A Walk Through The Word

Micah 1:1-4:13, Revelations 6:1-17, Psalms 134:1-3, Proverbs 30:1-4

Today is the 15^th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it’s wonderful to be here with you today. We’re just 10 days out from Christmas. A week and a half from today it will be Christmas. And it leaves us about 2-½ weeks left in the year. And we’re cruising along at a fast clip as we approach the end of the year. Today, we begin the book of Micah in the Old Testament. We’ll spend a couple days in Micah as we continue through Revelation in the New Testament.

Micah:

Micah was a prophet who was a contemporary with the prophet Isaiah. And Micah seemed to have the same kind of access and voice in the king’s life as an advisor as Isaiah had. And we learn this from the book of Jeremiah. Pretty much everything else we know about Micah is found in the book of Jeremiah, that he prophesied during the days of King Hezekiah of Judah, that he was from the town of Moreisheth. Micah’s prophetic utterances, the book that we’re about to read, speak directly against leaders who have led the people away from God and of the corruption that is involved in that. False prophets, rulers, priests, they’ve all misled the people. And because of this, judgment will fall, but Micah is not just a book of judgment and doom. It’s also hopeful and speaks of the restoration of God’s people and reiterates a message running through the entire Bible - there’s a right way and there’s a wrong way and if we step out of grace we’re certain to feel the repercussions of the wrong way. But after judgment comes restoration. So, through the prophet Micah we see a clear line in the sand as we often do. God lays out his requirements for justice, obedience, and loyalty, but he also shows what happens when those requirements aren’t heeded. And, so, we begin. Micah chapter 1 verse 1 through 4 verse 13 today. And we’re reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible this week.

Commentary:

Okay, let’s move ourselves back into the book of Revelation since we’ve been away for a couple of days and try to catch ourselves up. So, we have these seven letters to seven churches and after John wrote down what he was told to say, a door in heaven was opened up and John was caught up in the spirit to a place that he identifies as heaven into a throne room or throne area of God. And we don’t know like if this is partially outside or fully outside or inside. The sea is like glass before the throne. We don’t know if that’s a liquid sea made out of something different than water or if that just means that it was super calm. All the sudden where getting glimpses of God. And John says, the one sitting on throne looked like jasper and carnelian stone and there was a rainbow around the throne. So, he’s describing what he’s seeing but he doesn’t really have words to describe what he’s seeing. And this brings us to a few things that we should look at and remember as we’re moving forward. So, first of all, when John was on the island Patmos experiencing these visions and writing these things down, it was his understanding that he was writing about things that were happening and about things that were going to happen. So, this is largely a prophetic book in the tradition of Old Testament prophets and Old Testament prophetic books that were in existence. And there are many, many parallels in the book of Revelation that hearken back to earlier prophetic books in the Old Testament, books like Daniel and Ezekiel and Isaiah, just to name a few. Some of the same imagery from those writings are found in the book of Revelation. And scholars have been studying these parallels, trying to interpret them, trying to understand what’s being talked about for centuries. Which brings us to the second thing that we need to pay attention to, and that is time. When a prophecy is given it’s usually not known when the events that are being described are going to take place, other than to know that it’s not now. It’s future. Maybe the immediate future, it may be a distant future, but it hasn’t happened yet. Which leads a reader to invariably question whatever prophecy they’re reading and wonder, if it’s now, like, is this all happening now, or is about to happen and be something that I witness, I see, I experience. And a lot of people read the book of Revelation, in particular, even though it’s heavily influenced by symbolism from much earlier prophetic writings, in terms of their immediate present. So, this would be called, like, a presentist interpretation. In other words, these ancient prophecies are coming to be fulfilled before my eyes in the here and now. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. For example, the entire book of Matthew, the first gospel that we read, has very much a presenttist attitude toward Jesus. Like, he can’t hardly turn around in the book of Matthew without fulfilling some prophecy. This is a very, very important thing to the writer of Matthew. It’s very, very important to him. It’s one of the primary missions of his gospel. But no matter what time period we’re talking about or talking about, when we’re talking about prophecy, we’re going to find a wide range of opinion, scholarly studied studious opinion from historical and theological perspectives that are widely in disagreement with each other. And we see this all over the Bible. So, if we’re talking about Old Testament prophets, they were rarely heeded, they were very, very often ostracized. And most of the time the writings of the prophets weren’t affirmed as something inspired by God or something to be held sacred as Scripture until much later. In many of the Old Testament prophets, we see other “prophets” who are saying completely different things. Like, so, a prophet will come in and speak to the prophets who were prophesying things that aren’t from God. And, so, this other prophet comes along to denounce them. And then there’s like a battle between them. Not like a war, but like a war of words. So, prophetic disagreement has a long history. And some of the problem comes from dating. Right? So, from time. When will this happen? Because there’s a dominant apocalyptic worldview found throughout the Bible, which is essentially the idea that the world as we know it will come to a close and something new will be reborn. God will do a new thing. And this will be like giving birth. There will be labor pains involved. So, that leads everyone who reads to go, okay, are we in this? Are we about to be in this? When is this going to happen? So, we get to the book of Revelation and we have a very presenttist reading. Every generation does it. Everyone thinks it’s now. And a lot of what feeds that is the third thing that we need to remember, symbolism. And we begin to encounter symbolism as we move out of the letters to the churches and move more into the body of the book of Revelation. So, we have John, who has been caught up in the spirit into heaven, standing before, what appears to be the throne of God, with 24 other thrones the belong to elders and some beasts who look similar to Ezekiel’s writings - and I see, like, glass and rainbows. So, we have John who is seeing things he has never seen before and trying to describe what he is seeing. And, so, he does what we all do when we can’t literally describe something, we use metaphor or symbolism to evoke what we’re talking about. So, these three things: prophecy, time, and symbolism present tremendous complexity in trying to arrive at interpretation, because there’s no key. Like, John didn’t write down, I’m saying this literally, and I’m saying this figuratively, you should take this allegorically, you should take this as absolute fact. So, as we come out of these letters and John is caught up into this spirit into heaven and sees God and describes God, should we then say that God, our Father God, looks like jasper and carnelian stone? Or was that just the best use of his vocabulary, the best words he could use to describe what was indescribable and what he was seeing? And we could say, probably a little bit of both. There’s a lot of strange symbolism, strange creatures, strange goings on in the Old Testament prophets, in many of them, and in the book of Revelation. And Scholars have been trying to figure out the symbolism for millennia. And these disciplines vary widely from a pragmatic, nonreligious look at symbology to some of the very sensational but often very contradictory interpretations that we’ve always found and that exist in the world today. So, the symbolism has always been challenging. And predicting the timing of these events has also been challenging. So, like, when Daniel has a vision or when Ezekiel has a vision and he’s caught up and he sees these things or when John is in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and he’s caught up, and he sees these things, these guys are seeing into the heavenly realms. They’re being caught up into a place where there isn’t time. So, using prophecy, symbolism, and time still leaves a lot of challenges about what has happened, what is happening, what has yet to happen, and you can find scholarship of people who will point by point take you through all the entire thing and say it’s all already happened. You can find other people who would say it’s happening. And you will have other people who will say it is yet to happen. So, I just want to be clear. As we go through this and we talk about this, I’m not trying to interpret the book of Revelation. I don’t think I’m qualified enough to do that, but I do thing and qualified enough to point out some things. So, we had the letters, then we have John caught up into heaven, and he’s before the throne of God, and a glassy sea and rainbows, and 24 elders and creatures, and hymns, like holy, holy, holy, Lord, God the Almighty, who was, who is, and who is coming. These are things that John heard being sung in heaven, hymns of worship from heaven. And in yesterday’s reading from Revelation, the whole scene began to unfold. There was one sitting on a throne on the right hand of God who had a scroll or a book that was sealed up with seven seals. From a scholarship perspective, there is some basic consensus here, that seals historically mean that something is hidden and that can only be opened by one who breaks the seal and as each subsequent seal is opened more is revealed. The problem is there’s an angel, saying, who is worthy to open? Right? Who can break these seals and open the scroll? But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or even to look in it, the book of Revelation says. And John then says, he cried and cried because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or even to look in it. So, why is John in heaven before God crying and crying? Why is he so sad? It’s probably because he thinks what’s in the scrolls is the redemptive destiny of God’s people, but if there is no one worthy in heaven to tell that story then maybe it can’t happen. And everything that John and all of his ancestors of hoped in for so long isn’t going to happen. And that’s been a problem, because everyone including the apostle Paul thought things were going to happen much sooner than they had and they still hadn’t happened and they were still trying to figure it out. And, so, here’s John caught up into heaven, and maybe it’s not going to happen, but an angel invites John to stop crying. And then the lion from the tribe of Judah is revealed, the root of David was been victorious, he can open the scroll. And then we get another picture of Jesus. So, John was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and he turned around he saw some lampstands in the first place. Like, when all of this started and he saw Jesus with white hair and flaming eyes and this image of the cosmic Christ. Now he’s caught up into heaven and the scrolls can’t be opened until Jesus steps forward, and John describes him differently. Then I saw one like a slaughtered lamb standing between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders and he had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent into all the earth. And he came and took the scroll out of the right hand of the one seated on the throne. So, we have some symbolism here and can it be unraveled. I mean, if we were to take a literalistic view of what’s being said here, then we would say, Jesus has become an actual lamb with seven horns and seven eyes, and somehow as an actual lamb, he took the scroll with his hoofs out of the hand of God, and somehow with his hooves he was able to break the seals. Right? So, like, you can go, like, I’m just going to read this book literally and what it says it says. Or I’m just only going to read this book allegorically and see what it says or I’m just going to try and find a happy balance here, but how do you know? This is why these books of prophecy, especially with apocalyptic visions, have been examined for thousands of years. But nevertheless, Jesus takes the scroll and everyone falls down before the lamb, and more hymns are sung from heaven. And present at this event appear to be the living beings that Ezekiel saw and the elders that Isaiah saw and they fall down and worship the lamb. And beyond all of the debate about all of the symbolism that surrounds this, there is consensus among scholars in calling the scene that we’re seeing here an enthronement scene, where Jesus is being acknowledged. Which brings us to today’s rating where six of the seven seals are broken. And just to give you like a birds eye view of the minutia of scholarship that goes into these kinds of works, it’s been debated whether this document that has seven seals was a book, a codex, a scroll, or what. If there’s seven seals and each one that’s broken reveals something further, how could you do that with the scroll? Wouldn’t you need some kind of codex or some kind of book in order to be able to do that? And what’s in the book? Is this the Lamb’s book of life? Is this the names of everybody? Or is this some kind of prophecy about what’s coming next? Obviously, when the scrolls are broken, we find out that it’s not names. And yet, many have called this the names of life. This is where the names of everyone that gets in is contained. So, you can see that this is one thing, like, every single word here, every single symbol has been looked at from so many angles. But Jesus breaks seals and when He does break seals in succession things happen. And the first four seals, as their broken, reveal horsemen and horses and four things happen in succession. The first seal is broken, a white horse appears, the horsemen on the white horse has a bow and a crown that was given to him, and he went out as a victor to conquer. And then the second seal was broken and another horse appears and this one’s a red one and it it’s horsemen has the task and was empowered to take peace from the earth, so that there would be conflict in battle and death. And he was given a large sword to take with him. And then the third seal was broken and there was another horse and this one was a black horse and the horsemen had scales and it is widely thought that this this represents famine. And there was something like a voice from the four living creatures which appear to be the same kind of creatures that Ezekiel saw. So, John heard a voice coming from among the four living creatures. So, maybe they’re all saying something at the same time or they’re connected somehow. This is all very Ezekiel like imagery. And I say a quart of wheat for a denarius, and 3 quarts of barley for a denarius, but do not harm the olive oil and the wine. Those are the instructions to the black horse and its rider. And it’s been noted, like if we were to talk about the actual time that John was writing this, that these prices would be very, very inflated. So, in other words, to get enough food, you’d have to work all day just to get enough food to survive based on what the creatures are telling the horsemen to weigh out and how things are supposed to be priced. And, so, there’s a famine. And the next seal is broken and is a pale green horse. And this horsemen has a name, whereas the other ones don’t. And this horsemen is named death and Hades. So, the realm of the dead follows close behind. And his mission was to preside over the death of 25% of the earth’s population. And some of that will happen by the sword, by war, some that would happen through famine and plague, and some that would happen by the wild animals of the earth. So, the question is, okay, this is a prophetic utterance that was uttered some 2000 years ago. Have these things happened? When Jesus broke the scrolls, did that set about these events? Did they begin to happen? Have they already happened? Are they happening now? Or are they yet to happen? Well, I mean, conquest and victory, that’s been around a long time. Peace being taken from the earth so that people are in conflict with each other and go to war, that’s also been happening in the last couple thousand years and before that. Famine is something that has existed since this was written down and it happened before that. And significant loss of life through death in battle, in war, in famine, by plague, by wild animal, those things also happened and continue to happen. But this brings up some interesting things to think about. Jesus is the one breaking the seals. And whether these horses and riders are actual heavenly beings being sent to preside over these events or if they’re the same horsemen found in the book of Zechariah, or whether there more allegorical announcements that these things have begun or are about to begin, this is taking place because Jesus is breaking the seals and these horses and riders are being sent from the throne of God to take care of these things. And they appear to be in line with the prophetic tradition of warning and judgment. And now, Jesus is presiding over that judgment. And many biblical scholars and commentators have commented that this kind of judgment has a twofold purpose. One is judicial, its judgment, its justice. But two, its redemptive. And some have said compellingly that, if the book of revelations is to be looked at in the tradition of Old Testament prophecy then the children of Israel had to go through the things that they had to go through. It purified them. And then there was a new beginning, which brings us to the fifth seal that was broken. When this one was broken, those who had been killed for their testimony and their faithfulness to the Lord appeared under the altar and they had a message. They were saying something. Lord you are holy and true. How long until you judge and avenge our blood from those who live on the earth? And this, how long, kind of language is all over the Psalms. And the problem is we don’t know exactly when this is happening. So, like, if this happening in John’s time then it’s everyone who has been martyred up to this point. If we’re outside of time then it could be, you know, it could be any period. All we know is that it’s not done because a white robe was given to each of the martyrs and they were told to rest a little bit longer until everyone who was going to be martyred is. So, the opening of these seals is loosing upon the earth a judgment and purification and it’s difficult and it’s causing some to fall into the chaos in become in conflict and at war. It’s causing others to be purified and redeemed, because hardship, difficulty suffering, they have a way of peeling back the layers to what is essentially core and true about us. And we’ve seen example after example after example of this in the Scriptures, like in the book of Romans where we’re told to take up our own cross and follow Christ or that we will find our lives by giving them up, we’ll find our life by losing it. These ideas are all throughout the Bible. And then we come to the sixth seal. And there’s no horse and there’s no rider. There’s just sort of the end. And this is in remarkable parallel to the book of Isaiah. So, in Isaiah chapter 34 we read, ‘and the powers of the heavens will melt and the heaven will be rolled up like a scroll, and all the stars will fall as leaves fall from a fig tree.’ When the sixth seal is broken in the book of Revelation we read, ‘and the stars of the heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. And the heaven was split as a scroll having been rolled up.’ So, if you’re taking a literal view here, then what we’re reading about or what we’re seeing is a picture of the end of the cosmos as we know it. If you’re reading from a little bit more allegorical perspective, than this is this is the condition in the scene that is final judgment. And that is where we leave off today.

