Author: Daily Audio Bible Transcripts

Numbers 4:1-5:31, Mark 12:18-37, Psalms 48:1-14, Proverbs 10:26

Today is the 5^th day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we round the corner on another week and head toward home. We’ve reading from the Amplified Bible this week, which…which is what we’ll continue to do through the end of the week, which is…like, which is officially tomorrow. So, let’s dive in. Numbers chapters 4 and 5 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, let’s talk about the proverb as we conclude our week. I have a habit of a little swig of apple cider vinegar in the morning almost every day and that will wake you up in a hurry. I have also been around campfires where the wind has shifted and blown the smoke directly into my face and into my eyes and I have some challenges in that area and so can quickly become irritated. I’m sure I’m not the only one. According to the voice of wisdom found in the book of Proverbs those are examples for what it is like to have essentially a lazy employee, somebody that you are counting on to accomplish something, but they are lazy, and you send them to do this thing and they end up being like a swig of vinegar or smoke in the eyes. So, just imagine going to your pantry and getting whatever vinegar you have and, yeah, just unscrew the cap and take a nice big swig. What does that set off? It’s a sharp taste. It's…it’s irritating. Like it causes us to squint. We might involuntary… involuntary shake our heads back and forth like we bit a lemon or something. It’s not the kind reaction where you go like, “ah, that’s what I needed”, like a bowl of chicken soup when you’re not feeling well. It’s like the opposite of that or having smoke in your eyes is blowing in your face until your eyes are all red and watering and you’re trying to wash them out and the irritation won’t go away. That’s what it’s like to have an unconscientiously lazy person doing work for you. So, we should think about this. Certainly, as we just have but we should also think about this in terms of our own lives. What kind of worker are we? Like are we that person who is trying to show up because we have to pay the bills, but we hate the place that we work and so we’re doing everything conceivable to do as little as possible, just enough…just enough to keep us from losing that job or just completely distracted. Our minds are somewhere else almost all the time and we’re not conscientious and we’re not paying attention to the things that we’re getting paid to do. Basically, what needs to be done, needs to be done or it wouldn’t have been assigned. And or it needs to be done right or somebody else has to then go behind and do it right, if not, it's…it’s incomplete and it’s going to fall apart, whatever it is. So we can see why that would be like a swig of vinegar, smoke in the eyes. Is that who we are? Is that what we do in the name of Jesus every day that we get up and go to the office? If so, then, yeah, then we’re causing this reaction. It may be unspoken but it is being observed. We’re causing this acrid, bitter, pungent reaction. And, so, the deeper truth here with wisdom is that that’s not going to go anywhere. That is not a long-term strategy that will get us anywhere in life. And, so, as we move out of our work week today, go through the weekend and prepare for the next shiny sparkly new week maybe this is something to carry around and consider over the next couple of days. Are we causing those kinds of reactions in the places that we work in people that we interact with or are we on the receiving end of that and maybe it’s gone on long enough? Maybe it’s not going anywhere for anybody. Some things to think about.

Prayer:

Holy Spirit come. Come into those things. No matter what side of the coin we may consider this from it still does invite us forward into doing something about it. Like it’s an untenable situation. And, so, Holy Spirit, come lead us forward that we might reclaim lost time that can then be devoted to Your service in this world. Come Jesus we pray. In Your mighty name, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. I say it every day because its where you find out what’s going on around here. If you’re using the app you can also find out what’s going around…on around here by using the app.

So, check out the Community section. That’s where the Prayer Wall is, that’s where the different links to stay connected on social media are. That’s where we are on social media. So, check that out.

Check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop. There are resources in the Shop that have been developed for this journey, whether that be journaling. We have our own journal that we developed over the years. Whether that be all of the writing utensils that are there in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. Whether that be written resources to take the journey deeper on specific topics or the music or just…just check it out. Check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible Shop you can do that dailyaudiobible.com also. There is a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address, if that’s your preference, is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey DAB family it’s Doctor John from Jordan New York calling in for our anonymous 29-year-old mom with postpartum depression and a 3-month-old. Dear, you are not alone and not just in the spiritual sense where we’re all around you and praying for you, but in the sense that this is something very common. You may not know this but I’m a family doctor and I deliver babies and so I do deal with postpartum depression unfortunately quite a bit. Part of this is a spiritual battle and that’s the part where you’ve got to understand what you’re fighting against so that you can fight back. And you need to fight back. So, Satan and his minions, his demons are going to come against you and they’re going to say you’re fat, you’re ugly, you’re stupid, you’re worthless, it’s useless, nobody loves you, no one cares about you, you might as well die. But you need to tell Satan and his demons to shut up and you do that in Jesus’ name. In Jesus name I command you to be silent. And that is how you get those voices out of your head that just keep hammering away making you hurt and making you feel worthless. Also finding a good Christian counselor can be very, very helpful. So, you’ve got this. Medication can be very helpful. I use that quite a bit. But prayer and fighting against Satan and the evil spirits that are trying to tear your down, that’s where you get over this. We love you. You’ve got this. Let us know how you’re doing. Peace and love. Doctor John from Jordan New York. Bye-bye.

Hello, my name is Lynn I really just found out about the Daily Audio Bible maybe in the last six months and I want to say I have enjoyed listening and hearing the prayers of the people praying for the requests that have been made. I am calling to leave a prayer request. It’s for myself, it’s for my daughter, her family. She has a really rocky marriage. I mean really rocky marriage and I try helping her with the kids as…as much as I can. I babysit them every day four children 8 years old and under geared. One is on the autism spectrum and the baby being one. And the…the relationship between my daughter and her husband is just…it’s just really, really heartbreaking. And I guess I’m calling because I would like to see God move on their behalf and…and also for myself because it’s hard for me to watch what’s going on daily to my grandchildren and what’s going on to my daughter because my…my…my son in law is not an attentive husband or is he an attentive father. And I’m not saying that all the blame is being pieced on him and I know that people can’t give what they don’t have but I’m just asking that, you know, that…that I would be prayed for, that my daughter would be prayed for, her children and my son in law as well for his salvation in particular. So, thank you so much Daily Audio Bible listeners and prayer warriors. And thank you to Brian and his family for allowing themselves to be used by God in this way. Thanks.

Hi this is Maria and I’m a follower of Jesus and I’ve listened to DAB the DAB for several years now. I just thank you so much Brian and family for doing all of this. I just love this community it’s been such a blessing in my life, and I thank you and I’m calling for the first time. I’ve made three recordings but I’m trying to get through a recording without crying. So, I just need prayer for my daughter who’s 26 her name is Taylor and about a year and a half ago she met a guy who groomed her and fed her drugs and started trafficking her and by the time we figured out what was going on she was knee deep in this darkness and we could not pull her out. She didn’t even want to get out. She's…so she’s completely in love with this pimp boyfriend and she’s working a massage parlor living in a hotel and the massage parlor is a prostitution ring. And I feel so hopeless. I need prayer for my daughter. I need her to come back to Jesus and…and I just…there’s a missionary team that…that’s decided to take on her case. They do go in after these girls and they’re gonna…his name is Andrew he’s getting a team together to go and get her out, to try to reach out to her and get her out of there. Please pray for his team and please pray for Taylor’s heart to be prepared. And I just thank you so much you guys. I love you so much and I pray for you. Whenever I listen to the prayers, I pray for you. My heart is always so tender towards you guys.

Hey DABbers, this is Micah in Awe in the Kansas City area. I just wanted to call and shed some light on conviction versus condemnation. One is from God one is from Satan. Biola from Maryland touched on this the other day and I caught a piece of it and I realized, like last night when I was trying to go to bed my thoughts were racing and I kept thinking about I was screwing up in different ways, that the sins that I’ve done lately popped into my mind. And I felt a feeling of hopelessness like it was in my tired state. Like now that I’m sober minded and awake I realize that it was condemnation from the enemy. It was Satan straight up in my ear telling me all the ways I’m a screw up and that I’m hopeless like all those parts of the Bible where God is putting His wrath on people and destroying people and that’s me now, you know, like that’s what I was thinking last night, like I’m under this wrath. Like, but now that I’m sober minded I realized that was from the enemy. And when I receive conviction from God it’s different, it’s a knowledge of the sin that I’ve done and it’s a way to renew myself from it, like to repent from it, to turn from it, to do…to apologize to whoever…to do better, right? But when it’s from Satan the condemnation then it’s a feeling of hopelessness, it’s a feeling of you…you’re a screw up, you can’t fix it, you’re under the wrath of God, you’re going to hell. That’s what kind of nation feels like, right? So, I want all of you to be able to pinpoint that when it happens to you so that you don’t fall victim to this. Know that you…you will receive conviction but that’s good, that’s good. That’s means God is watching you and He’s working with you. Condemnation, you don’t even need to listen to it. I love you guys. Hang in there.

Hello DAB family it’s Julie from southern Illinois longtime listener first time caller. I want to thank Adrian from Washington DC for her encouraging words and openly thanking God this morning. I’m so glad she’s made so much progress. I too want to thank God for all He has done for me in my life. But at present my husband of 20 years has asked me for a divorce and I’m lost but I know God has a plan, I trust God and I know I will come through this all the better. Please pray family that I continue to praise and thank God through this. Adrian, again thank you so very, very much. I’m lifting you up in my prayers. DAB family have a blessed day.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible community today is March the 3^rd and my name is D calling from New York. I’m a first-time caller, three-year listener. I actively pray for everyone. I listen daily, just never ever called in. Today I’m calling for prayer requests as I was recently diagnosed with covid and so was my son. Thank God we’re both experiencing mild enough symptoms and I trust God that we are going to get through this just fine. So, the reason for my prayer request is for my husband who though still awaits his covid test result has begun to experience symptoms. They are a little bit more intense than my sons and I and so because he has underlying conditions that are likely to complicate things for him, I’m really hoping for your prayers. And I pray that God would strengthen his body and his immune system so that he’s able to fight this off and get through it fine. Thanks in advance for your prayers for all three of us but especially for my husband. Thank you.

