Category: DAB Transcripts

Hosea 6:1-9:17, Jude 1-25, Psalms 126:1-6, Proverbs 29:12-14

Today is December 8th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today. And even as we get to the end of the year and just things speed up in the culture as we begin to move into the holiday season, things also speed up in the Bible because we’re moving through shorter epistles or letters in the New Testament and the minor prophets in the Old Testament. So, we’re moving quite rapidly. And that will continue today. We will conclude, in the Old Testament, the book of Hosea and we will read in its entirety, the epistle of Jude, in the New Testament. So, from the English Standard version this week, Hosea chapter 10 verse 1 through 14 verse 9.

Jude:

Okay. So, like we were talking about the beginning, we read through first John, then second and third John each in one day because there are short. And that’s what we’ll do here with the epistle or letter of Jude because it’s just 25 verses. And yet, it’s going to pack the punch of more than 25 verses. It’s very direct and succinct. And we don’t know a whole lot about Jude’s background and his life, but we do believe he was the half-brother of Jesus and the brother of James, neither of whom believe that Jesus was the Christ, right, the son of God, during his earthly ministry. But His resurrection from the dead seems to have changed their viewpoints considerably and that’s understandable. We don’t know exactly who Jude wrote this letter to other than that we know he was writing to believers in Jesus. But he wrote this letter to aggressively, to vigorously combat a false doctrine that was going through the church that basically said that, God’s grace through Jesus covers everything and we can do anything that we want, like you have license to do whatever you want to do because God’s grace covers it all. And, so, that led to some people but misbehaving in all sorts of inappropriate ways. And Jude writes this letter to hit this on the head and calls it false doctrine and challenges the believers to contend for their faith. And these are really, really important words for today because, as were turning the corner and heading into the final chapters, of the Bible, if there’s one thing that we’ve learned through the year in the Bible and through our experience as believers, the life of faith is something that you have to contend for. It’s something that we have to be vigilant about. It’s not something that we finally get everything right and then everything just stays right. It’s a vigilant collaboration, a relationship that needs constant maintenance just like marriage does. So, with that, we read the letter or the epistle of Jude.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we talked about the epistle of Jude before we read it to get a little bit of an overview. And, in a broad sense, we’re dealing with the same issues in first and second Peter, first, second, third, John and Jude. So, we kind of know there’s a lot of teachings that are not what was taught from the beginning, and people are moving in all kinds of directions, and some of them are very unhealthy and very unhelpful to the faith. And, so, we see, you know, the corrections made in these letters, the renouncing of a number of these behaviors or ideas. And, so, we kind of have the lay of the land there. But there are some peculiarities in the book of Jude, the epistle of Jude, and they actually capture for us extra biblical thought, that is documented in extra biblical writings. That is to say, they are not explicitly found in other parts of the Bible, kind of like when we talked about Melchizedek in the book of Hebrews. So, Jude talks about angels who were given a position and a job by God who then overstepped those boundaries and were chained up in gloomy darkness until judgment day. And the interesting thing is that Jude doesn’t really explain ways talking about. He just refers to it. And what we can take from that is that everybody that he’s talking to, they already know what he’s talking about. Like, he’s writing a letter not a theological treatise. And, so, he refers to this as if everybody knows what he’s talking about. It’s just an understanding in their culture. But we don’t have that embedded into our culture, so we can be, like, what is going on here? And some scholars think that what he’s referring to is, back in the book of Genesis, when the sons of God see the beauty of the daughters of Eve and then they come and have sex with them and giants are born, in order to tie it back to something in the Hebrew Bible. But what we can see is a fascination with angels and what they do and what happens to rebellious angels. And, so, you know, a lot of discussion happened over the centuries. It still happens today. But one of the places that some of this thought was captured is found in a writing called the book of Enoch. And, although the book of Enoch wasn’t canonized into the Bible, people were aware of it, read it, used it. Some churches in the second century used it as the in the authoritative word of God. And Jude seems to be referring to it here. And speaking of fascination with angels, Jude also refers to this confrontation, where the devil confronts the archangel Michael over the body of Moses. Well, that story is not found anywhere else in in the Bible and it’s not found in Enoch either, although Enoch talks about six different archangels of God. And the two that we would recognize from the Bible would be Michael and Gabriel. And people were trying to figure out the hierarchy of the Angels, like, how does that whole angelic world work? And it was thought that archangels were like the top, the chief angels, and they were in charge of different territories. And some of that thought is found in the book of Daniel. And from the book of Daniel, the idea that Michael was an archangel who was over the territory of Israel, God’s people, he was in charge of protecting them from evil. So, for the devil to confront the archangel Michael over the body of Moses doesn’t particularly mesh with the rest of the Old Testament because the devil has the personification of evil. Right? Like the Prince of evil, the Prince of darkness is an understanding that came over time. I mean, there is some language like this in the book of Job, but even there it’s not quite as we understand it now. But the awareness that he’s evil and the accuser and the adversary, these things are clear and present in the writings of the New Testament. As for Michael,  his role that kind of expands by the time we get to the book of Revelation, where he is a protector of the church from the dragon. But as for the devil confronting the archangel Michael over the body of Moses, I mean, the only thing we have about the body of Moses in the book of Deuteronomy is that nobody knows where he’s buried. But there is a writing that is dated to around the first century, so, basically contemporary with the New Testament writings called the Assumption of Moses. And in it, after Moses died, Michael was given the job, the task, of burying him. And the devil comes along and basically claims that he has jurisdiction and Michael refuses and then the devil claims that Moses was a murderer because he killed the Egyptian who was mistreating his fellow Hebrew. So, it’s very similar to what Jude is saying, but in that story Michael doesn’t rebuke the devil or anything like that. He just simply buries Moses. So, that is all fascinating stuff. But Jude doesn’t unpack any of the story. And, so, what we can assume from that is that the people that that Jude is talking to, they know all of this and there’s a common understanding of it, which gives us an intriguing look at some of the thoughts and discussion happening early on in the development of the church. So, I didn’t tell you all that to make a theological statement. It’s just interesting when you read certain things in the Bible and you’re like, what is being talked about here? When you dig into it you find intriguing snapshots and in those snapshots you find thoughts, ideas, and convictions take form and it gives us a wider scope of understanding, not only in the lives of our ancestors, but in the way that we form these things still today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for all of the journey that we have been on for every day of this year so far and we look ahead and we have 11 different books to move through in a very short space of time. And tomorrow we will begin the final book of the New Testament. And we are awed by all that You’ve done inside of us. Your word is so comprehensive, such a treasure. This book that we all looked at one point or another as something big and unattainable, and maybe antiquated, hard to understand, and even archaic is anything but. It speaks into our human experience from every conceivable direction and peels back the layers and changes us and we are thankful. And we invite Your Holy Spirit to continue to speak through Your word and to continue to speak into our lives and to continue to speak through our lives as we continue to open ourselves fully to You. Come Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. Plenty of things are happening’

So, it’s time to call in your holiday greetings in anticipation of our annual Daily Audio Bible family Christmas program. And then we get together and wish each other Merry Christmas and good will toward each other and we move through the gospel story of Christmas and we just talk about the year and what’s to come in the year. Jill and I usually get on and talk about that for a while. So, that’s coming up pretty soon. It’s time to call in your holiday greetings. You just use the prayer line, 877-942-4253, for that. The only request is that you don’t combine a prayer request with a holiday greeting. We just don’t have a way to manage all of that. Just call in your holiday greeting and if you also have a prayer request then call that in separately.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box 2017 is available. And as I’ve been saying, it’s chock full of goodies -  some you will want for yourself, some you will want to pass on his gifts, and you get to choose, and that’s the magic of the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box. In the Christmas Box this year is a CD called Advent, full of contemplative songs meant to put us in the season, to put us in the contemplative mode of considering the mystery of the coming of the Savior and our longing for His return. The family Christmas CD is in there, full of traditional carols, set in a backdrop of lush instrumentation, and just wonderful to shut the lights off and just take a minute in this busy season. Two copies of Sneezing Jesus are in the box. A book called The Road Back to You, which has been a really helpful book for me this year, written by my friend Ian, who is a fellow pastor, a brother in Christ, and also a licensed therapist, is included in the box. The Daily Audio Bible Christmas bulb for 2017 is in the Box. A Black Wing pencil is in the Box. A pack of the Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards for 2017, so 20 Christmas cards with the envelopes is in the Box. And your choice of the DAB blend of coffee or our honey bush and ribose tea. So, it’s a great Box this year as it always is.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards are available outside the Box. You can just get as many packs of 20 as you want. They’re $4.99 for a pack of 20 with the envelopes. So, probably can’t be that anywhere. And it’s a great opportunity to invite those that are in your sphere, those that you love, to take the journey with you in 2018 through the Bible.

Also, in the Daily Audio Bible shop is the new Daily Audio Bible journals and the Black Wing pencils and all of the associated instruments that work for journaling. And we’ve got a number of bundles that I think are great gift ideas. So, check that out.

Early registration for the More Gathering, which is our annual women’s conference that will take place in April is open now and makes for a great gift idea as well. And that can be found at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible at the end of the year here, then thank you very, very much, very humbly. The global campfire that we share together burns because we do it together. So, there’s a link on the homepage of dailyaudiobible.com. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Help me shine brightly within this dark place
I want men to see You when the see my face
Let love surround me and light up this place
Kiss me with kindness I’ve been touched my Your grace
My smile is enormous and reflective of You
It’s stretching my insides and making me new
Changing my heart my desires my tongue
I know that I’m aging but it’s keeping me young
So let me shine brightly each moment for You
And not be deterred by what others do
And when shadows fall as often they do
Help me stay focused on that which is of You
Let me shine brightly within the dark place
Making a statement the world can’t erase
The Spirt is light the Spirit is Love
The Spirit is joyful and comes from above
Caring forgiving it’s patient It’s kind
It gives me Your peace that surpasses the mind
It looks for the best from out of the worst
It safeguards the tongue when one wants to curse
It doesn’t bring up the past when often we sin
It gives you a mindset and power to win
Let me shine brightly my Savior for the
I want men to see You when they look at me

Blindtony1016@gmail.com. I’d like to give a special shout out to Dean S. and Kim. Hope all is well. And Michelle from LA, know you’re very much loved. Marvin and Cynthia, know you’re daily y’all in my prayers. Anyway. And thank you Brian for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flowin’ y’all. Alright. Bye-bye.

Hello this is Jamie from Phoenix. I need your prayers for a friend of my husband. Her name is Andy and she has a young 3-year-old son that is at Phoenix Children’s hospital right now. And needing a lot of prayers. Long story short, his father tried to kill her and the baby, stabbing the baby in the head and he had brain surgery a couple of months ago and has been in the hospital ever since. He has not woke up in the last 4 days and she feels that God is punishing her. So, please pray for a miracle that this all turns around and God is glorified so that she can see that God does not hate her. Please join me with this and I will keep you posted. God bless you all. I love you. Bye-bye.

Hi DAB family. This is Brandon from western Colorado. I was wondering if you could pray for me and my family. I’ve been having a bunch of weird anxiety lately and been having a hard time sleeping and my wife’s been having a hard time sleeping too. So, if you could pray…we’ve been praying and stuff like that, but I wanted you guys help as well. So, we all appreciate your prayers and love you all. Alrighty. Bye-bye.

What’s up everybody. It is a Miguel from Santa Rosa. And this might sound a little bit out of left field but I’m going to trust that this is the Spirit leading this prayer, but I’m actually traveling through San Francisco right now and driving down 19th Ave. and just in awe of the lights of the night right now. And I feel led to pray for this city and the people in this city. So, I just want to do that and invite you to do that with me. Father God, as I travel through here and I see people in the hustle and bustle in the malls and the streets in this great city that has been built, Lord I ask that You would move here Lord, that Jesus, Your Spirit would move, that your church would move in this place Lord. And that people would be brought to you Jesus, and that there would be healing in Jesus name, that there would be a unification of churches under the name of Jesus, and God, that you do a mighty work in this city, that there would even be a revival of your church here in this city. I don’t even know what this looks like. I barely even know what I’m asking here, but God, I believe You are leading me to pray this because You have plans for this city. You have plans for San Francisco and You have plans for California, for the United States, for the world, Lord. I pray in faith, fixed on You, asking You to do exactly what Your willed to do Lord. Would You bless every Daily Audio Bible listener in this city Lord that’s listening to this, that they would be healed, that they would be met by Your Spirit Jesus? God, do mighty, great, unexplainable things in San Francisco. And I ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hosea 6:1-9:17, 3 John 1-14, Psalms 126:1-6, Proverbs 29:12-14

Today is the 7^th day of December. I was trying to figure out what month we were in. That was a complete brain freeze. But yes, the month of December, the last month of the year, and we’re seven days into it. So, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible for the 7^th of December. I’m Brian and it is great to be here with you around this global campfire that we share every day. And today is going to take us further into the book of Hosea. We’ll finish Hosea up tomorrow. And then, when we get to the New Testament today, we will read, in its entirety, Third John. So, let’s dive in. We’re reading from the English Standard Version this week. Hosea 6:1 through 9:17.

