1 Chronicles 28:1-29:30, Romans 5:6-21, Psalms 15:1-5, Proverbs 19:18-19
Today is the 19th day of July welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it’s great to be here with you today just like it is every day. It’s wonderful to be able to have this rhythm. Brings us back together each day for the next step forward together. And that next step leads us back into the book of first Chronicles, which we will actually be concluding today and move forward into second Chronicles tomorrow. So, we are reading from the English Standard Version this week. And today, first Chronicles chapters 28 and 29.
Commentary:
Okay. So, we are kinda getting settled into the letter to the Romans and some of the things that Paul said in that letter today are…well…they’re foundational, but they’re profound. Foundational in our faith in Jesus. Profound in the implications of what Jesus did. So, we began our reading today while we were still weak…“for while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.” So, if we just stopped there with that verse. That’s a whole verse, verse six. That verse pretty much sums up everything. When we couldn’t do anything about it Jesus came for us. When all hope of us becoming righteous before God was lost, Jesus came. And Paul goes on to say, like it’s a super unusual thing for somebody to die, like literally end their human life so that another one may live. But Paul acknowledges maybe…maybe if that person is a really good person, somebody might even dare to give up their life so that they might live. But that’s not what God did. God came while we were still sinners while we were estranged from Him hopeless to be reunited with Him while we were still His enemies, He came for us. And Paul’s drawing that out because it’s like who does that? Nobody dies for anybody else. But even if that were to happen maybe somebody would die for a really really good person for a really good reason. But who dies for their enemies while they’re still enemies? That’s the magnitude of what Paul is saying. That’s the magnitude of what we believe, that when we were hopeless, while we were still enemies, while we were still sinners, while there was still nothing, we could possibly do about it, Jesus came and did something about it and restored us and reconciled us to God. Like, all debts are paid before God. Like, that is foundational to our Christian faith but that is mind boggling stuff right there, because in effect what is being said is when we were hopeless for anything, Jesus came and gave us everything. And then we…we see Paul kind of always looking back. Like, yes, everyone in Judaism was centered around the law of Moses’s and really the following of Moses teachings. Paul went back to Abraham and said this is where the story started, and now he’s going all the way back to Adam and saying this is where another part of the story actually started way before Moses, way before the law. Sin came into the world through one man, and death entered the world through sin, and so death spread to everybody because everybody sinned. Adam had been created sinless, but subsequently introduced sin into the species, into this story. Sin leads to death. And Paul says Jesus is essentially the antidote. I quote Paul. “For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man, Jesus Christ.” Paul goes on to say, “for if, because of one man’s trespass death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” Okay so as foundational as that is and is easy enough as it is for us to say, yeah, I understand the concept, like I’ve heard this lots and lots of times and yes, it’s profound and yes I’m paying attention, but I have heard this before, it’s the implications that get me. Because the implications are that sin doesn’t have claim, that sin may indeed be in the world and evil may be here, but it doesn’t have claim to us who believe. This is what we believe as Christians. When we were utterly hopeless Jesus came. And I realize there’s a lot going on in all of our lives. Like who doesn’t have something going on? Who’s just waking up in the morning going, ahhh…another day of complete bliss? Let me figure out what blissful thing I might do today. That’s gonna be my biggest struggle, is figuring out what blissful thing I might do today. Like, that’s not how life usually works. So, I realize like there’s stuff going on. Some of them are hardships. Some of them are simply struggles that we have to continue to endure and move through. And, so, it’s really easy for us to get really focused on these things that are bringing pain into our lives in some sort of way, or discomfort in some sort of way. And, so, it’s easy enough for us to lose our place in the story, like to lose the plot. What we’re being told at its core in the book of Romans is that God is for us and not against us, which doesn’t necessarily mean He is for everything that we choose to get involved in or do but he is for us, so much so that while we were still enemies, He came to reconcile us, to get us back to restore us. We are restored. And so often when we’re kind of focusing in on the cares of this life we forget these basic truths. This is in a nutshell why the gospel is good news. This is the good news, that there is no claim to us anymore. We are reconciled to God. He is not looking at us as an enemy. He is looking at us as a child, which is indeed good news. And, so, no matter what is going on in our neck of the woods in our rolling hills in our flat planes in our rainy seasons or dry seasons nothing has the power to take us away from God. Sometimes we need to simply get back to the basics or boil it back down to the essential core and understand okay, first and foremost, no matter what else is going on in my life that distracting me, first and foremost, God is present, God is for me. I am a child of God. I don’t deserve that, but I accept it. And, so, may we meditate upon that today, especially when there’s so many distractions that pull us apart, literally pull us into pieces in order for us to cope. Amy we get back to this essential core. God is here, He loves me. Nothing can separate us.