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Daily Transcripts
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07/08/2015
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1 Chronicles 5:18-6:81 ~ Acts 26:1-32 ~ Psalm 6:1-10 ~ Proverbs 18:20-21
Today is the 8th of July. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you, today. Hopefully you had a great time at the Long Walk yesterday. And I have enjoyed looking into those little windows that we talk about from the pictures that have come in on the Daily Audio Bible Facebook page and they’re still coming in. I love that. I have lots of favorite things that I love about the Daily Audio Bible, but I love every July, looking into those windows.
Alright, well that’s not exactly why we’ve come in here today. We’ve come here to center ourselves and orient ourselves to God through His word. We’re reading from the English Standard Version this week, continuing forward in the journey that we’ve begun into 1 Chronicles.
Commentary:
Okay, so we have to notice what’s going on with Paul. Well, it’s obvious the story that we’re reading; but the undercurrent – Paul’s obedience – it’s like, he knew he was going to be imprisoned. Everybody warned him this was going to happen. Right? So, it’s at that point in our lives normally that we steer away; we keep ourselves out of danger. And yet, Paul had been instructed by the Holy Spirit to kind of step right into the trap, as it were. And he did. And he was imprisoned, and there was an assassination plot and he was spirited away, and he’s been in prison in Caesarea for 2 years; left there, even by the previous Proconsul. So, he’s kind of stuck, and you’d also think that as he’s kind of put away, out of sight for 2 years, then this hatred by the Jewish elite, religious leaders, against Paul would kind of die down, because he’s kind of out of the picture, but it hasn’t. They have pursued, trying to find a way, literally, to kill Paul. They’re not letting this go, because he’s kind of an embarrassment. He’s been trained up in their religion. He was an elite of the “Elites” as a Pharisee. And so for him to embrace this Jesus – that they had done what they thought was a pretty good job of squashing – was embarrassing. And they even thought they had a religious duty to do away with him, so they haven’t let this go. But he’s a Roman citizen, and he’s under guard, and they’re not just going to assassinate him, no matter what they try. Paul knows they’re trying to do away with him. So the invitation to go back to Jerusalem is what caused him to appeal to Caesar because he wasn’t going to make it to Jerusalem.
But Paul is – what we read today – Paul is in a theatre setting in Caesarea, which is like the “gem” of this region in the Roman Empire, a beautiful, Mediterranean playground where the wealthy would go and definitely where the Roman people (that had been sent to govern the region) wanted to stay. It was built to be a Roman city. So it wasn’t a place that had this ancient history and all this tension; it was just this beautiful place that represented the Roman Empire. Paul is able to share the gospel with people that he would never be able to get a meeting with, like never be able to go before. In this context, he’s sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ before Roman rulers, high level, high ranking Roman rulers, kings, wealthy and influential people. This would have never happened any other way but for the controversy that was generated around why the Jewish religious people wanted him gone, which lets us know, there’s always more to a story. Like we will do everything we can to avert any kind of risk and so would Paul. I mean, he’s been in some bad situations on missionary journeys, some pretty tight spots, but he’s been able to avert all that and use wisdom and move around in different ways, but the Holy Spirit told him to go to Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit told him what to expect, and he felt like he didn’t have a choice but to obey. So, now we have Paul sharing the gospel with people he would never, ever, be able to interact with.
We’ve got to take the long view in our own lives. A lot of times, we’ll enter into something that we feel like the Holy Spirit is telling us to do, but then the second it gets hard, the second there’s challenge and opposition and difficulty, we feel like we’ve either missed God or He’s abandoned us, He’s left us “hanging out to dry,” when neither one of those things are true. We have the benefit of the long view. We’re going somewhere. This isn’t the end of the story. So that’s where you’ll find yourself right now. You feel like you’ve stepped into some things that the Lord has told you to do but it’s difficult, it’s not working out the way you thought it was. Well, number one, set aside what you thought it was supposed to be. And number two, keep going. The story isn’t over yet.
