along with those who are evildoers;
do not let me eat their delicacies.(J)

Let a righteous man strike me—that is a kindness;
let him rebuke me(K)—that is oil on my head.(L)
My head will not refuse it,
for my prayer will still be against the deeds of evildoers.

Their rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs,(M)
and the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
They will say, “As one plows(N) and breaks up the earth,(O)
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth(P) of the grave.”

But my eyes are fixed(Q) on you, Sovereign Lord;
in you I take refuge(R)—do not give me over to death.
Keep me safe(S) from the traps set by evildoers,(T)
from the snares(U) they have laid for me.
10 Let the wicked fall(V) into their own nets,
while I pass by in safety.(W)

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Proverbs 17:23

23 The wicked accept bribes(A) in secret
to pervert the course of justice.(B)

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

06/22/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Kings 3:1-4:17, Acts 14:8-28, Psalms 140:1-13, Proverbs 17:22

Today is the 22nd the day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today as we move into our time together around the Global Campfire and around the Scriptures. We’re in the book of second Kings. We haven’t been there long but we’re moving into the book of second Kings. And we spent a good…good-ish amount of time in the northern kingdom of Israel and their kings as well as the prophet…prophets Elijah and Elisha and we’ll continue with that. We’ll continue in the north and we’ll continue with the prophetic voice of Elisha today. Second Kings chapter 3 verse 1 through 4 verse 17.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we are on mission with the apostle Paul at this point in the book of Acts and they move through a city called Lystra and they preach and there is a healing. People witness this. They start freaking out and they decide that Paul and his companion Barnabas at this point, that they are gods that have come down in human form and they need to be worshiped. And, so, they’re doing everything that they can, and they decide that Barnabas is actually Zeus and Paul is Hermes. And, so, there…there happens to be a temple to Zeus. So, they’re like going to the priest and…and saying “hey. Zeus is in town. Like he’s showed up in town in human form.” And, so, they’re bringing bulls out. They’re gonna do these sacrifices to the…to Paul and Barnabas. And, of course, Paul and Barnabas are like trying to stop everybody and are like, “hang on a second. We’re just humans like you. We’ve come here to tell you about the living God.” And, so, they begin to share the gospel, but the people still are convinced that they’re Zeus and Hermes. And, so, there like still trying to do the sacrifices until…until some Jewish people from nearby cities come in and they know who Paul is. And. so, they start to turn the crowd. And the next thing we know, Paul is stoned and left for dead. That…that’s the story of the early church. Like these are the stories of the early church. This is how things came to be. And, so, Paul went from being a God to being stoned to death and left for dead, as it appears, on the same day, which shows you a bit of the mob mentality at work, like how quickly people can be pulled together in one direction, even with a complete false word, a false story or declaration. People come around the stores. And, so, that’s what happened. At first, they are absolutely convinced that the gods are among them, until the seeds of this story from the Jewish people spread through the crowd which turns the crowd murderous. That’s not a new concept. Obviously, it’s an old concept because we’re reading it out of the Bible. So, we’re reading a story that’s a couple thousand years old. But this kind of behavior has always been going on. And it’s interesting. On the one level it’s interesting how compelling a narrative can be, like how concrete some sort of narrative can be when it pulls people together and ushers them to move in the same direction for a period of time. That can be for great good and for great evil. Often, it’s for great evil, especially when there’s a mob involved like this. And we’ve seen these kinds of things in our lifetimes, but that…it’s not new. Like this has always been happening. We have to admit that this is not unlike the mob mentality that ultimately condemned Jesus to the cross. So, we can see some pretty significantly negative things can happen when people are swept together without the whole story. And we have to look into our own lives at the way that we get swept into things the same way. And at times we get swept into things against our brothers and sisters in the Lord and people’s lives get damaged or destroyed in the process.

This is essentially the words coming out of the Psalms today. So, going back even further, way further than the book of Acts. “Those who surround me proudly rear their heads. May the mischief of their lips engulf them. May burning coals fall on the. May they be thrown into the fire into miry pits never to rise. May slanderers not be established in the land. May disaster hunt down the violent. I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. Surely the righteous will praise your name and the upright live in your presence.” It’s like this kind of thing has always been going on, causing at minimum mischief and maximum total destruction to the lives of people in their path. It’s part of the Old Testament story. It’s part of the New Testament story. It’s part of the early church story. It’s still part of the church story. And we have to watch ourselves because it’s really, really easy to get swept up into worshiping God for what He’s doing through someone and then trying to destroy that someone because it turns out they’re a human being after all and not God. So there are times that we just…we need to keep our eyes on our own lives and the path that we are walking, and not get swept into someone else’s story that’s getting stirred up. Sometimes we need to ask ourselves, “yeah, that might be tasty to get into, but is that my battle? Is that even something I have anything to do with whatsoever? Am I getting involved to be seen here? Like, what’s going on? Am I being invited to be an agent of the good to be Jesus in this situation or is it that I simply want my opinion expressed? What good can come from my involvement? These are good questions for the times that we are in and the times that we are going into. And as we navigate, may we remember the proverb today; “a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Let’s not be agents dispensing crushing blows to people’s lives. Instead, let’s hear the first part of the proverb; “a cheerful heart is good medicine.” So, we can take that on board in our own lives and say, “okay. Whatever it takes I’ve got to find a way to maintain a cheerful heart. That’s medicine for me. But I also need to spread, like in every way that I can I need to promote a cheerful heart so that we all might experience this good medicine instead of being swept up into things that will only crush people and eventually crush us.

Prayer:

Father, we come into that and consider that. And it brings up all kinds of different scenarios and situations that we’ve experienced in our lives, times that we’ve hurt people, times that we’ve been crushed, times that even with our own brothers and sisters we’ve been at odds and swept into things we had no business being involved in and people got hurt. And this was…this was never Your way for us. So, Holy Spirit come and show us what it looks like to maintain a cheerful heart and made it become good medicine in our souls. And as we are transformed may that spill out into the world so that we aren’t being swept into anything, we aren’t crushing anybody. Rather, we are about the business of restoring things. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus. we ask. Amen.

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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:

Good morning everybody. For as high as the heavens are above the earth so is His steadfast love towards those who fear Him. Yesterday was a very upsetting day for us. Some of you will know from the Friend’s page. Our little ginger cat Loki went missing. He’d been __ too so where really concerned as the day and night was ticking on. He’d been gone nearly 20 hours and is very unlike Loki. I cried out to the Lord as we do, and I was listening to worship and they were singing about trust. And I said to the Lord, “I trust you Lord.” I didn’t have an outcome in my mind or in my heart, but I simply said I will trust you. It wasn’t long after that declaration that Peter went out searching again and little Loki appeared very thin, quite unwell. He’s just gone to the vet. But he was home. I’m so thankful to God. What’s precious to us is precious to Him. His love is…it just melts me. His care for us. The little things in life with all that’s going on in the world He was concerned enough about my heartbreaking over the…the gift of a pet he gave to me. And His love abounded towards us. Thank you so much. This is God’s Smile here sending my love and drying my eyes. Bye-bye everybody.

Hello this is Gloria from Uganda here in __. I’m really really very grateful for this Daily Audio Bible app and __ podcast. And I’m really really really very grateful because I had desire to study a Bible plan at the start of the year but I couldn’t go with the flow but I’m very excited and I’m really enjoying hope to review all the previous messages. I’m really really blessed thank you very much Brian. Thank you very much China. We…we love you. We…we ask you to pray for us. The situation and the pandemic with most of the people all around. And the closest family to me and all unemployed right now and it puts me in a state whereby I have to look after my family of 12 people. My mom and my dad are not working, and I really really puts me in a very very very difficult position right now. But I trust God and with your messages I believe my faith is going to rise higher and I’m gonna…I’m gonna…I’m gonna go through this __ first and with your messages I believe I will…I will move forward I will believe and I will grow. Thank you very much. We do really really appreciate it and ask you to pray for us. My job __ business is really slow, and I pray that our business visions and people came back __ because many of our staff were laid off because of the pandemic. And I also pray to get an increase in salary because I got a promotion, but __ an increase in salary. I need to have a family of 12 people behind me. Thank you very much. Thanks a lot.

Hey Daily Audio Bible family this is Pam from Shasta County California and I am calling in for Patricia in New Orleans. And Patricia, I just want to pray for you. Heavenly Father thank You so much for Your goodness and Your mercy and Your love and thank You for how much You love Patricia. Thank You for her heart, thank You for her passion, thank You for her strength. Father I just pray in Jesus name right now that You would ease her pain Father. I pray for relief. I pray for healing in Jesus’ name that You would just pour Your healing out over her and that she would get immediate relief from this pain. Father, thank You for who she is Lord and who You are in her life. Father thank You that You are so close to her. I pray that she has people around her that are loving her and are helping her Father and are praying for her. And help us all to remember pray for her and everyone here and we thank You for Your goodness. We thank You for Your mercy. And thank You for Your healing in Jesus’ name.

[singing starts] Lord bless you and keep you make his face shine upon you be gracious to you. Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. May his favor be upon you for a thousand generations your family your children their children their children. May His presence come before you and behind you and beside you all around you and within you he is with you he is with you. In the morning in the evening in the coming and the going in your weeping and rejoicing he is for you he is for you. He’s for you he is for you he is for you he is for you he is for you he is for you he is. [singing ends] Just a sweet reminder DAB family. This is Abba’s Grace and He shines. Amen. Amen!

This is Vickie calling from Southern Oregon and I have been listening now for a few months and really enjoying reading Brian and I’m also enjoying the prayer community. Thank you so much. I’ve been struggling trying to call and not having the courage to do that. My son is an adult and having problems. He’s severely mentally ill and he’s also strung out on drugs. And I recently moved him out to Oregon trying to save his life and now I’m feeling overwhelmed and not really knowing how to help and it’s disrupting my life and, you know, risking my career and my home. So, I could use some prayer. His name is Eddie. Thank you.

Hi this is Brooke Right from Omaha Nebraska. I just want to pray for my mom because my grandma who came to take care of everybody, she…I don’t remember how long ago…is leaving tomorrow afternoon and my mom just had a major surgery taking out her…in which she had to take out her womb. A womb is a place with the babies come. So, it was very painful. She has a lot ohwees. She has to go on a walk twice a day which is kinda good for my dog Ella which I would show you but this is a recording not a video. And, well, just want to pray for my mom, my brothers and my dad because he’s in masters. Probably have a lot of more….no… wait…just quite a few maybe five which is…we count it quite a few…more…like five more chores a day because we have a garden that has like snow peas and tons of other things. So, yeah, alright I don’t have much longer on this call so I’m just gonna leave. Bye. Brooke Right.

