2 Chronicles 17:1-18:34, Romans 9:25-10:13, Psalm 20:1-9, Proverbs 20:2-3
Today is the 26th day of July, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and it is great to be here with you today, another day around the Global Campfire. Another step forward, as we continue this journey through the Scriptures, and our journey through the season of summer. At least here in the rolling hills of Tennessee. I realize that some of you are experiencing the season of winter, which is cool too. We move through the seasons, regardless of what season we’re in, we move through them together. So, let’s keep moving, our next step forward leads us back into the book of Second Chronicles, and today we will read chapters 17 and 18.
Commentary:
Alright, so, as we continue our journey through Paul’s letter to the Romans, a letter written in a Hebrew context, to Hebrew audience, we’ve seen that Paul’s being very careful. He’s being very forthright and very direct in what he’s saying, but he’s being very careful about what he’s saying. And we can see that he’s not attempting, as he has been accused of, of trying to basically throw Judaism, his religion, under the bus, in favor of a new religion, based upon Jesus Christ. Rather, he’s meticulously trying to explain that it’s the same story, that Jesus is a continuation of the same story that came through the children of Abraham. So that this chosen people, they were chosen for a reason, to reveal God to everyone in the world. And from Paul’s own mouth, from his own testimony, we know that he was a well-educated, deeply devoted Pharisee. Like, trying to live into this, completely devoting himself to God and into obey and adhere to the Mosaic law, so that he could become righteous before God, only to discover what everyone discovered. Becoming perfect on your own, like with no missteps at all, is an impossibility. Obeying these commands with no slip-ups perfectly for all times, so that one could declare themselves righteous before God, is an impossibility. And so, Paul says in his letter, and I quote, “the people of Israel who pursued the law as the dull way of righteousness, have not attained their goal. Why not? Because they pursued it, not by faith, but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone.” Right, that’s a way of saying like they’ve lost the plot. The law was supposed to be a continual reminder of what God had brought them out of and to lead them into complete dependence on God. Because the law reveals our sin, our inability to be righteous on our own. Instead, it had become a source of power to control. Paul says, I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the culmination of the law, so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. So, for Paul, Jesus reveals what it looks like, what a person who is righteous, what that looks like. And Jesus didn’t achieve this through adherence to a law. In fact, Jesus would get, was getting in trouble for that all the time, especially over the Sabbath day. Jesus modeled utter dependence, true intimacy with God and complete obedience, complete faith in God. So, for Paul, it’s faith and not works. It’s a gift, not something that can be earned, and trying to earn it is a feeble attempt at the impossible. Nobody can obey the law perfectly. But for Paul, that’s the point. The law was to lead us to the end of our own attempts to be righteous and make us face the fact that it cannot happen in our own strength. All have fallen short of the glory of God. And so, that leaves us only one thing, a leap of faith, trusting that God is merciful, believing in the one that he sent to restore us. So, we can look at all this and if we’re like, you know, theology buffs, then we like to get into the nuances of all this. We could also read this and go it’s just so tedious and so technical that I don’t really understand the implications. Well, here’s a practical implication, if you, if we have lived our lives under a dark cloud, believing fully in God’s udder displeasure in us and with us in our actions and words and thoughts, and we think somehow in the back of our mind we think subtly it’s just a matter of time. It’s just a matter of time until that mighty hammer falls on me. Then take heart because that’s not what’s happening. According to Paul, the faith that we put the belief in Jesus, this is the bridge and when we cross that bridge believe, it’s done. We have been made perfect in the sight of God. And so, the baggage and wounds from our upbringing, they can’t, they can’t stop that, our ethnicity can’t stop that. Our sin can’t stop that because as Paul said, anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord is invited. Let me just read this out of the Bible and put it back in Paul’s words, “if you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile, the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. If you’ve never crossed that bridge of faith and then this is your time, like this is the moment, believe because it’s the truth. God loves you, God is for you. It’s time to come home. And if you are a believer who just walks under the cloud of God’s displeasure, then this is your time. Walk in freedom. That’s not true. It’s not a reality. God loves you, God is for you. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Prayer:
And so, Father, that is such good news, we thank You for this good news. We believe in it. And it shifts things inside of us, every time we focus upon it. It’s transformational. You love us so much that the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is in us, You are within us. When we think about these spiritual realities and then we look at the way that we’re navigating our lives as if we don’t even know what’s going on, it's…it’s almost comical. The God of the universe is here with us, and we are so often unaware of it, or so often believing something different than that. Forgive us Lord, thank You for your patience. Thank You for Your love for us. Come, Holy Spirit, and continue to transform us, that we may continue to collaborate with You in the work of redeeming this world and revealing You. We pray this in the name of Jesus. 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:
Hi, DAB Family, it’s Liza calling from the East Coast. I also go by Philippians 4:6 on the Prayer Wall. I just wanted to thank you all so much for all your prayers. I just feel so special and loved. And just knowing that this community is keeping in your prayers and hasn’t forgotten about me, it just means so much. My cancer journey has been pretty tough. I had another kind of tough month. I have more fluid in my lungs and so, there’s now more of a danger of me, of my lungs collapsing potentially. So, I really appreciate your prayers over that. So far, I feel like I’ve defied the odds and I’ve been okay. And I also really appreciate your prayers over a bucket list trip. I just, I don’t’ know, I feel like God has always just given me a spirit of adventure. And I have so much joy in travel. And so, it’s been really hard to you know, not be able to be go a lot of new places. And so, I’m just praying that this trip is possible, and that God protects me before the trip it is very clear that my health is good. And I’m pretty optimistic so, I could just use your prayers about just clarity from God and also, just God providing for the type of adventure He knows I need. And then finally, my family has been really just toxic and hurtful recently. And just not respecting my boundaries. And so, if you could also just continue to pray that I just get a sense of relief from that. I just feel like the enemy has been using my family to really hurt me and I just, I don’t have a lot of energy. So, having to use that on drama instead of focusing on healing is just a lot. Anyways, thank you so much. I love you all. And I’ve been praying for all of you as well.
