Month: September 2023

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9/25/2023 DAB Transcript pt3

Prayer:

Jesus, we cannot do this on our own. We don’t even know how to get through a day navigating correctly on our own, so it can be very frustrating. We can hear this as ways that we need to do better and we just need to be better, we just meet me be more disciplined, we just need to do better and that’s true. We just need to do better, but we can’t. Like we’re powerless, only You can transform us. But what Paul is telling us is that’s the goal, that’s what he’s trying to tell us, that You are trying to transform us and mature us into people who look like You. And so, Holy Spirit, come, may we surrender to it. Because we won’t be able to white knuckle it, we won’t be able to fight our way through, we have to surrender to You. Let go of things and people and allow You to guide us into maturity. So, Holy Spirit, come, help us grow. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hi, Daily Audio Bible, this is Jessica in California. I’m calling on the September 1st podcast, a mother that’s praying in desperation for her daughter Rebecca who attempted to take her own life, who’s been abused and bullied and sexually abused and she’s only 14 years old. I pray Lord that You come beside this family. There’s nothing worse than to see your children suffering. I’ve been going through some, watching my children go through some things and it’s just heart wrenching and it consumes your whole life. You can’t live unless you know your children are gonna be okay. And Lord, we know You’re an awesome God, You’re all powerful, You’re in charge, You’ve promised to use all things for our good, Lord. So, we just ask You Lord, to put a hedge of protection around Rebecca. Help her to find forgiveness, help her to forgive herself. Lord, I just pray that You just make her feel Your love, where she’s at Lord. That she can know how much You love her. How worthy she is, how beautiful she is. And that, Lord, You can heal her from the wounds she’s experienced in her life. I just thank You Lord that You have promised to teach our children, You promised in the Bible that that our children will be taught of the Lord. So, I just ask You to teach her what is right, what is the right way to feel, what is the right way to think. What is the right way to be, Lord. I just pray that when she comes out of that hospital, that she has found You and she has peace and understanding. And that she lets this go, Lord, and she looks up to You everyday of her life. I thank You Lord, that You’re working on this, and I just pray Lord, for the family to trust You. In Jesus mighty name. Amen.

Hi, this is Lisa, Daughter of the One and Only King. I went on a trip to Israel back in 2017. It was then that my tour guide introduced me to DAB. Since then, I’ve been part of the community through the years. I’ve listened to the prayer requests and lifted people up in prayer, that are in this community, and I’ve loved praying for others whom I don’t even know. But we are connected as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is the first time calling in for me. My prayer request is for the daughter of my Israel tour guide. She’s 14 weeks pregnant and is fighting for her life. During the entire pregnancy Britanny has been bleeding due to a torn uterus. Doctors have advised her to terminate the pregnancy but that is not an option for her. She believes that it is God’s choice, not hers. She has now had four blood transfusions. It appears that a miracle is all that will save Britanny and the baby’s life right now. I’m praying and asking each of you, to pray and have faith, like the woman that touched the hem of Jesus garment knowing, He would stop the bleeding. And He did, He healed her. The Lord is needed to intervene and stop the bleeding to save this wife and mother of their seven- and three-year-old and unborn child. Believing and trusting and grateful for all you prayer warriors who will pray.

This is for Lauriann from South Carolina who was rightfully grieving the loss of her precious, beloved husband Steven. Lauriann, you have a right to grieve and our God understands and knows your grief. Think about Jesus with Lazarus, he knew he was gonna raise him from the dead, but his heart still broke for his friends who grieved so much. Do not allow what’s called spiritual bypass to hit you as a result of being told that you shouldn’t be grieving, that you should be trusting more, that your faith isn’t enough. Our God gave us grief for a reason. Our God Himself grieves. It is right, it is human. We are body, mind and spirit. You’re caring for your mind and your body via your spirit. But what your body and your mind experience is very real. Trauma is real. I am so sorry for what you are going through. But Lauriann, don’t even let the enemy tell you that you are not allowed to grieve. You are and our Jesus is crying right alongside you. We go through the valley of the shadow of death, we don’t stay in it, we go through it. And you will come out the other side. But that day is just not today. And it probably won’t be tomorrow or next week, or next month. But the day will come when you will get through it, Lauriann. God loves you, He hasn’t forgotten you. And you are allowed to grieve. We are lifting up your broken heart before our Lord.

I come to you DAB today and seeking prayer for people that are dealing with opioid addictions. I just found out that an old friend of mine from college roommate, just recently passed away from fentanyl poisoning. How fentanyl has devastated our country and how our inability to deal with pain management has devastated our country. And Lord God, and the world we live in. How are we to find ways of dealing with this pain. You know, he was recently in a horrible motorcycle accident. Actually, that happened several years ago and since then, he dealt with you know, the opioid addiction because he had to deal with the pain management situation. Which later escalated and you know, he’d been to rehabilitation, he was never really able to break through the addiction throughout the years in dealing with his pain. And so, God, I ask you God to deal, help us to deal with pain and suffering, God. Deliver us Lord God, from understanding how opioid addiction and now fentanyl, Lord God, has devastated families throughout this country dear God. Allow there to be healing Lord God, in each family. Allow there to be healing in the minds and the hearts of people that are dealing with this addiction, Lord God. Free them, Lord God, I pray. And finally, help them to find the help that they need, Lord God. Allow us to find ways of dealing with pain that we deal with both physical, mental and spiritual that lead us towards us this chemical imbalance that trap us towards these drugs, Lord God, the opioids, the fentanyl’s, the OxyContin’s, the drugs and addictions that trap us, Lord God, from being able to deal with the pain and numb that pain, instead of allowing us to deal with it, Lord God. May Your Holy Spirit bless these families across this country as they deal with this addiction, the problems, Lord God. Be with them and guide them I pray. In Jesus name.

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9/25/2023 DAB Transcript pt2

And according to Paul, this is part of the process, and he says that this will go on until, and I quote, “until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the son of God to maturity, to the measure of the full stature or standard of Christ.” So, on the one hand, the fact that this could happen, that we could mature and grow into the stature or standard of Christ, that that could even happen is amazing. But what does it even mean to grow into the stature of Christ or the standard of Christ. The concept in the Greek language which this is written in, is to be made complete, to become a standard. Like this is the, we use this word still today, like that’s the gold standard. Like that’s the benchmark, to be a fully mature and respected person who, who exhibits the love of Christ and who have been and are being completed in Christ. He is the standard. And so, now that we can kind of grasp this, it should be something that we’re thinking of because it’s an intentional thing, growing up happens in different stages on many levels and it’s happening whether we’re paying attention or not. But when we are considering where our lives are going, they’re going wherever we’re going, and if were intentional about it, we end up where we wanted to go. And if we’re not intentional about it, we end up where we are. And ultimately, if we’re thinking spiritually about growing spiritually than what we’re talking about is our union or relationship with God. We want to be more aware of His presence. We want to be available to Him. We want to have our eyes and ears open to see and hear what He is doing, and to have an interpretation for what’s really going on in this crazy, chaotic, beautiful, messy story called life. And as we continue to come to our brothers and sisters, and as we continue to be in relationship with one another, and as we continue to be in this relationship with the rhythm of the Scriptures, and as we continue to cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit and understand His comfort and guidance, then we are growing. And Paul gives a picture of this and I quote, “we must no longer be children, tossed to and fro, and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming, but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” So, Paul is saying that this union that we want with God, the awareness of his presence, this is found in maturity and for the people of God who are, according to Paul, growing in every way more and more like Christ. So, people who are looking more and more like Jesus. So, on the one hand, we could say well I fall so far short of that I don’t even know where to start, or we could flip it over and go, wait a second, this is even possible. This is, like this is possible because that would be almost too good to be true, right. The whole trajectory of this thing is that we be, we end up looking like Jesus. Like when we grow up, we’re gonna be like Jesus. The answer according to Paul seems to be absolutely yes, that’s what’s going on here. So maybe, maybe it’s time to grow up. Maybe we take on the popular adage and embrace our destiny. This is what we were made for, to grow up and look like Jesus. Can you imagine just for, just a second, it’ll be hard to imagine but just imagine this, a world with two billion people who look like Jesus and act like Jesus and do what Jesus did, because there are 2 billion of us who claim this. Can you imagine? I mean we have the examples in the Gospels about what one Jesus did. If He is in us and among us and through us and in all of it, wow! He’s not the hold up, is He? We are, it’s time to grow up in Jesus.

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9/25/2023 DAB Transcript pt1

Isaiah 45:11-48:11, Ephesians 4:1-16, Psalm 68:19-35, Proverbs 24:3-4

Today is the 25th day of September, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is fantastic to gather again around the Global Campfire and take the next step forward on our journey, and our particular leg of the journey right now has us moving through the book of Isaiah, which is one of the longer books of the Bible. In fact, short of Psalms, which has 150 chapters, Isaiah’s the longest book with 66 chapters. We are well underway. Today we will read chapters 45 verse 11, through 48 verse 11.

Commentary:

Okay, so, when you were a kid, did you ever, did you ever wonder what your life would become, what you would be? Did you ever daydream about it or pretend, or like say when I grow up, I’m going to be a doctor. Or when I grow up, I’m gonna be a pastor or whatever. When I grow up, I’m gonna be this thing. Paul’s talking about what we get to grow up and become in this faith, in our reading today. And it’s pretty compelling because if we remember Paul is imprisoned as he writes these things, he’s pouring his heart out and pleading, even though he’s in chains, pleading for maturity, for us to grow up. And he starts by saying, with all humility and gentleness, with patients bearing with one another in love, making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. So, if that’s what we’re aiming toward and we look around the body, we would probably have to at least admit there’s a level of maturity that Paul is talking about that we don’t normally exhibit toward each other, even though we’ve grown up into human adults. We have quite a bit of growing up to do. And for Paul this wasn’t just like a solo adventure trying to figure it out or that spiritual maturity would just happen by chance. You actually have to desire this, and God gave gifts for this, according to Paul, those are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers and their role was and still is, to equip and build up the body, God’s people.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday September 25, 2023 (NIV)

Isaiah 45:11-48

11 This is what the Lord says,
the Holy One of Israel, who formed Israel.
Do you wish to question me concerning things to come?
Will you give me orders about my children
and about the work of my hands?
12 I myself made the earth,
and I created Adam[a] upon it.
With my hands I stretched out the heavens,
and I commanded all their army.

