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Daily Transcripts
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08/12/2015
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Nehemiah 3-15-5:13 ~ 1 Corinthians 7:25-40 ~ Psalm 32:1-11 ~ Proverbs 21:5-7
Today is the 12th of August. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It is wonderful to spend this series of moments together that we have over the next few minutes immersing ourselves in God, stepping away from everything and orienting ourselves, centering ourselves in His Word. We’re in this wonderful book of Nehemiah in the Old Testament. So from the New American Bible we’ll read today.
Commentary
So Nehemiah is so rich with an overlay onto our own lives. I love it when we reach the book of Nehemiah. I've come to love this book. It’s kind of like an obscure Old Testament book. It’s become one of my favorite stories.
And so we kind of recapped what we had read yesterday, getting us to this point and me saying 'just pay attention to this.' And so we see this wall being built after Nehemiah’s heart is moved in a land far away and he comes, and the wall begins to be rebuilt. And you can see the obvious metaphors in our own lives. When we have vision for something, we have passion for something. We feel led by God toward something.
So this wall is being rebuilt and we go through the list of names of all the people and where they're building so we can see that the wall is going up all at same time, all around the city. It’s all happening and it’s distractingly happening fast to the enemies of Israel. Like its actually going down, it’s not like they've been talking about this, it’s actually happening. So we have a lot of people very passionate about it, who are involved. And it is then when the enemies try the art of intimidation, right? First they come and ridicule the construction. They ridicule what’s happening here. They make fun of it, say it will fall down even if a fox attacked it. So the craftsmanship is under scrutiny in a very negative way to demoralize the people. And does this not happen? Is there not that whispering voice in our heads or the actual contempt of people around us when we're launching out into the deep?
But Nehemiah is able to keep the vision in front of him, the task at hand in front of those who are involved. He is able to remind them what they're doing and why they're doing it and the work continues on. And so, regrouping, the enemies decide they're going to have to do an out and out attack. Intimidation didn't work, so they're going to attack and try to destroy this movement to rebuild this wall around Jerusalem. But the people find out about it and so it’s interesting. They don't stop the work at all. It slows the work down to a degree. They don't stop at all. They simply divide up the forces, place guards in place and everyone that is working is ready to become, not a mason, but a soldier in an instant. And then they have guards, so it may slow the work down, but in advance, they prepare for an attack, they don't wait until an attack is upon them, which is a very, very important lesson in our own lives.
So often we feel as if we're being attacked out of nowhere, completely unprepared, being completely bowled over and we haven’t really examined the situations that are going on in our lives that would be susceptible to some sort of attack, whether spiritual or whether that we've just put ourselves in a position of risk in life. And so when something happens, we feel like we got bowled over and we're laying there looking face-up at the sky with our fists, blaming and our teeth gritted asking God why he allowed this to happen when he's looking back down lovingly, kindly saying, 'yeah, why did you let this happen? Walk with me. Talk with me. Examine with me. Struggle and wrestle through the issues of life together with me in relationship and we'll be prepared. Nothing will catch you off guard, you'll be prepared.’
The problem is that we move at a very blurry speed in life. We feel like we have to. We feel like we have to keep up. We feel like we have to move at a pace that is beyond us. And so a lot of our lives, we live in a risky position when maybe that's not really necessary. Maybe that actually isn't what we're called to. Maybe we do have space in our lives for shalom, the peace and order of God in all things, at all times, in all places. Maybe in slowing the world down and walking with God, we find out that we can get more done with less stress and that the things that threaten to stress us completely out, some of those things, they have been added onto our lives. They are not essential to life. And we begin to examine how many things are hanging off of us that we've obligated ourselves to do, that put us in a risky position in life that are not essential and we're waded down with them and we're an easy target.
Nehemiah has a single goal - get this wall built. It is the primary mission. Everything else is a secondary thing. This is the primary mission and so the work continues, prepared for attack. And then they find out that there's a subtle attack going on from within the community where people are using other people and it’s putting them in bondage. Even enslavement is happening. And so Nehemiah just calls it what it is. He just calls the people together, the ones that have been taking advantage of others. Calls them out before the Lord and invites them to simply repent, to simply change their mind about this, to simply change their posture of heart about this and keep the vision true. They are all exiles. They were all slaves. They have no business enslaving their brothers and sisters, whether in body or just in the issues of life. And they agree, which is where we leave them today.
