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NL-Day006 Genesis 11-12; Job 6; Mark 4:21-41

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

Release Date: 01/06/2024

NL-Day167 2 Samuel 16; Psalm 115; Romans 16 show art NL-Day167 2 Samuel 16; Psalm 115; Romans 16

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2SAMUEL 16:Absolom first stole the hearts of all Israel by being a shrewd politician. Then he mounted a rebellion against his own father. David fled Jerusalem to avoid bloodshed, and as he left, he planted several carefully chosen people to work for him. PSALM 115:I know I have said it a lot, but can’t help saying it again: This is one of my favorite psalms. Our God is so different than idols. He is in heaven and does whatever He pleases. ROMANS 16:Having told of his plans to visit Rome on his way to Spain, and how he must first go to Jerusalem, Paul now turns to greeting his friends in...

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NL-Day166 2 Samuel 15; Psalm 114; Romans 15 show art NL-Day166 2 Samuel 15; Psalm 114; Romans 15

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2SAMUEL 15:In our last reading, we heard how Joab creatively arranged to persuade David to bring Absalom back from exile. And how eventually David agreed to let Absolom meet him directly. PSALM 114:This poem praises God for the miraculous deliverance from Egypt. Re-reading ROMANS 15:Chapter 15 of Romans comes to this summary sentence in verse 13: “May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your [believing//faith] in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.” NLT Translation notes:Rom. 15:6 Then all of you can join together...

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NL-Day165 2 Samuel 14; Psalm 113; Romans 15 show art NL-Day165 2 Samuel 14; Psalm 113; Romans 15

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

 2SAMUEL 14:There is more than one way in which David did not obey God’s instructions for kings. The big one of course is the Bathsheba affair, but God had already said that kings should not have lots of wives. David’s daughter Tamar was raped by her half brother Amnon. And after two years, Absolom (Tamar’s brother) murdered Amnon. PSALM 113:This is a song praising our incomparable God. ROMANS 15:Paul continues what he was ‘on about’ in yesterday’s reading. We must accept other believers even though we don’t agree on prohibitions, practices, or rituals. Disputes over these...

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NL-Day164 2 Samuel 13; Psalm 112; Romans 14 show art NL-Day164 2 Samuel 13; Psalm 112; Romans 14

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2SAMUEL 13:Yesterday we heard of David's moral failure with Bathsheba. That sin led to the death of the noble husband of Bathsheba, Uriah. Nathan gave one of his most stunning prophecies. David immediately and utterly repented. Even so, the baby son of Bathsheba and David son died. I mentioned yesterday that sin always has consequences, even when there has been forgiveness. Another lesson from this story is that one sin leads to more sin. PSALM 112:Like Psalm 111, Psalm 112 carries similar themes with the book of Proverbs. Verse 9 is quoted in the New Testament. Re-reading ROMANS 14:I am very...

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Day164, Phil's Treasure Map, Belt Buckling, WAS Day158 show art Day164, Phil's Treasure Map, Belt Buckling, WAS Day158

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

Greetings everyone! As I explained previously, I started on a quest because of frustration with 2Peter 1:3-4: By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. Let’s find those promises Peter was talking about! In the...

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NL-Day163 2 Samuel 11-12; Psalm 111; Romans 14 show art NL-Day163 2 Samuel 11-12; Psalm 111; Romans 14

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2SAMUEL 11-12:David showed kindness to Jonathan's only living son. Then we heard the story of how suspicion caused offense, which led to all-out war with the Ammonites. And David was victorious again against the Arameans and Ammonites. Today I want to highlight some important realities: God is watching. Our sins may be forgiven, but there will still be consequences. PSALM 111:This beautiful psalm of praise is an acrostic poem in Hebrew. ROMANS 14:In yesterday’s reading, Paul taught us to submit to rulers and government officials, then he urged us to love one another and lead holy lives. Now...

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NL-Day162 2 Samuel 9-10; Psalm 110; Romans 13 show art NL-Day162 2 Samuel 9-10; Psalm 110; Romans 13

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2SAMUEL 9-10:David realized the incongruity that he was living in a beautiful cedar palace while God's dwelling place was in a tent. Then God gave Nathan the prophet a long message for David. He told him that his dynasty would last forever and that his son would build God’s temple. David’s beautiful prayer of response is recorded for us. Then God gave a string of stunning military victories to David. PSALM 110:The first verse of this short psalm is one of the most repeated verses of the New Testament. It certainly was very important for the early Christians. And the 4th verse becomes an...

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NL-Day161 2 Samuel 7-8; Psalm 109:15-31; Romans 13 show art NL-Day161 2 Samuel 7-8; Psalm 109:15-31; Romans 13

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2SAMUEL 7-8:At last, David became the king of all Israel, then the Lord gave him two great military victories over the Philistines. Then, after a botched attempt, David moved the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. He danced with all his might before the Lord. Psalm 109b:When you feel that you are surrounded by people who gang up against you and slander you, then this is the psalm for you. Note that Jesus would have had every right to pray like this from the cross, but He didn’t! In the NLT, verses 6 through 19 are translated as a long quote of slander against the Psalm-writer, David. ROMANS...

