Daily GNT Bible Reading Podcast

Join us in reading through the whole Good News Bible (GNT) in 365 24-minute-long podcasts!

GN-Day039 Exodus 17-18; Job 39; 2 Peter 3 02/01/2026

GN-Day038 Exodus 15-16; Job 38; 2 Peter 1:19-2:22 02/01/2026

GN-Day037 Exodus 13-14; Job 37; 2 Peter 1 02/01/2026

GN-Day037 Exodus 13-14; Job 37; 2 Peter 1 EXODUS 13-14:Yesterday In Exodus we heard of the final plague— the death of the firstborn, which happened at the first Passover. And we heard the rules for the Passover celebrations. Note how Christ is foreshadowed in the Passover lamb, including the detail that not a bone was to be broken. JOB 37:Today we read chapter 37 of Job, which is the conclusion of Elihu's speech. 2nd PETER 1:Yesterday in the last chapter of his letter, James railed against the rich to encourage the poor. He also told us how to be patient in our suffering. The last section teaches about prayer for the sick and finally about repentance. I add a little footnote here. So often I hear the part about praying for the sick quoted by people who do not bother to fulfill all the instructions that James gives. If we are going to claim promises in Scriptures, we need to fulfill the conditions given! The 2nd letter of Peter's was probably written not long before he was martyred in AD 68. Or it could have been written as early as AD 65. A different person with a very different vocabulary served as Peter’s secretary to write this. One of the things that tell me that Peter really was the author is his consistent humility. In 1Peter 5, he spoke of himself as a fellow elder and a fellow in looking forward to the glory that will be revealed to us. And he starts this letter in a similar vein, calling his listeners those ‘who share the same precious [faith/way of believing] we [apostles] have.’ Constable quotes Vernon McGee: “Second Peter is the swan song of Peter, just as 2 Timothy is the swan song of Paul. There are striking similarities between the two books. Both epistles put up a warning sign along the pilgrim pathway the church is traveling to identify the awful apostasy that was on the way at the time and which in our time has now arrived. What was then like a cloud the size of a man’s hand today envelops the sky and produces a storm of hurricane proportions. Peter warns of heresy among teachers; Paul warns of heresy among the laity.” /episode/index/show/dailygntbiblereading/id/8005685

GN-Day036 Exodus 11-12; Job 36; James 5 02/01/2026

GN-Day035 Exodus 9-10; Job 35; James 4 02/01/2026

GN-Day034 Exodus 7-8; Job 34; James 3 02/01/2026

GN-Day033 Exodus 5-6; Job 33; James 2 02/01/2026

GN-Day032 Exodus 3-4; Job 32; James 1 01/25/2026

GN-Day032 Exodus 3-4; Job 32; James 1 EXODUS 3-4:In yesterday's beginning to Exodus, we heard of Moses' birth and his young adulthood in Egypt. He murdered a man and had to flee for his life, going to Midian. We also read of his helping the seven daughters of Reuel, a scene that I can't read without thinking of the Cecil B. DeMill movie. JOB 32:Job having finished his defense, Elihu takes the stage. HC Mears says, Eliphaz basically said, “God never makes a mistake. What have you done to bring this on yourself?” Bildad essentially said, “God is just. Confess your sin.” Zophar suggested, “God is all-wise. He knows man.” Elihu’s name means, ‘My God is He’ or ‘He is my God.’ So Elihu is God's man, and he said the wisest thing: “God is good; look up, and trust Him.” Note that at the end of the book, Elihu is not mentioned as having misrepresented God— unlike Job’s three friends. He does seem to speak wisely, but we can fault him for his arrogance. JAMES 1:Yesterday in 1Peter 5, Peter gave a very stern warning to rich people, and also important encouragement to elders within the church. And among other things, he gave an important word about spiritual battle with Satan. I summarize his commands as Stay alert, Stand firm, and Remember. The letter of James is similar to 1 Peter in several ways. In the first verse of both letters, both mention that their audience is dispersed throughout the world. Both describe their audience using Jewish catchphrases. James’ style is also similar to Peter’s in the way he sets out several themes and keeps returning to them. Moyer says of this book, “As soon as we read through the letter of James we say to ourselves, ‘This man was a preacher before he was a writer.’” James is probably the oldest book of the New Testament, written perhaps only 15 years after Jesus' death and before the first council of Jerusalem in AD 50. This was written, not by the disciple named James, but by James the half-brother of Jesus. While Jesus was alive, his brother James was not a believer. But he came to believe when Jesus appeared to him shortly after His resurrection. Sometime after this and before his martyrdom in AD 62, James was the leader of the church in Jerusalem. James does not call himself ‘the brother of Jesus’ but His slave! /episode/index/show/dailygntbiblereading/id/8005478

