Foreign hello good people.

Welcome to Daily Bible Refresh with Dr.

Brad Miller.

This is episode number 801.

We have done 800 episodes of Daily Bible Refresh and I'm so pleased and privileged that you joined me here on episode number 801.

As we continue to embark on this adventure of reading the Scriptures together, which is what we do every Single day before 6am we usually drop these episodes where we bring you a fresh expression of the reading of the Scriptures.

It's all brought to you by our website, Voice of God Daily, the home of the ABC 1, 2, 3 Bible study guide.

We live out the daily Scriptures.

We read from the Revised Common Lectionary, a three year cycle.

We're in year C.

We're reading from the we're in the Epiphany season right now.

We make the Bible understand.

We give you.

We read from the New Testament only and we read from the Message version of the Bible, relatable by giving you some points to ponder and applicable by giving you a question to consider.

We have a prayer.

We do all of that in under 10 minutes.

Today we've got a great reading.

That's from Acts 13, verses 26 through 35.

Reading from the message Dear brothers and sisters, children of Abraham and friends of God, this message of salvation has been precisely targeted to you.

The citizens and rulers in Jerusalem didn't recognize who he was and condemned him to death.

They couldn't find a good reason, but demanded that Pilate execute him anyway.

They did just what the prophets said they would do, but had no idea what they were following to the letter.

The script of the prophets.

Even though these same prophets are reading every Sabbath in their meeting places.

After they had done everything the prophets said they would do, they took him down from the cross and buried him.

And then God raised him from death.

There is no disputing that he appeared over and over again many times and places to those who knew him well in the Galilean years.

And these same people continue to give witness that he is alive.

And we're here today bringing you good news.

The message that God promised the fathers has come true for the children, for us.

He raised Jesus exactly as he described in the second Psalm, which goes like this.

My son, my own son, today I celebrate you.

When he raised him from the dead, he did it for good.

No going back to that rot and decay for him.

That's why Isaiah said, I'll give to all of you David's greatest blessings.

And so the psalmist prayer he'll never let the Holy One See death's rot and declay and decay.

A powerful lesson here from Acts 13, really, about liberation and transformation and the ongoing work of the resurrection in our world.

Here's a few points to ponder, to think about.

One of them is a sense of liberation liberation theology, which is the sense that God liberates all of us.

It's the study of God liberating people.

This passage presents a salvation was not just some individual spiritual rescue, but it's a story of an ongoing liberation for all people.

The reference to David's guaranteed blessings suggests God's commitment to justice and flourishing for all people.

Today we might ask how resurrection power challenges systems of oppression and decay in our own world.

Second point has to do with religious blindness.

Notice how the religious authorities couldn't recognize who he was despite reading about the prophets every day on the Sabbath.

This serves as a powerful warning about how religious institutions can become so focused on maintaining trad that they miss the divine movement which is happening right in front of their eyes.

Where might there be some similarity of blindness happening in your world and mine to God's liberating work that's happening right now?

A third point is a living witness.

The text emphasizes the resurrection wasn't just a past event, but a continuing reality witnessed by the community.

In progressive Christianity, we might understand resurrection not only as a historical claim, but as an ongoing invitation to participate in bringing new life to places where death and decay is right now in our world.

Here's your action step.

Identify some place of death and decay in your world, in your community.

It might be something about the environment.

It might be something about systematic racism or some economic inequality or some justice issue.

You know what they are in your community.

It takes some concrete step toward bringing resurrection life to that situation.

This might mean joining a local advocacy group or some sort of a grassroots organization, or just starting a conversation about change in your community.

We're going to pray in just a second, but I did want to remind you again about our resource, our gift to you here in our 801st episode.

Our gift to you is not only the Daily Bible Refresh Bible reading, but it is a way to read the Bible in your own life.

It's called the Daily.

It's called the ABC 1, 2, 3 Bible Study Guide.

You get it?

It's free.

It's right there@voiceofgoddaily.com help us to celebrate our 801st episode and help us to march on for another 100 episodes or so with celebrating with me by taking this gift.

The ABC123 Bible Study Guide let's pray O Divine source of new life, we confess we often read ancient words without recognizing their living power in our midst.

Open our eyes to see where resurrection is needed today in our broken systems and our broken communities and our suffering planet.

Help us move beyond mere religious observation to become active witnesses of your liberating love.

When we feel overwhelmed by decay and death, remind us that you are still in the business of bringing life from death, hope from despair, and justice from oppression.

Make us living witnesses of your resurrection power, not just in what we believe, but in how we live and work for change in the spirit of ongoing liberation.

Amen.

My name is Dr.

Brad Miller.

We've been here at 801 days.

We're going to do it again tomorrow, so I hope that you'll join us here on the Daily Bible refresh@voiceofgoddaily.com this time bring a friend.

Remember until next time that God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love hasn't dried up.

It's created new every morning.