1 Chronicles 16:37-18:17, Romans 2:1-24, Psalm 10:16-18, Proverbs 19:8-9
Today is the 14th day of July, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today, as we gather around the Global Campfire and take the next step forward together. That next step will lead us in the Old Testament, back into the book of first Chronicles and in the New Testament, into the letter to the Romans. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week, first Chronicles chapter 16 verse 37 through 18 verse 17.
Commentary:
Okay so, in the letter to the Romans today, we read, as we were concluding our reading for today that the Gentiles blasphemed the name of God because of you, which is a very direct thing to say. And now that were kinda getting into the letters of Paul, we should sort of settle into this personality or the way that he writes. It’s very densely packed, but it’s very direct. I mean, to say that your life, your witness, your words make other people blaspheme the Lord, like, if you are the witness for God, then you cause other people to blaspheme the Lord, because of your representation of who God is. That’s direct, maybe that’s even fighting words but that’s direct, and that’s kinda how the apostle Paul is. He was raised a devout Jew from his birth and was a Pharisee, an educated Pharisee in the Mosaic law. One of the most rigorous things to be, would be a Pharisee, in terms of trying to adhere to the Mosaic law and obey it perfectly. And so very often, we find his words to be very direct. And the reason that he’s being direct like this, is that he is calling out hypocrisy. And I mean, we probably all know what hypocrisy is, right, being double-faced or pretending to have a certain lifestyle or spirituality that you actually don’t have in secret, you’re pretending. I mean, basically, we could say, it’s like, it’s kind of like wearing a mask. And not like the COVID masks we had to wear when the pandemics is all going on. Like, all the time, like stepping outside your door and pretending to be something that you’re not or pretending to be more than you really are or pretending to be way less than you really are. But in secret you’re not the same person, hypocrisy. Or to just quote from the letter to the Romans, “when you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things. Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment, when you do the same things?” Paul is essentially trying to expose the, this doesn’t do anything, and this doesn’t go anywhere. And this doesn’t help anybody. And it’s profoundly missing the point of what we’re here to do. Paul says and I quote, “don’t you see how wonderfully, kind, tolerant and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” And so, when we understand that we are consuming mountains of grace to live every day, but then turn our eyes and mouths and ears and senses of judgment on other people, for things that we’ve done. That’s pretty hypocritical, especially having the full knowledge that God is fathering us patiently, kindly, He’s being tolerant with us. Because as Paul says, His kindness is intended to turn you from your sin. So how is it that, the, if God’s kindness, woos us and compels us away from evil and the things that would separate us from Him, how is it that we think our judgment without any kindness, tolerance or patience, is gonna woo anybody, anywhere? I mean, if Paul’s right and it is God’s kindness that is intended to turn us away from sin and we are supposed to be like Christ, then wouldn’t it also be true that our kindness and not our hypocrisy, and not our judgment, can be part of God’s work in wooing people away from sin? And so, let’s take some time to consider this today and consider the way in which Paul, sums up the point, if you teach others, why don’t you teach yourself? You tell others not to steal, but do you steal? You say it’s wrong to commit adultery, but do you commit adultery? And we could insert any of the things that are strongholds or have been strongholds and trip us up, that we may judge another person for, when we know full well, how difficult it is to overcome that ourselves and don’t always and put on the costume of the hypocrite. Paul boils it down by saying, no wonder the Scriptures say the Gentiles blasphemed the name of God because of you. And I don’t, I don’t want that. You don’t want that, right? You don’t want to know the people that literally denounce and blaspheme God because of our example of who He is. That is what hypocrisy can do and that is the point and that is why Paul’s being direct. And we might as well buckle up and get used to it, cause now that we’re in the letters the Bible, there are plenty of things that we’re going to need to look at and examine and consider, as we continue our journey forward, step-by-step, day-by-day.
Prayer:
And Father, we thank You, we thank You for that, we thank You that the Scriptures will indeed do a staring contest with us, will look us in the eyes with the voice of truth and not flinch or look away, so that it penetrates within our hearts, so that we can’t sidestep, so that we can’t run away, so that we do have to indeed, deeply consider, what our lives are saying. And may it never be said of us, that someone blasphemed Your name Lord, because of us. And if that has ever happened, forgive us, Lord, we, that is mortifying, and it shows us very clearly that we have a lot of power You have bestowed upon us, the power to be Your ambassadors in this world. May we be nothing less than an accurate portrayal of Your love for us, in the way that it changes everything. Come, Holy Spirit into this, we all need You. Change us from within, show us the path 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.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Hello DABers, this is Joyfully Jo. I am calling about Brian’s thoughts at the end of the reading today, July 11th. Just want to say thank you Brian. All you had to say was really beautiful and perfect and I am currently on a little hiatus because I am a caretaker for my mom. And my daughter and my husband graciously told me to take some time off and so I’ve just been getting into God’s word and meditating on it, and I love what you said about honesty, well it’s the Scripture. Honesty is better than righteous, haste makes mistakes. Getting excited before we really understand the situation causes us to make bad choices, slow down and get all the details. I just love that. You also said, I think it was in your prayer, that we need to walk in wisdom more than ever before and not to wear God like a cape or a magical power and you ask for God to lead us into all truth, and all wisdom. And then immediately after that was a caller, she didn’t give her name, but she was so excited about Skip Morgan, faith comes by hearing, hearing, hearing and I just loved your message and I wanted to say thank you for that. And Skip, I’m praying for you. I know about your surgery and I’m praying.