Cyrus as the Lord’s Servant

13 I myself will arouse him in righteousness,
and I will make all his roads level for him.
He himself will rebuild my city.
He will set my exiles free—
but not for a price and not for a gift,
says the Lord of Armies.
14 This is what the Lord says.
The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush
and those tall Sabeans will cross over to you and become yours.
They will walk behind you and approach you in chains.
They will bow down to you and plead with you and say,
“Yes, God is with you, and there is no other.
There is no other God.”

The Hidden God Is Revealed

15 Indeed, you are a God who hides himself.
You are the God of Israel, the Savior.
16 They will be ashamed.
All of them will also be disgraced.
Together they will walk in humiliation—those experts at crafting images.
17 Israel will be saved by the Lord with everlasting salvation.
You will not be ashamed or disgraced for all eternity.

18 This is what the Lord says.
He created the heavens,
He is God!
He formed the earth and made it.
Yes, he established it!
He did not create it to remain empty.[b]
He formed it to be inhabited.

I am the Lord, and there is no other.
19 I did not speak in secret,
or from someplace in a land of darkness.
I did not say to the descendants[c] of Jacob,
“Seek me in the midst of chaos.”[d]
I, the Lord, am speaking in righteousness.
I am declaring what is right.

20 Gather! Come! Draw near together,
you survivors from the nations.
They have no knowledge—
those who are lifting up their idols of wood
and praying to a god that cannot save.
21 Make an announcement and come close.
Let them consult together.
Who made this known ahead of time?
From time past who announced it?
Was it not I, the Lord?
There is no god except me,
a righteous God and Savior.
There is no one except me.
22 Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth,
because I am God,
and there is no other.
23 I have sworn by myself.
From my mouth a righteous word has gone out,
and it will not return unfulfilled.
Indeed, to me every knee will bow,
and every tongue will swear allegiance.
24 “Only in the Lord,” they will say of me,
“Only in the Lord is there true righteousness and strength.”
To him they will come and be ashamed—
all those who are angry at him.
25 In the Lord, all the descendants[e] of Israel will be justified.
They will be praised by him.[f]

Judgment Against the Idols of Babylon

46 

Bel bows down. Nebo stoops.
Babylon’s idols are a heavy load, carried by animals and cattle.
They are dead weight for the tired animals that carry them.
2 The animals stoop. They bow down together.
They are not able to save their burdensome load.
They go into captivity.

3 Listen to me, O house of Jacob,
all of you who are left from the house of Israel,
you who have been carried from birth,
you who have been lifted up from before you were born.
4 Until your old age, I am he,
and until you have gray hair, I myself will hold you up.
I myself made you, and I myself will lift you up.
I myself will hold you up, and I will rescue you.

5 Whom can you set beside me as if we were equal?
Whom can you compare to me as if we were alike?
6 People pour out gold from a purse
and weigh out silver on a scale.
They hire a smith,
and he makes the metal into a god.
They bow down to it. They even worship it.
7 They lift it up. They carry it on their shoulders.
They set it up in its place, but it just stands there.
It cannot move from its place.
Even when someone cries out to it, it does not answer.
It cannot save him from his distress.
8 Remember this, and stand firm.
You rebels, take this to heart!

9 Remember the former[g] things that took place long ago,
for I am God, and there is no other.
I am God, and there is no one like me.
10 I am the one who announces the final outcome already in the beginning.
I announce ahead of time things that have not yet been done.
I am the one who says, “My plan will stand,
and I will do everything I want to do.”
11 I am the one who calls a bird of prey from the east.
I call the man who fulfills my plan from a faraway land.
Yes, I have spoken. I will certainly bring it to pass.
I have formed a plan, and I will certainly carry it out.
12 Listen to me, you who have stubborn hearts,
you who are far from righteousness.
13 I will bring my righteousness near. It will not be far away.
I will bring my salvation near. It will not be delayed.
I will set up salvation in Zion,
and I will show my splendor to Israel.

Babylon’s Fall

47 

Go down and sit in the dust, you virgin daughter of Babylon.
Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of the Chaldeans,
for you will never again be called delicate and pampered.
2 Take millstones and grind meal.
Remove your veil. Strip off your skirt.
Expose your thighs. Wade through rivers.
3 Let your nakedness be exposed.
Let your shame be seen!
I will take vengeance.
I will not spare anyone.

4 Our Redeemer—the Lord of Armies is his name—is the Holy One of Israel.

5 Daughter of the Chaldeans, sit silently, and enter into the darkness,
for you will never again be called queen of the kingdoms.
6 I was angry with my people.
I defiled my heritage.
I gave them into your hand.
You showed them no mercy.
Even on the aged you made your yoke very heavy.
7 You said, “I will be a lady forever.”
You did not take these things to heart.
You did not remember how this will turn out.
8 But now hear this, you wanton lover of pleasure,
who sits securely,
who says in her heart,
“I am the one, and there is no one except me.
I will not live as a widow.
I will not experience the loss of children.”
9 But these two things will come upon you in an instant, in one day:
loss of children and widowhood.
They will come to you in full measure
in spite of your many magic spells,
in spite of the great power of your magic charms.

10 You felt secure in your wickedness.
You said, “No one sees me.”
Your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray.
So you said in your heart, “I am the one,
and there is not another one beside me.”
11 But disaster will come upon you.
You do not know when it will come.
Calamity will fall upon you.
You will not be able to atone for it.
A devastating blow that you did not expect will come
upon you suddenly.
12 Go ahead, stand secure in your magic charms
and in your many magic spells,
with which you have been laboring since your youth.
Perhaps you will be able to profit.
Perhaps you will be able to inspire terror.
13 You are worn out by all the advice you receive.
Let them stand up and save you—
those who make charts of the skies to practice astrology,
those who gaze at the stars to obtain omens,
those who predict what will happen to you on each new moon.
14 Look, they are nothing but stubble.
Fire consumes them.
They are not able to save themselves from the power of the flame.
There are no burning coals to warm their food.[h]
There is no firelight to sit in front of.
15 They can do nothing more for you—
those who have worn you out with all their dealings with you
from your youth.
Each one wanders in his own direction.
There is no one left to save you.

Judgment Is Coming on Stubborn Israel

48 

Hear this, you house of Jacob,
you who call yourselves by the name of Israel,
who came forth from the waters of Judah,
who swear by the name of the Lord
and invoke the God of Israel,
but not in true righteousness.
2 Yes, they name themselves after the Holy City,
and they lean on the God of Israel—
the Lord of Armies is his name.
3 Things that took place long ago,
I announced before they happened.
From my mouth the announcement went out.
I made these things known.
Then suddenly I acted, and they came about.
4 I did this because I know that you are stubborn.
Your neck is as stiff as iron,
and your forehead is as hard as bronze.
5 I declared this to you long ago.
Before it came about, I announced it to you,
to prevent you from saying, “My false god did it.
My wooden idol and my metal image commanded it.”
6 You heard all this.
Now look at the facts.
Won’t you admit that I am right?

From now on I will also announce new things to you,
hidden things that you never knew.
7 These things are being created right now, not long ago.
You have not heard of them before today,
so you cannot say, “Oh, I already knew that!”
8 No, you have never heard them.
You certainly never knew them.
Your ear was not open, even back then.
Yes, I knew that you would be extremely unfaithful.
You were called a rebel before you were born.

9 For my name’s sake, I am slow to express my anger.
So that I will be praised, I will hold it back from you.
As a result, you are not cut off.

10 You see, I refined you, but not in the same way silver is refined.
I tested you in the furnace of affliction.
11 For my own sake, for my own sake, I will act.
Why should my name be defiled?
My glory I will not give to another.

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 45:12 Or mankind
  2. Isaiah 45:18 The same Hebrew word translated empty describes the first stage of creation in Genesis 1.
  3. Isaiah 45:19 Literally the seed
  4. Isaiah 45:19 The same Hebrew translated chaos describes the first stage of creation in Genesis 1.
  5. Isaiah 45:25 Or all the seed
  6. Isaiah 45:25 Or be confident in him or shine in glory
  7. Isaiah 46:9 Or first
  8. Isaiah 47:14 The translation follows the standard Hebrew reading. The Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah and some ancient versions read to warm them up.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ephesians 4:1-16

Members of Christ’s Body

4 As a prisoner in the Lord, therefore, I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called. 2 Live with all humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another in love.

3 Make every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in the one hope of your calling. 5 There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all, and through all, and in us[a] all.

7 But to each one of us grace was given, according to the measure of the gift from Christ. 8 That is why it says, “When he ascended on high, he took captivity captive and gave gifts to his people.”[b] 9 Now what does it mean when it says “he ascended,” other than that he also had descended[c] to the lower parts, namely, the earth?[d] 10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things. 11 He himself gave the apostles, as well as the prophets, as well as the evangelists, as well as the pastors and teachers, 12 for the purpose of training the saints for the work of serving,[e] in order to build up the body of Christ. 13 This is to continue until we all reach unity in the faith and knowledge of the Son of God, resulting in a mature man with a stature reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 The goal is that we would no longer be little children, tossed by the waves and blown around by every wind of teaching, when people use tricks and invent clever ways to lead us astray. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we would in all things grow up into Christ, who is the head. 16 From him the whole body, being joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows in accordance with Christ’s activity when he measured out each individual part. He causes the growth of the body so that it builds itself up in love.

