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dailyaudiobible · 5 years ago

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01/01/2020 DAB Transcript

Genesis 1:1-2:25, Matthew 1:1-2:12, Psalms 1:1-6, Proverbs 1:1-6

Today is January 1st welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian happy New Year everybody it's great to be here with you. Welcome aboard. We are about to set sail on a journey that will last a year. We will travel all the way around the sun, and as the earth travels all the way around the sun, we will make our way through the entire Bible and the Bible will invariably touch every aspect of our lives. So welcome, welcome aboard and for those of you returning for another year and another voyage, welcome back. I am so glad to take this journey again with you, it is beyond words. And for those of you who have found your way here somehow, whether somebody invited you or whether you just stumbled upon this, whatever the path you're here and in the coming days and weeks you will find out that that is that is meaningful. You are embarking on a journey that will in fact affect your life in a positive and profound way. That’s what the Bible does. So welcome, welcome, and happy new year and off we go. And every time that we begin a new journey, and this is the 15th journey through the Bible, so this is the first day of the 15th year the Daily Audio Bible. We have we been working our way through the Bible seven days a week for 14 complete years, seven days a week without stopping. So, this year will be no different, but this year will be very different because every year is very different. And I as we kind of settle into the rhythm that will take us through the year these first few days, we just kinda need to get acclimated to how this all works. So, I'll be sharing some different things each day for the next, I guess about, week until we get all those things covered and then we’ll be sailing smooth out into the deep beyond the shore. But today this is our launch day and we will launch at the beginning and the way that the Daily Audio Bible works is that we will read a portion of the Old Testament, a portion of the New Testament, a portion of Psalms and a bit of Proverbs every day as we take steps forward every day through the Scriptures. So, today is a rare day because we’re gonna be starting four different books - Genesis, Matthew, Psalms and Proverbs. And every time we encounter a new book we usually just take a step back, get a little context, understand what the story is, understand who the players are, who the voices are, what's going on, why it's being written - so that…so that we can put ourselves in the position of the early hearers of these writings and understand how they applied to their lives so that we can more adequately interpret how they apply to ours. So, we won't talk about all four of the books that we’re beginning today, we’ll take one at a time over the next couple of days and just get our bearings. And, so, let's begin at the beginning, which is the book of Genesis.

Introduction to the book of Genesis:

And the book of Genesis is famous because it contains the story of creation. And, so, often if you’ve never taken a journey through the Bible or read the book of Genesis before you think that's kind of what's in there. The…the very very early stories of early Earth, the early creation stories. But what's interesting but Genesis is that this book covers more time than any of the other books in the Bible, about 2500 years pass between the beginning and ending of the book of Genesis, which ironically is more time than the rest of the Old Testament combined. So, there's a lot more to Genesis than the story of creation. Like, the first 11 chapters of Genesis will cover a couple thousand years and a couple thousand miles before…before slowing down the warp pace and then beginning to focus on several specific generations of people who we need to know and we actually need to know well because they and their ancestors shape the rest of the Bible and continue to influence our world all the way till today. And Genesis is also a part of a group of writings, a larger group of books that…that encompass the first five books of the Bible which are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And it’ll take us a minute to come carve our way through all those books, but this grouping is called the Torah or the Pentateuch. And we’ll discuss that more as we continue our journey forward through the next days and weeks in front of us. But we’re at the beginning so let's…let's go. We’re reading from the New Living Translation for the remainder of this week. And today, Genesis chapter 1 and chapter 2.

Commentary:

Okay. So, as you can see, we have begun our journey in the book of Genesis, and we talked about what the book of Genesis was going to tell us. But man, even in today's reading alone there's so much for us because we have a baseline now, we have an origin story. We are told that we are intentionally here, God created us in His image and allowed us to be here as His children upon this planet. And we have a rare view, actually a very, very rare view that can pretty much only be found here in the first pages of the Bible and that is a look into how things were supposed to be, like how this was supposed to go. Genesis has given us a little peek into a time when things were perfect, a time when things were as they were meant to be, a time that things and every life was whole. And obviously, you know, we don’t need to look too far to understand that there is brokenness everywhere, including inside of ourselves at the moment and that we can't look at the world and go, “oh, its as it should be, its whole.” So, this little view in the book of Genesis, at least gives us a glimpse into when things were as they were supposed to be. And this is what our hearts are souls deepest longing is after - wholeness, completeness. There’s a word, a Hebrew word that kinda seeks to…to say this and it’s a popular word, shalom. I mean, if you’re living in Israel and say shalom, that's a way of saying hello or a lot of times it's interpreted, peace, like peacefulness. But it's like the deepest origins. The deepest meaning here is, wholeness, completeness and the Bible has given us a picture of what that looks like. And it should call out to the deep places inside of us because we are longing for this. Like, we spend the majority of our lives trying to make arrangements for ourselves to feel, at least, to feel whole. So, like, we’ll rearrange all the furniture in our lives, we’ll get rid of people, we’ll bring people in, like we’ll change jobs, this that and the other, all in an attempt to make things more comfortable and better and more whole, at least in our view. And yet, we have to acknowledge there's a God view of what wholeness looks like and it's a bit different then what we think it looks like. And the Bible will do a really good job over the course of this year, poking and prodding and challenging and questioning and giving us continual opportunities to consider the path that we’re on because the Bible continually will bring us to a fork in the road. We will encounter so many forks in the road, I don't even know how many there are. Just continually, we will come to a fork in the road where we are given an illuminated path to destruction and an illuminated path to life and then we get to choose which path we’re going to walk on. And, so, right here on day one, we gotta get in our minds that what we do matters. And we will explore that a bit more tomorrow.