Numbers 2:1-3:51, Mark 11:27-12:17, Psalms 47:1-9, Proverbs 10:24-25

Today is March 4^th welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it’s wonderful to be here with you today. It’s a special day at least in my life. Today is my birthday and it’s been a while now, a long time ago that I decided to not do these birthdays. Like I don’t want to be keep counting my chronological number but I have decided that I will celebrate my Daily Audio Bible birthdays. And this is my 16^th birthday. So, that’s hard to believe, that since the time the Daily Audio Bible began, if it were a baby born on January 1^st 2006…man…we…we would have a 16-year-old. This thing is looking for its driver’s license now. We’re…we’re in the teen years. So, Lord help us as we continue to move forward. But today will be my 16^th birthday that I'm…that I’m celebrating or observing since the Daily Audio Bible began. So, thank God. Thank God for His kindness to me. It is beyond expectations. Okay, but we’re not here to, you know, light a birthday cake. We are here to dive in. And actually we’ll be diving into our second day within the book of Numbers. We began the book of numbers yesterday. And numbers just by way of reminder is a part of a grouping of books in the Old Testament known as the Torah or the Pentateuch - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And as we began the book of Numbers a census was taken to count all the men that were able to go to battle and that was over 600,000 men. 609,000. And they are preparing now to move toward the promised land. All the different tribes were numbered. The tribe of Levi was not numbered. They were the priests. They’re responsibility is the tabernacle. this the place where God travels. And this is interesting. It’s a portable tabernacle. It can be set up and torn down and God…God is embedding into the people’s understanding that He’s going with them. He’s leading them and He’s going to stay with them and among them, which is what this tabernacle represents. And, so, the tribe of Levi is responsible for that as well as the worship of God and caring for the people, the soul care of the people. So, they’re preparing to move out and there are obstacles in front of them that we will…that we will encounter in due course. Numbers chapters 2 and 3 today.

Commentary:

Okay. In the gospel of Mark, the religious authorities are trying to narrow in on Jesus…like they’re trying to pin Him down they…they want to get rid of him, that’s the plan. That’s what they want to do. And, so, they’re trying to entrap Him or discredit Him in any way…anything that they can do to diminish Him so that they can kinda isolate Him and then get Him out of the way. Like, literally they want to kill Him, which…which they eventually do. Today Jesus is in the temple complex and they come to Him and they say, “by whose authority are you doing these things?” So, like to put maybe a little bit more modern…like, “who gave you the right to do this? Who told you you could do this?” And Jesus sort of answers their question with a question. And this isn't…I mean we’ve talked about as before, but you…you watch the question. Jesus says, “okay I’ll answer your question if you answer one of mine.” The question that Jesus asks forces the truth into the open so that their exposed. They can’t stand this about Jesus. So, He says, “tell me about John. Was he from God or was he not from God? Well, the religious authorities had been against John calling him a fraud. The people believed he was a true prophet. So, they’re in like…there’s no good answer because either way they’re trapped before the people. But it’s even deeper than that. The correct answer to the question Jesus is asking is the same answer to the question they are asking Jesus. “Who told you can do this? Who gave you the right to do this?” If they could or would have answered truthfully that they believe John was a prophet of God, then there would be some common ground there for Jesus to reveal the continuation of that same story and say that He was empowered by God to do the things that He’s doing. But Jesus knows they were against John and He knows that they’re against Him and they’re trying to snuff out His life. These quote unquote things that Jesus is doing are the works of God, His ministry, but also more recently what they would have considered the vandalism of the temple complex because He goes in there and tips over the money changers and lets the birds go and the sacrifice…the commerce that’s going on there. He disrupts the commerce that’s happening in the temple in the holy city of Jerusalem, by the way. So, pretty serious what Jesus is doing. And, so, they’re like, “how…what makes you think you can do this stuff?” All Jesus was doing was restoring some things. He said, “this is to be house of prayer for the nations, not a den of thieves.” And the religious leaders, they don’t, you know, contemplate that and go like, “wow this is time for lament and repentance. We need to figure out a better way to do this. You’re right.” They just get angered at Jesus challenging their authority. They don’t like their authority to be challenged. And, so, they’re asking Him about His authority. I think we could agree that what Jesus did in the temple complex was disruptive to the system, was disruptive to the way of things and would’ve had people talking. And Jesus was clear what He was trying to do. But it was disruptive. Right, here’s where the mirror happens. What about when we ask God to do things in our lives, to reveal things in our lives, to show us the way that we should go or even as we’re observing the season of Lent, to be openhanded and openhearted to allow Him to move things in and out and rearrange things within us. When that’s disruptive or uncomfortable usually we start praying against it. If we understood that it was Jesus doing this our lives might be saying, “who told you you could do this? By what authority are you messing around with my life” even though we’ve claimed allegiance and claimed that we’ve submitted ourselves to him so that He can do whatever He wants with us, take us wherever He wants to take us. Usually if that’s uncomfortable we’re start going like, “no…no…no, that’s not what I was talking about. You…You have full permission to bless me. You can rain it down all you want but who gave you permission to disrupt me?” Ah….ah…now we find ourselves in the story.

Prayer:

Jesus that’s been our story way too many times to count. And we’re sorry. We’re in a season of lament, we’re in a season of repentance, we’re in a season where we’re focusing on these things that You are after in us, the things that we are…that we’re holding on to and we don’t want to let them go, especially control. So, come Holy Spirit and continue with Your kindness and Your patience to show us, to show us the way to go, to show us the next step forward. Then it’s in our hands whether we obey You or whether we don’t, whether we listen or whether we don’t. It’s not Your fault when we disobey You. We like to transfer blame off of us at every turn but it’s not Your fault when we don’t obey You. Come Holy Spirit and let this sink in we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website, its where you find what’s going on around here. So, definitely stay tuned and stay connected.

I’m going to try to spend some time in reflection today, reflecting back over these 16 birthdays of the Daily Audio Bible. And that’s something going on around here for me. I’m so grateful. I’m so grateful that we’ve been able to share this journey together all these years. It is truly remarkable. My life is indeed forever changed because of this community. And, so, I am deeply grateful and hope you feel the same. So, that’s kind of what’s going on around here at least today but you can always stay tuned and connected to…to an anything…all…relating to the Daily Audio Bible at dailyaudiobible.com or if you’re using the app you can access like the Prayer Wall and the Shop. All that stuff that you can access on the web you can access in the app. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if…if the mission that we’ve had all these years, just to bring the spoken word of God read fresh every day and just given to the world to anyone who might come across it or encounter it and listen to it anywhere any time day or night, so that it’s just always there creating a rhythm, steps forward every day through a year and definitely through life. If that brings life to you than thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button up at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi DAB family this is Vonnie in Northern California and it’s March 1^st, a new day and a new week a new month and I’m reaching out to anonymous. I just heard your prayer request and my heart breaks for you my dear. I am praying…I’m going to be praying for you all day, all week. As much as God reminds me to pray, I’m thinking of you. This is a tough time for a new mom to have to go through postpartum depression. Oh, Jesus please, please help, please help this Young woman. I’m so thankful that she reached out to her doctor and she got medication. I’m also thankful that she took a step of faith trusting You God to…to answer prayer through the prayers of the family. I pray that many of us many, many, many of us will be just coming to Your throne and laying her before You God everyday, trusting You to lift this…this horrible depression, to protect her mind from these thoughts that she’s been having, to protect her children and her husband, and to come like a flood, restore the joy in her heart, restore to her Lord a sense of peace and calm and trust and confidence and restore the balance in her brain chemistry. Dear Jesus, we ask You to rebuke the enemy and completely put a wall of protection around this Young woman. Thank You, God for what You’re going to do in her life and answer to prayer. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Good morning DAB family this is Judy from Georgia. I want to first thank Brian, Jill, and their family for putting the DAB together. It is great. It’s a great community and I enjoy listening to this every day. And then I want to thank Doctor John from Jordan New York for the feeling groovy tune that’ll be stuck in my head all day. It’s a great uplifting tune and I’m appreciative. We all need that every day. Now I’d like to pray for everyone out there, that please God give them the strength to get through whatever it is they need to get through today and show them the way that they need to go for those that are lost. And anyone fighting addictions please help them get through and show them there’s a better way to live their life. God bless all of you and I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.

This is Kathy from Kentucky. I wanted to give a praise report that I’m 29 years sober. I celebrated on February 23^rd and I got a token. A lot of people say I’m an inspiration. So, I…I don’t feel like that but I…I guess I am. But anyways praise God for 29 years clean and sober. Continue to pray for my neighbor and friend Sharon who lost her daughter unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago. She’s still grieving and she’s going through a really hard time. Thank you. Kathy from Kentucky.