Footnotes:

  1. Ephesians 4:6 Some witnesses to the text omit us.
  2. Ephesians 4:8 Psalm 68:18
  3. Ephesians 4:9 Some witnesses to the text add first.
  4. Ephesians 4:9 Or to the lower parts of the earth
  5. Ephesians 4:12 Or ministry
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Psalm 68:19-35

God’s Daily Care

19 Blessed be the Lord.
Day by day he bears our burdens.
He is the God who saves us. Interlude

God’s Future Victories

20 Our God is a God who saves.
From God the Lord comes escape from death.
21 Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
the scalps of those who walk around in their guilt.
22 The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan.
I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
23 so that you may stomp your foot in blood.
The tongues of your dogs get their share of the enemies’ blood.”

God’s Procession Into the Temple

24 They see your processions, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
25 The singers lead the way.
After them come the musicians.
In the middle are virgins playing hand drums.
26 In the assemblies bless God, the Lord,
who is the Fountain of Israel.[a]
27 There is little Benjamin, leading them.
The officers of Judah are their noisy crowd.
There are the officers of Zebulun and the officers of Naphtali.

Prayer for Future Victory

28 Your God commands your strength.
Show strength, O God, as you have done for us before.

God Rules the Nations

29 Because of your temple at Jerusalem kings will bring tribute to you.
30 Threaten the beast among the reeds,
the herd of strong bulls among the calves (that is, the peoples),
until they submit with bars of silver.[b]
He scatters the peoples who delight in battles.
31 Envoys[c] will come from Egypt.
Cush[d] will run to stretch out its hands to God.
32 Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth. Interlude
Make music to the Lord,
33 to him who rides in the highest heavens,
in the ancient heavens.
Yes, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34 Proclaim God’s strength.
His majesty is over Israel,
and his power is in the skies.

Closing Praise

35 You are awesome, O God, from your sanctuary.
The God of Israel, he is the one
who gives power and strength to the people.
Blessed be God!

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 68:26 The grammar and syntax of the sentence are difficult.
  2. Psalm 68:30 Verse 30 is cryptic. It seems to describe a threatening nation as a beast, a frequent picture in Scripture. The translation attempts to be literal.
  3. Psalm 68:31 The meaning of this word is uncertain. It may refer to colored cloth or to metal vessels.
  4. Psalm 68:31 The territory south of Egypt
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 24:3-4

3 With wisdom a house is built.
With understanding it is established.
4 With knowledge its rooms are filled with every kind of riches,
both valuable and appealing.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday September 24, 2023 (NIV)

Isaiah 43:14-45:10

14 This is what the Lord says,
the Lord your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
For your sake I am taking action against Babylon,
and I will bring down all the Chaldeans as refugees,
in the ships over which they rejoiced.
15 I am the Lord, your Holy One,
Israel’s Creator, your King.
16 This is what the Lord says,
who makes a road through the sea
and a path through mighty waters,
17 who brings out the chariot and the horses,
the army and the strong warrior.
They will all lie down together.
They will not get up.
They are extinguished.
Like a wick they go out.

18 Do not remember the former[a] things.
Do not keep thinking about ancient things.
19 Watch, I am about to do a new thing.
Now it will spring up. Don’t you know about it?
Indeed I will make a road in the wilderness.
In the wasteland I will make rivers.
20 The wild animals, the jackals and ostriches, will honor me,
because I am providing water in the wilderness,
rivers in a parched wasteland,
water for my chosen people to drink.
21 This people that I formed for myself will declare my praise.

22 But you have not called on me, O Jacob.
Instead, you have become weary of me, O Israel.
23 You have not brought me sheep as your whole burnt offerings.
You did not glorify me with your sacrifices.
I did not make you serve me with a grain offering.
I did not make you weary with demands for incense.
24 You did not purchase fragrant cane for me with silver
or satisfy me with the fat from your sacrifices.
Instead you have made me serve because of your sins.
You have made me weary because of your guilt.
25 I, yes I, am he.
I blot out your rebellious deeds for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.
26 Refresh my memory.
Let us review your case together.
Present your defense so that you may be acquitted.
27 Your first father sinned,
and your mediators rebelled against me.
28 Therefore I am repudiating the officials of the sanctuary,
and I am giving Jacob over to complete destruction
and Israel to insults.[b]

The Lord Comforts His People

44 

But now listen, O Jacob my servant,
O Israel, whom I have chosen.
2 This is what the Lord, your Maker, says,
the Lord who formed you from the womb, who will help you.
Do not be afraid, my servant Jacob,

Jeshurun,[c] whom I have chosen,
3 because I will pour out water upon a thirsty land,
and streams of water upon dry ground.
I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring,
and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They will spring up like a tree in a grassy meadow,[d]
like willows beside flowing streams.

5 One person will say, “I belong to the Lord.”
Another will be called by the name of Jacob.
Another will write on his hand, “Belonging to the Lord,”
and he will take the name of Israel.

The Lord Confronts Idols

6 This is what the Lord, the King of Israel,
Israel’s Redeemer, the Lord of Armies, says.
I am the first, and I am the last.
Except for me, there is no god.
7 For who is like me? Let him declare it.
Let him recite in order for me the things that took place
since the time I established an ancient people.
Or let them declare what is yet to come,
and what is going to take place.

8 Do not tremble, and do not be frightened.
Did I not announce this to you,
and declare it already long ago?
You are my witnesses.
Is there any god except me?
There is no other Rock. I am not aware of any other.
9 All those who form an idol are good for nothing.
All the things which delight them provide no benefit.
As for their witnesses—they do not see.
They know nothing, so they will be ashamed.

10 Who is this who forms a god or casts a metal image that can provide no profit? 11 Look at him! All his associates will be ashamed. The craftsmen are merely men. Let them all gather themselves and take a stand. They will be terrified and ashamed together.

12 A blacksmith uses a cutting tool and makes an idol over hot coals. With hammers he shapes it. He makes it with his strong arm, but he becomes hungry and has no strength left. He does not drink water, and so he grows faint.

13 A woodworker stretches out a measuring line. He marks the lines with a stylus. He shapes the idol with chisels. He marks it with a compass. Then he carves it till it is shaped like a person, like a splendid man to inhabit a shrine.

14 He goes to cut down cedars for himself, or he chooses a holm tree[e] or an oak, and he lets it grow strong among the trees of a forest. Or he plants a cedar, and rain causes it to grow tall, 15 but it becomes fuel for a man to burn. He takes part of it to warm himself. He lights a fire to bake bread, and then from the rest he makes a god and worships it. He carves an idol and bows down to it. 16 Half of it he burns in a fire—over that half he eats meat. He roasts meat and is satisfied. So he is warm and says, “Ah! I am warm. I see the light of the fire.” 17 Then from what is left he makes a god to serve as his idol. He bows down to it. He worships it, and he prays to it, “Save me, because you are my god.”

18 They are ignorant. They do not understand, because their eyes are plastered shut,[f] and they cannot see. Their hearts are unable to gain insight. 19 A person does not take this to heart, so he has no knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I burn in the fire, and I bake bread on its coals. I roast meat, and I eat. Should I make the rest of it into a disgusting idol? Should I bow down to a piece of wood?” 20 He is like a sheep grazing on ashes. A deceived mind leads him astray. He will not save his life, nor will he say, “Isn’t what I am holding in my right hand a fraud?”

Israel Will Be Restored

21 Remember these things, O Jacob, because you are my servant, Israel. I am forming you to be my servant. You, Israel, you will never be forgotten by me.[g] 22 I am blowing away your rebellious deeds like a cloud, and your sins like a mist. Return to me, because I am redeeming you.

23 Shout for joy, you heavens, because of what the Lord is doing.
Make a joyful shout, you depths of the earth.
Burst forth with shouts of joy, you mountains,
you forest and every tree in it,
because the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
and in Israel he will display his beauty.

24 This is what the Lord, your Redeemer,
the Lord who formed you from the womb, says.
I am the Lord, the one who does all things,
who stretched out the heavens by myself,
who hammered out the earth.
(Who was with me then?)
25 I frustrate the signs of the deceivers
and make fools of the fortune tellers.[h]
I overturn the wisdom of the wise
and turn their knowledge into foolishness.

26 He is the one who fulfills the word of his servants,
who completes the plan announced by his messengers,
who says about Jerusalem, “It will be inhabited,”
and about the cities of Judah, “They will be rebuilt,
and I will raise up their ruins.”
27 He is the one who says to the deep ocean, “Dry up,”
the one who says, “I will dry up your rivers.”
28 He is the one who says about Cyrus, “He is my shepherd,
and he will complete everything I desire.”
He is the one who says about Jerusalem, “It will be rebuilt,”
and who says to the temple, “Your foundations will be laid.”

Cyrus the Lord’s Anointed Shepherd

45 

This is what the Lord says to his anointed one,
to Cyrus, whose right hand I have grasped,
to subdue nations before him
by stripping kings of their weapons,
to open doors before him
so that the gates cannot be shut.

2 I myself will go before you,
and I will level high mountains.[i]
I will break bronze doors into pieces,
and I will cut through iron bars.
3 I will give you treasures hidden in darkness
and riches concealed in secret places,
so that you will acknowledge that I am the Lord,
the one who calls you by name, the God of Israel.
4 For the sake of my servant Jacob,
for the sake of Israel my chosen one,
I will call you by your name.
I will give you an honored name, though you do not know me.
5 I am the Lord, and there is no other.
Except for me, there is no god.
I will equip you even though you do not know me,
6 so that people will know from the rising of the sun
to the place where it sets
that there is no one except me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other.
7 I am the one who forms light and creates darkness,
the one who makes peace and creates disaster.
I am the Lord, the one who does all these things.