Opposition comes, they are prepared for it. The work may have been slowed down for a season, but it hasn’t' come to a stop. The wall continues to be built. May we examine this, because it’s very close in our own stories, in one way or another. May we examine this and get an understanding of the way we are dealing with opposition and the assumptions that arise from the opposition and reframe God's role in all of this, as well as our active participation in relationship with him as we step forward.
Prayer:
And so that's what we ask for, Holy Spirit, that you would come and plant these truths into our lives and hearts, forcing us to examine with you, with the light of truth shining upon our lives, show us the places that we are living too thin, the places that we are living overcommitted, the places that put us at risk in our faith, in our lives, in our families, in our livelihood. Reveal the things that are nonessential to us. Show us how to extricate ourselves so that we're very clear in mission and purpose. Prepare us, God, for opposition. Show us what that looks like so that nothing is a surprise. Come, Holy Spirit, we pray, in the mighty and victorious name of Jesus, amen.
Announcements:
Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website, that's home base. Of course, that's where you find out what's going on around here. I got a couple of things – a little Global Bible Read update for you. So yeah, three, four weeks ago I kind of unrolled what we had been working on for a couple of years trying to invent something that hadn’t been invented before and how we were going to do this test, and so we did and it’s been amazing. But since everything is not built, we had to by hand go through all of those video submissions. And I did that and it took a long, long time, but it has been also beautiful for me to see your faces from all over the world. It’s been so moving to see your faces.
We needed to collect the book of John so that we can build the other half of this project, the one that displays all the verses as we continue to perfect the system. So the whole book of John got done; but in going through all the videos, we identified several, probably 40 verses out of all of it that just for one reason or another we couldn't use. It’s mainly an audio issue, just no way to salvage the audio (and I'm an audio engineer). And so lots of effort went in, but it kind of came down to some of these, there's just no way to get these intelligible. One thing we truly discovered is that mobile phones definitely, by far, have better audio. So anyway, we had to remove those from the system, which has made 40-ish verses back in the system and I’m inviting you again to dive in and let's grab those so that we have the entire book of John and an entire book to work with, which is what we needed to kind of do the rest of some of things that we had begun that we couldn’t without lots and lots of verses. So if you haven’t jumped in and got involved, go to Beta.GlobalBibleRead.com and contribute your verse. There are not a lot of verses left and you may want to check. Maybe one of your verses was one of those and you can check to see if that's available and move to a different device or something, because for some reason, however you did it didn't work. Let’s grab those so that we then have the entire book of John at our disposable behind the scenes as we continue to build this out.
It is everything that I dreamed and more and it’s the way that it’s so deeply engaging. And if you haven't kind of seen what this sort of looks like, you can go to www.vimeo.com/DailyAudioBible and you'll see that we have the first three chapters of John just in video form where you can kind of see how it flows and it’s quite remarkable. So jump in and help us get those remaining verses that we have had to put back into the system and make available. And I appreciate it a lot.
And the other thing that's on the radar for sure is Reframe. Reframe the book is coming. Reframe has been our word all year and we've been reframing all year, but Reframe the book is coming October 1st and is available for pre-order now. And I ask you to get that book for your own life and invite you to grab it for a friend or two, as well, and go through it together. It’s worth it, I promise. It’s worth it. It can reframe the way you're looking at everything. And it has done exactly that for me. And we have some things that if you pre-order, since it’s not coming until October 1st, some things you can have now: One of the films from the Reframe Film Series that we produced, a couple songs from Jill's forthcoming record which we're proud of, as well as the prologue and 1st chapter of Reframe to kind of get you started right now so that you’re not waiting that long. And I appreciate more than anything your support of Reframe. Www.ReframeBook.com.
If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if it’s a life-living community to you, then thank you for helping to keep it alive. There is a link on the home page in the upper right-hand corner of www.DailyAudioBible.com or, if you prefer, the mailing address P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.
