Reimagining Witness a call to transformative action.

A Study of Luke 24:44 53 on the Daily Bible refresh with Dr.

Brad Miller.

Hello my friend.

Welcome to Daily Bible Refresh with Dr.

Brad Miller.

Thank you for joining me.

We're here every day.

We usually drop our episodes before 6am Eastern Time.

We're every day to offer you the daily reading of the New Testament.

We use the Revised Common Lectionary.

We're in year C of a three year cycle, the Easter tide season.

We make the reading of the scripture understandable by reading the New Testament from the message version.

Relatable, we give you three points to ponder.

Then applicable, I give you an extra step to take.

We do all of that under 10 minutes or so with a prayer to boot.

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

Free to you.

Let's get into our reading for the day from the Gospel of Luke 24:44 53 Reading from the message, you are the witnesses.

Then he said, everything I told you while I was with you comes to this.

All the things written about me in the law of Moses, in the prophets and in the Psalms have to be fulfilled.

He went on to open their understanding of the word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles.

This way.

He said, you can see now how it is written that the Messiah suffers, rises from the dead on the third day and then a total life change to the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed in his name to all nations starting from here, from Jerusalem.

You're the first to hear and see this.

You're the witnesses.

What comes next is very important.

I'm sending what my Father promised to you.

To stay here in the city until he arrives.

Until you're equipped with power from on high.

He then led them out of the city over to Bethany and raising his hands he blessed them and while blessing them made his exit being carried up to heaven.

And they were on their knees worshiping him.

And they returned to Jerusalem bursting with joy.

They spent all their time praising God.

Yes, this is a call here friends, for reimagining what it means to witness.

It's a call to transformative action.

It challenges to think deeply what it means to witness transformation, transformative love and justice in world, in our world today.

Here's three points to ponder.

Number one is reinterpreting sacred text.

Jesus opens the disciples understanding of scripture, showing them a new way to read their sacred text.

This models for us the importance of approaching scripture with fresh eyes, allowing us to speak to contemporary issues like social justice, environmental crisis and systematic oppression.

Progressive Christianity continues this tradition of dynamic interpretation, reading scripture through the lens of love, inclusion and justice.

Here's another take on this scripture.

It's about the universal message of transformation.

The text speaks of total life change through forgiveness being proclaimed to all nations.

In progressive theology, this isn't about individual salvation alone, but about systematic transformation.

This message begins in Jerusalem, but extends everywhere, suggesting that authentic spiritual transformation must lead to social transformation and collective liberation.

Another point is power from above for work below.

The disciples are told to wait for power from on high.

But this power isn't for personal gain or individual spirituality.

It's power for witness, for doing the work of justice and transformation in the world.

This challenges us to see spiritual empowerment as something that enables us to work more effectively for social change and community healing.

Here's your action step this week.

Choose one social justice issue that matters to you.

It might be climate justice or racial equality or economic justice or something political.

Spend time studying both the scripture and contemporary resources about the issue.

Then identify a concrete action that that you can take as a quote, witness to transform the situation in your local community.

Remember, doing witness isn't just about seeing, it's about doing.

We'll come back with a closing prayer here in just a minute.

Right now, I want you to know about our resources we have available to you.

Please head over to our website, voiceofgoddaily.com that's where you're going to find information and an easy place to click and get the free resource we have for you, which is called the ABC 123 Bible Study Method.

It's just that simple to get into Bible study of your own accord.

Use it in complement to what we do here on the Daily Bible Refresh.

Here's our prayer.

Oh God, you are the source of love and life.

Help us read our sacred stories with new eyes, finding in them the courage to work for change.

When we feel powerless in the face of injustice, remind us of your promise of empowerment.

Give us strength to be witnesses, not just with our words, but with our actions and our lives.

Like those first disciples, may we return to our communities with joy, not because all problems are solved, but because we know we're not alone in the work.

Guide us in transforming our world, one act of love and justice at a time, in the spirit of revolutionary hope.

Amen.

Well, it's always a joy and a pleasure for us to spend some time together.

My name is Dr.

Brad Miller, I'm here with you every single day to give you a daily reading of the New Testament.

We like to make it understandable and relatable and applicable to your life.

We also have a goal of getting the audible word of God into 2 million years, a million people, by 2028.

And your job is to be here tomorrow to subscribe to the podcast and invite someone else to join us.

That's how you can help us reach that goal.

Thanks for being with us.

Until tomorrow, My name is Dr.

Brad Miller.

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

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

Sam.