1 Kings 2:1-3:2, Acts 5:1-42, Psalm 125:1-5, Proverbs 16:25
Today is the seventh day of June, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian, it’s wonderful to be here with you today. Today, and every day, as we gather each day to do what we do, take the next step forward, and that always leads us to where we left off, so that we can take the next step forward. And that leads us back into the book of book of First Kings, which we’re just getting moved into. King David is nearing the end of his life. There has been some drama about who will take his place when he dies, that has turned out to be Solomon. And so, let’s pick up the story First Kings chapter 2 verse 1 through 3 verse 2, today.
Commentary:
Okay, so, we’re just a couple days into First Kings and we’re still really at the beginning of the Book of Acts. So, let’s just kind of keep up with the territory that we are moving through. Today, as we were reading in First Kings, we said goodbye to somebody that we have, we have become friends with, we’ve gotten to know pretty well. We said goodbye to King David, he breathed his last and joined his ancestors in death, and we’ve been moving along with David for a long time. All the way since First Samuel, getting to know Saul and then getting to know David and watching David ascend to the throne and all of the drama in David’s family. The missteps that he made, and yet his heart, as big of mistakes as David did indeed make, his heart was after God, and he repented of his sin and was a man after God’s own heart. So, we haven’t heard the last of David, we read David’s writings in the Psalms. And David is a figure that is very prominent until this very day, in the Hebrew culture. And so, we will hear references to King David throughout our journey through the Bible, but as far as the narrative of David’s life and his reign as king, we said goodbye, David has died. And so, Solomon is now on the throne, and we were able to witness that some of the drama of the transfer of power between David and Solomon, did not go smoothly either. But Solomon is now firmly the king of Israel. And so, we will move now, as we move forward, into Solomon’s reign and get to know him.
And then as we’re reading to the Book of Acts, this emerging church era, everything that comes after Jesus ascends to the Father, we see that many are drawn to the message of reconciliation. The message of forgiveness of sins, the good news of Jesus coming. And so, daily people are coming, and daily they’re gathering in the temple complex near Solomon’s colonnade and people are finding healing and they’re also finding resistance. And so, the Sanhedrin has come and warned the Apostles not to use the name of Jesus. Like, not to teach in this person’s name. And they are arrested, and then they are freed, miraculously and they just go right back to doing what they were doing, which is teaching the people about Jesus. And so, they are confronted by the High Council and the High Council reveals itself, like you keep doing this and you keep trying to make us guilty of Jesus death, you try to make us look bad, basically. Stop teaching in this person’s name, you’re confusing everybody, you’re filling Jerusalem with this. Of course, the Apostles are like, look, we have to obey God. Like, that’s the thing you’re supposed to be teaching us. We have to obey God. And the High Council wants to do away with the Apostles, they just want to get on the bandwagon of stamping out the name of Jesus, so that it’s lost, so that its memory is forgotten. And there’s this man on the High Council, his name is Gamaliel, famous teacher, very well respected. In fact, later on the Apostle Paul, talks about a teacher named Gamaliel, back in Jerusalem. Gamaliel, speaks to the Council and essentially tells them wisdom. Which is like, you’re up in arms about all of this, but think of the different people that have risen up in our history and caused rebellion or caused unrest. They’ve all disappeared and if these men who are teaching about this dead, crucified Jesus, are making this up, doing this all on their own, then they’re gonna fade away too. But my brothers if this is of God, nobody will be able to stop it. We’ll end up fighting against God. And this gives us some clues to the discussions that were happening around this name of Jesus. This message of Jesus. Some were totally convinced that this was evil and needed to be stamped out, including this Saul, who becomes the Apostle Paul. Others had actually heard Jesus, and although they were afraid of the cultural implications, if they announced they were a follower, they still were. And others like Gamaliel, were saying like, look, these things, these things go. If God is in this, then we don’t want to find ourselves on the other side of God. If God is in this nothing can stop it. And we see the joy among the Apostles, among the early believers, just to be associated with the ridicule that Jesus underwent that they had all seen, just to be associated with that, was a badge of honor. And through all this, we see the Holy Spirit in surprising ways, protecting His children and moving the message forward. And this is how the faith, this is how the Gospel began to take root and spread throughout the land.
Prayer:
And Father, we are grateful because we stand here today reading of this time and we are the recipients of the repercussions, the good news has traveled forward, for these thousands of years and has landed in our lives and is transforming us. And it is Your Holy Spirit, the same spirit, the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead, that dwells in us and empowers us to navigate our time. So, Holy Spirit, come. We are watching our brothers and sisters rejoice, even as they face obstacles and that sounds like our lives. We face obstacles too, and we have the opportunity to invite You into all of it, rearranging the ways that we look at things, changing us to look outward beyond just what we are experiencing and to see Your work in this world and our place in it. So, come Holy Spirit, 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.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Good morning DAB family, my name is Tamra, I’m calling from Northern California. I’m calling with a blanket prayer today, over the DAB family. But especially I want to reach out to those that are heavy in their heart and their mind is racing and they’ve been carrying around a lot of things that need to be put at the feet of Jesus. And so, I want to pray for you all today. Father God, I just pray that You meet Your children at that point of need. You know exactly what it is that they need, on today. Whether it’s an emotional need, mental, physical, spiritual, or perhaps even financial, You know that need. And I pray, Father God, that You meet them there. And You will supply that need. I pray that whatever they ask for, Father God, in Your name, You will bring it to pass. Because You said Father, in Your word, You can do exceedingly, abundantly above whatever we ask for or think, according to the power that lies within us. So, may we all stand firm on Your word today, trusting You, believing You, to deliver on Your word. Be encouraged on today family. God hears your prayers, and He will answer. God bless.
