Daily Transcripts

12/30/2015
Malachi 1:1-2:17 ~ Revelation 21:1-27 ~ Psalm 149:1-9 ~ Proverbs 31:10-24

Today is December 30th. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I'm Brian. It's great to be here with you today on New Year's Eve eve. I don’t know that that's really a thing, but it makes sense, right? It is that. So we can’t say that it's not that, because it is that even if it is not a thing. Make sense?

So welcome to the Daily Audio Bible and the last two days of the year of 2015. Man, the last two days of the 10th year of the Daily Audio Bible. That's crazy. That's crazy. So here we are, we’re reading from the New Life Version and we’re entering the final book that we will approach which is the last book, the 39th book of the Old Testament and we’ll read that, obviously, today and tomorrow. It's the book of Malachi.

Introduction of a New Book

Malachi is the final of the 12 minor prophets, this little grouping of shorter prophesies and prophetic words known as the minor prophets and it’s, like I said, the last book of the Old Testament. After this prophesy, after this it will be 400 years before God sends another prophet to the people and his name will be John the Baptist. So this is a 400-year span.

As with all the other prophets, God's central message is clear. It is the same core ask: Return to me. Come back. Come home. And that is coupled with the promise of restoration. In Malachi's case, he is also speaking to the priests who have simply begun to not take the law seriously. Things have become rote. They’ve become tired. For example, the law of Moses required that sacrifices to the Lord, they were to be pure. They were to be the best of the best. They were to be spotless. The priests had begun using blemished and blind animals. Throughout the culture men had begun treating the wives of their youth disrespectfully and then they still expected God to accept their sacrifices. And on and on it goes, just a slide, the slide of culture when religion becomes tired, when it becomes irrelevant, when there is no real presence in it.

We see this in our own time. We’ve seen this in all time, same story, different writer, different book. Of course, the parallels are striking. It doesn’t take a degree in theology to apply the circumstances to this culture or whatever culture we live in today. God isn’t pleased by our disobedience. He doesn’t love it when we disobey him, not because he's a tyrant or some crazy narcissist up in the sky. It's because he loves us and has offered some parameters that will lead to life and to step away from those parameters that will lead us to life will kill us. So he is not pleased by that. It's that he actually does know what is best for us. He actually does. He created us. He knows every cell, every hair on our head. He knows what's best and the truth is he is best for us in all circumstances.

So we conclude the Old Testament with an oracle of the Lord spoken through his servant Malachi which is essentially saying turn back to God.

Commentary

So here on New Year's Eve eve, second to the last day of the year, we have a challenge to the men in the book of Malachi. God is watching men leave their women, leave them behind, the wives of their youth, leave them behind and he is saying “I hate watching you do that.” “I hate that.” “Nothing good comes from that.” So be careful in your spirit and be one who can be trusted, that's what the Bible says.

And then we move into the book of Proverbs and we have the very famous Proverbs 31 woman, a challenge to women for what goodness looks like, the posture in all of that. You can read this and go, “well, I don’t spin cloth so I guess I'm not a good woman.” That's really not the point. If you take this in context and just read the posture, just the intuitiveness, the engaged person, the woman who is present and knows what is going on and isn’t just constantly back and forth and up and down and constantly spinning, then you can begin to apply what this looks like, what this feels like, what is available.

It is so interesting as we come down to it that there is this one parting shot in the scripture to men and woman both on the same day. The truth is for those of us who are married and move into the New Year weak or move into the New Year strong and it is going to dictate what the next year is going to look like in our relationships. I know there are many of you out there that are like, “gosh, if I could just have that. I'm waiting for that spouse. I'm waiting for him. I'm waiting for her.” Well, we have the scriptures here that show us the proper positioning, what that is supposed to look like, how we’re supposed to be now. When we’ve found that, when we’ve found that rhythm and we are living true, when we are living true, that is very attractive to other people who are true.

Prayer

So Father, we come to you here on this day thanking you once again for your Word, for the weightiness of it in our lives, for the way that it is constantly penetrating, that it is moving beyond words, it is moving beyond intellect, it is moving into our hearts, its moving into the level of our identities and speaking to us there. So we receive that. We invite your Holy Spirit to continue to do that. We need that. That transforms us. That changes us. It doesn’t just change us intellectually or by discipline. It changes us fundamentally from the inside out. It shifts and transforms our identities and everything flows out from this. So we need this. We can’t do this on our own. We aren’t capable of this kind of transformation in our strength. Only you are. We invite you because you have offered and we accept. We want to be continually changing and set apart as holy and changed into your likeness. So come Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus’ name, amen.

Announcements

Www.DailyAudioBible.com is the website. It's home base. It's where you find out what is going on around here. A couple of things: The More Gathering which is a gathering for women, a conference that we put on every year, April 7-10th this year, early registration ends tomorrow at midnight, so just a heads up. You can find out more about it at www.MoreGathering.com. In fact, you can find out everything you need to know about it at www.MoreGathering.com. So check it out. Get your friends together and take advantage of early registration.

