Jeremiah 16:16-18:23, 1 Thessalonians 4:1-5:3, Psalms 81:1-16, Proverbs 25:6-8
Today is the 11th day of the month of October welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it is great to be here with you today. I am thrilled. I was thrilled to walk in and find a place around the Global Campfire. Some days it’s like…it’s like the best place to be and I indeed look forward to being in this place each and every day as we gather and take the next step forward in the Scriptures. And that next step leads us, as we know, to the place where we left off yesterday, and that happens to be in the book of Jeremiah. We’re reading from the Christian Standard Bible this week. And today Jeremiah chapter 16 verse 16 through 18 verse 23.
Commentary:
Okay. So, in the book of Jeremiah today we have a really good opportunity, there are many opportunities in the Scriptures to see this, but we have a really good opportunity to see something and then kind of contrast it with some of the things that we say and think. And specifically, we’re talking about God’s plan. We all seem to think that God has a plan and usually when we say something like that it’s not because things are going so great. It’s because things are not going so great. And it’s a way to kind of bring comfort to each other by just encouraging each other - well, there’s a big master plan here and we don’t understand this, we don’t understand what’s going on right now, but God has a plan. And, so, we have to step back and go, does He have a plan like that though? Like, something terrible has happened to us. It’s part of God’s plan. We don’t understand it now, but we’ll trust in His plan. And it’s…it’s easy to just kind of go in that direction because then we don’t have to press in and pay attention to anything about anything that got us in the predicament that we’re in. It’s all God’s plan. And, so, we have the ultimate excuse. Whatever we navigate ourselves into, it’s not our fault. It’s God’s fault. He has a plan. We’re not culpable. This is all God’s plan. And it doesn’t just have to be in our lives, it can be in the world, any kind of event, anything that’s going on. This is my fault. I can’t do anything about this. God has a plan. The thing is…that means God is to blame for everything. And I don’t think it’s a stretch. I think we would all agree that God’s plan is redemption, that God’s plan is to put things back together and make all things new. And He wouldn’t need to have that plan if things weren’t broken, right? And they got broken somehow, right? And if we just come back to our own lives here instead of like making it cosmic and global, God’s plan is to put back together what is broken in us. His plan is redemption, and He wouldn’t need to have that plan if there were no brokenness. And how did that happen? How much of what we would consider to be our brokenness is the choices and decisions that we’ve made to not collaborate in the process of redemption? Instead, being our own guide, our own sovereign, and navigating wherever we want to go. And then so often blaming God for where we end up because He has a plan. Well…He has a plan, and so do we and we get to choose whether were on board with God’s plan or if we’re trying to get Him to be onboard with ours. And, so, that leads us to Jeremiah. And I quote from the book of Jeremiah. “At one moment”, this is the Lord speaking, “at one moment I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will uproot, tear down, and destroy it. However, if that nation, about which I have made the announcement turns from its evil I will relent concerning the disaster I had planned to do to it. At another time, I might announce concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it. However, if it does what is evil in my sight by not listening to Me, I will relent concerning the good I had said I would do to it.” So, what we see is there is a plan, and human beings have a role to play in that plan. What we choose actually matters - matters individually inside of ourselves and inside of our households, but it also matters as a species, the whole of humanity and God will adjust His plan accordingly. His plan will always be to put back together what is broken, to bring redemption, to make all things new. If that were God’s plan for you and you did everything you could to destroy yourself would it be God’s fault because He has a plan? And this shouldn’t be like so completely foreign as a concept to us because one of the things that we also often quote from the Scripture is the concept of sowing and reaping. You reap what you sow. That is certainly a spiritual concept in the Scriptures. It is also a very observable natural law. You don’t get green beans from corn seeds. You won’t be able to plant squash and get a palm tree. You reap what you sow. We can’t sow lust or greed or selfishness and then reap the fruit of the Spirit. We reap what we sow. And if we are reaping destruction that’s not because God has a plan and this is just His plan that we are destroyed. It’s actually in that moment that we can surrender and get on board with God’s plan of redemption so that we can begin moving in that direction so that we sow fruit of the spirit and reap it and sow it and reap it and sow it and reap it all the time. God’s plan isn’t an excuse for not paying attention to what we’re doing. And He is not to blame that we reap what we saw. God’s plan is good, its redemptive, it’s life bringing, it brings shalom. It restores order and makes things how they were supposed to be. That’s a good plan. And, so, often that is not anywhere near our plan. God’s plan is good. And, so, let on board with that plan.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit come into that as we consider how we sidestep so many things or navigated ourselves into the unknown and just situations that we don’t understand. And, so, we just blame it on you. It’s your plan. When so much of the time we’ve simply ended up where we were going and when we get there we don’t like it because it’s not bringing redemption or shalom. Forgive us. Forgive us for the things we have blamed on you that you had nothing to do with. Set us right. Lead us into the truth we pray in the mighty name of Jesus, we ask. 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.