Hi Daily Audio Bible this is God’s Light out in Portland Oregon, and it’s been some time. I’m responding from Ben in Columbus who called back in…maybe the 12th of June or probably even before that. His message was there on the 12th of June and I…I believe he was speaking to me and I was so taken aback that I needed to allow a couple callers in and hear a couple more prayer request just to confirm that he was speaking to me. I have tried to submit prayer requests and haven’t…and having…and fallen short and felt silly for doing it. I’ve really…I’m in a bad spot right now financially, physically, mentally, spiritually. Everything’s under attack and I have lost everything. I’ve lost my home, my children, my ex-wife. I’m soon to have another child, which I’m ecstatic about. So, the grieving process comes and goes with excitement but…but for the most part this grief and humiliation is following me. And if you could pray for me and I would…I would greatly appreciate it. I’ve been following the Daily Audio Bible since 2011 pretty much every day and I’m just so thankful for this community and thankful for you as my family. I’m very thankful to have you. Please stay strong and I pray for all of you.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday June 22, 2020 (NIV)

2 Kings 3:1-4:17

Moab Revolts

Joram[a](A) son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years. He did evil(B) in the eyes of the Lord, but not as his father(C) and mother had done. He got rid of the sacred stone(D) of Baal that his father had made. Nevertheless he clung to the sins(E) of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit; he did not turn away from them.

Now Mesha king of Moab(F) raised sheep, and he had to pay the king of Israel a tribute of a hundred thousand lambs(G) and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. But after Ahab died, the king of Moab rebelled(H) against the king of Israel. So at that time King Joram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. He also sent this message to Jehoshaphat king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. Will you go with me to fight(I) against Moab?”

“I will go with you,” he replied. “I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”

“By what route shall we attack?” he asked.

“Through the Desert of Edom,” he answered.

So the king of Israel set out with the king of Judah and the king of Edom.(J) After a roundabout march of seven days, the army had no more water for themselves or for the animals with them.

10 “What!” exclaimed the king of Israel. “Has the Lord called us three kings together only to deliver us into the hands of Moab?”

11 But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire(K) of the Lord?”

An officer of the king of Israel answered, “Elisha(L) son of Shaphat is here. He used to pour water on the hands of Elijah.[b](M)

12 Jehoshaphat said, “The word(N) of the Lord is with him.” So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him.

13 Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why do you want to involve me? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother.”

“No,” the king of Israel answered, “because it was the Lord who called us three kings together to deliver us into the hands of Moab.”

14 Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, if I did not have respect for the presence of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, I would not pay any attention to you. 15 But now bring me a harpist.”(O)

While the harpist was playing, the hand(P) of the Lord came on Elisha 16 and he said, “This is what the Lord says: I will fill this valley with pools of water. 17 For this is what the Lord says: You will see neither wind nor rain, yet this valley will be filled with water,(Q) and you, your cattle and your other animals will drink. 18 This is an easy(R) thing in the eyes of the Lord; he will also deliver Moab into your hands. 19 You will overthrow every fortified city and every major town. You will cut down every good tree, stop up all the springs, and ruin every good field with stones.”

20 The next morning, about the time(S) for offering the sacrifice, there it was—water flowing from the direction of Edom! And the land was filled with water.(T)

21 Now all the Moabites had heard that the kings had come to fight against them; so every man, young and old, who could bear arms was called up and stationed on the border. 22 When they got up early in the morning, the sun was shining on the water. To the Moabites across the way, the water looked red—like blood. 23 “That’s blood!” they said. “Those kings must have fought and slaughtered each other. Now to the plunder, Moab!”

24 But when the Moabites came to the camp of Israel, the Israelites rose up and fought them until they fled. And the Israelites invaded the land and slaughtered the Moabites. 25 They destroyed the towns, and each man threw a stone on every good field until it was covered. They stopped up all the springs and cut down every good tree. Only Kir Hareseth(U) was left with its stones in place, but men armed with slings surrounded it and attacked it.

26 When the king of Moab saw that the battle had gone against him, he took with him seven hundred swordsmen to break through to the king of Edom, but they failed. 27 Then he took his firstborn(V) son, who was to succeed him as king, and offered him as a sacrifice on the city wall. The fury against Israel was great; they withdrew and returned to their own land.

The Widow’s Olive Oil

The wife of a man from the company(W) of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor(X) is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”

Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”(Y)

Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God,(Z) and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

The Shunammite’s Son Restored to Life

One day Elisha went to Shunem.(AA) And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay(AB) there whenever he comes to us.”

11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.”(AC) So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’”

She replied, “I have a home among my own people.”

14 “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked.

Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.”

15 Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 “About this time(AD) next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.”

“No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!”

17 But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Kings 3:1 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram; also in verse 6
  2. 2 Kings 3:11 That is, he was Elijah’s personal servant.
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Acts 14:8-28

In Lystra and Derbe

In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth(A) and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed(B) 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!”(C) At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.(D)

11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”(E) 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.(F) 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes(G) and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human,(H) like you. We are bringing you good news,(I) telling you to turn from these worthless things(J) to the living God,(K) who made the heavens and the earth(L) and the sea and everything in them.(M) 16 In the past, he let(N) all nations go their own way.(O) 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony:(P) He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons;(Q) he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”(R) 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

19 Then some Jews(S) came from Antioch and Iconium(T) and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul(U) and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. 20 But after the disciples(V) had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

The Return to Antioch in Syria

21 They preached the gospel(W) in that city and won a large number(X) of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium(Y) and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith.(Z) “We must go through many hardships(AA) to enter the kingdom of God,” they said. 23 Paul and Barnabas appointed elders[a](AB) for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting,(AC) committed them to the Lord,(AD) in whom they had put their trust. 24 After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia,(AE) 25 and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

26 From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch,(AF) where they had been committed to the grace of God(AG) for the work they had now completed.(AH) 27 On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them(AI) and how he had opened a door(AJ) of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.(AK)

Footnotes:

  1. Acts 14:23 Or Barnabas ordained elders; or Barnabas had elders elected
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Psalm 140

Psalm 140[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Rescue me,(A) Lord, from evildoers;
protect me from the violent,(B)
who devise evil plans(C) in their hearts
and stir up war(D) every day.
They make their tongues as sharp as(E) a serpent’s;
the poison of vipers(F) is on their lips.[b]

Keep me safe,(G) Lord, from the hands of the wicked;(H)
protect me from the violent,
who devise ways to trip my feet.
The arrogant have hidden a snare(I) for me;
they have spread out the cords of their net(J)
and have set traps(K) for me along my path.

I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”(L)
Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.(M)
Sovereign Lord,(N) my strong deliverer,
you shield my head in the day of battle.
Do not grant the wicked(O) their desires, Lord;
do not let their plans succeed.

Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;
may the mischief of their lips engulf them.(P)
10 May burning coals fall on them;
may they be thrown into the fire,(Q)
into miry pits, never to rise.
11 May slanderers not be established in the land;
may disaster hunt down the violent.(R)

12 I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor(S)
and upholds the cause(T) of the needy.(U)
13 Surely the righteous will praise your name,(V)
and the upright will live(W) in your presence.(X)

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 140:1 In Hebrew texts 140:1-13 is numbered 140:2-14.
  2. Psalm 140:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 5 and 8.
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Proverbs 17:22

22 A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed(A) spirit dries up the bones.(B)

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

06/21/2020 DAB Transcript

2 Kings 1:1-2:25, Acts 13:42-14:7, Psalms 139:1-24, Proverbs 17:19-21

Today is the 21st day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it’s great to be here with you as we collectively twist the knob and throw open the gateway and step into a brand-new week. It is all out there in front of us. Let’s live into it with all of our hearts as we stay in close step fellowship with Jesus, the power of the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth. And that will make for…that will make for a good week. So, let’s step into this week doing that and doing what we do every day, taking the next step forward as we continue the journey through the Bible. And today…I mean it’s a special day because we’re beginning a new book in the Old Testament the book of second Kings. But there’s not really a lot to talk about second Kings that we haven’t already talked about, even all the way back to first Samuel, second Samuel and first Kings. These were all one…one scroll. They were…they were all one book at one time. And, so, things have been broken up into chapters and verses over time for ease of reference, etc. etc. And this has happened over many centuries that have preceded us. So, we will be picking up where we left off. Of course, the book…the books of Kings are telling us the stories of who reigned in the kingdom of Israel, which is the 10 tribes in the North and the kingdom of Judah which is the king…which is the tribe of Judah and Benjamin in the South. So, let’s pick up the story. Second Kings, chapters 1 and 2 today. And we’ll read from the New International Version this week.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for this new week that we have walked into and we thank you for what we were greeted with as we come into this new week from the Psalms, that there is nowhere that we can go that you are not, that there is no where we can be to flee from your spirit - up, down, left or right - does not matter which direction we go or how far we go we cannot escape your spirit, which means that your presence is perpetually available to us, which means that you are present to us right this moment if we would simply have eyes to see and open those eyes and become aware. So, come Holy Spirit as we move into this new week. Lead us deeper into Jesus. Lead us on the narrow path that leads to life. Lead us into all truth we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, and that’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

Today in the United States it’s Father’s Day. And, you know, fathers as with mothers are celebrated at different points of the year in different regions and different countries, but today is Father’s Day. And, so, happy Father’s Day all of you fathers out there. I’m a father as well. And, so, you know, I think of the great privilege that it has been to be a father to my children and I think of the profound impact that they have had on my life and…and just showing me the heart of God by forcing me…by forcing me to…to not only receive His fathering but to give…to give it back to my children the best flawed, stumbling way that I can. And, so, yeah…as we remember our fathers today let’s remember them in prayer. Let’s lift them before the Lord. It’s a difficult job to be a parent but it is…it is how the gospel advances forward from generation to generation. And, so, happy Father’s Day. All of you men out there, happy Father’s Day.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you do that at dailyaudiobible.com. That’s the website like I mentioned a second ago and I thank you…thank you for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address, if you prefer, is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little Hotline button up at the top…top right…top right-ish part of the app or you can dial 877-942-4253.

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:

My Abba you have called me. I hear you - to listen, to absorb, to feel, to understand, to reach back, to pray. Please give me the discernment, the wisdom, the words, the energy to answer your call. My 21-year relationship with multiple sclerosis will do its best to get in the way but you have called me to pray and to call the DAB, the DABC and to write on Facebook. Thank you I love you so much my Abba. This is Adrian from Maryland and I love my DAB family.

Hello, my name is Javier I am 26 years old and I live in Florida first time caller. I’ve been listening almost a month now and I just wanted to thank everybody for…for…for…for this application. It has changed my life most definitely. I just love listening to…to every word that comes from the Bible and to be a part of a community of love and peace. I…I battle with my…with guilt and…and…and just a lot of sorrow and I know I’m going…well I am going through some warfare and I…I just feel guilt over my pats sin. And I just ask everyone to pray for me to have strength and that I can trust and continue to fight this war in Jesus’ name. I thank you and love everybody so much. This honestly has changed my life so so much.

