Jeremiah 23:21-25:38, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-17, Psalm 84:1-12, Proverbs 25:15
Today is the 14th day of October, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today doing what we do every day, one foot in front of the other right, and then we lean forward into that step and then we take it, the next step forward together. And that next step will be a continuation in the book of Jeremiah and the second letter to the Thessalonians. And of course, our next step forward in the Psalms and Proverbs as well, but we gotta begin with Jeremiah so, we’re reading from the New Living Translation this week, Jeremiah chapter 23 verse 21 through 25 verse 38.
Commentary:
Okay so, in our reading from the Psalms today, chapter 84, we get, just an incredible unique picture that’s almost obsessive in its longing for God, like there’s this craving, this reaching, this yearning that comes out of the poetry. And it’s not like these sentiments or this passionate deep rooted heartfelt desire isn’t in other places in the Bible, it’s just in Psalm 84, it’s just really apparent. Like, listen to these words. I long yes, I faint with the longing to enter the courts of the Lord with my whole being, body and soul. I will shout joyfully to the living God. There are portions of Scripture that we come to and move through every single year that always, always stop me in my tracks, are like signposts along the way that I’m used to seeing and this is one of them because we can get worked up in a powerfully passionate way or in a raging sort of way, we get ourselves worked up emotionally, really intensely, about something, but that intense sense of yearning or longing for an accomplishment or a person or whatever, it’s rarely associated with God. In fact, we can be obsessive and have a craving or a yearning and give that to somebody else and withhold it from God, which may not be idolatry, but it’s kind of moving in that direction. And if it’s moving in the direction even a little bit, well then, it’s not good and it’s not the right path. So, this Psalm is written by the descendants of Cora and what are they getting at here. I mean, we read the words to this song to be accompanied by a stringed instrument, we don’t necessarily see them being instructive. Like listen to these words, how lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s armies. I long yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord with my whole being, body and soul. I will shout joyfully to the living God. Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young at a place near your altar. O Lord of Heaven’s armies, my King and my God, what joy for those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. What would we call that? Like how are they getting into that place where they’re so given over. We would call these words worship. And, we’re just gonna have to acknowledge that worship indeed may be the music that you like and that you keep playing over and over, singing along with. Worship may be what you do on Sundays when you go to church and depending on which church you go to, what that looks like may be very different than…than many other places. Worship is different for lots of people so, we might consider worship to be how loud can I get, how sweaty and horse can I become in a song service. Worship can also be how completely still can I become, so that all the stuff that races through my head is calmed, is still, I am at peace. Like, the Bible says like a weaned child at his mother’s breast. How still can I become that I might wait upon the Lord, that I might become aware of his presence. And so, that can be styles of going about something, but these words here in this Psalm are describing a state of heart, unified and rooted in the body, right. I long yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord with my whole being, body and soul. I will shout joyfully to the living God. So, this is like a completely engaged activity where we long and yearn and crave nothing else. Nothing else can give us life, nothing else can fill the emptiness. Nothing else can make empty the clutter and it’s not so much the style or the method it’s the heart, completely, deeply, passionately craving what God gives us. So, these descendants of Cora writing…writing this end up concluding that after you’ve experienced that there’s no going back. Everything else diminishes in the way that the words are written to express this are these: a single day in your courts is better than a thousand days anywhere else. I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. So, they’re saying I’d rather, if I could just be in that place, I would be a worker, I’ll clean the toilets. I don’t, just to be there is better than being anywhere else, to be in the presence of God is better than to be anywhere else doing anything else. Ironically, and the irony isn’t lost on me, I feel the irony every time I come to this passage. Ironically for all the loud, for all the jumping, for all of that, it’s really hard to see this kind of deep, completely obsessive yearning for God. And yet, we all know that being aware of God’s presence in and among us, becoming aware of that thing that never goes away and is always available, that sometimes we have to whip ourselves into a frenzy to even pay attention to, it’s always available. This is why the good news is the good news, that we can be in God’s presence without fear, as children calling him Poppa or Abba or Daddy or Father. This has been made available and we get so distracted right, with the blinking lights and the cardboard packaging and the bright colors of our culture, distracting us from something so profoundly good that words cannot describe it. So, as we continue to navigate our day, lets remember this. Let’s become aware of the presence of God. And let’s remember, let’s recall those times where we’ve had that longing and let’s follow that longing and give ourselves completely so that one day in the presence of God is better than the thousand anywhere else.