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for that truth that comes crashing back in. It’s so easy to get distracted. Even when we know these things it’s so easy for us to live as if they’re not even true. And yet this is the good news of the gospel, and we do believe, and we do receive this truth. So, Holy Spirit come and lead us deeper into Jesus today. Lead us deeper into our relationship today. May we find rest in knowing that there’s nothing we could possibly do to jump up and down or put on pretty cloths to make You pay attention to us. You came for us when we were filthy and an enemy. You loved us beyond what we can comprehend and You would never let us go. And we believe that, and we find rest in it. And, so, come Holy Spirit, comforter, come comfort our wounded and broken hearts with this 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 everybody this is George from Michigan. Just reaching out because I heard the prayer request from Renzo. And I just…I wanted to tell you Renzo you're…you are amazing. You’re an inspiration to us all. And, you know, we all go through ups and downs and our faith and it’s OK. You know, God’s always there. And you know it’s those moments where you feel probably the least where God is with you the most. And I know that that doesn’t feel that way but those are the moments when He’s there with you. And trust me Renzo, God will lead you on the path that He wants you to follow. You’re open and receptive to His word. And you just, you know, stay strong to the faith and I promise God will…will lead you. God bless you brother and keep you in prayer.
Hello this is Greg from Washington and I just wanted to pray for those that are experiencing anxiety and stress and feel at the end of their rope and like they don’t know how they’re gonna make their next steps. And, so, I heard someone pray and asking for help on this issue just now. Alright. Dear Lord thank You, thank You, thank You for every breath for everything You’ve given us. Thank You for Your fresh love and You’re abiding with us in us and for the strength that You have that You’ve given us and that You will give us that we don’t even know we have. Dear Lord please help us to remember that if we feel like we’re at the end of our rope that there’s more rope there and You’ve provided it. Dear Lord, we thank You. We thank You for Your provision. Please give us comfort in the times when we feel like we can’t do it and realize that our feelings are just a…just a light on a dashboard and don’t always mean what we think they mean. Provide comfort and love and knowledge to us in these times that are…that are hard and may get harder. Thank You Lord for Your blessing. In Your name Amen. The name of the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Good day everybody this is Phil from Michigan first time caller. I’m gonna go by Fill Up My Cup. I just wanted to call and give some testimony to God’s good graces. So, a few weeks ago this is when the story happened, my wife is pregnant, and we are having our baby on Friday the 22nd if it goes full term. She could honestly pop any minute. I’m an over the road truck driver and I was supposed to not be over the road a couple weeks ago and some stuff sort of happened at work and I got forced to still go over the road out of state. And I was just really furious, I guess. And, so, while I’m over the road our route got changed and we had some extra time and we got to explore the Opryland hotels in Nashville TN and then the following day…night my driving partner and I got to have lunch on the Hudson River looking at New York City at nighttime and just talked scripture and just have some real deep conversations about walking in faith and being with God. And just really the big light of all that was here I am sitting frustrated you know really worried anxious nervous, and it just felt like God said to me, hey my plan is this for you and here’s some blessings to prove that. And on top of it here I am local in town-ish. And either way it’s like looking like if I get that phone call any minute now, I can make it home in time to welcome my first child into the world. And, hey, I just want to give glory to God for laying His blessings on me and give you guys some encouragement on that. Stick with it. Be faithful. We love you.
Hey this is Penny from southwest Missouri, and I just wanted to give a shout out to Ezekiel and I want him to know that I take care of some special needs guys and they are adults but they love listening to Daily Audio Bible Kids. And every day that Ezekiel says bye they just laugh, and they just love him so much. And, so, I just want you to know Ezekiel that you inspire people of all ages around the world, and I just think you are extra special. Love you. Bye. Bye.
Hi DAB family this is Laura in Colorado I’m calling with an urgent prayer request. I just found out a friend of mine, her 18-month-old son choked on some food yesterday and although she started CPR right away his heart ended up not beating for over 40 minutes. And he is now at Children’s Hospital on a ventilator. They’re not sure how much brain activity he has. So, I think today’s going to be a hard day for her. And she’s praying for healing, and we all pray for healing and ask Jesus that He would touch this little boy’s body and restore it in every way, that He would be glorified. The mom’s name is Jill, and her baby is Gosso. So, if you could please hold this mommy and her baby in your prayers I know she would appreciate it. Thanks. Bye.