Prayer:

Father, Father, we invite you into all of this. It may be difficult for us to unravel exactly everything that’s being said here, but maybe the point is clear, that we have to hold onto You for dear life and that we have to remain faithful to You as You have to us. And that remains true no matter where we are on the continuum. And, so, Holy Spirit, we invite You to help us navigate in this life. And that those bonds of love and loyalty that exist between us become the things that are most valuable to us, that this relationship is the most valuable thing we have and we can lose everything else, but not that. And no one and nothing can take it away. Come, Holy Spirit. We ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. And, obviously, we’re getting closer by the day to Christmas day.

So, it’s Christmas time around here too and the Daily Audio Christmas Box for 2017 is available. And we’ve curated a number of resources, some for you to keep, some for you to give away, into that box and we’re getting down to last call on these. Monday is the day that we feel like it’s the safe cutoff date for Christmas delivery. And Monday is one week from Christmas day. So, be to be sure to check those out in the Daily Audio Bible shop, in the Christmas section.

The other thing that I’ll mention today is advance early registration for the More Gathering for women is available now through the end of the year. And that makes for a unique and life changing gift idea. So, you can check that out at dailyaudiobible.com as well in the Initiatives section or simply go to moregathering.com and you can find out everything that you would want to know there.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here in the last days of the year, as always, thank you humbly. It’s quite an amazing thing  that we do each year, going through the Bible together in community. And thank you for your partnership. That’s how this happens. There’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. Thank you for those of you who have clicked that link. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

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

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hi. Daily Audio Bible family. My name is Hose Carols. I’m calling from Mexico City and I want you to help me pray for all the recovering addicts around the world that are facing difficulties to stay sober or clean. As holidays come closer to all the celebrations and sometimes face or struggle more this time of the year with family or loneliness due to the consequence of addiction. I, myself am a recovering addict. I’ve been clean for 17 years by the grace of our God. I met Christ after 2 years of working the program and I still sponsor people in my home group and every time…the holidays and Christmas and unfortunately a lot of people quit and never come back. So, please help me pray. And if you are facing trouble with drinking or using drugs, know that Christ can set you free by his mercy, power, and love. Merry Christmas to all from Mexico.

Hi DAB family. This is Rebecca…I mean…this is Joyce in California. And I wanted to thank Rebecca in north west Arkansas and Kimberly and anyone else who prayed for me. I just wanted to thank you because I’ve been unusually productive in my studies and sleeping a lot more peacefully. This peace and confidence is something that I haven’t felt before and I know it’s got to be your prayers that are providing the spiritual covering so that I can finish my race well. Thank you so much for lifting me up. I’m praising God for you. I recently joined the DAB friends page on Facebook and I found that our community there is just as beautiful as it is here on the prayer line. I encourage anyone who is a little shy to join too so that we can all connect. Even if we haven’t met in person we are all brothers and sisters forever because of Christ who lives in us. We are all more than conquerors and we have not missed our windows of opportunity because of Him who is within us. He is the one who controls all time. I just love you all so much. I wanted to thank you, Brian and Jill, for creating this community. Thank you DAB family. I love you so much and I’m praying for you too. This is Joyce in California.

Hi. My name is Lizzy and I was hoping if you could pray for me about gymnastics because I just really don’t want to go to gymnastics and that it’s just hard for me because I really sweat and if don’t want to do something they still make me do it. It’s just really, really hard for me. So, if you could please pray for me about me not going to gymnastics and that my mom finally decides to get me out of gymnastics. Please. Thank you. Bye.