Good morning DAB this is Guinn from Texas it is March the 1^st and spring is in the air but I’m calling in because I want to pray for the father who called in this morning about his two sons. He…he wanted…he asked for prayer for them. One is Nathan and the other one is Nicholas and I just want to lift them up in prayer because I think Nicholas is in…incarcerated right now and Nathan is…is homeless but their situation can change and it’s going to change because God is able. And, so, I want to say because I also had…had a son that was incarcerated and he got out and he did well and he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and savior and…but he got killed in a motorcycle accident and it’s been almost 10 years but it still feels like yesterday. And then my other son just is working, he’s a hard worker but he needs to be more responsible. He has his own place now and I’m just praying that he keeps it. So…so, I know what you’re going through right now. I feel your pain. So, Father I just lift up this Father to You who…who is praying for his sons Lord, that they will come out Lord doing well Father and I know they will because Father what You did for my sons You will do for his. And…and I just lift him up to give him strength. Your word says in Joshua 1:9 be strong be courageous do not be terrified do not be discouraged for the Lord Your God will be with you with whoever you go and God is with you dad and God is with your sons and He’s going to encourage them and they’re going to come out on the other side and you’re gonna be proud of them. So, I just want you to know that. Hang in there and God loves you and Jesus loves you and we love you. God bless you.

Hi family this is Melissa from Albertville AL I have a prayer request. My dentist who I’ve had for years and my neighbor he lives across the street from me committed suicide this morning. His name is Doctor Kirby and he has children and a wife. I don’t know what he was going through. Just saw him a few weeks ago in the dentist office and I am devastated. I just wonder if I could have said something to him. I…I don’t know. Please, please, please pray for his family. Please pray for his family. I love you family. Y'all hold on to Jesus. Satan is trying to destroy minds during this time but…if…if…you’ve gotta get ahold of Jesus. Hold on to Him and trust in Him. I love you all so much. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Hey guys this is Rachel in KC Missouri. This is March 1^st. I’m not sure when you called in. You wanted to be anonymous. You’ve got three children and…and __ daughters. I don’t know. You’re married and you were just diagnosed with severe postpartum depression and you took me all the way back ten years ago when I had my last child Jonah. And darling I know exactly the thoughts that invade your mind, the scary, the creepy, the everything. As…as a sister of yours and you put so much faith and trust in us to share what you’re going through, I started covering you in prayer as soon as I heard your voice because I…as soon as you said my name is…and you said you want to remain anonymous I knew, I knew something. So, I just want to go ahead and pray now so I don’t lose any more time. But just know that I’m praying for you every time you come to mind darling. Heavenly Father thank You so much for this beautiful sister, this beautiful woman of God Lord. The trust and the faith that she’s sharing and just reaching out and crying out to her family Lord. Father, please touch her right now this instant Lord, give her peace, cover her with Your feathers of protection. Lord every time she has a negative thought Lord please get her to…to remember something that Brian has said or one of us has said or a scripture Father…

Leviticus 27:14- Numbers 1:54, Mark 11:1-26, Psalms 46:1-11, Proverbs 10:23

Today is the 3^rd day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we continue the journey that we began what feels like a long time ago but was…wasn’t although we are a couple of months into the journey. So, we are indeed well on our way. So, let’s dive in today’s reading today. And today is a bit of a special day. We are going to conclude the book of Leviticus and move forward into the next book, which was…which is called numbers and we will talk about that when we get there. But first, the last words of Leviticus, which is chapter 27 verse 14 through verse 34.

Introduction to the book of Numbers:

Okay. So, that concludes the book of Leviticus which brings us to be shiny brand-new first page and first chapter of a brand-new book called Numbers. And as we get into numbers it’s going to sound like similar territory, maybe even territory that we’ve already covered, like this is redundant in some ways, but it’s important to understand what’s happened because we’re turning the page here. We just finished Leviticus but we’re zooming forward in time a bit. And now we are at a time when the first generation is passing to the second generation of people who have left Egypt. So, this happened under Moses leadership. They've…they’ve seen God show up and miraculously provide for them, they’ve seen His mighty power and they’ve…they’ve received the law, but now that they’ve received it they have to actually live it, because God is giving the order to move out. It’s actually time. The time has come. They’ve been around Mount Sinai. They have the law and now it’s time for them to go into the Promised Land. And we’ll see that spies get sent into the land to scope it out and we’ll see what their report is and it’s an unfortunate situation because it disqualifies an entire generation and keeps them in the desert when it was time. Like we are literally opening the book of Numbers and it’s time to go into the promised land. We’re just not gonna make it there. Not yet. So, the first nine chapters of numbers are going to provide review and structure because God is…is preparing the people to move out and move into the promised land and then we’ll see censuses being taken, additional laws being given, review of all the laws, we’ll see things like purification’s and celebrations and then we’ll move into the story of the spies going across the Jordan into the promised land to spy it out. And we’ll take it from there until the end, as the first generation of slaves out of Egypt that were being formed in the deserts die off. And, so, let’s begin, numbers chapter 1.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we have transitioned into the book of Numbers and we’re just getting going there and we kind of flew over that to understand some context, just some of the lay of the land that’s out in front of us and what we’ll be covering. And, so, we did. We counted…we counted all of the people today, all of the people, all of the men prepared for battle that could go to war. It’s over 600,000 of them. This is all in preparation to move out and toward the promised land. Like that’s the plan. We need to remember that. That’s the plan. What’s supposed to happen now that they have received the law is that they’re supposed to get information and march into the promised land and establish this culture while learning to live into the law. There are some unfortunate turns of events that prevent that happening straightaway. And as we watch what happens here, we need to be looking at our own lives as well because everybody has the wilderness, everybody has the wilderness in their lives. But maybe we spend a lot more time in the wilderness then we ever needed too.

And then in the gospel of Mark we are entering Jerusalem again. And, so, we’re very near to experiencing Jesus arrest and His Last Supper and His trial and execution again. And we are in a season now where we really are focusing on this, this season of Lent and we talked about that a couple of weeks ago when Lent began. And…and actually it’s a month from today that Lent ends because a month from tomorrow will be Easter Sunday. So, we’re in the thick of it and this is that season when we really, really try to take to heart what’s going on in the Scriptures. It…it can’t just be that Sunday school story, the Jesus died on the cross and then He rose then practically the next day. Like we need to embrace the story, the larger story, that separation between man and God is being eliminated, that restoration is becoming possible, that the final sacrifice is being given once and for all according to the Scriptures. We also need to deeply lament and contemplate that sin leads to destruction. And all we need to do is look at our lives, like a look at the story that our lives have been telling and we can see those times where we’ve gone off the rails and it has led to very destructive things and it always will. We sit with that. We open our hands and hearts and invite God to move things around, move things out, take people out move things in, bring in people, and rearrange the furniture. Whatever it needs, whatever our lives need, however they need to be rearranged so that as we approach Easter Sunday we really approach it with fantastic rejoicing that all things have been made new, that we didn’t just kind of move through it really quick and dress up pretty on Sunday and just hunt for Easter eggs and then move through, that we actually took the time in the season before Easter to lament and hold in our hands and hearts the weight and cost of sin, so that when we…when we celebrate the resurrection we celebrate it with this brand-new awareness that we are free from the curse of sin and death unless we willingly participate.

Prayer:

Jesus as we move into this territory in the gospel of Mark and as we continue to move through this season where we’re really contemplating this, come Holy Spirit, come Holy Spirit and show us the areas that still need work, things that need to be rearranged, things that need to be let go of. We can’t do this without You. We can do this with You, and You are not withholding Yourself. We are just not paying attention but we’re paying attention now. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, home of the Global Campfire, it’s where the Global Campfire burns here in the virtual world that we find ourselves in. So, be familiar and check out. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can access these things as well.

So, check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop. There are resources there that have been crafted for the journey that we are on. So, check out the Daily Audio Bible Wind Farm coffee. That’s…that’s something that pairs so well with the Daily Audio Bible that…I mean it’s just so good to have a cup of coffee and listen to the Scriptures or a cup of hot tea, listen to the Scriptures, move into the day or wind down from the day. And, so, we roast our own coffee and send it to you fresh, import tea and bring it to you fresh. So, check that out as well as all the other resources that are available in the Shop. If you like it well enough, we can send it to you every month. There’s a coffee and tea club at Daily Audio Bible and we roast it fresh and send it out at the end of every month so that it arrives at the beginning of every month fresh and ready to go and we can send as many bags as you want, as many as you drink. So, check that out in the Daily Audio Bible shop.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, of course, we’re a community that loves pray for each other and we love each other well through prayer so if you’re carrying things that you really…you really shouldn’t be carrying alone well then you can reach out, hit the Hotline button in the app or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey Daily Audio Bible family this is Stephanie in Bangalore and I am calling partly because Daniel Johnson Junior you nailed some of exactly how I’m feeling about asking for help. And it’s not anything that I can ask for help…physical help with, but family I do need your prayers. Those who have been listening since last year may remember that my husband and I are both a little older and we did…we were pregnant at this point last year and we last the baby on March 9^th. We’re actually going to have a little prayer memorial service with our families that day this year Lord willing, but the grief is still there, and I know many of you understand that grief. And the grief that God has not yet chosen to give us a child…another child is there as well. So, please just pray for us as we, you know, seek to do a God wants us to do and also walk through this time of grief and uncertainty and…and everything. It also would be really great if I could go see my family this year. I haven’t seen them in over a year and I’m very close with them. And yeah. Anyway, thanks for being there. Hopefully I’ll call back soon with some encouragement for others. Bye.