And then as we began the New Testament today, and we’ll talk about Matthew tomorrow as we get into tomorrow's reading, but we can see now that we read the genealogies of Jesus. And its funny. Genealogies are like notoriously like glaze your…your eyes glaze over, your mind checks out, “what are all these names in the Bible about?” And we will certainly be talking about that as we go further, but these names are all people we’re gonna meet along the way. Many of them were kings of Israel and we will meet them when we get to the books of Kings, but Matthew is trying to establish Jesus genealogy for…for reasons, and we will see this as we go forward because the book of Matthew, the mission of this gospel is to show how Jesus fulfills prophecies that had long been foretold but I don’t want to jump ahead of ourselves. We’ll talk about that some more tomorrow.

We also began the book of Psalms today. And how's this for day one, in terms of advice for life. “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or stand around with sinners or join in with mockers, but instead they delight in the law of the Lord meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit in each season leaves will never wither, and they will prosper in all they do.” You see the forks in the road that I’m talking about. There’s one right there. You can follow the path to destruction by following the advice of the wicked and hanging around with sinners and joining in with mockers or you can follow a path that will allow you to prosper in all that you do. And that path would be delighting in the law of the Lord and meditating on it day and night. And become like a tree that's planted by a riverbank, right? The water source is right there. And, so, your bearing fruit and your leaves don't wither, and you prosper. It's right there, and it's worth just spending some time today silently or in prayer just asking, “God help me see these paths, help me know the way to walk, help me to delight in you, help me to be like a tree planted along the riverbank, that's…that's what I'm looking for, wholeness, fullness. So, there’s some things to think about there.

And Proverbs will, on a regular basis, give us like one sentence that says volumes if we will slow down and think about it. And we will talk about that some more as we move forward.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for allowing us to cross the threshold into a brand-new year and beyond that into a brand-new decade. This really is a fresh new starting point and everything that flows from here is going to be borne out by the choices that we make. And here at the beginning of this decade we are inviting Your Holy Spirit to come and lead us into all truth. This is what the Scriptures say You will do. We are told of a narrow path that leads to life, and few find that path. And we, Lord…Lord, we want to be one of them and we will never find it on our own. We were never meant to find it on our own. And, so, come Holy Spirit, be a light to our feet, a lamp to our path leading us a day by day forward in the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website and that is home base and that is where you find out what's going on around here.

And that is something that you'll hear me say just about every day because…because we are a community and we are wrapped all around the world and there are tens of thousands of us here. We actually kinda get to know each other and a feel connected in spirit as we go forward, but we’re still…were still wrapped all over the world in every conceivable time zone. And, so, dailyaudiobible.com is this portal, it’s like home base for a virtual community like this. This is where you find out what’s going on around here. So, check that out. I'll…I’ll talk about different aspects of it as we can move into the into the decade together, but that's a good jumping off point for today. That's a good thing to get familiar with and find out what’s going on there, but mostly I just want to talk about beginnings, new beginnings.

Yeah, this is the beginning of year, 15 but this is a new beginning for me. And you may have been here for the last decade or the last year. This is a new beginning for you. And you may have stumbled here today by accident or maybe just the last week, couple weeks, been thinking a little bit more deeply about your interior life. You know, your spirituality, what's actually going on inside of you because what's going on outside of you can be chaotic and…and…and confusing. And, so, when you’re confused inside and you’re confused outside then pretty much confused and that can lead into all kinds of really, really challenging and dark places. I don't know how you got here. You may have got here because you jumped off the ship yesterday and re-boarded for a new year or you may have just accidentally come here today. I just…it doesn't matter how we got here, we’re here right now and this is the first day of a new decade and the next 10 years can be profoundly different than the last ten if we’ll want them to, if we’re willing to allow God's word to unpack us instead of us trying to unpack it. You may be listening today thinking, “oh my gosh, I cannot believe I’m going to listen to something religious. Like I…I can't. I don't like those kinds of people and I'm not so sure about their Jesus. I don't know. I think…I think what I'd like to say to you…I think what I'd like to say to everybody is, don't believe everything you've been told. We’re going to go through the Bible. We’re going to read every word of it together and we’re going to talk about it and at the end of this we’re gonna know what the Bible says and we will have wrestled through whatever we need to wrestle through, but my own faith journey is one in which I realized one day, “I don't…I have been professing my faith for a long time. I'm not sure I know God, because everything that I've ever been told about God is something somebody else told me.” And that is what brought me to the Bible all these years ago. I thought, “I’m…I'm…I’m searching…I'm searching for God and yet I'm…I've never read this book called the Bible that apparently my entire future hinges upon. I…I just know the famous verses that everybody quotes. I don't know why they were said. I have no idea what's going on in that book. All I know is every time I've ever tried to get into the book it's like, “what is going on?” And I just didn't understand but I decided I’m gonna read this book with an open heart and open mind and I'm in read this book as if God will speak to me. And if I read this whole book, and He doesn't speak to me, and there is no God, and there is nothing out there, then I read one of the most famous books in the world. Everybody should read it. But that’s not happened. What I found is that God created us in His image and never intended to be separated from us, and in no way desires any kind of separation from us and we will see the lengths He's willing to go to. And, obviously, you can go, “well, you’re just pointing to the cross, blah, blah, blah. That’s obvious.” Oh, you’re gonna see a lot more ways that God is incredibly intentional about staying connected. The reason we have a Bible, is because God was unwilling to be left out of our story. The Bible isn't the biography of God. If you take people out of the Bible there is no Bible. This is the story of God with us. So, it really doesn't matter how you got here. You are here and everything after this is what matters. 365 days from today we will be beginning a new year. What your life looks like when you begin that new year, 365 days from now is going to be made up of the choices and decisions that you make. The Bible can really, really help with that. So, I…I welcome you. I am thrilled to take this journey together. I am thrilled that you are here no matter who you are, no matter where you are, no matter what time it is, no matter what's going on, no matter how it is that you got here. This is a new day. This is a new year. This is a new decade. Let’s live into this with all of our hearts.

Song:

Cold - Leslie Odom Jr.

You lost yourself on empty promises Broken on the way All you've ever known are dishonest men Who don't ever change

So you're keeping all your secrets By you wrapped up tight You're who I believe in So why say goodnight?