Third John:

Okay. So yesterday we read Second John and in its entirety, which brings us to the third letter of John or Third John, which we will also read in its entirety today. And this was probably written right along with the second letter, shortly thereafter. And it’s a little different than John’s first and second letters, in that, this one is a personal letter and it’s sent to a man named Gaius. So first and second John dealt largely with people who had abandoned their faith and then become enemies of Christ, like completely rejected Jesus, and then tried to remain in fellowship with other people and seduce them away or give them a false teaching to believe in and lead them astray. And John said, basically, he said look, you have to go back to what you were told in the first place. That was the truth and everything has to be surrounded in love. We have to live in love for this to work. In fact, it is our love for one another that makes God’s love manifest or apparent, visible in the world. So, that gave us a glimpse into some of the controversies that were happening around this time. Third John does the same thing. It’s a bit different issue, but it also gives us a glimpse into the conflicts that were happening early on in the faith. So, this letter is written to a man named Gaius. And if John was an Ephesus, which many scholars believe, that this is probably written from there, where John spent the latter years of his life traditionally. And Gaius was a good person an upstanding believer who was a member of one of the nearby churches. And he was passionate about helping those who had been called as missionaries, those who go out and plant churches and share and spread the gospel. He was passionate about helping them in this region and thereby furthering the gospel of Jesus. So, in a fascinating picture of church politics, a man named Diotrephes inserts himself into the equation because he doesn’t like the way Gaius is doing his missionary assistance. And John writes this letter to Gaius to affirm him and what he’s doing and to let him know that he will deal with the issue. Right? So, he’ll deal with Diotrephes. This letter helps us see lines of spiritual authority, also helps us see that some of the issues that we see around us today have been struggles for the church all along. And so, we begin. Third John.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and all of the places that it takes us, all of the things that it churns up inside of us, all of the things that it plants inside of us, all of the harvest and change and goodness that comes from it. And we’re grateful for this Psalm, Psalm 126, and we pray into the that today. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion we were like those who dream. When You rescued us we were stunned. There was a beat where we thought; did that just happen? And we’ve experienced this in our lives as You’ve rescued us so many times. Then our mouth was filled with laughter and our tongue with shouts of joy. The Lord has done great things for them. The Lord has done great things for us. We are glad. Restore our fortunes oh Lord, like streams in the desert. Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy. He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy bringing his harvest with him. This is what You do Father. You restore, You rescue, You write a new ending to our story. And we are stunned by Your goodness and we laugh. We shout with joy and we worship You for Your goodness. And may we reflect that goodness. May we be agents of that goodness in the world. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. And, so, there are several things going on.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box is going on. Those are available and full of goodie - some stuff you’ll want to keep for yourself, some stuff that you will want to give away. And you can check all that out it dailyaudiobible.com in the shop, in the Christmas section. And they’re going fast, as they always do. So, check it out while we still have them.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards are also available. I mean, there are Christmas cards in the Christmas Box, but you get the Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards individually as well. They come in packs of 20 with the associated envelopes. We make them new every year. And they’re just Christmas cards. So, they’re not like Daily Audio Bible commercials or anything like that. The only thing that says Daily Audio Bible on it is on the back, like where you would find the brand, like Hallmark or whatever. So, you get a beautiful passage from the Gospel of Luke about the coming of Jesus and the rest is blank for you to write to whoever you are writing too. We think this is a great opportunity to invite those that you are closest to, those that you love, to take the journey through the Scriptures in community with you next year. So, we’ve got these. They’re $4.99. So, $5 for 20 cards. You probably can’t beat that. And they’re beautiful. And you can see them in the Daily Audio Bible shop, in the Christmas section as well.

Then, I’ve mentioned, we’re taking the holiday greeting calls now for the annual Daily Audio Bible family charisma’s party. And there’s not a lot of rules about this. You call in your holiday greeting. You just use the prayer line, any of the prayer lines from around the world. The only rule about it is, don’t combine your holiday greeting with a prayer request. Make that separate. So, you can call them and now and we’ll do that for several more days and then we’ll start putting this all together.

The other thing is the More Gathering for women. Early registration has opened for that. It will last until the end of the year. And gives us the chance to out make the conferences economical as possible. And it also happens to make for a very unique gift for your wife, for your sister, for your daughter, for the one that’s in your life that happens to be a woman, because the More Gathering is our annual women’s conference. So, check that out as well. You can find that at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. And all of the details that you would need to know or even want to know are there. And it has never been anything short of a wonderful experience. So, we’re looking forward to that this spring.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s a link, it’s on the homepage. And I thank you with all of my heart for your partnership here as we approach the end of the year. If you prefer the mail, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Good morning everybody. Happy weekend DAB. Brian, I am so blessed by the reading you just did on December 1^st. It was so timely with all the things I’ve been praying about and, honestly, it’s been a season of lamentation, but God has just been so present and comforting and He’s blessed me so much about what I’ve been learning about myself, about our place in this world, and just about the tension in waiting for the King to come and knowing that we are part of the Kingdom already. It’s so amazing. But that word that you said afterward about that fear of disappearing has been something that I have been struggling through, processing lately, as a black woman in so many white spaces. Even out here in the mission field, being in the Jordy White ministry, it’s been a really important thing to struggle through as I’m learning about my identity and being pushed more and more to find my identity in Christ and not let all the craziness in the world drive me away from God and all the craziness in the church, honestly, with silence and so many arguments and misunderstandings. It’s really a great battleground for the enemy to try to pull people of God away from the Lord through the difficulty and the challenge of…

Good morning DAB. Happy 2^nd day of Advent today. The patient Lord is coming, save us all. And I just thought to call in about an article I looked up in the week. I was writing CVs and I just go the sense I needed to recoup, readjust my perspective, on who God called me to be and who God says I am, rather than what I’m writing in CVs or cover letters to jobs and writing applications for work. I just thought I’d share some with you, those of you who have been discouraged on who they are in Jesus. So, the first one is, I’m a child of God. Second, I’m a branch of the true vine and a conduit of Christ’s life. I’m a friend of Jesus. I’ve been justified and redeemed. My old self was crucified with Christ and I am no longer a slave to sin. I will not be condemned by God. I accept being set free from the law and in death. As a child of God, I’m a fellow heir with Christ. I have been accepted by Christ. I’ve been called to be a saint. In Christ Jesus, I have wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in me. I am joined to the Lord and I am one Spirit with Him. God leads me in triumph, knowledge of Christ. The hardening of my heart has been removed in Christ. I am a new creature in Christ. I have become the righteousness of God in Christ. I have been made one with all who are in Christ Jesus. I am no longer a slave but a child and an heir. I’ve been set free in Christ. I’ve been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place. I am chosen, holy, and blameless before God. I am redeemed and forgiven by the grace of Christ. I’ve been preserved…

Good morning DABbers. I’m a burning bush that will not be devoured for the glory of our God and King.  Family, thank you all for your prayers. My mother was in the hospital for two weeks and she couldn’t move her body. She has a lot going on. She’s battling cancer. They thought she had fluid on her brain and she had not moved herself out of her bed for…I’d say…approximately…two to three months. And praise God for answered prayers the week before thanksgiving…I think it was a Thursday night…or Wednesday…Thursday night. She just sat up in the bed, praise God, she sat up in the bed. I went and held her hand and she said, your hands are cold. And She wasn’t speaking prior to that so, praise God for healing. Thank you all for praying for her. Right now she’s in a rehabilitation center. She’s been in there for about a week and she’s getting better each day and I just praise God for a miraculous healing of my 83-year-old mother. There’s nothing impossible for God. He can do all things. He can do it beyond our expectations. I just wanted to give that praise report. I love you guys. Bye.

Hey. Good morning DAB family. To Be a Blessing in Northern California calling. Just wanted to ask for your prayers for a friend of mine. She was coming from a family party on Saturday, December 2^nd, with her mother, her elderly mother. And her mother had some ___. She was experiencing some dementia. Typically, they hold hands when they are walking together outside and somehow, my friend got distracted, she wasn’t holding her mother’s hand, and someone came speeding along, hit her, and killed her. So, please keep my friend in prayer. Her name is Alley. It was a hit and run. So, we need to find this person who did this horrific crime. So, please pray for justice as well. I know that God draws near to the broken hearted. His promises are sure. But the pain that I am feeling for her is just so deep. And I know that the pain that she is experiencing has no name. Thank you for your prayerful support. God bless you today. Bye-bye.

Hosea 4:1-5:15, 2 John 1-13, Psalms 125:1-5, Proverbs 29:9-11

Today is the 6^th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today, right here in the middle of the week, all ready to take the next step forward. And I’ve got my routine going. So, I’ve my Wind Farm coffee to my left and the microphone, of course, right in front of me, and off we go. So, we began Hosea yesterday. We’ll begin second John today and we’ll talk about that in a few minutes, but first, we’re reading from the English Standard Version this week. Hosea chapter 4 verse 1 through 5:15

Second John:

Okay. So, coming quickly on the heels of John’s first letter, which is fairly short, is second John, the second epistle of John, written shortly after he wrote his first letter and probably to the same people he wrote the first letter to. And this letter was possibly written from Ephesus, where tradition holds that John spent the latter years of his life and was written to encourage and strengthen the church against the false doctrine that was so pervasive around them and to remind them that they needed to guard themselves against these false doctrines and live in truth and love, in contrast to these false teachings. So, similar themes to what we just went through in first John. And there’s no shortage of this today. There’s plenty of things out there to seduce us and it’s very important that we walk in truth and in love, guarding ourselves as we deepen our relationship with Jesus and carry the gospel forward into this world. And, so, we begin. Second John chapter 1.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we read the entirety of second John today. It’s pretty short. It’s more of a note than a letter. And it’s addressed to the elect lady and her children. So, we can only surmise that that means, like, another fellowship and the people that are in that fellowship. So, we don’t know if he’s using the elect lady and her children as a term of endearment or like a code or what, but he’s basically just reiterating what was going on in the first letter, which is a teaching that apparently is coming from people who were once in the fellowship, but who have walked away and rejected Jesus. John is basically warning against that by reminding them, if you have Jesus then you have God, but you can’t have one without the other and that this was the teaching from the beginning. Right? So, if you’re confused, go back to what you were told from the beginning. That hasn’t changed, that hasn’t wavered. And that if we’re going to live in Christ, then we have to obey his commandments and that begins with love. And we can see that things have progressed a bit between the first letter and the second letter about this person who is become an apostate or these people who have become anti-Christ’s because at this point he’s saying, you don’t, you shouldn’t even be around these people. John says, you shouldn’t receive him into your house or give him any greeting. So, him, that could be a specific person or it could be anyone who’s in this camp. And the teaching that is so problematic for John is that people are saying Jesus didn’t come in the flesh. And that is being utterly refuted by John. So, the main point of this letter, we can find beginning at verse nine and it’s essentially what he’s already instructed. ‘Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive them into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works.’ So, things have progressed to that point. And tomorrow we will read third John.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You. We thank You for all the tapestry that Your word is, how it touches every point of our existence in every conceivable way. And how You continue to enrich us and grow us up through Your word. And, so, we’re grateful, as we are every day and we invite Your Holy Spirit to continue to lead us into all truth. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

So, I mentioned yesterday about the Daily Audio Bible family Christmas, which is kind of our annual Christmas party as a community. And in it, we hear each other’s greetings to one another all over the world and we read through the Christmas story together. And Jill and I, we have a conversation just looking back at the year, looking forward to the new year. And, so, you can call in your Christmas greetings now. And the way that you do that is just to use the prayer line 877-942-4253. And the only rule about that is don’t call a holiday greeting in mixed with a prayer request. If you have a holiday greeting, then call that in. And if you also have something going on that you want your brothers and sisters to walk through with you, call that in separately. But for the next few days we’ll be taking those calls. So, get them in and then we’ll start putting it together. And we’ll have our Christmas party in a couple weeks.

The other thing that is going…well…the other things that are going on are the Daily Audio Bible annual Christmas Box is available. And it’s full of resources, some that you’ll want to keep for yourself, some that you’ll want to give away. That’s the magic of it, you get to choose. So, that’s available at dailyaudiobible.com in the shop, in the Christmas category.

We also have the Daily Audio Bible journals and all of the writing, the Black Wing pencils, and all of the writing paraphernalia that goes with that. And we’ve got some great bundles that make for really wonderful Christmas gifts. So, you can find those in the Daily Audio Bible shop in the Lifestyle category.

And then, lastly, early registration for the More Gathering, our annual women’s conference, that will take place in April, is open. You can find that in the Initiatives section of the website. All of the details are there. So, we’re praying and looking forward to that happening this spring as new life begins to spring forth. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, here in the last weeks of the year, thank you, humbly and profoundly for your partnership. There’s a link that’s on the homepage. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or comment, or right now, also a holiday greeting, 877-942-4253 is the number to call.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Good morning from beautiful Cincinnati Ohio. This is Daniel J. Jr.

11 more months completed, one more month to go
A year almost gone, yet 31 more days to grow
A year much hard-pressed, much loss, much grief
Worn out with tears, longing for relief
A year with much joy too, much mercy, much grace
God’s blessings overflowing, days I’d not replace
Much deliverance, so much to rejoice
Love poured out praises to give voice
So a year hard-pressed, much grief, much loss
A month yet ahead to press hard like a boss

God bless you all. God bless us all. Let’s continue to press in hard and let’s see what God has for us this year yet. From beautiful Cincinnati, Ohio this is Daniel J. Jr. Make it a great day.