Good afternoon Daily Audio Bible family this is Adrian from Washington DC. Today is February 27^th and I have been meaning to call in for a while, but I’ve been putting it off. You know, I…I just wanted to openly the thank God for what happened last year, not necessarily the pandemic. But the shortened version was in July of last year I got sick and I wasn’t feeling well and the last thing I remember was climbing into my sister’s bed and turning on the air conditioner because I was hot. And the next thing I know when I wake up and I’m in a hospital and I have been in a hospital from July 19^th until…well the 23^rd, that’s when I woke up. And even after all that I still had a lot…a long way to go. I was transferred to multiple hospitals and dealing with multiple issues but I finally came home September 1^st and March 1^st will be six months since I’ve been home and I’ve made amazing progress to…progress because of a lot of amazing people and I thank them for that but I really just need to thank God because He had His hand on me the entire time, He had His hand on my family the entire time until I came home and I could not have possibly have made it without Him. So, I, like I said, I’m finally…I’m saying it out loud, saying it to my other family , thank You Lord for everything that You have done for me, everything that You have done to get me to this point where I can now walk a mile and I’m back…I’ve been…I’ve been back at work since last September, but I’m doing some of the things that I did before I got sick. Thank you, family. I love you.

Good morning my name is Vicki from Southern Oregon. And, you know, I think I came up with the name too, it’s Soul Shine, not because it does but because that is what I’m hoping God is doing for me. I called in a few months ago and I’m calling for a praise report. I want to thank you, everybody that prayed for me and my son. My son has been taken to the state hospital. He’s severely mentally ill, schizophrenic and also has an addiction problem. And, you know, there’s a window of opportunity for him to get help which is, you know, I know it’s funny to call it a praise report when your son is in the state mental hospital but help…help is hard to find and hard fought. So, thank you for everyone that prayed for him and I pray that God will continue to work in his life and give him the freedom from his addiction and from his mental illness and that he will understand that the medications are helping him not harming him. Again, I thank everybody that prayed. Thank you, Brian for be here…being here.

Hello DAB family this is Rob still Worship Dude in Nashville. It’s been a while since I’ve called in. I don’t really have anything dramatic that I’m asking for. I just wanted to touch base. I’ve been listening to…for this…for gosh over 10 years. And I just want to say thank God, thank you for the DAB. Thank you for the community, thank you for the people who call in to pray, for those who engage with the prayers, for those who intercede for the prayer requests that have come in. We thank you Lord that you are omniscient, you are omnipotent, you are an omnipresent God, you are all knowing, you are all powerful, you are everywhere God. There is nothing that is too hard for you. And Lord as this great cacophony of prayers of intercession Lord arises around the world Lord, I thank you for this tool, this resource of the DAB Lord to just join the body of Christ together Lord. Would you release…would you release the spirit of unity amongst us as we bear one another’s burdens Lord. We just recognize that you are doing a new thing. You are always doing a new thing Lord and Lord we stand together, and we ask that your Kingdom would come, your will would be done, that you would fill the earth with the glory of your presence. Father I thank you so much for the DAB, for Brian Hardin, for the amazing insightful and inspiring commentaries that you continue to share with us through him. Bless his team, bless all who support the DAB. Father I thank you that you are working on our behalf. We trust you. We love you and we bless you in Jesus’ name. God bless you guys.

Hello from beautiful Cincinnati OH this is Daniel Johnson Junior. One second while I throw another log on the Global Campfire here. So, it is the evening of February 28^th 2021…2021. It’s really been amazing because I’ve been journaling since the end of April, you know, journaling consistently and I was thinking back to like…like I like…for the shortest month of the entire year, February seems like it’s the longest. And I think that it’s probably because we’re far enough removed from the holiday season and the beginning of the year but not yet, you know, ready for the next season change that we really look forward to. And it just has been kind of wearisome, you know, to be present in this…in this month and kind of also just wondering if I had actually gotten anything done. Well, because of my journaling and I…one of my process that I have set up here is a monthly review. And, so, I went back and I looked through and I was just thinking, I just…you know what, I didn’t get some of the goals that I wanted to, like, you know, getting a job. I’m still unemployed. So, I didn’t get a job but I was looking at all the other stuff that I did, all of the habits that I’ve been tracking and all of the progress that I had made and it was also actually very inspiring. So, I just wanted to encourage you guys, you know, as you’ve been thinking about journaling, to do that journaling because you’re going to be able to see how much different you are many months down the road, many weeks down the road. And that’s all that I have for you right now. God bless you all from beautiful Cincinnati OH Daniel Johnson Junior saying make it a great day.

[singing starts] you do not lie you do not fail what is hard for you to do it doesn’t exist. It can never ever never exist. My Jesus you do not lie you do not fail what is hard for you to do doesn’t exist. It can never ever exist though. I call into your knowledge and your will from me what you say you will do. I just need to align with because you are not a man that changes his mind. Those that know you will trust in you not in horses and chariot body and soul flesh no man can prevail no man no man no man. My confidence is you what is hard, what is hard for you it can never exist [singing stops]. My name is Helen I’m calling from Nigeria. I just want to use this song to encourage somebody out there that what God cannot do does not exist. It can never exist. So, whatever you’re passing through today just have it in mind that you have a God that can do the impossible, that can do everything and what He cannot do it does not exist. I want to thank everyone here. I know I just joined the…the Daily Audio not quite long, recently. I’ve been listening to everyone. I want to say God bless you all. God bless you. Bless you all.

Leviticus 25:47-27:13, Mark 10:32-52, Psalms 45:1-17, Proverbs 10:22

Today is the 2^nd day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is a joy and a privilege and an honor to be here with you today as we continue our journey and take the next step forward. We have been reading from the Amplified Bible this week, which is what we’ll do for the rest of the week. And the next step forward that picks up right where we left off yesterday, Leviticus chapter 25 verse 47 through 27 verse 13.

Commentary:

Okay. So, it’s an interesting chain of events that happen in the gospel of Mark as Jesus is making His way towards Jerusalem. And let’s remember, He’s not going for a visit. He’s going to His execution and He knows He’s going to die, that He’s going to be handed over and mistreated and be killed. And, so, He’s beginning to tell the disciples this and as we read from the Scriptures today everybody’s who’s kind of following along, they don’t want…this is not the message they want to hear. Like this is an alarming message. In fact, the scriptures say they were alarmed and afraid at this message. So…and even perplexed. So, they don’t want to hear this message about Jesus dying even though He’s telling them He will be raised from the dead because that’s kinda going over their head. But can you imagine the weight on Jesus shoulders moving toward Jerusalem knowing, like knowing that every footstep is a footstep closer to your violent death, that every minute you spend on that path is a minute you have less to live before this happens? Like it’s profoundly unsettling to even consider that and to consider that Jesus is going through that. And…and…and everybody who’s around Him is alarmed by it. So, He brings His disciples, the 12, aside and He’s teaching them a little more intimately and been very clear that when they get to Jerusalem’s like a chain of things are going to happen quickly and it’s going to lead to His death and He’s preparing them that He’s gonna be taken away from them. And as the story is told in the gospel of Mark, James and John the two sons of Zebedee, in other Gospels their mom is there too, but they come to Him after this, right? So, after He’s pouring His heart out, revealing what is on its way, like what the next days are going to look like and what He’s carrying, James, and John, it…His two disciples, two of His disciples come to Him and they want a favor. Like it’s almost as if they want this last request or whatever. And He says what do you want me to do for you and what they want is that one will sit on the right hand and one will sit on the left hand of Jesus when He comes into his glory. And, so, we can begin to understand that even though Jesus is telling them that He’s going to be killed, this is still lost on them. They still have expectations of their Messiah, that He will take over, that He will overthrow the ruling government, that He will overthrow the Romans. James and John want that ground floor opportunity. They want to be on the right and left, like the immediate power as Jesus comes in this kingdom and He begins to reign. Like, this is their expectation. This is ultimately somehow what’s going to happen when Jesus reveals Himself. We could pause there and contemplate because we find ourselves kinda making these same types of mistakes. We want Jesus to beat up the bad guys in our lives or in the world looking for Him to come and kind of take over things and then we can rule and reign with Him forever. It’s remarkably similar. The irony is that the kingdom they were expecting and looking for and even looking to Jesus to create and provide for them is not the kingdom Jesus was announcing. They were sort of expecting an ironfisted rule under the…the master Jesus. He’ll set everything right and we will be bestowed with power from Him to go and do His bidding and rule and reign. Jesus corrected them though. And…and He describes how things really are, how things really…like we may be looking for Jesus to ride in on a white horse and beat up the bad guys and destroy all the evil in the world, and that’s eventually going to happen. Like, that’s where this whole thing is going. But then as now, we have to understand how this kingdom that we are looking to be revealing and the kingdom that we want to be revealed, how it works. They want to be on the right and left hand of Jesus. They want to be in the seats of power. And I quote, “calling them to Himself Jesus said to them, you know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them then their powerful men exercise authority over them by tearing rising them.” He’s speaking to what they understand. They simply want to switch places. They want to be in the position of power. But I go on quoting Jesus, “but this is not how it is among you. Instead, whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first and most important among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.” So, Jesus is telling His disciples what’s gonna happen. They still don’t get that He’s actually going to die. They still believe that He’s the Messiah and they have all the stereotypes of what that supposed to look like and it’s going to…it’s going to involve an overthrow of the ruling government. And they think this is gonna happen. And, so, they want to be in on it in His power on His right and His left and He tells them. this is not what’s gonna happen. “If you want to be the greatest in the kingdom be the servant.” I don’t know what else to say other than we should give that some thought because so often we are following as disciples and wanting the same thing that they did, and that’s not what’s going on here. Jesus is inviting us to participate in revealing a kingdom that is as it was supposed to be, a kingdom that is known by the love, a kingdom in which no one is lording over anyone else because there is only one lord and master.