Coming Blessings

8 Shower down, you heavens, from above,
and let the clouds rain down righteousness.
Let the earth open up,
so that salvation will produce fruit.
Let righteousness sprout up along with it.
I, the Lord, am creating this.

Arguing With the Lord

9 Woe to anyone who argues against the potter who formed him.
He is just a potsherd among the broken pieces of pottery on the ground.
Does clay say to its potter, “What are you making?
Your work looks like something made by a potter with no hands”?
10 Woe to anyone who says to his father, “What have you fathered?”
or to a woman, “What are you giving birth to?”

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 43:18 Or first
  2. Isaiah 43:28 Or condemnation
  3. Isaiah 44:2 Jeshurun is another name for Israel. It means the upright one.
  4. Isaiah 44:4 The translation follows the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah and some other manuscripts. The standard Hebrew text reads spring up between the grass.
  5. Isaiah 44:14 Also called an evergreen oak
  6. Isaiah 44:18 Or he has blinded their eyes
  7. Isaiah 44:21 Or you must not forget me
  8. Isaiah 44:25 Or omen readers
  9. Isaiah 45:2 The translation mountains follows the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah and the Greek Old Testament. The word in the standard Hebrew text occurs only here. It may mean rough places or walls.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ephesians 3

The Mystery of the Gospel Revealed

3 For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles—[a]

2 Surely you have heard of the administration of God’s grace given to me for you, 3 namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation (as I have already written briefly). 4 When you read this, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ. 5 This mystery was not made known to people in past generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to his holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and people who also share in the promise through the gospel.

7 I became a servant of this gospel, in keeping with the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. 8 To me—even though I am the very least of all the saints—was given this grace: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ 9 and to enlighten everyone about the administration of this mystery. In past ages this mystery remained hidden in God, who created all things. 10 He did this so that, through the church, the multifaceted wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. 11 This was done according to the eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12 In him we can freely approach God with confidence through faith in him. 13 So I ask you not to lose heart because of what I am suffering for you, because it is your glory.

Paul’s Prayer and Praise

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,[b] 15 from whom the entire family in heaven and on earth receives its name. 16 I pray that, according to the riches of his glory, he would strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner self, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 I pray that you would be able to comprehend, along with all the saints, how wide and long and high and deep his love is, 19 and that you would be able to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled to all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him, who is able, according to the power that is at work within us, to do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine, 21 to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.

Footnotes:

  1. Ephesians 3:1 Paul breaks off his thought here and resumes it in verse 14.
  2. Ephesians 3:14 A few witnesses to the text omit of our Lord Jesus Christ. (“Witnesses to the text” mentioned in footnotes may include Greek manuscripts, lectionaries, translations, and quotations in the church fathers.)
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Psalm 68:1-18

Psalm 68

The Procession of God

Heading
For the choir director. By David. A psalm. A song.

Judgment on God’s Enemies

1 May God arise. May his enemies scatter.
May those who hate him flee from his presence.
2 As smoke is blown away, may you blow them away.
As wax melts before the fire, may the wicked perish before God.

Blessing on God’s People

3 But the righteous rejoice and celebrate in the presence of God.
They will be happy and joyful.
4 Sing to God. Make music to his name.
Lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts.[a]
His name is the Lord.[b] Celebrate before him.

5 In his holy dwelling, God is a father for the fatherless
and a judge who defends widows.
6 God causes the lonely to dwell together as a household.
He leads out the prisoners with music,
but the rebellious dwell in a scorched land.

God Brings His People Into His Land

7 God, when you went out in front of your people,
when you marched through the wasteland, Interlude
8 the earth shook.
Yes, the heavens poured down rain,
before God, this one from Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
9 You dispersed plentiful showers, O God.
You strengthened your inheritance when it was weary.[c]
10 Your people settled in it.
In your goodness you provided for the oppressed, O God.

The Lord Defeats the Kings of the Land

11 The Lord provided the message.
The women who proclaimed it were a great army:[d]
12 “Kings with armies flee—they flee!”
The woman who stays home shares in the plunder.
13 Even while you lie among the campfires,
the wings of a dove are sheathed with silver,
and its feathers with yellow gold.[e]
14 When the Almighty scattered the kings there,
it snowed on Zalmon.

The Lord Makes His Dwelling in Zion

15 The mountain of Bashan is a mountain of God.
The mountain of Bashan is a mountain with many peaks.[f]
16 O mountains with many peaks, why do you look jealously
at the mountain God desires for his home?
Indeed, the Lord will dwell there forever.
17 The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
thousands upon thousands.
Among them the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.[g]
18 You ascended on high. You led captivity captive.
You received gifts among men,
so that even among the rebellious the Lord[h] God might dwell.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 68:4 A variant in the Targum is rides on the clouds.
  2. Psalm 68:4 The Hebrew uses the short form Yah rather than the full form of the divine name, Yahweh, which is translated Lord.
  3. Psalm 68:9 Or when they were weary. The land may be described as weary because of lack of rain, or it may be the people of the land who are weary.
  4. Psalm 68:11 This seems to refer to the custom of women singing to greet victors returning from battle, as they did at the Red Sea (Exodus 15:20) or when David returned from victory over Goliath (1 Samuel 18:6).
  5. Psalm 68:13 The meaning is cryptic. The verses seem to refer to the division of plunder. The translation is relatively literal.
  6. Psalm 68:15 The meaning of several words in these verses is uncertain.
  7. Psalm 68:17 The Hebrew reads the Lord [is] among them, Sinai, in holiness. The translation follows the parallel in Deuteronomy 33:2 and the sense of the psalm.
  8. Psalm 68:18 The Hebrew uses the short form Yah rather than Yahweh, the full form of the divine name.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 24:1-2

24 Do not envy evil people,
and do not wish to be with them,
2 because their hearts plan violence,
and their lips speak trouble.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Posted on

9/23/2023 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 41:17-43:13, Ephesians 2:1-22, Psalm 67:1-7, Proverbs 23:29-35

Today is the 23rd day of September, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I’m Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today as we, as we reached the conclusion of another one of our weeks together and continue our journey forward together. Our journey has been, has been leading us through the book of Isaiah and at this point we’re kind of about three quarters of the way through the book of Isaiah and so that’s where our next step will be coming from today. Isaiah chapter 41 verse 17 through 43 verse 13.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. Thank You for another week, we thank You that as these weeks go by and accumulate in the months and these months accumulate to seasons and years that You are faithful, You have been so patient and loyal to us, even in all of our shortcomings, our missteps our mistakes, the ways that we haven’t honored You, the ways that we haven’t brought honor to Your name through our lives. But rather heap garbage through the examples of some of our decisions. You have been patient. You’ve been kind, You’ve always hoped in what we could be in what You created us to be. And You’ve patiently walked with us. We are grateful and we express that. We are grateful to You, and we open our hearts to You and invite You to continue to transform us from within as we collaborate with You by surrender. We pray this in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hello, this is Sandy from Ontario. I haven’t called in in a while. I’ve been listening for years. I’ve shared this with many of my friends up here. I would like you to pray for Jennifer and her family. Jennifer is my friend; her daughter is 21. Three weeks ago, her daughter was helping a friend who just got out of jail. And when my friend Jennifer and the whole family was in the car, this person pulled out a gun and shot my friend, Jennifer’s daughter, who is 21, in the neck, in front of them. Blood went everywhere. And they took her to the hospital, they airlifted her and she’s still in a coma. It’s been three weeks. She has slightly opened her eyes, but they say there is not much hope for her. Jennifer and her family are slightly catholic, but they are not believers. It’s very hard for me to know what to say to her except to pray. So, would you all please pray. The girl’s name is Hope, she’s 21 and she’s still in the hospital, like I said, and she’s still not moving at all. Thank you very much.

Hi everyone, it’s Kristy in Kentucky. Brian, thank you for your commentary on the September 18th, we walk by faith and not by sight. We cannot merely just read the word of God we have to have a personal relationship with Him and trust Him. Father, we love You and we praise You Jesus. And it is so hard sometimes to walk by faith and not by sight. Because if we walk by sight, Lord, we would all be falling, desperately and failing. But Father, in this tapestry of life that You’ve given to us, where there is grief and yet joy, all mixed together in life. Lord, let us know that You are our hope and that we can trust in You in all things. Father, we rejoice with those that are rejoicing, Father. And we grieve with those that are grieving. Father, we’re walking alongside our brothers and sisters who are fighting diseases, Lord Jesus. Father, we thank You that You are our healer and that You’re our provider. We love you Father God, and we trust You. Strengthen us Jesus, strengthen us as we pray. In Your precious name. Amen. I wanted to give a shout out to Angel in Training in Lexington, Kentucky and tell you sister, we need to connect somehow. I’m also in Lexington and I would love, love to meet you. Alright everyone, I pray each of you are having a most blessed and lovely day.

Hello Daily Audio Bible Family. My name is Amanda and I’m; this is the first time I’m calling on this line. I come to you today to ask for prayer for a family in my daughter’s school. Their 17-year-old son was in a car wreck and passed away this weekend. His sister is in my daughter’s grade. My daughters’ friends with this family, both of them, the sister and the boy who passed. She’s spent time, weekends away with them hanging out. I ask that you please cover this family in prayer. I cannot imagine the heartbreak, the sadness, the anger, the frustration that this family is going through right now. I ask this community that we cover them, we cover them in prayer, and we ask the Lord to be with them as they take these, these steps in the coming days, in dealing with their tragic loss. And also, all the students in the school as they work through the emotions of losing a classmate. Thank you, I love you all and have a blessed day.