Good morning DAB family. Today is December 1^st, 2017. This is Patricia from Minnesota. I rarely call but I do listen daily to all of your prayers and lift all of you in your daily prayers. Today I pray that each of you and your loved ones knows that God wants to be with us, that He’s the best and most important part of our lives. Revelations 2:4-5. This month does mark the 4^th year for me listening to the Daily Audio Bible. All glory to God, thanks to the Hardin family and the dedication of staff that daily feed our souls. Thank You Father for this precious gift, in the name of Christ, Jesus, I pray. Amen. Family, today, specifically I pray for my oldest 31 year-old son, Tony. Tony travelled to Las Vegas with a new girlfriend. He has just broken up from a ___ relationship with a strong…a strong woman and felt that there was going to be hope and favor in his life and happiness forever. He just…he recently…Tony recently completed 13 years of court probation and this his first travel out of state. I do pray for Christ to cover him and his girlfriend. I pray that that there’s a strong hedge of protection just around him and that during this travel that he does stay sober, strong, and controlled, because we don’t know this woman. And I pray for…just…for all authorities __ and command…all authorities and forces of evil to depart, right now, away from us, our families, our homes and our lands, and cast __ …

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. This is my first call. I’m going by, Dependent on Him from Iowa. And I’ve been so taken aback by the love and support of this Daily Audio Bible family that I couldn’t help but call with a prayer request because I need prayer. So, family, please, if you would pray for my husband and for my marriage. My husband left me unexpectedly 10 months ago and filed for divorce…like…I don’t know…6 months ago, maybe. I have been fighting for this marriage. I know this marriage. I know God is working in this marriage. My husband had turned from God when he left. So, long story short, family, I need prayer for my husband, that he realize his need for Christ back in his life, that he realize that he cannot heal because my husband has been through so much trauma and tragedy in his life. So much, including the loss of a child, that he cannot…he is not healed from any of this and that he needs Christ and that’s the only way that will heal and that relationship is brought back together again. And then I ask family that you pray that my husband turn his heart, after he turns his heart back to God, that he turn it back to me, his wife, and to our marriage, and to the covenant we made. Now I ask that you pray for me for strength because I love my husband. Not only do I love my husband but I love God so much more and will not give up on this marriage and will not give up on my husband because I made a vow and a promise to God and a covenant in the heavenlies. But I’m tired and it’s painful, and the enemy…

Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Rebecca from Michigan. It is December 1^st. Can you believe that? Anyways, I’m already starting my journey of the Christmas Spirit because yesterday, one of my coworkers got a Christmas tree and put lights on and he said everyone can bring a Christmas ornament and decorate it. And it’s like…it’s like one big family even though we may not see Christmas the same way, maybe. But it’s just so awesome. It put me in the Christmas mood to want to go get Christmas ornaments or decorate or sing Christmas songs. And then I put some of the songs on that I got from DAB and with Brian’s daughter singing the Little Drummer Boy. I love that song. That’s my favorite song of that whole album, is The Little Drummer Boy. But right now my instruments in a repair shop. So, I’m praying it will hurry up and get out so I can play the Little Drummer Boy on my flute. And I put my name in a drawing for a piccolo. So, I’m hoping that I win it, but if I don’t I won’t cry. So, anyways, so far, I just wanted to let you know I’m having an awesome Christmas. The Spirit is kicking in and I’m just really enjoying life lately and I think…I miss the Daily Audio Bible it’s such an addiction because…it’s like…I need you guys…I need this…I the Word poured into me because I remember a colleague that…he like…used bad words and talked over you about people and things…

Hi DAB family. This is Joyce in California. It’s been about a year since I last called to update you. I pray along with each call but because of my schedule I don’t have time to listen to the community prayers. I’m the 4^th year medical student who failed my board exam twice even though I earned honors taking care of actual patients. I learned that my learning system were due to injuries when I was infant. My parents tried to strangle me the day I was born, December 20^th, because I was not the boy that they wanted. My aunt stopped them so I survived. But I was badly abused and neglected thereafter that. I praise God and I forgive my parents because they helped me to understand suffering. God is using all of our brokenness for His glory and restoration. Nothing is too hard for Him. Today is December 1^st and I’m asking my DAB family to lift me up in prayer for the next 30 days, especially on my birthday, December 20^th, because I have struggled with sadness to remember my worst injuries on that day. Thank you for helping me to stand strong and to live out God’s purpose for my life. My board exams will be on December 29^th and 30^th and I’m praying for God’s will to be done, that He will use any outcome for His glory. Family, I admit, I’m really afraid to ask for assistance, so, if you could help me contend for this I would appreciate it so much. I’ve worked so hard and I’ve seen so little improvement and I don’t want to be disappointed in myself of disappoint God, which I know I can’t do, but it just feels that way sometimes, you know? And please pray for focus, proficient study, for rapid recall, wisdom, insight, knowledge and understanding. Please pray for healing of my injuries so I can sleep deeply and consolidate memories efficiently. It would mean so much to me knowing that I am being prayed for. Thank you so much. This is Joyce in California. I love you family.

Hosea 1:1-3:5, 1 John 5:1-21, Psalms 124:1-8, Proverbs 29:5-8

Today is the 5^th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s a pleasure and an honor to be here with you today. It’s so good to be here with you every day as we keep taking a step forward every day that leads us through the whole Bible in a year. And speaking of our progress, we finished the book of Daniel yesterday, we will finish first John today, but having completed Daniel, that leads us to the book of Hosea. So, let’s talk about that a little bit.

Hosea:

The theme of marriage is often used in the Bible to represent God’s love for His people, especially in the Old Testament between God and those He was in covenant with, the children of Israel. And the truth is, there is no better metaphor, because we often find God’s people off with other lovers committing adultery, as it were. And God’s reaction to this is very understandable. And, often when we’re reading about vengeful wrath that seems over the top, we’re actually reading the words of a scorned lover who deeply cares for his lost love. And nowhere in the Bible is this more clearly presented than in the book of Hosea, a book of prophecy. Because God asks Hosea to use his very life as living prophecy. The instruction to marry a prostitute named Gomer, and this represents the idolatry, adultery, and harlotry of Israel. The couple of children and each child is given a prophetic name that speaks directly to Israel. And then Gomer is unfaithful. Hosea divorces her as God thrusts away Israel and in an about-face, Hosea goes in pursuit of Gomer, once again. And this woman, who has been unfaithful, who was played the harlot, actually has to be purchased back, which Hosea does, representing God’s passion for His people, even to the point of rescuing and buying them back, buying back what He loves. It’s a beautiful picture of God’s love for us and we’ll find in Hosea. And we also get a good picture of our betrayal when we chase after other lovers and its impact on God. Most of us have experienced a broken heart or had a sense of betrayal at one point or another in our lives. The book of Hosea gives us a good picture of what that looks like from God’s eyes. And, so, we begin. Hosea 1:1 through 3:5 and we’re reading from the English Standard Version this week.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for every day, something new, something that moves things inside of us. We thank You for all of the people that we’ve been able to meet in the Scriptures this year, all of the narratives and stories, all of the letters and accounts of Your work in this world, and Your hopeful and redemptive nature, Your patience and kindness toward us. And we are grateful, and with great anticipation, looking forward to all that You have yet to speak through Your word. So, our hearts are open. Come, Holy Spirit. Continue to perfect Your love in us as we love one another. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. And there’s plenty going on around here, but something new today.

We have an annual tradition around here. It’s kind of our annual Christmas party for the Daily Audio Bible community. And, of course, we’re far-flung, we’re all over the world. Wouldn’t it be fun if we could all get together? But for now, it’s a virtual party. And we do this by just hearing from each other, Christmas wishes and we read through the Christmas story together. And Jill and I, we talk for a little while about the past year and talk about our hopes for next year and even our word for next year. And it’s just a beautiful time and we all get to participate. So, here’s the deal. Starting today, you can call in your holiday wishes and greetings to the Daily Audio Bible community at large. And we’ll do this for about a week and collect them all together and then put this whole thing together. And in a couple weeks we’ll have the Daily Audio Bible family Christmas 2017. So, there aren’t a lot of rules about this, but there are some instructions. There are no new numbers to call. Our normal prayer line 877-942-4253 is the number. Of course, we have a couple of other numbers. If you are in the UK or Europe, you can call 44-20-3608-8078, or if you are in Australia or in the lands down under, 61-3-8820-5459 is a number you can call. Of course, those are the other prayer request numbers. You just use that line and call in your holiday greeting. Here is the only instruction. If you actually have a prayer request, don’t combine that with the holiday greeting.  Call in your holiday greeting then call back with your prayer request. That keeps everything focused and moving in the right direction. We just don’t have the capacity to edit all of that. So, just make them separate. You can start doing that today and we’ll do this for about a week and begin putting this all together. It’s a beautiful time. I mean, there are many things that happen Daily Audio Bible community in any given year that can bring me to tears, but our family Christmas gathering is definitely one of those things. It’s just beautiful to reflect back. And just so wonderful to hear holiday greetings from around the world, inside this community. So, jump on that and you can start today.

The other things are going on are the annual Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box that is chock full of goodies, some you’ll want to keep, some that you’ll want to give away. And it's…I mean…they always go fast. We always sell out of them. So, check that out. You can find it at dailyaudiobible.com in the shop, in the Christmas section.

And then we’ve been mentioning the More Gathering for women, our annual women’s conference that will take place this coming April. Early registration is open for that, along with early registration pricing that lasts till the end of the year. You can find out all about it at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. All the details, everything that you’d need to know or want to know can be found there. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link that’s right on the homepage. And, certainly, thank you for your partnership here at the end of the year. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Morning everybody. This is a call for whoever said they were praying for their coworker fighting cancer. They have multiple jobs and can’t pay the bills. So, I pray Lord Jesus, please lift up this coworker in Your name. Thank You for putting them on their colleagues heart and I pray that You will give them the word to  encourage to facilitate in their daily walk and if they are not with You Lord, I pray that You will bring them to Your heart and make a way for them to be saved. I pray also for Gloria and Tony, who both their parents are fighting Parkinson’s disease and dementia ___ as well. And I pray that You will make a way for them to be helped in any way possible. Thank You Jesus for Your love and Your kindness ___ authority ___ them. Please increase that. ___ in whatever way ___ Lord that you can make a way. Thank You. And all those with anxiety ___. And the lady’s daughter struggling with bi-polar, lift them up Lord. Thank you. Amen. Bye guys.

Hello everyone. This is Tammy, Wrapped in the Arms of Jesus from Pennsylvania and I just want to call and let…I believe it was Sharif from Canada that called a while back and I’m kind of a little nervous about calling. She called about my granddaughter that went into psych ward. She’s home. They stayed with me for the summer and I worked with her mom and my son to help them understand bi-polar more. And also, I need prayer…just for my life in general. I have no idea where it’s supposed to go. I’m struggling with, not just my alcohol addiction, but also sin, sexual sin, and lust over someone that is from my past. So, I want to thank everybody and I pray with everybody. As I hear every prayer, I pray with you. I’m always listening. I’m always praying and I love DAB and I would not know what to do or how to be without it if I didn’t start my day with it. And thank you, Brian, Jill and everyone behind the scenes doing all this. And the guy that mentioned Tumblr. Thanks, that’s so great that we have that there so we can go back and listen and actually follow with each and every one of the days. So, I hope you guys have a great day and a wonderful Christmas and I’ll talk to you all soon. Take care. God Bless you all. Thank you.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible people. This is Diane Olive B. from Newburgh Indiana. And it is November 30^th at a few minutes before 8 in the morning. And I really feel like I want to call in this morning to confess and repent and to be forgiven. I have had diabetes for over 20 years. It’s type 2 diabetes but lately I’ve been out of control in my eating and my A1C is at 11. It should be around 7. And I just want to repent and confess to you all that I’m sorry and I ask for your prayers. And I thank you. And Father, I just…I’m sorry I’ve been so out of control and I ask for Your help and I humble myself before You, Your throne of mercy and grace. And I ask for Your mercy and Your help. And I thank You for this community. I pray for this community and I know that the Lord has heard and answered my prayers. Thank you and God bless you. Shalom, shalom.

Hello. This is Mary from Mississippi. This is my 3^rd year listening to the DAB and I am so thankful to God for the strength in the family from the DAB. I just called to just say I’m just grateful to God just for being a member. When I found myself drifting away and going about my own thinking I said…oh…go back to the DAB. Get back on that every day. And that has been my strength. There’s power in hearing the word of God every day of my life and I share it with everybody that I know. I do call to the DAB just praying for everyone that has prayer requests. And mine, specifically, is for the youth of our world, they are disconnected with the Scriptures and the way we were brought up and I just pray for the youth of our world that they believe ___ God’s word and that we, as strong believers, would be an example to them and share with them our plight. It was not as easy for us but to staying true to the bible, staying true to God’s word, has been a light in my life and I’m sure it can be a light in our youth life. So, I just want the DAB to pray for our youth in the world, that they would draw back to the word of God and draw less to the world. Thank you for Jill. Thank you for Brian for bringing this podcast to the world and Merry Christmas to you all. Bye-bye.

Hey family. Drew from the Bay Area. Listen, I’m calling today to give thanks to this family and encourage some of you. Give you a little history. Many of you know me for a while. I believe that the Holy Spirit led me to this family back in 2011. I was a broken man. I give thanks to this family and I don’t think I would be here today without your encouragement and your love. I’m holding back tears now and I’ve been praying for you the last hour and a half with tears of joy and sadness, and coming to more and more knowledge of the truth. Brian, you are amazing. We’ve watched you grow and grow and grow. And what you’ve done for us is immeasurable. I know that God deserves all the glory, but we thank you and Jill. There’s people like Glenn who called in that are addicted, and people like me that call in that are broken and don’t know what to do with our lives, we’re confused, we’ve lost our identity. But family, we’re spiritual beings and one thing I found out is that this is eternal, that what we are going through, it seems it’s so big, but really, in the grand scheme of things, we’re a part of God’s plan. And just worshiping Him here is probably the most important thing that we do every day. If you look at your life and what you’re going through, it’s like a couple grains of sand in your hand compared to all the grains of sand in the whole world. And when we all come together it’s so important, what we do and what we say, how we pray…

Daniel 11:36-12:13, 1 John 4:1-21, Psalms 123:1-4, Proverbs 29:2-4

Today is December 4^th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as it always is and as we take the next step forward in the Scriptures. And it won’t be long now before we can start to see the finish line off in the distance out in front of us. We’re getting close, but we still have a ways to go. And today we will finish up the book of Daniel. So, we’re reading from the English Standard Version this week. Daniel 11:36 through 12:13.