Prayer:

Father help us…help us Lord to even see it. Help us to…because we need to see it before we can begin living in that direction. It is so counter to the world that we live in, but yet You’ve told us that if we want to be Your disciples, we’ve gotta take up our cross and follow You and that if that the only way the world will know we are Your disciples is through our love for one another. We have failed at this. Historically we have failed at this. We need to get this right and needs to begin in our own hearts. Come Holy Spirit as we contemplate this today. Show us changes that we need to make, the directions that we need to head into and the directions that we need to head away from. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com, that’s home base, that’s where you find out what’s going on around here, so be sure to stay tuned and connected like I say often. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can access pretty much all that’s at dailyaudiobible.com and stay connected that way.

I very often mention the Prayer Wall, that is in the Community section on the web or on the app. And, yeah, the Prayer Wall lives in the Community section. That’s where we are continually praying for one another. It’s always open and always on. You’ll also find different links to the different social media channels that we participate in there in the Community section. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if the mission of what we do, bringing God’s spoken word read fresh every day and given to the world to whoever will listen to it wherever they are no matter what they’re going through no matter where…where they are on the planet no matter what time of day or night it is, that it’s available, if that is life-giving to you, thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage. If using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button at the top or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi, my name is Caitlin, and this is my first time sending something in but I just wanted to say that I came out of 2020, one of the hardest years of my life. I was…I had an unexpected pregnancy which was a blessing with our fourth child but then I fell into extremely severe postpartum depression and anxiety and just really felt no joy no hope and I was turned on to Daily Audio Bible and I started in January and I just want to lift up praise to our God who…He gives us this living word. And I’ve been following Christ for almost all of my life but listening to this every day just has renewed my…my faith and seeing Him work every day, this living word that He gives us, and I meditate on it day and night I just get to see Him moving and I train my eyes to find Him. And, yeah, He’s just been he’s just been working miracles in my mental health and…and getting back to my normal life and He’s just such a good and faithful God. And, so, I just wanted to share that and to share that praise, that He won’t abandon us, and He doesn’t forget us, and He gives us this Bible to meditate on because…because it applies to us now and He loves us, and He wants us to know Him through it. So, yeah, that’s just my praise.

Good morning DAB family this is John Allen from Orlando FL. I just want to pray for everyone who have called for the month of February. I have listened to everyone’s prayer. My heart is touched that so many people need the Lord. Father God I’ve only got 2 minutes and I want to just praise You and honor You and glorify You lift You up. Father God I pray for every single soul that have called You for this month of February. I want to lift them up to You Lord, people with heart disease, mental disease, depression, who’s lost family the gentleman that called in for his family Father God, that he’s the only one seeking the Lord, Hallelujah Lord. Thank You, Jesus for Your grace Lord. Thank You, Father God because You are the Lord who speaks, and You live. God You are the God of Gods, You are the Lord of Lords, You are the God who stops the sun at noon day. Hallelujah. You are the God that parts oceans Father God to set Your…Your people free. Father God I pray for the DAB family right now, the ones that are not able to call that don’t have access. Father God I lift them up to You Father God in Philippians 4:6 it says do not be anxious about anything but in everything in prayer and petition. We pray Father God for them to be healed. We pray that You set Your captives free Hallelujah. Your word in Matthew 11:28, it says come to me all who are weary, and burden and I will give You rest. Lord we need Your rest, we need Your peace. We surrender it to You and for all who are sick Father God. In Jeremiah 30:17 it says but I will restore You to health and heal Your wounds. Hallelujah Jesus. God let everybody who hears my voice receive Your praise, Your blessings, Your goodness Father God, the blessing that make it rich and not so no sorrow in Jesus name I pray. Amen. Thank You, Jesus.

Hi this is Gary from Stockton CA. I’m calling about a dear friend…dear friend his name is Randy he has pancreatic cancer, and he has just been put in the hospital for that along with blood clots and a heart problem. This man has been…and his family…have been missionaries for most of their lives and they have spent their lives giving to God. And now I’m asking for prayer for this man. I’ve recently experienced a death in my family when my wife passed away last September and something that God is showing me is that healing can come in many different ways including the person dying and be taken…being taken to God, that that was the best thing for the person and everything that was wrong. So, I pray that you pray and help me pray for the man and his family and that whatever they have to go through, whatever God chooses from them they will understand, and the Holy Spirit will give them comfort and understanding. Thank you to all who pray. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Family this is Biola from Maryland I hope you’re all doing well. Brian and Jill God bless you. God bless your ministry. Hey, while we are eagerly awaiting China’s baby, I pray that God will continue to keep her and let her have a safe delivery in Jesus’ name. You know, I want to give a big shout out to one of the great great grandmas that we have in DAB, Dorothy G from Texas. Happy birthday mom and I want to say that your legacy is absolutely mind blowing. And I pray that God will continue to keep you and hold you strong in the name of Jesus, that God will continue to let your legacy be strong, that you will continue to be used mightily of Him, you know, even as you grow older. In the name of Jesus. God bless you Dorothy. And Missy I heard your prayer request regarding marshmallow your kitten. I pray that God will wrap His arms around you, God will just touch your heart. Know that guilt is not of God. It is…that is condemnation, and it is from the devil. So, I’m praying sister that God would just wrap His arms around you, He will comfort you and so that you can…as you grieve the passing of your kitten that God will touch you in Jesus’ name. Doctor John I heard your prayer request. I prayed for you that you are grateful to God for preserving your life and I pray that your hand, I think is what you said, will be healed completely in the name of Jesus. Brother White as Snow, what a testimony. Yeah, the word of God says that those who are led by God are the sons of God. So, those who are led by the Spirit are the sons of God. Lastly, I want to pray from Micah. Micah I’m praying that you get your workman’s comp it will come speedily in the name of Jesus. Family I want to put my own brother, my older brother, I have a prayer request. He had an accident and he’s going to be having surgery next week. Pray for him.

Hi this is Natasha A from Brooklyn I just finished listening to the Daily Audio Bible February 26^th reading and I wanted to make a comment on Brian’s style and the way that he breaks it down, the way he breaks down the word in not only a biblical way but also in a geographical way explaining what went on in Philippi at that time and the importance of Jesus going there and how it relates to…to the word. It was really awesome. This ministry has been such a blessing to me. And Brian and I thank you for making God’s word more clear to the ones of us that don’t really understand it thoroughly. Your ministry has been a real blessing. May the Lord continue to bless you your family and the DAB continuously because what you’re doing is so powerful and so needed, it’s so necessary. And I…I just felt compelled to call in and say that. Thank you, Brian. Thank you for what you do, bringing the Lords word to us every day with such clarity and…and consistency and…and…and I am grateful for it. Thank you. Have a blessed day everyone.

Hello, my wonderful DAB family this is Sinner and Saint from Edmonton AB Canada. I’ve listened to DAB since January 1^st of last year and this is my first call. My ailing and Christian dad turned 86 in October. Since then, he was hospitalized five times and we knew his life was coming to an end. I was able to travel to spend time with him at the hospital just before Christmas. We had some very special moments that I will cherish forever. I also saw his suffering when his pain medication wore off and before the next medication could kick in. He was transferred to a Hospice and we felt each day and even each hour that would…that would be his last. On December 31^st I took a long walk in a place on that clear and sunny winter day and listened to the last DAB for the year. Brian read the end of Revelation and that described the new heaven and the crystal-clear River of life flowing from the throne of God and the trees of life and how wonderful it all was and then the last of the psalms with great praises to God for all He is. About 10 minutes after I got into the house, I got the phone call that dad had passed, and I realized it could have happened exactly as I was hearing about heaven. And one hour later my daughter who had been told the previous December 31^st that she likely had lymphoma and who had chemo and radiation treatments that year got a call from her oncologist saying her most recent scan was completely clear. These events together have such a reminder that God makes all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28. Thank you DAB family. I love you.

