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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Tuesday October 9, 2018 (NIV)

Jeremiah 12:1-14:10

Jeremiah’s Prayer

12 You, O Lord are [uncompromisingly] righteous and consistently just when I plead my case with You;
Yet let me discuss issues of justice with You:
Why has the way of the wicked prospered?
Why are those who deal in treachery (deceit) at ease and thriving?
2 
You have planted them, they have also taken root;
They grow, they have even produced fruit.
You are [a]honored by their [hypocritical] lips
But [You are] far from their heart and mind.
3 
But You, O Lord, know me [and understand my devotion to You];
You see me;
And You examine the attitude of my heart toward You.
Drag out the faithless like sheep for the slaughter [O Lord]
And set them apart for the day of slaughter.
4 
How long must the land mourn
And the grass of the countryside wither?
Because of the wickedness and hypocrisy of those who live in it,
The beasts and the birds are consumed and are swept away [by the drought],
Because men [mocking me] have said, “He will not [live long enough to] see [what happens at] our final end.”

5 
[The Lord rebukes Jeremiah for his impatience, saying] “If you have raced with men on foot and they have tired you out,
Then how can you compete with horses?
If you fall down in a land of peace [where you feel secure],
Then how will you do [among the lions] in the [flooded] thicket beside the Jordan?
6 
“For even your [tribal] brothers and the household of your father,
Even they have dealt treacherously (unfaithfully) with you;
Indeed they are [like a pack of hounds] howling after you.
Do not believe them, although they may say kind words and promise you good things.”

God’s Answer

7 
“I have abandoned My house,
I have given up My [precious] inheritance (Judah);
I have given the [dearly] beloved of My life
Into the hands of her enemies.
8 
“My inheritance has become to Me
Like a lion in the forest;
She has raised her voice and roared against Me;
So I have come to [treat her as if I] hate her.
9 
“Is My inheritance like a speckled bird of prey to Me [unlike the others]?
Are the birds of prey (enemies) surrounding her on every side?
Go, gather all the [wild] beasts of the field;
Bring them to devour [her]!
10 
“Many shepherds (invaders) have destroyed My vineyard (Judah),
They have trampled My field underfoot;
They have made My pleasant field
A desolate wilderness.
11 
“They have made it a wasteland,
Desolate, it mourns before Me;
The whole land has been made a wasteland,
Because no man takes it to heart.
12 
“Destroyers have come
On all the caravan roads in the desert,
For the sword of the Lord (Babylon) is devouring
From one end of the land even to the other;
No one has peace or a way of escape.
13 
“They have planted wheat but have reaped thorns;
They have exhausted themselves but without profit.
So be ashamed of your harvest
Because of the fierce and raging anger of the Lord.”

14 Thus says the Lord regarding all My evil neighbors (Gentile nations) who strike at the inheritance which I have granted to My people Israel, “Behold, I will uproot them from their land and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them. 15 And it shall come about that after I have uprooted them, I will return and have compassion on them; and I will bring them back again, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land. 16 And if these [neighboring nations] will diligently learn the ways of My people, to swear by My Name, saying, ‘As the Lord lives’—even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, then they will be built up among My people. 17 But if [any nation] will not listen and obey, I will [completely] uproot and destroy that nation, says the Lord.”

The Ruined Waistband

13 Thus the Lord said to me, “Go and buy yourself a linen waistband and put it on your [b]loins, but do not put it in water.” 2 So I bought the waistband according to the word of the Lord and put it on my loins. 3 Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, 4 “Get up and take the waistband that you have bought, which is [wrapped] around your loins, and go to the [river] Euphrates and hide it there in a crevice of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord had commanded me. 6 And after many days the Lord said to me, “Get up, go to the Euphrates and get the waistband which I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the waistband from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the waistband was decayed and ruined; it was completely worthless.

8 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 9 “Thus says the Lord, ‘In this same way I shall destroy the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked and malevolent people, who refuse to listen to My words, who walk in the stubborn way of their heart and have followed other gods [which are nothing—just man-made carvings] to serve them and to worship them, let them be just like this waistband which is completely worthless. 11 For as the waistband clings to the body of a man, so I caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that they might be for Me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory; but they did not listen and obey.’

Captivity Threatened

12 “Therefore you are to speak this word to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Every jar should be filled with wine.”’ The people will say to you, ‘Do we not already know that every jar should be filled with wine?’ 13 Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am about to fill with drunkenness all the people of this land, even the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets and all the people of Jerusalem. 14 I will smash them one against another, both the fathers and the sons together,” says the Lord. “I shall destroy them [nothing will restrain Me]; I will not show pity nor be sorry nor have compassion.”’”

15 
Listen and pay close attention, do not be haughty and overconfident,
For the Lord has spoken [says Jeremiah].
16 
Give glory to the Lord your God,
Before He brings darkness
And before your feet stumble
On the dark and shadowy mountains,
And while you are longing for light
He turns it into the shadow of death,
And makes it into thick darkness.
17 
But if you will not listen and obey,
My soul will weep in secret for your pride;
My eyes will weep bitterly
And flow with tears,
Because the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.
18 
Say to the king and the queen mother,
“Humble yourselves and take a lowly seat,
For your beautiful crown [the crown of your glory]
Has come down from your head.”
19 
The cities of the South (the Negev) have been closed up,
And there is no one to open them;
All Judah has been carried into exile,
Completely carried away into exile.

20 
“Lift up your eyes and see
Those coming from the north.
Where is the flock that was given to you [to shepherd],
Your beautiful flock?
21 
“What will you say [O Jerusalem] when the Lord appoints [foreign nations to rule] over you—
Those former friends and allies whom you have encouraged [to be your companions]—
Will not pain seize you
Like [that of] a woman in childbirth?
22 
“And if you [wonder and] say in your heart,
‘Why have these things happened to me?’
It is because of the greatness and nature of your sin
That your skirts have been [c]pulled away [subjecting you to public disgrace]
And [like a barefoot slave] your heels have been wounded.
23 
“Can the Ethiopian change his skin
Or the leopard his spots?
Then you also can do good
Who are accustomed to evil and even trained to do it.
24 
“Therefore I will scatter you like drifting straw
[Driven away] by the desert wind.
25 
“This is your destiny, the portion [of judgment] measured to you
From Me,” says the Lord,
“Because you have forgotten Me
And trusted in [pagan] lies [the counterfeit gods, and the pretense of alliance].”
26 
“So I Myself will throw your skirts up over your face,
That your shame may be exposed [publicly].
27 
“I have seen your vile and detestable acts,
Even your adulteries and your lustful neighings [after idols],
And the lewdness of your prostitution
On the hills in the fields.
Woe (judgment is coming) to you, O Jerusalem!
How long will you remain unclean [by ignoring My precepts]?”

Drought and a Prayer for Mercy

14 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

2 
“Judah mourns
And her gates languish;
Her people sit on the ground in mourning clothes
And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
3 
“Their nobles have sent their servants for water;
They have come to the cisterns and found no water.
They have returned with empty vessels;
They have been shamed and humiliated,
And they cover their heads.
4 
“The ground is cracked
Because there has been no rain on the land;
The farmers are distressed,
And they have covered their heads [in shame].
5 
“The doe in the field has given birth only to abandon her young
Because there is no grass.
6 
“And the wild donkeys stand on the barren heights;
They pant for air like jackals,
Their eyesight fails
Because there is no grass.
7 
“O Lord, though our many sins testify against us” [prays Jeremiah],
“Act now [for us and] for Your name’s sake [so that the faithless may witness Your faithfulness]!
For our backslidings are countless;
We have sinned against You.
8 
“O Hope of Israel,
Her Savior in time of distress and trouble,
Why should You be like a sojourner (temporary resident) in the land
Or like a traveler who turns aside and spreads his tent to linger [only] for a night?
9 
“Why should You be [hesitant and inactive] like a man astounded and perplexed,
Like a mighty man unable to save?
Yet You, O Lord, are among us,
And we are called by Your name;
Do not leave us!”

10 Thus says the Lord to this people [Judah], “In the manner and to the degree [already pointed out] they have loved to wander; they have not restrained their feet. Therefore the Lord does not accept them; He will now remember [in detail] their wickedness and punish them for their sins.”

Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 12:2 Lit near their mouth.
  2. Jeremiah 13:1 The midsection of the body between the lower ribs and the hips.
  3. Jeremiah 13:22 Using the expression for the violation of a woman, the writer describes how the Babylonians would deal with Judah.
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

1 Thessalonians 1:1-2:12

Thanksgiving for These Believers

1 Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timothy,

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being from God].

2 We give thanks to God always for all of you, continually mentioning you in our prayers; 3 recalling unceasingly before our God and Father your work energized by faith, and your service motivated by love and unwavering hope in [the return of] our Lord Jesus Christ.(A) 4 [a]Brothers and sisters beloved by God, we know that He has chosen you; 5 for our good news [regarding salvation] came to you not only in word, but also in [its inherent] power and in the Holy Spirit and with great conviction [on our part]. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your benefit. 6 You became imitators of us and [through us] of the Lord, after you welcomed our message in [a time of] great trouble with the joy supplied by the Holy Spirit; 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in [b]Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For the word of the Lord has resounded from you and has echoed [like thunder], not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place [the news of] your [great] faith in God has spread, so that we never need to say anything about it. 9 For they themselves report about us, telling what kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to [look forward and confidently] wait for [the coming of] His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead—Jesus, who [personally] rescues us from the coming wrath [and draws us to Himself, granting us all the privileges and rewards of a new life with Him].

Paul’s Ministry

2 For you know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you has not been ineffective (fruitless, in vain), 2 but after we had already suffered and been outrageously treated in Philippi, as you know, yet in [the strength of] our God we summoned the courage to proclaim boldly to you the good news of God [regarding salvation] amid great opposition. 3 For our appeal does not come from delusion or impure motives, nor [is it motivated] by deceit [our message is complete, accurate, and based on the truth—it does not change]. 4 But just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel [that tells the good news of salvation through faith in Christ], so we speak, not as [if we were trying] to please people [to gain power and popularity], but to please God who examines our hearts [expecting our best]. 5 For as you well know, we never came with words of flattery nor with a pretext for greed—God is our witness— 6 nor did we seek glory and honor from people, neither from you nor from anyone else, though as apostles of Christ we had the power to assert our authority. 7 But we behaved gently when we were among you, like a devoted mother tenderly caring for her own children. 8 Having such a deep affection for you, we [c]were delighted to share with you not only God’s good news but also our own lives, because you had become so very dear to us.

