Hello, good people, and welcome to Daily

Bible Refresh. My name is doctor Brad Miller.

Daily Bible Refresh is brought to you by voice of

god daily dot com. This is the place where we

offer a daily reading of the scriptures using

the revised common lectionary year c.

And right now we're in the Christmas tide season. We read the

verse of scripture so particularly for this

day, and we do so in a way that is understandable.

So we read it from the new testament only and from the message

translation of the bible. We make it also, relatable. We

have a couple of points to ponder to give you something to think about

regarding the scripture. And we also make it applicable as we have

a point of application for you to apply for your life. We have a prayer.

We do all that in under 10 minutes. Today's

reading from year c in the Christmas tide

season is from the gospel of Luke chapter 8

verses 16 through 21.

No one this is called the misers of what you

hear. No one lights a lamp and then covers

up with a washtub or shoves it under a bed. No.

You set it up on a lamp stand so those who enter the room can

see their way. We're not keeping secrets. We're telling

them. We're not hiding things. We're bringing them out in the

open. So be careful that you don't become misers of

what you hear. Generosity

begets generosity. Stinginess

impoverishes. His mother and brothers

showed showed up but couldn't get through to him because of the

crowd. He was given he was given the message. Your

mother and brothers are standing outside waiting to see

you. And he replied, my mother and brothers are the ones who

hear and do God's word. Obedience

is thicker than blood. Wow. Very

intriguing passage of scripture. And so let's have a little

reflection on it because we're to talk a little bit about Jesus'

family, you know, his his mother and brothers and how he's

basically, in a very real sense, using the,

example of his nuclear family to kind of

redefine the nature of a family.

So some things to think about, some points to ponder. One is,

is radical transparency. I believe

here Jesus is challenging the notion of

somehow spiritual wisdom is somehow a secret, a wisdom, or something

I've gotten you don't have, or something along like that along

those lines. In in progressive Christianity, we understand

that spirituality is available to all people. So

it's there to break down barriers that keep people

from accessing spiritual truth. And

this passage here just reminds us that authentic faith is

not about gatekeeping or controlling access to

any wisdom or any relationship with God.

There's also a point about the economics of grace.

Jesus tells us here to warns us to get against

becoming what he calls what the Bible passage here calls

misers of what you hear. Interesting turn of a phrase, isn't

it? He is it's talking here about a spiritual economy

based on abundance rather than

scarcity. And, this really resonates with,

with the understanding of God that is unlimited,

that God's love is unlimited. That's what grace is.

Grace is God's unlimited love for you. And the

more we we share spiritual insights and experiences

resources, you know what? They multiply.

We also have the point here about family, about how

family is an inclusive community. And Jesus is

really radically redefining a family beyond beyond the

biological, connections,

suggesting that spiritual kinship is

formed through an active engagement with

God's word and God's people and living it out. And this

really speaks to, an understanding that many people have

of choosing family, of choosing people we have,

intimate relationships with, and the importance of creating a

faith that is inclusive so that all are welcome.

Some great points to think about here, I believe. Here's your action step.

I really went to this week to identify one spiritual

insight or understanding that's been meaningful to you,

either out of the scripture reading today or perhaps some of our other readings

we've done here at Daily Bible Refresh, and

share it with an unexpected person in your life

or maybe someone outside your circle. And just kind of

practice the economics of sharing, the

economics of grace that is whereby giving something your

way, you receive even greater. We're gonna

pray in just a moment here. I did want to just share with you that

we do have a resource that you may wanna take advantage of. It's called

the ABC 123 Bible

study guide, And it's really about making studying the Bible

as easy as a, b, c, and 123. So you can check it out

at our show notes at voice of god daily.com.

Let's pray. Loving God, help us to be bearers of light in a world

that often feels dark. Give us the courage to share openly,

to love generously, and to build inclusive communities

that reflect your boundless grace. Remind us that we

are all connected in your divine family, not by blood, but by love and shared

purpose, and guide us to live out your word in

ways that bring hope and healing to our world. May

we be generous with the wisdom and understanding you've given us,

knowing that by sharing, we all become richer.

Amen. Hey. It's been great to be with you. My name is doctor

Brad Miller, and you've been with us here on the daily

Bible refresh. This is the place where we

offer a fresh perspective on reading the scriptures.

Just remember, they'll be with you tomorrow morning. So if you'll join me

then, and remember that until then that God's love

doesn't run out. His merciful love doesn't dry

up. It's created new every morning.