A Walk Through The Word

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

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

Advent

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

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

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

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

Unfortunately, it was not to last.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And that’s what brings us to Jesus.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And the angel was gone.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And it did.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Commentary:

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

Prayer:

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

Announcements:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Commentary:

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

Prayer:

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

Announcements:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

John:

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

Prayer:

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

Announcements:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

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

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

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

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

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

Daniel 6:1-28, 2 Peter 3:1-18, Psalms 119:129-152, Proverbs 28:21-22

Today is the 29^th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today, squarely in the middle of the week here in the waning days of the month of November. And today we will finish second Peter. But before we do that, we need to read from the book of Daniel, chapter 6 verses 1 through 28. And we’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week.

Commentary:

Okay. So, as we conclude second Peter, its conclusion brings up sentiments that we have seen before, many, many, times and the ways in which the early believers were trying to work out how to make sense of what was going on versus what they were expecting to be going on. And if we’ll notice this, then we’ll notice that this wrestling has profoundly impacted the last 2000 years. So, first century Hebrew culture in the Roman province of Syria, which encompassed the territory of ancient Israel, was heavily influenced by an apocalyptic worldview. And that basically means that they had a sense that the destiny of the world was ultimately changing. And that, ultimately, decisive things were going to happen that were going to change the shape of the world as we know it. And although difficult and destructive times would come that would be really disastrous, in the midst of that there would be rescue, and something new would be born. And this is the culture that Jesus came into and he spoke this kind of language, as did the writers of the New Testament. And in the decades that followed Jesus earthly life, this idea spread and merged into Gentile culture in one form or another as the gospel began to spread all over the known world. And we can see that this is been passed down all the way until today. As believers, we generally think the same thing. But as we read the New Testament we don’t see this idea being something that’s going to happen somewhere in the far distant future. We see it as being something imminent. They thought the revelation of Jesus and his return was imminent. And this has actually fueled revival down through the ages. So, take, for example, the Jesus movement that happened in the late 60s in through the 70s. I’ve studied that movement a lot because from it came the Christian music industry as we know it and I come from that as the second-generation after it. So, I spent a lot of time with a lot of those early artists, talking to them about what was it, what was it that fueled that time where the spirit flowed the way that it did. And almost to a person, the thought was that the return of Christ was imminent. There was so much going on in the world, so much cultural shift with the backdrop of the Vietnam War, and the assassination of Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy. Times were changing. A new era was spilling out and the younger generation, which would’ve been my parent’s generation, we’re looking for a better world. And, so, they turned to sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. And the idea that love would conquer all and bring unity, and the age of Aquarius, and all of this stuff. And, in the midst of this, people began to find Jesus. And the way and teachings of Jesus made sense. And the idea that Jesus return was imminent and would usher in a new era was deeply compelling. I talked to artists from that time and felt like they didn’t even have time to go into the recording studio to make a record. They just needed to be out on the beach, on a park bench, playing songs that would draw crowds so that the story, the message of Jesus, could be shared because the arrival of Christ was imminent. And, so, we can see how this worldview leads just about every generation to believe that they are the last. Because we can all look at the struggles of the world at the time that we live and say, this is pretty bad, the end is near, something new is about to happen.

Okay, so what does that have to do with the New Testament and what does that have to do with second Peter? Well, in the decades that followed Jesus life, this was the message. Christ was about to return and reveal himself. The kingdom of God would come and there will be a whole new world. But decades had passed. What was supposed to happen imminently, didn’t, which left them with a bit of a problem. What they thought they knew, they apparently didn’t. So, they had to seek revelation and clarity. And that is what we see in the final chapter of second Peter. And why it’s important for us is that we’re basically still in the same boat, largely thinking the same thing. So, now that we have some context and we have located ourselves in the story, allow me to reread from second Peter, chapter 3, as we watch this explode into vivid color. ‘You must realize that in the last days some people won’t think about anything except their own selfish desires, they will make fun of you and say, didn’t your Lord promise to come back. Yet, the first leaders have already died and the world hasn’t changed a bit. They will say this because they want to forget that long ago the heavens and the earth were made at God’s command. The earth came out of the water and was made from water. Later it was destroyed by the waters of the mighty flood. But God has commanded the present heavens and earth to remain until the day of judgment, then they will be set on fire, and ungodly people will be destroyed. Dear friends, don’t forget that, for the Lord, one day is the same as a thousand years and a thousand years is the same as one day. The Lord isn’t slow about keeping his promises, as some people think he is. In fact, God is patient because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost’. And there is the revelation or explanation. All of this is eminently going to happen according to God and not according to our sense of time. So, according to that explanation, a thousand years is like one day to the Lord, and vice a versa. And, so, here we are 2000 years later, but it’s only been like two days for the Lord, is what’s being said here. And Peter is saying, this has nothing to do with God not fulfilling his promises, and that Christ is not going to be revealed. What we are experiencing is, in fact, God’s patience because our Father doesn’t want to lose anyone. Or, to quote Peter, ‘God is patient because he wants everyone to turn from sin and no one to be lost’. So, for starters we can see that all of our attempts to create a formula that will identify the exact moment when Jesus will return to this earth and then predict it, well, that’s been going on for a long time and is a bit futile. He will come and when he does it will be at the moment of his choosing and it will be the right moment. If there’s anything we can learn from the arc of the narrative of the Bible is that God is patient. And if there’s anything we can learn in our own life experience it is that God is patient. So, what is it that we are supposed to be doing in the meantime? We are supposed to be patient too. And we’re supposed to be sharing the good news of light and life as people who have been commissioned by God to announce the good news because we don’t want anyone to be lost either. Or, as Peter tells it, ‘my friends, while you are waiting you should make certain that the Lord finds the you pure, spotless, and living at peace. Don’t forget that the Lord is patient because he wants people to be saved. This is also what our dear friend Paul said when he wrote you with the wisdom that God had given him’. And then he goes on to talk about how people are twisting what Paul said. And then he concludes. ‘My dear friends, you have been warned ahead of time. So, don’t let the errors of evil people lead you down the wrong path and make you lose your balance. Let the wonderful kindness and the understanding that come from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, help you to keep on growing.