9 For you remember, [d]believers, our labor and hardship. We worked night and day [practicing our trade] in order not to be a [financial] burden to any of you while we proclaimed the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, how unworldly and just and blameless was our behavior toward you who believe [in our Lord Jesus Christ]. 11 For you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploring each one of you just as a father does [in dealing with] his own children, [guiding you] 12 to live lives [of honor, moral courage, and personal integrity] worthy of the God who [saves you and] calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

Footnotes:

  1. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 Lit Brethren.
  2. 1 Thessalonians 1:7 Greece was divided into two Roman provinces. The northern region was called Macedonia and the southern, Achaia. Thessalonica was an important seaport and was the capital city of Macedonia.
  3. 1 Thessalonians 2:8 Or resolved to.
  4. 1 Thessalonians 2:9 Lit brethren.

Cross references:

  1. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 : 1 Thess 1:10
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Psalm 79

A Lament over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.

A Psalm of Asaph.

79 O God, the nations have invaded [the land of Your people] Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your sacred temple;
They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.
2 
They have given the dead bodies of Your servants as food to the birds of the heavens,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the beasts of the earth.
3 
They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem,
And there was no one to bury them.
4 
We have become an object of taunting to our neighbors [because of our humiliation],
A derision and mockery to those who encircle us.
5 
How long, O Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your jealousy [which cannot endure a divided allegiance] burn like fire?
6 
Pour out Your wrath on the [Gentile] nations that do not know You,
And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name.(A)
7 
For they have devoured Jacob
And made his pasture desolate.

8 
O do not remember against us the sins and guilt of our forefathers.
Let Your compassion and mercy come quickly to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.
9 
Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name;
Rescue us, forgive us our sins for Your name’s sake.
10 
Why should the [Gentile] nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let there be known [without delay] among the nations in our sight [and to this generation],
Your vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been poured out.
11 
Let the groaning and sighing of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your power keep safe those who are doomed to die.
12 
And return into the lap of our neighbors sevenfold
The taunts with which they have taunted You, O Lord.
13 
So we Your people, the sheep of Your pasture,
Will give You thanks forever;
We will declare and publish Your praise from generation to generation.

Cross references:

  1. Psalm 79:6 : 2 Thess 1:8
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 24:30-34

30 
I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man lacking understanding and common sense;
31 
And, behold, it was all overgrown with thorns,
And nettles were covering its surface,
And its stone wall was broken down.
32 
When I saw, I considered it well;
I looked and received instruction.
33 
“Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest [and daydream],”
34 
Then your poverty will come as a robber,
And your want like an armed man.

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

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10/08/2018 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 10:1-11:23, Colossians 3:18-4:18, Psalms 78:56-72, Proverbs 24:28-29

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi. This is Bremmer from London, the UK calling in for the call from Steve in Toulouse. Steve, I am so pleased that you are starting up a church in Toulouse, church 21 as you call it there. My wife is French. I’m quite familiar with the fact you can be quite __ in France when it comes to funding a family of faith. So, I will be praying for you, your efforts to get resourcing, and of course volunteers, that you’ll actually be able to run your services every week. God bless you Steve, Bremmer from London.

Hello DAB family this is Chantey calling from __ Detroit and I’m calling with a prayer request that is long overdue. It is for someone that is potentially my brother, his name is Raymond and he is 15 years old right now. He’s living in a boy’s home because his mother lost her right and my dad signed over his right and both of them are not for sure if he is my dad’s son. My dad had an opportunity to have a paternity test done but he didn’t show up, of course, to have it done. He has, like social, anxiety and it’s really hard to get him to go anywhere. So, long story short, I want to be there for him and I want him to come stay with us, but I have reservations about his behavior and the fact that we don’t know for sure that he’s my brother. And anyway, just pray for him because he’s really going through a hard time. He’s not able to speak with his parents and he’s able to speak with me only for 10 minutes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And he’s just really struggling and he just…he needs comfort and just…he needs help right now with what he’s going through. So, I’ll be calling back in for more on that. But thank you all so much for your prayers.

Hey everybody, this is Pelham moving to Coleman, the Dough Master Addicted to Christ. That’s been my spiritual name from the beginning when I started calling in to the DAB about 10 years ago. It’s been a while and Brian’s reading today, which was Asaph, that’s what he talked about. When he started talking and he almost laughed to say, some of the stuff that Asaph is facing, we all do from time to time but I think Brian wanted to say we probably all are currently, if you’re listening to my voice. Brian does’t want to say that because that kind of sounds a little intense, but who’s not facing one of those six questions? And Brian, thank you. What an incredible word today. Like, you read my mail literally, said the two things that I was thinking. Thinking way back, some of the things that the Lord is done to sustain you, when you think maybe He’s giving up on you. Boy, if you want to look at my life guys, let’s see, I went to the Daily Audio Bible reunion because of Jesus. I didn’t have any money and I didn’t have the ability to do anything except…except wait on the Lord, who wanted me there apparently, to meet some wonderful people. And I was thinking about thanking a bunch of people with this call, but for me to make a thank you call, I need to start at one minute and 13 seconds to basically give me time to say hi and start lifting names, starting with Jesus and ending with Jesus but it would human names that would be lifted. And you could just say Jesus for everyone, cause when people do the things that they do for Jesus, it’s Jesus working through them and you can see it. I can see Jesus working through Annette in Oklahoma City. I can see Jesus through the big man himself down in Australia Mr. Mike, the big Australian. I can see Jesus through all these people, through the DAB, through people you work with, and see on the street. So, wow…

Good morning DABbers. Love lets the past die that moves people to new beginnings without settling the past. Love does not have to clear up all misunderstandings. Love prefers to tuck all the loose ends of the past rights and wrongs in the bosom of forgiveness. It pushes to a new start. Holy Father, we pray for the gift of forgiveness, so we’re not shackled to the past. Help us to absorb evil without calculating how to retaliate. Thank you for loving us first with Lord Jesus as our example. In His precious name. Amen. Love you DABbers, Diana, Arizona. Bye.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Monday October 8, 2018 (NIV)

Jeremiah 10-11

A Satire on Idolatry

10 Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. 2 Thus says the Lord,

“Do not learn the way of the [pagan] nations,
And do not be terrified and distressed by the signs of the heavens
Although the pagans are terrified by them;
3 
For the customs and decrees of the peoples are [mere] delusion [exercises in futility];
It is only wood which one cuts from the forest [to make a god],
The work of the hands of the craftsman with the axe or cutting tool.
4 
“They adorn the idol with silver and with gold;
They fasten it with hammers and nails
So that it will not fall apart.
5 
“They are like scarecrows in a cucumber field;
They cannot speak;
They have to be carried,
Because they cannot walk!
Do not be afraid of them,
For they can do no harm or evil,
Nor can they do any good.”

6 
There is none like You, O Lord;
You are great, and great is Your mighty and powerful name.
7 
Who would not fear You, O King of the nations?
For it is appropriate and it is Your due!
For among all the wise men of the nations
And in all their kingdoms,
There is none like You.
8 
But they are altogether irrational and stupid and foolish
In their discipline of delusion—their idol is [only] wood [it is ridiculous, empty and worthless]!
9 
Silver that has been beaten [into plates] is brought from [a]Tarshish,
And gold from [b]Uphaz,
The work of the craftsman and of the hand of the goldsmith;
Violet and purple are their clothing;
They are all the work of skilled men.
10 
But the Lord is the true God and the God who is Truth;
He is the living God and the everlasting King.
The earth quakes and shudders at His wrath,
And the nations are not able to endure His indignation.

11 In this manner you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.”

12 
God made the earth by His power;
He established the world by His wisdom
And by His understanding and skill He has stretched out the heavens.
13 
When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of [c]waters in the heavens,
And He causes the clouds and the mist to ascend from the end of the earth;
He makes lightning for the rain,
And brings out the wind from His treasuries and from His storehouses.
14 
Every man has become [like a brute] irrational and stupid, without knowledge [of God];
Every goldsmith is shamed by his carved idols;
For his molten images are frauds and lies,
And there is no breath in them.
15 
They are worthless and devoid of promise, a work of delusion and mockery;
In their time of [trial and] punishment they will perish [without hope].
16 
The Portion of Jacob [the true God on whom Israel has a claim] is not like these;
For He is the Designer and Maker of all things,
And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance [and He will not fail them]—
The Lord of hosts is His name.

17 
Gather up your bundle [of goods] from the ground,
You who live under siege.
18 
For thus says the Lord;
“Behold, I am slinging out at this time the people of this land,
And will cause them [great] distress,
That they may find it [to be as I have said].”

19 
“Woe to me because of my [spiritual] brokenness!” [says Jeremiah, speaking for the nation.]
“My wound is incurable.”
But I said, “Surely this sickness and suffering and grief are mine,
And I must bear it.”
20 
My tent is destroyed,
And all my [tent] cords are broken;
My children have been taken from me [as captives] and are no more.
There is no one to stretch out my tent again
And to set up my [tent] curtains.
21 
For the shepherds [of the people] have become [like brutes,] irrational and stupid,
And have not searched for the Lord or asked about Him or realized their need for Him;
Therefore they have not been wise and have not prospered,
And all their flocks are scattered.
22 
The sound of a report! Behold, [the invader] comes—
A great commotion from the country of the north (Babylonia)—
To make the cities of Judah
A desolation, a haunt and dwelling place of jackals.

23 
O Lord, I know that the path of [life of] a man is not in himself;
It is not within [the limited ability of] man [even one at his best] to choose and direct his steps [in life].(A)
24 
O Lord, correct me [along with Your people], but with mercy and in just measure—
Not in Your anger, or You will crush me and bring me to nothing.
25 
Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know nor recognize You
And on the families that do not call Your name.
For they have devoured Jacob;
They have devoured him and consumed him
And made his land a desolate waste.

The Broken Covenant

11 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, 2 “Hear the words of this [solemn] covenant, and speak to the men of Judah and to the people of Jerusalem. 3 Say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, “Cursed is the man who does not heed the words of this covenant 4 which I commanded your fathers at the time that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, ‘Listen to My voice and do according to all that I command you. So you shall be My people, and I will be your God,’ 5 that I may complete the oath which I swore to your fathers, to give them a land [of plenty] [d]flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day.”’” Then I answered, “Amen (so be it), O Lord.”

6 And the Lord said to me, “Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem: ‘Hear the words of this [solemn] covenant and do them. 7 For I solemnly warned your fathers at the time that I brought them up from the land of Egypt, even to this day, warning them persistently, saying, “Obey My voice.” 8 Yet they did not obey or incline their ear [to listen to Me], but everyone walked in the stubborn way of his [own] evil heart. Therefore I brought on them all [the suffering threatened in] the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do, but they did not.’”

