NL-Day183 1 Kings 15-16; Psalm 119:161-176; John 8:28-59
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
Release Date: 06/29/2025
NL-Day194 2 Kings 15-16; Psalm 130; John 14:1-21
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2KINGS 15-16:Readers and listeners are frequently confused by the names of the kings in yesterday’s reading in 2nd Kings. Judah’ king, Joash, died at the end of chapter 12. Then on the Israel (10 tribes) side, we heard of Jehoahaz's reign, and then the reign of his son, Johoash. He was helped by Elisha’s final prophecy. Also in yesterday’s reading we heard about of the reign of Joash’s son, Amaziah, in Judah. Amaziah was very unwise to insist on war with Israel’s king Jehoash. PSALM 130:This Psalm of Ascent is one of the most beautiful of all the psalms, and an...
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NL-Day193 2 Kings 13-14; Psalm 129; John 13:12-38
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2KINGS 13-14:Yesterday we heard of Athaliah's seven year reign over Judah, of how Joash was saved from being killed, and of Jehoida's successful plot to end Athaliah's reign. Joash turned out to be sorta good, but disappointing at the end of his reign. And it is interesting to note that the people who worked on restoring the temple evidently had more integrity than the priests. PSALM 129:This is another Psalm of Ascent and another nationalistic psalm. In this year’s readings, in just a few days we will begin hearing the parts of Israel’s history where this psalm writer could have received...
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NL-Day192 2 Kings 11-12; Psalm 128; John 13:1-17
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2KINGS 11-12:Yesterday's story was of Jehu, anointed on Elisha's orders, and who executed the Lord's vengeance on Ahab and his whole family, and even his friends and the worshipers of Baal. However, after that, he still didn't follow the Lord, but continued the idolatry of Israel. PSALM 128:Today’s Song of Ascent has a similar theme about the Lord’s blessings for families as yesterday’s psalm. Unlike what I said about translating the Hebrew word ‘sons’ in Psalm 127, the context of today’s psalm seems more inclusive, so we can easily agree with the NET and other versions in...
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NL-Day191 2 Kings 9-10; Psalm 127; John 12:20-50
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2KINGS 9-10:Yesterday we heard one of my favorite Old Testament stories: The one about the three lepers and the famine in Samaria. Elisha's prophecy was so dramatically fulfilled, and the scoffing officer could be a parable for modern times. Then we heard how the woman from Shunem returned and was blessed a second time. The narrative switched briefly to the kingdom of Judah and Ahaziah's reign. PSALM 127:About ‘children/sons’ in v. 3, NET’s note says this: Some prefer to translate this word with the gender neutral “children,” but “sons” are plainly in view here, as the following...
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190: Buckling the Belt: Lesson 3 following the Spirit's lead
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
Recorded July 7, 2023 Buckling the Belt of Truth, lesson 3 THEME: following the SPIRIT’s lead I will not read all the verse numbers, nor will I always cite which translation I am quoting from. If I don’t say which translation, it is either NLT or GNT. The complete information is found in the episode notes. One of the mistakes I made in trying to find victory over my evil desires was thinking that the spiritual reality of my death and resurrection with Christ was going to be the key that would give me total victory over sin. It doesn’t work that way. But the reality I find is that...
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NL-Day190 2 Kings 7-8; Psalm 126; John 12:1-26
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2KINGS 7-8:Yesterday we heard two more chapters containing fascinating miracles performed by Elisha. The story about Gahazi getting the gifts from Naaman, and the vision about the chariots of fire both have interesting spiritual significance to ponder. We come back to the story from chapter 7 where the Aramean army is surrounding Samaria. The famine is severe. The king has sent an executioner to kill Elisha. And then: 2Kings 6:32 NLT Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders of Israel when the king sent a messenger to summon him. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the...