Leviticus 24:1-25:46, Mark 10:13-31, Psalms 44:9-26, Proverbs 10:20-21

Today is the 1^st day of March welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we greet a brand-new month, the third month of the year. It really does feel like we just began the journey, I don’t know, maybe a couple weeks ago, but here we are. We’ve already moved through two full months of this year together and two full months moving through the Scriptures together. We’ve covered some significant territory in the Bible and what we’re gonna do is put one foot in front of the other and take all of the steps through this month and just keep going and we will accomplish the entire Bible this year. But let’s…let’s just mark where we are beginning this month. And we invite God to speak to us through the Scriptures, through the power of the Holy Spirit, guiding us and leading us into all truth as we navigate the month of March. And obviously, we…we pick up right where we left off, which is what we’ll do today. And, so, let’s dive ion. We’re reading from the Amplified Bible this week. Leviticus chapter 24 verse 1 through 25 verse 46.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in the Gospel of Mark children are approaching Jesus, or parents are bringing children for a blessing from Jesus and the disciples or can like shooing them all away. Like…like…like these kids can’t be bothering the master while the master is about the business of revealing God’s kingdom. And it’s funny because it’s…it’s really easy…it’s really easy to have that kind of opinion in general. In like the adult world this is what’s really going on, this is what has consequence and, you know, childish things, there’s nothing to glean from that. We were all children once and we grew out of that. But that’s not…that’s like not at all Jesus approach. So, then we could say then that that’s not at all God’s approach. Jesus wanted the kids to come to Him. And my goodness, if we think about it…it…do we not want our children at the feet of Jesus? But are we blocking them by the story of our lives are telling? Like are we too preoccupied in the grown-up world to ignore the fact that we are not just instilling wisdom and training up our children but that there is plenty for us to learn from them if we would pay attention. I think of my son, Ezekiel, who has started to read Daily Audio Bible kids this year. And I was sitting in with him on Daily Audio Bible kids I guess like, I don’t know, three weeks ago, four weeks ago, I can’t remember, but we passed by this story I believe in the book of Matthew and I was listening to him read the story and just looking at him…and I have had these thoughts before but this was like so stark it was happening in real time, I’m just looking at him realizing, “buddy, you know, way more than I thought you did. You’ve picked up way more along the way, along the story of your life. You are more intuitive than I…than I knew. Like your simplicity in your purity isn’t naïveté, it's…it’s not ignorance, it’s just simple.” And just having conversations with him since then I realize he has a very simple trusting understanding of God’s kingdom and Jesus love for him. And certainly, Jill and I have instilled this. Like, certainly we have of provided this backdrop for him. This is our lives. This is what we believe, and this is what we are teaching our children, this is what we’re trying to live into, but just to understand it’s not all lost. He understands a lot and he has connected a lot of dots and I have a lot to learn. I think that may be more true to a posture of what Jesus is talking about today when He says, “to the kingdom of God…the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like these little children.” In God’s kingdom the faith of a child matters. And if we think about it, we would understand why. We are God’s children. And we understand that if we’re like a loving parent, if we’ve been intentional in…in care about our children, they know that; they trust in that; they rest in that; that is solid for them; they trust us and they believe that anything is possible. They believe in God’s presence with such a purity and simplicity that there is a lot for us to learn there. So, maybe we should understand that the teaching, the learning is mutual and that we’re not just the disciplinarian to try to pattern a child’s life to make our lives easier. Like, our parenting role isn’t just to mold our children so that they can stay out of our hair. If we do that then we’re missing the lesson they are teaching, the lesson that we need to know, the lesson that the kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are like children.

Prayer:

Father we come into that. On so many levels it touches us because nobody judges us harder than we judge ourselves usually. Usually, we are more difficult to be with inside of ourselves than anywhere else and that just gets projected out into the world with the different kind of convictions and judgments that we have. But there is a simplicity and purity underneath it all. And we can try to dismantle faith to such a degree that we understand all the component parts, but that’s just not gonna work. Faith is beyond our control. And, so, looking at the quiet acceptance, exuberance, excitement of a child greeting the new day, believing that there is a God watching over them…O that sounds…that sounds like how You made us to live. And why we’re not becomes a mystery. Come Holy Spirit and allow us to begin to see what life could look like if we understood that we were Your children and that that is what we need to be and that we can trust You in all things. Come Jesus we pray. In Your precious name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here. And stay tuned and stay connected. Of course, if you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can access all these things as well.

For example, the Community section of the website or app, that’s where the Prayer Wall is. That’s where we are continually praying for one another and asking prayer of each other. That’s one of the places that…well…it’s one of the ways in which we love each other, we pray for each other, we shoulder each other’s burdens. And, so, being aware of the Prayer Wall is always very important. It’s always there anytime, day or night.

Also, there in the Community section are the different links to different social media channels that we’re on. It’s good to follow along and get the announcements anytime that I we need to let you know something or whatever. It’s a good idea to be familiar with the different places that were at on social media so check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well or in the app. If the Global Campfire, if…if the mission to bring the spoken word of God read fresh every day and delivered to anyone who will listen to it anywhere on this planet any time of day or night, and to build community around that rhythm, if that…if that matters, has made a difference I thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner for the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can hit a Hotline button in the app and share from there, no matter where you are on this planet, or there are a number of phone numbers that you can use. In the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number to dial. If you’re in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number or in Australia or the part of the world 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to call.

And that’s it for today. Welcome to a brand-new month. It’s gonna be a great ride as we continue our journey forward. That’s it for today though. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello Daily Audio Bible this is Duane from Wisconsin all praise and glory to our wonderful Lord and savior Jesus Christ. Today is February 25^th I believe. Just calling in. I need prayers. I know I talked to you about my sons Nicholas and Nathan. I was able to send a letter to Nicholas who’s in jail and copied some Bible…chapters of the Bible and printed them out and put them in the letter so he could read those. But I’ll be sending him more letters. So, prayers for him as he is in jail and pray that he will at some point be able to get a work release so he can get a job and be able to go into work and help support his child. But I’m calling him for Nathan. Last weekend we went to go see him. In a sense he is almost homeless. I’m asking that you would please pray that his mother would take him in, that her husband would have a softened heart and take him in, but more importantly that Nathan who would understand where he’s at, be compassionate, have understanding and be taken care of. For a son…like I said he’s almost been homeless. It’s been kind of scary because over the last few weeks here it got down to about 20 below and he just manages to find a place to sleep and stay. But…but he’s doing OK. So, he went and got him a phone. Unfortunately, he still hasn’t given us…sent us the cell number. So, we pray that will happen, but I pray that he’s gotten ahold of his mother and that he will be able to stay with his mother and pray that he’ll get a job and start getting his life turned around. Thank you, Daily Audio Bible family. I greatly appreciate it and you have no idea how much love I feel from all of you.

Nobody Gets Left Behind in Colorado just checking in with the DAB family. I just heard Sherry from Texas, your prayer request for your husband. Guys I’ve been married for 29 years and got to say sister that was very very heartbreaking. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through. I just want you to know that my heart, it goes out to you and my prayers are going to be going out to you and…and your children and your husband. And I hope he hears every single one of our prayer…prayers for him as he goes through this. I also want to thank little Cherry for being transparent, talking about judging people and, you know, when Brian he goes through that every year and talks about the unforgivable sin and it has made a big impact on the way I treat people and the way I think. And I’m so glad that he’s made that clear to all of us. And just makes perfect sense. We’re always just supposed to be working on ourselves. We have so many things inside ourselves that we need to work on and that’s important. And I know a lot of times like pointing fingers and stuff like that for some reason it makes us feel good inside but it really…it’s not healthy. So, thank you Brian. Thank you for that lesson. Thank you for teaching us that every single year. And thank you for Zekey and him reading the DAB to the kids. My daughter Halo loves it. And with that being said I’d just like to say what Zekey says. Bye.

Hey DAB family it’s Doctor John from Jordan New York calling back. And Karen from California thank you so much for your prayer for me. I was a crying just tears. So, thank you so much. I wanted to give you guys an update. I saw the orthopedist yesterday. He was very pleased with the progress. There’s still paralysis of some of the muscles and the nerves but it is improving and improving every day. I was like super thrilled this morning when I could tiny…get the tiniest wiggle out of my pinky fingers. Kind of silly but, yeah, you go with small victories. So, yeah, the…the knucklehead, white as snow, that called in after Karen from California, I totally get what you’re saying because, yeah, that was me. I was just moving way too fast. And, so, that was my message. You know, and as I looked back through this and say what is God trying to teach me and it’s that I need to slow down. And of course, that leads to the song [singing starts] slow down you move too fast got to make the morning last just kicking down the cobblestones looking for fun and feeling groovy. Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh [singing stops]. Apologies to Simon and Garfunkel but Daily Audio Bible I love you so much for all of your prayers and I will keep you posted on my progress. Bye-bye. Doctor John from Jordan.

I just wanted to pray for Sherry and her family in Texas. God we just lift up our sister Sherry and her family and we thank You for them and we thank You for her husband and for his love for Your word and for his desire to share it with others. And we…we thank You for that light that You placed inside of him. And God we just ask that now during this time as he’s passing that You would be close to their family, that You would surround them, that You would bring peace and comfort. God we just ask for Your sustaining love to just be their strength in these hours. God, we thank You for Your faithfulness to this family, that You have not left them, that You will not leave them, that You are there with them. We pray for godly Hospice workers, that You would send them their way. We pray for every moment leading up to this passing and that there would be peace, that You would bring breath and life into her God and to her children, that they would feel Your sustaining arms around them. You are near to the broken hearted and we know, we trust that You’ll be near to this family. Jesus we just are grateful. We ask that the passion that You had for Your word would just continue down through all his generations and that many would come to know You Jesus through his faithfulness. Thank You, Lord. We just ask that You be glorified in his life and in Sherry’s life and the lives of her children. Amen.

Hello, DAB my name is…I’d actually like to remain anonymous…but I’m in Tucson AZ and I am 29 years old and I have three kids and I’m married, and I was just diagnosed with postpartum depression. I have a 3-month-old baby and I’m just asking for your prayers as I go through this. And I’m praying that God would deliver me from this. The doctor gave me some medication and he said my case is severe, but she thinks I caught it in time. But I’m just asking for prayer and help and protection from these intrusive thoughts that I’ve been having, and I just asked that God would protect me mostly because I fear for myself sometimes. Thank you.