Hey guys. This is Cherry C. Cherry Pie. Hope all is well. I have a praise report. Malcolm got baptized and I am so excited. And when he went up he was like honey I’m getting baptized today but Malcolm tease so much, I’m thinking, whatever. I don’t have time to play with him in church. So, once the guys did altar calls he went up for altar call and he’s like hey, hold my wallet and glasses and so I’m thinking, maybe he’s going to the bathroom. But he went up and he got baptized. Halleluiah, let the angels sing. I’m so excited, I told him, I said, oh my God felt like I was getting married all over again. So, I just wanted to give you all that praise report. Malcolm’s got baptized. You guys have a great and wonderful and marvelous day. I always keep you guys in prayer. So, you continue to pray for me and I will pray for you. Love you guys.

Hey Daily Audio Bible family. This is Keith. Called to just…yea…like…almost a year ago I totally made a terrible, terrible decision and I just progressively thought I’d get better but the whole year and especially right now, I’m kind of losing it. I’m losing my mind. I try to…I try to draw to God but I feel like forgotten and ignored. I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m about to lose everything and…I don’t even know what to say…I’m kind of…you know…losing my mind a little bit and need some prayers. I don’t know when anyone will hear this but please pray for me. I need peace. I can’t find peace. I’m kind of like panicking in this little…one…you know…trapped in my own brain and can’t…can’t find peace at all…can’t find peace…and it just seems like everything is getting worse. Anyway, please pray for me. This is all I have. I love you all. Thank you. Bye.

Jonah 1:1-4:11, Revelations 5:1-14, Psalms 133:1-3, Proverbs 29:26-27

Today is December 14^th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian, like I’ve been every day, every day as longs I can remember. And, I guess I’m just reminding myself every day, as if you hadn’t figured it out by now. Here’s the thing though, there’s new people, new friends every single day. So, I’m Brian. I’m introducing myself. It’s good to be here with you today and I’m excited for where we’re headed into the Scriptures today. We will read the entire book of Jonah today before moving into the New Testament book of Revelation.

Jonah:

So, let’s talk about Jonah because Jonah is one of the books of prophecy in the Scriptures, but it’s got a twist. Jonah was a man who lived around the eighth century BC. So, many centuries before the New Testament times. And he lived just north of Nazareth, which at the time, would’ve put them in the northern kingdom. Right? So, this is the time where the kingdoms have split. You’ve got the southern kingdom of Judah in the northern kingdom of Israel. And, so, he’s living in the northern kingdom during the reign of Jeroboam. And, although he was a prophet, his mission wasn’t to call Israel back to repentance or to remind them of their covenant or anything like that. It wasn’t to forecast the destruction of Israel’s enemies either. His mission is to leave his homeland, go into the land of Nineveh, people who were enemies of Israel enemies of God, and to call them to repentance. So, Jonah’s not happy about this, and his pride and fear of his fellow countrymen have them on a ship, sailing in the other direction, quickly. And, obviously, the story of Jonah and the whale is a famous story. Jonah ends up in the belly of a great fish. And after three days of repentance he’s then spit out on the shore alive. And, so, there’s obviously a foreshadowing here. And many see it as a foreshadowing of Christ in this story. And there are also obvious parallels in our own lives. When we allow fear and pride to lead us into disobedience, which is similar to the proverb we were talking about yesterday. Right? The fear of man is a snare, is a trap, but those who trust in the Lord will be protected. So, when we allow fear and pride, anxiety to lead us into disobedience, we find ourselves quickly on the run, but running away from God is a pretty difficult thing to do because He has decided not to surrender us, which is the story we have been reading all year long. God loves us enough to never stop pursuing us. And, although Jonah found himself in the belly of a great fish, it became his salvation. He would’ve drowned in the open sea. And, although the journey must have been unspeakably uncomfortable, God used the great fish to deliver him alive and well on the shore. And we may find that our journeys look similar. And it’s important to consider the fact that maybe God isn’t punishing us. Maybe we’re in a really uncomfortable situation because we’ve been running, but maybe what’s happening right now is that we’re being rescued. And, so, we begin. Jonah chapter 1 verse 1 through 4:11. And we’re reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible this week.

Commentary:

Okay. We read the entire book of Jonah and we need to talk about Jonah, just a little bit, since we have only this one day in the book of Jonah because it’s a story that’s meant to hit us on a number of levels and to cause us to examine our thoughts and words and deeds. So, when we are talking about Jonah at the beginning, before we read it, we gave a little bit of the backdrop, that Jonah is a prophet in the northern kingdom of Israel, but he’s being sent to prophesy to his enemies. And Jonah knows God’s reputation as a merciful, compassionate God. So, we have Jonah’s personal struggle inside himself, he does not want to go to the people that he considers his enemies and see anything but God’s judgment descend upon Nineveh and destroy it. But he also knows how compassionate and long-suffering God can be and that he’s being sent to prophesy repentance to them. And what if they actually listen? Then God will be merciful. And he doesn’t want Nineveh to receive God’s mercy. He wants them to be destroyed because of their history. Nineveh was a very, very powerful, influential city. The prophet Nahum prophesies against the city of Nineveh. So, here is Jonah being sent there. He’s got to go on a 500 mile journey and he doesn’t want to do this, not only because of his own feelings, but what’s he going to tell everybody? Hey, my fellow prophets, hey, my fellow Israelites, I know I’ve been prophesying around here, but I’m going to head to Nineveh and deliver the word of the Lord to our enemies. Hopefully they don’t listen any better than we do, and that they receive judgment, but who knows. I mean, if Jonah goes to Nineveh and Nineveh repents and turns toward God, then how can he go home? So, instead he gets on a ship and he’s heading for Tarshish. So, he’s like going 2500 miles in the other direction, if he can succeed. He doesn’t want the reputation of being the prophet that went to Nineveh. And, so, he runs in the other direction, which gives us ample opportunity to look at how were running right now, and why, and what patterns this brings up, and how we’ve been running for so long. So, as the story goes, Jonah’s not successful in running from God. He finds himself in the stormy seas to drown and he’s swallowed up by a fish and you can only imagine…I mean…you can only imagine that experience because there aren’t very many fish we would sign up to be swallowed by to find out what this is really like. This cannot be anything but terrifying. And, so, Jonah is praying, as you would expect a person who’s been swallowed by a great fish to be doing, because Jonah realizes at some point, he’s not dead. He may have been in the belly of the fish thinking, okay, I’m dead, like, I don’t what…this is the afterlife. But, at some point, he begins to call out to God saying, like, in my distress You answered me, in the belly of death of Sheol You heard my voice. I know that everything is happening is happening because You had a mission and I didn’t listen. But if I return to the daylight, like, if I return to the land of living then I will. And that’s how it happens. Jonah is spit on dry land and one can only imagine what a person would look like after they’ve been in the belly of a great fish for three days. He probably looks similar to what Hollywood would depict as a zombie, come back from the dead. Like, he doesn’t look right, and the word probably begins to spread. And Jonah’s got to finish his journey and go to Nineveh, which is a very big city. And he walks in a day and he gets somewhere, you know, in the thick of the city, and gives the message and the people respond. And they respond in a way that Jonah, still, after all that he’s been through, still does not want to see. He does not want their repentance. He wants their destruction. And he’s obeyed God and he’s seeing God at work in the city of Nineveh, and he doesn’t want to see this. And he’s outside the city, kind of waiting to find out what the final verdict is - will God spare this city or will God destroy this city? And he’s just like, I knew this was going happen, like, I knew this is how it was going to go down. This is why I didn’t want to come here in the first place. And God asks him a simple question, a simple question that we should hear in our own head, a lot of times. ‘Is it right for you to be angry?’ Because Jonah’s just sitting out there going, I want to die. It would be better for me…like…I can’t deal with Your mercy for these people. I knew you were going to do this. Just take my life. And God’s like…’is it right for you to be angry?’ Of course, then, you know, this plant comes and shelters him and then the plant goes away the next day. And he’s so mad, Jonah’s so mad, because it looks like Nineveh is going to be spared and his shade is gone. And God asks him, ‘is it right, Jonah, that you should be angry about the plant?’ And Jonah’s like, it’s absolutely right, I should be angry about the plant. I’m so mad I want to die. And it’s here that God speaks the final words in the book of Jonah on the lesson that we all need to pay attention to. God tells Jonah, you didn’t do anything to make the plant grown give you shade. I did that. You don’t have any right to be angry that it went away. You didn’t have anything to do with it in the first place. And as for these people in the city, they don’t know what they’re doing. They don’t their right hand from their left. And basically, who are you to tell me who I should care about. You don’t have a voice in this judgment. You don’t have anything to do with it. You didn’t make this city. And this should give us pause because we judge all the time. And it finds its way into nearly every aspect of our lives. And as we do it, we can’t imagine that that God doesn’t feel the same way that we do. And then we run into brick walls, like the book of Jonah, realizing that were sitting in judgment of things that we don’t have anything to do with. Or walling ourselves off from people that we don’t agree with and with that we can’t imagine that God feels any different. We even do this inside the Christian faith, who understand things differently than we do. The book of Jonah is showing us in a very, very dramatic story what we do all the time in all kinds of ways in all kinds of contexts. And when we find ourselves going to these places, we need to remember God’s question. Is it right for you to be angry? Jonah thinks he has every right to be angry. His culture and his history are telling him to be angry. The problem is, he’s angry about what God is doing in a redemptive way. And as God points out, he has no right to be angry. He’s looking at the Ninevites through the lens of his culture, but God wants to give them a chance to repent. And they do for a while and they are spared. So, we have to wonder how many times we have judged something or been angry about something that, ultimately, God was in and doing. And this invites us to be a little bit more patient and a little bit more observant and a little less judgmental about things we don’t have anything to do with. Thank God that He is merciful and that He is long-suffering and that He is patient or we would all be toast. And if God wants to be merciful and long-suffering and patient in situations that we would rather that He just, you know, send fire from heaven and consume in judgment, then is it right for us to be angry, which is the ultimate question God poses to Jonah.

