NL-Day061 Leviticus 17-18; Psalm 19; Luke 12:21-59
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
LEVITICUS 17-18:Yesterday we learned about regulations concerning uncleanness caused by bodily discharges of all kinds. Then we heard the procedures for the high priest to perform yearly on the day of atonement. PSALM 19:Today’s Psalm is a famous poem celebrating the heavens and God's creation, and secondly celebrating the perfection of God's Word. LUKE 12b:In yesterday’s reading in this chapter, Jesus warned about hypocrisy, and one of our biggest fears— fearing what other people will think of us. I want to read a clear version of these three verses: Luk. 12:8 [PET “I tell you the...
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NL-Day060 Leviticus 15-16; Psalm 18; Luke 12:1-32
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
LEVITICUS 15-16:Yesterday we heard about sacrifices following the healing of skin diseases and after getting rid of house mildew. Chapter 15 is about defiling bodily discharges. Chapter 16 is about the Day of Atonement, and the chapter contains a translation problem in the word or name ‘azazel’. If you are interested in this problem, see the Translate notes in today’s episode notes. PSALM 18:This poem reveals David’s intimacy with God. Even though he frequently refers to himself, we see that God— and not himself, is the center of his spiritual life. LUKE 12a:Jesus definitely gained...
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NL-Day059 Leviticus 14; Psalm 17; Luke 11:29-54
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
LEVITICUS 14:After hearing about the serious skin diseases yesterday, today we hear of the regulations if someone is healed from one. Note that these regulations were probably almost never done— until perhaps when Jesus caused a wave of men who had been healed to come with offerings. Note that our modern translations use either ‘serious skin disease’ or ‘contagious skin disease’ instead of calling these ‘leprosy’ as in older translations. Leprosy— also called Hanson’s Disease, is a very different disease from the ones described in Scripture. PSALM 17:This is one of David’s...
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NL-Day058 Leviticus 13; Psalm 16; Luke 11:1-28
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
LEVITICUS 13:Yesterday in Lev. 11-12, we learned the animals considered clean and edible, and those that were considered unclean and detestable. Then we heard about the sacrifices for purification after a woman gives birth. PSALM 16:E.C. Olsen says that the Old Testament is like a sundial. “It is not difficult to read the hour marks on a sundial. Anybody can read them and at any time, but one can only tell time when the sun shines upon the sundial. Thus, while the Bible is the Word of God and can be read by all at any time, only the man who has received the Lord Jesus Christ is able to tell...
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NL-Day057 Leviticus 11-12; Psalm 15; Luke 10:21-42
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
LEVITICUS 11-12:Yesterday in Leviticus, Aaron and his sons started their work, and the glory of the Lord was revealed. But right after that Nadab and Abihu died because they offered an unauthorized kind of fire to the Lord. PSALM 15:This is a psalm showing the kind of people who will be welcomed into God's presence. LUKE 10:Yesterday in the first half of the chapter, Jesus sent the 72 disciples out ahead of Him with interesting instructions. A worker will be given his pay as he trusts in the Lord to provide it. And there were strong words for the villages which received most of Jesus'...
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NL-Day056 Leviticus 9-10; Psalm 14; Luke 10:1-24
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
LEVITICUS 9-10:Yesterday in Leviticus, we heard more regulations for the priests (mainly), and then heard the story of the ordination ceremony that Moses performed for Aaron and his sons. PSALM 14:Psalm 14 can be classed as a messianic psalm because of v7. (However that is made clearer in other translations.) David shows us what God sees when He looks at this world. And that is why Paul quoted from this psalm in Romans 3. LUKE 10:In the second half of Luke 9, Jesus came down from the mountain to find a crowd, and he healed a demon possessed boy. Jesus predicted his death, and talked about the...
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NL-Day055 Leviticus 7-8; Psalm 13; Luke 9:35-62
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
LEVITICUS 7:Yesterday we heard about sin and guilt offerings and about the ordination offering for priests. In today’s reading, it sounds to me that for repayment offerings (repayment being a sin which would usually be intentional), the person offering the sacrifice would not be entitled to receive any of the meat. PSALM 13:David starts by crying out “How long?” and ends with a note of praise. We can be thankful for his difficult experiences which give us these Psalms. LUKE 9b:Yesterday we heard of Jesus sending out his disciples, and afterward the feeding of the 5,000. Peter rightly...
