NL-Day328 Nehemiah 7; Isaiah 37; Colossians 1
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
Release Date: 11/24/2022
NL-Day153 1 Samuel 25; Psalm 105:1-23; Romans 8:28-9:24
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
1SAMUEL 25:God gave protection and victory to David. In a scene that must have caused Saul's men to roll their eyes several times, Saul was humbled before them as David directly confronted him. But after making peace, they didn't go back to the capital together. PSALM 105a:Today’s psalm is for teaching and reminding each generation of the children of Israel about the great things God has done for the Jewish people. ROMANS 9a:What wonderful promises God has given to us in chapter 8 of Romans! That chapter always reminds me of a time when a Christian leader did wrong to me, and then said that...
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NL-Day152 1 Samuel 23-24; Psalm 104:19-35; Romans 8:12-39
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
1SAMUEL 23-24:As David fled from Saul, he went for help to Ahimelech the priest. He needed food and wanted to consult with the Lord, and it happened that Ahimelech also gave him Goliath's sword. This resulted later in Ahimilech's death and the deaths of all of Ahimilech's family— except one, Abiathar. PSALM 104b:This psalm starts and ends with the same refrain, and it is the same refrain as in Psalm 103. This psalm expounds on the majesty of God— especially as seen in His creation. ROMANS 8b:The power behind the new lives that God wants us to live is the Holy Spirit. A side observation...
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NL-Day151 1 Samuel 21-22; Psalm 104:1-18; Romans 8:1-30
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
1SAMUEL 21-22:Yesterday we heard the touching story of David and Jonathan's deep friendship, and how Jonathan realized at last the secret plot that his father, Saul, had against David. Jonathan seems to have been a prophet, for he realized that he would not succeed his father as king. PSALM 104a:This is a companion with Psalm 103. This psalm also starts and ends with the same refrain as the one in Psalm 103. This poem expounds on the majesty of God. ROMANS 8a:Paul said something in 7:5 that he felt needed to be explained from verse 7 to the end of chapter 7. (Of course there were no chapters...
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NL-Day150 1 Samuel 20; Psalm 103; Romans 7:7-8:4
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
1SAMUEL 20:Yesterday we heard the slow escalation of David's problems stemming from Saul's jealousy. Saul made David his son-in-law, but only because of the hope that David would be killed by the Philistines. For only the first time in yesterday's reading, we heard how Saul was humbled because of the results of acting on his jealousy. But he doesn't learn from it. PSALM 103:How it must please the Lord when we pray this psalm, which is another favorite! Note that the psalm starts and ends with the same line. ROMANS 7:8—8:4:The second key to being released from the power of sin is God's...
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NL-Day149 1 Samuel 18-19; Psalm 102; Romans 6:19-7:17
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
1SAMUEL 18-19:In yesterday's story, David showed that he was more concerned with God's reputation than for his own safety. May we all face our imposing enemies with more belief in the unseen God than in the very present enemies! PSALM 102:This psalm starts out like the prayer of anyone in distress and trouble calling out to God. As we read further, many see parallels with what our Savior would have prayed in his darkest days on earth. ROMANS 6:19—7:The last verse of yesterday’s reading shows why it is better to take what we are given, rather than what we have earned! This is a big problem...
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NL-Day148 1 Samuel 17; Psalm 101; Romans 6
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
1SAMUEL 17:God told Samuel to anoint one of Jesse's sons as the next king of Israel. Anointing another king while one is still ruling is rather dangerous. So God told Samuel how to do that without making it public. That story included this memorable quote: “The LORD doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” PSALM 101:This psalm tells the aspirations of a great king. Re-reading ROMANS 6:Pay attention! Paul is telling us the keys to how the process of transformation takes place whereby we are released from the ‘power of...