Hi DAB family this is Julie I’ve been listening since January and I’ve called in a few times. I took care of my mom for six years in my home. She had stage IV colon cancer and then she died in March and I thank everybody for the prayers at that time. God has placed it on my heart to pray for and ask for prayer for kids in the United States, kids in my area and your area who are in foster care or kids who need to be in foster care or kids who are still in a bad situation in their home or a relative’s home. These kids are often so scared and sad and angry and afraid. They don’t know if they’re gonna be able to stay in a foster home, if they’re gonna to a bad situation at home. And there’s so many kids and not enough people to take care of them. Help me in praying for these children for their safety. And pray that there’ll be more people willing to help these kids, foster families or mentors or whatever we can do to help them. Thanks DAB family.

Good morning DAB community my name is Nyia and I’m a black woman in America with a 26-year-old son and a husband and I am gripped with fear. I cannot sleep. I love God, I know I trust Him, and I know He has not given me the spirit of fear. But in these times, I have become so fearful. I do not want my family out there. When my son is a car I cannot think, I cannot breathe. When my husband leaves the house to go to the grocery store, I am paralyzed with fear. This is not healthy for me. I have prayed and prayed, and I cannot get fear away from my heart. And I’m asking for your prayers. I am praying with all of you guys that the Holy Spirit will come and bring peace in America and bring justice for African Americans all around the world. And I’m asking you to just pray for me and my family and I will continue to pray for you as well. May God bless us all during these trying times. I thank you so much.

Good morning this is Sonia in Austin Texas and I am calling for a sister that called back a couple months ago and she was very sad because she’s a single woman, she’s never been married, she has no children and it was coming up on Valentine’s Day and she wasn’t able to celebrate that with a significant other and Mother’s Day would be coming up and she said that there’s just all these reminders at her job and everything else that, you know, she just didn’t fit in these categories and there just was a lot to celebrate. But she did say on June 16th 1989 and today is June 16th 2020 that she gave her life to the Lord and she can celebrate that. And sister I want you to know that I am celebrating with you today the most important decision that you have ever made and will ever make in your lifetime and that is to become a follower of Christ. In we here at your family, the DAB family, we rejoice with you, we love you, you are not alone. God is with you every day. And I just want you to know that I have been thinking about you and praying for you and I will continue to do so. If you want to reach out to me, I have a funny email is called bugtickle@gmail.com. And sister, I’d love to become a partner with you and just know that…that you’ve been on my heart. And congratulations! Today is your day. What a beautiful day. Heaven is rejoicing remembering the decision that you made. Well, my time is up, and I want you to know that we love you and your so in our thoughts. Congratulations again.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible this is Cheryl in southeastern Washington. Got through…got through listening to the Daily Audio Bible with Brian. Thank you, Brian and Jill for this ministry, this podcast that we can come together and listen to the word and…and to hear what God has to say and to also listen to the prayer requests. Right now I want to…I heard a prayer request from Patricia in New Orleans just asking that God take her pain away. And I’m just letting you know Patricia, I’m gonna be praying for you that God will completely heal you and that he would just bless your socks off Patricia and thank you so much for calling in. And just know that Cheryl in southeastern Washington is praying for you. God bless you, God be with you, God heal you. And thank you Daily Audio Bible family. Love you all. Bye.

I can’t believe. These words have been, a cry for help and a battle cry as our world gets swept up in the spirit of baseless hate that’s overtaking us, hate for those who don’t follow COVID rules, hate for those who do follow the rules, hate for mask wearers and non-wearers, for Chinese people where a virus began, for foreign people after we closed our borders and now again for our black people. I can’t breathe. Why? Is this hate infiltrating me and changing the into a hateful person? God forbid it. Our world is changing but God You aren’t changing. We again find ourselves in a desert. We walk towards it originally to escape persecution fear and yet we became fearful and we began to persecute each other. God help us to overcome the fear of being unable to breathe because the desert temperatures have become too hot, to overcome the fear of dying from thirst because we forget that You are our living water, to overcome the fear of dying from hunger because we forget that You’re very word is enough to sustain us, to overcome the fear of abandonment because we can no longer see the one who leads us who is up on that mountain. Help us to overcome the temptation to build up golden idols because we forget Your promises to return to us, because we forget that the mountaintop is not really that far. It is and has always been within reach. It has been within reach through the grace of Your cross and Your Holy Spirit but even if we…if we still feel that if we can’t climb because we can no longer breathe, Lord You have promised to climb down to us again and You have sent us Your breath of life to help us to hold on until You get here. Help us to breathe Lord, help us to hold on. In the name of the Father in the son of the Holy Spirit be blessed family and be a blessing.

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday June 21, 2020 (NIV)

2 Kings 1-2

The Lord’s Judgment on Ahaziah

After Ahab’s death, Moab(A) rebelled against Israel. Now Ahaziah had fallen through the lattice of his upper room in Samaria and injured himself. So he sent messengers,(B) saying to them, “Go and consult Baal-Zebub,(C) the god of Ekron,(D) to see if I will recover(E) from this injury.”

But the angel(F) of the Lord said to Elijah(G) the Tishbite, “Go up and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel(H) that you are going off to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron?’ Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not leave(I) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!’” So Elijah went.

When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you come back?”

“A man came to meet us,” they replied. “And he said to us, ‘Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are sending messengers to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you will not leave(J) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!”’”

The king asked them, “What kind of man was it who came to meet you and told you this?”

They replied, “He had a garment of hair[a](K) and had a leather belt around his waist.”

The king said, “That was Elijah the Tishbite.”

Then he sent(L) to Elijah a captain(M) with his company of fifty men. The captain went up to Elijah, who was sitting on the top of a hill, and said to him, “Man of God, the king says, ‘Come down!’”

10 Elijah answered the captain, “If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then fire(N) fell from heaven and consumed the captain and his men.

11 At this the king sent to Elijah another captain with his fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’”

12 “If I am a man of God,” Elijah replied, “may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty men!” Then the fire of God fell from heaven and consumed him and his fifty men.

13 So the king sent a third captain with his fifty men. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. “Man of God,” he begged, “please have respect for my life(O) and the lives of these fifty men, your servants! 14 See, fire has fallen from heaven and consumed the first two captains and all their men. But now have respect for my life!”

15 The angel(P) of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him; do not be afraid(Q) of him.” So Elijah got up and went down with him to the king.

16 He told the king, “This is what the Lord says: Is it because there is no God in Israel for you to consult that you have sent messengers(R) to consult Baal-Zebub, the god of Ekron? Because you have done this, you will never leave(S) the bed you are lying on. You will certainly die!” 17 So he died,(T) according to the word of the Lord that Elijah had spoken.

Because Ahaziah had no son, Joram[b](U) succeeded him as king in the second year of Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah. 18 As for all the other events of Ahaziah’s reign, and what he did, are they not written in the book of the annals of the kings of Israel?

Elijah Taken Up to Heaven

When the Lord was about to take(V) Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind,(W) Elijah and Elisha(X) were on their way from Gilgal.(Y) Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here;(Z) the Lord has sent me to Bethel.”

But Elisha said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”(AA) So they went down to Bethel.

The company(AB) of the prophets at Bethel came out to Elisha and asked, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” Elisha replied, “so be quiet.”

Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here, Elisha; the Lord has sent me to Jericho.(AC)

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So they went to Jericho.

The company(AD) of the prophets at Jericho went up to Elisha and asked him, “Do you know that the Lord is going to take your master from you today?”

“Yes, I know,” he replied, “so be quiet.”

Then Elijah said to him, “Stay here;(AE) the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.”(AF)

And he replied, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.”(AG) So the two of them walked on.

Fifty men from the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan. Elijah took his cloak,(AH) rolled it up and struck(AI) the water with it. The water divided(AJ) to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry(AK) ground.

When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?”

“Let me inherit a double(AL) portion of your spirit,”(AM) Elisha replied.

10 “You have asked a difficult thing,” Elijah said, “yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours—otherwise, it will not.”

11 As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire(AN) and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven(AO) in a whirlwind.(AP) 12 Elisha saw this and cried out, “My father! My father! The chariots(AQ) and horsemen of Israel!” And Elisha saw him no more. Then he took hold of his garment and tore(AR) it in two.

13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak(AS) that had fallen from Elijah and struck(AT) the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.

15 The company(AU) of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit(AV) of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him. 16 “Look,” they said, “we your servants have fifty able men. Let them go and look for your master. Perhaps the Spirit(AW) of the Lord has picked him up(AX) and set him down on some mountain or in some valley.”

“No,” Elisha replied, “do not send them.”

17 But they persisted until he was too embarrassed(AY) to refuse. So he said, “Send them.” And they sent fifty men, who searched for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to Elisha, who was staying in Jericho, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”

Healing of the Water

19 The people of the city said to Elisha, “Look, our lord, this town is well situated, as you can see, but the water is bad and the land is unproductive.”

20 “Bring me a new bowl,” he said, “and put salt in it.” So they brought it to him.

21 Then he went out to the spring and threw(AZ) the salt into it, saying, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. Never again will it cause death or make the land unproductive.’” 22 And the water has remained pure(BA) to this day, according to the word Elisha had spoken.

Elisha Is Jeered

23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered(BB) at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse(BC) on them in the name(BD) of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel(BE) and from there returned to Samaria.

Footnotes:

  1. 2 Kings 1:8 Or He was a hairy man
  2. 2 Kings 1:17 Hebrew Jehoram, a variant of Joram

Cross references:

  1. 2 Kings 1:1 : S Ge 19:37; 2Ki 3:5
  2. 2 Kings 1:2 : ver 16
  3. 2 Kings 1:2 : S Mk 3:22
  4. 2 Kings 1:2 : 1Sa 6:2; Isa 2:6; 14:29
  5. 2 Kings 1:2 : S Jdg 18:5
  6. 2 Kings 1:3 : ver 15
  7. 2 Kings 1:3 : 1Ki 17:1
  8. 2 Kings 1:3 : S 1Sa 28:8
  9. 2 Kings 1:4 : ver 6, 16; Ps 41:8
  10. 2 Kings 1:6 : S ver 4
  11. 2 Kings 1:8 : S 1Ki 18:7; Mt 3:4; Mk 1:6
  12. 2 Kings 1:9 : 2Ki 6:14
  13. 2 Kings 1:9 : Ex 18:25; Isa 3:3
  14. 2 Kings 1:10 : S 1Ki 18:38; S Rev 11:5; S 13:13
  15. 2 Kings 1:13 : Ps 72:14
  16. 2 Kings 1:15 : ver 3
  17. 2 Kings 1:15 : Isa 51:12; 57:11; Jer 1:17; Eze 2:6
  18. 2 Kings 1:16 : S ver 2
  19. 2 Kings 1:16 : ver 4
  20. 2 Kings 1:17 : 2Ki 8:15; Jer 20:6; 28:17
  21. 2 Kings 1:17 : 2Ki 3:1; 8:16
  22. 2 Kings 2:1 : S Ge 5:24
  23. 2 Kings 2:1 : ver 11; 1Ki 19:11; Isa 5:28; 66:15; Jer 4:13; Na 1:3
  24. 2 Kings 2:1 : S 1Ki 19:16, 21
  25. 2 Kings 2:1 : S Dt 11:30; 2Ki 4:38
  26. 2 Kings 2:2 : ver 6
  27. 2 Kings 2:2 : Ru 1:16
  28. 2 Kings 2:3 : S 1Sa 10:5
  29. 2 Kings 2:4 : Jos 3:16
  30. 2 Kings 2:5 : ver 3
  31. 2 Kings 2:6 : ver 2
  32. 2 Kings 2:6 : Jos 3:15
  33. 2 Kings 2:6 : Ru 1:16
  34. 2 Kings 2:8 : S 1Ki 19:19
  35. 2 Kings 2:8 : ver 14
  36. 2 Kings 2:8 : S Ex 14:21
  37. 2 Kings 2:8 : Ex 14:22, 29
  38. 2 Kings 2:9 : S Dt 21:17
  39. 2 Kings 2:9 : S Nu 11:17
  40. 2 Kings 2:11 : 2Ki 6:17; Ps 68:17; 104:3, 4; Isa 66:15; Hab 3:8; Zec 6:1
  41. 2 Kings 2:11 : S Ge 5:24
  42. 2 Kings 2:11 : S ver 1
  43. 2 Kings 2:12 : 2Ki 6:17; 13:14
  44. 2 Kings 2:12 : S Ge 37:29
  45. 2 Kings 2:14 : S 1Ki 19:19
  46. 2 Kings 2:14 : ver 8
  47. 2 Kings 2:15 : S 1Sa 10:5
  48. 2 Kings 2:15 : S Nu 11:17
  49. 2 Kings 2:16 : S 1Ki 18:12
  50. 2 Kings 2:16 : Ac 8:39
  51. 2 Kings 2:17 : S Jdg 3:25
  52. 2 Kings 2:21 : S Ex 15:25; 2Ki 4:41; 6:6
  53. 2 Kings 2:22 : Ex 15:25
  54. 2 Kings 2:23 : S Ex 22:28; 2Ch 30:10; 36:16; Job 19:18; Ps 31:18
  55. 2 Kings 2:24 : S Ge 4:11
  56. 2 Kings 2:24 : S Dt 18:19
  57. 2 Kings 2:25 : S 1Ki 18:20
New International Version (NIV)

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Acts 13:42-14:7

42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue,(A) the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.(B)

44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying(C) and heaped abuse(D) on him.

46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first.(E) Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.(F) 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:

“‘I have made you[a] a light for the Gentiles,(G)
that you[b] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’[c](H)

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord;(I) and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

49 The word of the Lord(J) spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region.(K) 51 So they shook the dust off their feet(L) as a warning to them and went to Iconium.(M) 52 And the disciples(N) were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.(O)

In Iconium

14 At Iconium(P) Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue.(Q) There they spoke so effectively that a great number(R) of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.(S) So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly(T) for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.(U) The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.(V) There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews,(W) together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.(X) But they found out about it and fled(Y) to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach(Z) the gospel.(AA)

Footnotes:

  1. Acts 13:47 The Greek is singular.
  2. Acts 13:47 The Greek is singular.
  3. Acts 13:47 Isaiah 49:6
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Psalm 139

Psalm 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

You have searched me,(A) Lord,
and you know(B) me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;(C)
you perceive my thoughts(D) from afar.
You discern my going out(E) and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.(F)
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.(G)
You hem me in(H) behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,(I)
too lofty(J) for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee(K) from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens,(L) you are there;
if I make my bed(M) in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,(N)
your right hand(O) will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark(P) to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;(Q)
you knit me together(R) in my mother’s womb.(S)
14 I praise you(T) because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,(U)
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made(V) in the secret place,
when I was woven together(W) in the depths of the earth.(X)
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained(Y) for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a](Z) God!(AA)
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,(AB)
they would outnumber the grains of sand(AC)
when I awake,(AD) I am still with you.

19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!(AE)
Away from me,(AF) you who are bloodthirsty!(AG)
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries(AH) misuse your name.(AI)
21 Do I not hate those(AJ) who hate you, Lord,
and abhor(AK) those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.(AL)
23 Search me,(AM) God, and know my heart;(AN)
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way(AO) in me,
and lead me(AP) in the way everlasting.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 139:17 Or How amazing are your thoughts concerning me
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Proverbs 17:19-21

19 Whoever loves a quarrel loves sin;
whoever builds a high gate invites destruction.

20 One whose heart is corrupt does not prosper;
one whose tongue is perverse falls into trouble.

21 To have a fool for a child brings grief;
there is no joy for the parent of a godless fool.(A)

Cross references:

  1. Proverbs 17:21 : S Pr 10:1
New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

06/20/2020 DAB Transcript

1 Kings 22:1-53, Acts 13:16-41, Psalms 138:1-8, Proverbs 17:17-18

Today is the 20th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is a great to be here with you for the next step forward in our journey through the Scriptures as we bring to the close another one of our…our weeks together. We’re working our way through the book of first Kings right now and we are dealing with the king of Israel in the North, Ahab, and his story. And, so, we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. First Kings 22.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. And again, we thank You for another week. And they…they go by. It seems like we wink, and they go by, but they don’t. They go by day by day, second by second, minute by minute, that’s how they go by and Your presence in our lives is a constant. And often we’re…we’re not  paying attention to that but it’s a constant. You will never leave us or forsake us. So, for all of the moments of this past week whether we acknowledge them or not, You’re present to us and we thank You for that and we have the assurance that that will continue, actually that that will continue forever and ever and ever and ever. And, so, may we rest in that. As we move into the end of this week and prepare to embark on another week, we rest in the fact that You are present. And, so, often the things we get ourselves into that are difficult and hard and challenging, we got ourselves there and we blamed You for it because You were present to us. But Your presence doesn’t mean that we can’t act on our own. You have given us this kind of permission to have a will of our own and we can go Your way or we can go whatever way we want to and…and we will reap the repercussions of that. And, so, we want to walk with the You in this coming week. Come Holy Spirit and lead us into all truth we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base that is…that is our home base on the Internet. So, if you have an Internet browser and you point it to www…that’s how we used to have to describe things before the Internet became like…I don’t know…juts a part of the fabric of our culture. But anyway, dailyaudiobible.com is home base. That’s where the Global Campfire burns. And, so, stay tuned and stay connected in any way that you can.

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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:

Good evening DAB this is Blessings Flow in Pennsylvania. First, I wanted to greet everyone in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and especially thank my brother Stanley in Maryland. Thank you so much for putting my prayer song to music. I was shocked and deeply, deeply encouraged and blessed for reasons there’s no time to share, but I just wanted to thank you for that. Thank you for sharing your gift. And I wanted to pray for our brother whose wife on May 19th they lost their little baby girl when she was 36 weeks pregnant. I have just been sighing and praying and sighing and praying in the Spirit for you because there are no words and I just want you to know that we’re praying for you, that we love you, that we’re surrounding you, that we’re holding you up, we’re remembering you right now. And Lord together as a family we pray for our brother and our sister in this time of loss, in this time of grief. Lord that You would be near the broken hearted to bind up their wounds, that they would know Your nearness, Your closeness, Your strength. Lord strengthen them with might in their inner man. Be with them as they cry, be with them as they ask questions, be with them as they sit in silence. Just be with them Lord and let them feel the love that surrounds them with this community and I’m sure their church and family as well. We ask this in Jesus…

Hi family this is Salvation is Mine in San Angelo California I hope everybody is doing well in self and in place. I do apologize that it’s been months since I have called in. I want to shout out for people here. Pelham I was listening to June 3rd and heard that you finished your program. Congratulations on that and that you actually have other people in the program want to go with you. So, that’s a great accomplishment in itself, that you have such an influence over people, other people in such a good way in such a positive way because they want to follow you and I pray that all of that works out for you. I want to also send out prayers for Terry…Terry or Jerry, I’m not sure, I apologize, who called in in regards to his addiction to porn. That was very brave. I really do applaud you, brother. Also, let’s not be fooled, women have an addiction to porn as well. I think sometimes we are just left likely to ask for help with that. So, I’m praying for men and women and children who are showing signs of being addicted to those types of things as well, that the Holy Spirit will come upon them and release them from that. I want to pray for the gentleman who called in said his mom is sick and he lost his marriage. I want you to know brother that you have people on this DAB line that are praying for you and praying for your mother. Excuse me…and praying for your marriage if that’s what God wants. This is salvation is Mine in San Angelo California. I hope everybody’s doing well. Bye-bye.

Good morning this is Trusting Father in South Carolina it’s Monday, June 15th and I just want to first of all tell you I love you. I’m reaching out because I am up super early, and my heart is heavy, and I know yours must be to. We…we know that there’s of course with all that’s going on right now in our country and really all around the world with the…the fight against racism and injustice. Christ in us helps us to understand that there is something seriously wrong and we need to make things right and I am all about that, but I also recognize that the enemy is really just having it…I don’t even know how to put it into words but…he is having his way. And y’all we’ve gotta be really really careful. There’s so many voices screaming and the enemy are using…the enemy is using those voices and we need to be mindful that there’s that one still voice that we are to stay very in tune with and that’s Father’s voice. And the only way to do that is to get up early in the morning and…and spend that time alone with him and just meditate upon his truth so that when He speaks to us we can be quick to hear His voice above all the other voices. And Father we know that there is so many…so many souls that are crying out. They need Jesus and that’s the bottom line. And, so, holy Father please help us not to miss those opportunities to love on those who are screaming out for You and You hear their cry and know…

Good morning DAB family this is Donald __. And anyway I called from South Sudan in East Africa. I…I did not want to make this recording. I didn’t know what to say but I as I took my walk this morning, I heard God say make it a praise report. I want to praise the Lord because my younger brother went home to be with the Lord. On Friday night he was murdered. He had somebody went to his house. An assassin killed him gruesomely because he was a believer. He’s a medical doctor in the northern state of __ in Nigeria and we are from the Eastern part of Nigeria and we are all Christians and my brother is a strong believer. So, the praise report is that in Enook, Dr. Enook Ophara is now before the most high God. Those who thought they have harmed the family did not know they have sent him home. I would have preferred that he went home in a very respectful manner but God __ this, I trust him. May His name be praised. May His name be glorified in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible listeners this is Alisa Marie from Dinuba California. I’m calling today’s 15th of June and I’m calling in regards to my brother in Christ that called on the 12th, I believe he called himself Wisdom Calls My Name from Northern California. Brother when I heard your call I was just drawn to…to your…to your request. So, I’m going to say a prayer. Dear heavenly Father we come before You and we bring our brother in Christ, Your son before You Lord. You know he’s been battling with his diabetes for the past 20 years and O Father God we can hear it in his voice and in his heart. The decisions he has made and some wise and some not so wise but Father God we know You still love him and now he’s reaching out to You and he’s asking for healing. So, I ask You that by the mighty name of Jesus that You would touch his body. We call his body into alignment with the word of God, everything in his blood system come into alignment with the word of God. Father You say in Your that You send forth Your word which is Jesus and You healed His body and You delivered His body from all destruction. So, I stand in agreement with our brother, deliver his body from the destruction of his diabetes in the name of Jesus. There is nothing impossible for You Father God. So, we call upon Your name and Your mercy and we ask You to bring healing and wholeness from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. In the mighty name of Jesus. And these next results Father God I pray that they would be good results Father God. I ask You in the mighty name of Jesus. And we’re gonna give You praise, honor and glory ahead of time for healing our brothers body and bringing him to wholeness. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Be blessed.