Good morning this is Storylines from San Diego. I’ve been a listener for just over a year and I’m so grateful for the Hardin and family. My daughter and I listened to Zekey too in the mornings and it’s just such a sweet, sweet time. I just want to pray for Sherry from Texas. I just heard your prayer request about your husband and the brain tumor that was just so sudden and him now being in Hospice. So, I just wanted to pray for you. Lord I thank You so much for Sherry and her husband. And God thank You for their great love story. I heard it in her voice as she spoke about him. And God…I just…my heart breaks for her as a wife and I just ask that You would come, that You would give her everything she needs. Lord thank You for You for her faithfulness just to play the word of God over her husband as he moves into eternity. Lord thank You for his influence over droves of people. God thank You for the love of Your word that he has had in his life and how that doesn’t stop, that he has lived out Your word to people and he’s been a great influence. And God I pray that as he moves from this life into the next that You would comfort him, that You would use his story for Your kingdom to come here on earth as it is in heaven. I pray for Sherry as she loses the love of her life in this moment in this time, that You would be her ever present help in time of trouble. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Leviticus 22:17-23:44, Mark 9:30-10:12, Psalms 44:1-8, Proverbs 10:19

Today is the 28^th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here as we greet the ending of…of this month this being the final day of the second month of the year. We have made it two months so chances are pretty strong that we can make it the rest of the way through this journey and what a journey it has been and what a joy it is to be on this journey with you. so, we’re ending this month, but we’re ending it by beginning a brand-new week. And, so, as we begin this week that will transition us into the month of March moving forward from here we’ll read from the Amplified Bible this week. And with all of those changes one thing will stay constant, we’re gonna pick up right where we left off yesterday. Leviticus chapter 22 verse 17 through 23 verse 44.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for the counsel of wisdom right here. The last things to be said in the month of February here in the Daily Audio Bible world are the counsel of the proverbs and we thank you for this Lord because it tells us to stop running our mouths. When there are many words transgression and offense are on a voidable, but he who control his lips, controls his lips and keeps thoughtful silence is wise. We take that to punctuate the end of this month and to carry it forward into the new month, that we would guard our mouths and the things that come out of them. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base it’s the website, it’s where you out what’s going on around here. So, be sure to stay tuned and stay connected in any way that you can.

The Prayer Wall is in the Community section of the website or the community section of the app. You can access that and pray for one another or ask for prayer any time.

And, of course, if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if what we’re doing here as a community around the global campfire matters and brings life in light and good news into your world than thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button up at the top. You won’t miss it. It won’t be confusing. It looks like a little hotline button. And you can use that no matter where you are in the world or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. Actually, that’s it for this month friends. We have accomplished two full months on the journey that we’re taken together. So, congratulations. Wow! I guess that’s just hitting me. This is the end of the second month of the year. So, here we are. There’s only one way to go, that’s forward. So, I’m Brian and I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here next month.

Leviticus 20:22-22:16, Mark 9:1-29, Psalms 43:1-5, Proverbs 10:18

Today is the 27^th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we end another week. And we’re gonna begin a new week tomorrow while ending a month. So, here we are in transition. And it seems like we’re always in transition in some way, right? And like we try to fight it because it’s disruptive but it’s never ending. We’re constantly transitioning because this is what sanctification looks like. This is what being changed looks like. And, so, let’s embrace and dive in. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. Leviticus chapter 20 verse 22 through 22 verse 16.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for bringing us through another week. We are so grateful. We look back at just this year, not just that you brought us through a year like 2020, but just what you have navigated us through this year, and we are grateful. And, so, as we end this week, we end it with an attitude of thankfulness, of gratitude. You are our hope, and we hope in you, and this calms our spirits. We don’t need to keep looking for a place to put our hope. We know where our hope lies. And, so, we release this week, and we look into tomorrow knowing this will be the final day of the month and we’re grateful. Come Holy Spirit, plant the words that were spoken from your word into our lives today we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website, and its where you find out what’s going on around here. And it’s always good to know what’s going on around here. One thing that’s always going on around here is that were praying for each other. And, so, certainly check out the Prayer Wall. You can access that from the website or from…from the Daily Audio Bible app. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement 877-942-4253 is the number to dial or you can just hit the Hotline button in the app, the little red button up at the top and share from there, no matter where you are in the world.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Leviticus 19:1-20:21, Mark 8:11-38, Psalms 42:1-11, Proverbs 10:17

Today is the 26^th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it’s great to here with you today as we continue…well…we’ve kinda got a final push in this month now, a couple days left in this month. But as we continue our journey through the book of Feb…the book of February…I gotta like rewind the whole thing and start over, right? Hopefully I can…hopefully I can read today. So, it…it’s the month of February. It’s the 26^th day of that month and we’re reading from the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. Leviticus 19 verse 1 through 20 verse 21.

Commentary:

Okay. Let’s talk about Caesarea Philippi today. This is a town in Israel north of the Sea of Galilee, about 15 miles and it's…it’s odd because normally at this time year, normally right now we would be in the land of the Bible leading pilgrimage. And I don’t know if this would be the day that we go to Caesarea Philippi but it would be somewhere around here and once we got to the Galilee. And, so, the Sea of Galilee is kind of in northern Israel. And then heading up toward the border with like Syria and Lebanon we would encounter Caesarea Philippi. Like I said, about 15 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, north of where Jesus kind of headquartered His ministry. This is a very pagan city. It was a Roman city so you kind of have…have special permission to get in there is a Jew. The kinds of things that we’re going on there, like the ritual…the ritual idol worship that was going on there was offensive, very offensive to Hebrew people. So, Hebrew clergy of any sort, they’re not gonna go anywhere near there. And yet here’s the Rabbi Jesus going there, going there to this place. And the point is this…it's…it’s not by accident. Like you don’t just walk on foot, 15 miles one way accidentally and go, “oh shucks, I didn’t know there was a city here. What is this place?” They knew this was a hub of Roman governance, this was a very Roman city and they worshiped…well…primarily they worship the God Pan there. And Pan is known for instilling Pan-ic in its enemies. And Pan was…well…a lot of fertility rites happened around the worship of Pan. Pan was thought to be half human and half goat. And, so, the kind of rituals that would happen in this type of worship we would…we would find them to be revolting and perverse. I guess you just have to imagine fertility, humans, goats all working together toward some sort of blessing of the deity Pan and you sort of get the idea. And, like I was saying this place, it’s ruins, it’s an archaeological ruin at this point, but it still exists. And, so, you know, it wasn’t just like ritual worship. That was one part of town, like the religious part of town where the temples were, where we go to…to worship but then there’s other parts of town as well. But in the area where the temples were there’s this massive cliff face. I want to say it’s a good hundred feet tall and it’s just kind of stark. It’s up a sheer cliff face. If you were up on top of it, you couldn’t climb down without ropes and stuff. You’d fall to your death but at the base of that…of that cliff face is a huge cave. And in previous times before the Romans, before Pan, this was side of Baal worship. And, of course, in the Old Testament we hear plenty about the Baals. This is a place of Baal worship and the cave was thought to be the place where Baal would enter this world from the underworld and then would return to the underworld from this world through that cave and that cave was known as the gates of hell. So, it’s a really really interesting place, but it’s also really interesting what’s happening here. So, Jesus and His disciples are doing this 15-mile walk, they’re getting near Caesarea Philippi and Jesus starts to inquire about assumptions. What are the assumptions about me, right? What are people saying about me? What do they…who do they say that I am? And that’s when they find out that the assumptions about Jesus are that He’s John the Baptist just resurrected from the dead, that he’s Elijah, the ancient prophet, that He’s one of the other prophets that is returned. Those are incorrect assumptions, but they are the assumptions, and they are the things that people were saying about Jesus. And then Jesus asks what I think is probably the most important question that a human being can…can be asked and that a human being can answer. Who do you say that I am? And that is when Peter declares, “you are the Messiah.” We’ve encountered this story once already. We’re in the second gospel in the book of Matthew. That’s when Jesus says, “Peter, my father revealed this to you.” And then He says, “upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” That is really important because now we are tying geography to a declaration of Christ. He’s in Caesarea Philippi where the gates of hell were thought to be. And maybe…maybe when we pass this territory again in the Gospels we’ll talk more about it, but let’s focus in on the conversation. Let’s focus in on the fact that Jesus was geographically located, making statements, but his question, “who do you say that I am? No matter what anybody else is saying about me” basically is what Jesus is saying. “No matter what anybody else is saying about me because everything else that’s being said is wrong. Who do you say that I am?” And that is something to take into our day-to-day. I have spent my entire life with the desire to know God deeply and I realize that people say all kinds of things about who Jesus is. And I realize that at the end of it all it isn’t Jesus looking at me asking me who Mary says He is or who Tom says He is, or who George says He is who Tiffany says He is, it’s who I say that He is that matters to Him and our relationship. And that is how it is for you too. Who do you say that Jesus is?

Prayer:

Father, we have the instant correct answers to that. Like, we could spout off the correct answer, but it’s far deeper than that. The questions way more probing than that. It goes down to the bedrock. It’s like our declaration of faith. And, so, Holy Spirit come before we just spout off the right answer. We want to sit in this. We want to marinate in this. We want to contemplate this. We want to meditate upon it. Who does our heart say that you are? Who does our lives say that you are? Come Holy Spirit into these questions we pray. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it is where you find out what’s happening around here. So, stay connected. Of course, if you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can access these things as well.