9 Then the Lord said to me, “A conspiracy has been found among the men of Judah and among the people of Jerusalem. 10 They have returned to the wickedness of their ancestors who refused to hear My words; they have followed other gods [in order] to serve them. The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken My [solemn] covenant which I made with their fathers.” 11 Therefore thus says the Lord, “Behold I am bringing disaster and suffering on them which they will not be able to escape; though they cry to Me, I will not listen to them. 12 Then the cities of Judah and the people of Jerusalem will go and cry to the [man-made] gods to whom they burn incense, but they cannot save them in the time of their disaster. 13 For [as many as] the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah; and [as many as] the number of the streets of Jerusalem are the altars you have set up to the shameful thing, altars to burn incense to Baal.

14 “Therefore do not pray for this people, nor lift up a cry or prayer for them, for I shall not listen when they cry to Me in the time of their disaster.

15 
“What right has My beloved [to be] in My house
When she has done many vile things and acted treacherously [over and over again]?
Can vows and the meat of your sacrifices remove your wickedness from you and cancel the consequences of your sin,
So that you can [escape your judgment and] rejoice?”
16 
The Lord [acknowledged you once as worthy and] called your name,
“A green olive tree, fair and beautiful in fruit and form”;
But with the roar of a great tempest
He has set fire to it,
And its branches are worthless.(B)

17 For the Lord of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil and horror against you because of the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done to provoke Me [to anger] by offering sacrifices and burning incense to Baal.

Plots against Jeremiah

18 
Then the Lord gave me knowledge [of their plot], and I knew it;
So You [O Lord] revealed their deeds to me.
19 
But I was like a gentle and tame lamb brought to the slaughter;
And I did not know that they had devised plots and schemes against me, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree with its fruit;
Let us cut him off from the land of the living,
That his name be remembered no longer.”
20 
But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously,
Who tests the feelings and the heart (mind),
Let me see Your vengeance on them,
For to You I have committed my cause.

21 Therefore thus says the Lord regarding the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you will not die by our hand.” 22 Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them. Their young men will die by the sword, their sons and their daughters will die by famine; 23 and there will be no remnant [of the conspirators] left, for I will bring disaster and horror on the men of Anathoth in the year of their punishment.”

Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 10:9 Perhaps a reference to an ancient refinery located on the island of Sardinia.
  2. Jeremiah 10:9 The location of this gold mining region is unknown.
  3. Jeremiah 10:13 Some ancient people believed that the sky was a canopy over the earth and that God stored rainwater behind it. Therefore, it rained only when God opened the windows of heaven.
  4. Jeremiah 11:5 This phrase referred to the abundant fertility of the land of Canaan. Milk (typically that of goats and sheep) was associated with abundance; “honey” referred mainly to syrups made from dates or grapes and was the epitome of sweetness. Bees’ honey was very rare and was considered the choicest of foods.

Cross references:

  1. Jeremiah 10:23 : Ps 37:23; Prov 20:24
  2. Jeremiah 11:16 : Ps 52:8; Jer 21:14
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Colossians 3:18-4

Family Relations

18 Wives, be [a]subject to your husbands [out of respect for their position as protector, and their accountability to God], as is proper and [b]fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives [with an affectionate, sympathetic, selfless love that always seeks the best for them] and do not be embittered or resentful toward them [because of the responsibilities of marriage]. 20 Children, obey your parents [as God’s representatives] in all things, for this [attitude of respect and obedience] is well-pleasing [c]to the Lord [and will bring you God’s promised blessings]. 21 Fathers, do not provoke or irritate or exasperate your children [with demands that are trivial or unreasonable or humiliating or abusive; nor by favoritism or indifference; treat them tenderly with lovingkindness], so they will not lose heart and become discouraged or unmotivated [with their spirits broken].

22 Servants, in everything obey those who are your masters on earth, not only with external service, as those who merely please people, but with sincerity of heart because of your fear of the Lord. 23 Whatever you do [whatever your task may be], work from the soul [that is, put in your very best effort], as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [greatest] reward. It is the Lord Christ whom you [actually] serve. 25 For he who does wrong will be punished for his wrongdoing, and [with God] there is no partiality [no special treatment based on a person’s position in life].

Fellow Workers

4 Masters, [on your part] deal with your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.(A)

2 Be persistent and devoted to prayer, being alert and focused in your prayer life with an attitude of thanksgiving. 3 At the same time pray for us, too, that God will open a door [of opportunity] to us for the word, to proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I have been imprisoned; 4 that I may make it clear [and speak boldly and unfold the mystery] in the way I should.

5 Conduct yourself with wisdom in your interactions with outsiders (non-believers), make the most of each opportunity [treating it as something precious]. 6 Let your speech at all times be gracious and pleasant, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how to answer each one [who questions you].

7 As to all my affairs, [d]Tychicus, who is a much-loved brother and faithful assistant and fellow bond-servant in the Lord, will give you all the information.(B) 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are doing and that he may encourage your hearts; 9 and with him is [e]Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will let you know everything about the situation here [in Rome].

10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, wishes to be remembered to you; as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him); 11 and from Jesus, who is called Justus. These are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision (Jewish Christians), and they have proved to be an encouragement and a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. [He is] always striving for you in his prayers, praying with genuine concern, [pleading] that you may [as people of character and courage] stand firm, [spiritually mature] and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I testify for him that he has worked strenuously for you and for the believers in Laodicea and those in Hierapolis. 14 Luke, the beloved physician, and Demas greet you. 15 Give my greetings to the [f]brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church that meets in her house. 16 When this letter has been read among you, see that it is read in the church of the Laodiceans; and also that you in turn read [g]my letter [that is coming to you] from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, “See to it that you fulfill [carefully the duties of] the ministry which you have received in the Lord.”

18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. May grace (God’s unmerited favor and blessing) be with you.

Footnotes:

  1. Colossians 3:18 The wife is to submit voluntarily to her husband (not to men in general); not as inferior to him, nor in violation of her Christian ethics, but honoring her husband’s responsibilities and authority as head of the household.
  2. Colossians 3:18 I.e. not in conflict with Scripture.
  3. Colossians 3:20 Lit in, as “in the Lord’s presence.”
  4. Colossians 4:7 Tychicus probably delivered this letter to Colossae, as well as Paul’s letter to Ephesus, while traveling on the same journey.
  5. Colossians 4:9 Onesimus was Philemon’s runaway slave who was converted to Christianity under Paul’s ministry.
  6. Colossians 4:15 Lit brethren.
  7. Colossians 4:16 Paul is most likely referring to the letter he wrote to the Ephesians (see note Eph 1:1) during this same time period.

Cross references:

  1. Colossians 4:1 : Lev 25:43, 53
  2. Colossians 4:7 : Eph 6:21
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Psalm 78:56-72

56 
Yet they tempted and rebelled against the Most High God
And did not keep His testimonies (laws).
57 
They turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
They were twisted like a warped bow [that will not respond to the archer’s aim].
58 
For they provoked Him to [righteous] anger with their high places [devoted to idol worship]
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images [by denying Him the love, worship, and obedience that is rightfully and uniquely His].
59 
When God heard this, He was filled with [righteous] wrath;
And utterly rejected Israel, [greatly hating her ways],
60 
So that He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh,
The tent in which He had dwelled among men,
61 
And gave up His strength and power (the ark of the covenant) into captivity,
And His glory into the hand of the enemy (the Philistines).(A)
62 
He also handed His people over to the sword,
And was infuriated with His inheritance (Israel).(B)
63 
The fire [of war] devoured His young men,
And His [bereaved] virgins had no wedding songs.
64 
His priests [Hophni and Phinehas] fell by the sword,
And His widows could not weep.(C)

65 
Then the Lord awakened as from sleep,
Like a [mighty] warrior who awakens from the sleep of wine [fully conscious of his power].
66 
He drove His enemies backward;
He subjected them to lasting shame and dishonor.
67 
Moreover, He rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim [in which the tabernacle stood].
68 
But He chose the tribe of Judah [as Israel’s leader],
Mount Zion, which He loved [to replace Shiloh as His capital].
69 
And He built His sanctuary [exalted] like the heights [of the heavens],
Like the earth which He has established forever.
70 
He also chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds;(D)
71 
[a]From [b]tending the ewes with nursing young He brought him
To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.(E)
72 
So David shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart;
And guided them with his skillful hands.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 78:71 The first impression one might receive from this passage is that God elevated David from the lowliest position in Israel to the highest. But the ancient rabbis said that God tested David’s skills and wisdom as a shepherd. For example, it is said that David held back the bigger sheep from the pasture and brought out the smaller ones first to graze on the tender grass. The rabbis represented God as saying, “He who knows how to shepherd the sheep, each one in proportion to its strength, shall come and shepherd My people.”
  2. Psalm 78:71 Lit following.

Cross references:

  1. Psalm 78:61 : 1 Sam 4:21
  2. Psalm 78:62 : 1 Sam 4:10
  3. Psalm 78:64 : 1 Sam 4:11, 19, 20
  4. Psalm 78:70 : 1 Sam 16:11, 12
  5. Psalm 78:71 : 2 Sam 7:7, 8
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 24:28-29

28 
Do not be a witness against your [a]neighbor without cause,
And do not deceive with your lips [speak neither lies nor half-truths].(A)
29 
Do not say, “I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will pay the man back for his deed.”(B)

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 24:28 I.e. anyone who comes into your life, not necessarily one who lives nearby.

Cross references:

  1. Proverbs 24:28 : Eph 4:25
  2. Proverbs 24:29 : Prov 20:22; Matt 5:39, 44; Rom 12:17, 19
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Posted on

10/07/2018 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 8:8-9:26, Colossians 3:1-17, Psalms 78:32-55, Proverbs 24:27

Today is the 7th day of October. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you as we turn the knob and, I don’t know if it’s a knob or not, but we turns the knob and open the door and walk through the threshold of a brand-new, shiny, sparkly week. We get to start over and live into this week, allowing God’s word to speak and inform our choices and decisions and postures of hearts and walk with God by the power of His Holy Spirit into all that we will encounter in this week. So, it’s all fresh and we begin by doing exactly that, letting God’s word speak to us. We’ll read from the Amplified Bible this week and we’ll pick up where we left off in Jeremiah. Today, chapter 8 verse 8 through 9 verse 26.

Prayer:

Father, we do indeed thank You for Your word and we thank You for bringing us this far into the year as we continue to move forward and we thank You for this new week to live into. We thank You that You have greeted us here at the threshold of a new week and invited us into it, forward with You for Your will and Your purposes, which are our destiny and our reason and our meaning. And we confess Lord, that we put our faith and our hopes and our trust and our affirmation and our identity in so many other things, and we repent Lord. Come Holy Spirit, we want to walk purely and upright before You in this new week in every way. May this week be a joyful celebration of our union, of our relationship, and may we collaborate with You in Your kingdom in this coming week. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, which makes it home base, which means you can find out what’s going on around here.