Commentary:

Okay. In first John, we reached the climax of the letter and it’s some thoughts on God’s love and what it does and what it is and how it affects us. And in this reading alone, we have three different passages that are very famous, things that are quoted all of the time. Things like ‘greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world’ or ‘beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God’ or ‘there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear’. I mean, this is a formidable trifecta of quotations. So, let’s look at them in their context because we learn so much when we understand the context in which these things are said. So, a lot of this letter is dealing with people who have walked away and subsequently become enemies or anti-Christ’s, even though at one time they were a part of the community of faith. And that thought continues into the first part of today’s reading. And John is basically encouraging his readers to test the spirits, to not believe everything that they’re being told. There’s a lot of false teachers that are out there and he gives us a litmus test, ‘by this you know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist.’ And this is actually specific. So, when John says, ‘every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God’, he’s refuting what he’s calling false teachers, false prophets, spirit of the antichrist. There was a lot of trying to figure out how it is that Jesus works. And this is an oversimplification, but there was a lot of debate about whether or not Jesus was an apparition or a true human flesh and blood person. In other words, was he a divine being, that was simply made visible or was he a divine being made flesh? And we don’t have time to go into all of that right now, but we can safely say that that distinction can spin you off in all kinds of different directions and it did. So, John is clarifying. Anything, anyone that says that Jesus didn’t come in the flesh isn’t from God. So, it’s in that context that John says, ‘little children, you are from God and have overcome them’. And ‘them’ that John is talking about is those who have become apostates. Right? Those who have walked away and rejected their faith and become anti-Christ’s. ‘You have overcome them because He who is in you is greater than He who is in the world.’ Then he basically says, people who are of the world listen to those kind of people because they are all of the world. People who are of God listen to us. So, he’s harkening back to this simple gospel, this, that what you were taught to begin with was the right thing and all this other stuff swirling around is not from God. But you can overcome all of this. You don’t have to listen to all this. You don’t have to be in all this. The one who is in you, who is God, is greater than anything in the world. And then he turns to love as the glue that holds the whole thing together with some pretty profound implications. So, he’s saying, test the spirits. The spirit of God is in you the Spirit of God overcomes anything that’s in the world. And nothing that is of the spirit of the anti-Christ or anything or anyone that opposes Christ can’t truthfully confess that Jesus is Lord. And since God is in you, let us love one another, because love is from God. And whoever loves has been born of God and knows God, and anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. Okay, so here’s where it starts to get interesting. John says, ‘in this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him.’ So, in other words, Jesus wasn’t an apparition, Jesus was the flesh and blood, Son of God. But what was made visible, what was made manifest in Jesus, was the love of God. So, in Jesus, we actually see the love of God in action. And this didn’t happen because we love God, we’ve been loving God for a long, long time. We didn’t get to see this love of God in action through Jesus because we loved God. We get to see it and experience it because He loved us. And if He loves us like that, then we are to love each other like that. And here’s where it gets huge. So, I’m quoting first John 4:11 and 12 here. ‘Beloved, if God so loved us.’ So, ‘if God loves us like that, we also ought to love one another. No one had ever seen God. But if we love one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected in us.’ So, what John is saying, and this has some pretty big implications, is that when we love one another, we are manifesting the love of God in this world, we are making the love of God visible in this world, just like Jesus did. And this gives us the awesome weight of responsibility in this. God is loving everyone, in part, through his people. And according to John, that’s how we even know that we’re abiding in Him and that He is in us. And I’m quoting John here, ‘by this is love perfected with us so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as He is, so also are we in this world.’ So, no longer is the love of God being demonstrated, manifested through just this one person, who is God’s Son, Jesus, but rather, this Spirit of Christ now indwells all who believe. And this is manifested in the world, this is made visible in the world by our love. And there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear. So, it’s perfect love that casts out fear. How do we achieve perfect love? Well, to quote John, ‘no one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.’ So, in other words, God’s love is perfected in us, and perfect love casts out fear, and God’s love is perfected in us as we love one another, truly. And when you find that place, you’re not afraid, your walls are not up, you are not in a defensive posture all the time, whether it be out in the world or in your workplace or in the walls of your home. And John says that, ultimately, fear is connected to punishment or judgment and if you’re operating out of that space, out of that place, then love hasn’t been perfected in you yet. So, what is our take away -  loving one another perfects God’s love in us, and it makes the love of God visible and active in this world. It’s not that we have empathy and compassion and try to love the world, ourselves, it’s that God is doing it through us. And as we practice this it’s becoming more and more perfect in us. And all fear is cast away from us as God’s love is perfect in us. So, we must love one another, which is exactly what Jesus said when He said, I’m giving you a new commandment and that commandment is that you love one another as I have loved you. And John simply shows us what that looks like.

Prayer:

Father, we will never find a loophole. You have commanded us to love one another. And, in fact, it is this act of loving one another that shows us that we are in You and You are in us. And this was put starkly in first John, if anybody says I love God and hates his brother, he’s a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And we’re being told that even though we cannot see You with our physical eyes, Your love in this world can be seen and must be seen and that happens when You love through us. And as we open ourselves to allowing this, Your love is being made perfect in us and casting away all fear. So, we want it. We want that. We embrace this. Come, Holy Spirit, and fill us with Your love and may it spill out onto everyone we encounter today, and not just today. Today is the starting point that we are being conscious of what’s happening here. We want Your love to spill out of us every day that you give us. And the fact that we get to exist today at all is a gift and a demonstration of Your love. And, so, with gratefulness we open our hearts to anyone You want to love through us. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.  

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

Early registration for the More Gathering for women that is coming up this April is now open. And Jill was on here the other day just talking about her anticipation, her excitement. And I can tell you that that’s true. I see that in her. She’s thinking about this and praying over it continuously, as is the entire team. Literally, hundreds of hours of prayer and intercession over this event happen each year. And it’s already begun, I mean, it never really stops. So, if over the years that you’ve been around the Daily Bible, you’ve thought, I want to go, I want to go to that but what if something comes up or I’m afraid or I just don’t know what, if I’ll be alone. You won’t. Not only because of the canopy of prayer that goes up over this event. But, let’s be honest, this is the Daily Audio Bible community. The kind of love we were just talking about first John, we demonstrate that for each other in this community. And we don't…I mean…we travel all the time and I never don’t experience it. And it is manifest. Right? It’s made visible at the More Gathering. You’re not going to be alone. You might come alone. You might think you don’t know anyone. But I’m telling you, by the time you get out of your car and take a short walk to registration, that will be over. So, come. Registration is open and this is a fantastic gift idea for your wife or your sister or your loved one. This is a great idea to get some friends together and come. It’s not something that you will go, and that was good, and you’ll forget all about it. It’s something that you will remember fondly. So, you check out the More Gathering for women dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. Every detail that you would want or need to know can be found there.

And then, the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box is available now. And they’re going quickly, like they always do. We have lots of goodies in there - things that you will keep for yourself, things that you will pass on and give away. So, we have the Advent CD that I have talked about from our friends at Mission Chattanooga. Of course, yesterday was the first Sunday in the season of Advent. So, these are contemplative songs just written to aim your heart into the contemplation of the mystery of the arrival of the Savior. And there’s some just gorgeous stuff on there. Also with the family Christmas project that I produced and arranged, it’s the Christmas record I always wanted to make with the lush instrumentation and contemplative traditional carols. It’s the kind of thing that you just turn the lights out after a long day and the Christmas lights are on and it’s quiet and you have a cup of coffee or cocoa or tea or whatever and you just listen through and allow the essence of the season to be experienced. So, that’s in the Box as well. Two copies of Sneezing Jesus are in the Box. The Road Back to You, which is a book that my friend Ian wrote. I’ve been able to have great conversations with him because it was just so helpful. And, so, that’s in the box. A Black Wing pencil is in the Box. The Daily Audio Bible Christmas bulb, the annual Christmas bulb that only comes in the Box is in the Box. It’s got our word for the year, ‘Margin’, on it with the year 2017. So, that’s in there. A pack of the Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards for this year, the 2017 edition. So, there’s 20 cards with matching envelopes in the Box. And then, your choice of our DAB blend of fresh roasted coffee that will be roasted at altitude in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and sent fresh to you or our honey bush and ribose tea, your choice. So, check out the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box at dailyaudiobible.com in the shop in the Christmas section.

And then I’ve also been reminding us of our brand-new Daily Audio Bible journals and all of the Black Wing pencil goodies that just make for a wonderful writing and journaling environment. We have some great bundles in the shop and they make exquisite Christmas presents. So, you can find those in the Daily Audio Bible shop in the Lifestyle section.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here in the ending weeks of the year, thank you profoundly for your partnership. And of course, all contributions to the Daily Audio Bible are tax-deductible, so we will send you a receipt just after the first of the year. Thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage, at dailyaudiobible.com or if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hi. This is Dave from North Carolina. I just wanted to share that just last year I took a new job that resulted in a much longer commute – about an hour one way – and there were a lot of good reasons why I took that job and I think that it was something that God wanted me to do for my family and many reasons. But at first what seemed like a negative has turned out to be a positive because…mainly because of this podcast…because I now have the time…I mean…I’ve always had the time…but I’ve struggled with getting into God’s word and taking the time…and this podcast has been so helpful to me, to be in his word. Not every day. I miss some days but I know it’s always there. And also, I want to thank all of you who call into the prayer line because I try to use the time for prayer as well and I know that I should be praying, not just for myself, but for others. And the prayer requests that come in always give me people to pray for. And I also want to throw out one other quick encouragement that I heard my pastor say this last week, that if we don’t know how to pray, just ask the Holy Spirit to pray for you. Because sometimes I feel like I don’t know how to pray. And if any of you feel that way, just remember that the Holy Spirit will pray on your behalf. Thank you and God bless you.

Good morning family. This is Salvation is Mine in San Angelo California. Let’s pray. Dear heavenly Father, we come before You right now just bowing at Your feet for who You are, for the merciful God that You are. We want to thank You for the life You have given us so far and the life You have given us this day. Help us to use it to glorify You in word, action, and deed. Lord God, we just want to say, please protect, keep hold, show Your merciful love to those who do not know You. Help them to find an inkling of hope within their hearts today. Help them to reach out to You, Lord God, and come before You, confessing their sins, Lord God, and asking You to come into their lives, Lord God, and be with them. Minister to their hearts, minister to their minds, minister to their Spirits Lord God.  Bring people in their lives that will help facilitate this path that they need to be on, Lord God, that we all need to be on to draw closer to You each and every day. We love you Father God. We thank You so much for the blessing of Your son, Jesus Christ. Every time I think about the sacrifice on the cross it just hurts my soul so much to know that He suffered in such a horrific way just for me, just to save me, someone who wasn’t even thought of yet in the eyes of the world, who didn’t even know would be born in the eyes of the world, Lord God. But you saw fit to extend to all of us, hundreds of millions of years into the future, a Savior, and we thank You and we bless Your holy name for that. In Jesus’ name. Amen. Have a great day family. This is Salvation is Mine. Take care.

Hello sweet Daily Audio Bible family. This is Sheryl in Arizona. I just got done listening to the podcast for the 29^th, November 29^th. That I just have to say, I am so humbled and I am so grateful for this family. You all are truly priceless. I just am so blessed to Sheila in Massachusetts. Thank you for your beautiful prayer and your words, your kind words. And I want to mention beforehand that all three that I am going to mention, I have also prayed for you and over you, including the community. And Sheila, I heard you say that you have generalized anxiety and that your daughter Annie struggles with bipolar. So, bless you both. Like I said, I have prayed for you. That’s why I called in. And then there was someone, a young man, I didn’t get your name, you called in and you talked about checking my diet and my caffeine and sugar intake. Thar was spot on with the caffeine. Thank you so much and for your prayer. And I’ve also prayed for your coworker who is dealing with cancer and is working multiple jobs with the financial struggle. And then the gentleman who called at the end. Again, I didn’t get your name. I listened twice to make sure I didn’t miss something. What an incredible prayer. I cannot even…I just…words and time don’t allow me to express my gratitude but thank you so much. God bless you all. I love you so much. Thank you so much. Just thank you. I hope that you all have a beautiful day and week and God bless you. Bye-bye.

Hi. This is Kristi from New York. I am so grateful for this new wonderful family that I have, the Daily Audio Bible. I’m pretty new the last couple weeks here and am just amazed by how I am being lifted up in prayer even though you don’t know me. I am calling to pray for Donna in California. Donna, I just want to pray for you. We pray for our sister Donna, who has strongholds. Girl I’ve got strongholds too and we shut down those strong holds by the power of Jesus Christ in His name. By His glory we strike down shame and regret and we bring on Jesus healing in Jesus’ name. And you can be a blessing. Your destiny is all of our destiny. And I have a quick prayer request. Please pray for marriages in general. Mine are too, are, pretty obviously under spiritual attack right now, so, I really could use prayer from strangers. So, love you family. Bye.

Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Paul from Houston and I just wanted to Pray for Heather from Chicago from October 29^th that was asking for prayer for depression and I just wanted to…just…pour out my heart. In some ways, I’ve struggled with depression. Just certain things that I have been challenged with but have found that God…I found my renewed purpose in life is now pouring into the lives of other people. Through opportunities through a men’s group at church, I found ways to pray for other brothers. And I just want to pray that God would present opportunities to you to find His will and that as you seek Him, that He would make Himself known to you and that you would find your purpose and your calling in life. And I ask that God would just go with you, Heather, and that just spend time with Him, and that He would show you how valuable, how much of a daughter of Christ you are, and that he would open up the doors of opportunity to bless other people and to use you to bless others and as you do that you would find joy and fulfillment and the calling that God’s given you. And I just pray that God would stir in your heart those things that would draw you to Him. And I thank You Lord that the depression would leave and any of the anxiety and hurts would go and just thank You Lord for being with Heather. In Jesus’ name.

Daniel 11:2-35; 1 John 3:17-24; Psalms 122:1-9; Proverbs 29:1

Today is December 3^rd. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s good to be here with you today at the threshold of a shiny, sparkly new week. And this will lead us into the first full week of the last month of the year, December. And today is the first Sunday of Advent. We begin the season of Advent today and we can talk about that in a little bit. This week we will read from the English Standard Version and we will pick up where we left off yesterday in the book of Daniel chapter 11 verses 2 through 35.