Now, tomorrow is the last day of the year and when January 1st hits in the world, everything resets in the Daily Audio Bible. It is always a stressful day, let's put it that way, because there is an incredible amount of moving parts, amazing amount of servers, a lot of things that have to propagate, a lot of stuff has to happen on a lot of different platforms that talk to each other to make this all work. In the past it has just been when January 1st hits, everything from the previous year goes away. It's like we’re starting a new year. We’re going to try this year, because there is always the straggler and it is always just a problem, we’re going to go to the trouble of making trouble for ourselves and see if we can keep the last week of the year. But just be aware this week will still be there, should still be there in the New Year just for a week, but before that, it is just going to be gone. So download the stuff that you don’t have. If you don’t do that or you're still months behind and you're just kind of getting here, the entire year for 2015 will be in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. That will be January 1st and you can download all of 2015. All of the years of the Daily Audio Bible are in the Daily Audio Bible Shop, so just heads up.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible here in the year 2015 so that we can give you a charitable contribution receipt for the year 2015, then obviously the time is short because there is not much time left in 2015. If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at www.DailyAudioBible.com. There is a link in the upper right-hand corner of the home page. If you prefer, the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996, Spring Hill, TN 37174.

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

And that is it for today. I'm Brian. I love you. I’ll be here, waiting for you tomorrow.

Community Prayer Requests and Praise Reports

Good afternoon Daily Audio Bible. This is __________ One, Tina. I am calling. It's about 12:45 and I'm calling to say that I just got caught up with the podcast. Again, I wanted to say thank you to Brian and Jill for this wonderful community and all the callers. You bless me. I called the other day, but I got called off so __________, but I want to ask for prayer for my 14-year-old daughter, Sophia, who is struggling. __________ and I had no idea it was this bad. We lost my 19-year-old son, her brother, __________, on August 26th, 2014, and it really __________ her hard. Her faith is just not strong enough to carry her and I know I have to be strong in my faith and it is a prayer for all those others who have lost somebody close to them that they love and __________ others like them and help them to bear the journey. We know we will never be the same, but I know the Lord will help us develop a new normal. I just pray that God comforts every single family as a single community member and that they have a blessed Christmas and to remember the reason. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your sacrifice. Thank you, Lord God, for sending your own son that we can have eternity and that is our hope that we hold onto. I want to say Joe, the police officer, haven’t heard from you in a while. Simply miss you, brother. I know you were having issues with work and being a police officer __________ understand, especially in our families, what is going on at home.

Hi guys. This is Paula calling from Albuquerque. I hope that you all are doing well. Just listened to the podcast this morning and to the Christmas party and that was so encouraging. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Brian, Jill, and the rest of the team for doing that. Ezekiel, you are just too adorable. I always think about my grandson when I hear you. Prayer request, please, urgent. My son-in-law's grandmother, Joyce, is actively dying. They have chosen to take her off life support and I can’t remember if I called about this last week. She has been in intensive care for a little over a week. I would appreciate your prayers. I was able to pray with the family. Most of them are not saved. It is the Thomas family. I would really appreciate you all praying for them as well as grandpa who has severe dementia and it’s going to make things really bad for him. Also, I just want to touch on something that was on the Christmas party this morning. Rick from Massachusetts, I want to thank you for your message because that is something that I have been having to deal with after seeing my ex-husband and I need to always remind myself that Christ died for my sins and everyone else's too. So thank you again. Merry Christmas, all of you. I love you all. I’ll be back in touch. Have a blessed evening and a blessed Christmas.

Hi, this is Brian from New Jersey. I would like to pray for Joel who wants to know God's will and is going through a job decision that he needs to make right now. Actually, I'm in the same situation. I'm doing well in my current job, thanks to God, but there is an opportunity to do something that I like to do, but I'm afraid with a fear of change, a fear of __________, the fear of __________ controlling that. For Joel, I would like to pray to know God's will __________ and to have the courage and the strength to push through with it. Please pray also for our church __________. Please pray for Minneapolis __________, financial blessing and comfort for him and his family during this time, during this Christmastime. Lastly, I just ask for prayers that God is going to bless us with a child and hopefully the Holy Spirit __________. Thank you, DAB family. Thank you, Brian and all of your family. Merry Christmas to you and have a nice day. Bye-bye now.

