Ezekiel 37:1-38:23, James 1:19-2:17, Psalms 117:1-2, Proverbs 28:1
Today is the 18th day of November welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is a privilege to be here with you today around the Global Campfire where we can keep warm and find comfort in fellowship with one another and nourishment from the scriptures for our souls. So, wonderful, wonderful to be here with you today as we do take that next step forward. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week and our next step forward is Ezekiel chapters 37 and 38.
Commentary:
Okay. So, while we were reading through the letter to the Hebrews, we had all kinds of theological concepts. We had all kinds of discussion that gave us the story from a Hebrew perspective and connected Jesus to the Hebrew story, explaining that this was always expected to happen. And, so, we had those kinds of concepts. In the letter to the Romans, another long letter in the New Testament we got a lot of theology that that forms Christian theology from the apostle Paul. We should be noticing now that we’re just a couple of days into reading this rather short letter from James that this is different. This isn’t like trying to explore theological concepts per se sort of to give us an underpinning or an understanding of things. It’s very, very, very practical. It’s sort of like, okay so you’ve got the theology. If you don’t live the theology though, like if you don’t live what you have learned, if it’s just information it’s a problem. So, he’s practically trying to get us to sow into our lives what we’ve learned, what we’ve heard so that it becomes a way of life. So, I quote from James because he says it better. “Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. For he looks at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what kind of person he was.” So, that’s the analogy that James chooses to use. And we can…we can understand it just as well today as they would’ve been able to understand it in the first century. If you are just gonna hear and you’re gonna to take on board the Bible as information for informational purposes but you don’t implement anything that you’ve heard, it doesn’t actually begin to transform your life because you're…you’re adapting yourselves to it, than that is the same as look…as looking at yourself in the mirror, walking away and forgetting what you look like, right? So, we can see that James is interested in our actions. It’s a nonbiblical proverb but one that we’ve all heard, “actions speak louder than words.” And this is basically James’ point. And sort of the next point that he’s making that has to be put into action and that we should listen to is that favoritism, making a distinction that someone is better than someone else or making a distinction between us, we are better in some way than someone else is completely misguided. He also tells us today that you think your religious and you think you’re walking it out, but you can’t control your tongue then you are only fooling yourself. And like, we should take a long pause on that one. If your words and your deeds are not in alignment there is a disconnect in your life and you’re fooling yourself. I told you. James is unflinching and we were led into probably the most famous passage in James, “faith without works is dead” and that’s what he’s been leading up to. You’re fooling yourself if you’re just talking a talk but not living into it or walking the walk. I don’t want to be to cliché here, but I don't…I mean what could be more poignant in our world today? And let's…James is not trying to externalize this so not…let’s not go, “oh yeah, it’s really bad out there, a lot of people are duplicitous. A lot of people are saying things that they don’t do or they’re talking out of both sides of their mouths.” That’s all true. What about you? What about me? What about us? This is in our laps. James isn’t gonna let us divert. We’re njot gonna be able to disassociate from our own selves while judging everybody else. And, so, putting it back in the words of James, I quote, “what good is it my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but does not have works? Can such faith save him?” And then he says, “faith without works is dead.” And he uses another example to show us how that’s true. So, you have somebody. You see somebody that is suffering that has a lack, that is in need, without clothes, they don’t have enough food and you encounter them, pat them on the back and tell them to go in peace and stay warm. Maybe even say a prayer for them and ask God to give them food but you don’t help them, then faith without works is dead. So, I quote, “if a brother or sister is without clothes and lacks daily food and one of you says to them go in peace, stay warm and be well fed but you don’t give them what the body needs, what good is it? In the same way faith if it does not have works, is dead by itself.” Just kind of what to leave it there. I’m kind of wanting to leave it there for my own self, but I don’t want to fill in a bunch more words. This is what it is saying, and we have some things to examine and they’re not gonna go away just because we ignore them. We can keep reading the Bible and ignore this until we come to James next November and it’s still gonna be true, and we will have reaped what we sowed. We have to change the way that we are living our faith and make our speech and our action both be true of one another. I dream for that. I dream for that in myself, but I dream for that in the body of Christ. We would change the world if we were true. If our faith was actually in action, we would…we would change the world. And it’s not as if we haven’t been a part of many changes in the world over history, but the world really needs a witness right now. The world…the world really needs light in the darkness, salt as a preservative, a city on a hill that can’t be hidden. And it seems so often, like we fellow believers, we’re just playing king of the mountain. We want to individually be a city on a hill or whatever and so we’ll push everybody else down so we can be on the top and then somebody will push us down and then we’ll just battle each other for who gets to be on top when it’s like beside the point. And, so, I hope, especially after all that we’ve been through in the world over the last couple of years now, going on a couple of years with just the craziness that we’ve seen on display in ways that we’ve never really seen before and have endured things that have never been faced by anybody that’s alive today. We’ve had to deal with some things and we need to stop warring with each other over who gets to be right and get about the business of saving the world as the body of Christ where all are necessary, everyone is irreplaceable, everyone has a role to play, everybody has a part in this story, the story of redemption. That’s our story. It’s our story to tell and if our words and deeds are in alignment, then we are being true and telling the truth.
