Habakkuk 1:1-3:19, Revelations 9:1-21, Psalm 137:1-9, Proverbs 30:10
Today is the 18th day of December, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian, it’s great to be here with you as we continue forward. A week from today is Christmas day and two weeks from today is the 1st of January, when we will start on a brand-new journey. So, we have 14 more steps to go, right, before we reach the conclusion of our journey for this year. And our journey has led us to another one of the minor prophets as we reach the conclusion of the Old Testament.
Introduction to the Book of Habakkuk:
Today, we will read in its entirety the eighth of the minor prophets known as Habakkuk. And we know just about nothing about Habakkuk and his life, maybe less than any other biblical writer, we have fewer clues. There is a Hebrew tradition that speaks of Habakkuk as being the son of the Shunammite woman who was resurrected through Elisha. And we read about that in Second Kings. There is another tradition that’s in the Apocrypha that depicts a Habakkuk ministering to David while he’s in the lions den. These are traditions and that last one especially, scholars find to be maybe legendary. But many verses in Habakkuk are very well known, may be the most, the most well-known is “but the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God” and that’s often repeated in the writings of the Apostle Paul and in the book of Hebrews it’s a core doctrine of the Christian faith. The righteous will live by faith. Maybe some clues that we have about Habakkuk is in the poetic or lyrical writing, especially there’s, the book closes with hymn, and some have imagined Habakkuk may have been a temple musician. But what may make this poignant for us is that it’s unique. It’s a conversation between the prophet and God that moves from his doubt, and we share these things and moves toward worship. He’s just saying out loud what he’s seeing, and he wants to understand why God would allow pretty much every evil that there could be imagined in the mind of mankind, almost like he wasn’t paying attention. God responds that He’s paying attention. He’s going to use Babylon to punish His people for their sins, which left Habakkuk confused and then God tells Habakkuk that even though this is gonna happen, the Babylonians would be a punishment to His people, that they would also be punished. They would be completely destroyed in the end. And that reveals God is not indifferent. God is not unaware. He is true and just, which led Habakkuk to a Psalm of worship. And so, we begin and read completely the book of Habakkuk.
Prayer:
Father, we thank You for Your word, we appreciate the swiftness that we are moving now, as we are moving through these minor prophets in the book of Habakkuk today. You are sovereign over all the earth, there is no power but You. There is no hope outside of You and we are Your children. We put our hope in You, our trust in You, our loyalty and faithfulness to You. We give our hearts to You, we love You, we give our hearts in worship to You, we adore You. Come, Holy Spirit as we continue this journey, lead us to what we need to hear, show us what we need to see for the journey ahead, as You illuminate our path through the power of Your word. We pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
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And that’s it for today, I’m Brian, I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Prayer and Encouragements:
Hi, this is Tammy calling from the Central Coast of California. I’m on my way to work and I am crying tears of joy for Eyes of a Dove. I’m just, was so excited to hear about your field trip with Jesus and just the good result of your healing. And because of that, I’m calling to ask for healing for myself. I have some ribs that have been out for a little over a week now. I’ve been to the chiropractor but it’s a little bit painful and I’m a massage therapist so, I’m headed back to work today, like I said. And I’m just hoping to be able to minister to the people that come in and see me today, that I could just do God’s work, being Jesus’ hands and feet and loving on His people. So, if you could just join me in praying for healing, I would greatly appreciate it. Blind Tony, I’m praying for you and your family and your loss and that God would just be with you and look after you in this time of distress. And that, that He will show Himself faithful, because He is. I love you community and they’re so many people that I have written down that I’m praying for. Know you are in my thoughts and in my prayers daily. God bless you.
