Hello, good people. Welcome to daily biblerefresh with

doctor Brad Miller, brought to you by voice of

god daily.com. This is a daily reading of

the holy scriptures. We use the revised common

lectionary. We're in year c in the epiphany

season, and we offer you a daily bible reading that is

understandable, relatable, and applicable.

We make it understandable by reading the new testament lesson only

from the message translation of the bible. We make it

relatable by offering you a couple of points to ponder, to think about regarding

the scripture and applicable by giving you an action step. We have

a prayer, and we do it all in less than 10 minutes.

Our reading for the day is Luke 11

verses 14 through 23, reading from the message.

No neutral ground. Jesus

delivered a man from a demon that had kept him speechless.

The demon gone, the man started talking a

blue streak, taking the crowd by complete surprise.

But some of the crowd were cynical. Black magic, they said.

Some devil trickies pulled up his sleeve. Others were

skeptical, waiting around for him to prove himself with a

spectacular miracle. Jesus knew what

they were thinking and said, any country in civil

war for very long is wasted. A

constantly squabbling family falls to pieces.

If Satan can't cancel Satan, is there any Satan

left? You accuse me of ganging up with the devil, the

prince of demons, to cast out demons, but if you're

slinging devil mud at me, calling me a devil who kicks

out devils, doesn't the same much stick to your own

exorcists. But it's God's finger I'm pointing to that

sends the demons on their way, then God's kingdom is here for

sure. When a strong man arms to the teeth stands guard in

his front yard, his property is safe and sound. But what

if a stronger man comes along with superior weapons? Then he's beaten

at his own game. The arsenal that gave him such confidence

hauled off and his precious possessions plundered.

This is war. There is no neutral ground. If you're not

on my side, you're the enemy. If you're not helping, you're

making things worse. Wow.

Profound reading there of the scripture. It's

really about breaking silence, about the politics of liberation. It's

about power struggles and taking sides in the

in a call and a struggle for justice. Here's

a couple points to ponder. One of them is the

power of voice. The story begins with someone being

liberated from an enforced silence. In

our context, this speaks to the importance of amplifying and helping be

a voice for suppressed voices, and breaking

systematic silence around oppression.

When marginalized people speak truth to power, those benefiting

from the status quo often respond with skepticism

and accusations. Another point

is the systems is regarding the systems of power. Jesus

uses the metaphor of a strong man armed to the teeth and

reflects how systems of oppression maintain their power

through force and fear. However, the message is clear.

These systems can be overcome by stronger forces,

namely collective action and divine justice.

This speaks to our modern struggles against militarism, police

brutality, and institutional violence.

Number the 3rd point to ponder has to do with no

neutral ground. If you're not helping, you're making things worse

is what the scripture says. This quote

challenges the myth of neutrality in the face of injustice.

Christianity recognizes that silence in the face of

oppression is complicity. We must

actively choose sides in the struggle for justice

and liberation. Here's your action step.

Practice breaking silence. It's a hard thing to

do, but it's a direct thing to do. Identify an

issue in your community where silence perpetuates injustice.

Maybe it's racial inequality or environmental destruction or

some sort of exploitation of those who are economically disadvantaged.

Take some concrete action to amplify marginalized

voices in this issue. It might be through a social media post

or participating in some local government

forum or community organizing. Just remember

that speaking truth to power isn't about speaking for others, but creating

space for silent voices to be

heard. We're gonna pray in just a moment. I do wanna

share with you our about our Bible study guide that we have as a gift

for you as a resource to help you go deeper into the scriptures. It's

called the ABC 123 Bible Study

Guide. You can find it over at our website voiceofgoddaily.com.

It's It's also where you'll find all the episodes of the

daily Bible refresh along with the complete transcripts

of those episodes. You can find the ABC 1, 2, or

3 Bible study guide right there. Let's pray.

God who liberates us, give us courage to break

silence when comfort would keep us quiet. Help us

recognize where we have been complicit in systems that

suppress and silence others. Grant us wisdom to know

when to speak, when to listen, and when to amplify others'

voices. Strengthen us for the struggle ahead, knowing that

there is no neutral ground in the fight for justice and

peace. May we find hope and collective action

and faith in your liberating presence.

It's been great to be with you here on this episode of Daily Bible Refresh.

We're here every day, bright and early. We're always post

our episodes before 6 AM EST. My name is

doctor Brad Miller. It's my pleasure to be with you. Hope that you'll join me

again tomorrow and invite invite someone else in your life to join us here in

the daily bible refresh. Until that time,

please live with a sure and perfect knowledge that

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

hasn't dried up. It's created new

every morning.