Don't listen to all you've been told You can come in from the cold And you know the safest place to be Is right here next to me Won't you come in from the cold?

Wanna help you ease the feeling Weighing on your mind You're looking for a reason Running out of time

You're keeping all your secrets By you wrapped up tight You're who I believe in So why say goodnight?

Don't listen to all you've been told You can come in from the cold And you know the safest place to be Is right here next to me Won't you come in from the cold?

I know your heart's telling you, "Run now" Run so far away (Run so far away) The self is trying to reach out (Trying to reach out) Shine a light into the grey (Light into the grey) I know how hard it is to take a chance when it calls your name So I pray (I pray, Oh I pray, I pray) I pray

Don't listen to all you've been told You can come in from the cold And you know the safest place to be Is right here next to me

Won't you come in from the cold? Won't you come in from the cold? Won't you come in from the cold?

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kingdomstroops · 5 years ago

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Understanding The Bible, It's Reliability And It's History

Understanding the Bible

For a believer, nothing is more important than understanding the Bible. It tells us about God, ourselves, the universe, and how to live life. It teaches us the greatest problem facing humanity (sin and separation from God) and the only solution (Jesus). As a child you accepted what adults told you, assuming it to be true. After all, adults know everything, right? If you grew up in a Christian family, authority figures taught you that the Bible is God’s Word and that you can trust it. Questions with Understanding the Bible However, as you grew older, you realized that you (an adult), didn’t know everything, which meant that your authorities didn’t know everything. In fact, you likely started wondering… Is the Bible even true? How long has it been the Bible? Did it become the Bible after the last book was written, or was it the Bible all along? Out of all the literary works from that time period, how can I be sure we have the right books in the Bible? Is it really a book from God or just another man-made religious book? What about all the mistakes people find in it? If you’ve thought these questions, or ones similar to them, good for you. When you allow doubts to challenge your faith, it helps you prove whether or not your faith is genuine. Don’t be afraid that you have these questions. It’s what you do with them that counts—do you bury them in fear, or do you face them and look for help? Let’s turn now to some of the most common (and important) questions about understanding the Bible.Question 1: How Did the Bible Become the Bible? By God’s design and under His direction, His people the Israelites began compiling works of Scripture thousands of years ago (for two examples, see Deuteronomy 31:26 and Hebrews 9:4). Fast forward, and the early church fathers (as far back as 300 AD!) continued the task. To be clear, these people didn’t decide which books would be Scripture. Instead, they determined which books God had inspired and then compiled those into the canon. (“Canon” is just a fancy word for the books accepted as biblical).Question 2: How Do We Know the Right Books are in the Bible? Early church fathers used several tests to determine which books God had inspired. The first was to look at internal proofs. For example, many passages speak about God preserving His Word. For example, Psalm 119 says, Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven ~ Psalm 119:89 God values His Word too much to allow humans to mess it up. If we believe He is in control, we must also acknowledge that He guided our forefathers as they compiled the Bible. Additionally, certain biblical authors actually talk about other books and call them Scripture. Peter, speaking of Paul’s writings, says, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. ~ 2 Peter 3:16 “So, you’re saying that to find out if it’s God’s Word, you look at what it says? And since the Bible says it’s God’s Word, that proves that it is? Isn’t that circular reasoning?” In reality, all worldviews come back to presuppositions, faith, and circular reasoning. Christians believe in the integrity of God's word when understanding the Bible—innocent until proven guilty. They believe God created the world because the Bible says so. Evolutionists, because they don’t believe God exists (or if He does, He’s not very involved), champion the theory of evolution. Their presupposition is “no God,” so their conclusion is evolution. The truth is that no one was there at the beginning of time, so we all have to choose to believe in something. The second type of test for canonicity is external proofs. Even over the last few decades, archaeological discoveries match biblical stories and genealogies. For instance, many believed the story of David and Goliath to be fictitious until an incredible discovery. Archaeologists found pottery with the name “Goliath” inscribed in it. The time period and location of this artifact matched up perfectly with the biblical account. This is just one example of thousands! One of the most astounding discoveries in this realm is the Dead Sea Scrolls. In 1947, an unsuspecting shepherd threw a stone into some caves and heard the sound of shattering pottery. When he investigated further, he saw old scrolls rolled up inside pots. He brought them to a dealer to be appraised. They were passed from hand to hand as archaeologists and scholars began to realize their worth. Despite being a couple thousand years old, they matched up with almost the entirety of the modern Bible. Finally, early church fathers analyzed the authority, uniqueness, and universal acceptance of books in order to determine whether or not they were of divine origin. Certain books, like the Apocrypha, failed these tests. While they were historical, they did not carry the same biblical authority, unique attributes, and international acceptance as the books that are now in the Bible. In addition, they contradicted books that God had clearly inspired.Question 3: How Do We Know It’s Not Just Another Book of Religion? One of the most incredible facts about the Bible is its internal unity. Despite its multiple authors across many centuries, it remains consistent to one storyline without contradicting itself. This points to God’s sovereign hand preserving His Word over thousands of years. Another reason the Bible is different from any other book is its transformative power throughout history. By it lives permanently change, fighting ceases, and kingdoms crumble. No other book can honestly boast such importance. Additionally, we see many biblical prophecies clearly fulfilled. The Messiah, Jesus, came born of a virgin (predicted in Isaiah 7:14; fulfilled in Luke 1:34). Cyrus, predicted hundreds of years earlier in Isaiah 45, unwittingly did exactly what God had promised (see 2 Chronicles 36:22-23). By the way, if you’re skeptical, remember that scholars and archaeologists have found external proof that Isaiah was written long before 2 Chronicles (click here for a list of dates).Question 4: What About All the Errors? Despite the Bible claiming that it is error-free (John 10:35), people still find what they believe to be errors in the Bible. While almost none of these affect any major doctrines, they are still important to look at. For instance, what do we do about the discrepancy between Numbers 25:9 and 1 Corinthians 10:8? One says that God killed 24,000 people, but the other says that 23,000 died. It does look like an error, doesn’t it? This could easily be an instance of rounding to the nearest thousand or describing how many died total versus how many died in one day. However, many other minor discrepancies like this occur in the Bible translations. What’s important to understand is that, while God inspired the original text of Scripture, not every copy of the Bible is inspired. Humans copied the text, and humans make mistakes. Another example of a potential problem in understanding the Bible is when it says that God repented or regretted making humanity before He sent the flood (Genesis 6:6). “If God is sovereign and never makes mistakes, how can He regret something?” many people ask. From man’s perspective, God sometimes appears to repent, because His disposition toward a person changes when that person disobeys. Because of the progression of the English language, the choice of the word “repent” in the King James Version could lead people today to believe that God repents in the way humans do (as if He had done something wrong). However, He is probably just using a term that we would understand, since we can’t fathom all the ways of an infinite, all-knowing God. We could tackle many different supposed errors and contradictions in Scripture, but we do not have the time or the space here. However, a serious student of the Scriptures will be able to respond to criticisms against the Bible with intelligence and confidence. While alleged discrepancies often shake a believer’s faith in the inerrancy and inspiration of God’s Word, they should actually engender the opposite mentality. If you just dig a little deeper into the original text, the historical background, and other passages of Scripture, you will come to the realization that God’s Word that spans the centuries is truly like no other book in its harmony, beauty, accuracy, and penetration. Most of the criticisms against it arise out of subjective, biased twisting of Scripture’s plain meaning.Question 5: Can I Understand A Book As Complex As the Bible? Thankfully, many helpful study tools exist for you as you study God’s Word. You don’t have to know Hebrew or Greek to understand it. Other believers have done deep study and compiled their findings in books and articles that are easy to digest. If you’re unsure of what theologians to read, ask your pastor or Christian friend who their favorites are. In conclusion, your quest to understand God’s Word will be lifelong. Thankfully, He doesn’t expect you to have all the answers. If you are a believer, you have the Holy Spirit who will guide you as you try to understand the Bible (1 Corinthians 2:15). Even if you’re not a believer, you can pray for God’s help to understand. He loves to answer humble prayers! But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. ~ James 1:5-6 Go learn Everything You Need To Know About The Word Of God. Read the full article