The Prayer Wall lives there and you can certainly pray for your brothers and sisters continually around the clock there. You can also access the Prayer Wall, of course, from the Daily Audio Bible app. You cn visit the Daily Audio Bible Shop on both the app and the website as well. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. We…literally we wouldn’t be here if we didn’t do this together. So, thank you. There’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill, TN 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 and Praise:

Hi this is Bay the Bay Area and I am an eight year listener to Daily Audio Bible. It’s been a light to me and it’s definitely taken me through difficult times and encouraged me every morning. I am…I’m a teacher and a mom of two and am a divorced for two years and really feel like thankful, thankful to God that I’ve had those two years to spend some time really healing and seeking God. And I’m calling today because I’m…I am desiring not to be…not to walk alone in the rest of…in the rest of my life and just praying before God that he would bring a godly man to me and wanting to be an example of integrity for my daughter’s and not wanting to settle in any component and to seek a man who truly is walking with God and seeking to serve Him. I feel like God has called me to do some outreach, you know, during the rest of my life and I really don’t want to make the mistake of getting off that track or settling. So, if you would just pray for me, that in God’s timing that He would bring someone to partner with me and me to partner with them so that we could be a strong force for Him in this world. And I don’t make mistakes this time. And, so, if you could pray for me I would really appreciate it. Thank you very, very much family. Thank you.

Hello, this is Michael Jean Elmore from way out west. Don’t take much to be Michael Jean Elmore, as Michael Jean Elmore ain’t so great. So anyway, listening to the October 4th podcast and reading in the Old Testament was referring to return, a lot of return in it today. And it occurred to me at that time that that is what repentance…lined up with a lot of our anger issues, and porn issues, addiction issues and all these things, wrapped up in this return and repentance thing. And it reminded me of that a few years ago we had return as our word of the year. I’m still stuck on return. I return all the time. I thought I had anger totally conquered for years and then the other day I just blew up on somebody man. It was not good but turned and repented. And God made something good out of something bad. So, I was gonna tell you how huge a part of my life this Daily Audio Bible is. It’s like most of my life because I’m in the truck all the time…I listen to a lot. So, you people, I prayer along with each and every one of your prayers.

Hi DABbers, it’s Donna from Seattle. Just wanted to lift up Kaylee. She had an 11-year-old son that’s being prosecuted. Kaylee, I want to let you know that I’m standing in the gap for you and your son. I’m praying for your son, that he has favor, he does not have any charges that would indefinitely hurt him, but that he will receive a verbal warning from the judge, and that he would walk clean and have learned from this. Also, a shout out to Sonja in Tampa. The chicken story was amazing. It had an impact on me. I have thought about it for several days. I would love it if more DABbers would call in with their stories about how God touched them and spoke to them because it just put so much faith in me. That brought me to tears. Sonja, I’m praying for your grandson, that he has deliverance. You called back on September 25th. I am there. I have you guys on my prayer list, everyone that I mentioned I wrote down and I’m praying for you here in Seattle. The husband that called in about his wife Kelly in North Carolina, you have IVF and you’re hoping to __ and I just pray that you are fruitful and that God would bless your room and that you would have this baby. And for Breanna, you called in about being in rehab for anorexia and I just want to let you know, sister, I struggled with anorexia when I was in high school and I understand how fearful it is to gain weight and how stressful that is and how you feel, that even though you lost weight you still seem like you feel like you’re in the same shape, just a miniature version of it. You don’t feel like you’ve changed your shape. And I remember that feeling and I remember just how it changes your chemistry and I’m just believing and praying with you, standing in the gap. My arm is around you. I just walk through the valley of recovery and I claim your healing and that you will have full recovery and that your kidneys and your liver and that will not be harmed. I love you DABbers and am so excited to call in to just pray for everybody else today rather than my own issues. And thank you for praying for me. Bye.

Hey DAB family it’s Dr. John in Jordan New York. I need urgent prayer coverage over my daughter Phoebe. She is doing an internal medicine rotation in the hospital on hematology/ oncology and it is really getting her down. I just got off the phone and she was crying and feeling so inadequate and feeling just like she can’t do medicine, medicine’s not the right place for her. And this is just Satan attacking her and I need…I need prayer covering over Phoebe. I need you guys to help her to be able to fight back. I need prayers for her faith, that she can use God’s covering to protect herself, that she can have the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, to be in God’s will, and have peace, and have joy that she should have in the situation, that he’s attacking her in terms of her confidence and competence and all these things that come against us in medicine. So, please, please pray for Phoebe and I appreciate it. I love you guys. Take care. Bye-bye.

Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Sunday October 7, 2018 (NIV)

Jeremiah 8:8-9:26

8 
“How can you say, ‘We are wise,
And the law of the Lord is with us [and we are learned in its language and teachings]’?
Behold, [the truth is that] the lying pen of the scribes
Has made the law into a lie [a mere code of ceremonial observances].(A)
9 
“The wise men are shamed,
They are dismayed and caught.
Behold, they have [manipulated and] rejected the [truth in the] word of the Lord,
And what kind of wisdom and insight do they have?
10 
“Therefore I will give their wives to others
And their fields to new owners;
Because from the least even to the greatest
Everyone is greedy for [unjust] gain;
From the prophet even to the priest
Everyone practices deceit and deals in corruption.
11 
“For they have treated the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially,
Saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
When there is no peace.
12 
“Were they ashamed because of the extremely disgusting and shamefully vile things they had done?
They were not at all ashamed,
And they did not know how to blush.
Therefore, they shall fall among those who fall;
At the time of their punishment they shall be overthrown,”
Says the Lord.(B)

13 
“I will gather and snatch them away [utterly consuming them],” says the Lord.
“There will be no grapes on the vine,
Nor figs on the fig tree,
And even the leaf will wither;
And the things that I have given them will pass away [by the hand of those whom I have appointed].”’”(C)
14 
Why are we sitting still [the people wonder]?
Assemble yourselves, and let us enter the fortified cities
And let us die there,
For the Lord our God has decreed our ruin
And given us bitter and poisonous water to drink,
Because we have sinned against the Lord.
15 
We waited for peace and salvation, but no good came,
And for a time of healing, but behold, terror!
16 
The snorting of [Nebuchadnezzar’s] horses is heard from Dan [on Palestine’s northern border].
At the sound of the neighing of his strong stallions
The whole land quakes;
For they come and devour the land and all that is in it,
The city and those who live in it.
17 
“For behold, I am sending serpents among you,
Vipers which cannot be charmed,
And they will bite you,” says the Lord.

18 
Oh, that I (Jeremiah) could find comfort from my sorrow [for my grief is beyond healing],
My heart is sick and faint within me!
19 
Behold, [hear the sound of] the cry of the daughter of my people from the distant land [of Babylon]:
“Is not the Lord in Zion? Is not her King within her?”
[But the Lord answers] “Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images and with foreign idols?”
20 
“The harvest is past, the summer has ended and the gathering of fruit is over,
But we are not saved,” [comes the voice of the people again].
21 
For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I (Jeremiah) am broken;
I mourn, anxiety has gripped me.
22 
Is there no balm in [a]Gilead?
Is there no physician there?
Why then has not the [spiritual] health of the daughter of my people been restored?

A Lament over Zion

9 Oh that my head were waters
And my eyes a fountain of tears,
That I might weep day and night
For the slain of the daughter of my people!
2 
Oh that I had in the wilderness
A lodging place (a mere shelter) for wayfaring men,
That I might leave my people
And go away from them!
For they are all adulterers [worshiping idols instead of the Lord],
[They are] an assembly of treacherous men [of weak character, men without integrity].
3 
“They bend their tongue like their bow;
[Their] lies and not truth prevail and grow strong in the land;
For they proceed from evil to evil,
And they do not know and understand and acknowledge Me,” says the Lord.
4 
“Let everyone beware of his neighbor
And do not trust any brother.
For every brother is a supplanter [like Jacob, a deceiver, ready to grab his brother’s heel],
And every neighbor goes around as a slanderer.(D)
5 
“Everyone deceives and mocks his neighbor
And does not speak the truth.
They have taught their tongue to speak lies;
They exhaust themselves with sin and cruelty.
6 
“Your dwelling is in the midst of deceit [oppression upon oppression and deceit upon deceit];
Through deceit they refuse to know (understand) Me,” says the Lord.

7 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts,

“Behold, I will refine them [through suffering] and test them;
For how else should I deal with the daughter of My people?
8 
“Their tongue is a murderous arrow;
It speaks deceit;
With his mouth one speaks peace to his neighbor,
But in his heart he lays traps and waits in ambush for him.
9 
“Shall I not punish them for these things?” says the Lord.
“Shall I not avenge Myself
On such a nation as this?

10 
“I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains,
And a [funeral] dirge for the pastures of the wilderness,
Because they are burned up and desolated so that no one passes through [them];
Nor can anyone hear the lowing of cattle.
Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they are gone.
11 
“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
A haunt and dwelling place of jackals;
And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”

12 Who is the wise man who may understand this [without any doubt]? To whom has the mouth of the Lord spoken, so that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? 13 The Lord said, “Because they have [b]turned away from My law which I set before them, and have not listened to and obeyed My voice nor walked in accordance with it, 14 but have walked stubbornly after their [own] heart and after the Baals, as their fathers taught them,” 15 therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, “behold, I will feed them, this people, with wormwood and give them bitter and poisonous water to drink. 16 I will [also] scatter them among nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them until I have annihilated them.”

17 Thus says the Lord of hosts,

“Consider and call for the mourning women to come;
Send for the wailing women to come.
18 
“Let them hurry and take up a wailing for us,
That our eyes may shed tears
And our eyelids flow with water.
19 
“For a sound of wailing is heard [coming] from Zion:
‘How we are ruined!
We are greatly perplexed and utterly shamed,
Because we have left the land,
Because they have torn down our dwellings.’”
20 
Now hear the word of the Lord, O you women,
And let your ear hear the word of His mouth;
Teach your daughters a song of mourning,
And each one [teach] her neighbor a dirge.
21 
For death has come up through our windows;
It has entered our palaces,
Cutting off the children from the streets
And the young men from the town squares.
22 
Speak, “Thus says the Lord,
‘The dead bodies of men will fall like dung on the open field,
And like sheaves [of grain] behind the reaper,
And no one will gather them.’”(E)

23 Thus says the Lord, “Let not the one who is wise and skillful boast in his insight; let not the one who is mighty and powerful boast in his strength; let not the one who is rich boast in his [temporal satisfactions and earthly] abundance; 24 but let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me [and acknowledges Me and honors Me as God and recognizes without any doubt], that I am the Lord who practices lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight,” says the Lord.(F)

25 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “when I will punish all who are circumcised [physically] and yet uncircumcised [spiritually]—(G) 26 [c]Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those who live in the desert who clip off the hair on their temples; for all these nations are uncircumcised (sinful, impure), and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 8:22 A scenic, fertile mountain region east of the Jordan River famous for its medicinal herbs and spices.
  2. Jeremiah 9:13 Lit forsaken.
  3. Jeremiah 9:26 All these nations are related to one another, except Egypt.