Community Prayer and Praise:
Good morning DAB family this is Jimmy from the East Coast. I haven’t called in a little bit but I’m just a little behind. Calling on the 7th of October. Just hearing a lot of tragedies and pain in our community and I just I want to cover our whole community in prayer right now. I feel like we need comfort and I just know that the Lord is comfort. The comforter is with us. So, Father, I just thank You for my DAB community. I thank You for their hearts and I thank You for each and every one of them that tune in. Lord we love You and we want to get close to You and we…we know that You appreciate that and You…and it’s by Your power that we’re even coming. So, Father we…I just pray for comfort for those who have tragedies that have lost loved ones and…and…and children, have lost children, have lost loved ones, they’ve had injuries, they’ve had deaths, they’ve had…they’ve had members of their family that they’re praying for for salvation God. I just pray right now God for Your strength and Your comfort over them all in Jesus’ name. I love you family. I’m always praying behind the scenes. Thank you.
Hi, my name’s Anna. I stumbled across the dab in July I think and have been listening every day since and it’s been a huge blessing in my life. It’s my first time calling and I just wanna say thank you to everyone. And getting to pray with you guys has been such a blessing. And I’m just struggling right now. I have a really really hard ministry and I let a girl parole into my building where I live and own and it’s been so stressful and full of drama and her husband was using and hurting her. And, so, anyway if you could just pray because I think I have to get a lawyer now to evict her and I just really need strength and for God to provide and for her to leave because she hasn’t been paying me and she’s just been really mean. Thank you all. Bye.
Hi this is Lacey also known as Consider the Lilies. I fell last night and mercifully I’m not terribly hurt, just badly shaken up and more achy than usual, but I’m so down and sad and discouraged because Stacy has wet the rug so many times lately. And last night after my fall I was so shaken, and she wet the bedroom rug and I had to deal with that. I didn’t sleep. I just am worn out and I love her so much and she has sundowners now and she’s going blind and it’s just so hard. I really need your prayers please. I need uplift. I’m worn out. Thank you. God bless.
Hi DAB family this is Tina God’s Chosen calling from California. I’m so grateful to be a part of this community. Brian, Jill, China, and Ezekiel thank you for all you do for God’s Kingdom. May the mighty God continue to strengthen you all daily. Celeste I heard your prayer request for your niece AD. Lord almighty in the name of Jesus I pray for a supernatural healing on AD. According to Your promises of Isaiah 53 You are wounded for our transgression, bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of Your peace was upon us and by Your stripes AD’s healed. Father, I pray for AD’s parents not to give up because You are very able to restore and heal her body. I declare Isaiah 41:10 over the parents that fear not for I am with You. Do not be dismayed for I’m Your God. I will strengthen You. I will help You. I will uphold You with my victorious right hand of righteousness and justice. I also pray for Celeste for her salvation. I pray that You continue to refresh her and You baptize her with Your Holy Spirit. I pray that You would fill her Lord. Where she feels she’s lost I pray Holy Spirit that You fill her afresh. Father, I thank You that You’re the way maker, You’re the promise keeper, and You are the greatest healer above every situation. Waymaker miracle worker promise keeper light in the darkness my God that is who You are. You are Waymaker miracle worker promise keeper light in the darkness my God that is who You are.
Yeah, my name is Jokan from Seattle and I’m a worship leader at my church and my prayer request is that I…that I walk in humility, and I serve my church as a servant…as a humble servant. I struggle with lust, and I want to let it go. I want to die to my flesh. My prayer request is simple, and I just want to…I just want to serve God with grace and truth. And I love God and I ask God that God open my ears to have compassion for people and to open my heart to care and to love people and just to accept things as they come…
Hello, I pray for the renewing of my mind for fears to be cast forth for my mind and to be filled with God’s love and God’s peace because sometimes I feel really scared of my own mind. I pray for peace. Lord, please help me…