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 today as we launch into our workweek. And as we do that we’re launching into a brand-new book. Actually, not…I mean it is a new brand-new book that we’re reading this year, but it’s the second part of Kings. So, we concluded first Kings yesterday. We’re beginning second Kings today. And just by way of reminder in two parts, number one these were all one text until the Middle Ages. And, so, this is how we get first and second Kings. They were broken apart just for ease of finding things and verses inserted etc. etc. for ease-of-use. So, we don’t necessarily have to get our minds around a whole new, you know, a whole new historical backdrop and a whole different context that we need to understand as we read it. We’re really just turning the page and continuing the journey through the kings of Israel, which are the 10 tribes in the north and the kings of Judah, two tribes in the South. And, so, our context remains the same, but we are entering another book and we will set it up and we will read through it and we will close it and will open up the next book which is what we’re doing here day by day step-by-step together moving through the Scriptures this year. So, let’s dive in. We’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. Second Kings chapters 1 and 2.
Commentary:
Okay, Psalm 139 is what we read today, and it is a psalm probably that is good to keep close to our hearts, a psalm to keep really really nearby because in this Psalm these questions are asked, “essentially where is it that I could go to get away from You, God? Like, where could I go to escape You? Where can I go that You aren’t?” And as the psalm progresses, we realize there is nowhere that we can flee from God’s presence, which means that we should probably finally put that to rest and stop wondering where He’s gone. He’s never going to abandon you. It’s our awareness of God’s presence that we often find lacking. There’s nowhere that we could flee, that He wouldn’t be there whether into the highest heavens or into the depths, whether on the far side of the sea or right where we are we are in His presence. When that begins to sink in then we realize that we have what we are looking for. It’s not this lifelong search to find the presence of God, we have only ever been in it, but we need eyes to see and ears to hear as Jesus said so many times. We need to be awake and aware. But what a comfort Psalm 139 can be for us because it gets foggy out there and things stop making sense and we find ourselves on an emotional roller coaster and sometimes we don’t know how to feel, and we’re tossed to and fro by these waves these back-and-forth things that go on in life. And, so, pretty soon we find ourselves spinning and not sure what to do and wondering where God went. If we come back here, we can be reminded that the answer to where did God go is nowhere. He has never left at all. So, may we…may we drink deeply of that today brothers and sisters. I am. May we drink deeply of that and find comfort and rest for our souls.
Prayer:
Father, we need that. It’s a constant need, that we need rest for our souls. It's…it's…it’s weary. It’s wearying. There’s a lot that’s always going on that…that we’re navigating in life, and it can be a complete distraction from the fact that we are actually in Your presence, and that we don’t have to live completely confused and concerned and disoriented. That happens when we lose…when we lose the truth, when we lose this thread that we are in Your presence, that there is nowhere that we can go to flee from Your presence. And, so, we become aware, we consider the fact that You would never leave or forsake us, that You are here. And we become aware of that and it brings peace, it brings calm. And, so, as we become aware come Holy Spirit, lead us into all truth, we ask in the name of Jesus. 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:
Dear heavenly Father king of kings and Lord of Lords we thank You for Your great love and Your mercy that comes in spite of the very very broken world that we truly don’t comprehend or understand. Lord, my heart aches for the caller that just shared about her son committing suicide, Dawn, and her husband mark who’s coming up to Father’s Day and…and grieving the loss of their son. Lord, just touch them in a incredible way, that…that one, that they would have to the strength to be faithful with today with what has been placed in their hands but also to the ability to let go and be broken before You. And Lord please surround them with people that allow them to be broken and instead of making judgment that they are there to support. And Father just…just give them space, help them to have space to grieve the loss of their son. And as they are both people that work in the daily situation of trauma and of sorrow and heartache, Lord please help them to be able to have the strength there just…just to be faithful with now. Thank You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hi DAB family it’s James here from the UK. It’s been a while since I have called in, but I just was really compelled today to pray for a gentleman called Mark. His wife Dawn left a prayer request and basically from what I gather their son committed suicide a year ago. And, so, Dawn, your message just really…it really touched me and I’m just going to pray. Father God I do want to lift mark up to you. I want to ask Lord for your blessing in Dawn’s life, in Mark’s life, and the life of their other son as well. And Holy Spirit what’s really just touched me is this sense of the unknown and just needing to be able to release and to let go and for Mark to understand deep in his heart that, Jesus, you can unlock him from the sense of guilt and turmoil and the misunderstanding and the not knowing. And I just pray father God that at Father’s Day there would just be this sense of release. I thank you for Dawn. I thank you for the fact that she wants so much to stand by her husband and bring the family together strong after this tragedy. I thank you for her tenacity and her courage overs a really difficult year. Release them into your love into your care in a way Holy Spirit that only you can, that Father’s Day might be a chance to restart with knowledge of how much you love them and with knowledge of how much their son cared for them and loved them as well.
Good morning Daily Audio Bible this is Jimmy from the East Coast. I was calling just to talk about what Brian said about with Peter when he said what about that disciple and he says what is it to you if I…if he stays until I come back? And it’s so profound because I spent a lot of my life just comparing, not knowing how to be satisfied with where I am and who I am in what God’s doing with me. And it’s so profound and freeing that I thought that it was very appropriate to take a moment when the opportunity came which happened days after to share with my daughter who’s turning 9 when she was worried about something that wasn’t to do with her. And I said, what’s it to you? And then began to teach her at a childlike level how to let things pass and not to use her youthful energy for things for things that doesn’t matter to her or compare. I’m just so thankful for Brian. I mean it’s been a long time I’ve listening, I believe like maybe the year we started or the year after and it’s just been nothing but enrichment. Thank you so much. God bless you and your family and that baby Reagan.
Hi DAB family this is Linda also called Maria calling from Sweden. Today is June 18 and I heard a woman talking about anxiety and depression and the verse from Psalm 34 about God being close to the broken hearted. And I felt that, so I wanted to call in. I wanted to ask for prayers because I’ve recently been in psychiatrics for three months and I had bipolar and many other things and being in a spiritual warfare while being sick was hard on me. I never lose faith. Thank God I never lost that faith, but I feel that my faith’s gotten weak. And I know God is close, but I just called for you. I’m in the healing phase right now and, you know, God has done so many amazing things with my illness. It’s been basically gone since I gave my life to Christ three years ago. And in over three years this is my first episode. So, God is really good. And it’s amazing. And, yeah, life got too much so I had another episode. So, please pray for me and my faith to get stronger and to feel God’s love more and more as I am being picked up in His hands and He has saved me so many times countless times and he heals me over and over again. And yeah, it’s just so amazing. And I wanted to say that those with mental illness to never give up. Just never give up. Nothing is impossible with God. And, yeah, thank you so much. And love you lots. And, yeah, have a good day and bless you. Bye-bye.
Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is Megan from sunny but wintery Sydney Australia and I’m calling to…to just say thank you to the lady who…what day is it today…the lady who was calling about wisdom. She had the vision of wisdom coming down on all of us listeners like online, you know, hooked up app family that we are. And I just wanted to say thank you so much and that that really this morning it was…it was little. All you did was share, all you did was, you know, open up. But really that gave me such a spirit of encouragement this morning and I’m going to carry that into my day. I’m going to take that wisdom that God is going to give me. I’m going to claim that and I’m going to follow where God is leading. Yeah. Love you all. Bye.