And lastly, I’ll be bringing the Reframe message for the first time, even though the book isn’t out yet, this weekend the 15th and 16th, this Saturday and Sunday at the Penn Theatre in Plymouth, MI at the Heartbeat of Plymouth. So if you are in the area, love to meet, love it very much. Visit www.HeartbeatofPlymouth.com for more information.
If you have a prayer request or comment, (877) 942-4253 is the number to call.
And that's it for today. I'm Brian. I love you. I'll be waiting for you here, tomorrow.
Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports:
Hello Daily Audio Bible. This is Beth in the UK. I just want to say a big thank you to the lady who prayed for me. You don't know how much that meant to me. You prayed for whole lot other people and it meant a lot. There’s also a lady who called and shared her heart about depression very generally that made so much sense to me and just blessed me so much as well. I just want to say to the lady who called in, she wanted prayer because there was some unwanted attention from men at work and she got told it was her fault. I just want you to know that you are still in my heart and that I’m still praying for you. If she could call, we would like an update. I still need prayer, guys. I’m getting so much better. I’ve got lot a more perspective, but I’m going to remain homeless at the end of the month. I want to go to college, but at the moment I can’t afford it and I’ve got to make a decision by the end of this month again. And I’m basically can’t afford to work the job that I’m working at the moment because I don’t earn enough. So I’m looking for a job, a place to live, trying to a make a decision about college. So I’m really stressed out and I don't really know what to do. I’m really trying not to make decisions out of panic, but it’s getting harder and harder because I’m like fast approaching the deadline. So if you can pray for me, I would love it. Thank you so much, community. You have been just wonderful, such a blessing to me and I love you all. Bye.
Hello Daily Audio Family. Rick from Massachusetts. Listen to this. On Monday, August 3rd, after visiting my sister in Columbus, I was driving west on I-70 listening to the Daily Audio Prayer Requests, when Jim from Dayton came on. The next highway sign said Dayton next 4 exits. I said, ‘Wow, that's God, I need to pray for Jim.’ Here I was 800 miles from home, driving through Dayton when Jim from Dayton came on the DAB. Too cool! 2 Corinthians 1:4 says the God of all comfort, comforts us so we can comfort others. Jim, 12 years ago I went through a major depression and anxiety. That’s when I found God. I was a cynic and a skeptic because many bad things happened to me. If there was a God, I was mad as hell at him. But then in my search for God, I found 2 Timothy 1:7. It says God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind. Philippians 4:6 says be anxious for nothing. Pray about everything with thanksgiving and praise. Jim, bury yourself daily in God's Word and his promises. Spend time every day in praise. Know that he cares for you. He loves you unconditionally. We can't earn it, so just trust him and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 17:22 says a cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength. I've learned the Serenity Prayer and it changed my life. It goes (1) God, grant me the serenity to accept the thing I can't change; (2) the courage to change the things I can; and (3) the wisdom to know the difference. Three principles equals new life. Accepting what you can't change prevents those things from sapping your strength, as it says in Proverbs 17:22. So thank God, praise God, and worship Him. Amen.
Hey Daily Audio Bible, it’s Justin. This is my first time calling and I just wanted to thank Brian for reading the Bible to us for the entire year. And I would just like to pray for everyone who is in need of prayer. Okay, I gotta go. Goodbye.
Hi, this is Laura calling from Southern California. I'm calling for the lady who mentioned that her daughter has PTSD and is spiraling out of control. I just want to say that I’m praying for her and God has her and there's an acknowledgement of what happened to her that needs to be made known. So something happened in her past that harmed her and it is not a secret and it is not her fault and it is not her shame. It is to the shame of the person who has harmed her. And may the Lord God reach down and grab her with His righteous right hand. May she know the Good Shepherd who walks with her through the valley of the shadow of death and leads her to a place of peace and rest, a place where the enemy is put under her feet and her head is anointed with oil. May we walk with her. May she know that God has her in His power and by His Spirit. He's a gentle Shepherd and He does not leave His children. And so I pray peace over her, I pray comfort, I pray no judgment, and I pray lots of support, that the community of God would come around her and that she would have the space to heal, to speak freely about what's happened to her. And Lord, to know that she's validated and that she can re-engage in life in the way that you’ve intended her to. I pray this in name and the power of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen.