Commentary:

Alright. So, we had a short reading in first John today, but there’s a lot in there and in a lot of ways, first John mimics or harmonizes with the ideas found in the book of James. So, John asks a provocative question and then uses that question to reveal the posture of life and heart that assures us that we are intertwined with God. So, here’s the question. ‘If anyone has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Which brings up the important question, is God’s love within you for your benefit alone? Does He just want to love and restore you and that’s the end of the story or does He love and restore us so that He can love through us? Aren’t we to be known by our love for one another? Isn’t God’s love present in us the thing that lets the world now we belong to God? Right? Didn’t Jesus say, by this all men will know that you are my disciples, that you love one another as I have loved you. And John, as did James, tells us that this isn’t just something you can talk about. Like, you can’t just hear this stuff and then talk about it. You become a hearer and then you talk about it, but that leads you to action. And John makes that clear, ‘little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.’ And then he turned toward our posture of heart by telling us, ‘by this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him’. So, when he says ‘by this’ what’s he talking about? Well, he’s talking about everything we just talked about. We are sure that God’s love is in us and He is loving people through us when we’re willing to do more than just talk about loving them, and by this we’ll know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before God. For whenever our heart condemns us, John says, God is greater than our heart and He knows everything. So, what does this mean? Well this word, condemn, literally translated, means to see accurately, to catch yourself. So, when you see your heart shutting down, when you see yourself closing off, when you are receiving the generosity and love of God within yourself, but are not willing to pass that on, to allow it to flow out of you because you don’t feel like it or whatever, then our posture is to understand that God is greater than our heart. What we’re doing, how we’re closing off, why we’re closing off, why we’re shutting down, why we’re unwilling to be a conduit of God’s love. God knows everything and He is pulling us out of that and calling us higher. He is greater than what we’re feeling or what we’re seeing. And then John goes on to show the other side of that coin. ‘Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God.’ So, in other words, if we are living open and we aren’t understanding that the generosity and love of God that flows into us is something that we don’t deserve, and yet it is our unmerited reality, and part of its purpose isn’t just for us alone, it’s that it is to flow out of us and God is loving people through us, then we’re connected to a much larger story, one that keeps us from self-absorption, because it’s not all about us. It never was. It’s about us receiving God’s goodness and then giving it away in every conceivable way, knowing that there is an endless supply. And the more of God’s love that we can demonstrate in and to this world, the more of God’s love that will be in this world, and things will change around us. And this is why whatever we ask, we receive from Him. Because we keep that commandment and we do what pleases him. Right? So, when we live open hearted, allowing God’s love to flow out of us toward everyone and everything, whatever we ask, we receive from God because were in total alignment. Or as John says it, ‘we abide in God and God abides in us, a perfect and holy collaboration, where we become like Christ, and love as He does. It’s a beautiful picture of our reality. And it’s a beautiful picture of what is available, but it challenges us to examine the posture of our own heart. Are we self-absorbed and selfish? If so, then we’re becoming a stagnant pond. Things are flowing in, but nothing is flowing back out. If our hearts are open, then it’s going to compel us to do more than talk about it. It’s going to compel us to do it, to love. And we live from this place, we realize that there is no shortage and we can always be full because we are intertwined with God. And in this scenario, He will give us whatever we ask for because whatever we’re asking for is in alignment with His wishes. We are truly collaborating. We are actually being the hands and feet of Jesus in this world. And God is loving through us. And there is no shortage. Pretty big stuff to think about today and most definitely compelling this time of year.

Prayer:

Father, we enter into that. We see so clearly that life isn’t about me and mine, but about You and Yours. All that we have has been given from Your hand and there is no lack or shortage in Your kingdom. And You have invited us all to be the vehicle by which Your love is poured out into this world in every conceivable way. And we turn our hearts toward You. We open our hearts to You. Even when we don’t feel like we can open our hearts to others, we open our heart to You and reach beyond ourselves to Your endless supply of love and mercy and grace. And may this pour out of us, spilling all around us, infecting this world with light, and life, and good news. We ask this in Your precious name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

As I mentioned at the beginning, today is the first Sunday in the season of Advent. Advent, of course, meaning, coming or arrival. And it’s just a season that we turn our hearts toward understanding and contemplating the mystery of the arrival of the Savior of the world and our continued longing for his return. It kind of sets us or resets us by allowing us some space to contemplate the reason this season exists at all. So, when you got the Daily Audio Bible today, there was an additional program and that is chapter 1 from the Audio Addition of Sneezing Jesus and chapter 1 is called Advent. So, you can use that to just reset and aim your heart toward the arrival of the Savior. So, be sure check that out.

And there are few other things going on.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box 2017 is available in the Daily Audio Bible shop in the Christmas section. And it’s full of resources, some that you want to keep and some that you want to give away. And that’s kind of the purpose of the Christmas Box. So, you can check that out at dailyaudiobible.com

Early registration for the More Gathering for women that will take place this April is now open and that’s in the Initiatives section at dailyaudiobible.com. So, check that out. It certainly makes for a special and very unique gift idea. So, you can get all the details, everything that you would need or want to know at the website. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here at the end of the year, that’s so appreciated, I don’t even have the words. Thank you for your partnership. There’s a link on the homepage or if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hey Daily Audio Bible. This is Rebecca from Michigan and I think allot of you guys are like…are like…making me pause and stuff in my heart. I know I need more than two minutes to talk to you but I’m going to use what I have. But I know my mom once told me that God was more forgiving than people. And my grandfather would always say’s, when you fall down, get up and do it again. And I think Dave from New Jersey really has be pondering that, I’ve made mistakes and I’m…you know…I’m so glad I found Jesus Christ in my life because if I didn’t find Him none of us would be on here talking to each other, none of us would be on here praying for each other because we’ve all messed up, we’ve all fallen short of the glory of God. We’ve all messed up in our lives some way, maybe not the way someone else on here has, but we have all messed up. And I know that if you have a child and the child messes up, you do not turn your back on this kid, you do not disown that child, you love that child enough that you would put down your life for this child, you would discipline him out of love and you would hug him and you would kiss him and you’d still receive him even though he’s messed up. You still love your child. And that’s the same way with God. He still loves us. No matter what we’ve done, He still loves us. And one of the things I learned at financial __ university and I probably already knew it anyways is that when God gave His Son, He gave everything, He gave it all. And in return He wants all of us…He wants all of you…He wants all of me…

Good morning or afternoon or evening Daily Audio Bible family. This is John from Bethlehem Pennsylvania. I hope everyone is doing well today and that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, for those of you that celebrated Thanksgiving. For those of you that didn’t, I hope you are able to give thanks in some way, shape, or form, and have an attitude of gratitude in everything that you do. I love you guys. Specifically, I wanted to call today in response to Glenn’s prayer. Glenn from Irving Texas, I hope you’re listening. Today’s the 28^th and I heard your prayer request on the 27^th podcast. Glenn, you called in and said that you’re addicted to pain medication and alcohol and that you’ve tried everything you could to quit and you’ve been asking God to take it away from you and the urge just keeps coming back. And Glenn I hope I encourage you. I had an addiction to alcohol and various and sundry drugs at a point in time in my life. And I don’t know if you’re anything like me or if you can relate the same way but that addiction…you know…I would find myself saying like…oh…like ok…today’s the day I’ll stop doing that and I thought I was asking God for his help to overcome that and then when it came time to come hang around with the people I was hanging around with and they were doing all sorts of things too, I just kept on doing the same thing and I’d convince myself that tomorrow was just another day I maybe I’d just pick it up then. But then just one day…I made the decision…I had to make the decision…and I did it with God…the whole entire time…to just stop doing that. Glenn, I encourage you to just make that decision in your mind that you can stop. You can do everything through Christ. And I want you to know that I’m praying for you. You can stop doing this right now. Today. I love you and I believe in you.

This is Cheryl in Arizona. Duane from Wisconsin, I heard you mention my name another time from my other call regarding the anxiety. Thank you so much for your prayers. Absolutely appreciate them, they are invaluable. Chery, from British Columbia Canada, I love hearing your voice when you sing and when you talk it is so lovely. Thank you so much for your prayers. Oh, my goodness. This just so touched my heart, I listened to all of this this morning. Today is…I don’t even know what the date is…but it’s Tuesday. Ah…let’s say…Kayla from Nashville, I want to let you know, I listened to your prayer request and then you mentioned my name and said you were praying for me and it just absolutely blew me away. I want to let you know that I love you, absolutely, and you are so loved. There’s something about hearing our name mentioned and I want you to know that I’m praying for you as well. And then Phil in Sydney I heard your call talking the anxiety and sleep issues and other things going on and what God has done for you and how you had already prayed for me. Oh, God bless you so much. Thank you. That was so encouraging. I’ve listened to these a number of times today and I can’t tell you all how much I love you, every single one of you. You are my precious DAB family and I thank God for all of the you, including those who don’t call in that are part of this community. And I do covet your continued prayers. I have some big decisions ahead of me that I can’t go into right now. But thank you all so much for praying. And again, I love you. Brian and Jill, tremendous blessing that you are. Thank you. Bye-bye everyone.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family this is Laura from San Diego. I just wanted to call and give you a report. I had asked for prayer for my small group and not feeling really a part of the community. And, thank you for praying, it’s been matter of prayer for me too. But I feel like I’ve moved through the hurt, I guess, into a place and wanting to create that community, just like I hear you guys doing for each other when you call in and pray for each other. So…and I was thinking about Wind Farm and how Brian described the wind of…or the word of God coming out of our mouth and it’s created…it’s a Wind Farm…he’s making us…God is creating us into these people who can breathe life into dead bones all around us all the time. And, so, that’s what I’ve been convicted to do in my small group, is to create that community to speak that life to people who may be more of a taker than a speaker. And anyway, I just like wanted to share that thought. Thank you. Love you guys. Bye.

Sneezing Jesus - Chapter 1, Advent - On Brokenness and Wholeness 

Hey friends, Brian here. And today is the first Sunday of Advent. And, although I didn’t grow up observing Advent over the years, it has become really helpful to me to keep me tethered to the reason this season is happening. Advent, of course, means arrival. And in these days leading up to Christmas we make some space and some time to contemplate the implications of the arrival of the Savior, while at the same time, longing for His Second Advent, His second arrival, His return. So, to help us all move into that season and aim our hearts in that direction, I’d like to read for you, Chapter 1 of my book Sneezing Jesus, which is entitled, Advent.

Advent

God’s movement is often abrupt and unsettling rather than predictable and settling. - Michael Joseph Brown

LONG AGO, in a land far away, there was an unspoiled garden created for a special purpose: to cradle and nourish the most captivating of God’s creatures - humans. Among all the intricate life born out of creation - the plants and the insects, the birds and the beasts - these human creatures were unique. They were God-like, crafted in the image of their Creator. God had, indeed, breathed His own life into them, offering them living souls.1 And to these exquisite creatures, God bequeathed the earth in all its elaborate wonder.

In this time, before time was being counted, these humans lacked nothing. The world was without conflict. Everything was in harmony. All was perfect and whole, as it was intended to be. This essential state of being would later have a name: shalom. God’s peace and order were perfect in all places, at all times, and in all things. Wholeness was completely normal. Upon these human creatures, God bestowed incredible abilities. In collaboration with their Creator Father, they could in turn create other life after God’s image. God also gave them the gift of a will, one of the most powerful of all gifts, which allowed them the choice to enter into relationship with their Creator—the essence of true love. And true love it was.

These human creatures were a seamless and perfect transition between the physical and the spiritual. They could at once be present in their humanness and commune with their Creator in spirit. The soul of the divine and the physicality of the human occupying the same space at the same time was, like shalom, completely normal. God was within them and around them, and they knew and experienced nothing but perfection.

Unfortunately, it was not to last.

Among the swaying grass and intricate forestry of the garden, God placed two specific trees. One became known as the tree of life, and God’s children were invited to eat their fill of its fruit and enjoy life eternal. The other tree was known as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This one was forbidden. In all of creation, the fruit of this tree was the one thing God asked His children not to partake of.

Although the Creator had prohibited His children from eating this fruit, He did not take away their ability to choose otherwise. Love isn’t love if there’s no way out. And allowing this choice created a vulnerability. After all, loving and collaborative relationships require this kind of trust.

A time came when the first man and woman found themselves before the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, absorbing a deception that would bring devastating results. Satan told them that if they ate the fruit dangling before them, they would become like God. In perhaps the cosmic irony of all time, they had somehow forgotten that they already were.

And so they ate. The juice of rebellion that flowed into their bodies was fatal to their souls. A breach was opened. Trust was broken. The misused gift of will and choice shattered the intimate love and trust between Creator and created. With one decision, humankind created a new reality for itself - one that had never been intended, one that fractured humanity at its core. No longer were humanity and divinity intertwined in a state of shalom. Eden had fallen.

Armed with the knowledge of good and evil but separated from divinity, humans forged their way forward, only to systematically discover their powerlessness. Hate was born. Conflict was created. Murder was committed. Death was introduced.

As humankind tried to find its way back to shalom on its own terms, the consequences of the breach between the human and the divine became more and more apparent: Humanity had fallen into inhumanity. They had become subhuman, like animals, separated from God. The human soul was empty. Every attempt to fill the void created further devastation on a planet meant to be filled with the unfiltered glory of the Creator. Humanity became entombed in its own knowledge of good and evil. But the knowledge could not lead it back to its Creator, and so humanity began to forget who it was. All was lost.

And yet - the Creator Father had not abandoned them. He was waiting, watching, preparing to redeem the whole devolved mess. But a rescue would require something daring, painful, and unspeakably vulnerable. One day, at the precise moment of His choosing, God would invade the earth to rescue a species He had fashioned in His own image - an image He would not surrender to the darkness. And the invasion would be so counterintuitive, most wouldn’t even understand what had happened until the victory was already won.

And that’s what brings us to Jesus.

Mary was about fifteen years old, and she was engaged to be married. On this day, a day like any other, she had much to contemplate: leaving home, joining a new family, creating a new home, having sex for the first time, becoming a woman. But she had no idea that her world - and the human story itself - was about to change.

“Hello, favored woman. The Lord is with you.”

The speaker’s name was Gabriel. He was a chief among the angels of God.

Mary, startled from her daydream, couldn’t figure out what this strange man was trying to say - or who he was. To reassure her, Gabriel began to state his business.

“Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. I have great news! You’re going to be a mother! The baby will be a boy, and you will name Him Jesus. He’ll be a King! He’ll be known as the Son of God, and His Kingdom will never end!”

Mary’s blank stare revealed her confusion. Was he talking about the children she would have with her beloved Joseph? He must be. But who was this stranger? What if someone saw her talking to him? It was highly irregular for her to be approached by a man who wasn’t in her family - and this man was saying crazy things. What was going on?

Stepping back, she stammered out the first words she could think of: “How? I’m a virgin.”

When Gabriel spoke again, something shifted inside Mary. Curiosity began to rise up in her. What if this really was an angel of God? Either she had lost her mind - or she was truly being visited by Heaven.

“The Holy Spirit will come upon you,” Gabriel said, “and the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.”

He then spoke about her cousin Elizabeth. Mary was taken aback. How could he know Elizabeth was part of her family? How could he know about Elizabeth’s miraculous pregnancy? Could what he said be for real? And what could she do? All her life she’d loved God. And if this angel was from Him - he must be from Him! - and God was asking this of her, Mary, who was no one special from nowhere special…how could she say no?

