NL-Day316 Daniel 5-6; Isaiah 25; 2 Corinthians 5:14-6:13
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
Release Date: 11/12/2022
NL-Day279 2 Chronicles 32; Ecclesiastes 8; Matthew 21:1-27
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2CHRONICLES 32:Following that special Passover, the people went home and destroyed all the pagan shrines. And a good summary of chapter 31 is the last verse: 2Chron. 31:21 NLT In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God and in his efforts to follow God’s laws and commands, Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly. As a result, he was very successful. ECCLESIASTES 8:Yesterday’s chapter of Ecclesiastes included quite a variety of Solomon’s proverbs, including: Ecc. 7:5 NLT Better to be criticized by a wise person than to be praised by a fool. 20 Not a single person on earth is...
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NL-Day278 2 Chronicles 31; Ecclesiastes 7; Matthew 20
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2CHRONICLES 31:A sign of how far Judah and Israel had wandered from the Lord was that even the Passover was not celebrated. When Hezekiah reinstituted the Passover celebration, it was the start of a real revival. ECCLESIASTES 7:I find it interesting that Solomon would say that everything has been decided beforehand. GNT certainly implied Who it was who decided beforehand, but NLT makes that explicit: Ecc. 6:10 NLT Everything has already been decided. It was known long ago what each person would be. So there’s no use arguing with God about your destiny. Not about the issue of destiny, but...
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NL-Day277 2 Chronicles 30; Ecclesiastes 6; Matthew 19
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2CHRONICLES 30:Hezekiah led a wonderful spiritual revival which included the reopening and cleansing of the temple and the resumption of sacrifices. And he wasted no time in doing those things. ECCLESIASTES 6:Solomon gave wonderful conclusions about happiness in yesterday’s reading. And he also observed that we leave the world as naked and empty-handed as when we came into the world. MATTHEW 19:Yesterday’s portion of Matthew 18 included the important parable about the king and the forgiven servant who did not forgive the debt of his fellow servant. NLT Translation note:Mat. 19:15 And...
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NL-Day276 2 Chronicles 29; Ecclesiastes 5; Matthew 18:15-35
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2CHRONICLES 29:Ahaz’s rule was one of the darkest chapters in Judah’s history. The people didn’t even bury him in the royal cemetery. He closed the temple and put up places to worship Baal all over the country. Even when under severe punishment from the Lord, he never turned to the Lord for help. ECCLESIASTES 5:In yesterday’s chapter, I really like the passages that talk of having the companionship of 2 (or perhaps 3) people. And when it is 2, I always think that the relationship of a man and wife is in view. MATTHEW 18b:Yesterday we heard the passage that deals with following Jesus...
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NL-Day275 2 Chronicles 28; Ecclesiastes 4; Matthew 18:1-20
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2CHRONICLES 28:Yesterday we heard of the reign of Uzziah (who suffered a terrible punishment for his pride) and the reign of his son, Jotham. Both were basically good kings. ECCLESIASTES 4:Yesterday we heard the famous chapter of Ecclesiastes which starts with Ecc. 3:1 (like NLT) For everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season, (turn, turn, turn) a time for every activity under heaven. (Except of course, the NLT does not contain 'turn, turn, turn'.) GNT is very perceptive in bringing out some implicit information that would have been understood by Solomon’s audience, but which modern...
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NL-Day274 2 Chronicles 26-27; Ecclesiastes 3; Matthew 16:24-17:27
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2CHRONICLES 26-27:King Joash didn’t end so well, did he?! He ordered the murder of Jehoiadah’s son Zechariah. Time and time again Judah’s kings needed to learn not to be proud, and that certainly happened to Joash’s son Amaziah, who was assassinated like his father. Jesus mentioned a Zechariah in Matthew 23 who was “murdered between the temple and the altar.” I previously was mistaken in saying in the intro to 2Chronicles 26 that Joash murdered the son of Jehoida. The Zechariah that Joash murdered was the son of Jehoida, but the one Jesus mentioned is Zechariah “the son of...
