Isaiah 12:1-14:32, 2 Corinthians 13:1-14, Psalms 57:1-11, Proverbs 23:9-11
Today is the 13th day of the month of September welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I’m Brian it is wonderful to be around the Global Campfire with you today as we gather each and every day and take the next step forward through the Scriptures and through life together. It’s wonderful to have this little oasis in life together as we move forward. And, so, let’s dive in. We are working our way in the Old Testament through the book of the prophet Isaiah. And I guess we are in Isaiah enough to kinda understand that we’re not reading a narrative story per se, like we’re not reading a sequential order of things. Isaiah is a book of prophecy, and these are the prophecies and when one gets done we go to another one. But it’s not like there’s a bridge there so that we have a clear understanding of then this happened, then this happened. Then this happened. Many biblical scholars believe Isaiah was…is a collection that spans centuries. Others don’t. Some biblical scholars see more than one voice in the book of Isaiah. Others don’t. So, it’s easy enough for us to get really confused about what we’re even…like what he’s aiming at, what he’s talking about. However, we have already read first and second Samuel, first and second Kings, first and second Chronicles and that is our backdrop because the prophets that we will read were either prophesying to the northern kingdom of Israel before Assyria took them into It captivity or prophesying to the southern kingdom of Judah before the Babylonian Empire took them into captivity. And, so, whereas with the books of Kings we get this sort of linear look, sometimes we get a long glimpse at a king, sometimes we just get a paragraph but we get this linear look at the kings of Israel and Judah and all of their great victories and the things that they accomplished and all of the things that they accomplished on behalf and in service of the Lord, or all of their sin. Like it’s all there. The prophets are prophesying during this time. And when God speaks through prophet then we get a birds eye view of what’s going on in the culture and how things have eroded from the way that they were meant to be. And Isaiah is no different. In fact, as we began the book of Isaiah we were told that Isaiah prophesied during the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah and these are kings of Judah. And, so, we can go back to Kings and Chronicles and read of the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. That would be the backdrop. Isaiah is speaking on behalf of God during those times, and speaking to what was going on. And, so, with that we take the next step forward and dive back into the book of Isaiah. Today, chapters 12, 13, and 14.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in today’s reading we concluded the letter known as second Corinthians, and one of the things that we talked about along the way because it’s nearly impossible to miss is that Paul spent a lot of his time in this letter defending himself. The church in Corinth was getting visitors, visitors who were sharing in the gospel of Jesus but differently with different customs and rules than Paul had laid down and people were being swayed back and forth and back and forth when Paul wanted to be very very clear that all the churches that he planted operate a certain specific way, which made people who were rebelling against that idea question Paul, whether or not he was really even able to speak for Jesus and did he really get this stuff from Jesus and does he really have any authority, and what about the apostles that were actually with Jesus, people that get called super-apostles in this letter. And, so, Paul gets put in a very uncomfortable position where he has to defend himself and he does this through quote unquote boasting. And we heard quite a bit of boasting in Paul’s own defense, which is usually not a good thing. Like, it’s typically not an accepted thing where we’re sitting watching somebody puff themselves up. It has a tinge of arrogance to it and it sort of leads us to dismiss the person. But Paul is in a position where he doesn’t feel like he has a choice because his passion isn’t to preserve his own reputation. His passion is…are those people that he feels are falling into deception. So, he’s gotta boast make a fool out of himself to get them to take a good hard look at what they’re doing then he’s willing to do that. And, so, we saw plenty of that boasting in this letter. Like, are they Hebrews? I’m a Hebrew. Have they been persecuted? I’ve been persecuted more. Do they work hard? I work harder than all of them. But Paul whose been put in this position to defend himself, to defend his pedigree ends up determining that he can boast. He can say these things to give himself credibility in the people’s eyes. He can play the game that’s being played in other words. But if he’s going to be really really honest, the only thing that he can boast about