Cross references:

  1. Jeremiah 8:8 : Mark 7:13
  2. Jeremiah 8:12 : Jer 6:12-15
  3. Jeremiah 8:13 : Matt 21:18, 19
  4. Jeremiah 9:4 : Gen 25:26
  5. Jeremiah 9:22 : Jer 8:2
  6. Jeremiah 9:24 : 1 Cor 1:31; 2 Cor 10:17
  7. Jeremiah 9:25 : Rom 2:25-29
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Colossians 3:1-17

Put On the New Self

3 Therefore if you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.(A) 2 Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. 3 For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, [a]appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

5 So put to death and deprive of power the evil longings of your earthly body [with its sensual, self-centered instincts] immorality, impurity, sinful passion, evil desire, and greed, which is [a kind of] idolatry [because it replaces your devotion to God]. 6 Because of these [sinful] things the [divine] wrath of God is coming [b]on the sons of disobedience [those who fail to listen and who routinely and obstinately disregard God’s precepts], 7 and in these [sinful things] you also once walked, when you were habitually living in them [without the knowledge of Christ]. 8 But now rid yourselves [completely] of all these things: anger, rage, malice, slander, and obscene (abusive, filthy, vulgar) language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new [spiritual] self who is being continually renewed in true knowledge in the image of Him who created the new self—(B) 11 a renewal in which there is no [distinction between] Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, [nor between nations whether] [c]barbarian or [d]Scythian, [nor in status whether] slave or free, but Christ is all, and in all [so believers are equal in Christ, without distinction].

12 So, as God’s own chosen people, who are holy [set apart, sanctified for His purpose] and well-beloved [by God Himself], put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience [which has the power to endure whatever injustice or unpleasantness comes, with good temper]; 13 bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive. 14 Beyond all these things put on and wrap yourselves in [unselfish] love, which is the perfect bond of unity [for everything is bound together in agreement when each one seeks the best for others]. 15 Let the peace of Christ [the inner calm of one who walks daily with Him] be the controlling factor in your hearts [deciding and settling questions that arise]. To this peace indeed you were called as members in one body [of believers]. And be thankful [to God always]. 16 Let the [spoken] word of Christ have its home within you [dwelling in your heart and mind—permeating every aspect of your being] as you teach [spiritual things] and admonish and train one another with all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 Whatever you do [no matter what it is] in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus [and in dependence on Him], giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Footnotes:

  1. Colossians 3:4 A reference to His second coming.
  2. Colossians 3:6 Two early mss do not contain this phrase.
  3. Colossians 3:11 A derogatory term used to describe uneducated, uncultured people who were not fluent in the Greek language.
  4. Colossians 3:11 The Scythians were savage equestrian herdsmen who were skilled archers and often worked as mercenaries and/or slave traders. The Scythian women were known to dress as warriors and fight alongside the men.

Cross references:

  1. Colossians 3:1 : Ps 110:1
  2. Colossians 3:10 : Gen 1:26
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Psalm 78:32-55

32 
In spite of all this they still sinned,
For they did not believe in His wonderful and extraordinary works.
33 
Therefore He consumed their days like a breath [in emptiness and futility]
And their years in sudden terror.

34 
When He killed [some of] them, then those remaining sought Him,
And they returned [to Him] and searched diligently for God [for a time].
35 
And they remembered that God was their rock,
And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36 
Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouths
And lied to Him with their tongues.
37 
For their heart was not steadfast toward Him,
Nor were they faithful to His covenant.(A)
38 
[a]But He, the source of compassion and lovingkindness, forgave their wickedness and did not destroy them;
Many times He restrained His anger
And did not stir up all His wrath.
39 
For He [graciously] remembered that they were mere [human] flesh,
A wind that goes and does not return.

40 
How often they rebelled against Him in the wilderness
And grieved Him in the desert!
41 
Again and again they tempted God,
And distressed the Holy One of Israel.
42 
They did not remember [the miracles worked by] His [powerful] hand,
Nor the day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43 
How He worked His miracles in Egypt
And His wonders in the field of Zoan [where Pharaoh resided],
44 
And turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, so that they could not drink.
45 
He sent among them swarms of flies which devoured them,
And frogs which destroyed them.
46 
He also gave their crops to the grasshopper,
And the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 
He destroyed their vines with [great] hailstones
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 
He gave over their cattle also to the hailstones,
And their flocks and herds to thunderbolts.(B)
49 
He sent upon them His burning anger,(C)
His fury and indignation and distress,
A band of angels of destruction [among them].
50 
He leveled a path for His anger [to give it free run];
He did not spare their souls from death,
But turned over their lives to the plague.
51 
He killed all the firstborn in Egypt,
The first and best of their strength in the tents [of the land of the sons] of Ham.
52 
But God led His own people forward like sheep
And guided them in the wilderness like [a good shepherd with] a flock.
53 
He led them safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea engulfed their enemies.(D)

54 
So He brought them to His holy land,
To this mountain [Zion] which His right hand had acquired.
55 
He also drove out the nations before the sons of Israel
And allotted their land as an inheritance, measured out and partitioned;
And He had the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents [the tents of those who had been dispossessed].

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 78:38 The ancient Sopherim, the Jewish scholars whose responsibility it was to do counts of all the letters, words, and verses of the OT, said that this verse marks the halfway point in Psalms.

Cross references:

  1. Psalm 78:37 : Acts 8:21
  2. Psalm 78:48 : Ex 9:18-21
  3. Psalm 78:49 : Ex 12:23
  4. Psalm 78:53 : Ex 14:27, 28
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Proverbs 24:27

27 
Prepare your work outside
And get it ready for yourself in the field;
[a]Afterward build your house and establish a home.

Footnotes:

  1. Proverbs 24:27 Establishing your priorities and proceeding in an orderly manner brings its own reward.
Amplified Bible (AMP)

Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Posted on

10/06/2018 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 6:15-8:7, Colossians 2:8-23, Psalms 78:1-31, Proverbs 24:26

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hello DAB family, this is Linda In Alberta calling. I just wanted to call in. I hope I don’t go on rambling here. I hear a lot of calls, as we all do, people asking for prayer for their children who have gone astray. And I just always feel for you being a parent myself. Three and a half years ago or so when I first called in the DAB with concerns for my daughter who has mental health and addiction in her life, you people prayed for her and really, the DAB was the safest place I found to share our story. At that time, I remember that, one time in particular, I went to meet my daughter somewhere and I had to meet her in kind of like a part at a picnic table because she had got herself previously involved with a bunch of bad people. And anyway, this time my daughter didn’t resemble herself at all. She was so skinny, she was shaking, she was hiding from these bad people. I wasn’t allowed to know her address for protection __. During that time our phones were bugged by detectives. We were followed, she was followed when they knew where she was. One time we had our front door kicked in and within a matter of seconds or minutes we had all these police cars surrounding our house. And anyways, my daughter now lives in another city, has a full-time job, she’s going to school, the bad people are in jail. She was spared. And I just want to give all of you hope. I want to encourage you to listen to the Daily Prayer that Brian has recorded and it’s on the podcast. And I listen to that day and night and I __ to God through that day and night for my daughter. And anyway, my times almost up. I just want to know that I pray for you and I know how bad this is but just have hope and we have God on our side. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Hello this is Afel from __ . Today is Wednesday, October 3rd and I’m just calling and after hearing Brian’s commentary today. It was something that really spoke to me especially. Especially just want to reference Philippians 4:6-7, Do not be anxious about anything but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. So, having said that, you know, I just want to say, really thankful for so many things. Thankful to be blessed with the children, to be blessed with family, and to be blessed with so many comforts, and so much favor from God. I want to ask for a prayer request for my daughter in first grade. She’s having a challenge where she’s not able to speak in public. We’re seeing a specialist but I just want to ask for prayers, that God can see her through the situation, whatever anxiety or whatever obstacle is stopping her to be able to speak in public, we pray that God just lifts that and allows her to speak and communicate freely with her classmates and her teachers. I also want to pray for Duane from Wisconsin for his son up in prison. It’s a really tough situation but I just pray brother that you continue to be steadfast and I’m just thankful to God for the hope that your son will come through this situation. Thank you.

Hi this is Victoria Soldier just calling to pray for some of the DABbers. I want to pray for Sally from the UK. I want to pray for, I think it’s Barry from California, with his daughter…his goddaughter Angeline. I want to pray for her for insight. I want to pray for Daniel with a series of things going on in his marriage. And the other thing, I want to pray for Jay. And I want to pray for Robert and Ambrosia and our big sister Judy for the things that they are going through. Gracious Father we just praise You today for an opportunity to pray for Your people Lord, that they can see how wonderful and how awesome and how great You are, that You are a God that answers prayers, that You’re a God that can do anything but fail, that You’re a God that is good through the good times and even the bad, that You’re a God that is always there. You said You would never leave us or forsake us, Lord, and that You are with us every step of the way. Sometimes we be ready to call on You and You’ve already taken care of the problem. Lord we just ask You right now to touch the names I called Lord. You know what they’re going through. Father, You know all about them Lord. You open up the windows of heaven and You pour out their blessings Lord. You open up the windows of heaven and You heal them Lord. You touch whatever way You do it Lord. Your ways are not our ways and Your thoughts are not our thoughts, but we know that You will not hold any good thing from those who love You. Oh Lord we just thank You for Your people. We thank You for Brian and his family Lord. We thank You for pastor Gene and blind Tony Lord. We thank You for Sharon and her mother Lord and we pray that her mother gets to be with her daughter and …

Dear family, this is Shannon from Oregon. And Shannon from Texas, I am praying for Jadrian for his deliverance and for his healing and for you for your hope and perseverance. Family, I am asking for prayer for my daughter Serena. She is 11 years old and just started sixth grade and it is quite a time of transition as it is for any kiddo at that age. But I’m just already seeing some real challenges develop and today we had a really, really difficult experience. And it left me feeling really baffled and, honestly, kind of inadequate as a parent. And I just don’t know really where to go from here. And I know I need some help. And I’m just not even sure what doors to push on right now. We had a really great conversation and prayed with her as I tucked her to bed and I just really encouraged her to talk to the Lord too and really seek His wisdom because He knows her, He knows how he made her. And anyway, I just would love for you to pray for my sweet Serena and for me and my husband to have wisdom and to raise her in a way that she can see Jesus __ her. Thank you, family. I love you all. Bye.