The Community section, this is where the Prayer Wall lives. This is a very, very important part of our community experience, is just being aware that’s there. It’s always there. And, so, when we find ourselves in the depths we can reach out or when we find ourselves in the depths we can reach back and focus our attention on others. It’s always there for us to reach out. And, so, be aware of the Prayer Wall, available both at dailyaudiobible.com and in the app in the Community section. And that’s also where different links to the different social media channels that we are on are, where we post reminders about things that we’re reading or songs that have been played, etc. Just it’s a good idea to follow Daily Audio Bible on whatever platform, social media platform that you are a part of. So, check that out. The links are in the Community section.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well…as well…and I thank you humbly from the bottom of my heart saying what I've…what I’ve said many times. We’re in this together. That has been the story, that has always been the story of the Daily Audio Bible. And if we weren’t in this together, we wouldn’t exist. And, so, if Daily Audio Bible is life-giving than thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address, if that’s your preference is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, of course, if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can at the Hotline button in the app and share from their no matter where you are in the world or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Leviticus 19:1-20:21, Mark 8:11-38, Psalms 42:1-11, Proverbs 10:17

Today is the 26^th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it’s great to here with you today as we continue…well…we’ve kinda got a final push in this month now, a couple days left in this month. But as we continue our journey through the book of Feb…the book of February…I gotta like rewind the whole thing and start over, right? Hopefully I can…hopefully I can read today. So, it…it’s the month of February. It’s the 26^th day of that month and we’re reading from the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. Leviticus 19 verse 1 through 20 verse 21.

Commentary:

Okay. Let’s talk about Caesarea Philippi today. This is a town in Israel north of the Sea of Galilee, about 15 miles and it's…it’s odd because normally at this time year, normally right now we would be in the land of the Bible leading pilgrimage. And I don’t know if this would be the day that we go to Caesarea Philippi but it would be somewhere around here and once we got to the Galilee. And, so, the Sea of Galilee is kind of in northern Israel. And then heading up toward the border with like Syria and Lebanon we would encounter Caesarea Philippi. Like I said, about 15 miles north of the Sea of Galilee, north of where Jesus kind of headquartered His ministry. This is a very pagan city. It was a Roman city so you kind of have…have special permission to get in there is a Jew. The kinds of things that we’re going on there, like the ritual…the ritual idol worship that was going on there was offensive, very offensive to Hebrew people. So, Hebrew clergy of any sort, they’re not gonna go anywhere near there. And yet here’s the Rabbi Jesus going there, going there to this place. And the point is this…it's…it’s not by accident. Like you don’t just walk on foot, 15 miles one way accidentally and go, “oh shucks, I didn’t know there was a city here. What is this place?” They knew this was a hub of Roman governance, this was a very Roman city and they worshiped…well…primarily they worship the God Pan there. And Pan is known for instilling Pan-ic in its enemies. And Pan was…well…a lot of fertility rites happened around the worship of Pan. Pan was thought to be half human and half goat. And, so, the kind of rituals that would happen in this type of worship we would…we would find them to be revolting and perverse. I guess you just have to imagine fertility, humans, goats all working together toward some sort of blessing of the deity Pan and you sort of get the idea. And, like I was saying this place, it’s ruins, it’s an archaeological ruin at this point, but it still exists. And, so, you know, it wasn’t just like ritual worship. That was one part of town, like the religious part of town where the temples were, where we go to…to worship but then there’s other parts of town as well. But in the area where the temples were there’s this massive cliff face. I want to say it’s a good hundred feet tall and it’s just kind of stark. It’s up a sheer cliff face. If you were up on top of it, you couldn’t climb down without ropes and stuff. You’d fall to your death but at the base of that…of that cliff face is a huge cave. And in previous times before the Romans, before Pan, this was side of Baal worship. And, of course, in the Old Testament we hear plenty about the Baals. This is a place of Baal worship and the cave was thought to be the place where Baal would enter this world from the underworld and then would return to the underworld from this world through that cave and that cave was known as the gates of hell. So, it’s a really really interesting place, but it’s also really interesting what’s happening here. So, Jesus and His disciples are doing this 15-mile walk, they’re getting near Caesarea Philippi and Jesus starts to inquire about assumptions. What are the assumptions about me, right? What are people saying about me? What do they…who do they say that I am? And that’s when they find out that the assumptions about Jesus are that He’s John the Baptist just resurrected from the dead, that he’s Elijah, the ancient prophet, that He’s one of the other prophets that is returned. Those are incorrect assumptions, but they are the assumptions, and they are the things that people were saying about Jesus. And then Jesus asks what I think is probably the most important question that a human being can…can be asked and that a human being can answer. Who do you say that I am? And that is when Peter declares, “you are the Messiah.” We’ve encountered this story once already. We’re in the second gospel in the book of Matthew. That’s when Jesus says, “Peter, my father revealed this to you.” And then He says, “upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” That is really important because now we are tying geography to a declaration of Christ. He’s in Caesarea Philippi where the gates of hell were thought to be. And maybe…maybe when we pass this territory again in the Gospels we’ll talk more about it, but let’s focus in on the conversation. Let’s focus in on the fact that Jesus was geographically located, making statements, but his question, “who do you say that I am? No matter what anybody else is saying about me” basically is what Jesus is saying. “No matter what anybody else is saying about me because everything else that’s being said is wrong. Who do you say that I am?” And that is something to take into our day-to-day. I have spent my entire life with the desire to know God deeply and I realize that people say all kinds of things about who Jesus is. And I realize that at the end of it all it isn’t Jesus looking at me asking me who Mary says He is or who Tom says He is, or who George says He is who Tiffany says He is, it’s who I say that He is that matters to Him and our relationship. And that is how it is for you too. Who do you say that Jesus is?

Prayer:

Father, we have the instant correct answers to that. Like, we could spout off the correct answer, but it’s far deeper than that. The questions way more probing than that. It goes down to the bedrock. It’s like our declaration of faith. And, so, Holy Spirit come before we just spout off the right answer. We want to sit in this. We want to marinate in this. We want to contemplate this. We want to meditate upon it. Who does our heart say that you are? Who does our lives say that you are? Come Holy Spirit into these questions we pray. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it is where you find out what’s happening around here. So, stay connected. Of course, if you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app you can access these things as well.

The Community section, this is where the Prayer Wall lives. This is a very very important part of our community experience, is just being aware that’s there. It’s always there. And, so, when we find ourselves in the depths we can reach out or when we find ourselves in the depths we can reach back and focus our attention on others. It’s always there for us to reach out. And, so, be aware of the Prayer Wall, available both at dailyaudiobible.com and in the app in the Community section. And that’s also where different links to the different social media channels that we are on are, where we post reminders about things that we’re reading or songs that have been played, etc. Just it’s a good idea to follow Daily Audio Bible on whatever platform, social media platform that you are a part of. So, check that out. The links are in the Community section.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well…as well…and I thank you humbly from the bottom of my heart saying what I've…what I’ve said many times. We’re in this together. That has been the story, that has always been the story of the Daily Audio Bible. And if we weren’t in this together, we wouldn’t exist. And, so, if Daily Audio Bible is life-giving than thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or the mailing address, if that’s your preference is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, of course, if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can at the Hotline button in the app and share from their no matter where you are in the world or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that’s it for today. I‘m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Leviticus 16:29-18:30, Mark 7:24-8:10, Psalms 41:1-13, Proverbs 10:15-16

Today is the 25^th day of February welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am and Brian it’s great to be here with you today, taking the next step forward on the journey that we are on, which is the journey through the Bible in a year of life, a journey through a year together. And, so, let’s dive in, take that next step forward. We’re reading from the New Living Translation this week. We’ll move ourselves back into the book of Leviticus. Today chapter 16 verse 29 through 18 verse 30.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for bringing us this far into the year, and this far into the Scriptures. And we…we have gloried in it many times and we will many, many more times because Your word becomes a lamp to our feet and a light to our paths. It becomes a mirror into our souls. It actually does ask the deeper questions about why we’re doing the things that we’re doing, and what motivates that. We are grateful for that. We are grateful for the gospels. It feels like…it feels like we get to walk alongside You, Jesus, as You do ministry, and we get to know Your personality and we get to know the things that You care about. And this is so important because this is the goal, is that we become like You. This is…this is what we’re after, is to become Christlike and but we notice in You is perfection certainly. And certainly, we know in our own strength there is no perfection, but we’re just simply watching You, the first sinless person on planet earth since Adam and Eve. We’re watching You live. And what it reveals to us is what it’s supposed to look like for us, that the things that You are doing are the things that are supposed to be normal. And, so, we watch You living true and watch You taking command and we watch Your compassion, we watch Your kindness, and we see how far we fall short of that. And, so, Holy Spirit come, lead us deeper into Jesus, that it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives within us. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base. Like I say every day. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. So, be sure to stay tuned. Stay connected.

Also, the Daily Audio Bible app is a place to find out all these things. So, check that out.

Check out the community section, this is where the prayer wall is. This is where links to get connected on social media are.

Check out the Daily Audio Bible Shop. There are resources available there to take the journey deeper and wider.

And if you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if what we’re doing as a community is bringing life into your part of the world, then you for your partnership and being life-giving. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174A

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the app, which is the little red button up at the top or there are a number of numbers, telephone numbers that you can use depending on where you are or I guess you can use any of these anywhere, but in the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number. If you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 is the number to call. If you are in Australia or the Lansdowne under 61-3-8820-5459 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today Brian. I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.