Jeremiah 16:16-18:23, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3, Psalms 81:1-16, Proverbs 25:6-8
Today is the 11th day of October welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it is wonderful to be here with you today, today and every day around the Global Campfire together taking the next step forward together. And, so, as we dive into this workweek, we pick up where we left off each and every day, will lead us into Jeremiah. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. Jeremiah chapter 16 verse 16 through 18 verse 23 today.
Commentary:
Okay. Let’s talk for a minute about God’s plan since God wanted to talk about his plan today in the Scriptures that we read in the book of Jeremiah. So, let’s talk about God’s plan. And its unlikely that nobody in the sound of my voice has ever heard that phrase, that term, “God’s plan” before. We think God has a plan and we start considering that plan in different sets of circumstances. For example, if things are going bad, poorly for us, we’re challenged, we’re being pressed or having to endure, or things have just gotten crazy in the world than often we’ll blame God’s plan. We’ll just be like, “well, it’s beyond me, but God has a plan. I don’t understand it, we don't…but it will all make sense someday, because God is sovereign and He has a plan.” And on one level that can be a comforting thing to consider. Like, “okay this is beyond the scope of what I can comprehend or understand. I’m upside down. I…like I feel like I’m spinning in a tornado. I don’t even know where up is, but God has a plan.” That can become a comforting thought. A lot of the time, though it’s more of an excuse. We can look at the messes that we make, try to take several steps away from what we’ve done because maybe we’ve part…we’ve just been participating with other human beings in creating havoc in some sort of way and we’ll just try to distance ourselves and then It’s God’s fault because God has a plan. The things we don’t understand, the things that happen, the messes that are made in this world, whether like locally or in our homes or globally. It’s not my fault, right? It’s not our fault. It’s God’s fault because God has a plan, and this must be His plan. So…so, God’s to blame for it all. So, we can get our minds around those kinds of scenarios and how we would say things about God’s plan. Here’s what God said today about his plan in Jeremiah. And by the way Jeremiah contains the most famous verse in all of the Bible about God’s plans once we get to chapter 29 and we’ll talk about that then. But He’s already talking about plans here in the 18th chapter. So, here's…here’s the Lord speaking. “If I announce that a certain nation or kingdom is to be uprooted, torn down and destroyed but then that nation renounces its evil ways I will not destroy it as I had planned. And if I announce that I will plant and build up a certain nation or kingdom but then that nation turns to evil and refuses to obey me I will not bless it as I said I would.” So, it’s safe to say God has a plan. It’s safe throughout Scripture to consider that perfect plan to be the restoration of humanity. But what we see in God’s words as spoken to the prophet Jeremiah, our choices matter in that plan. We have a role to play as ourselves as individual people, but as the human race. And we have seen many times in the Scripture where God relents. We saw that beginning with Abraham. God responds to a contrite spirit. God responds to a broken heart. God responds when we humble ourselves under His mighty hand and that, at least as we see in Jeremiah today can change God’s plan, that He adjusts based on the actions and motives of His people, that He has allowed our decisions and our choices, our humility or our pride and arrogance to lead where it’s going to lead. And that’s kind of a big deal. It…it’s kind of a biblical concept that runs through the Scriptures. We would know it as sowing and reaping, right? So, you sow weeds, and you reap weeds If you sow corn then you’re going to reap corn if you have a harvest. So, if you’re gonna sow bitterness you’re going to reap bitterness. If you’re gonna sow arrogance then you’re going to reap arrogance. If you’re gonna sow gossip you’re gonna reap gossip. And we could go on and on and on. You’re going to reap what you sow. It’s a natural law put in place by God. You don’t plant grass seed and get turnups. You get what you plant and cultivate. God’s ultimate plan is to redeem humanity, and we are the redeemed already. And still we’re confused about sowing and reaping. And, so, we sow garbage and reap garbage and go “well, it’s God’s plan. And, so, let’s put that in our cup and stir it around and consider the fact that we have a role to play in our own lives and we have a role to play in the story of God and He has allowed us to be here at all. And we are supposed to be a part of the plan of redemption.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit come help this is sink into our lives. Help us to see the ways that we’ve blamed you for things you didn’t do and we’ve accused you of things you were not involved in. And we’ve labeled our plan. Your plan sometimes when things don’t work out right so that we can pass the blame, take some side steps. We are a peculiar people. We are like sheep who have gone astray. We can be so stiff necked. We see all these examples in the Scriptures. We see that this is a human condition because it’s been going on for thousands of years, and yet we want your patience and your kindness continuing to respond toward us, always ready to reach out your strong arm of redemption on our behalf if we aren’t bound and determined to rebel against you. And, so, come Holy Spirit help us just to see our lives and the state that our lives are in because of the way that we make decisions and help us to know that every choice leads somewhere. And if we will continue to consistently habitually slow down and make wisdom a voice in our lives and wise decisions the norm, we will be in your plan having so much fun. Come Holy Spirit. Help us to realize this. We pray this 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:
Hey, Tony the Narrator this is Tiffany from New Mexico, and I heard your prayer request this morning for your mom who has COVID. And I just wanted to let you know that my mom also just had her second bout with COVID and thankfully she’s doing better now but it was really scary. So, I can only imagine…or I can imagine how you’re feeling because I was just in that same place worried about my mom. And I know that you would never in a million years wish something like this on your mom, but I am so grateful and encouraged to hear that you’re using this time to show her love and take care of her as Jesus would and be a witness through it all. How wonderful that she has such a great son to take care of her and…and share Jesus with her. So, I wanted you to know that you are 100% right and that we will all be praying for her, and she will have hundreds or thousands of people kneeling on her behalf. And just give her a big hug from us and…and let her know that she’s loved. Take care everybody. Bye.