Good morning, DAB family. I just wanna pray for Delta Alpha Foxtrot and Blind Tony with regard to their prayer request. Dear Lord, I lift up my brothers Delta Alpha Foxtrot, upon the loss of his dad. I pray Father, that You would keep them in the hollow of Your hands, that You would comfort those who are mourning, oh God. I thank You that they were able to surround their dad and to sing Your praises as he went on home. I pray Father, that You would provide for every need that they have during this time and that You would just hold them close to Your heart and comfort them in this time. In Jesus name, I lift up Blind Tony and his family, Lord. I pray Father, and thank You that they weren’t harmed in the fire. I thank You that You were able to, they were able to keep the flames at bay until the fire fighters came. But I just pray Father, that You would restore to them, everything that was lost. I thank You for saving their lives. And I pray Father God, that You would just again, provide everything that they would need. Keep them safe as they rebuild or find new housing. I just again, thank You for who they are and their love for You and their encouragement to this community. Be with them now in this time of need. And bless our family, our DAB family. I thank You so much for this family of believers that gather around the campfire each and every day and for, and for Brian who is able to feed us the word from on high. I pray Your blessing on all of us. In Jesus name. Amen.
Hi this message is for Greg, Greg in Illinois. Listening to Daily Audio Bible the other day and I like listening to the prayer requests and I heard you and your call touched my heart because I can relate to what you’re going through Greg. The hardships of a hard marriage, the anger in your heart, the feeling of just two strangers being in the same room, it’s a lonely, it’s a hard heavy feeling, Greg. But I do want to say that love conquers all. And I was in your boat as well, struggling with anger and about to lose a marriage and I knew I was ruining it. It was, it was, it was something that I was harboring that I needed to let go. And it wasn’t until I surrendered to Christ and to love that I totally changed. And Greg, I do hope and pray for you and your wife that you would find reconciliation. That both of you would surrender to each other. And maybe not if it’s to each other at first, but to Christ and to love. And I pray that you guys would find it in your heart to be sensitive and to be patient and to be bearing with one another. To be enduring with one another. And just remember the joy that you had 10 years ago when you to looked into your wife’s eyes and asked her to marry her. You know, Greg, I think of Proverbs, Proverbs 18:22. A fool should find a wife, findeth a good thing and stay’s in favor with the Lord. So, Greg, I just pray for you, that you would continue to have favor with the Lord, with the Father. That you and your wife would be loving and kind to one another. Alright Greg, I wish you the best of luck. I’ll be praying for you my friend. Bye Bye.
Hi beautiful family, this is Prisoner of Hope. Joanne from Texas, praying for your friend Aaron from China. Just you said that whatever he puts his hand on, that God would bless him and his family and his career. So, we are praying for him. Also, Dare Dreamer in Indianapolis, you’re blind, you’ve told us that before but you just found your first full time job in a warehouse. And you’re just so grateful. I just wanna pray a prayer of blessing over you, I don’t think you asked for prayer but I’m gonna do it all the same. And then Susan in Indiana, you want us to continue to pray for Liza’s family. Lord, we are asking for Your hand to be upon, that You would bless them and keep them. And make Your face shine upon them and be gracious to them and give them your peace. And we just ask all this in Jesus name. Also, In the Vine in Indiana, you said you lost your battle with sin yesterday, we do that all that time. Don’t be discouraged In the Vine. We’re gonna pray for you. Also, Lauri from Central Ohio, your friend Lonni’s husband, he had surgery for a new heart, and you’re still praying for that to be successful and that his body won’t reject it again. Drew from the Bay area, your dog Elssie, you think it’s the end of life, for poor little Elssie. And just that she won’t be in pain. And then you said you took a bad hit on your head, so we’re praying for you. Early Riser, your sister and husband have COVID and this has made them more isolated and fearful and you just want somebody to come alongside, some friends. And you said they’re very desperate for this. Dear Lord, we step into your presence today. We ask for healing and strength. We know that ___ so we humbly ask that You would work in their lives to bring about good health and body and in spirit. Please help them find hope, even during this difficult time, Lord. And may they also___ knowing it’s to you. We ask in Jesus powerful name. Amen.