The words spilled from her lips before she could catch them. “I am the Lord’s servant,” she said. And then, words that resonated from the center of her soul - “May everything you’ve said come true.”

And the angel was gone.

Mary slowly turned, looking for Gabriel, listening for his voice, but heard only the light breeze. The conversation had lasted but a minute. And while the world looked the same, everything had changed.

Imagine that first minute. Imagine that young peasant girl standing alone, the only human being in the world who knew anything had happened. This was how counterintuitively the Creator chose to invade the world.

The thoughts twisting and rolling in her mind must have been overwhelming. She had agreed to the most preposterous thing she’d ever heard. She had become vulnerable in a way that would alter the trajectories of everyone she loved. She did trust in the Lord and had offered herself with her whole heart - but trust was all that she had to hold on to. She wasn’t sure what had just happened.

The world began to spin. She could feel herself teetering when two thoughts brought her back to her senses: What am I going to tell my father? What am I going to tell Joseph?

For days those questions consumed her. She needed to tell someone, but what if her story proved untrue? She would be punished severely for such a completely outrageous prank - or worse, she would be considered mentally unhinged. She battled between believing she’d been visited by an actual angel…and fearing she’d lost her senses.

The conversations, when they finally came, must have been awful. If my beautiful daughter told me she was unexpectedly pregnant, with the caveat that she’d not had sex at all and the father was actually God, I would have no small amount of skepticism. I would need an angel experience of my own.

And no one believed Mary at first. Joseph was brokenhearted - but he still loved her. He began considering plausible ways to keep the matter quiet, to avoid humiliating Mary publicly and destroying her and her family. At the same time, Mary was spirited out of town as quickly as possible, sent off to the hill country to visit Elizabeth. Mary hoped that visiting Cousin Elizabeth would be the breath of grace that she needed. And it was.

But then, back in Galilee, everything changed. Amid heartache and betrayal, an angel went to Joseph in a dream - and Joseph was invited into the story in a rush of grace. The angel told Joseph that Mary was pure and true, that this baby was truly from God and of God. Mary was to be Joseph’s wife, and Joseph was to name the baby boy Jesus. And this is what he would do as soon as Mary returned from the south. Mary returned home during her second trimester. The adjustment was awkward at first, but everyone managed. Those who didn’t believe Mary kept it to themselves. After all, Joseph was sticking by Mary, so what else was there to say? It wasn’t the grand celebration that had been planned, but this was the best possible solution. Joseph and Elizabeth appear to be the only ones who believed Mary’s story without reservation. So as the months went by, Mary grew a thick skin along with her expanding midsection. The baby was kicking now, and Mary was amazed and in love.

The announcement that everyone would be required to migrate to their ancestral homes for a census couldn’t have come at a more inconvenient time. The baby was expected any day, but Joseph couldn’t refuse to participate in the census. Much of his livelihood came from the Romans. And people knew him—he was a respected artisan with skills in both wood and stone. He couldn’t just disappear. But he couldn’t leave Mary either.

He led their colt out of Nazareth; Mary rode on its back with a couple of extra blankets to cushion her. An agile and light traveler could make the journey in about four days, but Joseph and Mary were neither agile nor light. Joseph worried about how and where the baby would be born - because the baby was certain to come before they made the journey back. When they finally tottered into Bethlehem, dusty and weary, all they wanted was something to eat and a place to sleep. Unfortunately, as the Bible puts it, “there was no room for them in the inn.”

The hospitality business was booming, thanks to the census. It seemed as though everyone in the entire province had been displaced. No matter how much Joseph begged for shelter for a very pregnant woman, there simply was nowhere to stay. Finally, one man took compassion on them: They could stay in his stable, which was a cave where animals were kept. Joseph and Mary were grateful to have a place to lie down. The cave wasn’t so bad. And at least they’d made it to Bethlehem.

Joseph was talking about whether to leave Mary for a short excursion to find food when she felt the first real contraction. It tightened like a belt around her waist and radiated deep into her back. She held her breath until she finally had to cry out. She locked eyes with Joseph. The baby was coming.

Joseph unloaded their belongings and set about attempting to make the place slightly more sanitary. Mary tried to get comfortable, which was difficult on a dirt floor in an open cave filled with animals. But the animals cooperated. They knew instinctively that new life was coming.

And it did.

Before the night was over, the shrieking of Mary gave way to the tiny whimper of a newborn baby boy. In the most normal of ways, God had come to be with us.

This is how Jesus became a human being. This is how the Creator Father chose to become a person and dwell among us. It’s how the prophecy of Immanuel moved from a concept into a reality. And while this tells us much about God’s heart toward people, it also tells us much about ourselves.

If this were our story to tell, we would have imagined God arriving a little higher up the food chain, in full adulthood and total competency. It would make sense for Him to skip the messiness of infancy, the awkwardness of childhood. It would make more sense for Him to come to earth as royalty. But this is precisely what God didn’t do. And this is the first clue that God’s view of humanity is different from our own. Jesus would proclaim this message relentlessly throughout His ministry.

We shouldn’t overlook this. God chose to slide through a birth canal and come helpless, naked, and screaming into the world like any other human baby - completely vulnerable. He wasn’t born potty-trained. He had to have His bottom wiped. He probably peed on His mommy more than once. He suckled at her breast in order to be nourished. He had to grow in strength and learn balance before He could take His first steps. He took no shortcuts. In every way He was a human being. And that is the point. He was perfect, and perfectly normal. He was a human as humanity was intended all the way back in the Garden.

God chose to fully become one of us in every respect, and He came in a way that was baffling and unsettling. His coming twisted so many cultural norms out of shape - and perhaps it should similarly challenge us. God, who could have come to Earth in any way He wanted, chose to come as a peasant to a place few knew of. God chose to be ordinary.

Jesus was born into a family, and He grew up in the context of human relationships. He had a keen sense of the people around Him and their connection to the earth that provided their home. He understood the bond between parents and children. He learned all the things children discover as they mature. He learned to work with wood and stone alongside Joseph - to get into the soil, craft with His hands, and create things. Creating was - and is - His nature. Relationship was - and is - His nature. And these things are the essence of what we are made of.

But Jesus did more than identify with and embody our humanity - His very human arrival revealed the extent of humankind’s loss of identity. After all, God arrived through the scandal of an unwed pregnancy. He was born into relative poverty and total obscurity. Before He could talk, He was a homeless refugee. In all of humanity, there seemed to be no place for the Creator in whose image humans were made.

Our humanity was fractured long ago in a garden. At the Fall, we actually fell. We slid downward and backward away from the way we were created to be. We were never supposed to be separated from God. And the effects of this separation aren’t hard to miss in the world - which is to say that it’s not hard to see how far we have fallen.

And this is why Jesus’ arrival, the ordinary moments and details of His coming, are so important. Because although we look at Jesus’ arrival as an extraordinary event - and yes, the very fact that God came at all is extraordinary - we can’t forget the radical importance of the ordinary. That perhaps Jesus’ human life was more about what ordinary humanity was supposed to look like - that His life was largely spent reminding His creation what they were supposed to be from the start.

Daniel 9:1-11:1, 1 John 2:18-3:6, Psalms 121:1-8, Proverbs 28:27-28

Today is the second day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as we close down another week, which means that tomorrow will begin the first full week of December and today would’ve been my father’s birthday. He’s been experiencing shalom, wholeness, rest, and health for 16 years now, but I always remember his birthday. I don’t always say it, but I always remember his birthday because his influence in my life is so profound. He’s the most influential man I’ve ever known and he gave me the foundation that my life is built around and was the first person to teach me the Bible as a pastor. So, today would’ve been his birthday. And what a more fitting thing to do than to take the next step forward in the Scriptures. We have been reading from the Contemporary English Version all of this week, which we’ll do today. Daniel chapter 9 verse 1 through 11 verse 1.

Commentary:

Okay. So, have you ever dealt with doubt in your faith? I mean, that’s a bit of a rhetorical question because at one point or another we probably all have for various reasons. And if we’re honest, a good majority, a generous majority of that comes from God not doing what we want Him to do. We’ll actually talk about that a little bit in tomorrow’s reading, but doubt and walking away from the faith has a lot to do with what we read today. So, let’s take a little look out why that was happening, what was happening, and the solution that leads us right back to the original leap of faith we took in the first place, when we believed. So, let’s dive into this a little bit. John says, ‘it’s the last hour and as you’ve heard the enemy of Christ is coming.’ Right? So, the anti-Christ is coming ‘and there’s a lot of enemies, antichrists, that have already come and that’s how we know it’s the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out, and it might become plain that they all are not of us.’ So, pretty long sentence that basically says, if they had been with us for real they would’ve never left in the first place, but they did. And why did they doubt? And why were they willing to walk away? And not just walk away, but become an enemy of Christ? And what does that even mean? So, we’re going to have to peel this back like an onion. So, several days ago we talked about the worldview of the early believers and their expectation that the return of Christ was imminent and that the new world that they were expecting was upon them. And this is known as an apocalyptic worldview that, in many ways, we share even today. So, we see this in first John, right off the bat, in our reading today. It is the last hour and as you have heard, enemies of Christ are coming. Even now many antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. So, this is how we know, kind of, what they’re thinking or specifically what John’s thinking. And from there, he talks about people who have doubted and walked away, and even become anti-Christ or an enemy of Christ. But, why would someone doubt like that and completely turn their back and walk away? Well, in part, it’s because what they thought was immediate and imminent didn’t happen that way, which eventually compelled some people to deny their faith and walk away. And in some cases, not just walk away, but become an enemy of the faith. And John basically is saying they we’re…it was never real…they were never with us from the beginning. And if we go one layer below that we can surmise that these people were signing up to be a part of this new world. They didn’t want to miss out on this imminent change and they wanted to have a place in this new thing, but when it wasn’t delivered in the time period they were expecting, right, so, when they didn’t get what they wanted when they wanted it, they fell away and became antagonistic. Because rather than getting this new world and a place in it, they were getting ridicule, marginalization, and persecution. So, what were these people saying that made them anti-Christ or the enemy of Christ? John tells us. ‘He who denies the Father and the Son is the enemy of Christ.’ Now, we can read past that and just go dah, but John is referring to something that is specifically happening in the stew that was the early formation of the church. Many things were being thought and said about Jesus and the implications of Jesus and they were coming from a lot of different perspectives. So, for example, Jewish people had no problem acknowledging God, but they had a much more difficult time acknowledging Jesus as being one with the Father. And from the Gentile side you had a culture of philosophy and a pantheon of gods, largely influenced by Greek culture, which could and did lead to conclusions of its own. So, John denounces this. He says, ‘a liar is anyone who says that Jesus isn’t truly Christ. Anyone who says this is an enemy of Christ and rejects both the Father and the Son. If we reject the Son, we reject the Father, but if we say that we accept the Son then we have the Father.’ So, he’s refuting specific things that are going around. And then he offers counsel and instruction for those who have decided to remain true to Jesus. ‘Keep thinking about the message you first heard and you will always be one in your heart with the Son and with the Father. It is the Son who has promised us eternal life. And, so, I’m writing to warn you about these people who are misleading you. But Christ has blessed you with the Holy Spirit. Now the Spirit stays in you and you don’t need any teachers. The Spirit is truthful and teaches you everything. So, stay one in your heart with Christ just as the Spirit has taught you to do.’ So, John isn’t saying, don’t ask questions of your faith, don’t continue to grow deeper in your understanding of it, or anything like that. He’s specifically saying, anything that denies that Jesus is the Christ or anything that separates Jesus from the Father isn’t true. That is the bedrock of the faith and when you encounter this all you have to do is go back to the beginning. This is what you were told from the beginning. Go back to that place. And this is supremely good advice for all of us who believe, especially when we’re going through a patch where we can’t remember why. Go back to the beginning and you will remember.

Prayer:

Father, we believe that and we thank You for the gift of your Son, we thank You for the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, leading us deeper into You, into collaboration and union with You. And, so, we go back. We go back to the beginning, to the moment that we met You, we think about that moment when our hearts awakened to the truth, to what’s really going on here. And we invite your Holy Spirit to remind us of what we know is true. We ask this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

Tomorrow, as we start a new week, we begin the season of Advent. Tomorrow is the first Sunday in Advent and many of you already know that and some of you are like, yeah, I’ve heard of it, I don’t really participate in anything like that, which is fine, but it’s a beautiful tradition that’s ancient in the faith and its intentions are to simply point our hearts in a very busy time toward what’s really going on here - the longing for the Savior to come. In the Christmas story, this puts us in the place where we are waiting for God to move in this way, but we also acknowledge that we are still longing, we are waiting for the second Advent, Advent meaning arrival, coming. We are waiting for Christ’s return. So, tomorrow, when you get your Daily Audio Bible, there will be a second program available. And to inaugurate the Advent season, I’ve grabbed chapter 1 of the audio addition of my book Sneezing Jesus, which is called Advent, to move our hearts toward this and help us focus on the reason for this season. So, look for that tomorrow and use it to set your hearts posture.

And, of course, there are some of the things going on.

The More Gathering for women, our annual women’s conference is open for early registration. It will take place in the mountains of Georgia, just outside of Atlanta, in April. And it’s certainly a good thing to look forward to and makes for a very unique and life-changing gift. So, you can find out all about that at dailyaudiobible.com. Just find the initiatives section and everything that you would want or need to know is there.

And then the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box that we do every year and try to pack it full of resources, some that you’ll want to keep, some that you’ll want to give away is also available at dailyaudiobible.com in the Daily Audio Bible shop. And as is always the case, they’re going fast. So, check that out.