Morning family, this is Marcus D. from Washington just calling in to say Merry Christmas and I am so grateful for this forum. I have been greatly blessed to listen to your praises and your requests to pray alongside of you. I just am grateful at what a gift that I have been given this year. I just want to praise God for all of you and the connection that we all feel together. I __________ for many people. I have never met you, but I feel a connection to you and that is the Holy Spirit. Just keep keeping on, folks, through the trials and through the blessings. Keep going. Don’t stop. Your testimony is so great for those that are lost. Your faith is strong. They see who you rely on. They see who you love. Let them see that and we can show the world the gift that God has given us through his son Jesus Christ. Celebrate that this year. Don’t be afraid to say Merry Christmas. Don’t be afraid to share the gospel. I love all of you and I am praying for you sometimes with tears when I hear your requests, other times with tears of joy with your praises. Thank you, Brian and Jill, for your sacrifice and dedication to keep this going and everybody else that supports it. God bless. Carry on.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible. This is Marie W. calling from Pleasanton, CA. It's been so long since I’ve been calling in and actually I stopped listening for a while but I started listening again this past week and as I heard Annette say from Oklahoma that she got revitalized just listening to the community prayers, that is the way I feel. I just feel the Spirit of the Lord in all of your calls and I am so blessed to hear your voices. I bless all of you in the name of Jesus. The reason for my call today is several things. My friend, __________, she is a Muslim cousin and her cancer came back and so many things have happened in her life this past year that when I saw her the other day I was drained even listening to her talk about her woes. I just pray that the Lord will just comfort her. Holy Spirit, that you’ll come up around her and comfort her and reach into her darkness and her mourning and her sadness and the cancer and the death of her mother, the death of her dog and having to move and to give up so many of her worldly possessions, Lord. I pray that you just reach in and just touch her and just give her peace that passes all understanding. Also I want you to know that my daughter, Elizabeth Joy, she has been in rehab for, I guess, 10 months now and she is looking forward to coming out. I pray for her total healing, that she comes to have a relationship with you, Lord. You're the only one that can help her now as she comes out into the world with her son Eli. And I pray for the rest of my family. Our family was just shook up, broken up and they still are. It seems to be such a sad, sad Christmas. We’re not together this year because of everything that has come up.

Hello dear family. This is Janice in Hot Springs, AR and I want to ask you all, will you please pray for me? I was just diagnosed with CRPS which is chronic regional pain syndrome and there is no cure and it is a painful, painful nerve disorder. I need to look up and learn how God wants me to walk this thing. Another thing about it is your voice goes, so anywho, I hope you can hear me. I just need some prayers for the journey that is ahead and no matter what it holds, I have peace. I love my God and I love all you and I have you guys and you are my strength too. So let's have a Merry Christmas and count the blessings, shall we? Okay guys, thanks. Bye.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. I love you all. I am a long time listener and second time caller. This is __________. I have a special request for myself. Pray that I am able to stand firm in my faith and that each day I get equipped with the full armor of the Lord so that I may take my stand for his __________. Merry Christmas to all the Daily Audio Bible family and may God bless you __________ this incoming year. May you be covered in your goings and comings, when you wake up and when you lay down. I hope that all of you be at the center of God's will and that he continues to touch you with the breath of life so that you may experience his magnificent opportunities and possibilities. I say possibilities because God is not the author of impossible. The Word itself says that “I am possible.” Therefore, saints, nourish your soul with his Word. _________. Let us stand with praise and give. God is with us. He really is. Thank you everyone. Thank you for praying for me. Thank you, Brian and Jill and your entire entourage for getting us today for fellowship, prayer, encouragement and connectivity in a social media format. May God bless each and every one of you. I love you all so much. This is real and the struggle is real, so pray for me, that I keep the full armor of the Lord each and every day. Thank you so much.

Hi family. This is __________ Mommy. I live in Oregon and I have not called before. In fact, I'm very new to Christ. Only since August. I'm calling requesting prayer. It's been a really difficult year. I have a special needs daughter who will be 3 next month and the complications and struggles with trying to meet her needs have been incredible. I have a chronic illness and I'm primarily responsible for her care because my husband, we’re in economic hardship and he has to live about two hours away. It's just been very difficult and not a very hopeful time. I'm so very grateful to this community and I'm so, so grateful for the program. I pray for all of you when I listen, but I would really like to ask for your prayer that peace and grace and hope and for my heart and that I can be patient because I know better things are coming but I'm just getting very, very tired. Thank you all so much. Blessings to you. Merry Christmas.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible family. This is Abbie calling from Maryland. It's been a minute since I called in, but the last time I called in earlier this year I had mentioned that I was expecting and I am getting close to my due date, three weeks away; however, due to complications of my health and high blood pressure, my doctors want to have me to have the baby earlier. I’ve been so scared because my blood pressure keeps going up and I also have gestational diabetes so sometimes my sugar gets low or gets high, but the most concern is the blood pressure and that is why the doctors want me to have this baby early. I’ve been so scared, but this morning after listening (today is the 23rd, by the way), I realized that when I'm scared I can pray. I can get on my knees and call on my God, my Father who answers prayer and I know that he can be there for me. So I covet your prayers and I ask that you keep me in your prayers over the next couple of days. I will be going in next week to deliver this baby. I __________ that you pray for me that all will be well and while I wait to go into the hospital, that everything will be okay with my health and all will be well and I’ll have this baby girl and I will call and testify that he is alive. So thank you so much. Compliments of the season to everyone. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and God bless you. This is Abbie from Maryland. Have a wonderful, wonderful holiday. Bye.

Tamarie 12/30/2015 11:39