Hello beautiful DAB family this is God’s grace for Japan which is my prayer for Japan. I’m calling in, what’s today? The 15th. I’m a little bit behind and I was listening to the 12th’s prayers for the broadcast and I’m calling to speak and say thank you to I believe John. I hope I got that right that your name is John from South Sudan. Sir, thank you so much for your words. I needed them today. I needed them this week. I live in Japan as an American and I’m…as we’re all dealing worldwide with this intense conversation about racism and the dehumanizing of people from other ethnicities and other races and I’ve been having conversations with friends in America who try to insist it’s distinctly an American problem…this is an American thing. And, so, the way that we deal with it doesn’t have to apply to the rest of the world and I’m trying to have this conversation to tell them that, no we’re actually dealing with it here too. And the reason it’s a worldwide thing is because we are all made in the image of God. And to dehumanize a person based on race or ethnicity is to commit a sin against their humanity and the image of God in them. And, so, I just needed your words because you reminded me that…because I’ve been exhausted, I’m so exhausted and I know we’re all exhausted having these conversations and trying to do what we can do. I had almost forgotten that this is a spiritual war we’re fighting as well, that there are forces trying to destroy the human race. And thank you for your words, thank you for your encouragement. Please pray for us here in Japan. It’s hard here too. But thank you so much brother in South Sudan and my whole DAB family. Your voices are what’s keeping me going. Bye-bye.

I’m actually on the phone with my son. I’m currently incarcerated and I’m looking at a lot of time and I was looking for some prayers so I could get a second chance at being a father the way that I should have been. And my child’s mother it is currently staying in a shelter, so I also need some prayer to maybe…I don’t know…help her get herself situated and have that figured out while I’m not out there to help. You want to ask for anything son? No, I’m good. Alright. Well that’s all I’ve got thank you and have a blessed day. Can you hang up for me Robert?

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday June 20, 2020 (NIV)

1 Kings 22

Jehoshaphat and Ahab

22 For three years there was no war between Aram and Israel. Then during the third year, King Jehoshaphat of Judah went to visit King Ahab of Israel. During the visit, the king of Israel said to his officials, “Do you realize that the town of Ramoth-gilead belongs to us? And yet we’ve done nothing to recapture it from the king of Aram!”

Then he turned to Jehoshaphat and asked, “Will you join me in battle to recover Ramoth-gilead?”

Jehoshaphat replied to the king of Israel, “Why, of course! You and I are as one. My troops are your troops, and my horses are your horses.” Then Jehoshaphat added, “But first let’s find out what the Lord says.”

So the king of Israel summoned the prophets, about 400 of them, and asked them, “Should I go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should I hold back?”

They all replied, “Yes, go right ahead! The Lord will give the king victory.”

But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there not also a prophet of the Lord here? We should ask him the same question.”

The king of Israel replied to Jehoshaphat, “There is one more man who could consult the Lord for us, but I hate him. He never prophesies anything but trouble for me! His name is Micaiah son of Imlah.”

Jehoshaphat replied, “That’s not the way a king should talk! Let’s hear what he has to say.”

So the king of Israel called one of his officials and said, “Quick! Bring Micaiah son of Imlah.”

Micaiah Prophesies against Ahab

10 King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah, dressed in their royal robes, were sitting on thrones at the threshing floor near the gate of Samaria. All of Ahab’s prophets were prophesying there in front of them. 11 One of them, Zedekiah son of Kenaanah, made some iron horns and proclaimed, “This is what the Lord says: With these horns you will gore the Arameans to death!”

12 All the other prophets agreed. “Yes,” they said, “go up to Ramoth-gilead and be victorious, for the Lord will give the king victory!”

13 Meanwhile, the messenger who went to get Micaiah said to him, “Look, all the prophets are promising victory for the king. Be sure that you agree with them and promise success.”

14 But Micaiah replied, “As surely as the Lord lives, I will say only what the Lord tells me to say.”

15 When Micaiah arrived before the king, Ahab asked him, “Micaiah, should we go to war against Ramoth-gilead, or should we hold back?”

Micaiah replied sarcastically, “Yes, go up and be victorious, for the Lord will give the king victory!”

16 But the king replied sharply, “How many times must I demand that you speak only the truth to me when you speak for the Lord?”

17 Then Micaiah told him, “In a vision I saw all Israel scattered on the mountains, like sheep without a shepherd. And the Lord said, ‘Their master has been killed.[a] Send them home in peace.’”

18 “Didn’t I tell you?” the king of Israel exclaimed to Jehoshaphat. “He never prophesies anything but trouble for me.”

19 Then Micaiah continued, “Listen to what the Lord says! I saw the Lord sitting on his throne with all the armies of heaven around him, on his right and on his left. 20 And the Lord said, ‘Who can entice Ahab to go into battle against Ramoth-gilead so he can be killed?’

“There were many suggestions, 21 and finally a spirit approached the Lord and said, ‘I can do it!’

22 “‘How will you do this?’ the Lord asked.

“And the spirit replied, ‘I will go out and inspire all of Ahab’s prophets to speak lies.’

“‘You will succeed,’ said the Lord. ‘Go ahead and do it.’

23 “So you see, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouths of all your prophets. For the Lord has pronounced your doom.”

24 Then Zedekiah son of Kenaanah walked up to Micaiah and slapped him across the face. “Since when did the Spirit of the Lord leave me to speak to you?” he demanded.

25 And Micaiah replied, “You will find out soon enough when you are trying to hide in some secret room!”

26 “Arrest him!” the king of Israel ordered. “Take him back to Amon, the governor of the city, and to my son Joash. 27 Give them this order from the king: ‘Put this man in prison, and feed him nothing but bread and water until I return safely from the battle!’”

28 But Micaiah replied, “If you return safely, it will mean that the Lord has not spoken through me!” Then he added to those standing around, “Everyone mark my words!”

The Death of Ahab

29 So King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies against Ramoth-gilead. 30 The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “As we go into battle, I will disguise myself so no one will recognize me, but you wear your royal robes.” So the king of Israel disguised himself, and they went into battle.

31 Meanwhile, the king of Aram had issued these orders to his thirty-two chariot commanders: “Attack only the king of Israel. Don’t bother with anyone else!” 32 So when the Aramean chariot commanders saw Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they went after him. “There is the king of Israel!” they shouted. But when Jehoshaphat called out, 33 the chariot commanders realized he was not the king of Israel, and they stopped chasing him.

34 An Aramean soldier, however, randomly shot an arrow at the Israelite troops and hit the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. “Turn the horses[b] and get me out of here!” Ahab groaned to the driver of his chariot. “I’m badly wounded!”

35 The battle raged all that day, and the king remained propped up in his chariot facing the Arameans. The blood from his wound ran down to the floor of his chariot, and as evening arrived he died. 36 Just as the sun was setting, the cry ran through his troops: “We’re done for! Run for your lives!”

37 So the king died, and his body was taken to Samaria and buried there. 38 Then his chariot was washed beside the pool of Samaria, and dogs came and licked his blood at the place where the prostitutes bathed,[c] just as the Lord had promised.

39 The rest of the events in Ahab’s reign and everything he did, including the story of the ivory palace and the towns he built, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Israel. 40 So Ahab died, and his son Ahaziah became the next king.

Jehoshaphat Rules in Judah

41 Jehoshaphat son of Asa began to rule over Judah in the fourth year of King Ahab’s reign in Israel. 42 Jehoshaphat was thirty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem twenty-five years. His mother was Azubah, the daughter of Shilhi.

43 Jehoshaphat was a good king, following the example of his father, Asa. He did what was pleasing in the Lord’s sight. [d]During his reign, however, he failed to remove all the pagan shrines, and the people still offered sacrifices and burned incense there. 44 Jehoshaphat also made peace with the king of Israel.

45 The rest of the events in Jehoshaphat’s reign, the extent of his power, and the wars he waged are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 46 He banished from the land the rest of the male and female shrine prostitutes, who still continued their practices from the days of his father, Asa.

47 (There was no king in Edom at that time, only a deputy.)

48 Jehoshaphat also built a fleet of trading ships[e] to sail to Ophir for gold. But the ships never set sail, for they met with disaster in their home port of Ezion-geber. 49 At one time Ahaziah son of Ahab had proposed to Jehoshaphat, “Let my men sail with your men in the ships.” But Jehoshaphat refused the request.

50 When Jehoshaphat died, he was buried with his ancestors in the City of David. Then his son Jehoram became the next king.

Ahaziah Rules in Israel

51 Ahaziah son of Ahab began to rule over Israel in the seventeenth year of King Jehoshaphat’s reign in Judah. He reigned in Samaria two years. 52 But he did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the example of his father and mother and the example of Jeroboam son of Nebat, who had led Israel to sin. 53 He served Baal and worshiped him, provoking the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, just as his father had done.

Footnotes:

  1. 22:17 Hebrew These people have no master.
  2. 22:34 Hebrew Turn your hand.
  3. 22:38 Or his blood, and the prostitutes bathed [in it]; or his blood, and they washed his armor.
  4. 22:43 Verses 22:43b-53 are numbered 22:44-54 in Hebrew text.
  5. 22:48 Hebrew fleet of ships of Tarshish.
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.


Acts 13:16-41

16 So Paul stood, lifted his hand to quiet them, and started speaking. “Men of Israel,” he said, “and you God-fearing Gentiles, listen to me.

17 “The God of this nation of Israel chose our ancestors and made them multiply and grow strong during their stay in Egypt. Then with a powerful arm he led them out of their slavery. 18 He put up with them[a] through forty years of wandering in the wilderness. 19 Then he destroyed seven nations in Canaan and gave their land to Israel as an inheritance. 20 All this took about 450 years.

“After that, God gave them judges to rule until the time of Samuel the prophet. 21 Then the people begged for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, who reigned for forty years. 22 But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’[b]

23 “And it is one of King David’s descendants, Jesus, who is God’s promised Savior of Israel! 24 Before he came, John the Baptist preached that all the people of Israel needed to repent of their sins and turn to God and be baptized. 25 As John was finishing his ministry he asked, ‘Do you think I am the Messiah? No, I am not! But he is coming soon—and I’m not even worthy to be his slave and untie the sandals on his feet.’

26 “Brothers—you sons of Abraham, and also you God-fearing Gentiles—this message of salvation has been sent to us! 27 The people in Jerusalem and their leaders did not recognize Jesus as the one the prophets had spoken about. Instead, they condemned him, and in doing this they fulfilled the prophets’ words that are read every Sabbath. 28 They found no legal reason to execute him, but they asked Pilate to have him killed anyway.

29 “When they had done all that the prophecies said about him, they took him down from the cross[c] and placed him in a tomb. 30 But God raised him from the dead! 31 And over a period of many days he appeared to those who had gone with him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to the people of Israel.