Hey, my adorable DAB family this is Kingdom Seeker Daniel. Family, just want to pray for a couple of our DABbers. So, let’s all pray. Dear Jesus, I come lifting up our beloved sister Victoria Soldier who has lost a brother on this side. Where heaven has gained him, she has suffered a great loss. We ask God that you would send comfort and strength to her and her family. Lord will you cause Victoria Soldier to know that it’s OK for her not to be OK. Even though she is known as a soldier, in this particular season Lord it’s OK for her to show weakness because in her weakness that’s when she’s made strong because of You. So, father I pray that You would help our beloved sister to lean into You as well as to lean into her DAB and DABC family because we’ve got her. She’s had us for so long for so many. Now it’s our turn. So, God would you rally to her aid and let her know that she is OK to let it all go and let you carry her and let us carry her. We love you sis. We got you. In Jesus’ name. And then for my dear brother Tony the Narrator. Lord be with his mom as she’s battling COVID and a cold and we’re praying for complete turn around and healing of both her body and her soul. Thank you for the opportunity for Tony to minister Your word. Do a complete work of healing in her life in Jesus’ name. Amen. Love you family.
Hello Daily Audio Bible family this Alfio calling from Central Valley CA. I hope each one of you is doing great. I want to pray and remember those of our brothers and sisters who are struggling with mental health. I know the days where sometimes a lot of us struggle and don’t want to share because of cultural differences for whatever the case it may be. It’s OK to be anxious. It’s OK to be depressed. It’s not OK to stay down there. It’s OK to seek help. It’s OK to take medications. It’s OK to seek counseling. It’s OK to seek supportive services. Please feel free to seek all these resources for your good, your own good. And in the Bible, we see a lot of characters who were struggling with anxiety and depression. God is a God of healing. God is a God of a good mind. No matter the case, I pray that you may recover anyone who’s struggling at this moment, especially during this time of the pandemic. And I also wanted to pray for my sister of Victoria Soldier. You called in yesterday or a couple of days ago for the loss of your brother. I remember you in my prayers and I pray that your brother’s soul may rest in peace. And even those who are struggling with the loss of their loved ones, may God be with you. May God sustain you and may God grant you peace that surpasses all understanding. Love you family.
DABbers this is Kira Contrite Spirit and this message is for Kansas from Oregon and also anyone else who’s dealing with someone who has a meth problem, methamphetamine. I was…I did meth for about 12 years. And, so, I encountered another…theft is common and stealing and lying and deception. And I repent from my…all my experience involved in that kind of stuff, and I repent for your daughters ex’s stealing of the computers and I pray that, you know, she’ll get back…maybe if he doesn’t give those back she’ll just get an abundance of what she needs. And I pray for the children, the child involved in that situation and…yeah…I repent for his sins too, that he…that God would draw him your ex’s, your daughters ex’s to Him and that also that…that he would know that Jesus is Lord and that he would turn away from his wrongdoing for the…for his sake…for God’s sake, for the sake of his child and for your daughter. And I pray for the whole situation, and everyone involved that…that all of you guys including you Candace will find peace in this situation and for everyone else involved and these hard-core addictions, especially meth, alcohol too. It just…it’s a scourge in…in the world. And we need to have the peace of Christ and pray for everyone at all times without ceasing in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hi DAB family it’s James here from the UK. It’s been a long time since I’ve called in and I’ve been out of touch if I’m honest with the DAB. I would really appreciate your prayers. Some people will know a little bit about my situation from previous prayer requests, but yeah things have got really tough and I think ultimately my wife and myself are at…are in a situation now where we’re really trying to work out what we can do to reconcile things. It’s a super stressful situation and there’s three children involved, three teenage kids. I’m trying to support my mom who is dealing with my father. He’s got dementia and doesn’t really know who I am anymore. And it’s just all taking its toll, moving here to support them and trying to stand in the gap has just left us in a very bleak situation. So, it’s challenged. Our faith is depleted, our faith. It’s…it’s put us in for a real tailspin and it’s made us really question the strength of our marriage and what we do next. So, prayer is very much appreciated.