would be his own weakness and the strength of Jesus inside of him. And that is…that is compelling to consider. Jesus dealt with these same things. He’s continually in the Gospels being asked, who gave you the authority to do this, etc. etc. And, so, as we leave second Corinthians behind and move forward tomorrow let’s just think about the scenario. Like what if we were put in a position where our faith was in question, and we had to quote unquote boast or play the game to stand up, to say the things that we believe in an honest and compelling way. Because the people of Paul’s dealing with here, they’re religious people who believe in Jesus. They just want a sign. They want proof. And Jesus Himself faced the same thing. And, so, taking an opportunity to examine ourselves, yet again, is always a good thing. In fact, I’m not just suggesting that we should examine ourselves. Paul does in this letter. And I quote, “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you, unless of course you fail the test.” If we are forced into a position where we have to stand up and boast, do we realize as Paul did, that this is a game, that if the truth were to be told we are nothing, the only thing that gives us strength and standing is Jesus? And if we actually feel that way in our hearts is that evident in our speech? Is that evident in our lives? Has Jesus so radically changed the way that we live that it can be observed? What would change in our own hearts posture and what would change in the environment around us if we took the humble posture, if we boasted in our weakness? In other words, that any strength that is in us would bring glory to God because everything that we have and all that we can achieve is a gift from God, who gives us our strength. These kinds of postures, we can feel as if we’ve heard this kind of stuff…be humble…all this kind of stuff so often that we know it. But this posture that’s being discussed here is a life changing one because we realize that whatever we’re trying to conjure up to make ourselves bigger is false anyway and any glory that we try to attract to ourselves does not compare to the glory of the Lord spilling out of us. Yeah, these kind of postures if they can get in our heart and become our lifestyle will change the way we live our lives. And if all of us could get on board with the same thing the world would change, which is the idea, which is what we are collaborating with God in, making all things new again, putting it all back together again. Let’s give it some thought today.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit come into this. We are in a culture that certainly invites us to try everything we possibly can to stand out on our own and bring glory to ourselves based upon our gifting’s or talents or money or achievements. We place value on one another. We label one another. We do all kinds of things to categorize ourselves when we are nothing without You and You bring actual meaning and validity to our lives. And if there is anything we can boast in, that is it. Everything else is fleeting. May we realize this posture being spoken of and modeled here and may we change, may we repent from the way we’ve been in the past and embrace the fact that we are nothing without You. Come Holy Spirit into this. Lead us on the paths…pathways that we need to go as we think about this. Lead us to observe ourselves and the way that we react to things and the way that we puff ourselves up. Help us to begin to observe these things and to recognize that they’re not leading us anywhere good and lead us into all truth we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.
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Community Prayer and Praise:
Hey guys this is Isaac from Saskatchewan Canada. I need prayer guys. I need prayer for guidance and wisdom, you know, just to be able to hear God’s voice and just know it’s Him, just to be still and listen. And, so, I also am dealing with a lot of burn out lately, you know, just with things going on, just everything, you know. I can’t even complete daily tasks without…even the simplest of them without feeling burnt out and just tired and just overwhelmed. I just ask for prayer to that, you know, I would just…I don’t know. you know. You know what, let me ask this. Whatever you feel that God is calling you to pray for over me, if you feel God saying that, let it be done. Because you know what, I can ask for what I want but not my will be done but His alone. I’ll put it that way. Yeah, so also just my walk with God, you know. I’ll be honest, for the first time in a while I opened my Bible last week and things went good, you know, it went good, I was happy and then I started last night thinking, you know, this is good I got this but I don’t God’s got this. So, I just ask that whatever He’s calling you to pray for over me let it be done because once again not my will be done but His alone. So, thank you guys. Have a great day. This is Isaac from Saskatchewan Canada. Have a great night.