Also in the shop, and a great gift idea, is the Daily Audio Bible Journal, paired with any of the writing utensils and paraphernalia that we have in the shop, a great way to plan to Journal your way through your life next year and chronicle your way through the Bible. We’ve always encouraged journaling around here because it becomes invaluable when things get misty. It’s good to be able to look back over the years and see where you’ve come from. So, all of that is available in the Daily Audio Bible shop as well.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link that lives on the homepage and I thank you humbly for your partnership. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you. Happy birthday dad. I’ll be waiting for all of us here tomorrow.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hi there. This message is for Gloria. And Gloria, I just wanted to say, regarding your mom, I think you might have listened to the Daily Audio Bible for this last community prayer. So, you can reach out to me. But I’m going to pray for a sign for you. God is in this. And I think the community will too. So, what I would say is this, we search the dark side of the soul and that’s a period of time where it feels like God is not in our life, but He is, and He’s working powerfully. When do you know that it’s ended? And that is that you receive an abundance of blessings that come. I will say I’ve been through it before and more than once that has been the case. So, trust that the Lord is with your mom even in dementia. And too, I would say this is about your brother, that the Lord goes to the end of the world to save every soul and I believe He will be using this to save him. And if your mother knew this is what it was all about, would she not agree to it? Would she not agree to it? And would you not too, if in the end it will mean peace between you and him and that you would rejoice in him making it to heaven? So, just know that I’m glad you’re reaching out so we can pray for you. God bless. Bye. And for your brother. Yes. And for your mother. Amen. God bless.

Hi this is Kristi and God just impressed upon my heart to call because I have three little kids and I love them to death but…you know…as a mom with three little kids under the age of 6, sometimes you just lose your cool and yell. And I’ve just been easily…just been quick to anger lately. And So, God is really convicting me about that and my life group’s praying for me at church, but just to share it here, too, so I can have more people praying. And then I just wanted to offer a prayer to all the other moms like me who are struggling too. And just say, God I thank You that anger isn’t something we have to experience in order to be able to handle __ and I pray that You will help us do it well and that we will help our children and be slow to anger and patient and gentle teachers. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hi family, it’s Sally from Massachusetts. I want to thank everyone for their prayers. I know people are praying for me. I can feel it and God is parting waters for me. I want to pray for everyone who listens to the Daily Audio Bible. Please pray with me. Holy Spirit, please fill us with Your presence. Intervene for us on our behalf as we pray for every single person that listens to the Daily Audio Bible and visits the prayer wall and does not call in and for everyone who calls in with a prayer request. Lord, You know our struggles. You know those of us that are suffering with a loss of a loved one, those of us who are waiting for the impending death of a loved one, You know those of us with financial struggles, You know those of us who are trying to pass a class, You know those of us who are waiting for promotions at work, You know those of us who are waiting for You to open doors to find a job, You know the struggles of those of us who are sick, You know the struggle of us those of us who are facing the holidays alone and want so much to be a part of something. Father God, we come to You because we believe in You. We believe in the power of prayer. Please, God, answer our prayer. Comfort us, love us, Lord. Open doors for us, close doors for us, help us recognize when a door is closed on something that we want it’s because you have something far more than we could ever ask. Please help us trust in You. In the name of Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

Hi Daily Audio Bible people. This is Elaine from Victoria and it’s November 27^th and God is so merciful and kind and loving. I was on my knees yesterday, Sunday, asking for God’s mercy through this trial of family. And I had a mission. I wanted to go to Shoppers Drug Mart to get a special Christmas card for a friend in prison and as I entered the door of Shoppers, I was met with a lady from the cosmetic counter remarking on what a beautiful day - the sun was going through the window. And she said, it’s a beautiful day to go to church. And I said, yes, that’s what I’m doing today. We shared our plights with each…we had children…saving Lords…we shared with each other and I asked her name. Her name was Bonnie and told her my name and she just hugged me…hugged me…a sister…because she belonged to __ Pentecostal church and I belong to ___ church. So, she just hugged me. She said…oh sweetheart…it was a God divined, appointed meeting of two sisters wanting to share the love of Jesus. Now I want to…He’s given me such peace in this trial. So, Lord God, just be with all my brothers and sisters at Daily Audio Bible. Let them enjoy Your presence. Just get into the Word people, get into the Word. He meets you there. He does meet you there.

Hi this is Drew from the bay area again, calling back. This is for Gloria. Gloria and those like Gloria; Sharon and Shannon and Lee, Chris, Kerry, Rebecca, Rhombi. My sisters, I love you and my brothers that are going through the same thing, Jordan. And this is for myself. This goes to Psalm 40, I believe it is, but I would ask you to close your eyes and imagine that you’re little eaglet’s and you’ve just been blown out of a high nest in a serious storm and you’re falling, falling, falling, bouncing off the edge of a cliff and then you stop and you grab on, you just fall on a ledge, you grab on mercy and you’re stuck there in this storm. Imagine yourself, cold and wet, and you call out to the Lord. You call out to the Lord and you don’t think He hears you. The storm is roaring, there’s rain and lightning, you’re alone, and you’re certain that you’re going to fall off the cliff and die, but You call out and you call out and then the storm breaks. The sun opens up through the cliff, you can see, you can the sun, and you feel it’s warmth, and you’re still scared and shivering. But you’re an eaglet. God has opened up the skies for you. And you’ve called out to him and he’s answered.  And you’re an eaglet. You’re not a chicken or turkey. You’re an eaglet. And God has giving you everything you need to be and eagle.

Daniel 8:1-27, 1 John 2:1-17, Psalms 120:1-7, Proverbs 28:25-26

Today is December 1^st. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and, of course, it is great to be here with you today as we greet this, the final month of the year. So, today is the 335th day of the year 2017 and we just have a short distance to go in time to complete this year, but we have a lot of ground to cover in the Scriptures and we’ll be covering it quickly as we move through the final books of the Bible. So, this week we’ve been reading from the Contemporary English Version, which is what we’ll continue to do. Daniel chapter 8 verses 1 through 27 today.

Commentary:

So, as we begin to explore the second chapter of first John, we see a juxtaposition between our claims and our actions. So, the difference between what we say and what we do. So, basically, John starts out saying, I’m writing this letter, what’s being said here is to help you remember that you do not have to live in sin, but if you do sin, Jesus is an advocate to the Father for us because Jesus sacrifice takes away all sin, all of our sin, and all of the world’s peoples sin. So, basically, he’s saying, if what I’m about to tell you convicts you in your heart and exposes sin in your actions then you know there is forgiveness and a way to move forward. And then he moves into our claims. If we claim to know God and don’t obey God. Right? So, if we say we know God but don’t, through our deeds and thoughts and words, obey him, we’re lying. The truth isn’t in our hearts. It’s an indicator to us that we know God and belong to Him if we obey Him and walk with Him. And if we say we are His then we must follow the example of Christ. In other words, we must be Christ-like, we must be like Christ. So, in other words, this isn’t just something you can say, it’s something that you have to become and it’s something that you have to be. And just because you say it doesn’t mean it’s true. Your life is actually speaking the truth. And then he goes on to say, like, this isn’t a new story, like, I’m not issuing a new commandment here, this is what you’ve been told from the very beginning. And if you will open your eyes to it, you will be able to see that the darkness is fading away around you and the true light is already shining. And if we’re going to claim that we’re walking in that light then you can’t just say that you’re walking in the light and it be so. So, to quote John, ‘if we claim, if we say, that were in the light and hate someone, we’re not in the light, we’re still in the dark. If we love others we’re in the light, but if we live with hate in our heart toward people then we’re in the dark.’ And if we’re in the dark, well, that should explain a lot. We don’t know where we’re going because we can’t see. So, John is bringing important point - talk is cheap. You can say anything, but if your thoughts and deeds do not match your words, then it’s not true. So, what is it that pulls us toward this mismatch? So, there is a dichotomy between the person who says all the right things but doesn’t live them at all and the person who lives what they say. What is it that pulls us toward being false? According to John, it’s the world. And he’s not referring to planet Earth. He’s talking about the world system. So, what are we talking about when we talk about the world system? Are we talking about grocery stores? Are we talking about national governments? Are we talking about the Internet? Are we talking about drive-through windows? It’s bigger than that. Way back at the beginning of the year we read Genesis chapter 3 and the fall of man and separation of God and humanity, a total breaking of how things were always supposed to be. And, so, what we’re talking about here is everything that came next, mankind’s attempt to create for itself an existence on this earth apart from God. So, he’s saying, if you put your faith and hope in that system, a system that was invented to exalt the ingenuity of man and diminish the need for God, then man is at the top of that pyramid, there’s nowhere else to go, and God is not in that. So, to quote John, ‘if you love the world, you cannot love the Father.’ But then he explains it, and in explaining it, he concisely explains pretty much all of our conflicts. ‘Our foolish pride comes from this world’, John says. And how is that? Because without God there is no other place to get identity than from other people and our value is based on how well were doing compared to someone else, which can only lead us to pride. And John says that leads us into all of our selfish desires. Right? So, our self-absorption, our desire to acquire more, to do more, to achieve more. And those things aren’t wrong, but when the underlying motivator, the reason for them, is to give ourselves a sense of progress by rising above others, and shining a light on ourselves, then this comes from the world system and it won’t work. Or our desire to have everything we see. Right? So, to fill our lives with stuff so that we don’t have to deal with the emptiness in the center of our soul. This is the world system and it won’t work. And, so, all the sudden this does really become vivid and clear and with a bit of self-examination it definitely cuts through the clutter and gets down to what is motivating our actions and our words and the things that we think about. According to John, none of this comes from the Father and it will get us nowhere because that whole system is in the process of disappearing and fading away. And if we’re going to live by that system then we’re going to disappear and fade away with it. But, John says, if we obey God, which was his first point, not that we say we belong to God, but that we walk with God, and obey God, and know that we belong to God and are God’s people. If we obey God, John says, we will live forever. So, the pull of culture is no small thing. It influences us in every conceivable way. And we could just denounce the whole cultural system of interaction among people, but that would be throwing the baby out with the bathwater because what we’re talking about here is what is underneath that, the plot behind the story - what motivates us to do the things that we do. It brings us to the ‘why of things’. If we take some time to examine ourselves and our motivations, we find that our deepest insecurities are tied to our attempts to make life work without God. And, so, we react in pride, we react in selfishness. We react by trying to surround ourselves with stuff so that we don’t have to think about the emptiness, the fear of trying to create an identity outside of God. And this gets us in touch with our true self. The whole point John’s trying to make is, hey, if you acknowledge that there’s forgiveness, you don’t have to live like this. You’re invited to be swept up into a dance with eternal life. You’re invited to be given an identity by your Creator and not by people who are ultimately going to let you down, no matter what. You’re invited into a much larger story here. And things are only going to work as they were designed to work and humans were created to be intertwined in relationship with God.

Prayer:

Father, this gives us plenty to think about, and it’s at the core level. It’s at the level of our motivations and the why of what we do. And, so, we invite Your Holy Spirit there because that’s as deep as we can go, that’s at the core of our identity. And this world system has told us a lot of things about ourselves and we’ve believed a lot of things. And in a lot of ways we develop those convictions aside from you, without You. And we see that that’s never going to work. And, so, we throw our hands up in surrender and invite Your Holy Spirit to envelop and indwell us, speaking words of truth about who we really are, and especially who we are to You because what else matters? Your approval, Your smile upon us is so much more valuable that any construct we could make that would give us context and identity. And it would be false anyway. It is You we seek and it is us You seek. So, come, Holy Spirit and speak truth into our lives and keep us here because we also acknowledge that this will get stolen from us if we will let it. Come, Holy Spirit, show us our true identity wrapped up in You and You alone. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

It’s obviously Christmas time around here and everywhere else in the world. So, the annual Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box is available at dailyaudiobible.com in the shop in the Christmas section. And it is chock full of goodies that you get to pick what you’re going to keep and what you’re going to give away. So, check that out.

Early registration for the More Gathering that is coming up this April is happening now. And you can find out all about that, everything that you would want to know about it dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. And this is a unique and remarkable gift idea. So, check that out.

And just check out the other things that are in the shop. All of our journaling and writing options are in the shop. And if you’re planning to move through the Bible next year, journal your way. We’ve got a number of resources available for that and those bundles make a great gift idea. So, check that out in the Daily Audio Bible shop as well.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow as we begin the final month of the year.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hey Daily Audio Bible family. It’s Elbonita from Kentucky, once in Charlotte, now actually in Virginia. So, last time I called I told you my nephew David got hit by a car. I’m happy to report that he’s doing well, he’s healing well. So, thank you all so much for the prayers. I am a month behind in the Daily Audio Bible readings. So, I’m trying to get caught up but I wanted you all to know how he’s doing and how he’s recovering. I got married October 6^th to a lovely man named David and so we just moved to Virginia and so if you all could keep us in prayer as we transition to this this new place, 2 becoming the 1. I can’t believe I married a pastor but I did. And, so, I will keep you all posted on our adventures. I hope all is well and talk to you all soon. Love you much. Bye.

Hi, this is a call in for Joyful Noise from Southern California. As I listened to your message I saw a vision of two women around a table and I was there and I put my hands up to pray for the one woman in need and as I did the power of God came into me in such a way that it forced me down to my knees. And, so, I heard your prayer request for your daughter and I’m going to be praying for you because when I heard the word, the command for her soul, my spirit was on fire. So, you know that, sister, that I’ll be praying for your daughter, daily, as I do and God bless you. Be reassured that God’s power is great in this and I’ve never been forced down like that before. So, trust in God and be faithful to Him and you’ll get through this. God bless you.