#godsword #everlasting #praisethelord

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fear-god-shun-evil · 6 years ago

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What Kind of Book Is the Bible? Who Wrote the Bible?

The Bible is a record of God’s work.

The Bible alone is the canon of Christianity. Nothing but the Bible is Christianity’s canon. It is composed of the Old Testament and the New Testament. It mainly records the two previous stages of God’s work: One is the work Jehovah God did in the Age of Law and the other is the work the Lord Jesus did in the Age of Grace.

The Old Testament records God’s work in the Age of Law. From Genesis to the Book of Malachi, it is a record of the work Jehovah God did during the Age of Law. In the Old Testament age, God did two pieces of work: One was the work of creating the world. God created the heavens and earth and all things with His words. As soon as He speaks, His words become reality, that is, His words are accompanied by their fulfillments. From these records, we can know that God is the Ruler of all things and that it is completely because of God’s deeds that we can live in such a wonderful world. The other is the work of God issuing the law to guide people’s lives. People of that age did not know how to live a life, so Jehovah God issued laws and commandments through Moses to lead them. With the law leading them, people knew what sins were and how to observe the commandments, how to worship God, and so on. And thus they began to lead a life under the guidance of God.

The New Testament records God’s work in the Age of Grace. The Lord Jesus became flesh and came among man, brought the gospel of the kingdom of heaven, and preached the way of repentance. If we accept His work and confess our sins to Him and repent, then our sins will be forgiven and we’ll be spared from being put to death for violating the law. During the time He worked, He also performed many miracles—calming the wind and the sea, feeding five thousand with five loaves of bread and two fish, raising the dead, and so on, thereby bringing people rich and abundant grace. His work is mainly recorded in the Four Gospels and through reading them, we can recognize His identity as the Christ, the incarnate God. Through the fact He was nailed to the cross to redeem us, we can understand God’s merciful and compassionate disposition and that God’s love for us humans is real.

Additionally, Revelation in the Bible prophesied God’s work in the last days. It says: “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the middle of the paradise of God” (Revelation 2:7). “Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come” (Revelation 14:7). From these two verses, we can see that when the Lord returns, He will speak words and perform a stage of judgment work. Only by accepting His judgment work in the last days can we have the chance to obtain God’s salvation of the last days and be raptured into the kingdom of heaven.

Through reading the Bible, we are able to understand God’s previous work, and have some true knowledge of God’s almightiness and sovereignty, wondrous deeds, His love for us humankind, as well as His will of saving us. Thereupon, we are able to thank God from our hearts and are willing to follow and love Him. The Bible is indeed a medium by which we know God.

The Bible doesn’t only contain the word of God but also others.

In the Bible, there are the words of Jehovah God and the Lord Jesus, and apart from these, there are also the prophecies of prophets and the experiences and knowledge of the people used by God. God’s words are precise and faultless, and are truth, but man’s words are unavoidably mixed with human intentions or contain errors. For example, the disciple Matthew gave the Lord Jesus a genealogy, saying that He is a descendant of Abraham, the son of David, and the son of Joseph (See Matthew 1:1-16), but the Lord Jesus did not say that He was the son of David (See Matthew 22:41-45). The Lord Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and is the incarnate God, so how could He have a genealogy? For another example, the record of Peter’s three denials of the Lord in the Gospel of Matthew is different from that in the Gospel of Mark (See Matthew 26:75; Mark 14:72). Moreover, the Bible also includes the words spoken by the serpent when it enticed Eve, the words of Satan and the words that the ass spoke to Balaam. Therefore, we should have a pure understanding of the Bible. We should not treat all the words in the Bible as God’s words, or we will go astray.

The Bible was written by men.