Posted on

The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Saturday October 6, 2018 (NIV)

Jeremiah 6:16-8:7

16 The Lord proclaims:
Stop at the crossroads and look around;
ask for the ancient paths.
Where is the good way?
Then walk in it
and find a resting place for yourselves.
But you[a] said, “We won’t go!”
17 Still, I have appointed watchmen to warn you.
But you[b] said, “We won’t listen!”
18 Therefore, pay attention, nations;
take notice, assembly,
what is ahead of them.[c]
19 Pay attention, earth:
I’m bringing disaster upon my people,
the fruit of their own devices,
because they have ignored my words
and they have rejected my teaching.
20 What use to me is incense from Sheba
or sweet cane from a faraway land?
Your entirely burned offerings won’t buy your pardon;
your sacrifices won’t appease me.
21 Therefore, the Lord proclaims:
I’m putting obstacles before this people,
and both parents and children will stumble over them;
neighbor and friend alike will perish.

Panic-stricken Zion

22 The Lord proclaims:
An army is on the move
from the northern regions;
a great nation is roused
from the ends of the earth.
23 Equipped with bow and spear,
they are cruel;
they show no mercy.
Their horsemen sound
like the roaring sea,
arrayed in battle formation
against you, Daughter Zion.
24 We have heard reports of them
and are panic-stricken;
distress overwhelms us,
pain like that of a woman in labor.
25 Don’t go out into the field!
Don’t walk on the road!
The enemies’ sword
terrorizes at every turn.
26 My people,
put on funeral clothes and roll in ashes;
weep and wail as for an only child,
because the destroyer will suddenly descend upon us.

Prophet as tester

27 I have made you a tester of metals,
to examine my people[d]
to know and prove their ways.
28 They are tin[e] and iron;
they are headstrong and rebellious.
They live to slander.
They act corruptly—every last one!
29 The bellows roar;
the lead is consumed.[f]
Yet the refining fails;
the impurities[g] remain.
30 They are called “rejected silver,”
for the Lord has rejected them.

The Lord’s temple

7 Jeremiah received the Lord’s word: 2 Stand near the gate of the Lord’s temple and proclaim there this message: Listen to the Lord’s word, all you of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. 3 This is what the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: Improve your conduct and your actions, and I will dwell with you[h] in this place. 4 Don’t trust in lies: “This is the Lord’s temple! The Lord’s temple! The Lord’s temple!” 5 No, if you truly reform your ways and your actions; if you treat each other justly; 6 if you stop taking advantage of the immigrant, orphan, or widow; if you don’t shed the blood of the innocent in this place, or go after other gods to your own ruin, 7 only then will I dwell with you[i] in this place, in the land that I gave long ago to your ancestors for all time.

8 And yet you trust in lies that will only hurt you. 9 Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, sacrifice to Baal and go after other gods that you don’t know, 10 and then come and stand before me in this temple that bears my name, and say, “We are safe,” only to keep on doing all these detestable things? 11 Do you regard this temple, which bears my name, as a hiding place for criminals? I can see what’s going on here, declares the Lord. 12 Just go to my sanctuary[j] in Shiloh, where I let my name dwell at first, and see what I did to it because of the evil of my people Israel. 13 And now, because you have done all these things, declares the Lord, because you haven’t listened when I spoke to you again and again or responded when I called you, 14 I will do to this temple that bears my name and on which you rely, the place that I gave to you and your ancestors, just as I did to Shiloh. 15 I will cast you out of my sight, just as I cast out the rest of your family, all the people of Ephraim.

16 As for you, don’t pray for these people, don’t cry out or plead for them, and don’t intercede with me, for I won’t listen to you. 17 Can’t you see what they are doing in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? 18 The children gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead dough to make sacrificial cakes for the queen of heaven. And to offend me all the more, they pour out drink offerings to foreign gods. 19 But am I the one they are really offending? declares the Lord. Aren’t they in fact humiliating themselves? 20 Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: I’m going to pour out my fierce anger on this place, on humans and beasts, on the trees of the field and the crops of the fertile land. It will burn and not go out.

21 This is what the Lord of heavenly forces, the God of Israel, says: Add your entirely burned offerings to your sacrifices and eat them yourselves! 22 On the day I brought your ancestors out of the land of Egypt, I didn’t say a thing—I gave no instructions—about entirely burned offerings or sacrifices. 23 Rather, this is what I required of them: Obey me so that I may become your God and you may become my people. Follow the path I mark out for you so that it may go well with you. 24 But they didn’t listen or pay attention. They followed their willful and evil hearts and went backward rather than forward. 25 From the moment your ancestors left the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent you all my servants the prophets—day after day. 26 But they didn’t listen to me or pay attention; they were stubborn and did more harm than their ancestors. 27 When you tell them all this, they won’t listen to you. When you call to them, they won’t respond. 28 Therefore, say to them: This nation neither obeys the Lord its God nor accepts correction; truth has disappeared; it has vanished from their lips.

29 Cut off your hair and cast it away;
grieve on the well-traveled paths.
The Lord has rejected you
and has cast off a generation that provokes his anger.

30 The people of Judah have done what displeases me, declares the Lord. They have corrupted the temple that bears my name by setting up their disgusting idols. 31 They have built shrines at Topheth in the Ben-hinnom Valley to burn their sons and daughters in the fire, although I never commanded such a thing, nor did it ever cross my mind. 32 So now the time is coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer speak of Topheth or the Ben-hinnom Valley, but the Carnage Valley. They will bury in Topheth until no space is left. 33 The corpses of this people will be food for birds and wild animals, with no one to drive them off. 34 I will silence the sound of joy and delight as well as the voice of bride and bridegroom in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, for the country will be reduced to a wasteland.

8 At that time, declares the Lord, the bones of the kings of Judah and its officers, the bones of the priests and the prophets, and the bones of the people of Jerusalem will be taken from their graves 2 and exposed to the sun, the moon, and the whole heavenly forces, which they have loved and served and which they have followed, consulted, and worshipped. Their bones won’t be gathered for reburial but will become like refuse lying on the ground. 3 The survivors of this evil nation will prefer death to life, wherever I have scattered them, declares the Lord of heavenly forces.

Depth of Judah’s wrongdoing

4 Say to them, The Lord proclaims:
When people fall down, don’t they get up?
When they turn aside, don’t they turn back?
5 Why then does this people, rebellious Jerusalem,
persistently turn away from me?
They cling to deceit
and refuse to return.
6 I have listened carefully
but haven’t heard a word of truth from them.
No one regrets their wrongdoing;
no one says, “What have I done?”
Everyone turns to their own course,
like a stallion dashing into the thick of battle.
7 Even the stork in the sky knows the seasons,
and the dove, swallow,[k] and crane[l]
return in due time.
But my people don’t know the Lord’s ways.

Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 6:16 Or they
  2. Jeremiah 6:17 Or they
  3. Jeremiah 6:18 Heb uncertain
  4. Jeremiah 6:27 Heb uncertain
  5. Jeremiah 6:28 Or bronze
  6. Jeremiah 6:29 Heb uncertain
  7. Jeremiah 6:29 Or wicked
  8. Jeremiah 7:3 Or I will let you dwell
  9. Jeremiah 7:7 Or I will let you dwell
  10. Jeremiah 7:12 Or place
  11. Jeremiah 8:7 Heb uncertain
  12. Jeremiah 8:7 Heb uncertain
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Colossians 2:8-23

8 See to it that nobody enslaves you with philosophy and foolish deception, which conform to human traditions and the way the world thinks and acts rather than Christ. 9 All the fullness of deity lives in Christ’s body. 10 And you have been filled by him, who is the head of every ruler and authority. 11 You were also circumcised by him. This wasn’t performed by human hands—the whole body was removed through this circumcision by Christ. 12 You were buried with him through baptism and raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead because of the things you had done wrong and because your body wasn’t circumcised, God made you alive with Christ and forgave all the things you had done wrong. 14 He destroyed the record of the debt we owed, with its requirements that worked against us. He canceled it by nailing it to the cross. 15 When he disarmed the rulers and authorities, he exposed them to public disgrace by leading them in a triumphal parade.

16 So don’t let anyone judge you about eating or drinking or about a festival, a new moon observance, or sabbaths. 17 These religious practices are only a shadow of what was coming—the body that cast the shadow is Christ. 18 Don’t let anyone who wants to practice harsh self-denial and worship angels rob you of the prize. They go into detail about what they have seen in visions and have become unjustifiably arrogant by their selfish way of thinking. 19 They don’t stay connected to the head. The head nourishes and supports the whole body through the joints and ligaments, so the body grows with a growth that is from God.

20 If you died with Christ to the way the world thinks and acts, why do you submit to rules and regulations as though you were living in the world? 21 “Don’t handle!” “Don’t taste!” “Don’t touch!” 22 All these things cease to exist when they are used. Such rules are human commandments and teachings. 23 They look like they are wise with this self-made religion and their self-denial by the harsh treatment of the body, but they are no help against indulging in selfish immoral behavior.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 78:1-31

Psalm 78

A maskil[a] of Asaph.

78 Listen, my people, to my teaching;
tilt your ears toward the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a proverb.
I’ll declare riddles from days long gone—
3 ones that we’ve heard and learned about,
ones that our ancestors told us.
4 We won’t hide them from their descendants;
we’ll tell the next generation
all about the praise due the Lord and his strength—
the wondrous works God has done.
5 He established a law for Jacob
and set up Instruction for Israel,
ordering our ancestors
to teach them to their children.
6 This is so that the next generation
and children not yet born will know these things,
and so they can rise up and tell their children
7 to put their hope in God—
never forgetting God’s deeds,
but keeping God’s commandments—
8 and so that they won’t become like their ancestors:
a rebellious, stubborn generation,
a generation whose heart wasn’t set firm
and whose spirit wasn’t faithful to God.

9 The children of Ephraim, armed with bows,
retreated on the day of battle.
10 They didn’t keep God’s covenant;
they refused to walk in his Instruction.
11 They forgot God’s deeds
as well as the wondrous works he showed them.
12 But God performed wonders in their ancestors’ presence—
in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 God split the sea and led them through,
making the waters stand up like a wall.
14 God led them with the cloud by day;
by the lightning all through the night.
15 God split rocks open in the wilderness,
gave them plenty to drink—
as if from the deep itself!
16 God made streams flow from the rock,
made water run like rivers.