Prayer:

Father, we invite Your Holy Spirit into that because the truth is, if we could just step outside of ourselves and observe ourselves for a day, we would see they were judging a lot of things, wanting a lot of things that happen, so that they will happen in our favor. And it brings us to anger when it’s not like that. And so often we find ourselves in anger without even asking the question, are You in this, are You doing something that I cannot see. So, we invite Your Holy Spirit into that. We need You in those places within us. Come, Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

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

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box for 2017 is available and can still arrive to you for Christmas, if you’re in the United States. If you’re outside the United States you can certainly order it. We will certainly ship it. We’re not sure it will arrive in time, but there’s still some time inside the United States, basically just through the weekend. So, check those out.

The More Gathering for women that’s coming up this April that we been talking about here for last week and half, early registration is available for the event. And you can find out all of the details that you would want to know at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section or you can just go to moregathering.com and that will get you there as well.

The Daily Audio Bible journals along with the pairing of the Black Wing pencils and the sharpener and all of the kits, the different bundles, are available. Perfect time to set up to journal your way through your life and through the Scriptures next year, but also a really, really wonderful gift idea as well. So, you can find those in the Daily Audio Bible shop, in the Lifestyle section. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here at the end of the year, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There is a link, it’s on the homepage. If you prefer the mail, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

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

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is __ from Arizona. I’m calling for a prayer request for tomorrow. I have a surgery scheduled. We’re pregnant with twin girls and they were diagnosed with ___ syndrome and they’re doing a laser surgery in utero. And I just would just ask for your prayers, that God would sustain their lives and bring them forth in the physical bodies to full term in my womb and continue to knit them together __ that I would hold them together one day. I pray that you would ask God for strength and hope and __ through this whole process. __ that He would hold hearts ___ that we would look to Him in all of it and that we would trust Him and know that he’s good for everything. I genuinely appreciate your prayers.

Hello. Merry Christmas from Becca in Arizona. I just want to say hello everyone, Daily Audio Bible. The reason I’m calling is to wish you Merry Christmas. I just got the Christmas Box. I absolutely love it. I haven’t tried the coffee yet but I can’t wait. I gave a copy of Sneezing Jesus away. I listened to the Advent CD, which is awesome. And I’m about to listen to the Christmas CD. And then I am giving the Advent CD to the pastor of our church. And just thank you so much. I haven’t tried out the pencil yet either, but I really love the podcast and I just thank you for bringing the Bible to everyone. Love you.

Good morning. This is Unis from New Jersey and I am a Daily Audio Bible listener and I think this is the second time I’ve called. And I really need your prayers. I’ve been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and I’m traumatized and just in shock and it is like a nightmare, suffice it to say, it’s like a nightmare. I believe in prayer and I believe that all things work for good for those who believe in God and love God. It’s been really hard on me and my family and so many things have been revealed. Cancer has a way of revealing the truth about your life and about the people around you. I really ask my Daily Audio Bible family for prayers, that God give me the strength that I need in order form me to carry this through. I believe in healing if it’s His will, I will be healed. It doesn’t matter what the graphs say or what the CAT scans say or what anything else say…if it’s God’s then I will be healed and if it isn’t and I die with this illness then let it be God’s will. Thank you so much. Thank you audio family.

Hello Daily Audio Bible. This is Rebecca from Michigan and I wanted to share something with you because I asked you to pray that I have a great Christmas. I got something new that just happened. Like, today is December 10^th and I went to this pantry restaurant. They like serve a lot of breakfast and lunch. I had like a breakfast and this person went by me and said Merry Christmas and then the next thing you know, the waitress came to me and said, somebody paid for your breakfast, you’re free to go after you get done eating. So, I just want you to know, somebody paid for my breakfast today and I’m like, I’m already having a merry Christmas just because that guy said Merry Christmas. So, I thought I’d share that moment with you and let you know how things are going so far on my Christmas. It’s just awesome. God is so awesome, how He just reaches out His hand and does stuff for you. And I’m like…I mean…I’m working on being thankful and I’m been praying God will help me clean up my clutter, my life. You know, my spiritual life, my physical life. Everything about me, I just want God to renew, restore my life and make me a brand-new person in him. So, Daily Audio Bible. Thank you for praying for me. I love you. I hope you all have merry Christmas’s too. And I hope God blesses you guys too. Thank you.

Hello everybody. This is Pelham in Birmingham calling because I need some prayer. The owner of the food truck that I work on needs…or worked on…needs prayers. They just had his third child and they have major medical issues. And, so, he’s having to shut down the food truck that I work on. And, so, I don’t have a job any more and I have rent and bills and I can’t be unemployed and I’ve been… we’ve got a…it’s quite frightening here in Birmingham in the Morris household. So, please pray for the Morris’s and Hagen’s for their baby. For God to give us peace and joy, that we know that he has right in the palm of His hands and He’s got us right where He wants us, that He wants me to find a new job.

Obadiah 1-21, Revelations 4:1-11, Psalms 132:1-18, Proverbs 29:24-25

Today is the 13^th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s good to be here with you today. And that from the Old Testament today, we will read in its entirety, the book of Obadiah before moving onto the next step forward in the book of Revelation.

Obadiah:

The book of Obadiah has but 21 versus, making it the shortest book in the Old Testament. And, yet, it deals with a very long-running family issue. Contained in this one chapter is a prophecy of the complete destruction and doom of the Edomites. And if we look back on the beginning of our adventure through the Bible, we’ll remember the story of Jacob and Esau. And Jacob’s descendants became the children of Israel. Right? Jacob’s name was changed to Israel. He had kids. They were children. The children of Israel. Esau’s descendants became the Edomites. And they were often in conflict. When God delivered the children of Israel from slavery and bondage in Egypt, the Edomites wouldn’t allow them to pass through their land on the way to their promise land. And at other points in history, when Israel was being attacked and overrun, the Edomites stood by silent just watching it all go down. And God reached the end of his patience. And, through the prophet Obadiah, predicts destruction. We have good application for this today too, for although we’ve been redeemed by the blood of Jesus, and have been made children of God, therefore making us all family, all too often we see brothers and sisters at war with one another. We’re standing by silently as brothers and sisters are destroyed before our eyes, often on the Internet. And perhaps they’re getting what they deserve in our judgment. The book of Obadiah shows us a very clear picture of how God feels about this. And, so, we begin Obadiah chapter 1 verses 1 through 21.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we need to talk about this proverb for a second because Proverbs 29:25 is worth committing to memory, is worth carrying around with you, is worth having at your fingertips. Because heeding it can change the path that your life is on. It can change the trajectory of where you’re going. It can shift your orientation to what you think is going on around you, inside of you. Because, for the most part, as a culture, as a people, even as believers in Jesus, we don’t heed this proverb’s wisdom. And when we look starkly at what not paying attention to what this proverb is saying is doing to us, it becomes pretty clear how profoundly this is affecting us. And the proverb says, ‘the fear of man is a snare, but the one who trusts in the Lord is protected.’ Now this word fear, as it’s translated into English here, is a word that means trembling, anxiety, care, dread, as well as fear. And we all seem to carry that as sort of like a base layer of a motion somewhere down inside of us, this anxiety that’s just always on the alert. And its deep within us. It touches our identity. Our fears can speak that deeply. And then to gauge how anxious we should be in a situation, we begin the comparison game. How I am I doing compared to him or her or them? And then it feeds into all of this anxiety. And because it’s uncomfortable or painful, it feels true, and it shifts our identity and value of ourselves, and it becomes for us exactly what the Scriptures say, a snare, a trap. And all we have to do is kind of look back over the last 24 hours. Look at our interactions and find the point at which anxiety was rising up in us, fear was coming up inside of us, and for the most part we’ll find that there attached to a fear of man, fear of others in some way. And so, we’re being counseled from thousands of years ago that this is a trap. It’s exposing where our trust truly lies. And as the proverb goes on, ‘the one who trusts in the Lord is protected.’ So, when our identity is rooted in the trust of the Lord, that’s a totally different outcome than when our identity is rooted in the fear of man. And if we’ll just go through the next 24 hours, watching ourselves when we were feeling anxious, when fear seems to be overwhelming us, we can detach from that for a second just to observe - where did this come from, why is this happening, how can I follow the trail back - and we’ll find where our fears lie, and we’ll find that we’re not trusting the Lord in it.

Prayer:

Father, we take this counsel, we heed it, it’s true, and it certainly can change things. So, we begin to observe ourselves and invite Your Holy Spirit to show us how so many of our fears are connected and are trapping us, are snaring us, because we’re ultimately afraid of each other or in competition with one another, rather than resting in the fact that we are Your children and You’re protecting us, and that we can, should, must trust You. Come Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

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

A few things are going on around here. Today is about the last day to call in your holiday greetings for the annual Daily Audio Bible family Christmas that we do each year, our kind of virtual Christmas party that we have together. So, definitely, definitely don’t delay anymore. If you’re planning on participating, all you have to do is call one of the prayer lines. So, for example, here in United States, 877-942-4253 is the number to call. And, like I’ve been saying, the only rule about this is just don’t combine a holiday greeting and a prayer request in the same call. If you have a prayer request, certainly, certainly call that in, but if you also have a holiday greeting, call that in separate. And we’re going to get to work on putting our Christmas party together. So, don’t delay anymore. If you want to be involved, call that in.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Boxes are going fast, as they do. We still have some available. If you’re in the United States and you want to get the Daily Bible Christmas Box in time for Christmas, because it is full of things that you'll…some things you’ll want for yourself and some things you’ll want to give away…if you want that to arrive in time…then Monday December 18^th is, kind of the cutoff date for that. You can certainly order after that and we will certainly ship, but it’s kind of…we’re looking at the delivery schedules and…thinking that’s about where we’re getting close. So, keep that in mind.