The Bible is authored by over forty people, including prophets, apostles, disciples, and other people. Within the Bible, only the words of Jehovah God and the Lord Jesus, as well as the words spoken by prophets as directly inspired by God, are truly God’s words. The rest is mostly historical records and the experiences and knowledge of men. Take the Four New Testament Gospels for example. Parts of them were written after the authors listened to the Lord Jesus’ preaching; some parts were written based on what was preached by preachers and the authors’ personal investigations, not from the direct inspiration of God (See Luke 1:1-2). So we can see that the author of the Bible is men, not God.

Conclusion

From what we’ve fellowshiped about above, we can see: The Bible is a record of God’s work in the past. It is not entirely God’s words but also contains man’s words. The author of the Bible is men, not God. So we should treat it correctly and should not treat it as if it were God.

#Bible #Lord Jesus #Jehovah #God's words #the kingdom of heaven

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comebeforegod · 6 years ago

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What Is the Bible? How Should We View the Bible?

By Lianxin, United States

The Bible is a record of God’s work.

The Bible doesn’t only contain the word of God but also others.

The Bible was written by men.

Conclusion

#Jehovah #God’s word #the last days #the gospel

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love-god-forever · 6 years ago

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3 Bible Facts Allow You to Know the Essence of the Bible

By Lianxin, United States

The Bible is a record of God’s work.

The Bible doesn’t only contain the word of God but also others.

The Bible was written by men.

Conclusion

#The Bible #Lord Jesus #kingdom of heaven #raptured #Jehovah

0 notes

dailyaudiobible · 7 years ago

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01/02/2018 DAB Transcript

Genesis 3:1-4:26, Matthew 2:13-3:6, Psalms 2:1-12, Proverbs 1:7-9

Today is the 2nd day of January. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it's great to be here with you for the 2nd step of 365 as we make our way into and through the Scriptures this year. So, we set sail yesterday and have just left the harbor, as it were, on our voyage this year, and what an adventure it will be. So, yesterday we began the book of Genesis, and the book of Matthew, and the book of Psalms, and the book of Proverbs, which is the trajectory we will take this year - a bit from the Old Testament, a reading from the New Testament, a bit of Psalms, and a bit of Proverbs, each and every day. So, we talked about Genesis yesterday as we began, and today, when we get to the New Testament, we'll talk about the book of Matthew. And at the end, I'll talk a little bit about Daily Audio Bible and the community that we share here and some good things to know as we get out into the open seas on this grand adventure. And by the time we've finished a week together we’ll all be on the same page. But the primary thing that we do here is to read from God's word. And, so, we’re reading from the New International version this week, Genesis chapter 3 and chapter 4.

Matthew:

Okay. So, I mentioned that we began the book of Matthew yesterday, obviously, and we read from it - the genealogies of Jesus and of Jesus birth. So, let's get our bearings with the book of Matthew. Like the book of Genesis, the book of Matthew is also a part of a grouping of books known as the Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. And each of them give us an account of Christ's life, who is our Savior, but they were written at different times and by different people to different audiences for different reasons. So, understanding the back story a little bit helps us get some facets and nuances that we might completely miss. So, most Scholars would place Matthew as the second of the Gospels written with Mark being the first and Matthew coming maybe a decade or a little more after Mark. Matthew, the person this gospel was attributed to was one of the 12 apostles, or disciples of Jesus, and he was a tax collector in his former life. So, he wasn't the most liked person socially, but when Jesus called him, he left everything. So, from that perspective, this is a man who gave up a life that he knew and that was definitely providing for his needs and making him wealthy in exchange for a great leap of faith to follow a man that he came to believe was the son of God. And the book of Matthew was written for Jewish people. And that's kind of an important thing to understand. Jesus was a Jewish person and His ministry was primarily to Jewish people. So, that was the context for His ministry. And after His death and resurrection, the apostle Paul came onto the scene. And we haven’t met the apostle Paul yet, but we will, and you've probably heard of the apostle Paul. It was Paul who began to unpack the fact that God was drawing all people back to himself through Jesus and the work of Christ wasn't just an ethnic thing. The reason that that became so influential is that some of the letters of the apostle Paul are the earliest Christian writings that we have. So, Matthew, the gospel of Matthew, is a bit younger than the gospel of Mark, and the gospel of Mark is a bit younger than some of Paul's writing, some of Paul's letters. In other words, the New Testament isn't laid out in chronological fashion. That was never the point. Which brings us to another point that we have to pay attention to as we move through the New Testament. These writers weren't trying to compose books of history. Rather, they were trying to impart truths to specific people that they were writing to. And Matthew was writing to Jewish people, especially Jewish believers in Jesus. And we know this because of the Jewish nature of the book. For example, the gospel of Matthew quotes the Old Testament more than any of the other Gospels do. And the intent was to show how Jesus was the fulfillment of the Old Testament Mosaic Law and the fulfillment of many Old Testament prophecies, which we’ll see constantly. So, we’ll be reading along in Matthew and it’ll be like, ‘Jesus did this to fulfill this particular prophecy’. We'll see that over and over. And we have to remember, at the time of the writing of the gospel of Matthew there was no New Testament. It hadn't all been written yet and it wasn't collected together until much later. So, what the Jewish people did have was the law and the prophets. So, Matthew is using the Scriptures of the time to reveal why Jesus is the Messiah. And of course, we’ll get to know Jesus pretty well in the book of Matthew. We’ll get to understand a bit of His style and personality. There are over 20 parables that we’ll encounter. Jesus uses symbolic picture stories that are rich and have deep meaning and He uses His words to craft a sense of feeling and emotion that's beyond just words and it's quite striking and quite beautiful. But Jesus often uses stories and figurative language. And if there's one thing that comes out of all this as we move through the book of Matthew it is that we begin to hear the first rumblings of the kingdom of heaven that is coming, and that is near, it is now, and Jesus is the King. And, so, with that, we’ll pick up where we left off yesterday, Matthew chapter 2 verse 13 through 3 verse 6.