32 “And now we are here to bring you this Good News. The promise was made to our ancestors, 33 and God has now fulfilled it for us, their descendants, by raising Jesus. This is what the second psalm says about Jesus:

‘You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.[d]

34 For God had promised to raise him from the dead, not leaving him to rot in the grave. He said, ‘I will give you the sacred blessings I promised to David.’[e] 35 Another psalm explains it more fully: ‘You will not allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.’[f] 36 This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed. 37 No, it was a reference to someone else—someone whom God raised and whose body did not decay.

38 [g]“Brothers, listen! We are here to proclaim that through this man Jesus there is forgiveness for your sins. 39 Everyone who believes in him is made right in God’s sight—something the law of Moses could never do. 40 Be careful! Don’t let the prophets’ words apply to you. For they said,

41 ‘Look, you mockers,
be amazed and die!
For I am doing something in your own day,
something you wouldn’t believe
even if someone told you about it.’[h]

Footnotes:

  1. 13:18 Some manuscripts read He cared for them; compare Deut 1:31.
  2. 13:22 1 Sam 13:14.
  3. 13:29 Greek from the tree.
  4. 13:33 Or Today I reveal you as my Son. Ps 2:7.
  5. 13:34 Isa 55:3.
  6. 13:35 Ps 16:10.
  7. 13:38 English translations divide verses 38 and 39 in various ways.
  8. 13:41 Hab 1:5 (Greek version).
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 138

Psalm 138

A psalm of David.

I give you thanks, O Lord, with all my heart;
I will sing your praises before the gods.
I bow before your holy Temple as I worship.
I praise your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness;
for your promises are backed
by all the honor of your name.
As soon as I pray, you answer me;
you encourage me by giving me strength.

Every king in all the earth will thank you, Lord,
for all of them will hear your words.
Yes, they will sing about the Lord’s ways,
for the glory of the Lord is very great.
Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,
but he keeps his distance from the proud.

Though I am surrounded by troubles,
you will protect me from the anger of my enemies.
You reach out your hand,
and the power of your right hand saves me.
The Lord will work out his plans for my life—
for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever.
Don’t abandon me, for you made me.

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 17:17-18

17 A friend is always loyal,
and a brother is born to help in time of need.

18 It’s poor judgment to guarantee another person’s debt
or put up security for a friend.

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 Friday June 19, 2020 (NIV)

1 Kings 20-21

Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria

20 About that time King Ben-hadad of Aram mobilized his army, supported by the chariots and horses of thirty-two allied kings. They went to besiege Samaria, the capital of Israel, and launched attacks against it. Ben-hadad sent messengers into the city to relay this message to King Ahab of Israel: “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘Your silver and gold are mine, and so are your wives and the best of your children!’”

“All right, my lord the king,” Israel’s king replied. “All that I have is yours!”

Soon Ben-hadad’s messengers returned again and said, “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I have already demanded that you give me your silver, gold, wives, and children. But about this time tomorrow I will send my officials to search your palace and the homes of your officials. They will take away everything you consider valuable!’”

Then Ahab summoned all the elders of the land and said to them, “Look how this man is stirring up trouble! I already agreed with his demand that I give him my wives and children and silver and gold.”

“Don’t give in to any more demands,” all the elders and the people advised.

So Ahab told the messengers from Ben-hadad, “Say this to my lord the king: ‘I will give you everything you asked for the first time, but I cannot accept this last demand of yours.’” So the messengers returned to Ben-hadad with that response.

10 Then Ben-hadad sent this message to Ahab: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if there remains enough dust from Samaria to provide even a handful for each of my soldiers.”

11 The king of Israel sent back this answer: “A warrior putting on his sword for battle should not boast like a warrior who has already won.”

12 Ahab’s reply reached Ben-hadad and the other kings as they were drinking in their tents.[a] “Prepare to attack!” Ben-hadad commanded his officers. So they prepared to attack the city.

Ahab’s Victory over Ben-Hadad

13 Then a certain prophet came to see King Ahab of Israel and told him, “This is what the Lord says: Do you see all these enemy forces? Today I will hand them all over to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

14 Ahab asked, “How will he do it?”

And the prophet replied, “This is what the Lord says: The troops of the provincial commanders will do it.”

“Should we attack first?” Ahab asked.

“Yes,” the prophet answered.

15 So Ahab mustered the troops of the 232 provincial commanders. Then he called out the rest of the army of Israel, some 7,000 men. 16 About noontime, as Ben-hadad and the thirty-two allied kings were still in their tents drinking themselves into a stupor, 17 the troops of the provincial commanders marched out of the city as the first contingent.

As they approached, Ben-hadad’s scouts reported to him, “Some troops are coming from Samaria.”

18 “Take them alive,” Ben-hadad commanded, “whether they have come for peace or for war.”

19 But Ahab’s provincial commanders and the entire army had now come out to fight. 20 Each Israelite soldier killed his Aramean opponent, and suddenly the entire Aramean army panicked and fled. The Israelites chased them, but King Ben-hadad and a few of his charioteers escaped on horses. 21 However, the king of Israel destroyed the other horses and chariots and slaughtered the Arameans.

22 Afterward the prophet said to King Ahab, “Get ready for another attack. Begin making plans now, for the king of Aram will come back next spring.[b]

Ben-Hadad’s Second Attack

23 After their defeat, Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “The Israelite gods are gods of the hills; that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on the plains. 24 Only this time replace the kings with field commanders! 25 Recruit another army like the one you lost. Give us the same number of horses, chariots, and men, and we will fight against them on the plains. There’s no doubt that we will beat them.” So King Ben-hadad did as they suggested.

26 The following spring he called up the Aramean army and marched out against Israel, this time at Aphek. 27 Israel then mustered its army, set up supply lines, and marched out for battle. But the Israelite army looked like two little flocks of goats in comparison to the vast Aramean forces that filled the countryside!

28 Then the man of God went to the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: The Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of the hills and not of the plains.’ So I will defeat this vast army for you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”

29 The two armies camped opposite each other for seven days, and on the seventh day the battle began. The Israelites killed 100,000 Aramean foot soldiers in one day. 30 The rest fled into the town of Aphek, but the wall fell on them and killed another 27,000. Ben-hadad fled into the town and hid in a secret room.

31 Ben-hadad’s officers said to him, “Sir, we have heard that the kings of Israel are merciful. So let’s humble ourselves by wearing burlap around our waists and putting ropes on our heads, and surrender to the king of Israel. Then perhaps he will let you live.”

32 So they put on burlap and ropes, and they went to the king of Israel and begged, “Your servant Ben-hadad says, ‘Please let me live!’”

The king of Israel responded, “Is he still alive? He is my brother!”

33 The men took this as a good sign and quickly picked up on his words. “Yes,” they said, “your brother Ben-hadad!”

“Go and get him,” the king of Israel told them. And when Ben-hadad arrived, Ahab invited him up into his chariot.

34 Ben-hadad told him, “I will give back the towns my father took from your father, and you may establish places of trade in Damascus, as my father did in Samaria.”

Then Ahab said, “I will release you under these conditions.” So they made a new treaty, and Ben-hadad was set free.

A Prophet Condemns Ahab

35 Meanwhile, the Lord instructed one of the group of prophets to say to another man, “Hit me!” But the man refused to hit the prophet. 36 Then the prophet told him, “Because you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me.” And when he had gone, a lion did attack and kill him.

37 Then the prophet turned to another man and said, “Hit me!” So he struck the prophet and wounded him.

38 The prophet placed a bandage over his eyes to disguise himself and then waited beside the road for the king. 39 As the king passed by, the prophet called out to him, “Sir, I was in the thick of battle, and suddenly a man brought me a prisoner. He said, ‘Guard this man; if for any reason he gets away, you will either die or pay a fine of seventy-five pounds[c] of silver!’ 40 But while I was busy doing something else, the prisoner disappeared!”

“Well, it’s your own fault,” the king replied. “You have brought the judgment on yourself.”

41 Then the prophet quickly pulled the bandage from his eyes, and the king of Israel recognized him as one of the prophets. 42 The prophet said to him, “This is what the Lord says: Because you have spared the man I said must be destroyed,[d] now you must die in his place, and your people will die instead of his people.” 43 So the king of Israel went home to Samaria angry and sullen.

Naboth’s Vineyard

21 Now there was a man named Naboth, from Jezreel, who owned a vineyard in Jezreel beside the palace of King Ahab of Samaria. One day Ahab said to Naboth, “Since your vineyard is so convenient to my palace, I would like to buy it to use as a vegetable garden. I will give you a better vineyard in exchange, or if you prefer, I will pay you for it.”

But Naboth replied, “The Lord forbid that I should give you the inheritance that was passed down by my ancestors.”

So Ahab went home angry and sullen because of Naboth’s answer. The king went to bed with his face to the wall and refused to eat!

“What’s the matter?” his wife Jezebel asked him. “What’s made you so upset that you’re not eating?”

“I asked Naboth to sell me his vineyard or trade it, but he refused!” Ahab told her.

“Are you the king of Israel or not?” Jezebel demanded. “Get up and eat something, and don’t worry about it. I’ll get you Naboth’s vineyard!”

So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, sealed them with his seal, and sent them to the elders and other leaders of the town where Naboth lived. In her letters she commanded: “Call the citizens together for a time of fasting, and give Naboth a place of honor. 10 And then seat two scoundrels across from him who will accuse him of cursing God and the king. Then take him out and stone him to death.”

11 So the elders and other town leaders followed the instructions Jezebel had written in the letters. 12 They called for a fast and put Naboth at a prominent place before the people. 13 Then the two scoundrels came and sat down across from him. And they accused Naboth before all the people, saying, “He cursed God and the king.” So he was dragged outside the town and stoned to death. 14 The town leaders then sent word to Jezebel, “Naboth has been stoned to death.”

15 When Jezebel heard the news, she said to Ahab, “You know the vineyard Naboth wouldn’t sell you? Well, you can have it now! He’s dead!” 16 So Ahab immediately went down to the vineyard of Naboth to claim it.

17 But the Lord said to Elijah,[e] 18 “Go down to meet King Ahab of Israel, who rules in Samaria. He will be at Naboth’s vineyard in Jezreel, claiming it for himself. 19 Give him this message: ‘This is what the Lord says: Wasn’t it enough that you killed Naboth? Must you rob him, too? Because you have done this, dogs will lick your blood at the very place where they licked the blood of Naboth!’”

20 “So, my enemy, you have found me!” Ahab exclaimed to Elijah.

“Yes,” Elijah answered, “I have come because you have sold yourself to what is evil in the Lord’s sight. 21 So now the Lord says,[f] ‘I will bring disaster on you and consume you. I will destroy every one of your male descendants, slave and free alike, anywhere in Israel! 22 I am going to destroy your family as I did the family of Jeroboam son of Nebat and the family of Baasha son of Ahijah, for you have made me very angry and have led Israel into sin.’