17 But they continued to sin against God,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their hearts,
demanded food for their stomachs.
19 They spoke against God!
“Can God set a dinner table in the wilderness?” they asked.
20 “True, God struck the rock
and water gushed and streams flowed,
but can he give bread too?
Can he provide meat for his people?”
21 When the Lord heard this, he became furious.
A fire was ignited against Jacob;
wrath also burned against Israel
22 because they had no faith in God,
because they didn’t trust his saving power.
23 God gave orders to the skies above,
opened heaven’s doors,
24 and rained manna on them so they could eat.
He gave them the very grain of heaven!
25 Each person ate the bread of the powerful ones;[b]
God sent provisions to satisfy them.
26 God set the east wind moving across the skies
and drove the south wind by his strength.
27 He rained meat on them as if it were dust in the air;
he rained as many birds as the sand on the seashore!
28 God brought the birds down in the center of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 So they ate and were completely satisfied;
God gave them exactly what they had craved.
30 But they didn’t stop craving—
even with the food still in their mouths!
31 So God’s anger came up against them:
he killed the most hearty of them;
he cut down Israel’s youth in their prime.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 78:1 Perhaps instruction; the root is used in Ps 32:8.
  2. Psalm 78:25 Or everyone ate the bread from heaven; Heb uncertain
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Proverbs 24:26

26 Those who speak honestly
are like those who kiss on the lips.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Posted on

10/05/2018 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 4:19-6:14, Colossians 1:21-2:7, Psalms 77:1-20, Proverbs 24:23-25

Today is October 5th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today from the lovely rolling hill of Tennessee. And I hope it’s a lovely day in the rolling hills of wherever you are or the mountains or the planes or the valleys or the desserts or the coastland of wherever you are. I’m excited that wherever we are we have a place that we can all go around the global campfire as we allow God’s word to come washing into our lives for today. So, we’re reading from the Common English Bible this week and we’ll continue our journey in Jeremiah today. Chapter 4 verse 19 through 6:15.

Commentary:

Okay. So, in our reading from Psalm 77 today we saw, in poetic fashion, Asaph who was the author, in great distress as he cried out to God for comfort and for some resolution to what was going on his life. And this Psalm is pertinent to us because, I mean, because we’ve all likely walked through those same kinds of emotional seasons in our lives and in this Psalm six questions were asked. Will my Lord reject me forever? Will He never be pleased again? Has His faithful love come to a complete end? Is His promise over for future generations? Has God forgotten how to be gracious? Has He angrily stopped up His compassion? Okay. So, once again we see the Bible saying out loud the things that we sometimes feel inside, but do not give voice because it will seem ungrateful. But these questions, whether we speak them out loud or whether we just like stuff them deep inside, they find their way into our lives. And it usually happens when we’re feeling the discomfort of crisis, right? Or we’re going through hardship or we’re suffering from loss or from pain or whatever is coming against us. We never ask those kinds of questions, right? Those six questions. We never ask them when things have turned out, right? When things turn out the way you wanted them to turn out, when we think things are going well for us. But when we’re suffering, Asaph’s conclusions often do become our own. His conclusion was, this is…this is my misfortune. It’s my misfortune that the strong hand of the most high seems different now. Seems like He's…God’s turned against me. So, if this is sounding eerily familiar, then the Bibles speaking. What are we to do when we feel downcast and bewildered like this. The psalmist suggests something that might seem counterintuitive or even unproductive but it’s essential. We must stop and remember. In Asaph’s words, I will remember the Lord’s deeds. Yes, I will remember Your wondrous acts from times long past. I will meditate on all Your works. I will ponder Your deeds. So, Asaph is suggesting that focusing our energy on remembering God’s faithfulness will bring back context, right? Will give us our balance back. And this is not unlike what the apostle said about the peace that passes all understanding. Right? When we closed the letter to the Philippians a couple days ago. Asaph used the remainder of the Psalm to bring his emotions into balance by worshiping God and remembering His faithfulness. So the next time one of those six questions or all of those six questions start filtering into our life experience, go back to your old journals you’ve kept or just sit quietly, still yourself, and remember times when God undoubtedly carried you through a difficult time because He’s doing that right now. It’s just hard to see when you’re in the thick of it, but it’s much easier to see in hindsight. Surely, I thought I was going down but surely I’m still standing here today because God was faithful and brought me through. He will never leave us. We will not be forsaken. The Bible tells us over and over and over and over, His faithful love endures forever. So, that’s either true or it’s not true. It is true however. And it’s true whether we believe it or not. So, we can embrace this, His faithful love endures forever or we can deny it but it’s still true. When we deny it in thought, word, or deed we’re simply not participating, we’re not partaking of the gift that is available to us.

Prayer:

Father, we definitely confess that we’ve had these postures of heart that we read from Asaph in the psalms. We definitely felt this way before. And we take the counsel to stop and remember, slow it down and remember that You have been faithful that You have carried us through difficulties before and You are continuing to carry us now. And in the future we’ll be able to look back on this time and see that You were faithful because Your faithful love endures forever. Come Holy Spirit, bring Your comfort into our lives today. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

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We were just talking about remembering and journaling and that’s something that we’re big on around here. So, we make our way through the Bible, the Bible speaks an awful lot of things into our lives. And it’s important that we remember them. But we don’t. I mean, we think we’ll never forget but then we forget 10 minutes later. And, so, when we take a few moments out of our day, write down some thoughts, some of the things that stuck out in the Scriptures, some of the interesting things that happened in our lives, we’re creating the story of our lives, we’re telling it as it happens. And we can look at previous chapters, right? We can look back at other seasons exactly like Asaph is suggesting and remember God’s faithfulness to us. So, we have the Daily Audio Bible Journal and some great writing utensils in the shop for exactly this, to take this journey through the year and to write down what God speaks to us so that we don’t forget and so that we can remember. So, you can check that out in the Daily Audio Bible shop.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link. It’s on the homepage. Thank you, thank you for your partnership. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner 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 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.

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The Daily Audio Bible Reading for Friday October 5, 2018 (NIV)

Jeremiah 4:19-6:15

Anguish over looming disaster

19 Oh, my suffering, my suffering!
My pain is unbearable;
my heart is in turmoil;
it throbs nonstop.
I can’t be silent, because I hear the blast of the trumpet
and the roar of the battle cry!
20 Disaster follows disaster;
the whole land is ruined.
Suddenly, my tents are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.
21 How long must I see the battle flags
and hear the blast of the trumpet?
22 My people are foolish.
They don’t even know me!
They are thoughtless children
without understanding;
they are skilled at doing wrong,
inept at doing right.
23 I looked at the earth,
and it was without shape or form;
at the heavens
and there was no light.
24 I looked at the mountains
and they were quaking;
all the hills were rocking back and forth.
25 I looked and there was no one left;
every bird in the sky had taken flight.
26 I looked and the fertile land was a desert;
all its towns were in ruins
before the Lord,
before his fury.
27 The Lord proclaims:
The whole earth will become a desolation,
but I will not destroy it completely.
28 Therefore, the earth will grieve
and the heavens grow dark
because I have declared my plan
and will neither change my mind
nor cancel the plan.
29 As the horsemen and archers approach,
the people take flight.
They hide in the bushes
and escape to the cliffs.
Every city is deserted;
no one remains.
30 And you, devastated one,
why dress up in scarlet,
deck yourself in gold jewelry,
and color your eyes with paint?
In vain you get all decked out;
your lovers have rejected you
and now seek your life.
31 I hear the cry of a woman in labor,
the distress of one delivering her first child.
It is the cry of Daughter Zion,
gasping for breath,
her arms stretched out,
and moaning,
“I’m about to fall into the hands of murderers!”

Futile search for a good person

5 Search every street in Jerusalem,
comb the squares,
look far and wide
for one person,
even one who acts justly
and seeks truth that I may pardon her!
2 Even when making a pledge—“As the Lord lives”—
they swear falsely.
3 Lord, don’t you look for integrity?
You have struck them down,
but they didn’t even cringe.
You have crushed them,
but they have ignored your discipline.
They make their faces harder than rock
and refuse to return.
4 Then I thought to myself,
These are the poor who don’t know better!
They don’t understand the Lord’s way
or the justice of their God.
5 Let me go and speak to the powerful people,
for they will surely know the Lord’s way
and the justice of their God.
But they too have broken their yoke
and shattered the chains.
6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will attack them;
a wolf from the desert will destroy them;
a leopard prowling around their towns
will tear to pieces anyone venturing out—
because of their many crimes
and countless acts of unfaithfulness.
7 How can I pardon you?
Your children have forsaken me
and swear by gods that are not gods.
Although I could have satisfied them,
they committed adultery,
dashing off to the prostitution house.
8 They are lusty stallions roving about,
snorting for another’s wife.
9 The Lord declares:
Shouldn’t I confront these acts?
Shouldn’t I take revenge on such a nation?

Contempt for God

10 Climb through her vineyards and ravage them,
although not completely.
Prune back her branches,
because they aren’t the Lord’s.
11 The people of Israel and Judah
have been utterly faithless to me,
declares the Lord.
12 They have lied about the Lord
and said, “He’ll do nothing![a]
Disaster won’t come upon us;
we won’t see war or famine.”
13 The prophets are so much wind;
the word isn’t in them.
Thus and so may it be done to them.

14 Therefore, the Lord God of heavenly forces proclaims:

Because you have spoken this way,
I will put my words
in your mouth as a fire;
it will consume the people,
who are but kindling.
15 I am about to bring a distant nation against you,
people of Israel,
declares the Lord.
It is an established nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you don’t know,
whose speech you won’t understand.
16 Its weapons are deadly;[b]
its warriors are many.
17 It will devour your harvest and food;
it will devour your sons and daughters;
it will devour your flocks and herds;
it will devour your vines and fig trees;
it will shatter your fortified towns in which you trust—
with the sword!

18 Yet even in those days, declares the Lord, I won’t completely destroy you. 19 And when they ask, “Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?” you must reply, “Just as you have abandoned me and served foreign gods in your land, so you will serve strangers in a land not your own.”

Shouldn’t you fear me?

20 Declare this to the people of Jacob,
announce it in Judah:
21 Listen, you foolish and senseless people,
who have eyes but don’t see
and ears but don’t hear.
22 Shouldn’t you fear me,
declares the Lord,
and tremble before me,
the one who set the shoreline for the sea,
an ancient boundary that it can’t pass?
Though its waves may rise and roar,
they can’t pass the limits I have set.
23 And yet the people have stubborn and rebellious hearts;
they turn and go their own way.
24 They don’t say in their hearts,
Let’s fear the Lord our God,
who provides rain in autumn and spring
and who assures us of a harvest in its season.
25 Your wrongdoing has turned these blessings[c] away.
Your sin has robbed you of good.
26 Criminals are found among my people;
they set traps to catch people,
like hunters lying in wait.[d]
27 Like a cage full of birds,
so their houses are full of loot.
No wonder they are rich and powerful
28 and have grown fat and sleek!
To be sure, their evil deeds exceed all limits,
and yet they prosper.
They are indifferent to the plight of the orphan,
reluctant to defend the rights of the poor.
29 Shouldn’t I punish such acts?
declares the Lord.
Shouldn’t I repay that nation for its deeds?
30 An awful, a terrible thing
has happened in the land:
31 The prophets prophesy falsely,
the priests rule at their sides,[e]
and my people love it this way!
But what will you do when the end comes?