Hi family, is Beloved in Bakersfield. I’m just calling for a prayer request for a dear friend of mine, her name is Katlynn. Her sister, Courtney, just overdosed last night. They found benzos and, it was a fentanyl overdose, but they found benzos and marijuana in her system too. So, would you just come alongside with me as we pray. Heavenly Father, we praise You for Courtney’s life. We thank You for sparing her and keeping her here a little while longer. Father, we just ask that You would be drawing her near to You as she is in the hospital, that she would encounter You. That she would submit her life to You, that she would release whatever guilt, shame, sin, it’s just keeping her apart from You, Lord. Would You just meet her, may she see Your face and just humbly submit her life before You. May she see what path she’s on, it’s just gonna lead to death. And may she just accept Your grace and mercy and Your death on the cross for her and know that she is loved and cared for deeply and that her sin is paid for. May she have no more shame. May she walk in Your peace and may You just comfort her family through this time. Lord, we praise You, we thank you for just pursuing each one of us. You’re a good God and we trust You Lord.

Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday September 23, 2023 (NIV)

Isaiah 41:17-43:13

17 The afflicted and the poor seek water, but there is none.
Their tongues are parched with thirst.
I, the Lord, I myself will answer them.
I, the God of Israel, will not leave them.
18 I will open rivers on the barren heights.
In the middle of valleys there will be springs.
I will turn the wilderness into a pool of water,
and the dry land will pour out water.
19 In the wilderness I will place cedar, acacia, myrtle, and olive trees.
In the wasteland I will plant fir, maple, and pines together,
20 so that they may see and know,
and pay attention and perceive this all together,
that the hand of the Lord has done this,
and the Holy One of Israel has created it.

The Idols Are Placed on Trial

21 “Present your case,” says the Lord.
“Set forth your strongest points,” says the King of Jacob.
22 Let them present and declare to us what is going to occur.
What were the first things you predicted?
Tell us, so that we can ponder them,
so that we can know their outcome.
Or, announce to us the coming things.
23 Declare to us the things that are still coming in the distant future.
Then we will know that you are gods.
In fact, just do something, do anything—good or evil,
so that we may be overwhelmed and terrified together.
24 Look, you are less than nothing,
and your work is less than zero.
Anyone who chooses you is detestable.

The Man From the North

25 I have stirred up someone from the north,
and he is coming from the rising of the sun.
He will call upon my name.
He will walk over rulers as if they were mud,
the way a potter tramples clay.

26 Who declared this from the beginning so that we could know it,
and ahead of time so that we could say, “He is right”?
In fact, not one of them declares this.
In fact, not one of them makes this known.
In fact, no one hears you say anything.
27 I was first to announce to Zion, “Look, here they are,”
and I sent a herald of good news to Jerusalem.
28 When I looked, there was no one.
None of them could give advice,
even when I kept asking them to respond.
29 Look, all of them are useless.
Their works are nothing.
Their images are empty wind.

The First Servant Song[a]
The Servant Is Called to Bring Justice

42 

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight.
I am placing my Spirit on him.
He will announce a just verdict[b] for the nations.

2 He will not cry out.
He will not raise his voice.
He will not make his voice heard in the street.
3 A bent reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not snuff out.
He will faithfully bring forth a just verdict.
4 He will not burn out, and he will not be broken
until he establishes justice on the earth.
The coastlands will wait for his law.[c]
5 This is what the true God says,
the Lord who creates the heavens and stretches them out,
who spreads out the earth
and everything that it produces,
who gives breath to the people on it
and life to those who walk on it.
6 I am the Lord.
I have called you in righteousness.
I will hold on to your hand,
and I will guard you.
I will appoint you to be a covenant for the people,
to be a light for the nations,
7 to open the eyes of the blind,
to bring the prisoners out from the dungeon,
and to bring those who sit in darkness out of prison.

8 I am the Lord; that is my name.
I will not give my glory to another,
nor my praise to idols.
9 Look, the former things have taken place,
and I am declaring new things.
I am making them known to you before they spring forth.

Creation Rejoices

10 Sing to the Lord a new song.
Sing his praise from the end of the earth,
you people who go down to the sea
and everything that fills it,
you coastlands and those who inhabit them.
11 Let the wilderness and its towns lift up their voice,
along with the settlements where Kedar lives.
Let the inhabitants of Sela sing for joy.
Let them shout from the mountain tops.
12 Let them give glory to the Lord,
and let them declare his praise among the coastlands.
13 The Lord will set out like a hero.
Like a warrior, he will work himself into a frenzy.
He will shout. Yes, he will raise a war cry.
He will be heroic against his enemies.

The Lord Shouts

14 I have been silent for a long time.
I have kept still. I have restrained myself.
But now, like a woman giving birth, I will scream.
I will gasp and pant.
15 I will dry up mountains and hills.
I will make all their grass wither.
I will turn rivers into islands.
I will dry up pools.
16 I will lead the blind on a way they do not know.
Along paths they do not know I will direct them.
Ahead of them I will turn darkness into light
and rough places into level ground.
These are the things I will accomplish for them.
I will not abandon them.

17 They will be turned back and completely disgraced—
those who trust in an idol,
those who say to molten images, “You are our gods.”

But Israel Does Not Notice

18 You deaf ones, listen!
You blind ones, watch carefully so that you can see!
19 Who is as blind as my servant?
Who is as deaf as my messenger whom I sent?
Who is as blind as my associate,[d]
as blind as the servant of the Lord?
20 You, Israel, see many things, but you do not observe.
Israel opens his ears, but he does not hear.
21 Because of his own righteousness,
the Lord was pleased to make his law[e] great and glorious.
22 But this is a people plundered and looted.
All of them are trapped in holes,
and they are hidden in prisons.
They have become plunder, and there is no rescuer.
They have become loot and no one says, “Give it back!”
23 Who among you will turn his ear toward this?
Who will pay attention and listen for the future?
24 Who gave up Jacob to looters
and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we sinned?
But they were not willing to walk in his ways,
and they did not listen to his law.
25 So he poured out wrath on them,
his anger, and the violence of battle.
It set them on fire all around, but they did not understand.
It burned in them, but they did not take it to heart.

The Lord’s New Act of Salvation

43 

But now this is what the Lord says,
the Lord who created you, O Jacob,
the Lord who formed you, O Israel.
Do not be afraid, because I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name. You are mine.
2 When you cross through the waters, I will be with you.
When you cross the rivers, they will not sweep you away.
When you walk through fire, you will not be burned,
and the flame will not set you on fire.

3 Because I am the Lord your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior,
I gave Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
4 Because you are precious and honored in my eyes,
and I myself love you,
I will give people in exchange for you,
and peoples in exchange for your life.
5 Do not be afraid, because I am with you.
From the east I will bring your offspring,
and from the west I will gather you.
6 I will say to the north, “Give them back!”
and to the south, “Do not hold them.”
Bring my sons from far away
and my daughters from the end of the earth—
7 everyone who is called by my name,
everyone I created for my glory,
everyone I formed,
yes, everyone I have made.

8 Bring out the people who are blind, though they have eyes,
and the people who are deaf, though they have ears.
9 Let all the nations be gathered together,
and let peoples be assembled.
Who among them has declared this?
Who has made known to us the former things?
Let them produce their witnesses to show that they were right,
so that people can hear and say, “This is truth.”

10 You are my witnesses, declares the Lord.
You are my servant, whom I have chosen,
so that you may know me and believe in me,
so that you will understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
and after me there will not be another.
11 I, yes I, am the Lord,
and apart from me there is no savior.
12 I myself declared it.
I brought salvation, and I announced it.
It was not some strange god among you.
You are my witnesses, declares the Lord,
and I am God.
13 Indeed, from the first day, I am he.
There is no one who can deliver anyone from my hand.
I act, and who can reverse it?

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 42:1 The Lord has many servants. Among his servants in Isaiah are Israel and Cyrus. In this collection of songs his Servant par excellance is Jesus the Messiah.
  2. Isaiah 42:1 Or bring forth justice
  3. Isaiah 42:4 Or teaching. Law here refers to the whole Word of God.
  4. Isaiah 42:19 Or my dedicated one or the one at peace with me. The meaning of this word is uncertain.
  5. Isaiah 42:21 Or teaching
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ephesians 2

Made Alive in Christ by Grace

2 You were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked when you followed the ways of this present world. You were following the ruler of the domain of the air, the spirit now at work in the people who disobey.

3 Formerly, we all lived among them in the passions of our sinful flesh, as we carried out the desires of the sinful flesh and its thoughts. Like all the others, we were by nature objects of God’s wrath.

4 But God, because he is rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved! 6 He also raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. 7 He did this so that, in the coming ages, he might demonstrate the surpassing riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 Indeed, it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared in advance so that we would walk in them.

United in Christ

11 Therefore, remember that at one time, you Gentiles in the flesh—the ones who are called “uncircumcised” by those called “the circumcised” (which is performed physically by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separated from Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise. You were without hope and without God in the world.

13 But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace. He made the two groups one by destroying the wall of hostility that divided them 15 when he abolished the law of commandments and regulations in his flesh. He did this to create in himself one new person out of the two, in this way making peace. 16 And he did this to reconcile both to God in one body through the cross by putting the hostility to death on it.[a] 17 He also came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.[b]

19 So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household. 20 You have been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the Cornerstone. 21 In him the whole building is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Footnotes:

  1. Ephesians 2:16 Or putting the hostility to death in him
  2. Ephesians 2:18 Or in one spirit to the Father
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Psalm 67

Psalm 67

Your Kingdom Come

Heading
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song.