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NL-Day160 2 Samuel 5-6; Psalm 109:1-19; Romans 12 show art NL-Day160 2 Samuel 5-6; Psalm 109:1-19; Romans 12

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2SAMUEL 5-6:General Abner defected to David, but it cost him his life on the same day at the hands of Joab, the commander of David's forces and the brother of the slain Asahel. One result was also that Ishbosheth was murdered by two army captains who thought that they would be rewarded for doing David a favor. PSALM 109a:If you feel that you are surrounded by people who gang up against you and slander you, then this is the psalm for you. One of the verses in this psalm was quoted by Peter about Judas in Acts 1. You are certainly given permission by this Psalm to pray for vindication and...

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NL-Day159 2 Samuel 3-4; Psalm 108; Romans 12 show art NL-Day159 2 Samuel 3-4; Psalm 108; Romans 12

Daily Bible Reading Phil Fields

2SAMUEL 3-4:In yesterday's story, David was anointed as king over his own tribe of Judah, while all the rest of Israel followed Saul's son, Ishbosheth. Ishbosheth was not a strong leader, but was put in place by Abner, the general. Joab was David's military commander. In the first battle, it is significant that Abner killed Joab's brother Asahel. David's troops decisively won their first battle in the civil war. PSALM 108:This is a psalm of exalted praise, and a song asking God for military victory. ROMANS 12a:Yesterday at the end of Romans 11, we came to the end of the long parenthesis. God...

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If you are reading along while listening to the recordings, you will notice that I often exchange the word ‘believe’ (or ‘fully believe’) for ‘faith’. This is because the English word ‘faith’ is used with all kinds of fuzzy meanings these days and can easily be misunderstood. 1) In Greek, ‘faith’ and ‘believe’ are the noun and verb forms of the same root word. 2) When one uses an abstract noun like ‘faith’ in English, the object of the faith is lost— in this case the Person who is being believed. Note that ‘faith’ does not have a vague meaning like ‘endurance’ or ‘ability to live without fear’— which might be assumed in today's passage. Such fuzzy meanings almost always end up placing ‘faith’ in ourselves, which is a big mistake. The ‘faith’ that Jesus is talking about at the end of this chapter is placing our trust 100% in Him!

GENESIS 11-12:
Yesterday in Genesis 9-10, we heard the story of Noah's drunkenness and his curse on Canaan because of it (which wasn't very fair since it was his father Ham who actually caused the offense to Noah, and because Ham also had other sons). Then we heard about Noah's descendants.

JOB 6:
In chapter 5 Eliphaz continued to imply that Job has sinned:

Job 5:6 NLT Evil does not grow in the soil,
nor does trouble grow out of the ground.
7 No indeed! We bring trouble on ourselves,
as surely as sparks fly up from a fire.

Eliphaz’ main point in that chapter was that Job would be forgiven and blessed if he repented:

17 Happy is the person whom God corrects!
Do not resent it when he rebukes you.
18 God bandages the wounds he makes;
his hand hurts you, and his hand heals.

There is truth in what Eliphaz says, and a similar statement to verse 17 is found in James 1.

MARK 4b:
Chapter 4 is the parable chapter of Mark. The Parable about the Different Kinds of Soil is in all three synoptic Gospels— which are Matthew, Mark, and Luke. That parable holds deep meaning that one never really grows out of. Each time you hear it, new facets come to light, and every believer should meditate on what kind of soil they are most like at the present time.

 

NLT Translation notes:
Gen. 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let’s build a great city for ourselves with a tower that reaches [into/0] the sky.
====
Mrk. 4:26 Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God [can be illustrated as being like when//is like] a farmer [0/who] scatters seed on the ground.

[It bothers me grammatically to say that a 'kingdom' is like a 'farmer'. The king might be like a farmer, both being people. Jesus' illustration shows that the whole package is what is like the Kingdom of God, including farmer, seed, time for growing, and harvest.]

30 Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? 31 [God's Kingdom can be compared to//It is like] a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds,

40 Then he [said to/asked] them, “[What a bunch of cowards you are! It is clear that you don't believe fully in me!”//Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”]

[I have treated these rhetorical questions as statements. In English it seems a bit silly to ask “Why are you afraid?” Jesus' question is a rebuke (and we can debate how strong a rebuke was intended). The second RQ is also a rebuke.]

[Note that I will often change 'faith' to 'fully believe'. This might be a good illustration of why the English word 'faith' is often misunderstood. 1) People often have forgotten that the root meaning of 'faith' is 'believe'— having the same Greek root word. 2) When one uses an abstract noun like 'faith' we loose the object— in this case the Person who is being believed. Note that 'faith' does not have the a vague root meaning like 'endurance' or 'ability to live without fear', which might be assumed by some readers. Such words almost always end up placing 'faith' in ourselves. This is very wrong. What faith means here is placing trust 100% in Jesus.]

41 The disciples were absolutely terrified. “[Wow, what kind of man is this Jesus?!//Who is this man?]”3 they [said to//asked] each other. “Even the wind and waves obey him!”

[The disciples had not forgotten Jesus' name! This translation is as suggested by Deibler.]

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.