Now, we can’t check out for the day without just paying homage and paying attention to what the Proverb told us today because it’s one of the most pivotal, important Proverbs; one of the most pivotal, important statements in all of the Bible: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
Don’t let that just blast by. We know this to be true. We’ve seen the effects of the tongue in our lives. But it’s important for us to take to heart and plant deep into our souls the fact that the tongue holds within it the power of life and death. Our words matter and we are dispensing either life or death all day long, every day. And we best pay attention to that because we’re sowing seeds of death or life with our mouths every day. And if there’s one thing that’s true, the law of sowing/reaping is true. Plant a seed, it comes up in nature, and in life. And if we’re going to plant seeds of death with our words all around us then we can’t be so shocked when that’s the crop all around us. But when we plant seeds of life, well everything changes. So may we pay attention today, and every single day for the rest of our lives, what kind of seeds we’re planting with the power of life and death that is in our mouths.
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, we invite you into that because the truth is we aren’t the greatest at controlling what we say. We respond, we react because we haven’t yielded the power of life and death that’s in our mouths to You. So rather than living reactionary lives, we submit to You and ask You to go before us, and halt us in what we do and say before we dispense death with our mouths. Come Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.
Www.DailyAudioBible.com is home base, it’s the website. It's where we find out what’s going on around here. And I will be back on the road, tomorrow, for the third of five summer festivals that we’re participating in and that I have the opportunity to speak at. Next up is Ichthus Festival up in Kentucky, which is less far than any of the other ones. And so looking forward to being in Kentucky at the Ichthus Festival. The week after that, which is next week, we’ll be in Minnesota at the Sonshine Festival. So looking forward to seeing you on the road. Make sure you come and say “Hello!”
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at the website, www.DailyAudioBible.com. Thank you profoundly for your partnership here in the summertime.
If you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to call.
That’s it for today. I’m Brian and I love you and I’ll be waiting for you here tomorrow.
Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:
Hi, this is Andrea from New York City. It is July 5th and I thank God that everyone in my city is safe after the celebration yesterday. And with that in mind, I ask that this community, which I’m so thankful for, will lift up some members of my church. I go to an international church; primarily Brazilians that come to my church and it’s a strong ministry. A lot of people that come from Brazil or other countries, they come here and they’re looking for a new life and they’re maybe even looking to support their families overseas. It’s very hard for them sometimes to find work. They can’t transfer their degrees, they can’t transfer some job skills. So, I ask that you would keep Andrea’s church in your heart and in your prayers for provision and for guidance. And I pray that the Jehovah Jireh that takes care of all of our needs, will take care of the needs of these specific people I’m speaking of who need jobs, who need “open doors,” who need favor, and most of all the wisdom and guidance to make really good decisions. So I ask you pray with me in agreement that God will supply all of their need according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Thank you so much for your prayer agreements. We agree. It’s done. Thank you God, most of all. In Jesus’ name.
Hi family, this is Shannon from Texas again with another prayer request. I have a new job and in sales and it’s very, very stressful. And what’s making it extremely stressful is, for one, I’m not used to all of that kind of life, and it’s kind of a lot for me to be, so much going on at once. But there’s a lot of men and I’m one of few women, and there’s a lot of partying going on and a lot of people just kind of in my face all day, and I have, I feel like, 50 bosses. And I’m just so overwhelmed by it. I just don’t know how to react to it sometimes. And I got set down by one of the sales consultants and asked if I, basically, if I was inviting it. And it just broke my heart and I bawled. I went to pick up Jesus Calling and read it. I started crying which I do anyway. I just need your prayers. I’m certainly not inviting this behavior. And I just need to know how to handle it and see if this is God’s will for me. And I appreciate you, I love you guys so much. Thank you.