Hey guys, this is Alex from Florida. It’s August 6th and I've been trying to catch up with everything as far as the daily listening goes. I tried to look __________ due to delay here when it’s recorded and it’s actually being played and answers are being played. With that being said, I have been actually going to a different church last weekend and I really, really enjoyed it there. It really made me feel like being at home. It didn’t necessarily change any of my base beliefs, but I really enjoyed going there. And they had prayer week this week and pretty much so far I went every morning there for a few minutes before work. I really enjoyed it as well. So I guess things are moving in the right direction, you could say. My family did join the other church, but that's absolutely fine. We’ll see how we figure it out. My wife is fine with me going there, where I was going. It does interfere. It’s hard to go as a family to 2 different churches so as for now, they will probably be going to where they just joined and I will be going to mine and see how it all plays out in the end. I did also, I guess I didn't join the church, but I went up to the altar at the end when they ask you if you want to follow Christ or live a life with Christ, so I went up there and, you know, I agreed to that. It just felt right in the moment, but we'll see. I didn’t actually join the church after that. So…
Hello family, my name is Carly. I am a first time caller from Cincinnati, OH. I want to say thank you for this opportunity and thank you in advance for your prayers. I need prayers for my mother desperately. She's not healthy to begin with and abdominal surgery in April left her with a hole in her abdomen that will not heal. She has a wound vacuum connected to her for the 2nd time now. We thought it was coming out 2 weeks ago, but she had to get it back in due to infection. I just pray that you would all join me in praying for her for, first of all, her spirit. She's a beautiful, wonderful woman of faith, but she's having a hard time with this. If you could all pray for her to keep her spirits up and her faith and her trust in the Lord. And that we can please pray for our Heavenly Father to put his hands of healing over her whole body, because her whole body is ill, particularly her stomach right now and heal that wound. Thank you so much again for your prayers. Thank you, Brian, for the opportunity to have this prayer sent out for my mom. And I love you all. I consider you all my brothers and sisters. And I thank you again for your prayers and I will be praying for all of you. Thank you again and love you all. Bye-bye.
Hi all my Daily Audio Bible family, this is Denise N. from __________ and I’m going to choose to be called Grateful because I am so grateful to God for just giving me all that He has given me in the DAB family. Thank you, Brian and Jill, for taking on the call that God has given you and for doing such a wonderful job at being servants. I'm so grateful to you and to everyone that helps out the DAB to keep it up and running. All those people behind the scenes, thank you so much. Brian, I pre-ordered several copies of Reframe yesterday. And I’m so excited and anxious to get it. The video, the You Video was so beautiful and so reaffirming. Thank you so much for that. And Jill, your songs are gorgeous. They’re beautiful and I just can't wait to hear more. Those are wonderful free gifts you've given us. Thank you so much. Also Jill, I believe I heard that you are healed from your Bell's palsy and I'm just so thankful and grateful for that, too, for what the Lord has done for you and give him praise for that. I would like to say that I really feel like this Daily Audio Bible is a tapestry of koinonia and I feel like this tapestry of koinonia is just wrapped around the world, all of us that are in this family. It is so beautiful what God has created, and I just wanted to say thank you, Brian, so much. You have taken me to a new level in my walk with God and in my Bible reading. I listen to DAB every day, in the kitchen or in the garden…
Hi family. I'm calling with an urgent prayer request. My boyfriend, he's a radiation oncologist and he asked me to ask everybody, he has a patient and her name is Suzette A. She's been a cancer patient of his for a little while and she had to have one of her legs amputated due to the cancer. And now she came in for treatment and she was in a lot of pain. They were able to give her enough of a dose to get rid of her pain, but now in the stump of her leg, she's got another tumor that's growing. She has the entire department in tears practically. She is just a sweet, sweet, sweet woman. And I just ask for your prayers, family. I just ask for you to pray for Suzette A. She was in tears, her husband was in tears. She’s just really trying to be courageous and she's just really suffering. So family, I ask for your prayers. I ask you to lift up Suzette A. And if it is in God's will for him to take away this pain and take away this tumor and for her to be completely healed, I ask this in the name of Jesus, your precious Son. Thank you, family. Thank you so very, very much. God bless you all. This is Kim from California.
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Tamarie 08/13/2015 08:21 |
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