Prayer:
Father, we invite You into that. We invite You into all that was spoken from the letter from James today. We’re sitting up and paying attention. We’re not zoning out or pretending that this doesn’t apply to us in some way because it’s directly speaking to us clearly and we know we need to repent, and we know we’ve got to make changes. And, so, Holy Spirit we can’t do it without You. We have too much wounding, too much baggage, too much history, too much all kinds of pull to comply and fit into our culture. We have all kinds of things that pull us in all kinds of directions, and we are encouraged to be false. You are encouraging us that freedom is being true. So, Holy Spirit come. Help us catch ourselves, help us see the ways that we’re not being true. May our words and our deeds tell the truth, 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:
Hey, my outstanding DAB fam this is Kingdom Seeker Daniel. Hey Beautiful Sunsets, I’m praying for your family for the restoration for the freedom for the peace and the reuniting that the Lord is at work in even now. And I agree with you and I’m standing with you for Isaiah 54:17 that that would be the umbrella that God would raise up over you that no weapon formed against you and your family will prosper but every lie that will come against you it shall be condemned in the Lord. That’s your heritage. And, so, be encouraged to know that the Lord is fighting for you and your family. To my brother Terry the brother that’s incarcerated. Man, I appreciate you for the shout out for the love man. Know that God is with you. He’s with you in this struggle, He’s with you in the fight, He’s with you in the test. Whether it’s testing or tempting God is with you. We know God, God doesn’t tempt us. So, He’s definitely in the test…in the testing process with you but you will win, you will overcome, and God is setting up reinforcements even now for you behind the walls my brother. So, know that He’s protecting you, He’s watching out for you. So, be encouraged man. Keep running. He’s got you. And for Jenny, the sister from the Bay Area, sister I so appreciate you and your fight and you’re pressing life and going after your masters and even for the class that you’re going away for right now. I pray that God is watching over your 11 your 15-year-old and just appreciate you for your determination sis. And know that He is with you on this journey, and you shall overcome. To Holly from California, your 8-year-old grandson Jackson is struggling to get to know other kids and blend in. I pray God will come around him and give him the friends that he needs in Jesus’ name. Love you.
Hi, I’m calling on behalf of my mom Susan who is a faithful listener of the DAB. She has…she has many else problems one of them being diabetes and she’s very sick with COVID right now. So, she’s requesting prayer and she believes in the power of prayer and would be so encouraged to know that the DAB family is praying for her and interceding on her behalf. So, please pray for wisdom for us and peace for her and a full recovery. And we’re just so thankful for this community and the support. Thank you.
Hey DAB family this is Jasmine calling from New York and I haven’t called in a while but I just wanted to let you guys know that it’s basically been a full year of me listening to this podcast and, yeah, I just wanted to say thank you to Brian and Jill for the podcast, just creating it, yeah and y’all’s obedience to the Lord. I just thank you because it really has brought me through a lot and it was basically the beginning of my journey with Christ in my faith and it helped grow my faith with Jesus. So yeah, I thank you all. And I just wanted to encourage others out there who are just beginning to listen to this podcast to just keep going even if you miss a day. Just keep going because it is taking you somewhere. And yeah, it’s all working for our good. So…
Good afternoon DAB family God bless you all. Jerry, you called in saying that you’re fighting the enemy trying to drag you back in the name of Jesus Satan we command you right now in the name of Jesus we declare those chains broken in Jesus’ name. You could not have Jerry anymore. He is no longer a part of that. He is now a new creation in Christ a son of the most high king and you must release him right now in the name of Jesus. And Jerry you are no longer the man incarcerated you are now Jerry birthed in freedom in the name of Jesus. Jesse, you called in regarding your grandmother sick for a year now standing and walking across the room in the name of Jesus Father God. We thank you Lord for the healing that is continuing to take place Father God in the name of Jesus. A woman called in seven times or recorded seven times Father is purely good. Yes He is for us. The enemy is a liar. We must continue to declare that every moment of every day. Rebecca in the name of Jesus I am declaring peace, peace among our brothers and sisters in this Ethiopian civil war Father God. Father God we break those chains in Jesus name of hatred Father God, of strife Father God, of jealousy and bring them together Father God to dine at a table of love Father God in the name of Jesus Father God. James, you called in how many times you moved and changed churches and now in a divorce. We bind that in the name of Jesus Father God. We’re declaring marriage reconciliation Father God in the name of Jesus. Nothing’s too late for you Father God in the name of Jesus and thank God the DAB has been a constant for us. Mikey you called in regarding your baby. Thank you for calling as a first-time caller. And we’re praying for your baby. We’re praying for that spirit of auditory neuropathy to be gone in the name of Jesus Father God we’re declaring healing over this baby Father God in the name of Jesus Father God. I love you Esther…
Hello this is Max from Madison. I am a little behind as usual on Daily Audio Bible. Listened to November 5th today, the prayer requests and Elene ileen from I believe it was Colchester called in about her son Daniel and I just want to say a prayer for Daniel and for Elene and let you know that you are not alone. You have many brothers and sisters suffering the same. 1 Peter 5:7. And the best thing to do is know and let Daniel know that he’s not alone. And if there is a support group, a youth support group in your area I would highly advise because that helped me a lot when I was his age. Also, I want to praise report. I’ve been working on for several years trying to help teens in my local neighborhood using the performing arts and I almost lost hope a year ago when I called in and it looked like it’s going to happen. I’m partnering with the local school district, and it looks like we might have our first club meetings in June, and I’ll actually be paid and have a job career doing what I love. And, so, just let Daniel know that he is loved. Lord Daniel is your child, he’s in pain right now but let him know that You have him. You have in your embrace and give his mom Elene strength to deal with this in compassion and love. God bless you all. Bye.