Early registration for the More Gathering for women is open right now. And early registration pricing will last until the end of the year. This makes a wonderful gift idea. So, take advantage of that. And all the details about the more gathering can be found at moregathering.com or in the Initiatives section at dailyaudiobible.com. All of your questions and the details that you would want to know about it are there.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible as we approach the end of the year then, thank you humbly and profoundly, like every day, with a heart full of gratefulness that this community exists and that the global fire burns on, and that we keep taking steps forward together. Thank you for making that possible. So, there’s a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

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

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Good morning Daily Audio Bible community. This is Diane O. B. in Newburg Indiana calling. And this is a prayer call and a praise report. And first of all, I want to say I am praying for this lady in California that is studying for her board exams, that had some really tragic things happen to her because her parents wanted a boy rather than a girl. I’ve been praying for you honey, every single day, and the Lord has been giving me a heart to pray for you and I believe you have the mind of Christ and you do think the thoughts of Christ. And when you take these board exams, I believe you are doing them at the end of December, you are going to pass with flying colors. And I thank You Lord for granting this wish and desire and prayer of mine. I’m going to be praying for you every day, that you have peace and no anxiety. And I’m praying for all of the others in the community. I thank you for hearing my prayer requests and lightening my load. And I just want to say do not be discouraged do not be disheartened. God loves you and He’s with you. He made you and He will take you back to heaven with Him if you have invited Him into your heart. So, God bless everybody and that’s what I wanted to say. Amen. 

Hi DAB family. This is Marked as His. I’m calling from Balsam Lake Wisconsin. I haven’t called in probably over 4 months now but I hope you all are doing well. Two praise reports. My mom, who was diagnosed with breast cancer around Easter time just successfully finished up both chemo and radiation and her prognosis looks great. So, that’s awesome, and thanks. We did get all off our corn harvest in on time and our soy bean harvest. So, thank you again for that. Right now, I am struggling with feeling very overwhelmed and attacked by anxiety and self-doubt. My cousin, who abused me as a child is getting married. And I feel very betrayed because getting married is something that I’ve always wanted and I feel like God is playing a huge joke on me, giving that gift to my cousin first. And I know I’m supposed to trust in God’s wisdom and His sense of timing but right now it is really hard. It seems like I’m getting the raw end of the deal again. So, I hope all is well with you. And thank you so much for being a family to me too. I’m so glad I turned here than other really bad coping mechanisms, that they soon pass. So, anyhow. Thank you all. Bye.

Good morning my DAB friends. It’s Margo from Australia. We have this morning had a bit of a miracle and I thought I would love to share it with you guys and you could share our joy and excitement. I’ll have to talk quick though. Some of you may remember, my husband and I are applying to join the mission aviation fellowship and as part of that my husband had to pass a class on medical for his pilot’s license. And he’s been having a bit of trouble with his blood pressure. His diastolic blood pressure needs to be under 90 and he’s been up to the doctor multiple times getting it checked and just can’t seem to get that number below 90 despite the fact that he’s quite slim and quite fit and healthy. It’s just some unfortunate reason. And he’s also been getting quite bad headaches. So, this morning he woke up with a really bad headache and we thought perhaps it might be associated with the blood pressure. So, we went up to our local pharmacy to get it checked and the diastolic blood pressure was 97, which is upsetting. But, just after that the doctor phoned and said, you have to come up today and get that blood pressure checked. It’s the last day we can do it for your pilot medical. So, we thought, oh no, we already know it’s really bad, this does not look good. So, we just straight away prayed, asking the Lord for a miracle and he went off to the doctor and guess what the number was? It was 85 and he even checked it twice. And we just praise in God because He is a God who works miracles. I can’t actually remember the last time his diastolic blood pressure was that low. It truly is a miracle and He is a God who answers prayer. And just Glory to God. He loves us. I hope that encourages you as it’s encouraged us. Bye for now.

Hi Joyce in California. Hey, this is mom Annette in Oklahoma City. And little sister, little girl, I wanted to wish you the most happiest of birthdays on December 20^th and I wanted to call you and sing [singing] Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Our beautiful DAB daughter, Happy birthday to you. [singing stops]. You know, we can’t always pick the families that we’re born with but we can pick the families that we surround ourselves with. And, I’ll tell you, I know around my job, I’ve made many daughters and sons and I would wish nothing more than to have you be my honorary daughter. And I wish you the best. I wish you the success that you are looking for. I pray that your studies go well and your examinations are exemplary, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Joyce, I love you and I’m giving you a great big hug, all the way from Oklahoma City. Have a beautiful birthday December 20^th, a day we will honor from now on.

Amos 7:1-9:15, Revelations 3:7-22, Psalms 131:1-3, Proverbs 29:23

Today is the 12^th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it is, indeed, a joy to be here with you today in the heart of the Christmas season. And we’re working our way through the book of Amos in the Old Testament. We will conclude the book of Amos today. And, of course, in the New Testament, we’re working our way to the book of Revelation. So, we’re reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible this week. Amos chapter 7 verse 1 through 9:15.

Commentary:

Okay. So, we are several days into the book of Revelation and we’ve been just kind of looking at its layout because it begins with seven small letters to seven distinct and individual churches. And we’ve moved through five of those. And we read the two remaining ones, the letter to the church in Philadelphia and the letter to the church in Laodicea today. So, with the previous five little letters that we’ve read, Jesus affirms the different churches for things that they are doing well and then corrects them on some other things. Some churches are holding true to the faith but have basically gone underground while others have been very engaging in the culture but have been shaped more by culture than the other way around, them shaping the environment they’re in. So, with his letter to the church in Philadelphia, it’s a little bit different. Jesus starts out saying the holy one, the true one, the one who has the key of David, who opens and no one will close and closes and no one opens. So, that’s how he’s describing himself. So, this language, the one who has the key of David, we talked about that one when we were reading the book of Hebrews. This servant, King David, who also was a priest in the order of Melchizedek, even though he was not from the tribe of Levi. This kind of understanding, when applied to Jesus, pretty much in the entire New Testament, is messianic language. And we see that show up for the first time here in the book of Revelation, in this letter to the church in Philadelphia. So, Jesus is saying He’s holy, He’s true, He possesses the key of David, He opens and no one can close and closes and no one can open. And then He tells them, I know your works, which is what He tells the other churches. Because you have limited strength, have kept my word, and have not denied my name, I have opened a door and no one is going to be able to close it. It’s open to you. And He tells them to take note. So, pay attention. Those who are claiming to be Jews but are not, they’re lying. They’re from the synagogue of Satan and I will make them come bow down at your feet. And they’re going to know for sure that I have loved you, which would be very, very encouraging words to this church at Philadelphia. But it also harkens and it causes us to remember some of the things that we were reading and for second, third, John, and first, second Peter and Jude. But this forces us to acknowledge and see the debate that was going on. Who were the real and true Jews? On the one hand, you have a people who were born this way. So, they could say, I’m Jewish by ethnicity. The majority of those Jews, who were practicing Judaism, did not recognize Jesus as Messiah or anything else but a rabbi, and many wouldn’t even acknowledge that. So, you have Jewish people, who were born Jewish, who had been practicing Judaism in one way or another, rejecting God to his face, basically, as they reject Jesus. And you have other writers of the New Testament basically saying, those people aren’t true Jews, they’ve rejected God to his face. And on the other side of that coin, you have practicing Jews who are doing all that they can to distance themselves from these people who follow Jesus. Because in the wider culture, the Christians are just, they’re looked at as, people who have come out of Judaism, who are part of the Jewish community, even though in most cases there were more Gentiles in a family of faith than the Jewish people. The religion itself is looked to be an offshoot of Judaism, as part of Judaism. And the Jewish people are trying to say no that’s how it is, they have nothing to do with us. And this language that we find in that little letter to the church of Philadelphia seems to affirm that idea. And it’s a big idea. Because what we see taking shape here is that God is forming a new family, a new people. And you come into this family, this door that can’t be shut, through Jesus, and are welcomed into this new thing that God is doing. And it doesn’t matter your ethnicity. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a Jew or a Gentile. So, we can see some of the conflicts that we’ve been looking at throughout most of the New Testament finding their way here into the book of Revelation. And Jesus is affirming the church of Philadelphia, in spite of all the marginalization and conflict that they been enduring both from the Jewish community and from the culture at large. They are staying true. They are staying engaged. They are bearing witness to the gospel of Christ, and they can walk through this door that no one can close. And then He encourages them further – ‘because you have kept my command to endure, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is going to come over the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming quickly. Hold on to what you have so that no one takes her crown.’ What we can’t say for certain about this is, is it planet Earth? That’s what it seems to be written as. Or is it the world as they understand it? Is this a planet earth tribulation or will this testing take place in the Roman empire or simply the known world? Scholars continue to debate that. And what kind of tribulation are we talking about - a spiritual one, a physical one? And how will the church of Philadelphia be spared? On the one side, you have those who are like, Jesus will come back and they will be spared. He tells them He’s coming quickly. So, He will come. And this has been called the rapture, which is a word that is not used in the New Testament. Which is not to say that the concept can’t be formed. It’s just to say that word is used in the New Testament. Or were they going to be spared spiritually, protected spiritually, but perhaps would have to endure physical hardship? Because so much of the New Testament deals with endurance, and suffering, and staying true in spite of it. So, like, even John, in John’s Gospel, when we have the high priestly prayer of Jesus. Jesus says to the Father, I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, I’m asking you to protect them from the evil one. And, so, this leads others to believe that this is about spiritual protection that takes place in our union with Christ. But no matter what this looks like, Jesus tells them if you’re victorious, if they will hold on, if they will endure, they will be made pillars in the sanctuary of God and they’ll never go out again. The name of God will be written on them in the name of the city, the new Jerusalem, that will come down out of heaven. And we’ll hear more about that later. And then we get to the final of these seven little letters, the letter to the church at Laodicea. And Jesus introduces himself by saying, ‘the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation says.’ So, this faithful and true witness language has been a theme to all the churches. What are they doing with the light that’s on the lampstand? What is their witness to Christ saying? And then He says that He’s the originator of God’s creation. That has been debated. Was He saying that He was the originator of the creation of the world as we know it? Or is see He originator of a new creation, this new family of God, where all are welcome through faith and not because of the origin of their birth? There are commentators and scholars on both sides of that. But getting into the letter, we see that the note to the church in Laodicea is more pointed than any of the other letters. As Jesus said to other churches, He tells them, I know your works. But what their works are is that they are neither cold nor hot and he wishes that they were cold or hot, but because their lukewarm and neither cold or hot, he’s going to spit them out of his mouth, which probably under any circumstances isn’t a good thing to be hearing from Jesus. So, it’s not a good thing. The metaphor of hot or cold or lukewarm has also been a point of debate. So, traditionally, you know, if you’re on fire, if your hot. Right? Then that’s a good thing and if you’re cold then that’s not so much a good thing. And if you’re lukewarm you’re a mixture of the two, that’s even the worst thing. And I basically grew up here hearing it like that. But there are scholars who would say, no, this is rooted to the place of Laodicea itself, the situation of the city itself. It was a good place for a city, in terms of geography, but they didn’t have a good freshwater supply. So, they had to a pipe it in. So, on the one hand they were getting some of their water supply from places that had hot springs and then maybe they were getting their water from other places that had, you know, fresh, cold, clean, life-giving water. But by the time it piped its way to another city it wasn’t cold anymore, it was it was lukewarm. And, so, it wasn’t a palatable. The hot water coming in had become lukewarm. The cold water coming in had become lukewarm. In other words, it had gone from its original state to this kind of lukewarm, less palatable, less usable form, which would more accurately describe the state of the church at Laodicea that Jesus is speaking of. And Jesus assessment of the church at Laodicea contrasts, pretty sharply, with their own view of themselves. Jesus says, ‘because you say; – so, like, this is their assessment of their condition – ‘I’m rich, I have become wealthy and need nothing.’ So, they think they’re doing pretty good. And Jesus is telling them, you don’t know that your wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. So, they seem to be about as blind to their situation as we often find ourselves to be. They found a way to be economically prosperous, assimilating into the culture, and probably reaping the benefits of that and they think they’re doing pretty good. And Jesus is advising them that they need to get their gold. Right? So, they need to get their wealth from a different source. Him. They should buy gold from Him because it’s a different kind of riches. They may think that they have material wealth and that they’re doing pretty well, but they’re actually blind and poor spiritually and they need to come to Jesus where they can get true wealth. So, Jesus is being pretty pointed toward the church in Laodicea, but He does have a kindness. He tells them, look, I rebuke and discipline those that I love. So, He’s telling them,  even though we’ve got some pretty serious problems here, and you’ve put yourself in pretty grave danger,  I wouldn’t be telling you this if I didn’t love you. So, He tells them, listen, you’ve got to be committed and you’ve got a repent. Which brings us to one of the famous passages in the book of Revelation. ‘Listen, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and have dinner with him and he with Me. And if you’re victorious I will give you the right to sit with Me on my throne, just as I also won the victory and sat down with My Father on his throne.’ I kind of always grew up thinking, behold, I stand at the door knock, this was language used to describe a person coming to Christ. But we can see that this is more language to the people who had kind of lost the plot. They had heard the good news but had become lukewarm. So, they started out one way and then had become another. But Jesus was saying that He still loves them and they can come back, they can repent, they can recommit themselves. He’s been standing at the door and knocking and if they’ll hear His voice that will be opening the door and He’ll come, and they can be victorious. So, that that gives us a little bit of a look at these seven letters to seven churches that give us our introduction into the book of Revelation. And I have to tell you, every word of this book has been looked at from an academic and scholarship and theological perspective for so long that we could spend a good portion of our lives trying to unravel all of the nuances. Even in what we just talked about today, there are many cross-references to many places in the Bible, many places in the Old Testament, like the book of Ezekiel or the book of Daniel or the book of Isaiah, that provide the backdrop for all of this. So, there’s no way to touch on everything. What I’m trying to do is just keep us on track because most biblical scholars would agree the book of Revelation is one of the more challenging books to follow. So, I’m trying to keep us moving forward and pointing out some things that you can dive in as deep as you want to go in your personal walk. Because a lot of people think a lot of things about this book and we would do well to pay attention to what it is actually saying and what it is actually bringing up in us and inviting the Holy Spirit into that and following where the Holy Spirit leads us in that.

Prayer:

So, that’s our prayer Father, that Your Holy Spirit would come as we continue to move forward day by day toward the end of the year. And as we watch those days dwindle down to where we only have a few weeks left, we invite You to speak as strongly to us now as You have since the beginning of the year as we’ve gone through the entire Bible and lead us into all truth as You have promised. Come, Holy Spirit. We pray in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

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

Several things are going on around here and they all relate to the holiday season that we’re in.

You can call in your holiday greeting for the annual Daily Audio Bible family Christmas, which is our kind of Christmas party that we have as a community each year, as we go through the Christmas story, and hear each other. It’s a beautiful thing. So, you can call in your holiday greeting by using any of the prayer lines that we have 877-942-4253 is the number here in the United States. If you’re in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078. If you’re in Australia or that part of the world 61-3-8820-5459. The only rule about this is don’t combine a holiday greeting and a prayer request in the same call. Make them separate. We’ll only be doing this for a couple more days. So, don’t procrastinate.

Another thing going on is the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box for 2017, chock full of goodies as all of the Christmas Boxes are. And you’ll find things that you’ll want to keep in things that you’ll want to give away in the Box. You can get them now at the Daily Audio Bible shop at dailyaudiobible.com. And if you’re in the United States, there’s definitely still time to get them in time for Christmas. If you’re outside the United States, not as much, not so sure. But you can certainly still order a Christmas Box. So, grab one while we still have them.

Also, early registration for the More Gathering that is coming up this April, our annual women’s conference is open. And we have early registration pricing for that. Makes for a great gift. Hope you can come, if you’re a woman that is. Hope you can come. All the details about the More Gathering are at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section or you can just go to moregathering.com and that’ll take you straight there.

Also, in the Daily Audio Bible shop is the Daily Audio Bible journals, along with all of the Black Wing pencil stuff that we have that makes for a great kit, a great thing to be carrying around and writing down what’s happening in your life as you Journal your way through the Scriptures and Journal your way through life in a year. And we have a number of bundles that make for great gifts or just a great opportunity to set yourself up for the new year. And those can be found in the Daily Audio Bible shop, in the lifestyle section. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here, as we approach the end of the year, I can’t thank you enough. Thank you for your partnership. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do if we didn’t do this together as a community. So, thank you. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

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

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hi this is Bonnie from Virginia. This message is for Joyce in California. I heard your story, which is similar, somewhat, of mine. As my dad also left me near the temple to die but somebody found me and started taking care of me. It’s a long story, so, I do not want to share, but I wanted to encourage you not to give up on your test. As you mentioned, you failed twice, and you are attempting to do the test on December the 29^th and 30^th. If you don’t get through that time also, I would ask you not to get discouraged and be strong and pray to God. Maybe God may have some other plans for you. And I would encourage you to read Jeramiah 29:11. That verse has really helped me because I am also doing the job which I was not even thinking or didn’t even like before when I started. But God has plans for everyone and now I enjoy doing this job. I do the ___ job, which is very difficult but God is helping me. So, I would encourage you to pursue what God has planned for you. Love you sister. Bye.

Hello. This is Sharron. Not Sharron in California, not the original Sharron that called before. So, I’ll call myself The Rose of Sharron. I’m calling asking for prayer for myself and my family. We’re going through a tough time right now, financially. My daughter…I have 2 daughters and 2 sons…and they are not living to their potential. So, I pray God’s grace and I pray for His presence in our lives, that they all would find church homes. And love you guys. This is my first time calling, but I’ve been listening for three years. So, I love this podcast. Thank you. Bye-bye.

Hi Daily Audio Bible. This is Beloved from Texas. I’m a 4 year listener and I just want to say thank you, Brian and Jill and all the others behind the scenes at DAB. Thank you for all that call and who agree in prayer. I’ve never called in before. I’m requesting prayer for my son. He’s a prodigal. He has a great calling on his life and I’ve praying for his great destiny for years. He walked away when he was 18 and he’s been through a lot of hurt and pain and rejection. And the enemy just used it to distract him from what God has for him. He is mighty warrior in the making. I’m grateful what the Lord has taught me in these 17 years to be fighting for my son, learning about spiritual warfare and drawing close to the Lord. But I’m praying for my son and hoping that you would pray with me. His name is Michael. And I’m asking my DAB family to lift him up. And not just him, but for all the prodigals to come home. I know as prodigal parents we’re all hurting. And, so, I pray the harvest of the prodigals. I pray that you would just agree with me in prayer for their destiny in Christ. I love you all.