The Prayer

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us. Interlude
May his face shine on us—
2 so that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.
3 May the peoples praise you, O God.
May the peoples praise you—all of them.
4 May the countries be glad and sing for joy,
because you rule the peoples with fairness, Interlude
and you guide the countries of the earth.
5 May the peoples praise you, O God.
May the peoples praise you—all of them.
6 The earth will yield its harvest.
God, our God, will bless us.
7 God will bless us,
and all the ends of the earth will fear him.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 23:29-35

29 Who has trouble? Who has misery?
Who has quarrels? Who has complaints?
Who has wounds for no reason? Who has glazed eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,
those who go to search for mixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly.
32 Later it bites like a snake,
and it strikes like a venomous viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and your mind will say senseless things.
34 You will be like someone who tries to sleep in the middle of the sea,
like someone who tries to sleep at the top of a ship’s mast.
35 “They struck me, but I felt no pain.
They beat me, but I was not aware of it.
When will I wake up, so that I can try it again?”

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday September 22, 2023 (NIV)

Isaiah 39:1-41:16

Hezekiah Receives Envoys From Babylon

39 At that time, Merodak[a] Baladan, son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, because he had heard that Hezekiah had been sick and had recovered. 2 Hezekiah was happy to receive the envoys, and he showed them his palace treasury—the silver and the gold, the spices and the precious oil, his whole armory, and everything that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his palace or in all his domain that Hezekiah did not show them.

3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah and asked him, “What did those men say? Where did they come from?”

Hezekiah replied, “They have come from a faraway country, from Babylon.”

4 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”

Hezekiah said, “They have seen everything in my palace. There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Listen to the word of the Lord of Armies. 6 Listen carefully. The days are coming when whatever is in your house—everything that your fathers have stored up until today—will be carried away to Babylon. Not a thing will be left, says the Lord. 7 They will take away some of the sons who were born to you, your own children, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the Lord which you have spoken is good.” For Hezekiah also said, “There will be peace and stability during my days.”

Overview of the Lord’s Plan

40 Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.
2 Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call out to her.
Her warfare[b] really is over.
Her guilt is fully paid for.
Yes, she has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins.
3 A voice is calling out:
In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord.
In the wasteland make a level[c] highway for our God.
4 Every valley will be raised up,
and every mountain and hill will be made low.
The rugged ground will become level,
and the rough places will become a plain.
5 Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
and all flesh together will see it.
Yes, the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
6 A voice was saying, “Cry out!”
And I said, “What shall I cry out?”
All flesh is grass,
and all its beauty[d] is like a wildflower in the countryside.
7 Grass withers, flowers fade,
when the breath[e] of the Lord blows on them.
Yes, the people are grass.
8 Grass withers, flowers fade,
but the Word of our God endures forever.

9 Get up on a high mountain,
O Zion, you herald of good news.
Lift up your voice with strength,
O Jerusalem, you herald of good news.
Lift it up! Do not be afraid!
Say to the cities of Judah,
“Here is your God!”
10 Look, God the Lord will come with strength,
and his arm is ruling for him.
Look, his reward is with him.
The result of his work is in front of him.
11 Like a shepherd he will care for his flock.
With his arm he will gather the lambs.
He will lift them up on his lap.
He will gently lead the nursing mothers.

The Lord Is Beyond Compare

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand?
Who marked off the heavens with the width of his hand?
Who scooped up the dust of the earth with a measuring cup?
Who weighed the mountains with a balance
and the hills with scales?

13 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord?
Who can teach him anything or serve as his advisor?
14 Who was his advisor to give him insight?
Who taught him the path of justice?
Who taught him knowledge?
Who showed him the way to complete understanding?

15 Indeed, nations are like a drop in a bucket,
and they are treated like powder on a scale.
Look, he lifts up islands like dust!
16 Not even the forests of Lebanon could provide enough wood to burn,
and its animals are not enough for a whole burnt offering.
17 All the nations are nothing to him.
By him they are regarded as worthless,
as less than nothing.

18 So to whom will you compare God?
What image can you compare to him?
19 A craftsman casts the idol,
and a goldsmith overlays it with gold.
He forges silver chains for it.
20 He chooses mulberry wood as an offering,[f]
wood that will not rot.
He looks for a skillful craftsman
to erect an idol that will not fall over.

21 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?
Have you not understood it from the founding of the earth?
22 He is the one who sits above the circle of the earth.
To him its inhabitants are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
and he spreads them out like a tent to live in.
23 He is the one who reduces dignitaries to nothing.
He makes the judges of the world useless.
24 They have hardly been planted.
They have hardly been sown.
Their stem has hardly taken root in the earth.
Then he blows on them, and they dry up.
A driving storm carries them away like chaff.

25 To whom can you compare me as if we were equals?
says the Holy One.
26 Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
and see who created these things.
See who brings out their army in great number
and calls them all by name.
Because of his great strength and mighty power,
not one of them is missing.

27 Why do you speak, O Jacob?
O Israel, why do you say,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and justice for me is ignored by my God”?
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the eternal God.
He is the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired, and he will not become weary.
No one can find a limit to his understanding.
29 He is the one who gives strength to the weak,
and he increases the strength of those who lack power.
30 Young men grow tired and become weary.
Even strong men stumble and fall.
31 But those who wait for the Lord will receive new strength.
They will lift up their wings and soar like eagles.
They will run and not become weary.
They will walk and not become tired.

A Summons to Judgment

41 

Prepare to present your case to me,[g] you coastlands,
and let the peoples renew their strength.
Let them come near. Yes, let them say,
“We will gather together for the verdict.”

A Mystery Man Is Summoned From the East

2 Who has aroused this one from the east?
In righteousness he summons him to his feet.
He gives nations to him
and causes him to rule over kings.
He makes them like dust with his sword,
like wind-driven stubble with his bow.
3 He pursues them and passes by safely.
His feet do not touch the ground.[h]
4 Who accomplished this and carried it out
by summoning generations from the beginning?

The Lord Controls History

I, the Lord, am the first,
and at the very end I will still be the one.
5 The coastlands see and fear.
The ends of the earth tremble.
They draw near. They come.

The Idol Makers Appear

6 Each one assists his neighbor,
and to his brother he says, “Be strong.”
7 The craftsman strengthens the refiner.
The one who flattens with the hammer
strengthens the one who strikes the anvil.
Concerning the soldering he says, “It is good.”
He fastens it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

The Lord Is Your Defender

8 But you, O Israel, my servant,
O Jacob, whom I have chosen,
the offspring[i] of Abraham, whom I love,
9 whom I have snatched from the ends of the earth,
whom I have called from its corners—
I have said to you, “You are my servant.”
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
10 Do not fear, for I am with you.
Do not be overwhelmed,[j] for I am your God.
I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you.
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
11 Just watch, they will be ashamed and humiliated—
all those who are angry with you.
They will become nothing and perish—
those men who oppose you.
12 You will look for them, but you will not find them—
those men who contend against you.
They will become absolutely nothing, less than nothing—
those men who battle against you.
13 For I am the Lord your God.
I am the one who is holding on to your right hand.
I am the one who says to you, “Do not fear. I myself am helping you.”
14 Do not fear, you worm, Jacob, you few men of Israel.[k]
I myself am helping you, declares the Lord,
your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Look, I am making you into a sharp, new threshing sledge
with double-edged blades.
You will thresh mountains and crush them.
You will turn hills into chaff.
16 You will winnow them,
and a wind will lift them up.
A strong wind will scatter them.
But you, you will rejoice in the Lord.
In the Holy One of Israel you will be confident.

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 39:1 Merodak is probably a derogatory form of the name Marduk, the chief god of Babylon.
  2. Isaiah 40:2 Or hard labor
  3. Isaiah 40:3 Or straight
  4. Isaiah 40:6 The Hebrew literally reads mercy or faithfulness.
  5. Isaiah 40:7 The word also means wind and Spirit.
  6. Isaiah 40:20 Or the poor person chooses wood as an offering
  7. Isaiah 41:1 Or be silent before me. The Hebrew root used here does often mean be silent, but the context seems to require a preparation for legal action. There is a Hebrew homonym that means fabricate. This meaning fits the context. The Greek Old Testament and the parallelism also support this meaning.
  8. Isaiah 41:3 Literally he does not enter a path with his feet. This seems to mean that he moves so fast that his feet don’t touch the ground, or that he goes in new paths where he has never gone before, or that he quickly gains new territory.
  9. Isaiah 41:8 Literally the seed
  10. Isaiah 41:10 Or dismayed
  11. Isaiah 41:14 Or you insect, Israel. The Isaiah Dead Sea Scroll reads dead ones.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Ephesians 1

Greeting

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, who are believers in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

4 He did this when he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, so that we would be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ. He did this in accordance with the good purpose of his will, 6 and for the praise of his glorious grace, which he has graciously given us in the one he loves.

7 In him we also have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in keeping with the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished on us in all wisdom and insight. 9 He made known to us the mystery of his will in keeping with his good purpose, which he planned in Christ. 10 This was to be carried out when the time had fully come, in order to bring all things together in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth.

11 In him we have also obtained an inheritance, because we were predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in keeping with the purpose of his will. 12 He did this so that his glory would be praised as a result of us, who were the first to hope in Christ.

13 In him, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and in him, when you also believed, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit. 14 He is the down payment of our inheritance until the redemption of God’s own possession, so that his glory would be praised.

A Prayer for Knowledge and Strength

15 This is why, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 I never stop giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep praying that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, will give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation in knowing Christ fully. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, just how rich his glorious inheritance among the saints is, 19 and just how surpassingly great his power is for us who believe. 20 It is as great as the working of his mighty strength, which God worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule, authority, power, and dominion, and above every name that is given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 God also placed all things under his feet and made him head over everything for the church. 23 The church is his body, the fullness of him[b] who fills everything in every way.

Footnotes:

  1. Ephesians 1:17 Or spirit
  2. Ephesians 1:23 Or which makes him full
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Psalm 66

Psalm 66

How Awesome Are Your Deeds!

Heading
For the choir director. A song. A psalm.

