Isaiah 1:1-2:22, 2 Corinthians 10:1-18, Psalm 52:1-9, Proverbs 22:26-27
Today
is the 8th day of September, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian, it
is wonderful to be here with you today as we take our next step forward and I’m
glad we get to take that next step forward together…together is definitely
better than alone. And we’re stepping into some new territories. So, the last
couple of days we’ve been reading from the Song of Songs and that is always a
joy to have my wife Jill, come and join us and read that together. And so, we
concluded that yesterday, so today were moving into new territory.
Introduction
to the Book of Isaiah:
The
book of Isaiah. And so now, we’re kind of moving into the book of prophecy. And
Isaiah is considered one of the books of major…one of the major prophets or the
books of major prophecy which sort of indicates that there might be minor
prophets as well and there are but the major and minor prophets aren’t because
of like notoriety or importance, or influence it has a lot more to do with the
content. For example, some of the minor prophets, when we get there, we’ll read
through those in one day, there very short in content. Whereas the book of
Isaiah, we’re gonna be camping out in Isaiah for a little while now, it’s 66
chapters long. So, it’s one of the longer of the books in the Bible. So. the
other major prophets, besides Isaiah that we’re gonna encounter will be
Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel and Daniel. So, Isaiah, his name means the Lord
saves and as we begin to read through Isaiah, we’ll find that he’s very
passionate about what he’s communicating and he’s very well quoted. So, during Jesus’
ministry, as portrayed in the Gospels, Isaiah is quoted eight times, including
the announcement of his ministry, right, that’s fundamental in Isaiah chapter
61 the spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring good news
to the poor, right, very, very famous passage. That’s Jesus quoting from the
book of Isaiah and he lived eight centuries before Jesus and it seems that he
was a man of some influence, maybe even some wealth, maybe he was a part of the
nobles or aristocracy because royalty was available, like he had access to
speak to royalty. That’s not, that’s not somebody just walking in from some
backwater in Israel somewhere and he had a long career as a prophet. He was
able to speak to five different kings, kings that, we’ve already read through the
books of the kings. So, we’ve gone through a lot of these stories. He spoke to Usiah
and Jothem and Ahas and Hezekiah and Manasseh, and then there’s a tradition
both among the Jewish people and Christian tradition that Isaiah was martyred
under King Manasseh. King Manasseh imprisoned him and eventually executed him
by sawing him in half. That’s a tradition, so that’s not laid out in the
Scriptures and we don’t have any other resources to know that…that it’s more
than a tradition. Although the book of Hebrews does talk about Saints being
martyred, some stoned, some sawed in half, some killed with the sword, so there
may be a reference there to Isaiah. And as we get going, it’s 66 chapters and
really like the first 39 chapters are chapters where the judgment of the Lord
is being discussed and it’s a very sobering 39 chapters. And then the second, kinda
half from chapter 40 through the end is some of the most comforting portions of
the Bible, very, very hopeful portions of Scripture, and that kinda gives us a
little…little bit of a template for what we encounter when we read the books of
prophecy. Yes, there are times that God, through the prophets, comes and says
some pretty harsh things that are going to happen or are potential future
things that might happen if the people continue on the path that they seem to
be determined to go on. Then certain things are going to happen because of
that, but it’s also very, very typical to see in the prophets, God saying
there’s a path out of this. You can come back, you could be restored, and he
speaks with kindness and compassion, inviting fellowship and restoration of
relationship and renewal of covenant. And so, will see that in Isaiah as well
as throughout many of the other prophets, but with that, let’s go ahead and
dive in, Isaiah chapters 1 and 2.
Prayer:
Father,
we thank You for Your word. All of this transition happening here at the
beginning of the month settles us in. So, as we move into this new territory of
Isaiah, we invite Your Holy Spirit to speak to us: give us understanding, give
us wisdom, guide us, direct our steps, lead us deeper into Jesus, reveal the
narrow path that leads to life, light our path, we pray in the name of Jesus we
ask. Amen.