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NL-Day147 1 Samuel 16; Psalm 100; Romans 6
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
1SAMUEL 16:Yesterday's reading told the story of Saul's incomplete obedience and the rejection of Saul as king— by both God and Samuel. In the process Samuel said some of the most important statements in Scripture, which I will underline here: Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice,and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft,and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. A second quote: He who is the Glory of Israel will not lie, nor will he change his mind, for he is not human that he should change his mind!” PSALM 100:This psalm probably...
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NL-Day146 1 Samuel 15; Psalm 99; Romans 5:1-6:4
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
1SAMUEL 15:Jonathan saved the day! He and his faithful armor bearer kind of took a leaf out of Gideon's play book and agreed on a sign that would show what God wanted them to do— although they didn't ask for confirmation like Gideon did. They took the adventure God set before them and won an amazing victory, and God worked with them by causing panic among the Philistines. After lapses and dithering at the beginning, Saul went on to be a great military leader. Note that Ahijah, the priest, is Eli's grandson. PSALM 99:Take off your sandals, because this ground is holy! Enjoy this psalm...
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NL-Day145 1 Samuel 14; Psalm 98; Romans 5
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
1SAMUEL 14:Hostilities with the Philistines heated up to full war, and Israel was badly outnumbered. The Israelites had been kept down so much that they were basically unarmed for war. Saul and his son's army dwindled down from 3,000 men to only 600, and Samuel doesn't show up for the important before-war sacrifice. PSALM 98:Another favorite psalm! I love psalms where things like oceans, rivers, or trees clap their hands. I recommend this psalm for anyone who feels that we can only worship God with the good old hymns. ROMANS 5:Every little detail in the story of Abraham is important. Note in...
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NL-Day144 1 Samuel 13; Psalm 97; Romans 4
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
1SAMUEL 13:In yesterday's story, God's Spirit came powerfully upon the new king Saul, and he succeeded in mobilizing all of Israel's fighting men. They won a stunning victory over king Nahash and the Ammonites. Afterwards, Samuel led the people in renewing Israel's call to Saul to be king and then Samuel confronted them all about staying true to the Lord. PSALM 97:Even though the psalms (and our translations) may cast a verse in the present tense, the intent of the writer may be about future things. Hebrew is very fuzzy as to verb tense. But also we may consider that all times are present to...
info_outlineNEHEMIAH 7:
Yesterday we read how Nehemiah stood up for all the common people in their financial difficulty. The nobles were rich, but everyone else was suffering— some even having no option but to sell their own children into slavery. Amazingly, he succeeded in convincing the nobles to forgive debts, and forced them take a solemn oath about that. The wall was finished in just 52 days, but Nehemiah was getting more and more threats from Sanballat and his cronies.
ISAIAH 37:
We heard the challenge and mocking of the Assyrian chief of staff— who brought the Assyrian King’s message to Jerusalem with a huge show of force. The challenge was shouted out in Hebrew for all the people to hear. (I always wonder how it was that the Assyrian commander was fluent in Hebrew!) What a thing to happen to a king that 2Kings 18 praises with these words:
2Kings 18:5 NLT Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before or after his time.
COLOSSIANS 1:
We finished the wonderful book of Philippians yesterday. I count three great promises in that 4th chapter. But note: This time I feel that all of them are really conditional promises— even the last one. If we are going to have God’s peace guarding our hearts and minds, and if we want God to supply our needs, then we must give attention to how Paul told the Philippians to live and how they were giving to support Paul’s mission.
I encourage everyone to spend more time looking at the treasures of Philippians, and the same goes for the book we start today— Colossians.
Colossians was written around the same time as Philippians, and Philemon was a member of this church. This letter has another wonderful poetic portion in chapter one exalting Christ. In most of my presentations in Indonesian seminaries, I introduce our translation by reading Colossians 2. The things Indonesians don’t understand in their Bibles— and the things I hope you will understand in the GNT or NLT, are spiritual realities. These are things that are true of us spiritually which cannot be seen with physical eyes. If you understand spiritual realities, you get the opportunity to believe them. If you believe them, meditate on them. If you meditate on them, you will find them working powerfully in your life to transform you and release you from sinful desires.
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.