Prayer:

Father, that’s it, that’s what we want, to keep on growing and to see our longing and anticipation through patient eyes, understanding that we’re a part of this whole story. You have invited us to participate by being Your hands and feet in this world so that none will be lost. And may we see the world through those eyes, 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 find ourselves in the thick of it in the holiday season now. So, I remind you that the Daily Audio Bible Christmas Box is available. And it’s chock-full of things for yourself and things for you to give away. And you can check all of that out dailyaudiobible.com in the shop. And one important thing about that. Today is the international shipping cut off day. So, if you are outside the United States, we think today is the last safe day that we can ship internationally for these Boxes to arrive in time for Christmas. So, heads up on that. Obviously, you can order after this, but we think, you know, after this… it's…we don’t know…we know it’ll arrive…but if you’re wanting it to arrive for Christmas then, jump on it right away. If you’re inside the United States then we still have plenty of time but we do always sell out of these.

And another thing from the shop that I like to point out, because we think it’s a great gift idea, is all of the writing and journaling things that we have in the shop. We have the new Daily Audio Bible journals that we custom-made and paired along with Black Wing pencils, which are widely praised as the best pencils in the world. And, in this day of high technology, the act of sharpening cedarwood and graphite to a fine tip and then using your own hand to write your story in your own words offers an opportunity and a practice to slow things down and write your story as it happens. And we have some new items related to that in the shop, a brand-new pencil pouch to go along with the pencil role that we’ve had for a while. And point guards to protect your sharpened tip so that’s ready to go whenever you’re ready to go. And we’ve incorporated some of those things together in bundles that are just everything that you need, everything that you need to get going. I’ve been doing this all year. I’ve been journaling all year like this. I journaled all of the days…all of my mom’s final days…and all of the emotions and feelings of grief afterward, as well as the rest of the year. And we’ve always encouraged journaling around here, since, basically, the beginning of the Daily Audio Bible because it’s so easy to forget what stands out to us in the Scriptures or what is going on in our lives that God is working in, it all becomes a blur after a while. But when you can go back a year ago, two years ago, three years ago, ten years ago today, your story begins to have context. And having context for our own life story is just as important as having context for what’s going on in the Bible. So, this is a great time to get set up for next year. It’s also great gift idea for anyone in your life that loves words, that likes to write, or even that needs to slow down a little bit to a life that flows like water under a bridge. So, all of that is available in the shop as well. Check it out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here at the end of the year, then, obviously, humble thanks for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage of dailyaudiobible.com. If you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

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

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

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:

Hello. This is Claire. My love to you and from Jesus. I have tinnitus. It is screaming tinnitus. I found that there is no answer for it but the Lord knows what that answer is. I just pray…I ask for your prayers please. And I have a poem that I just wrote. It’s for you.

God pulled us from the deepest pit
Jesus’ blood washed away the grit
He gave His love and at the root
We’re His masterpiece and He’s our pursuit

God be with all of you, in your thoughts, in your prayers, and your entire life. He’s in your heart and you’re in His hands. Praise the Lord. This is Claire from Wyoming.

