Hello, good people. Welcome to daily bible

refresh with doctor Brad Miller. This is the daily

bible study that we take from the

revised common lectionary. We're in year c,

the epiphany season. We offer you a bible study, a daily bible

study every single day that is understandable, relatable,

and applicable. We make it

understandable by the fact that we read the New Testament

lesson only, and we read it from the message translation of the

bible. Relatable in as much as we offer a couple

of points to ponder about the scripture

and applicable as we give you an action step to take. We have a

prayer, and we do so in under 10 minutes.

Our reading for the day is from Romans

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9 through 21.

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Reading for the message. Love from the center of

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who you are. Don't fake it. Run for dear

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life from evil. Hold on for dear

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life to good.

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Be good friends who love deeply.

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Practice playing 2nd fiddle. Don't

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burn out. Keep yourselves fueled and

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aflame. Be alert servants of the master,

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cheerfully expectant. Don't quit in hard

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times, pray all the harder. Help needy

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Christians. Be inventive in hospitality.

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Bless your enemies. No cursing under your breath.

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Laugh with your happy friends when they're happy. Share tears

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when they're down. Get along with each other. Don't be stuck up.

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Make friends with nobodies. Don't be the

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great somebody. Don't hit back.

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Discover beauty in everyone. If you've got it

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in you, get along with everybody. Don't insist

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on getting even. That's not for you to do. I'll do the judging,

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says God. I'll take care of it. Our scriptures tell us

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that if you see your enemy hungry, go buy that person

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lunch. Or if he's thirsty, get him a drink.

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Your generosity will surprise him with goodness. Don't let

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evil get the best of you. Get the best of evil

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by doing good. What?

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What a fantastic passage of scripture about how to live your

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life with revolution with with radical love, which is

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revolutionary, practicing the revolutionary

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practice of radical love, which is transformative

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love in the community setting, and it's about community care, caring for

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one another. Here's a few points to ponder. One

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has to do with authentic solidarity. It says,

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love from the center of who you are, don't fake it.

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And this really speaks to important of being a

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genuine ally and being in solidarity

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with others. Progressive Christianity recognizes

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that performative activism and superficial

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inclusion aren't enough. Real transformation

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requires authentic engagement

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with works where we are seeking justice,

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even when it's uncomfortable or costly.

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Another point is sustainable activism.

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There's a warn warning here about burnout

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and also a word of encouragement to it

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says here to keep yourself fueled and aflame.

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Did you get that? And that's just crucial for all of us,

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especially if we're seeking justice. It can be taxing on

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us. And this isn't just about self care, but it's also about

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community care, caring for one another. And that way we

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can have mutual sustainability that can

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endure long term struggles while

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supporting one another, especially

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those who are marginalized. One more point

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to ponder, and that has to do with subversive hospitality.

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It says here, make friends with nobodies. Don't be the great somebody. I love

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that turn of a phrase. It really challenges hierarchies

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and privilege, doesn't it? And so the radical hospitality

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is not just about being nice, it's about being

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deliberately disruptive as systems of status quo of power, which

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are destructive. So it's about practicing

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friendship across social barriers. And when we challenge

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structures that create those barriers, that is what we're called to

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do. Here's your action step for the day.

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It has to do with creating a community care map. That

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is draw out or kind of make a graph or a chart

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about the community care connections in

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your life, in your community, or things that you care about.

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And note where there is maybe points of

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privilege or power that exist, maybe you're even a part of

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it, and exemplify 3 ways

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that you can practice what we might call

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subversive hospitality. That is by sharing, by

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being extravagant givers, sharing

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resources, making space and room for others,

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or maybe amplifying marginalized voices

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and implement something, do something, take an action.

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And you might want to focus on things that are sustainable, not just

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kind of one hit wonders, but things that can have a lasting long term

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change rather than just kind of a one term flash in the

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pan type of thing. We're gonna pray in just a moment,

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but I did want you to know about our resource that we offer to you

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called the ABC 123

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bible study guide. It's just really a gift that we give you. You'll find it

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there at voice of god daily dot com, our website. That's where we

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have transcripts of all of our episodes and our back catalog of

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episodes. This goes back for 700 episodes now, and

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we can find what you need there. And you have a

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simple Bible study method. It is really as easy as a,

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b, c, 1, 2, 3. Let's pray.

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Oh God, oh God of a revolutionary love,

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help us to move beyond performative care to authentic

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solidarity with those who struggle. Teach us the rhythm of

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sustainable activism where rest

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is as sacred as action and community care powers our work

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for justice. Give us courage to cross the boundaries that separate us

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from our neighbors, wisdom to recognize our own privilege,

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and help us to be a part of dismantling oppressive systems.

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May our hospitality be truly subversive and

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our love genuinely transformative

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and our commitment to justice unwavering.

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Ground us in a hope when work seems endless,

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and help us get connected in community when we feel alone.

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Amen. Well, it's been great to be with you

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here on the daily bible refresh. My name is doctor Brad

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Miller. Love to be with you. I'm with you every

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single morning, usually before 6 AM. It drops into

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your inbox, so make it a part of your life. So go

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to voice of god daily.com to get connected to

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the podcast. We'd love to hear from you and see you again tomorrow.

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Invite someone else to join us, please. Until that time,

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when we come together here on daily bible refresh, please remember that

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God's loyal love doesn't run out. His merciful

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love hasn't dried up. It's created

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new every morning.