To my brother Travis. Travis, this is your brother Vultamore. I’m going to encourage you. I know you have some angst about being called to the ministry in such a late time in your life. But I too, was called into ministry fairly late in my life. And I learned a long time ago that God doesn’t call the equipped, but He equips the called. And so let me pray for you. Father, in Jesus’ name, I pray that you continuously equip Travis for Your work in his ministry that will bring You glory and honor and that would edify and build up people to Your salvation and to You. And to Your honor, oh God. Father, help him to forge ahead, according to your perfect will in his life. And may he fulfill all the purposes you have for him, in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. Amen. Thanks Travis, love you brother. Talk to you later. Bye.
Good morning, Daily Audio Bible Community. This is Diane Olive and Jeff Brown from Newburg, Indiana. Shalom, shalom, let’s throw our logs on the fire together. Oh, my goodness, I love this readings from Brian today. I just love them; I love the book of Romans. I love, especially chapter 7 which deals with the sins of the flash and chapter 8, that deals with walking in the spirit. This is very helpful for those who called in prayer request today and praise reports. And every single one of them related to me. One talked about a lady that needed prayer, would just open up her heart and told the truth about things she needed. And it was encouraging because I have done that. I have finally opened up my heart and the told the truth about the things I’ve done. And God’s not gonna punish me for that; He’s going to encourage me. So, honey, whoever she prayed for, I agree with you. I agree with you. Lay it all out in the open to God. The devil cannot lie to you anymore. As long as you’re staying honest and above board before Him, confessing your failures, your, the things you struggle with, he can’t use those against you. And forgive yourself. I’ve been my own worst enemy so many times. The hardest thing for me is just forgive my ….
Hi, this is Lavishly Loved by the Lord. I’ve been a DAB listener now for little over a year and I’ve been called in, maybe twice, for the same problem. I’ve been praying now for about three years that I could get a new position at work. At work, things have been getting increasingly harder, more difficult, more challenging and the light at the end of the tunnel, is slowly disappearing. And I wasn’t sure I could do it anymore. So, I applied for a position, when it was over, I was told that it was given to somebody else but that someone on the team is going to resign, moving out of town and they wanted to offer me that position. While I was waiting for that to happen, I applied for another position and after the interview is over, I received an email stating that the first position was given to somebody else. My safety net, gone. My backup plan, gone. All my eggs now are in the one basket. Well, I finally got an email stating that that second position I applied for, was given to someone else. So, I prayed about it. And I said, okay, Lord, this is where you want me to stay so, Holy Spirit, help me get through it. Started changing gears and getting ready for the new year to be positive and have a good year. Got home from work and received a phone call stating that it was the situation of everybody thought the other person had called me. But the position that I was promised was officially mine and it only took three years. So, if you’re in an impossible situation and you don’t think the Lord is listening, He is, just be patient, keep praying. Know that the Lord loves you and He’s working behind the scenes to make what’s the best outcome for you, come to fruition. I love you. Have a great day, keep praying. Keep the faith. Bye.
Hi, I’m Sherry Youngward. I’ve been listening to DAB for many, many, many years but I’ve only called a couple times. I’m actually taking my version of the long walk today, July 12th because on the 7th I was recovering from COVID, and my long walk was celebrating I could go from my bedroom to the kitchen and fry and egg. So, I’m doing a little better. And right before I put my phone away, I just want to say that I’m so grateful for this community and all that you all mean to me, knowing that when somebody calls and puts in a prayer request and the voice starts to crack and they fall apart, just know that, in a few days so many people are gonna call and stand by their side and pray for them. I just love the compassion and just the care of this community. And when Brian made an announcement a while back about going to Israel, but he kind of left us in suspense about this secret announcement. Just for a second, I thought oh no, is he leaving. Did Elon Musk buy the Daily Audio Bible? Okay, I didn’t that, but I did just think for a second, what if I didn’t have this. So, I just wanted to call to say I’m so grateful. I just want to pray for this community, pray for the Hardin’s. Pray for the Holy Spirit to fill and refresh and revive, Lord and bless in every way. Plus, those that are struggling today, Lord. Spark hope, in Jesus’ name.