Hi guys, this is Kelly from Pennsylvania. I have been meaning to call for a really long time and I just haven’t. But, oh my goodness, I have a ton of praises and I’m just going to go with one because I also want help. So by an awesome series of events that were ordain-able and arrange-able by God, I got a job as an art teacher at an elementary school. I am absolutely, totally thrilled. It’s a Catholic school. So it’s a place where I will be able to be able to be in a faith atmosphere and I’m just thrilled about that. I never would have sought after this job on my own. It honestly feels like a dream come true. I posted that on the Facebook site and I just want to put that out there and to the world. I have a request – I don’t know how to be an art teacher. I’ve taught people art, some things here and there. I tutored a kid through a college art class. I’ve never been an elementary school art teacher. I’ve never been a teacher in a school setting, other than a preschool before and I don’t know how to do it. I’m sure it will fall together, I learn really quickly, and I get really excited and I love teaching and I’ve taught all age groups. But my request is if there are any art teachers out there, elementary school art teachers, middle school art teachers who want to give me some advice on how to put this together to really do this, please email me. I’m at kbj3721@yahoo.com. And thank you, I really look forward to getting some advice. And have a beautiful day.
Hi, this is Lisa from western North Carolina and I’m calling in tonight for Scott. I heard your message, Scott, and I also heard the brokenness of your heart. And I just want to reach out to you and let you know that God hasn’t left you. His Word says that He will never leave you or forsake you. And even though we forsake each other, like you were forsaken by your betrothed, the Lord Jesus will never forsake you. And I’m praying for you and I love you and I will just urge you to turn to Him, just to run fast into His arms as you possibly can. Because while you’re vulnerable with a broken heart, Satan will try to sift you. I know because my husband of 20 years committed adultery and had a long-term affair with a married woman. I know the heartache that you’re experiencing and I know how the enemy works in response to that. But more than that I know how the God of the universe is faithful and His Word is true. Stand on His Word. Scott, you know His Word. And you are His betrothed, you are His bride and He is your Father. Turn to Him, trust Him, lean on Him now, like you never have before. I love you and I’m praying for you, brother.
Hi family. Pastor Gene from Bradenton, Florida. I’m on my way to work on Monday morning, right after the 4th of July weekend and I’m calling with a word of testimony. Many of you have been praying and following us through Victoria’s quest to become a missionary in the industry of Arts and Entertainment. Last week was the full week in Orlando. She was presented together with over 800 – 900 performers before producers and agents, like the top, top ones. And I am happy to report that she won overall child singer and she was chosen #1 in that category as the top 30 as an actress among all the bunch of performers, like I said close to 900 of them, from all over the world. We are just humbled and grateful. And the purpose of this call is to magnify the Lord because He is faithful. This is the little girl that goes to bed every night with her little brother listening to the DAB and to the Word, and praying with us. We’re very grateful for her and we want to just ask you guys to lift her up, to raise a word of praise with us to the Lord. And to help us pray because in the next days and weeks, we have a lot of decisions to make about where we go from here. We have a lot of big names that are now interested in her and we’re a little scared. We know that if God has called us, He has already equipped us, but we’re scared and a little overwhelmed. So help us pray for peace and clarity of mind and that every step we take will bring honor and glory to our God. Guys, we love you and we thank you so much for…
Hello Daily Audio Bible friends, this is Rico. I was sitting here, I didn’t know if I wanted to call and ask for prayers and I hesitated for about 5 minutes. And then I said “what could it hurt?” About a year ago, my mother was in the hospital. We thought she was going to die. She was just full of pain killers and just kind of had a pain killer existence. And I called the Daily Audio Bible prayer line for the first time and asked for prayers and right about the time that prayer - praise God – played here, that is about the time she had an upswing and her health started to improve. That was a long process, but I got to say that was about the time things started. So I just wanted to say that. Today I’m asking for prayer for two things: First, I’d like you guys to pray for all the suffering alcoholics, drug addicts, addicts of all sorts around the world. Every day I see God making changes in those people’s lives. And it’s very real. As a matter of fact at about noon today, I’m going to go hang around 75 of them, people who couldn’t have a sober day and now they live sober every day through the grace of God. Secondly, I’ve been looking for a job. I’d like you guys to pray for me and all of the other unemployed folks. And I don’t know what to ask for, maybe God finds the right job for me. This is a little exasperating. Don’t know what to do next, so I thought I’d ask for prayer in this area. Thank you.
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Tamarie 07/08/2015 23:53 |
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