Introduction: The Praise of the World

1 Shout praise to God, all the earth!
2 Make music to the glory of his name!
Make his praise glorious!
3 Say to God, “How awesome[a] are your deeds!”
Because of your great power your enemies must cower before you.
4 All the earth bows down to you.
They make music to you.
They make music to your name. Interlude

God’s Awesome Deeds Deliver His People

5 Come and see the works of God.
How awesome his deeds for all people!
6 He turned the sea into dry land.
They crossed through the river on foot.
Let us rejoice in him there.
7 He rules by his power forever.
His eyes watch the nations. Interlude
Do not let the rebellious rise up against him.
8 Bless our God, you peoples.
Let the sound of his praise be heard.
9 He is the one who has preserved our lives.
He did not let our feet slip.
10 Indeed, you tested us, God.
You refined us as silver is refined.
11 You led us into a trap.
You laid a burden on our backs.
12 You let men ride over our heads.
We went through fire and through water,
but you brought us out to a well-watered place.

His People’s Praise

13 I will come to your house with whole burnt offerings.
I will fulfill my vows to you,
14 which my lips uttered,
which my mouth spoke during my trouble.
15 I will offer fat animals to you as whole burnt offerings,
along with the smoke from rams. Interlude
I will offer cattle with goats.
16 Come, listen, all you who fear God,
and let me tell what he has done to save my life.
17 To him I cried out with my mouth.
High praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had contemplated evil in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened,
19 but God has surely listened.
He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.
20 Blessed be God, who has not turned aside my prayer
or turned aside his mercy from me!

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 66:3 Or astonishing
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 23:25-28

25 Your father and your mother will find joy,
and she who gave birth to you will celebrate.

26 My son, give me your heart,
and let your eyes be pleased with my ways,
27 because a prostitute is a deep pit,
and an immoral woman is a narrow well.
28 She is also like a robber waiting to ambush someone,
and she multiplies unfaithful men among the people.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

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9/21/2023 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 37:1-38:22, Galatians 6:1-18, Psalm 65:1-13, Proverbs 23:24

Today is the 21st day of September, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today, wonderful to be here every day, wonderful that this place exists for us to be. So glad that we can be together as we take another step forward and our next step forward leads us to the book of Isaiah. And today we will read chapters 37 and 38.

Commentary:

Okay, so, we concluded the letter to the Galatians today and in Paul’s last chapter of this letter, his final exhortations he gives us a pretty straightforward look at the postures of life that we’re supposed to be cultivating. These aren’t really like Paul’s Christian life packs for the first century because the things that he suggests that we’re supposed to live into, the things that we’re supposed to be doing. And so, if we’re supposed to be doing them, we can outwardly just force ourselves to try to do these things. Or we can understand that the Gospel is from within, the transformation happens from within and the without, the exterior follows that and to cultivate these things are like shortcuts to an easier life. They’re the posture of life itself as a believer and follower of Jesus. So, let’s just consider the things that Paul is laying out. First, carry one another’s burdens, in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone considers himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Okay so, like that’s something to consider, do we fulfill the law of Christ by carrying one another’s burdens? Do we have a desire for…for helping each other carry our loads so that we are not all being crushed, so that we all have this together? Or are we looking out for ourselves thinking that we’re something that we’re not, just deceiving ourselves. There’s a lot to be considered and that’s the first one. Next, let each person examine his own work and then he can take pride in himself alone, and not compare himself with someone else. For each person will have to carry his own load. Right, right, keep your eyes on your own life. Examine your own self first. Or how about this one, let the one who is taught the word share all his good things with the teacher. Don’t be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a person sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. Right, so take care of the ones who help you grow, who become your teachers. Don't…don’t withhold from them. Don’t be deceived. That they’re showing you the way and understand the way, because if you’re gonna sew from the exterior, from the flesh, if you’re gonna navigate yourself from that perspective, then you will reap what you sow, which will be that your flesh will ultimately destroy you. If you sew from within to the Spirit, eternal life is what wells up from within and overflows. Or this one, let us not get tired of doing good, for we will reap at the proper time if we don’t give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith. I guess on the one hand, we can imagine a world like that and that’s a different world than the world that we live in, and that is the invitation of the Gospel. There’s a better way. There’s a better way for people to be and that is to take care of each other, knowing that we’re in this together. So, this is great advice that has to be cultivated from within where the change actually happens, and the desires actually grow to take care of each other and then that overflows into our lives. It changes us dramatically. If we look at what Paul is describing, we would say that would be a different world. That’s the world we’re invited to build in collaboration with God. We are being transformed, according to the Scriptures, into new creations, and that’s gonna change the way we look at things altogether. And Paul’s giving us a glimpse of what that looks like, as we close the letter to the Galatians.

Prayer:

So, Holy Spirit, these glimpses, like they set something off in us. They ignite something in us like yeah, that…that’s where we’re going, that’s where this is supposed to be all headed. And sometimes we get lost in the fact that it won’t head in that direction, if we don’t go in that direction. And we all have to go in that direction for the world to find transformation, but it does kind of boil down to us. Are we gonna walk the path? Are we gonna live from the heart? Are we going to cultivate from within a relationship with You that spills out and affects those around us. Paul’s given us a glimpse of some of what that looks like, help us live into it from within. We ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hi, this is Loriann from South Carolina. And I just wanna thank all of you, my family, my fellow DAB family and church for praying for me the way that you have since I’ve lost Steven. And there’s so many days that I do good. But then there are so many days that I just want my husband back. And right now, I feel like, and I don’t know if this is true, but I feel like God just wants me to belong to Him. And He be my husband. And He teach me His ways. And He teaches me how to love and how to live and to minister for Him. And all I wanna do is ask you guys to please pray for me because this grief is killing me. And I know that’s from Satan, but I loved my husband Steven, with all my heart. And I miss him so much. Please pray for me, my sisters and brothers and I know you will because you always do. And thank you Brian Hardin and family. I love you so much. You mean everything to me. I hope you guys have a good night and I love you.

You always keep your word, and your word is true. Thank you for all you have done for us in the past. We thank you for the things we’re, You are doing now for us and we thank You for all that You will do for us in the future. We want to please You with our faith. Give us the strength to have faith and pray, even when we don’t feel like we can believe. For we know that nothing is impossible with You. Help us to remember that our faith relies on believing in Your son, Jesus Christ and Your word. Not in what we see or feel. Help us to resist the devil through Your word. Help us to resist his lies of doubt, fear, negative thoughts and temptations. We want all things to be possible for us. We want blessings to be unlocked for us by faith. And we want to have testimonies in our lives to share with others to build their faith. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for praying along with me my brothers and sisters. I love each and every one of you. Have a good night.

Hi everyone, it’s Lisa the Encourager. I wanted to call, like many others, and just tell Liza I’m praying for you and how much I really admire your courage with everything that you’re going through. So, God laid on my heart the Bible verse James 4: 14 and it talks about what, how are lives are so short. And it is a good reminder that all of us have an opportunity to really look at what we’re gonna do with our time, no matter where we are in life. And the Bible verse says, you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life, it is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. And I just think that Liza has given us a beautiful picture of her walking through her vapor and doing it so beautifully, with so much courage and so much humbleness. And it helps us all see how life; we don’t know when our lives will end. So, this is the challenge to me. What am I going to do with my vapor? What am I gonna do with my time. And I just think, I just wanna thank you Liza for helping us all look at you and be so encouraged by your love and your grace and your humbleness and your courage. And we’re all so happy to pray for you as you’re going through your illness and we’re praying that you are healed. But it also challenges us to look at our own lives and see what we can do in this time that we are staring at and what we can do to please God.

Hi, my name’s Clint, calling for my son, Vincent Blankenship. He, he’s had a mental break and we need prayer. He’s in the clinic right now getting help. And I’m just so thankful people are praying with me here in my community and thankful for this Daily Audio Bible. Thanks to Brian for reading the Bible for all these years for us. My son’s doing better but we believe that God can heal and we’re asking for complete healing of his mind. Thanks so much for your prayers. I’m just so thankful to know the Lord and know His family. Thanks guys.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Thursday September 21, 2023 (NIV)

Isaiah 37-38

Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah’s Advice

37 When King Hezekiah heard the report, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and went into the House of the Lord. 2 He sent Eliakim son of Hilkiah, who was the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, who were wearing sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.

3 They told him what Hezekiah said: “This is a day of distress, rebuke, and humiliation, because children are about to be born, but there is no strength left to give birth. 4 Perhaps the Lord your God will take note of the words of this herald, who was sent by his lord, the king of Assyria, in defiance of the living God, and perhaps the Lord your God will rebuke him for what he has heard. So please, pray for the small group that is left here.”

5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 he said to them, “Tell your master that this is what the Lord says. Do not be afraid of what you have heard. The lackeys[a] of the king of Assyria have blasphemed against me. 7 Watch! I will put a spirit in him, so that when he hears certain news, he will return to his own land. There I will cause him to be killed.”

8 Then the herald went back. He heard that the king of Assyria had already left Lachish and was fighting against Libnah.

9 When Sennacherib heard that Tirhakah king of Cush[b] had set out to fight against him, he sent messengers to Hezekiah 10 to say this to Hezekiah king of Judah:

Do not let the God you trust deceive you, saying that Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria. 11 Listen, you yourself have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other lands, destroying them completely. And you expect to be saved? 12 Did the gods of the nations whom my fathers destroyed save them—Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden, who were in Tel Assar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the kings of the cities of Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?

14 Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it. He went up to the House of the Lord and placed it there before the Lord. 15 Then he prayed to the Lord.

16 O Lord of Armies, God of Israel, seated above the cherubim, you alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. 17 Turn your ear toward me, Lord, and hear. Open your eyes, Lord, and see. Listen to all of the words of Sennacherib, who has defied the living God. 18 It is true, Lord, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these lands and their territory. 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods at all, but the work of human hands, wood and stone. So they have destroyed them. 20 Now, Lord our God, save us from his power, and let all the kingdoms of the earth know that you are the Lord, and you alone.