Commentary:

Okay. So, let's go back to the book of Genesis, just for a second because, really, we encountered one of the saddest stories in all of history in the book of Genesis chapter 3 today. And this story is known as the fall of man. We had the briefest glimpses into a world that was perfect and then we saw what happened. God had given His children made in His image the earth to flourish upon and had given everything in it to them. He simply asked them to abstain from one thing, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were not to eat from that. But they were deceived. And we’ll find, as we read through the Bible and get ourselves all the way to the last books of the Bible, that deception is the primary tool that the evil one, and the forces of evil use in this world. Deception is what gave dominion to the evil one, but we also learn some remarkable things about God and His heart toward those He has made in His likeness. Adam and Eve were allowed to make a choice and their choice was allowed to matter. And we might wonder about that tree in the middle of the garden. What's the point of that? Why even have that? Why give them the choice? But love and relationship are funny things, because they cannot be forced. No one can force you to love someone else. They may have some power and control over you and maybe even severe enough to make you pretend, or fake act that you love them, but no one can make you give your heart to someone else. Love isn't love if there's no way out. If there's no way out you are enslaved. Adam and Eve made a choice. The choice mattered. And we’re going to meet a lot of people as we travel through the Bible and they will be making choices and those choices will matter. And God will be there in the midst of it all, simply calling out to his people, come back to me, return to me. And we’ll see this over and over because He's still doing it today.

And then we get into the book of Matthew and we've already talked about that, but after we talked about it we could clearly see, Jesus is, like, fulfilling some kind of prophecy, practically every time he turns around, which makes Matthew a great beginning to the New Testament because it bridges the gap. We end the Old Testament and start with the book of Matthew and all these references back to the Old Testament are building a bridge, telling a story of how Jesus is the next chapter in the story of God and man. And this will continue to unfold as we continue in the book of Matthew.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for another day, day 2. We thank You for Your kindness. We thank You for Your patience with us, Your long-suffering towards us. And we pray that you see our hearts turning toward You, that we are running toward You with arms open wide, knowing that Your arms are open wide to us. And we invite Holy Spirit to continue to speak to us through Your word. Come, Jesus. We pray in Your name. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, its where you find out what's going on around here. So, a couple of things to talk about.

Let’s just talk about the website. The website is a portal. It is where you find out what's going on around here. I mention it quite a bit because the events calendar is there. Resources are there. The Prayer Wall is there and there are people praying upon that wall all of the time. So, if you're carrying some burdens, you can post them there, and people are praying all of the time. So, just checking out the Daily Audio Bible website and spending some time there will familiarize you with what it is that we do as a community here.

While you're at the website you'll see that there is a web player that plays the Daily Audio Bible every day and allows you to read along and Journal along if you like. And you'll also see the links to the Daily Audio Bible app, which does the same thing, just in app form. So, just getting familiar with the tools will help you get the most out of the journey that we’re on together this year. So, check that out.

While you're at dailyaudiobible.com you’ll see at the top, a Community tab, and in there you’ll see the Prayer Wall, that's where the Prayer Wall is, but you also see Social Media and that will give you all of the connections to where we are on social media. And that is a great thing to follow because then you'll kind of find out what's going on as it's going on. And you’ll find groups there where discussion is continually happening in and among the Daily Audio Bible communities. So, check that out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. We’re a community, and what we've done over the…well…this is into year 13 now…what we've done for all of these years we've done together. In fact, this couldn't be happening if we didn't do this together. So, thank you for your partnership in this new year. As I said, there's a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you're using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, 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. But that's not the only number you can dial. We have a couple of lines in different places in the world. If you are in the UK or Europe you can call 44-20-3608-8078 and if you are in Australia or the lands down under, you can dial 61-3-8820-5459.

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

Community Prayer and Praise:

Good morning family. This is Cherry Chase Cherry Pie. I hope everybody’s holiday is going well. Today is Friday, I think it’s the 29th. So, I’m calling…I just heard a caller today. I didn’t get her name but she’s a new caller but she has three sons, she’s praying for two, they are prodigal sons. One just really touched me, I believe Grant, she said, now he’s atheist. I called to tell you, rest assure honey, he will turn back around. My daughter kind of did the same thing. She didn’t say she was atheist but she did say she was worshiping the stars and the moon. As long as you know you know Jesus and continue to show your light, he will come around. I think when they get to a certain age they go through this change we’re they are trying to figure out life their self. But I want to tell you that I am praying for Grant. And I’m telling you to hold on. Just be still and hold on and let God do the work and both of your kids will come back around. I love you sister and just knowing that not only I’m praying for you but you’ve got thousands of other people praying for you as well. You guys have a great wonderful and a marvelous day and have a happy New Year. And Brian and Jill, thank you so much for all that you do for us. You guys have a great day and have a Happy New Year. Love you guys.

Hi DAB family. This is Marilyn in Houston. I would really appreciate your prayers. I have four vertebrae or four ribs __ that come out on a regular basis – two up on my rib cage and two on the lower part of my rib cage. I also have a constant headache. And right now I’m having problems with the vertebrae between my cervical and my thoracic. Right now I know that they are out. So, that’s adding to my headache and then I have a hip that needs replacement. And its very arthritic. I’m seeing a physiotherapist to help me with my __ muscle and right now it’s just very mad. I’m having that discomfort in my right __. I’m leery about getting a hip replacement because I need upper body strength. So, I’m trying to go to the gym to strengthen my upper body and I see my orthopedic surgeon the first Friday of the year. So, I would really appreciate your prayers. Thank you ever so much. Oh, I love you dearly. Thank you.

Hi. This is Suzanne calling from Albuquerque. And today I’m calling…so…I don’t know why I don’t call in more. I pray a lot with you and I think of things that I want to call in and say to support somebody and then….I think I’m just a very…kind of quiet. So, I’m going to try to be a little more involved and just take the risk of letting all of you know me more in the next year. Anyway, today I’m calling because I do…I am asking for prayer…I am the only Christian in my family and as you could imagine that’s very difficult. I want to lift up my brother and especially my nephew and my sister-in-law, but especially my nephew. He is…I think he’s just very depressed. He’s very lost. And he has a beautiful heart. And they both are very insistent that Christians are just crazy people and…you know…and…that I…you know am of the attitude that…just…you know…don’t listen to her. So, I work very hard at just loving them. Anyway, I’m just going to try to make this as short as possible. I’m asking that you lift up my nephew. His heart is very depressed. He’s very lost and he still lives at home. He’s 29. And he doesn’t have any self-confidence or self-esteem. And I just love him so much and I really want all of them to come to know Jesus. So, that’s what I’m praying for, that you all lift them up. His name is Ben. Thank you.