23 “And regarding Jezebel, the Lord says, ‘Dogs will eat Jezebel’s body at the plot of land in Jezreel.[g]

24 “The members of Ahab’s family who die in the city will be eaten by dogs, and those who die in the field will be eaten by vultures.”

25 (No one else so completely sold himself to what was evil in the Lord’s sight as Ahab did under the influence of his wife Jezebel. 26 His worst outrage was worshiping idols[h] just as the Amorites had done—the people whom the Lord had driven out from the land ahead of the Israelites.)

27 But when Ahab heard this message, he tore his clothing, dressed in burlap, and fasted. He even slept in burlap and went about in deep mourning.

28 Then another message from the Lord came to Elijah: 29 “Do you see how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has done this, I will not do what I promised during his lifetime. It will happen to his sons; I will destroy his dynasty.”

Footnotes:

  1. 20:12 Or in Succoth; also in 20:16.
  2. 20:22 Hebrew at the turn of the year; similarly in 20:26. The first day of the year in the ancient Hebrew lunar calendar occurred in March or April.
  3. 20:39 Hebrew 1 talent [34 kilograms].
  4. 20:42 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.
  5. 21:17 Hebrew Elijah the Tishbite; also in 21:28.
  6. 21:21 As in Greek version; Hebrew lacks So now the Lord says.
  7. 21:23 As in several Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, and Latin Vulgate (see also 2 Kgs 9:26, 36); most Hebrew manuscripts read at the city wall.
  8. 21:26 The Hebrew term (literally round things) probably alludes to dung.
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.


Acts 12:24-13:15

24 Meanwhile, the word of God continued to spread, and there were many new believers.

25 When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission to Jerusalem, they returned,[a] taking John Mark with them.

Barnabas and Saul Are Commissioned

13 Among the prophets and teachers of the church at Antioch of Syria were Barnabas, Simeon (called “the black man”[b]), Lucius (from Cyrene), Manaen (the childhood companion of King Herod Antipas[c]), and Saul. One day as these men were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul for the special work to which I have called them.” So after more fasting and prayer, the men laid their hands on them and sent them on their way.

Paul’s First Missionary Journey

So Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went down to the seaport of Seleucia and then sailed for the island of Cyprus. There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.

Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.

Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. 10 Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? 11 Watch now, for the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.” Instantly mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes, and he began groping around begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.

12 When the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.

Paul Preaches in Antioch of Pisidia

13 Paul and his companions then left Paphos by ship for Pamphylia, landing at the port town of Perga. There John Mark left them and returned to Jerusalem. 14 But Paul and Barnabas traveled inland to Antioch of Pisidia.[d]

On the Sabbath they went to the synagogue for the services. 15 After the usual readings from the books of Moses[e] and the prophets, those in charge of the service sent them this message: “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, come and give it.”

Footnotes:

  1. 12:25 Or mission, they returned to Jerusalem. Other manuscripts read mission, they returned from Jerusalem; still others read mission, they returned from Jerusalem to Antioch.
  2. 13:1a Greek who was called Niger.
  3. 13:1b Greek Herod the tetrarch.
  4. 13:13-14 Pamphylia and Pisidia were districts in what is now Turkey.
  5. 13:15 Greek from the law.
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 137

Psalm 137

Beside the rivers of Babylon, we sat and wept
as we thought of Jerusalem.[a]
We put away our harps,
hanging them on the branches of poplar trees.
For our captors demanded a song from us.
Our tormentors insisted on a joyful hymn:
“Sing us one of those songs of Jerusalem!”
But how can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a pagan land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget how to play the harp.
May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth
if I fail to remember you,
if I don’t make Jerusalem my greatest joy.

O Lord, remember what the Edomites did
on the day the armies of Babylon captured Jerusalem.
“Destroy it!” they yelled.
“Level it to the ground!”
O Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy is the one who pays you back
for what you have done to us.
Happy is the one who takes your babies
and smashes them against the rocks!

Footnotes:

  1. 137:1 Hebrew Zion; also in 137:3.
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 17:16

16 It is senseless to pay to educate a fool,
since he has no heart for learning.

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.


06/19/2020 DAB Transcript

1 Kings 20:1-21:29, Acts 12:24-13:15, Psalms 137:1-9, Proverbs 17:16

Today is the 19th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we approach the close of another work week and head into the weekend. And we’re continuing to cover ground together. So, let's…let’s continue to cover ground together and take the next step forward. We’ve been working our way through the book of first Kings and we’ve spent some time the last couple of days in the northern kingdom, the kingdom of Israel, the 10 tribes in the north and that’s where we’ll be spending our time today. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. First Kings chapters 20 and 21.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the book of first Kings today we see that Samaria the…the northern capital, the capital of Israel, of the…of the nation of Israel, whereas Jerusalem is the capital city of Judah at this point. Anyway, Samaria is under siege from Ben-hadad and they are able to repel those attacks through the providence of God, but this is gonna kinda keep happening and eventually…eventually Israel is going to get conquered by these people, the Assyrians. But we’re far enough into the story of Israel, the northern kingdom at this point. We can see it’s…it’s a pretty tumultuous time with a lot of transfer of power happening through political maneuvering and assassinations. So, that’s kind of where we find ourselves as we’re moving to the territory of first Kings for now,

In the book of Acts, we see Saul who is also known as Paul also known as the apostle Paul going on a missionary journey, on his first missionary journey, and we notice that someone named John Mark is accompanying him. John Mark is somebody that we’ve met. John Mark is thought to be the author, the writer of the gospel of Mark, which is the first of the Gospels ever written.

Now when we look at the Psalm today, Psalm 137, this is Psalm written from exile and this can get a little confusing because this comes from the Babylonian exile. So, this kind of…as we’re…we’re going into a weekend here and going to be moving into some of the territory next week and in the coming weeks, this is a good time to just keep our bearings because it’s really easy to get to the books of Kings, and we’re moving through so much territory and covering so many decades so quickly that it’s similar to the book of Judges. It’s easy enough to get lost. So, we know there’s a northern kingdom. We’ve been talking about it. We know that there’s a southern kingdom of Judah, that this unified 12 tribes of Israel has become two different nations. And, so, now the northern kingdom of Israel is under attack. They will eventually be conquered by the Assyrian Empire and those 10 tribes will be taken into exile and we’ll talk about exile when we get to these battles and stuff, but they are basically going to disappear after that. Meanwhile, there is the kingdom of Judah in the south where Jerusalem is and their going to last longer. They will outlast the kingdom of Israel, but they too eventually will be conquered by the Babylonians and also taken into exile and being taken into exile means you’re being forcibly removed from your homeland and resettled somewhere else. And, so, that’s where this Psalm comes from today. That’s where these words leap off the page, “beside the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept as we thought of Jerusalem”, right? And the Psalm goes on to say how the people there were saying, “sing us songs of Jerusalem” and they just…they’re not able to do that…like, they’re not able to be entertainment for their captors or…or other people who have been conquered and exiled. They’re broken hearted over the loss of their city and of their temple. And, so, that is the heart cry of Psalm 137. And, so, that kinda gives us the lay of the land. That’s how we’re landing things as we prepare for the weekend and…and this week. This the territory that we’re in. These are the stories that we’re…we’re moving through and are contemplating and considering.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you. We thank you for all of the people that we get to meet in the Bible, all of the stories of all of the lives, of the way that we get the look back at what people were thinking and how they were living and see that the heart remains largely unchanged even though we’re looking back thousands of years. And as we back…look back over these thousands of years we see your faithfulness. Your unwillingness to abandon the human story lets us know that you are unwilling to abandon our story. And…O Lord it is our deepest desire to tell a love story with our lives, one in which we were on an adventure together through these human years, one that we will make memories together and remember them a million years from now. And, so, we thank you for the stories in the Bible and we thank you for the story of our lives and we invite you Holy Spirit to write the story of our lives as we follow you. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen,

Announcements:

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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:

Hi this is Susie from Colorado I just heard with great sadness the man who called in that he and his wife had lost their child and I just…he was…he was so grateful to God that they got to actually see the baby and hold the baby before the funeral and I…I just I…I love your faith in God and I appreciate it. It just really is amazing, and I am praying for you and your wife. You said that you’d really really appreciate those prayers from all of us and I just want you to know that you are being pray for. God bless you.

Hello this is Lorrie from Ohio it’s been a little while since I have called in and I’ve been feeling stirred to call for those but have been sharing about not having the strength to…to shower and do work at their home and then again when Jill posted about the letter she receives from those who are incarcerated. To each of you, you are loved, you are a child of God. Then today I heard this prayer of St. Francis and wanted to share. Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is discord, union. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood, as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. Thinking of you all and praying for you. In God’s love and peace. Amen.

Hi this is Galena from Atlanta I wanted to thank Elayna for welcoming me to DABbers community. I really am grateful, and I just want you to know that I’m praying for you too. Going through a divorce is a really hard time and you’re in my prayers. I just wanted to say that there’s a lot of things that happened in my life since I’ve called and left my first message or prayer. I actually found a job and I was without a job for two or three months. And the day when I left a prayer was the day when I had an interview and two days later when my prayer was played the same company gave me a job offer. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence. I think God really truly saw into my heart what I needed and wanted, and He chose to shower me with his blessing. So, I just want to say thank you so much for accepting me into your community and I want to continue praying for Elayna and the young man who is going through a hard time with marriage and his mother who is very bad condition. I just want to pray over all of you who have marital problems right now, that God will deliver you through it and will make you stronger and your relationship with Him will be better than it ever was. Thank you.

Heavenly Father I pray for Alicia from Pennsylvania. I thank You Lord that You moved in the heart of Your child to speak out against racism. Lord that You would move in the heart of all Your people called by Your name to realize that there is something that they can do no matter their station to speak against injustice and offer comfort, compassion and even confrontation where necessary. Lord I pray You bless Alicia with the words that she needs just as You blessed Stephen and he spoke before the Pharisees Lord, for her to keep her eyes on You at all times and to speak in truth and in love. I pray Your protection over her, I pray Your wisdom for her Lord. If there are any others Lord that would be so bold as to hear Your call to their heart to stand up in this time of deep, deep division and to offer comfort. We move away from fear and move towards love Lord. I pray Your blessings on all those Lord that will speak truth and power no matter where they are no matter what the situation Lord. May Your people heavenly Father that are called by Your name bring healing to this land and bring it to the place where it’s supposed to be, that we can live up to the truth that is self-evident and all Your children are created equal. I pray Your blessings in Jesus name.