Hello Daily Audio Bible family. Calling in to pray today for Bob. He is the 93-year-old father of one of our listeners. And I don’t remember his name because I was focused on Bob and he was I believe a pastor for 51 years and married to the same woman for 65 years, something like that but it was tremendous numbers there. But now, you know, he’s outlived all of his friends and family and he’s very…very much alone on this earth except the fact is he knows it that he’s not alone, that the Lord said that He would never leave us nor forsake us. So, Father I just pray today for Bob, and I pray that he would just have a reviving in his soul of Your presence Lord, that he would just sense Your presence on a level that he’s never experienced before. You know, I went through this over the last several years with my mother. She passed away last year at the age of, she was almost 96 and she was truly the matriarch of our family probably the most godly woman that I’ve ever known and I miss her so much. But you know what she wouldn’t come back here to see her baby boy for nothing in the world because she’s in the presence of Jesus. God bless everyone out there in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Good morning, Patrick from Alberta Canada this is Adrian his Mighty Tortoise in Maryland. I hear you about your dad. I remember my husband, my late husband’s parents when they got to be at that point, at that age and they had no one left, everyone else had moved on from this life. And, so, it is…it’s a very lonely time. Dearest Papa please take care of Bob, pastor Bob. Please heal his heart. He’s mourning his wife’s death and please give him…give him some friends some new friends. They might be younger and that’s OK or they might be his own age that’s OK too. Please help him be OK Lord and give him purpose. Some somebody special, some special friends in his life to help keep him going. We appreciate it so much Lord, in Jesus’ name. And thank you for your outrageous faithfulness, Lord. You’re good. You’re gonna take care of this man God. Thank you so much. Again, Patrick this is your friend Adrian from Maryland.
Hello DAB good morning. I’d like to pray for Bob who’s the dad of Patrick from Alberta Canada. I sympathize with your story. My dad who passed away at 93, I had him come live with me when he was 90 because…almost by force…because he wanted to stay in his own house, and we could not relocate to the state where he was in. Nevertheless, I know as people get older into their 90s many times everyone they know have passed away and it’s very hard and I…I saw it at my dad too that mother, father, brother sister, cousins, friends, everyone was gone and he himself wanted to be gone too. But your dad who is a pastor, I particularly have a heart for him, and I just pray now Father that You will touch Bob Lord Father that Lord as a pastor of all those years I thank him for his faithfulness to You God and I pray that he would have a visitation for You Lord. I also pray oh God that people around him will circle him Lord and…and visit him and if possible, maybe he can live with his son, or his son can live with him. Father, I pray oh God that he would find peace and rest in You Lord Father, that the Holy Spirit will be his comforter. That’s what You called him Lord. And I just pray oh God for the spirit of heaviness and loneliness to be lifted in the name of Jesus, supernatural deliverance today oh God, that he will find peace in You and a joy. You said the joy of the Lord is our strength. So, I pray that for him today in Jesus’ name. I thank You for what You’re doing Lord and we look forward to a testimony in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Hello DAB community this is Paul. This message is for all of you suffering from debilitating anxiety or panic disorders. For a couple of months, I had a return of symptoms along with heart dysrhythmias. I had been under a lot of stress with little sleep. The panic returned after decades and I was afraid of losing my job as a firefighter and a paramedic in a big department, big city. Every hour is a battle is a testing of your faith and the enemy has laid his snares. I tell you do not give up. As soon as you wake praise on the Lord Jesus Christ your Redeemer, your salvation the one who took your place. Stay in the psalms, stay in scripture, and pray. Read Psalm 91 is an anchor point. If you don’t feel Him near, if you don’t feel Him at all still pray. Lay it out for Him. He will never leave or forsake you. In Him you will have peace. He will fight the battle for you but give it to Him. When your faith is weak give Him the battle. Do not…He did not die to ignore you. I faced my symptoms and am back at work with constant prayer dialogue with Him and thanksgiving. I will pray for all of you. With faith peace will come. Christ will show you the way. Thank you.
Daily Audio Bible family today I’m just asking for prayers for my two children and myself. My children are dealing with stuff with their dad, my ex-husband. He messed up pretty bad and now they can’t see them…or see him for the time being and I don’t know when they’re going to get to see him and I’m just trying to do right by them, I’m trying to be strong for them, I’m trying to lift them up. And in the meantime, I got offered a better job where I can make more money to help, you know, care for them but that would mean I would have to switch their school. And I’m already going through so much with them, and I don’t want to uproot everything that they know and I’m just scared and I’m just trying…I’m trying to find the right thing to do for them. I want to give them a better life. If you could just, please pray for us at this time. Thank you.