Authentic faith beyond comfort and convention.

A Study of Luke 9, 1827 on the Daily Bible refresh with Dr.

Brad Miller.

Hello my good friend.

Welcome to Daily Bible Refresh with Dr.

Brad Miller.

This is your daily reading of the New Testament.

We read the Revised Common Lectionary selection for the day.

We're in year C of a three year cycle.

We're still in the Eastertide season.

We make the reading of the Bible understandable.

We use the message version relatable.

We give you some points to ponder applicable.

We give you an action step to have.

We have a prayer and we do all of that in under 10 minutes or so.

It's all brought to you by voiceofgoddaily.com that's the home of the ABC 1, 2, 3 Bible study method.

Go over there and pick that up.

Here's our reading for the day from Luke 9, 1827 Reading from the Mess Don't Run from Suffering One time when Jesus was off praying by himself, his disciples nearby, he asked him, what are the crowds saying about me, about who I am?

And they said, john the baptizer.

Others say Elijah.

Still others say that one of the prophets from long ago has come back.

Then he asked, and who?

And you?

What are you saying about me?

Who am I?

Peter answered, the Messiah of God.

Jesus then warned them to keep it quiet.

They were to tell no one of what what Peter had said.

And he went on it is necessary that the Son of man proceed to an ordeal of suffering, be tried and found guilty by the religious leaders, the high priests and religion scholars be killed and on the third day be raised up alive.

Then he told them what they could expect for themselves.

Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead.

You're not in the driver's seat.

I am.

Don't run from suffering.

Embrace it.

Follow me and I'll show you how.

Self help is no help at all.

Self sacrifice is the way, my way to find yourself your true self.

What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?

If any of you is embarrassed with me and the way I'm leading you know that the Son of Man will be far more embarrassed with you when he arrives in all his splendor in company with the Father and the holy angels.

This isn't you realize, high in the sky, by and by, some of you have taken their stand right here, are going to see it happen, see with their own eyes the kingdom of God.

Wow.

Some powerful things that Jesus says there.

And this is a challenging passage where Jesus invites his disciples and us to think hard, to really think and rethink about what it means to follow a path of authentic faith and transformative love.

Here's some points to ponder.

It's about going beyond labels and categories.

When Jesus asked about his identity, the crowds try to fit him into familiar categories.

John Elijah, one of the prophets of old.

The tendency is to categorize and contain the divine or God stuff happens.

Today.

Progressive faith invites us to move beyond rigid definitions in predetermined boxes, recognizing that the sacred often shows up in unexpected ways and places.

Another point is about transformative suffering.

Jesus speaks of suffering not as punishment or divine plan, but as a natural consequence of challenging unjust systems and standing with the marginalized.

When we work for justice and inclusion, we often face resistance from established powers, both religious and secular.

This suffering isn't something to seek out, but rather to accept as a part of transformative work.

One more point to ponder.

It's about the authentic self versus the social self.

Jesus warning about losing our true self speaks powerfully to our current culture of carefully curated social media Personas and performance based spirituality.

True liberation comes not through self promotion, but through or self preservation, but through authentic engagement with the work of love and justice, even when it cost us social capital or comfort.

Here's your action step.

Identify an area where you've been choosing comfort over authentic engagement with justice work.

Perhaps it's staying silent about racism to keep peace with some group of people or family gathering, or avoiding advocacy for LBGTQ persons to maintain religious acceptance.

Take some concrete step towards an authentic expression of your values, even if it creates discomfort.

We're going to pray in just a moment, but I want you to know that we do have a Bible study resource for you.

It's called the ABC123 Bible Study Method.

You just head on over to voiceofgoddaily.com you click the link there and it's a download.

It'll come right to your inbox and you'll find it helpful.

You'll find it helpful.

You just pick it up.

Voiceofgoddaily.com the ABC1, 23 Bible Study Method let's pray God you are divine Love and we confess.

We often choose comfort over conviction, security over solidarity, and acceptance over authenticity.

Help us to find the courage to live our truth even when it disrupts the status quo.

When we face resistance or rejection for standing with the marginalized, remind us that this is part of the journey toward collective liberation.

Guide us to find our authentic selves not in the approval of others, but in alignment of your expansive love.

Give us strength to embrace the holy discomfort of that comes with growth and transformation.

Amen.

Amen.

So good to be with you here on Daily Bible Refresh.

My name is Dr.

Brad Miller.

Hope that you'll join me in my mission to get the audible word of God into two millionaires, a million people by 2028.

You help that out by subscribing to this podcast, inviting someone else to join us here@voiceofgoddaily.com and all the other podcast directors.

I'll see you tomorrow.

We usually drop our episodes before 6am here@voiceofgoddaily.com until then, remember that God's loyal love doesn't run out.

His merciful love hasn't dried up, it's created new.

Every.