Hey Daily Audio Bible Family. It’s Sheila in Massachusetts. It’s been a long time since I called but I’m listening every day, praying for you all. I was prompted to call today by Cheryl from Arizona who called. She was praying…asking for praters…about the anxiety…and saying how much she hates anxiety…and I am just so frustrated and tired and fed up with this mental illness that’s bugging so many of us and our families. Cheryl, I am praying for you. I don’t know if I’ve every shared with you all, but I’m also a psychologist, and I work with adolescents and you all know my daughter Annie suffers from bi-polar and I have generalized anxiety myself. It runs in the family. Just…today I’m going to pray. I pray to our Lord, pray in Jesus’ name, that all the mental illness…just ___ us with worry and despair and doubt…all of these things that come into our mind and take hold of us…that I just…so many of us are suffering…I pray in Jesus’ name to remove the mental illness from us, to show us that we can be sad…we can be down… we can have things that go wrong, but Lord let us always know that there’s hope in You. There’s a light, there’s a light in all of us, the light of the Holy Spirit. I was just saying the other day that the Holy Spirit has never been referred to in the Bible as and ‘it’. The Holy Spirit isn’t an ‘it’. It’s alive, it’s indwelling within us. It’s a gift that we have from Jesus. Let us all find that light and praise it. Let the light shine and just root out all evil, this awful mental illness in us. Lord, I’m just going to continue to pray for our wellbeing and our health. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Cheryl, you are in my prayers.

Hi this call is…the first part is for Cheryl in Arizona. I just heard your call about having like mad anxiety, especially at night. I just want you to know sister that I am there with you. That same thing happened to me. I would look at your caffeine intake and your sugar intake. That really, really affected me, especially at night when I laid down…and…you know…settling down…may brain would just go haywire. Once I cut that out…for a while I cut that out altogether and it was great. And it helped…it helps a ton and especially being able to like…lay down…and go to bed…and not like…hang out awake…and…you know…it really helps. So, I would look at that. If you’re not a big caffeine drinker, maybe look at your sugar intake. And just maybe look at the food and the nutrients and everything that you are putting in your body. That has a whole lot to do with anxiety…at least it did for me…it really helps…when I figured out what I was putting into my body. The second one is…the second part is for a coworker of mine. She has been fighting cancer and she’s having a really rough time financially. She’s having to work multiple jobs and can’t pay her bills and is really sick. She just needs prayer. Lord, I just want to pray for my sister Cheryl with anxiety and my other sister with the cancer and I pray that…I pray healing and release and just wisdom to take the right steps and  know where You lead Lord, and I pray for all of us, and I pray for all of the sick people, especially kids. Please help them and be with them. I pray for a cure Lord for cancer and for everything else. If anyone can do it You can Lord. I pray…

Hello Daily Audio Bible family, this is Rob from Chatham, Ontario. Today I’m calling to ask your help to lift my son Max in prayer. He is living in North Dakota. He’s living in a…he’s in a situation…in a relationship outside of God’s will and there’s a child involved. He has a daughter and he’s about to be separated from his daughter. And it’s going to rip him…it’s going to his heart right out and I’m just asking for you to lift him up in prayer so that God can intervene and prevent that from happening. And I don’t know how it could happen but only God can make it happen. And I’m asking you to ask that maybe that relationship be salvaged or just…I don’t know…I don’t know…I’m just. Yeah, this is Thanksgiving Day in the United States, well that’s where I’m from, that’s where he is right now, and I can’t imagine what his Holiday is like right now, but he’s soon to experience a severe amount of pain and I hope that that doesn’t happen. Please pray for him family. Thank you.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. It is the 23^rd of November, Thursday, Thanksgiving Day in the United States of America. And a great day to give thanks no matter where we are. And any day is a good day to give thanks. And I wanted to call in to specifically say thank you to Cheryl in Arizona. Cheryl, you called in and left a prayer request. And at the time you’d mentioned that it was the 17^th at 10:04 in the evening, your time, in Arizona. And I wanted to call to encourage you to stay strong, to keep your faith, and to continue to be still, and trust God.  Heavenly Father, You know Cheryl. You created her. You wove her in her mother’s womb and stitched together perfectly, uniquely, and blessed her with amazing gifts and talents, that she is using here now and needs to sharpen to continue to continue to use to be the light for other people in the world. You created her with purpose. She is part of Your royal bloodline. You know her heart Lord. You created her before you created the universe and You didn’t waste time on her. You don’t waste time on any of us. Heavenly Father, we ask You to be able to dwell deep within Cheryl, to relieve her from all off her anxiety and all of her fear. Let her know that with Your son Jesus, who walks with her in every step of the way and by the power of Your Holy Spirit, that she’s free from all of that. Help her to breathe deeply, Heavenly Father, and we ask this in Your mighty and precious name. Amen. God bless you.