Good morning, Daily Audio Bible. I want to post a prayer for Derick. Derick called and asked for prayer for him. He said that his wife had left him and filed for divorce. Derick, I just want you to know that you’re not alone. God is with you. God knows where she is and what she’s doing. But during this time period, focus on Derick. Focus on Christ. And do all that you can to grow closer to Him. Because the closer you get to Him, the closer you get to healing, the closer you get to peace. Pray for her but chase God. Fill your life and your heart with His word, because there’s healing in there. There’s wisdom and understanding, there’s strength and there’s life. Part of you has died, replace it with the life of Christ. Heavenly Father, I thank you so much for loving us and understanding us and being with us. I ask that You be with Derick to give him the strength that he needs. Give him the courage that he needs to go forward. Lord, I ask that You would fill his life and his heart and his mind with Your word and Your presence. Let him know that he’s not alone. He’s not by himself. You are with him, always. That You would never leave him. Wrap him, wrap Your arms around him and give him comfort. And wherever his wife is, bring her back. Fight their battle against the enemy. And give them unity and restoration. In Jesus name. Amen.
I recently learned the lesson of the bamboo tree
And all the parallel analogies between that tree and me
That tree can grow so tall, so fast that it mystifies the mind
90 feet or more in the first five years, much faster than most trees you’ll find
But for the first four and half years, you’ll only see a sprout
just a tiny shoot above the ground is all that’ll be sticking out
But in the last 6 months of the 5th year, it grows 90 feet or more
Only the most loyal, faithful cultivators would stick it out to see what’s in store
But God is like that in our lives, He’s faithful and He’s true
And even when we show little or no growth, He’s still gives grace and mercy too
Most will say just let it die, it looks like it’s dead already
But He never loses hope for us, his hands are true and steady
Great is His faithfulness, great is His faithfulness,
Morning by morning, new mercies we see
God changes not His compassions they fail not
And as He has __ forever we’ll be
And when all our worldly hope is gone and no more friends are left around
That little sprout that we had left for dead becomes a tree high above the ground
With roots so deep that the fiercest of storms could never erode his grip
They bend, they sway, some branches may break but mostly the tree will just dip
While we see nothing above the ground, there’s continual growth below
Only God can make a tree and there’s a lot of things we just don’t know
But I also know that sometimes it looks like there’s little or no growth in me
So, I’m thankful for His loving hands and I’m sure in time all will see
That growth was present all the time and God was present too
Carefully nurturing day-by-day, so my roots would hold fast too
Don’t be so quick to judge that shoot that’s barely sticking out of the ground
God has the power to make it as strong as any tree
Hello, DAB family, this is Diana from Florida. And I want to wage war on the enemy right now. Because almost every call that I am hearing has to do with a marriage being disintegrated in some particular fashion. Dear Jesus, I cry out to you right now, oh Lord of hosts. The one who fights are battles on our behalf, Lord God. The one who is the redeemer and the restorer of all things, Jesus. I cry out to You for all of the marriages in our community, oh Lord God. For every single couple, oh Lord, that has been brought together by You, Holy Spirit of God. Father God, Your word says that what You have joined, no man can separate. And Lord God, I pray, in the name of Jesus, that not the enemy and not even themselves can separate each other, oh Lord oh God, in Jesus name. I pray that there would be a renewed conviction of the importance of marriage, oh Lord, oh God, and why it matters to remain together for life. I pray that the Scriptures that talk about the fact that when you try to divorce and move on, to another marriage or another person, that it is indeed committing adultery, oh Lord God. I pray that You would put the fear of God in all of the couples, oh Lord, to see about working through the marriage, about doing everything that it takes to get help, to get assistance. Whether that be counseling, accountability, support, all of the things but to wage war against the sins that so easily ensnare them and cause their egos to completely guide the decision making in their relationships. Oh Father God, I pray right now for humility. I pray that Your Holy Spirit would penetrate and do a transformation in these marriages. In Jesus name. Amen.