Prayer:
So Holy Spirit, we invite You into that, You can lead us deeper. Whether that means we get louder, whether that means we get quieter makes no difference, lead us deeper into our relationship with Jesus. Lead us into all truth, be a lamp for our feet and a light to our path through the Scriptures. And lead us on a path that gets us so lost in Your presence that we wouldn’t be able to find our way back if we wanted to, but we don’t want to. May we be more and more aware of Your presence. We ask 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.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Hey, this is PG from NC, I want to give a few shout outs and maybe a prayer or two. God’s Smile, and Peter, thank you for coming on and inspiring all of us, just listening to the two of you, you are so full of joy in the midst of physical challenges and difficulties, and you inspire us to do likewise. Victorious Soldier, we love you we care for you. We are praying for you and your family as you experience grief. Thanks again for inspiring us to, in the midst of our own losses, always remembering to pray for others in the process. Thank you for doing that. Tony Narrator, brother, thank you so much for praying for your mum and I we’re gonna pray that…that she will come to know Christ and that in the midst of her challenges, you see a gospel opportunity. Again, thank you for inspiring us. And to Mark the Teacher, thank you for openly providing us the opportunity to pray for your brother who’s lost in the Outback. So, let’s pray very quickly. Lord, today we pray for these needs, God we pray for Mark the Teacher’s brother-in-law. God, I pray that he will be found safe and sound. It’s not uncommon for him to go out, but we pray that he’ll be found. Lord, for Tony, God I pray that his mom would receive the gospel and hear the love of Christ in the midst of her circumstances. Lord, we pray for comfort for Victorious Soldier and her family. And God, we pray and contend for the miraculous in God’s Smiles life and we continue to do that and we pray this in Christ name, Amen. Thanks DAB family for praying along with me today. God bless.
Hello my Daily Audio Bible family this is Lib calling from the UK. I’m calling to please request for prayers for my friend. She’s my friend, Ada, who lost her dad suddenly, yesterday, Thursday, the 7th of October. She’s shattered. She’s heart broken and I am so far away and I honestly wish I could be there in this next second. With all that’s going on, it’s not possible. But I know that if each one of us embrace her in prayers and lift her up and her family. She was very close to her dad. So, when I spoke to her, she was completely, she’s completely shattered. And my hearts really goes out to her. And it’s so sad. So, please I ask anyone who can please pray for Ada and ask the Lord to console her, consoler her mom and her siblings. And, I don’t know, just lift her up in prayers everyone if you can. I am so grateful for all your prayers each time and how we pray for each other and how you are always there, someone is always there to pray. And, may the Lord bless each and every one of us. Bless each and every one of you, anyone who’s, a big thank you, for that. May God bless you all. And have a wonderful day.
Good morning, Daily Audio Bible peeps, this is Just John. And I’m calling today to be an encouragement. Sometimes I have trouble finding God. And thankfully I’ve been blessed with a camper and I’ve camped about 21 nights this year. And I’ve found him in so many ways, especially when I went alone. This morning I made a point to be out there in the park nearby and be there during the dawn, before the sunrise. I went for a short walk and especially looking to the East, where the sun was on its way up and the clouds were there and the beauty was indescribable. It was so easy to find God there. So, when you’re looking for God, do whatever you have to, to find Him. It’s so easy to find him outdoors especially before the sun rises and before the sun sets. And if you have time, wait for the sun to come up and wait for the sun to go down. But it was so beautiful. And I felt myself calling out to the Lord that I would eagerly trying to catch a glimpse of Him. So, that’s my message today for you. Look for Him, He can be found, it’s not hard.
Good morning DABers, this is Blessed One is AZ calling in with a praise report. I just want to mark today as 12 years, to the date, that I no longer am doing methamphetamines. I am free thanks to God’s love and support and I could not have done it without the love and support of my God and His many blessings and many favors. I’d like to give a shout out to my sister Sherrie also, who is walking this same walk with me. Thank You Lord Jesus for saving our life. Thank You O Lord Jesus for the Daily Audio Bible. Every morning I start my day with the Daily Audio Bible. Anyone out there who may be suffering from addiction, please just look to the Lord. Look to the Lord for your refuge. He will bring you out of the dark just as He did me. Thank you so much, Brian and Jill. I love you; I love the Daily Audio Bible and I hope everyone has a blessed day.
Hi, this is Verline from Alberta. I was listening to the podcast for today October 8th and heard a call from Jesse. He’s saying he’s not okay, and God I just want to pray for him right now. Lord, I just thank You for You, who You are. And, none of us are okay. Some of us look like it and maybe we’re okay in You but without You we’re not okay. And so, I just pray for Jesse. I pray that he will find the doctors wisdom in helping him but also, he will be able to find his peace in You and You will heal him physically and spiritually. And I just thank You for that God and I just want to lift him up to You tonight. In Jesus name, Amen.
Hello, my wonderful DAB family. This is Rosie also known as Great to be Free in Jesus. I’m calling in today with a prayer request. I just found out last night that one of my brothers is in the hospital with COVID or the flu and they don’t think he’s gonna make it. But we serve a God that has the last word. And I’m asking you to pray for him for healing. He’s a minister, he has been most of his life. And I don’t remember if I told you his name but it’s Vernon. And I would really appreciate all of your prayers for healing and I’m still praying for all of you, whether I call in or not, I’m still praying. And, I love you, my wonderful DAB family. Bye.