Hi, DAB Family, it’s Liza calling from the East Coast. I also go by Philippians 4:6 on the Prayer Wall. Thank you so much for your continued prayers about my healing from cancer. I’ve had a kind of rough time the last month. But it’s just been amazing to see God just get me through every day. I would love some prayers about nutrition and God helping me continue to eat and not lose weight. It’s been a little bit harder recently to not feel nauseous by different foods and I’m just praying that God helps me find food that’s nutritious and that doesn’t make me feel nauseous and just to kind of get that excitement back about food. I also would love some prayers about joy. I’ve just been asking God to show me kind of some of those moments of joy in every day life. And it’s been pretty amazing. God has allowed me to go on some short trips with friends recently and I really enjoyed that. And it’s just been really, really cool to see that I can walk with a cane right now. Something that I wasn’t able to do a few months ago. I also planned a trip abroad for a week in a couple months. And I could just use your prayers that God protects me in advance of that trip. And if it’s meant to be, that He just continues to help me get stronger. My oncologist just okay’d the trip and is, was saying that it’s a great idea. So, I’m just gonna keep praying and if it’s something that’s meant to happen, it will. And I’m pretty excited about just having kind of like a break from cancer. And some adventures that don’t relate to going to the hospital or going to the emergency room. Thank you guys so much for all your prayers. In means a lot that you’re thinking of me and I’m thinking of all of you, as well.
Hi, my name is Sherrie Youngword. I’ve been a long-time listener here at Daily Audio Bible. 17 years I believe. And I think I’ve called in 4 times over those years. This morning, I was having a hard time getting out of bed and I was listening to the Daily Audio Bible and listening to the prayer requests. And kinda had a gentle tap on my shoulder, why don’t you call in and ask for prayer. So, that’s what I’m doing. I have been in full time ministry for over 25 years, traveling and stuff. And now, I’m doing mostly things from home. I say that cause I’ve had some health things, type 1 diabetes, that’s the insulin kind. But I’ve been dealing with something new for about three years. And it just seems to be getting worse. I’ve had tests, I was in the ER last week, had a CT scan, and anyway, nothing shows up. But the pain is getting worse. And so, I would just love to ask for prayer for this pain, for a miraculous healing or a correct diagnosis. And yeah, I would love that. And I know you’ll pray. And with a few seconds left, Lord, I just would like to pray for the Hardin Family, Lord. That You just continue to bless them, God. Make them mindful of the little schemes of the devil. We don’t fight against flesh and blood. I pray that You’d overcome and bless them in every way, Lord. I pray for Victorious Soldier, Blind Tony, all the listeners, Lord, right now, that You’d just bless them and give us all a fresh revelation of You Jesus. We love so much. I pray that in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
Good morning, Daily Audio Bible Family. This is Karen in Florida. Just calling in. I heard Phillip speaking today about his marriage. Just wanted to pray a little bit for that. So, Lord, I do thank You for Phillip and his, and his humbleness to call in and confess to us things about his own struggles in life and where he’s at, Lord. And I pray for his wife, right now, Lord God. I just lift her up to You and ask You to protect her mind, Lord, from the enemy. I pray that You would open up her eyes and ears to see and hear Your truth, that is all around her, Lord God. And that she would not be taken in by some sort of extremity that may want to bring confusion and division in her marriage, Lord God. I just pray for complete healing of this marriage. I pray for restoration that this marriage would be a mighty testimony for You, Lord. That many would come to know You through this, through the testimony of this husband and wife, and what You’re gonna do there, Lord God. Father, just help Phillip to be strong through this, never give up, but to keep his eyes on You. And I thank You for bringing brothers into his life, who can help him to, to get through what he’s going through. And I just really ask, Father, that You would bring good Christian women into his wife’s life, who could love on her like a sister. And just help her to know Your love and Your grace and all that You have for her family. And I pray these things in Your name, Lord Jesus. And thank You again. Amen.
So, today, we finished the Gospels. And I just wanna thank Brian for honing in on Jesus’ last words. When He says, what is that to you. And he’s talking about what happens to John’s life. What is that to you, as for you, follow me. I thought about the landscape of the church right now, and how we look at the culture. How we look at the church. Even how we look at our own families, our sons, our daughters. We tend to focus on the wrong thing and ask about their lives, right. What about their lives, what about the sin that they’re engaging in. And in actuality, the mirror of Jesus words says, what is that to you, as for you, follow me. And if we’re following Him, that means that we’re living out the Gospel. And that we are sharing the major theme of the Gospel, which is redemption. The redemption of Jesus, the redemption of our lives that all is redeemable, that every person is redeemable. And when we take off our focus and look at how people are living their lives, then that is not what Jesus wants for us. So, I just want to thank for that revelation. Thank Brian for honing in on that. And just give a word of advice to the church out there, to all of us believers. Let’s keep the focus on the redemption of Jesus, that all is redeemable in the major theme of the Gospel. And let’s not forget also, that we’re gonna suffer a little bit, we’re gonna suffer for the Gospel. And we gotta share that too. This is Delta Oscar Foxtrot, calling from the Central Texas front. Give a shout out to Blind Tony, our poet laureate. Just wanna say thank you for all you do, brother.