Prepare for war

6 Escape, people of Benjamin,
get out of Jerusalem!
Blow the trumpet in Tekoa,
sound the alarm in Beth-haccherem;
for disaster looms from the north,
massive devastation.
2 You are like a lovely pasture, Daughter Zion.[f]
3 Shepherds come to her with their flocks.
They pitch their tents around her
and graze in their place.
4 “Prepare for battle against her;
get ready; let’s attack by noon!
Oh, no! Daylight is fading,
and the evening shadows lengthen.
5 Get ready, let’s attack by night
and destroy her fortresses!”
6 The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
Cut down her trees,
and build siege ramps against Jerusalem.
This city must be held accountable,[g]
for there’s nothing but oppression in her midst.
7 As a well brings forth fresh water,
she brings forth evil.
Violence and destruction are heard within her;
injury and wounds are ever before me.
8 Hear me out,[h] Jerusalem,
or else I’ll turn away from you
and reduce you to ruins,
a land unfit to live in.

Unresponsive people

9 This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says:
From top to bottom, let them harvest
the remaining few in Israel.
Pick clean every
last grape on the vine!
10 To whom can I speak and warn?
How can I get someone’s attention?
Their ears are shut tight,[i]
so they won’t hear.
They are ashamed of the Lord’s word
and take no pleasure in it.
11 But I’m filled with the Lord’s rage
and am tired of holding it in.

Pour it out on the children in the streets
and on the youths gathered together;
husband with wife will be trapped,
as will those old and gray.
12 Their homes will be turned over to others,
their fields and wives as well.
I will stretch out my hand
against the people of this land,
declares the Lord.
13 From the least to the greatest,
each is eager to profit;
from prophet to priest,
each trades in dishonesty.
14 They treat the wound of my people
as if it were nothing:
“All is well, all is well,” they insist,
when in fact nothing is well.
15 They should be ashamed
of their detestable practices,
but they have no shame;
they don’t even blush!
Therefore, they will fall among the fallen
and stumble when I bring disaster,
declares the Lord.

Footnotes:

  1. Jeremiah 5:12 Or not he
  2. Jeremiah 5:16 Or Its quiver is like an open grave
  3. Jeremiah 5:25 Heb lacks blessings.
  4. Jeremiah 5:26 Heb uncertain
  5. Jeremiah 5:31 Or by their hands
  6. Jeremiah 6:2 Heb uncertain
  7. Jeremiah 6:6 Heb uncertain
  8. Jeremiah 6:8 Or Accept correction
  9. Jeremiah 6:10 Or uncircumcised
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Colossians 1:18-2:7

18 He is the head of the body, the church,
who is the beginning,
the one who is firstborn from among the dead[a]
so that he might occupy the first place in everything.

19 Because all the fullness of God was pleased to live in him,
20 and he reconciled all things to himself through him—
whether things on earth or in the heavens.
He brought peace through the blood of his cross.

21 Once you were alienated from God and you were enemies with him in your minds, which was shown by your evil actions. 22 But now he has reconciled you by his physical body through death, to present you before God as a people who are holy, faultless, and without blame. 23 But you need to remain well established and rooted in faith and not shift away from the hope given in the good news that you heard. This message has been preached throughout all creation under heaven. And I, Paul, became a servant of this good news.

Paul’s service for the church

24 Now I’m happy to be suffering for you. I’m completing what is missing from Christ’s sufferings with my own body. I’m doing this for the sake of his body, which is the church. 25 I became a servant of the church by God’s commission, which was given to me for you, in order to complete God’s word. 26 I’m completing it with a secret plan[b] that has been hidden for ages and generations but which has now been revealed to his holy people. 27 God wanted to make the glorious riches of this secret plan[c] known among the Gentiles, which is Christ living in you, the hope of glory. 28 This is what we preach as we warn and teach every person with all wisdom so that we might present each one mature in Christ. 29 I work hard and struggle for this goal with his energy, which works in me powerfully.

2 I want you to know how much I struggle for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who haven’t known me personally. 2 My goal is that their hearts would be encouraged and united together in love so that they might have all the riches of assurance that come with understanding, so that they might have the knowledge of the secret plan[d] of God, namely Christ. 3 All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in him. 4 I’m telling you this so that no one deceives you with convincing arguments, 5 because even though I am absent physically, I’m with you in spirit. I’m happy to see the discipline and stability of your faith in Christ.

Error threatening the church

6 So live in Christ Jesus the Lord in the same way as you received him. 7 Be rooted and built up in him, be established in faith, and overflow with thanksgiving just as you were taught.

Footnotes:

  1. Colossians 1:18 Or first over the dead
  2. Colossians 1:26 Or mystery
  3. Colossians 1:27 Or mystery
  4. Colossians 2:2 Or mystery
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Psalm 77

Psalm 77

For the music leader. According to Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

77 I cry out loud to God—
out loud to God so that he can hear me!
2 During the day when I’m in trouble I look for my Lord.
At night my hands are still outstretched and don’t grow numb;
my whole being[a] refuses to be comforted.
3 I remember God and I moan.
I complain, and my spirit grows tired. Selah

4 You’ve kept my eyelids from closing.
I’m so upset I can’t even speak.
5 I think about days long past;
I remember years that seem an eternity in the past.
6 I meditate with my heart at night;[b]
I complain, and my spirit keeps searching:
7 “Will my Lord reject me forever?
Will he never be pleased again?
8 Has his faithful love come to a complete end?
Is his promise over for future generations?
9 Has God forgotten how to be gracious?
Has he angrily stopped up his compassion?” Selah
10 It’s my misfortune, I thought,
that the strong hand of the Most High is different now.

11 But I will remember the Lord’s deeds;
yes, I will remember your wondrous acts from times long past.
12 I will meditate on all your works;
I will ponder your deeds.
13 God, your way is holiness!
Who is as great a god as you, God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have demonstrated your strength among all peoples.
15 With your mighty arm you redeemed your people;
redeemed the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

16 The waters saw you, God—
the waters saw you and reeled!
Even the deep depths shook!
17 The clouds poured water,
the skies cracked thunder;
your arrows were flying all around!
18 The crash of your thunder was in the swirling storm;
lightning lit up the whole world;
the earth shook and quaked.
19 Your way went straight through the sea;
your pathways went right through the mighty waters.
But your footprints left no trace!
20 You led your people like sheep
under the care of Moses and Aaron.

Footnotes:

  1. Psalm 77:2 Or soul
  2. Psalm 77:6 LXX; MT I remember my song in the night.
Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

Proverbs 24:23-25

More sayings of the wise

23 These are also the sayings of the wise:

Partiality in judgment isn’t good.

24 Those who say to the guilty, “You are innocent”—
the people will curse them.
Nations will condemn them.
25 But it will go well for those who rebuke them.
A rich blessing will come to them.

Common English Bible (CEB)

Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible

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10/04/2018 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 2:31-4:18, Colossians 1:1-20, Psalms 76:1-12, Proverbs 24:21-22

Today is the 4th day of October. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian and it is always great to be here with you as we come around the global campfire. Just threw some logs on. Got a nice fresh pot of coffee going. And off we go into the wild frontier that is the Scriptures and is our journey through the Scriptures this year. We’re reading from the common English Bible. We just began the book of Jeremiah, so, we’ll continue forward in Jeremiah and then when we get to the New Testament we’ll start another of Paul’s letters, the letter to the Colossians. But first Jeremiah 2:31 through 4:18.

Introduction to the letter from Paul to the Colossians:

Okay. So, like we mentioned at the beginning, we’re moving into some new territory, a new letter, an epistle from the apostle Paul to the Colossians. And Colossae was not an unfamiliar city to Paul. It was about 100 miles from Ephesus where Paul spent a considerable amount of time. And, the ancient ruins of Colossae, they have been identified. They’re in the western part of modern-day Turkey but there hasn’t been any major excavation to this point. But ancient Colossae has definitely been identified. During Paul’s life, Colossae wasn’t a ruin, it was a cultural melting pot that brought a lot of people together and mingled them. And, so, a lot of philosophical and religious ideas were flowing into the city and these had made their way into the Colossian church. And so, Paul’s letter was written as a response. Like Ephesians and Philippians, Colossians is widely considered to be another of the letters that Paul wrote while he was in prison in Rome while awaiting trial before the Emperor. And this letter breaks down kind of into two halves, in two sections. The first is a doctrinal issue. Individuals had come into the church were teaching angel worship and, you know, other foreign rituals. And Paul addressed this by reiterating Jesus is supreme over all of creation, that the universe itself was created by and through Him and is sustained through His Lordship. And then Paul had to deal with an issue that that we see appearing over and over in the New Testament, circumcision versus on the circumcision. And this had become quite a controversy in the early church and we’ve already seen it many times. This issue had also found its way into the church at Colossae. And of course, Paul’s shared his views. He had no problem doing that. So, we see in the early church that some of some of these fundamental issues, they keep showing up in different letters and in different places and contexts because they were widespread and controversial issues of the early church. Ironically, many of these challenges are still with us today in one form or another, making it possible for us to experience growth and correction in our own contexts through these letters. And understanding the Colossians was written by man awaiting a life or death judgment, right? Allows the letter to carry a certain amount of gravity and we should give it the gravity that it deserves. Colossians is a magnificent testament to the Lordship of Jesus in our lives and presents the overwhelming reality of what that Lordship offers to all of humanity. And, so, we begin. Colossians 1 verses 1 through 17.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and we thank You for the letter to the Colossians we’ve just begun that shows us how Almighty, how sovereign Your Lordship is and how much we can rest in that. And, so, come Holy Spirit and plant these words in our lives as we continue our journey forward. You are the sovereign God. We return to You as we were reading about in Jeremiah. We come back to You. We humble ourselves before You. We want to walk with You in every moment of this day, in every choice that we need to make, in every conversation that’s going to happen in every intent of our hearts, we invite You to be present in it all. Come Holy Spirit align us with Your will and Your ways. We trust You. You will only lead us into all truth. You will only guide us on the narrow path that leads to life and we can’t find this without You. We can navigate this without You. And, so, we surrender to Your Lordship and Your authority. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

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If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There’s is a link on the homepage. Thank you for your partnership, thank you humbly, thank you profoundly. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner 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 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.