The Lord Replies to Hezekiah Through Isaiah

21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah.

The Lord, the God of Israel, says that because you have prayed to him about Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 the Lord sends you this reply about him.

The virgin daughter of Zion[c] despises you and jeers at you.
The daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head at you in scorn.
23 Who is it whom you have mocked and blasphemed?
Against whom have you raised your voice
and lifted up your proud eyes?
It is against the Holy One of Israel.
24 You have used your servants to mock the Lord.
You have boasted, “I have driven my many chariots
up the high mountains, to the most remote parts of Lebanon.
I cut down its tallest cedars and its best fir trees.
I have reached its highest peak, its most lush forest.
25 I dug wells and drank their water,
and I dried up all the rivers of Egypt with the soles of my feet.”

26 Have you not heard?
I did all this long ago.
I formed all this in ancient times.
Now I caused it all to take place.
I enabled you to destroy fortified cities,
reducing them to heaps of ruins.
27 Their inhabitants were powerless.
Overwhelmed and ashamed,
they were like plants in the field,
like fresh green grass, like grass on a housetop,
and like a field before it has grown.[d]
28 But I know when you stand and when you sit,[e]
when you go out and when you come in,
and how you rage wildly against me.
29 Because you rage against me,
and because your arrogance has reached my ears,
I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your mouth,
and I will make you go back by the same way that you came.

30 This will be a sign for you:

This year you will eat what grows by itself.
Next year you will eat what springs up from that.
But in the third year, you will sow crops and harvest them.
You will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
31 The surviving remnant of the house of Judah
will again put down roots below and bear fruit above.
32 For from Jerusalem a remnant will go out,
and survivors from Mount Zion.
The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.

33 This is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria:

He will not enter this city.
He will not shoot an arrow there.
He will not advance against it with a shield,
and he will not build a siege ramp against it.
34 He will go back by the same route that he came,
and he will not enter this city, declares the Lord.
35 For I will defend this city to save it,
for my own sake,
and for the sake of my servant David.

The Destruction of Sennacherib

36 Then an angel of the Lord went and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. Early in the morning, there they were—all the dead bodies. 37 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and left. He returned to Nineveh and remained there. 38 One day when Sennacherib was worshipping in the house of his god Nisrok, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer struck him down with the sword. They fled to the land of Ararat,[f] and his son Esarhaddon became king in his place.

Hezekiah’s Illness and Recovery

38 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was dying. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the Lord says. Give instructions to your household, because you are going to die. You will not survive.”

2 So Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord. 3 He said, “Please remember, Lord, how I have walked before you in truth and with my whole heart. I have done what is good in your eyes.” Hezekiah wept bitterly.

4 Then the word of the Lord came to Isaiah.

5 Go back and tell Hezekiah that this is what the Lord, the God of your father David, says:

I have heard your prayer and I have seen your tears. Now then, I will add fifteen years to your life. 6 I will rescue you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city.

7 This will be the sign from the Lord to you. The Lord will do what he has promised. 8 Watch! I will make the shadow of the setting sun that has moved down the stairway of Ahaz move back, ten steps higher on the staircase.

Then the sun’s shadow moved backwards, ten steps higher on the stairway that it had just descended.

9 A poem written by Hezekiah king of Judah, after his illness and recovery.[g]

10 I thought that, only halfway through my life,
I was entering into the gates of death,[h]
deprived of the remaining years of my life.
11 I thought, I will not see the Lord—
the Lord[i] in the land of the living.
I will no longer see anyone among the inhabitants of the world.[j]
12 My dwelling place is being pulled down.
It is carried away from me like a shepherd’s tent.
I have rolled up my life like a weaver.
He is cutting me off from the loom.
From day until night, you make an end of me.[k]
13 I pondered this until the morning.
He will break all my bones like a lion!
From day until night, you make an end of me.
14 I chirp weakly like a swift or a swallow.
I mourn like a dove.
My eyes are tired from looking upward.
O Lord, I am oppressed.
Be my security.

15 What can I say?
He has spoken to me, and he is the one to act.
I will march slowly throughout all my years,
because my heart is bitter.[l]
16 Lord, people live because you give them life.
My spirit lives through this.[m]
Restore me, and let me live.[n]
17 The bitter things I experienced were for my benefit.
Your love has preserved my life from the pit of destruction,
for you have thrown all my sins behind your back.
18 The grave[o] cannot thank you.
Death cannot praise you.
Those who go down into the pit cannot trust your faithfulness.
19 The living one, the living one, he praises you, as I do today.
A father tells his children about your faithfulness.
20 The Lord will save me,
so we will sing songs with stringed instruments
all the days of our lives in the House of the Lord.

21 Isaiah had said, “Have them take a cake of figs, apply it as a poultice on the inflamed spot, and he will recover.”

22 Hezekiah had also asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the House of the Lord?”

Footnotes:

  1. Isaiah 37:6 Or junior officers, an insulting term to use for such high-ranking officers
  2. Isaiah 37:9 Cush is the ancient name for the territory south of the First Cataract of the Nile River. Called Ethiopia in Roman times, it included most of present-day Sudan and some of present-day Ethiopia. The Cushite or Nubian kings were the pharaohs of Egypt at this time.
  3. Isaiah 37:22 Daughter of Zion is a personification of Jerusalem and the people of Judah.
  4. Isaiah 37:27 The translation follows the main Hebrew reading of this verse. The parallel text in 2 Kings 19:26 reads scorched before it becomes a full-grown stalk. The Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah reads scorched by the east wind.
  5. Isaiah 37:28 The translation follows the Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah. The Hebrew does not have when you stand and.
  6. Isaiah 37:38 The region of present-day Armenia
  7. Isaiah 38:9 This poem is not included in 2 Kings.
  8. Isaiah 38:10 Hebrew sheol
  9. Isaiah 38:11 The Hebrew text here has two occurrences of Yah, the short form of the divine name. Some Hebrew manuscripts have a single occurrence of Yahweh.
  10. Isaiah 38:11 Hebrew variant this passing world
  11. Isaiah 38:12 Or day, and then night! So quickly you have made an end of me. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  12. Isaiah 38:15 The translation follows the Hebrew. The Dead Sea Scroll of Isaiah and the Syriac read What can I say? I will say to him that he is the one to act. I cannot sleep, because my heart is bitter.
  13. Isaiah 38:16 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain.
  14. Isaiah 38:16 Or you restore me, and you let me live!
  15. Isaiah 38:18 Hebrew sheol
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Galatians 6

Bear One Another’s Burdens

6 Brothers, if a person is caught in some trespass, you who are spiritual should restore such a person in a spirit of humility, carefully watching yourself so that you are not also tempted. 2 Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way fulfill[a] the law of Christ. 3 For if someone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Let each person test his own work, and then he will take pride in regard to himself and not his neighbor. 5 For each man will bear his own burden.

6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with his teacher.

7 Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. To be sure, whatever a man sows, he will also reap. 8 Indeed, the one who sows for his own sinful flesh will reap destruction from the sinful flesh. But the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit. 9 Let us not become weary of doing good, because at the appointed time we will reap, if we do not give up.[b] 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who belong to the household of faith.

What Matters: A New Creation, Not Circumcision

11 See what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 Those who want to look good in the flesh are the ones who are trying to compel you to be circumcised. Their only reason is so that they are not persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 As a matter of fact, those who are circumcised do not keep the law themselves. But they want to have you circumcised, so that they can boast about your flesh.

14 But far be it from me to boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. 15 In fact, in Christ Jesus[c] circumcision or uncircumcision does not matter. What matters is being a new creation. 16 Peace and mercy on those who follow this rule, namely, on the Israel of God.

17 Finally, let no one cause me any trouble, because I bear the marks of the Lord Jesus on my body.

18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen.

Footnotes:

  1. Galatians 6:2 Some witnesses to the text read in this way you will fulfill.
  2. Galatians 6:9 Or reap without ever getting tired, or reap without ceasing
  3. Galatians 6:15 Some witnesses to the text omit in Christ Jesus.
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Psalm 65

Psalm 65

A Thanksgiving Psalm: You Crown the Year With Goodness

Heading
For the choir director. A psalm by David. A song.

Introduction

1 Praise waits for you,[a] O God, in Zion.
To you vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who hear prayer, to you all mortals[b] will come.

Spiritual Blessings

3 The record of my guilt overpowered me.
You atone for our rebellious acts.
4 How blessed is the one you choose and bring near!
He will dwell in your courtyards.
We will be satisfied by the goodness of your house,
by the holiness of your temple.

Blessings on the Nations

5 In righteousness you answer us with awesome deeds,
O God who saves us.
He is trusted by all the farthest ends of the earth and the sea.
6 He establishes the mountains by his power.
He has wrapped himself with strength.
7 He stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the peoples.

8 Those living at the ends of the earth fear your signs.
From sunrise to sunset you let them shout for joy.

Blessings of the Harvest

9 You visit the earth and water it.
You make it very rich.
God’s stream is filled with water.
You provide grain for them, just as you planned.
10 You drench the land’s furrows. You flatten its plowed ground.
You soften it with showers. You bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your goodness.
The tracks made by your carts overflow with riches.[c]
12 The pastures of the wilderness drip.
The hills are wrapped with joy.
13 The meadows are clothed with flocks.
The valleys are dressed with grain.
They shout for joy. Yes! They sing.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 65:1 Or praise is fitting for you or silence is before you
  2. Psalm 65:2 Literally flesh
  3. Psalm 65:11 Literally drip fatness
Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 23:24

24 The father of a righteous child will celebrate greatly.
One who fathers a wise son will find joy in him.

Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV)

The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.