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NL-Day189 2 Kings 5-6; Psalm 125; John 11:21-57
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2KINGS 5-6:Yesterday we heard of the many miracles done by Elisha, supplying water for three armies on their way to Moab for war, helping the widow of a prophet, blessing the woman from Shunem, purifying Jericho's water, and miraculously transforming food. PSALM 125:The first verse of this psalm is one that our family has sung for years. Gale and I learned this song from a cassette tape that came from a Canadian church called St. Margaret’s, a place we have never been to. At that time (around 1977) we were teachers in Papua New Guinea and our David was two. Those who trust in the Lord are...
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NL-Day188 2 Kings 3-4; Psalm 124; John 11:1-26
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2KINGS 3-4:Yesterday we heard of the final amazing prophecies of Elijah, and then how he took leave of the prophets and particularly, his successor Elisha. Elisha quickly showed that he was Elijah's successor. PSALM 124:I keep being amazed how people (and particularly those in America) don’t seem to learn anything from the amazing things that are happening in our times. The last verse of this psalm expresses the lesson that I think we should have learned by now. JOHN 11a:Reminding us of what we heard in John 10: Our Shepherd calls us by name. He knows us thoroughly, just like He and the...
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NL-Day187 2 Kings 1-2; Psalm 123; John 10:11-42
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2KINGS 1-2:Yesterday we heard stories which show that King Ahab indeed “sold himself to evil,” including the story of Naboth's vineyard. And also we heard of Ahab's friendship with King Jehoshaphat of Judah. Finally we heard how the prophecies against Ahab were fulfilled. PSALM 123:This psalm has an important similarity with Ps. 121 which said, Ps. 121:1 NLT I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there?2 My help comes from the LORD,who made heaven and earth! Today’s psalm tells us how to ‘look’. JOHN 10b:In John 9, with the formerly blind man standing there, Jesus said,...
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NL-Day186 1 Kings 21-22; Psalm 122; John 10:1-21
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
1KINGS 21-22:What a cruel surprise it must have been for Elijah to bring about such an irrefutable display of God's power before the people, but then to have to flee for his life because of Queen Jezebel! Note that God deigned to speak twice to King Ahab. And the reason was: God wanted it known to Ahab and to us that He is not a territorial God. God also gave amazing, symbolic revelations of Himself in the story of His appearing to Elijah at Mount Sinai. Finally, in yesterday’s reading, Elijah's successor, Elisha, was introduced. PSALM 122:Consider how exciting it would have been to make a...
info_outline1KINGS 15-16:
I think yesterday's story of the ‘man of God from Judah’ and the ‘old prophet from Bethel’ to be one of the most fascinating in the Bible. Prophets who lie will certainly be judged harshly by God! And we will see in 2nd Kings that the prophecy of the unnamed man of God from Judah was completely fulfilled. Also in yesterday’s reading, we heard Ahijah's prophecy against Jeroboam. We also heard of the end of the reign of Rehoboam, Solomon's son. And do you think that Shishak took the ark of the covenant to Egypt?
PSALM 119:161-176:
This our last reading in this Psalm. I marked the last two verses from yesterday’s reading:
Ps. 119:159 See how I love your instructions, Lord.
Your love never changes, so save me!
160 GNT The heart of your law is truth,
and all your righteous judgments are eternal.
//NLT The very essence of your words is truth;
all your just regulations will stand forever.
JOHN 8b:
The story of the woman caught in adultery shows so many things: Jesus' authority, his wisdom in defeating the Pharisees, his mercy, and that being forgiven does not give one license to continue in sin. Yesterday we also read one of Jesus' seven great ‘I am’ statements found in this Gospel: “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
NLT Translation notes:
John 8:9 When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left [[0//in the middle of the crowd] with the woman.
[This was new to me today! This is the first time I have noticed that perhaps not everyone left (as I have seen in the movies), but just the accusers. This makes good sense, actually. According to the grammar of Greek, I believe that the previous speakers (the Pharisees) would be the logical subject of ‘hearing this’.]
28 So Jesus said, “[I am the Son of Man, and] When you have lifted [Me] up [0//the Son of Man] on the cross, then you will understand that I AM he.g I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me.
43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even [listen to//hear me!
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.