Hi family this is Alberta from the UK. I haven’t called in a while but I’ve been listening and I’ve heard all the prayer requests. But I called today because I wanted to remind everyone that no matter what’s taking place in our lives, we are still children of God. And as evil and wickedness around us we must keep holding onto the word of God, seeing His light through our faith. So, please join me in this prayer. Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, we call Your name seeking Your grace. Father, You’ve given us the weapons with which we can destroy the work of the enemy. By the power and authority in the name of Jesus every principality and authority exulting itself above You, oh Lord, we cancel by fire. Every __ of cancer of blood and boil affliction, we arrest you in the name of Jesus. __ of depression or any kind of oppression, we stand up against you and subdue you. We command you to be destroyed, never to rise again in the name of Jesus. Any yokes and limitations, we cancel you in the name of Jesus. Father, we open our hearts to you and commit all that we have into Your hands, asking You to pour over us holy anointing. Father, we ask that as we enter into the new year that which is not of You will remain. Father Lord, we put on our garments of praise and glorify Your name for upholding us with your rightful right arm throughout the year and __ us to know Your purpose and will for the year ahead. We ask this as a family and community in the name of Jesus. Amen. God bless you all and happy New Year. Bye for now.

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comebeforegod · 6 years ago

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3 Bible Facts Allow You to Know the Essence of the Bible

The Bible is a record of God’s work.

The Bible doesn’t only contain the word of God but also others.

The Bible was written by men.

Conclusion

#The Bible #Jehovah #God’s word #the last days #Gospel

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love-god-forever · 6 years ago

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Are There Any Words of God Outside the Bible?

By Zhongxin

In the study, Muxun, Fu Rong and Si’en were studying the Bible together …

Muxun said, “Sisters, I have a question that I’d like to ask. Ever since I started to believe in the Lord, I’ve always believed that all of God’s words are recorded in the Bible and that there are none outside the Bible. But recently, there are some people preaching that the Lord Jesus has already returned, and that the Lord is speaking new words beyond those that are recorded in the Bible. I feel very confused about this. Are there words of God outside the Bible? I want to hear your views on this matter.”

Fu Rong said in earnest: “I used to think this way just like you, believing that the words of God are all within the Bible, and that there can never be God’s word beyond the Bible. But recently when I was talking about this issue with a brother who has preached for many years, he told me with certainty that there are God’s words outside the Bible. It clearly states in the Gospel of John: ‘And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written’ (John 21:25). There are not many words of the Lord Jesus recorded in the New Testament. Actually, the Lord Jesus had preached and worked for at least three years, and the words He uttered exceed what is recorded in the Bible many times over. That is a fact no one can deny. This verifies that the work and words of the Lord Jesus are not completely recorded in the Bible. Besides, it says in Revelation 2:17: ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches; To him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna.’ Revelation 10:4 says: ‘And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.’ From these prophecies in the Book of Revelation we can understand that ‘the hidden manna’ refers to the hidden words of God. It does not refer to the words of Jehovah God and those of the Lord Jesus recorded in the Bible, but to God’s new words in the last days, which are not recorded in the Bible. Moreover, the voices of the seven thunders were not written by John, which is adequate proof that they are extraneous to the Bible. So, based on these two biblical prophecies, we can be certain that there are actually God’s words outside the Bible.”

Muxun and Si’en were surprised to hear this, but after careful contemplation, they all nodded their heads.

“Hmm,” Muxun said thoughtfully, “based on these verses, there should be God’s words beyond those which are recorded in the Bible. Clearly, the view that ‘God’s words are all recorded in the Bible and there are none outside the Bible’ does not accord with the biblical prophecies. I’ve read countless times the verses you’ve just read, so why haven’t I ever understood them to this level of meaning? It seems that it was because I didn’t make effort to contemplate while reading the Bible that I had no understanding of God’s work and words.”

Si’en went on to say, “In the light of the prophecies you’ve just read, there should be God’s words outside the Bible. But there is one question I still don’t understand—if there are God’s words beyond those which are in the Bible, then why does it say in Revelation 22:18: ‘For I testify to every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add to these things, God shall add to him the plagues that are written in this book’? According to this prophecy, if there are people saying that there are God’s new words outside the Bible, wouldn’t that be adding something to the Bible and resisting God?”

After some contemplation, Fu Rong replied in earnest, “This is how I understand this verse. Anyone who has a knowledge of the background of the Bible knows that the Book of Revelation was written about 90 years after the Lord. It is a record of the vision John saw at Patmos Island, which contains the prophecies about the Lord’s work when He returns. The New Testament, however, was formed around 300 AD, about 200 years after the Book of Revelation. So, when John said no one shall add anything to the prophecy of this book, ‘this book’ he mentioned referred to the Book of Revelation, not the New Testament or the entire Bible, much less did he mean that there wouldn’t be any new words from God in the future.”

Hearing this, Si’en nodded her head.

“Hmm, this makes sense,” said Muxun. “Determining that there can be no further words from God outside of the Bible based on this prophecy is not at all tenable. Our understanding of this verse has been really off the mark!”