Hey, everyone it’s Margo in Liberia. I’ve got to be quick. I need prayer for a lady that we’ve been trying to help at the hospital her name is Patience. Her husband died last August leaving her destitute basically with two young children. She moved in with a male friend who promised that he would support her and her children. He got her pregnant. He then demanded in abortion. She attempted the abortion which failed. The man kicked them out. She was staying with friends, but a young man attempted to rape her young daughter. She caught him in the act in they all fled. She ended up on the streets. She was selling cookies that she made over a coal fire so that she could survive. That all ended with the coronavirus lockdowns here. She ended up taking her two children to an orphanage because there was no other way they would survive, and she ended up in our hospital. She is due to give birth any time. We’ve been trying to help her as best we can. She’s so depressed. This week an ultrasound has just shown that the baby she’s carrying has no limbs and we are…we are at a loss. We haven’t even told her this yet. She is already in such a bad way. She will probably refuse to keep the baby. That’s very common here. In a culture like this people will think that she has sinned in some way and this is her punishment. And we don’t know what to do. We don’t know what to do with her or the baby if it even survives once it’s born. There’s no…there’s no infrastructure here to care for babies like this. Can you pray for myself and Annette the social worker, that God will show us how we can help in this situation? Maybe we can help this mother to be able to raise this child and help the mother to be able to live with the guilt of the attempted abortion. Please just pray for the situation, that God would come through and provide a solution. Thank you.

Hi DAB family this is Elizabeth from Detroit I’m a first-time caller I’ve been listening for a few months and I wanted to thank Brian and everyone behind the scenes. This is an amazing podcast and outreach. I was not planning on calling in anytime soon since I’m a new listener, but I heard an urgent prayer request on June 10th from Marla in Albuquerque who suffers from depression. I’ve been praying for you. Then a few days later on June 14th I heard your praise report about the medication being…arriving safely at your doctor’s office. That’s such good news. I wanted to say that you’re not alone in the struggle of having bipolar. I have bipolar too and I know how debilitating it can be. I want to pray over you. Dear heavenly Father You know Marla from the inside out. You created her in her image. She’s precious in Your sight. I praise You Father for the Latuda shipment coming in. I praise You Father because I know You’re with Marla in the waiting. You are beside her, You’re behind her, You are before her. Lord I pray that Marla will sense Your presence and her perspective will shift. I pray that she’s alleviated from all bipolar depression so she can get back to…into the daily rhythms and activities of her life. Father renew her strength, surround her with people who will support and encourage her. I pray all these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

This is for the man who lost his baby daughter on May 19th. I can’t imagine the pain that you two must be going through and I’m so sorry that you’re having to deal with or endure it. But I just want you to know that I am so lifted up by the way that you…you perceived it in that God is good and that you’re not blaming him and that you had the honor of holding your baby daughter before she died. And, so, Lord just…just bless this family. I just ask that I know they are going to speak to those who have gone through this same thing. But yet Lord I ask for a miraculous blessing on them of children. I think it’s in Isaiah 54 about the tents being enlarged. And I just ask for that for them in Jesus’ name. Amen.

06/18/2020 DAB Transcript

1 Kings 19:1-21, Acts 12:1-23, Psalms 136:1-26, Proverbs 17:14-15

Today is the 18th day of June welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is a joy and an honor to be here with you today around the Global Campfire as we just kind of step away for second. There’s always plenty of distraction and there’s always swirling thoughts that can kind of pull us away and lead us down paths that lead us in a funky mood or whatever. There’s always something, but this little space that we’ve created each day is an oasis. We just kind of step away from it all. It’s not going anywhere. We…we might change in the process and approach it differently when we return, but this is just permission to allow God’s word to speak into our lives and just rest in that knowing that we’re not alone. If you’re listening to this right now, you’re not listening alone. Nobody ever is. Ever. So, we just ease back, relax, and let God’s word speak. And that will take us back into the book of first Kings. Yesterday we had a showdown in a place called Mount Caramel which still exists until this very day. It’s a mountain. And there’s a king in the North, his name is Ahab and there’s a prophet in the North and his name is Elijah. And there was a showdown between the God of Israel and the prophets of Baal. The prophets of Baal are no longer with us, but Elijah is. God showed up with fire from heaven, loosed the skies so that rain, which had been absent for three years is coming upon the land. Ahab the king is in his chariot racing back to Jezreel. Elijah’s running and running faster than the chariot to outrun this storm. Meanwhile, Ahab’s wife, her name is Jezebel, is about to find out that all her prophets are dead. She doesn’t know it yet. And that’s where we pick up the story. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. First Kings chapter 19 today.

Commentary:

Okay, so we can’t skip by first Kings because this is such an amazing story, it’s such an interesting turn. So, Elijah has prophesied to the King of Israel Ahab that there’s going to be no rain. Ahab searches for Elijah for three years all over the known world trying to find him because there isn’t any rain. Elijah shows back up on the scene and confronts the king, summons the prophets of Baal to mount caramel and essentially throws down a challenge that the God who answers from heaven by fire is the true God. Of course, the people were like, “yeah that sounds like a good deal. The God who answers by fire from heaven, that would be the most powerful God. That’s a good deal.” And, so, this all happens, the prophets of Baal spent all day cutting themselves and the whole thing. And then God answers by fire. The prophets of Baal are killed. Rain comes back to the land. Ahab the king is racing back in his chariot to his wife Jezebel who’s in the city of Jezreel. Jezebel finds out that her prophets are dead even though fire came from heaven and the people’s hearts are returning to the God of Israel. She’s not Hebrew. She…she…she married the king for an alliance. So, the Hebrew God and the Hebrew traditions and the Hebrew way of things, this isn’t so important to her. She’s very upset and she sends a note to Elijah that says, “may God punish me very severely, even kill me, if I don’t kill you by tomorrow, basically, “if your heads on your shoulders tomorrow then may God judge me.” And it’s really interesting what happens there because Elijah had just…I mean…the miraculous was all around him. The things that God had just done to affirm him as His prophet, the power that had just been displayed, like he should be walking, you know, a foot off the ground in confidence and the people’s hearts are returning to God. Like he should be…like, this is…this is a big thing. But he gets this is note and he freaks out and he runs away. The prophet who had just called down fire from heaven runs away out of fear from Jezebel. And he doesn’t like just run and hide, he seriously actually flees, he runs far. So, he is in the northern kingdom of Israel near Mount Carmel, which is kind of somewhat of a coastal mountain. It’s not right on the ocean but it’s not that far from the Mediterranean coast. This is…this is the Jezreel Valley. This is fertile territory. He runs south all the way to Beersheba, which is in the transition zone of the desert, the southernmost border city of ancient Israel, now Judah. So, Elijah crosses an international border from Israel into Judah, keeps fleeing south to Beersheba, leaves his servant and then goes into the no man’s land of the desert, not just camping out and hiding in the desert but continuing in the desert all the way into Egypt. All the way to Mount Sinai where we spent so much of our time earlier in the year where the law was given. I’ve never…I never measured. Like I’m guessing here, but I’m thinking that to drive from Mount Caramel all the way to Mount Sinai, even with like with no delays whatsoever at all, that’s gotta be like 10 hours just moving steadily in a car. And that’s if there’s like interstate. Like we’re talking about barren wilderness, empty desert here. And he’s on foot. So, this is a very long way that he’s running. And he gets back to this mountain and it’s beautiful that he would go. Like he…he really feels alone here. And, so, he’s making this journey. It’s just interesting. He gets to Mount Sinai and he’s in a cave and he’s waiting, and God shows up and God says, “what are you doing here, Elijah?” That is so interesting. Elijah, of course, pours out his heart. Like he’s the only one. There’s nobody left, He’s the only one that’s true, everybody’s trying to kill him. He's…he’s at the bottom, right? He’s really, really low and he’s kind of gone on almost a pilgrimage to make some sense of all of this and God tells him to come out to meet him on the mountain. And that’s when it’s really really fascinating because all the power is displayed on the mountain. I mean the same kind of power that was shown up at Mont Carmel - fire from heaven and everything. So, there’s a windstorm and rocks are falling off the side of the mountain and God’s not in that. And there’s an earthquake and that shakes the whole land and God’s not in it. And there’s fire and God’s not in it. Like it’s not in all these fantastic displays of power that you would expect. That’s what we’re looking for, the signs and the wonders. Instead it’s just in the whisper. Elijah knows that God’s out there waiting now in the still small voice. And he goes out and God asks him again, “what are you doing here?” And Elijah then pours out his heart. Like I’m the only one. There’s nobody left. This…this is why I’m here. Like everybody has abandoned you and everyone is trying to kill me. And that’s when God tells him, “it’s not true. Go back the way you came. You have to appoint a new king. Like my plan isn’t finished. What’s happening here isn’t over. Your job isn’t done. You have to appoint your successor as well, a new prophet in Israel. Your work isn’t finished.” Man, I…I love the story because it's…you know…we have a very, very good narrative. It’s a very well reading story. It’s a beautiful story to behold. But once it becomes a mirror it’s a pretty serious story to penetrate deep into our own hearts because how many times have we been this character in this story? How many times have we heard from God, obeyed God, walked in the confidence of the Lord, seen God move in our lives until somebody is offended and we get a text, we get a nasty note, and then we run, run, run, run, run until we’re out in the wilderness again, wandering again, alone again. And it’s like God comes to us in His kindness and mercy and says, “what are you doing here?” And maybe that’s the question for the day. Maybe that’s the question for this season. Maybe that’s the question that needs to be asked. What are you doing here? And maybe you got here because you were looking for God chasing signs and wonders looking for him to show up in his power and majesty when He never left you, he never forsook you. He was always there, the still small voice. He was never absent from you. And maybe He’s saying, “go back the way you came. Your work is not accomplished yet.” It’s funny, no matter how many times I think about that story there’s never a time that I can’t think of some area in my life that that does not apply to. And I think of lots of times in my lives…life in years well gone by where clearly…where looking for God in the wilderness was sort of the way I lived, wandering around in the barrenness looking for something. And I am so grateful that…that God comes to each one of us at one point or another with the same question, “what are you doing here?” And, so, may we stir some of that into our cup today and sip on it as we ponder.

Prayer:

Father, we invite You into that. I mean it’s true. We’ve spent plenty of our lives wandering in the wilderness. We’ve spent plenty of our lives on the run from things. We don’t often slow down enough to search for You in…in all of this. We’re usually waiting for You to move things out of our way so that we can just walk on…on a path. We’re just waiting for…for You to show up and do things for us, not expecting that You might show up and say, “what are You doing here?” So, we invite You into that. We need Your leadership, we need Your counsel, we need Your correction, we need Your rebuke, we need Your kindness, we need You. And, so, we open ourselves to You so that You might lead us in the steps forward from here. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

Song:

Sanctuary - Chris Rodriguez

Seems I left the innocence of Eden long ago
Tempted by my heart to go it on my own
Beyond the garden, somehow through the desert
Of my wanderings alone, You have never let me go

I turn from You and still You cover me
I fall so far, You find me in the deep
Anywhere I am, anywhere I am
You sanctuary me

I have felt the separation deep within my bones
Brought me to my knees, crying out for hope
Beyond the garden, somehow through my tears
You heard the words I could not speak, You were there to rescue me

I turn from You and still You cover me
I fall so far, You find me in the deep
I lose my way, You’re reaching out to me
Anywhere I am, anywhere I am, You sanctuary me

I turn from You and still You cover me

I fall so far, You find me in the deep

I lose my way, You’re reaching out to me

Anywhere I am, anywhere I am, You sanctuary me