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NL-Day273 2 Chronicles 24-25; Ecclesiastes 2:12-26; Matthew 16
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2CHRONICLES 24-25:Yesterday we heard of Ahaziah’s one year reign, and then his mother Athaliah’s reign. The baby Joash was the only royal descendant of David saved from slaughter. He was raised in the temple by Jehoiada and Jehosheba. When he reached only seven years old, Jehoiada mounted a dangerous coup, which succeeded. ECCLESIASTES 2B:In yesterday’s reading, Solomon sought to find meaning in life through pleasure, folly, wine, and hard work. But both the wise man and the fool share the same fate (as far as Solomon could see). MATTHEW 16:In yesterday’s reading, Matthew gave more...
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NL-Day272 2 Chronicles 22-23; Ecclesiastes 2:1-17; Matthew 15:21-39
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2CHRONICLES 22-23:Yesterday we heard of Jehoshaphat’s famous victory, accomplished only by prayer, worship, and the power of the Lord. Then we also heard about Jehoshaphat’s son, Jehoram, who might possibly be Judah’s worst king, except for several at the very end of that kingdom. ECCLESIASTES 2a:Yesterday the theme of Ecclesiastes was given in these words: Ecc. 2:2 NLT “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “completely meaningless!”15 What is wrong cannot be made right.What is missing cannot be recovered.18 The greater my wisdom, the greater my grief.To increase...
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NL-Day271 2 Chronicles 20-21; Ecclesiastes 1; Matthew 15:1-20
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2CHRONICLES 20-21:Yesterday we heard of Jehoshaphat wisely appointing judges, and he also travelled all over Israel personally encouraging people to follow the Lord. ECCLESIASTES 1:The book of Ecclesiastes is the record of Solomon seeking to find God in a worldly way. This is a book of worldly wisdom. Solomon repeatedly uses the key theme word ‘useless’ to describe our lives on earth. God had not given clear promises about how all mankind will live after death, and Solomon considers the afterlife an open question. Had he known what we know, his opinions on many things would have changed....
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NL-Day270 2 Chronicles 19; Proverbs 31:10-31; Matthew 14
Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields
2CHRONICLES 19:Yesterday we heard the story of how Jehoshaphat helped Ahab in battle. God had already spoken through a prophet that Ahab would meet his downfall and how the dogs would lick up his blood. This happened, as we already read in 1Kings 22, when they took his chariot back to Samaria. PROVERBS 31b:Speaking of a capable and virtuous wife, this chapter says: Pro. 31:28-29 NLT Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:29 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!” MATTHEW...
info_outlineDANIEL 5-6:
Yesterday we heard two stories: That of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue of gold and the exciting way God delivered Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And the second story was Nebuchadnezzar himself sharing about his dream and how he was later humbled.
ISAIAH 25:
Yesterday’s reading in Isaiah talked of the destruction of the whole earth, but here again as typical in Isaiah, the sun was allowed to break through the clouds. We look forward to a city where God himself will outshine the sun.
2CORINTHIANS 5:14—6:13:
Here is part of Paul’s discussion about the earthly tents/bodies we all have, and heavenly bodies we will one day have:
2Cor. 5:6 GNT So we are always full of courage. We know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord's home.
7 For our life is a matter of [believing//faith], not of [seeing//sight].
8 We are full of courage and would much prefer to leave our home in the body and be at home with the Lord.
9 More than anything else, however, we want to please him, whether in our home here or there.
Paul returns to his theme about the the apostolic ministry that God has given to him and his companions, and especially now their commission to share the message of reconciliation with God.
NLT Translation notes:
2Cor. 5:13 If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if [it seems] we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit.
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person [/, one might even say a new creation]. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
2Cor. 6:8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise
us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they [still] call us impostors.
6:12 There is no lack of love on our part, but you have [been] withheld your love from us.
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.