“It’s true,” Fu Rong continued. “We all know that what John recorded in the Book of Revelation was only the vision he beheld, the prophecies about the Lord’s work in the last days, not the reality of it. The new words God shall express outside of the Bible are not additions to the prophecies in the Book of Revelation, but the fulfillment of them. If we go by these prophecies and draw the conclusion that all of God’s words and work are within the Bible, then how can we know ‘the hidden manna,’ the voices of the seven thunders, and ‘what the Spirit says to the churches’? Let’s look at Revelation 5:1–5: ‘And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And one of the elders said to me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.’ We all previously thought that the book in the right hand of Him who sat on the throne referred to the Bible. Every Christian owns a Bible and we can all open it and read it. But this part of the scriptures mentions that this book has not been looked upon by anyone, and that only the Lamb can open it. This indicates that this book does not refer to the Bible. Besides, this book was written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals, which shows that the contents of it were not recorded in the Book of Revelation. That is to say, the book is extraneous to the Bible. Only the Lord who returns in the last days is able to open this sealed book and tell us what is written in it, and only then can we understand the mysteries therein. From the prophecies above we can be more certain that there are new words from God outside of the Bible, and that when the Lord returns in the last days, He shall express the truth to supply us.”

Simultaneously, Si’en and Muxun nodded their heads.

Fu Rong continued, “I’ve read several passages in a book on whether or not there are God’s words outside the Bible. It’s explained quite clearly. Let’s read it together. It says in the book: ‘The things that are recorded in the Bible are limited; they cannot represent the work of God in its entirety. The Four Gospels have fewer than one hundred chapters altogether, in which are written a finite number of happenings, such as Jesus cursing the fig tree, Peter’s three denials of the Lord, Jesus appearing to the disciples following His crucifixion and resurrection, teaching about fasting, teaching about prayer, teaching about divorce, the birth and genealogy of Jesus, Jesus’ appointment of the disciples, and so forth. However, man values them as treasures, even verifying the work of today against them. They even believe that all the work Jesus did in His life amounted only to so much, as if God were only capable of doing this much and nothing further. Is this not absurd?’ (“The Mystery of the Incarnation (1)”). ‘The work of God in each age has clear boundaries; He does only the work of the current age and never does He carry out the next stage of work in advance. … Jesus had spoken only of the signs of the last days, of how to be patient and how to be saved, how to repent and confess, as well as how to bear the cross and endure suffering; never did He speak of how man in the last days should enter in, or how to seek to satisfy God’s will. As such, would it not be an act of fallacy to search within the Bible for God’s work of the last days? What can you discern merely holding the Bible in your hands? Be it an interpreter of the Bible or a preacher, who can foreknow the work of today?’ (“How Can Man Who Has Defined God in His Conceptions Receive the Revelations of God?”). ‘If you wish to see the work of the Age of Law, and to see how the Israelites followed the way of Jehovah, then you must read the Old Testament; if you wish to understand the work of the Age of Grace, then you must read the New Testament. But how do you see the work of the last days? You must accept the leadership of the God of today, and enter into the work of today, for this is the new work, and no one has previously recorded it in the Bible. … The work of today is a path that man has never walked, and a way that no one has ever seen. It is work that has never been done before—it is God’s latest work on earth. … How could the Bible contain explicit records of such work?’” (“Concerning the Bible (1)”).

After finishing reading, Fu Rong fellowshiped, “These passages make it very clear. The Old Testament records the work of Jehovah God, while the New Testament records the work of the Lord Jesus. But regarding God’s work of the last days, the Bible only contains prophecies and there is no detailed record to be found. What is recorded in the Bible is limited and cannot represent the work and word of God in their entirety. In John 16:12–13 the Lord Jesus said, ‘I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come.’ From the Lord’s words we can know that the Spirit of truth refers to the returned Lord Jesus, and that when the Lord comes in the last days, He will express all aspects of the truth that we should understand, and tell us things that will happen in the future. Since these truths haven’t been expressed and the things to come haven’t happened, then how could they have been clearly recorded in the Bible? This shows that there are new words from God outside the Bible. Therefore, only when the Lord returns in the last days, opens the book and looses the seven seals, expresses new words and does new work, can we truly understand the mysteries contained within the Book of Revelation. God is the source of life, His richness is inexhaustible in supply and always available for use, and His wisdom is deep and immeasurable, so how can we creations fathom Him? And how can the limited things recorded in the Bible clearly and completely explain God’s wisdom, His deeds, and what He has and is?”

Hearing this, Muxun said happily, “Thanks be to God! After listening to your fellowship, I understand that the work and words of God that are recorded in the Bible are limited, and that the words the Lord wishes to express when He returns in the last days are not recorded in the Bible. Given this, we cannot say that there is no other new word of God than the Bible. It seems that our previous belief that the word of God did not exist outside of the Bible was simply our own notion and imagining, and that it was delimiting God’s work.”

Fu Rong went on to say, “Yes, it is indeed the fact. The view that ‘God’s words are all recorded in the Bible and there are none outside the Bible’ is purely the notion of people, which doesn’t have a basis in the Lord’s word. The Lord Jesus said, ‘My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me’ (John 10:27). ‘He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Revelation 2–3). ‘Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me’ (Revelation 3:20). These verses clearly tell us that when the Lord comes, He will surely utter words, and that all who hear God’s voice and then seek and accept it will have the chance to welcome the Lord’s return and be raised up before God’s throne. Therefore, the key to meeting the Lord is to listen to God’s voice. If we continue holding to the view that ‘God’s words are all recorded in the Bible and there are none outside the Bible’ and delimit God’s word to the Bible, if we neither focus on hearing God’s voice nor search for God’s new utterances, we run the risk of being cast out by the Lord!”

Filled with emotion, Muxun said, “I’ve really gained a lot from today’s gathering. Not only was my confusion resolved, but I also understand that what is recorded in the Bible is limited, and that it’s not a complete record of God’s work. What’s more, I’ve found the way to welcome the Lord! Thanks be to the Lord!”

Si’en said, “Yes. Thanks be to the Lord’s guidance. So we should quickly find a church that is bearing witness to God’s utterances in the last days, lest we miss out on the chance to welcome the Lord’s return.”

Excitedly, Fu Rong and Muxun said with one accord, “Amen!”

#Spiritual Resources #Bible and God #Mysteries of the Bible

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