Hi this message is for Zoey’s mom, Zoey who just turned 21 on November 19^th, which is also my birthday. So, that’s part of the reason I called I guess. So, I wanted to call because I have three pieces of…you know…just motivation for you and hopefully this will bring a little more ease. For one thing, when your message played, it was the same day that Brian read Daniel’s asking his friends Meshach, Shadrach, and Abednego, to pray for him to be able to interpret Nebuchadnezzar’s dream and it came through. So, anyway, I thought that was kind of cool. The second thing is, I also have a 20-year-old son who, he’s in New York and I’m in California, and he’s…we are…you know…very similar…he’s not…he’s a great kid…he really is…but needs to…just hasn’t found God and I think he’s…he’s got other issues going on too…and sexually identity and stuff like that that he’s working on. And, you know, he’s just part of this world and the only thing that I’ve been able to do successfully is pray for him. Your message was just wonderful and I’m sure God’s putting on your heart exactly right but you know it’s the thing we have to do for our children, especially when they become adults because God gave us free will…you know…from the day…from the day that Adam and Eve took the apple and we are able to do what we want and turning to God is a choice that we have to make as an adult. And, in fact, that being said, me turning to God didn’t happen until I was 35. In fact, there was a point in time when I even told my grandmother I was a Christian. I stepped away…I am a scientist…I stepped away from God for a long, long, time and one day things just happened that connected and it took me a really…

Hey everybody. Hey, this is Annette from the swamplands of Louisiana. Oh Lord. I have three praise reports I’ve got to tell you guys. You’re not even going to believe this. Okay. First of all, I have had the most awesome trip going across the nation from Oklahoma down to Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama…boy… South Carolina, the beautiful cotton fields of Georgia.  I have gone through every back road town in this whole country and I have had an amazing trip and meeting so many wonderful, wonderful people. It actually has restored me faith in this country of how many good and wonderful people there actually are here, despite what the news says…uhhhh. Okay. Praise report number two. I went to go see my brother up in Edgefield South Carolina and when my dad had gone to the bathroom, I like point blank asked my brother Charlie…I said…you know Charlie…I’ve got something on my mind…I’ve got to ask you. And he’s like oh what’s that Netty? And I said…you know…I said…you know…I think about this all the time and…you know…I just got to know that you are square with the Lord. He’s like, you mean have I killed somebody? I go no, no, no man. I was like…you know…if you were to die today do you know with all certainty that you are going to go to heaven? And he goes…like…do you mean do I believe in God and all that stuff? And I was like ya…you know…and you know. And he’s goes…well of course I do…what would make you think I that I don’t?. And I’m just like…he kicked my tail man…it was awesome. He goes…what do think it is that gets me through all these days in this prison?

This is Candice from Oregon. I heard your call Kayla from Nashville and I went back to…actually looking for something else because of a really big and difficult event that’s going on between me and my husband’s family as of yesterday. But it was you I heard again. I know the Lord wanted me to hear you again. Kayla, I have a message for you. Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father love you so deeply. And the voice that you hear in the morning that says that you’re not loved, that is not from them. So, take every thought captive, lift it up high over your head, and through it crashing to the ground because that is a lie. You are so loved. He has counted every hair on your head. And Kayla, we’re not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, we are of those who believe and are saved. I have been really directed by God through callers to the Daily Audio Bible to reconcile with my sister and it’s unimaginable. I can’t imagine how this is going to take place, but I know I need to move forward on it in any way that I can find. And I’m really motivated now because we got news that my husband’s sister died and I realized that every day is a gift, every day matters. Be loved Kayla.

Daniel 7:1-28, 1 John 1:1-10, Psalms 119:153-176, Proverbs 28:23-24

Today is the 30th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. And, of course, here we are at the end of the 11th month of the year, leaving us one 1/12^th of the Bible to go, one month left. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s stay right where we are, here at the end of the 11th month. We’ll dive back into the book of Daniel, and then when we get to the New Testament, we’ll begin first John. And we’ll talk about that then. First, reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. Daniel 7:1-28

John:

Okay. So, yesterday we concluded second Peter, which means that we have arrived at the first letter of John the evangelist, the beloved disciple as church tradition holds, as the author of this letter. Although, many scholars disagree with that. John does not specifically claim authorship but copies of this letter were all over the early church and it was quoted and referred to in early church writings. When the canon of the New Testament Scripture was being ratified, first John didn’t have a problem being authenticated as true Scripture. John is writing this letter, probably as a circular letter giving us clues to how the New Testament church communicated and worked early on and was probably written to the same people that Peter wrote his two letters to later in his life and that Paul wrote letters to. These letters were meant to be circulated throughout the churches so that they had many apostolic voices pouring the truth of the gospel into the church. And John’s probably writing this from Ephesus very late in his life, somewhere around AD 92 to maybe AD 100, maybe as late as 110, although we don’t know this for certain. And he is writing, specifically, to combat false teachings and heresies that have sprouted up in the early church. Some of these the early forms of Gnosticism. And John has a unique perspective because he was actually there. So, when an early teacher like Sorrento’s began teaching that the spirit of Christ came into Jesus body when he was baptized but before that he was just a normal man and that the spirit departed from him just prior to crucifixion, John has an opinion, and he refutes this. And this is helpful for us today because there were a lot of teachings, a lot of ideas in the stew that became the early church, and a lot of ideas that have continued for thousands of years, and that continues until today. So, we’re fortunate to have documents like these to speak into those ideas. And, so, we begin. First John chapter 1.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for these 11 months, every single day that we’ve been together in community around Your word. And there is no doubt that we can feel, and see, and sense the change that it makes in our lives. We can see what we’ve struggled through this year, and we’ve seen at key moments how Your word has spoken into our lives and given us clarity and hope. And we love You. And we’re grateful for this gift of Your word. So, as we close down this 11^th month, we also look with great anticipation to what You have to say to us through the Scriptures in the 12^th month of this year. Holy Spirit, come. We open our hearts completely to You. Everything that we are and all that we hope to be is intertwined with You. Our faith is in You. Our hope is in You. Come Jesus. We pray in your name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. And there’s several things.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box 2017 is available now. And as I have mentioned, we’ve packed it full of resources that you get to pick and choose what’s for you and what’s for you to give away. So, this Sunday is the first Sunday in the season of Advent, inaugurating the season of Advent for this year. And we have a CD full of Advent songs in the Christmas Box. These are not like traditional carols. These are songs of contemplation of the mystery and the longing for the arrival of the Savior. They’re really helpful to immerse ourselves into this final month of the year. We also have the family Christmas CD in the Box. Those are traditional carols, contemplative and lush arrangements, perfect for just turning off all the lights and just leaving the Christmas lights on and warming a cup of coffee or cocoa or whatever and just taking a minute to breathe and enjoy the season. There is the book, The Road Back to You, which we’ve talked about. It was a very influential read for me this year, very, very helpful. And I’m glad that we could find a way to bring it to you. We’ve also included two copies of Sneezing Jesus, a book that’s very much like the Christmas Box. It is definitely something that we should immerse ourselves into and contemplate the implications of Jesus humanity, which is exactly what we celebrate at Christmas, His coming, His coming as one of us. But it is definitely also a book to be given away to people who are searching and can’t get beyond the stereotypes about Jesus to the person that He was and is. We’ve also got the Daily Audio Bible Christmas bulb for 2017 in the Box. We do that every year. I’ve got all…we’ve done it for five years …I’ve got them all on my tree. They, each time I put them on the tree, it represents a year in the life of this community and a completed journey through the Bible in that year. So, 2017 is another one of those. And, honestly, for me, every time I see them it’s like bringing…bringing this whole community together. All that we’ve been through, all that God has spoken through His word, it just represents that to me. Then you have your choice of our Wind Farm coffee. This is the Daily Audio Bible blend. It’s being roasted fresh before it goes into the box so that it arrives to you fresh, which is what we always do. Or if you prefer, and you are a tea drinker, then our Wind Farm honey bush and rooibos tea is what we’re offering in the Box this year. Of course, rooibos originates in South Africa. And then a pack of 20 of the Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards, including the envelopes, are in the Box, as well as a Black Wing pencil.

Speaking of Black Wing pencils, a great gift idea or a great preparation for the new year. And the new journey through the Bible is to plan to journal your year, Journal your life. And we have a great selection of resources for that in the Daily Audio Bible shop, in the lifestyle section. I’ve been using these items all of this year to journal through my own life. When I was looking at these the other day online, thinking yeah, I would love to get this as a gift. I would most definitely put it to use and treasure it. So, check that out.

And lastly, early registration for the More Gathering coming up this April, which is our annual conference for women, that takes place in the southern Appalachian Mountains, which are located in northern Georgia, so, about an hour outside of Atlanta. Early registration is open now and early registration pricing is available until the end of the year. And it’s a lot of work but we keep doing this every year because we keep seeing remarkable stories and breakthroughs. It is just an amazing time of sisterhood. And friendships are formed there that will last a lifetime. And the More Gathering makes for a fantastic and unique gift idea, because not only is there anticipation for April and the time that’s shared the More Gathering, but it’s also something that has lifelong impact. So, you can find all of this at dailyaudiobible.com. The More Gathering is found in the initiatives section and everything else that we’ve talked about is found in the Daily Audio Bible shop. So, check it out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link that lives on the homepage. I cannot possibly thank you enough. I do not have the words to express the gravity of gratitude that we have for being able to serve each other and be in community around God’s word every day. So, thank you for your partnership. Obviously, your contributions to the Daily Audio Bible are tax-deductible and you will receive a receipt for your partnership. If you prefer the mail, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

And that’s it for today. I’m Brian I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow as we begin the final month of the year.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hello. Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is ___ from ___ . It’s been a ___ since ___. And this morning I’m calling for one or two comments and a prayer request. Over the last three weeks, a friend of mine of 6 months was 3 weeks pregnant lost her baby. She was at work, didn’t feel well, went to the doctor, there was no heartbeat. It is a hard day because I’m heading to the funeral to support her in burying her 6 month old. You see, here in Canada over 6 months, considered a human being, per sea. ___ just for the child….and then buyying her…and it’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve watched or had to encounter my entire life. And it’s a little bit harder too because I, myself is pregnant, and can I have some prayer for that too. But I wanted to pray today that I have the right words, that the comforter in form of the Holy Spirit will put His arms around her and her husband and their other child and just give them comfort in this time because this is something they really do not understand. This is something I have no words to explain. All I say to her is, let the comfort of the Holy Spirit be with her there. She is a really, really strong person who believes and she ___ in God. So, we ask that that will continue and the Holy Spirit will just be with her. And the second thing I want to…and this is a comment about my two year old…I have a two year old that…and so the Daily Audio Bible has been around since he’s been in my tummy and we do the Wind Farm coffee. And the Wind Farm coffee came in yesterday and he ripped the package open and he turned and looked up at me…he looked at the logo and he goes…oh…Brian…Daily Audio Bible…Bible…Brian. And I was just blown out of my mind because he’s only 2 years old…2 years and 5 months…and he can identify this. When I turn on the Daily Audio Bible in the morning he just comes in and goes…oh Brian…Bible…and I’m just mesmerized that he knows all this…

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. This is ___ calling from Delaware. It is Thanksgiving holiday in the United States and I just wanted to take a moment to express my personal gratitude for this platform. Having this global campfire has impacted me in so many ways that I cannot begin to say. So, I am thanking God, foremost for all his plans in the DAB family, opening avenues that we can build community surrounded by love, understanding, support, and ultimate appreciation of being in heaven one day together. So, thank you, Brian and Jill, for your everyday obedience to follow the calling of God. Thank you for those behind the scenes that work day and night to make sure that this community is fed daily by the bread of life. Thank you all in this community. Whether you are a regular caller, a one-time caller, a new believer or just a listener, you are important to us all. I just want to name a few people; Candice from Oregon, Pastor Gene, Viola, Asia from Munich, Blind Tony, Jay from New Jersey, Slave of Jesus, Tony the truck driver, Drew from the bay area, and Lee Ann from ___, Annette from ___ and the other people in this community that I could not name one by one. I love you guys. I want you guys to know that I’m very, very grateful for each and every one of you. Happy Thanksgiving from ___ in Delaware. Bye-bye.

Hi. This is Toni from Germany. The Lords Facilitator in Healing. I want to…I am calling on behalf of…well…not on behalf of…for…the people who called in on November 24^th, which was Alex and Gerry about confessing, so to speak. When you…you represent many, many, many people. And, so, I say this for us all who are struggling with the same temptations…we are works in progress…and my recommendation is to…look…we each need to look behind what is driving our actions. A lot of times it is from an experience of our past. So, I want to applaud those who are calling in. You represent many and in doing so you…you basically in…tap into the power of this group…of this community. So, thank you for doing that on behalf of all the other people who struggle with the same temptations. And I just would kind of echo what Brian says when we call in…on that message…on the community prayer line…well done. And we will all be praying for you. Amen. Ok. Take care. Bye-bye.  

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is John calling from Bethlehem Pennsylvania. It is the 24^th of November, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, Black Friday in the United States as well. I want to get right to the point of my call. Terry from Chicago, I heard your prayer request this morning on the 24^th podcast and Mark S. from Sydney Australia, I heard your request as well. Terry and Mark…interestingly enough…amazingly enough…or maybe not so amazing…we should just expect this…that…you know…today’s proverb, 28:13 from the 24^th podcast says, ‘whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.’ Guys, I just wanted to encourage you. Terry, you said you had an affair for 10 months…and Mark…I love you man…from Australia…you said that you’ve gone into sexual sin again. You guys have both openly expressed that you’ve done wrong things in God’s sight. You’re confessing, you’re renouncing. You have mercy. Guys, I want to let you know, God’s arms are wide open for you. His mercy is endless and boundless and infinite for you. He’s so happy that you’ve confessed your sin and that you repent in it and with that will come change. So, I’m praying for you. Guys, let’s put on our big boy pants here. You have the ability to accomplish anything through Christ. Period. Believe it with all your heart and all your soul. I believe in you, through Jesus, through God, that the Spirit that indwells in you has the ability to crush and stop all of these things are going on in your lives. We love you and I love you.

Hey Daily Audio Bible family, this is Benjamin, the sewer. It’s been a while but it’s good to be back. Since I last called, I got married. So, two months into that and I’m applying to the police force. So, pretty exciting stuff. So, I’m just calling today…my heart really, really was impacted by the three men whose calls were on today’s recording here on November 24^th. So, let’s just pray. Heavenly Father, I just lift up Terry from Chicago right now. God, he’s just going through this storm Lord and regardless of whether or not the storms come based on our actions or the world around us, Lord, it’s rough, and I just pray and ask that You would reveal to Him Lord that he’s not beyond hope, God, he is not beyond Your love. He is not beyond restoration and newness. We ask, specifically, for the restoration of his marriage, Lord, that You would humble him to continue to seek that out, to continue to be persistent in seeking reconciliation…just maybe knowing it’s a process…it’s a long process…yeah…just that he would be seeking You and growing in You Lord, that he would be able to experience Joy amidst all this Lord. And I just quickly want to pray for Mark S. from Australia. I just love hearing your voice and love you calling in regularly. I just lift you up. And Kurtis from Northern Carolina, I’m praying for you and your wife. I’m going to call back some time and pray more. Ok. I love you guys. Bye.