Hello Daily Audio Bible. This is Duane from Wisconsin. All praise and glory to God. I’m calling in for Joyce in California, who called in, who is going to medical school and has some exams coming up at the end of the month. Joyce, I just wanted to say to you we are calling in for encouragement for you. My wife is a nurse. Her daughter is a nurse our daughters husband, our son-in-law, is a doctor. So, we know how hard it is to be in the medical field. So, it is amazing that you chose this profession and that you are attempted and to get into that. And you will succeed. I don’t doubt that at all. So, I just wanted to call in and give you encouragement, Joyce, to give you comfort, peace. And you can’t be a disappointment. All my fellow Daily Audio Bible, fellow members here, we are all lifting you up Joyce, we are all with you. You can’t disappoint us at all. You can’t disappoint God at all. So, I just wanted you to know that is a blessing that you’re going into that field because I assume you want to help people and I have no doubt that you will pass your exam. You’ve forgiven your parents, what an uplifting story that was. Thank you for that story, Joyce. So, I just want you to know that we are lifting you up and we will be with you. And, please, keep us informed on those exams and we’ll keep you in prayers, always. Calling in for Patricia in Minnesota also. She wanted to just call in about her son Tony. He is taking a trip to Vegas. We want you to know, Patricia, that we pray that the Lord be with your son and that he will stay on the right side and be safe. So, like to lift that up along, independent on him ___ with your husband and your marriage. Lifting that up as well. Lifting this all up. In Jesus’ name. Amen. God bless and love you.

Hi. This is Victoria S. I’m just calling to pray for some of the DABbers. Sorry I haven’t been able to call. My calls have been getting blocked, but I just thank God that tonight that God has allowed it to be unblocked so that I could reach Amy. Oh my God, Amy, my heart goes out to you. You’re beautiful mom that somebody hit. The Bible says, in the last days the heart of many will be wax cold. But we are faithful. God is faithful and God is able. We need to pray to God that they find who it is. But I’m sorry that your mom died. I pray that God would be with her, that she’s at peace now, and not in pain. Lord, in the name of Jesus, You touch Amy and You touch her Lord, in a mighty and special way. You touch that family. Oh, Father, in the name of Jesus, You rebuke the enemy on every hand and cast them out of their lives. Oh, Father, we pray in the name of Jesus. Lord, You have Your way Father, in the name of Jesus. Lord, I also want to pray for our sister on last night. She was going through with her husband and was going through a divorce. I don’t remember her name, but Lord, I ask you to touch her Lord. I ask You to touch her and I ask you to touch that marriage. You touch that husband Lord. You touch that heart and you open up his blinded eyes and let him see what he has in the wife that he has. Lord, You have Your way. I thank You for touching the DABbers. Touch those that need You Lord. Touch those that feel like they are about to give up. Touch those that feel like they need a man Lord. You bless them and show them the man that You have for them. Oh Lord, in the name of Jesus. Lord, You touch my sister Gloria and You open up doors on her mom Lord. You bless her that her mom be able to come and spend Christmas with her and that she’ll be able to be with her permanently. Lord, You have Your way Father. I thank You for this broadcast and I thank You for Your people. I give You the glory and the honor and the praise. In the mighty name…

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. This is Nathan from Bloomington Illinois. I know it’s been several months before I called in but I listen every day and I pray along with most of you guys. So, I just want to let you know. When I first started listening to the DAB, which was…I don’t know…several years ago….six of seven years ago…my goal was to just get through the Bible. I just wanted to read through the bible and be done. And, so, I was skipping the prayers and all those kind of things. But, you know, I reached my goal. I got it done. And then I still felt just as empty because I felt like I did it for the wrong reason. It’s December. It’s already…this year’s almost over and…which means we have a choice. December 31^st rolls around to January 1^st and are we going to stick with it? Are we going to continue on? Because this isn’t just about getting through the bible in one year. It’s about community through the bible. And, I don’t know about you all, but I’m going on. I don’t know how many times I’ve been through the bible. I don’t even count, but this is family and I’m here for the family. So, that’s my word for today. I hope to see around in the middle of the year 2018. So, have a great day. Make it a great day.

Amos 4:1-6:14, Revelations 2:18-3:6, Psalms 130:1-8, Proverbs 29:21-22

Today is the 11^th day of December. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you as we fully immerse ourselves in this brand-new week. And from our Old Testament reading, we are smack in the middle of the book of Amos. We will conclude that tomorrow. And, of course, we’re working our way through the book of Revelation in the New Testament. But first, the book of Amos. We’re reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible this week. Amos 4:1 through 6:14 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, as we go through the book of Revelation it’s important that we try to keep our place and that we try to approach it with new ears. And what I mean by that is, that the book of Revelation has a lot swirling around it. A lot of people think of it as the scary book of the Bible because it has to do with the end and it’s full of symbolism and people try to make that symbolism a lot of things. And, so, there’s incredibly diverse interpretation. So, we need to try to keep track. So, basically where we are is that John is on the island of Patmos and he hears a trumpet call and he turns around and their seven golden lampstands with Jesus in the middle of them holding seven stars. And Jesus tells John to write down what he hears, what he sees. And we learned that these lampstands represent seven specific churches, not churches that are symbols, actual real churches that exist at this time. And, so, as John is basically taking this dictation from Jesus and writing the words that he has to say to these churches down, we see that these little notes or letters to the individual churches are addressed to the angel of that church. And although there are several interpretations, we think these Angels of the church are the leaders of the church, churches, because the letters are specific to what’s going on in the church. And yesterday we read the three different letters to the first of the three churches - Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum. Today we read the letters to Thyatira and Sardis. And then tomorrow we’ll read the of the last remaining two letters to the last two remaining churches. And, so, to the church at Thyatira, Jesus encourages them that He knows their works, what they’re doing. He knows their love. He knows their faithfulness and service and even their endurance. And He says that their last works are greater than their first. So, in other words, there growing in this, they’re living into it, they’re doing better now than they were when they started, which is an incredible complement. But Jesus does have a problem with the church at Thyatira. And it’s basically the same problem with the church at Pergamum. There holding onto the faith and they have no problem engaging the culture, but that has led to the problem that they are too engaged and things are seeping back into the church that shouldn’t be there. And Jesus describes that by saying you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and deceives my slaves to commit sexual immorality and to eat meat sacrificed to idols. So, we don’t know if there is actually a woman named Jezebel who calls herself a prophetess in this church or if Jesus is simply talking about the behavior of Jezebel found in the Old Testament stories about her, because Jezebel led God’s people away into Baal worship, which also led them into sexual immorality. But, anyway, there’s someone or some people who are following this someone that are in the church and this kind of behavior is being tolerated. And Thyatira was an economic hub at the time and it was a working city and there were trade workers. And there were many trades to keep a city and region going. And these trade workers would collect themselves together in guilds and these guilds would be communities of people who did the same kind of work. And, so, people knew each other and lived together in community. And these guilds would have their own customs. For example, there would be like a patron god or deity of the guild. So, if the trade was iron working, for example, then there would be a god that would overlook that whole process. And, so, no matter what other gods might be worshiped in the home, these people would worship that god, the god of the guild. And if you refused to do that, then you can see how quickly you could be ostracized and economically impacted, blacklisted. And, so, people would assimilate, they would belong to the church and worship Jesus but then go to their guild and worship that god because it was required in the culture and then maybe they would visit other temples and feasts and do all kinds of rituals and things and then show for church on worship day. And, so, we can see it was it was just as hard if not harder for them to be in the world, but not of it, as it is for us. And they’re trying to figure this all out. But some churches are taking this too far. And, so, we’ve seen references to Balaam, to the Nicolaitans, to this Jezebel prophetess person or people and it stems from a teaching that this world is passing away and our human experience in it in exchange for a new world and a new glorified body and the family of God. And, so, while that’s being awaited it’s a free-for-all. And the cultic practices of the culture are seeping their way back into the church in the guise of freedom in Christ. And, so, this was going on and Pergamum. This is also going on in Thyatira. By the wording of the letter, it looks like it was going on longer in Thyatira than it had been in Pergamum because in the letter to Thyatira Jesus is talking about judgment and He’s saying time has past. Specifically, He says, I gave her time to repent, but she does not want to repent of her sexual immorality. So, she’s going to get sick and those who commit adultery with her are going to fall into tribulation and it’s not going to go well. So, Jesus is calling out a specific group of people in the church that are living this way and then he closes the letter by talking to everyone else, those who are not, by telling them that there is no additional burden for them. In other words, there’s nothing else, you’re doing it right, well done. And that brings us to the letter to the church in Sardis. And the thing going on in Sardis seems to be similar to what is going on in Ephesus. The light or the witness of the gospel of Jesus is going out. And Jesus is fairly frank with them. I know your works. You have a reputation for being alive, but your dead. So, wake up. Be vigilant, be alert, strengthen what you’ve got left because it is about to die and you haven’t finished your mission. Repent, remember what you heard in the beginning, remember what you received and heard and keep it and repent. Because if you don’t wake up if you’re not alert, I’ll come like a thief, and you have no idea when, when that will be. And in this letter Jesus says you have no idea at what hour I will come against you. With the church in Ephesus, Jesus said that if He has to do that He’ll remove the lampstand. In other words, the light will go out. So, we can probably assume that what Jesus is saying to the church in Sardis is similar. So, we’ve gone through five little letters to five different churches and there are different things that are going on in these churches and they all seem to boil back to the question, how do I be in the world and not of it? In the case of some of these churches they’re true, they’re holding very, very true, but because of the marginalization of the culture that they’re in, they aren’t able to shape and shift the culture, they’re not out in the world showing a better way. They’re getting every conceivable opposition and it’s making them grow smaller and quieter. They’re being true, but they’re also basically being invisible. And then the other side of that, you have churches that are out and engaging, and kind of showing that, hey we Christians, we’re people too, we can do all things you can do, we’re just part of this, we just have a different way of looking at things. But the end result is, rather than shaping culture and being a positive influence in showing a better way, the opposite is happening and their being shaped. And it’s seeping back into the church. And, so, Sardis is one of the churches that is growing smaller and invisible and they have a lot of pressure. The Jews are very vocal about denouncing the Christian faith, very, very much about the business of trying to differentiate Christianity with Judaism. And the Jewish community in Sardis was large and influential, one of the most important in the entire region. And, so, they have cultural opposition and then they have spiritual or religious opposition as well. And they’re finding it easier just to keep their mouth shut and be together rather than to shine bright and be a light in the darkness, because that will likely only amp up the opposition and it could lead to death, persecution, marginalization, blacklisting, all of the things that would bring suffering. So, we still have two more letters to two more churches to read, but we’re getting a pretty good overview of what’s going on in these churches and we see that these are still issues that we have to face today. How can I be in this world but not of it? And the picture that were getting from Jesus is that, remaining true is very, very important, critical, crucial, but also crucial is the outflow of that. We are the salt of the earth, the light of the world. We’re not just here to stay true and wait for the world to change, we’re here to stay true and change the world, and those are different things.