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actually remarkable, for how it can change the mindset of what we might be
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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.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Good evening DAB family. This is Learning to Let Go from North Carolina. It’s been a while since I called in, there’s been a lot of changes in my life. But I was mainly calling in because I believe I heard the message from August 31st for Ms. Mercy who had nine children and 22 grandchildren so far and there was a report of her husband being a pedophile, inappropriately touching the children and that just hit my heart. That’s just such a profound, traumatic event for everyone involved, I’m sure. And I just wanted to let you know, I’m believe it was Ms. Mercy, said, that she was praying for healing and restoration for faith for her children and grandchildren, so I just want to let you know that I am thinking of you, hoping for that for you. I was also hoping that you all could pray for me. Like I said, there’s been a lot of transition in my life and I know eventually it will be for the better, and it’s definitely difficult to go through break-ups and such. But and I’m just praying for patience and peace through this healing process. I’d like to pray for that other person, just that all of this can be resolved and done with and over. And, to discontinue the push-and-pull and the back-and-forth. And so, if you all could pray for me for that as I do also pray for you all. You’re often in my thoughts and I really just appreciate people calling in and being vulnerable. And also, the praise reports so thank you all very much for that.
So, let me first of all say, I listen every day. And I hear all of you with your issues, believe me, I have many issues too. But what I want to do is first of all say thank you God for everything. I don’t know, I know I don’t need to lay out all my problems because as the Roman soldier said you don’t need to come to my house. Say the word and it will be done. When we say Lord, You know all my issues, please help me with those issues. And once again I will not pray for everyone on DAB that say Lord you know who’s asking. I pray for everyone in DAB and their issues. I’ve been a long-time listener. And I was kind of caught off guard by the August 31 reading, when God said to Job, where you when I laid the foundations of the earth, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy. So, this basically says that the Angels were here when God created the earth and then when you read Genesis and all of a sudden, the devil pops up, you have to kind of read the whole thing, then we learn about Lucifer. Anyway, I don’t think it matters. It’s a matter of my salvation. But it did spike my curiosity, God says, seek knowledge: Proverbs 2 verse 6. For the Lord gives wisdom from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding. As we speak about knowing the real story of creation, which is referring to our salvation. Let me pray, dear Heavenly Father please ease the burden of all my DAB brothers and sisters, please ease my burdens. As You know what they are. But let me also say thank You for everything You have done for me. Thank you, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
[Singing] Oh, I keep my mind upon Jesus. That’s just what I need to do. I don’t need no fancy fandangle solution, just keep my mind upon you. Oh, I keep my heart upon Jesus. That’s just what I need to do. I don’t need to turn to anyone else, I just keep my heart upon you. Oh, I keep my eyes upon Jesus. That’s just what I need to do. Oh, I don’t need to stare at the glitter of the world. I just keep my eyes upon you. [End singing] Thank You Jesus, for rescuing me from myself.
Hello DABers, this is Sandy from Florida. I’m calling in for Mercy. For her prayer request. For her nine children and her 21 grandchildren. And her husband who’s in prison. And Mercy, you’re so strong. You’re so strong to call in for prayer. To take care of all your children and your grandchildren and what you’re going through. And mercy, I just pray the blood of Jesus would cover each one of you and that God would give you peace, understanding, patience and give you strength to do what you need to do to take care of your children. To direct your path, to give you guidance. I pray everyday that your children would forgive, release, let go of the pain and that God would heal every, every painful moment that and thing that has happened to them. And every wound would be healed, in Jesus’ name. And I pray that for you, Mercy, I pray the blood of Jesus and forgiveness, in your hearts. And Father God, I just pray for the hedge of protection around this entire family, Lord God. Give them Your purpose and Your plan. Lead them and guide them. In Jesus name I pray, Amen.
Hi DABers, it’s Bren in Central Florida. Just wanted to call in and let Cat know, even though she does know that we’re all praying for her, my family is also lifting her up. And her father-in-law, comfort him and give him his total peace, asking him to let him know He’s there. And just for strength and comfort for her family for whatever God choses to do in this situation. And that the family would draw closer no matter what God choses to do in this situation and just know that you’re loved. You’re loved, God loves you all so much. And we all love you. And also, praying for Anonymous who called to pray for her sister who’s struggling with mental illness. And I understand and we pray for you too. I just want you to know how much, how beautiful it is that you’re just loving her like Jesus. That’s the best we all can do is love each other the way Jesus loves us. So, you’re being lifted in prayer as well. And to the beautiful wife who lost her, lost her love of 38 years, I just want you to know that God, I know you already know how much he loves you all and He, nothing is impossible, He definitely has a way for you all to come together in peace and healing. And that’s what we’ll be praying for you all. I’m so sorry for that tragic loss and just know all of you, how much I love you all and God loves you all. If you can keep my family lifted up, we’re still recovering from COVID and especially my lungs, please. Love you all, God Bless you.