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NL-Day054 Leviticus 5-6; Psalm 12; Luke 9:1-36
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
LEVITICUS 5-6:Yesterday we read about sacrifices given for unintentional sins and for peace offerings. And I said that we would hear about offerings for intentional sins today. PSALM 12:In Psalm 12, we hear of trusting in God's promises even in the midst of hard times. LUKE 9a:Yesterday to the woman healed of bleeding, Jesus said, “It is because you believe in me that you are healed.” And to Jairus, He said, “ Don’t be afraid. Just keep on believing in Me.” NLT Translation notes:Ps. 12:5 The LORD replies, “I have seen [your violence done againstthe helpless,//violence done to...
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NL-Day053 Leviticus 3-4; Psalm 11; Luke 8:22-56
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
LEVITICUS 3-4:Yesterday we heard about burnt offerings and grain offerings. Andrew Bonar states about Leviticus:“There is no book in the whole compass of that inspired Volume which the Holy Spirit has given us, that contains more of the very words of God than Leviticus. It is God that is the direct speaker in almost every page; His gracious words are recorded in the form wherein they were uttered.” Note this in our reading in Leviticus today: By and large, the sacrificial system was set up to forgive unintentional sins. (Some small exceptions will be noted in tomorrow’s reading in...
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NL-Day052 Leviticus 1-2; Psalm 10; Luke 8:1-25
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
LEVITICUS 1-2:Yesterday at the end of Exodus, the worship in the completed and dedicated tabernacle was started. Leviticus is a continuation of Exodus, in the same way that Exodus is a continuation of Genesis. Leviticus also starts with the word ‘And’. The title once again comes from Latin Vulgate which was based on the name in the Septuagint. So the name does not come from the Hebrew. Because of the name, many think that this book is a handbook only for the priests. Not so. Wenham (from Constable) states: “It would be wrong, however, to describe Leviticus simply as a manual for...
info_outline1SAMUEL 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 the Lord, and the psalmist may see things as happening or already happening in his vision that refer to future events. We see an example of this in today’s psalm.
ROMANS 4b:
The new way of being made right with God by means of fully believing which Paul has been talking about, is it a new religion, or is it based on the past? It is based on the past. We follow Abraham's example of believing, and this also fulfills the prophetic promises given to Abraham. Not only that, but we become heirs to the same promises. And note: Paul uses questions to propel his logical arguments all the way through Romans— just like I did at the start of this paragraph.
NLT Translation notes:
Rom. 4:3 For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his [fully believing//faith].”
4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned.
5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their [believing//faith] in God who forgives sinners.
9 Now, is this blessing only for the Jews, or is it also for uncircumcised [non-Jews//Gentiles]? Well, we have been saying that Abraham was counted as righteous by God because of his [fully believing//faith].
11 Circumcision was a sign that Abraham already had [believed//faith] and that God had already accepted him and declared him to be righteous—even before he was circumcised. So Abraham is the spiritual father of those who have [believed//faith] but have not been circumcised. They are counted as righteous because of their [fully believing//faith].
12 And Abraham is also the spiritual father of those who have been circumcised, but only if they [believe the same way Abraham did//have the same kind of faith Abraham had] before he was circumcised.
13 Clearly, God’s promise to give the whole earth to Abraham and his descendants was based not on his obedience to God’s law, but on a right relationship with God that comes by [fully believing//faith].
14 If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then [believing//faith] is not necessary and the promise is pointless.
16 So the promise is received by [believing//faith]. It is given as a free gift. And we are all certain to receive it, whether or not we live according to the law of Moses, if we [believe like Abraham did//have faith like Abraham’s]. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.
[Here is my new attempt at rendering the meaning of this verse:] So the promise is received by [believing//faith]. It is given as a free gift. And if we become Abraham’s spiritual children by believing like Abraham did, we are certain to receive it— whether or not we live by the Law of Moses. For Abraham is the father of all who believe.]
19 And [Abraham did not weaken in his belief//Abraham’s faith did not weaken], even though, at about 100 years of age, he figured his body was as good as dead—and so was Sarah’s womb.
20 Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his [believing//faith] grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God.
21 He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises.
22 And because of [Abraham fully believing God’s promise//Abraham’s faith], God counted him as righteous.
25 [Jesus/He] was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.
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.