Prayer:

Father, we bring that question to You. How are we being in the world but not of the world? What is shaping us and what are we shaping, and what is out of balance? And we acknowledge that this is different for each one of us. We are in an individual relationship with You, walking with You, and this is different for each of us. We’re in all kinds of cultures and in all kinds of contexts, but it does boil down to what we are allowing to shape us and what we are vigilantly trying to shape. And we invite You into that question. Holy Spirit, speak to us we ask in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website. It’s home base. It’s where you find out what’s going on around here. And, so, a number of things, all Christmas related, since it’s Christmas time.

It is time to call in your holiday greetings for the annual Daily Audio Bible family Christmas, which is kind of our virtual Christmas party together. And we’ll only be doing this for a few more days. So, don’t procrastinate. It’s really easy. You just use the prayer line 877-942-4253 or you can use any of the prayer lines that we have for different parts of the world. And you just call in your Christmas wishes. It’s that simple. The only rule about this is, because of the fact that were using the prayer line, don’t like call in a holiday greeting and then add on to it a prayer request. That’s too hard to edit and make it make sense. If you’re calling in for a prayer request, call it in. If you’re also calling in a holiday greeting, call it in separate. And that’s it.

The Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box for 2017 is also available and going fast. And if you want these to arrive for Christmas, jump on it. We’ve got just several more days on that too before we kind of feel like we’re getting close. And I’m speaking domestically. So, like, I’m speaking inside the United States at this point. If you’re outside the United States, we’re kind of past that, not sure. You can certainly order it and we will certainly ship it. We’re just not sure it will arrive for Christmas. Inside the United States we’re good for a few more days. But the Christmas Box is full of goodies, some that you will keep for yourself and some that you will give away. We have the Advent CD from our friends at Mission Chattanooga in the Box. The family Christmas CD that I produced and it’s lush and contemplative and full of the carols of the season. So, that’s in there. The book by my friend Ian, The Road Back to You, is in the Box. Two copies of Sneezing Jesus are in the Box. A Black Wing pencil is in the Box. The Daily Audio Bible annual Christmas bulb is in the Box. So, it’s got Daily Audio Bible 2017 on it with our word ‘Margin’ for the year. A pack of 20 Christmas cards, the Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards for 2017 with the envelopes, are in the Box. And then, your choice of our DAB blend of coffee or if you’re a tea drinker our honey bush and rooibos tea.

And speaking of The Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards, those are available separately. If you’ve got a lot of Christmas cards to send, we have them in packs of 20 with the envelopes for $4.99. It’s just a great way to invite those that you love to take the journey with you next year. So, you can get those in the shop.

And the More Gathering for women that is coming up this April, early registration is open for that right now. You can find it in the Initiatives section at dailyaudiobible.com. All the details about it, locations, just the kind of questions that you would have, they’re all answered there. You can also just go to moregathering.com. And early registration pricing is available until the end of the year. And this, this makes for a very unique gift. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link on the homepage. And, as always, I thank you profoundly. It’s pretty amazing, what we get to do together every day. Thank you for helping that happen. So, there’s a link on the homepage. If you prefer the mail, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

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

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

This is Candice from Oregon, let’s pray. Dear Lord Jesus, thank You that You are Holy and that You are present and that You’ve done everything to save us out of the pit of hell. And even though this earth has not been restored yet, it has not been renewed yet, even though it’s pretty much a war zone and You’ve left us here. You’ve left us here for a reason. You will empower us for mighty things that You want us to do. I mean, we’re just trying to get through the next day, sometimes the next hour. I have trouble getting the vision for all of the aspects of Christmas when my husband of 40 years is no longer sure to do that with me. And he was so inspired about it. And I just heard the community prayer and I know that so many others also have really no idea how to move forward in the dilemma of whatever their situation is. So, Lord, we look to You. We look to You and we know that we have but to keep our eyes on You and You will give us a vision for this moment, this hour, the next step. And that we only have to do the next right thing. You’re the one who’s sovereign. You’re the only one who can redeem the situation. And You love us Lord, deeply, that we can even begin to imagine. You’ve counted every hair on our heads and You will show us how to move forward in a way that brings honor and glory to You and wholeness to our hearts.

Hi DAB family. It’s James here from the UK. Long time, no call. But once again, just inspired by a young lady today. Joyce from California, your request and your story really touched my heart and I just want you to know that I’m sitting here in my little car in a back quarter of the UK after just listening to what you said and I’m just wanting to channel such positive energy to you by the Holy Spirit right now, that you would just know God’s transformation and His peace and His grace, which you already seem to have experienced in incredible ways in your life. That He would take you into the next step part of the journey, and the healing and restoration that you are going to experience would be beyond your comprehension and that what He would be doing would be preparing you for a great, great work. That is what I believe in my heart. And I just hope you can embrace that joy along with hopefully many other people calling. We love you and I know that God has got an amazing plan for your life. Thank you for calling in and sharing your story with us. Bless you. Bless everyone. Happy Christmas.

Hello, my brothers and sisters of Daily Audio Bible. This is Randy from Rocket City. I haven’t called in while, but I was so touched by Joyce from California. My precious sister, daughter in the Lord. Oh Lord, may you just shower Your love upon Joyce and just know how precious she is. And I definitely lift her up this entire month of December that she might have victory over this exam, that she might go on to serve you, Lord, in the medical community. Lord, help her to know how precious she is to You, how valuable she is to You, and to all of us. And we lift you up, sister Joyce in California. God bless you.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family. It’s James Redeemed in LA. I know it’s been a while since I called in. I was just listening to prayer requests this morning, and Joyce from California, yea, it’s been a while since we heard from you. I’m glad you called in. I remember praying for the last time you took your boards and I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t pass them. But, even more, I just want to pray for you now. So, that’s what I’m going to do. Father God, we love You. And we rejoice that Your love for us is not like our parents love for us, which, even for the best of parents, can still be conditional and flawed and based in the flesh. You took ___ the world sees and we thank you for that. You don’t see Joyce the way that parents saw her, the way that cultures see her. God, I pray against the spirit that hated her and got into her family, and pushed them, urged them to do evil. ___. I pray that there would be redemption and reconciliation fully in that family, that as that relationship heals, that Joyce would heal fully as well. Let her pass those boards Lord. Most certainly, let her find her place in You. Lord God, we love You and we praise You. We know and trust that You are going to do exactly Your will in Joyce. Thank You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Hi, my names Tom and I’m calling from the UK. I just want to give a shout out to Joyce, 4^th year medical student from California. Joyce, I’m a doctor and I graduated medical school 2 years ago. I know the struggles of studying for medical exams. I’m studying for my postgraduate exams now. It’s had but God is your strength. We need Christian doctors to deliver God’s healing. God wouldn’t have brought you this far for you to fail. God is greater than any exam. He is the great physician and I’m praying that you’ll ace your exam. God, bless.

God is my refuge and my strength, a very present help in time of trouble. Amen. It’s is Jubilant Perseverance in Indonesia and I needed to call and give you guys an update. I just found out that I will not be continuing my time in Indonesia next school year. I will not be invited to return to my current teaching position. I am not angry. I’m not sad about it. I am disappointed because I have __ myself up and been vulnerable in this season of growth and tried to develop my relationship here through honest conversation and sincere choices, but that’s neither here nor there. God knows exactly what He’s doing with that and He’s still using it to give authority and to make sure that I’m growing. Right? For our good and for his glory. So, I just need to call and ask you guys to pray with me as I job hunt and explore the right moves to take next because I know that God has amazing things planned for my future. I trust, honestly, but I don’t know exactly where my feet need to step next. So, please pray with me for clarity and direction there. And I hope to talk to you all soon with a wonderful update of what’s to come. Thank you so much. Have a great day. Bye-bye.