GN-Day031 Exodus 1-2; Job 31; 1 Peter 5 01/25/2026

GN-Day031 Exodus 1-2; Job 31; 1 Peter 5 EXODUS 1:Yesterday we wrapped up Genesis with Jacob's very prophetic blessings for each of his sons. Then we heard of the conclusion after Jacob was buried, including the account of Joseph’s death and his instruction about what to do with his bones. Exodus is clearly a continuation of the story of Genesis since the first word in the Hebrew text is ‘And’. Tradition holds that Moses is the author. The name Exodus derives from the name that was given by the Septuagint translators— which is the translation of the OT into classical Greek made during the period from three hundred to one hundred and thirty-two years before Christ. Here are two perceptive summary statements about Exodus— quotes by Durham (from Constable’s Notes): “No other biblical book surfaces elsewhere in the OT as frequently as the Book of Exodus does; in the NT only the Books of Psalms and Isaiah are cited more, and that for the fairly obvious reasons of liturgy and messianism.” “The story of the first half of Exodus, in broad summary, is Rescue. The story of the second half, in equally broad summary, is Response, both immediate response and continuing response. And binding together and undergirding both Rescue and Response is Presence— the Presence of Yahweh from whom both Rescue and Response ultimately derive.” Here is a quote by J. Daniel Hays: “The deliverance of Israel out of Egypt by Yahweh in the Old Testament is parallel in importance to the resurrection of Christ in the New Testament. The historicity of these events is a critical foundation for a proper understanding of the rest of the Bible.” And finally, Henrietta Mears in her handbook says this: “Exodus is connected to Genesis in much the same way that the New Testament is connected to the Old Testament. Genesis tells of humanity’s failure under every test and in every condition. Exodus is the thrilling epic of God rushing to the rescue. It tells of the redeeming work of a sovereign God.” JOB 31:No matter how you divide the discourse in the book of Job, today’s reading of chapter 31 is the final one in Job’s long speech. In today’s reading Job makes his final protest that he is innocent. After this, Elihu struts his stuff. 1PETER 5:Peter finished chapter 4 talking about proudly bearing the name of ‘Christ’— which is part of the word ‘Christian’, and being patient under suffering— if that is included in God's will for you. /episode/index/show/dailygntbiblereading/id/8000915

GN-Day030 Genesis 49-50; Job 30; 1 Peter 3:17-4:19 01/25/2026

GN-Day029 Genesis 47-48; Job 29; 1 Peter 3 01/25/2026

GN-Day028 Genesis 46; Job 28; 1 Peter 1:22-2:25 01/25/2026

GN-Day027 Genesis 44-45; Job 27; 1 Peter 1 01/25/2026

GN-Day027 Genesis 44-45; Job 27; 1 Peter 1 GENESIS 44-45:Yesterday we heard of Joseph's brothers on their first and second trips to Egypt. At the end of chapter 43, Joseph’s giving wine without limit might be considered as the typical generosity of a wealthy host. The GNT and NET say that Joseph’s brothers became drunk. But under these circumstances, I very much doubt that his brothers would have allowed themselves to become drunk. I prefer NLT and NIV’s translation, saying that the brothers drank freely. We pick up the story, still in Joseph's palace on the second trip. JOB 27:When we turn to Job 27, if you are reading or listening to the NLT, this chapter is the 2nd chapter of Job’s six-chapter-long speech. But if you are reading in the GNT, Zophar interrupts starting at chapter 27 verse 13 and carries on through chapter 28. FIRST PETER 1:In the last chapter of Mark’s Gospel, we read about the resurrection of Jesus. Since Mark very likely wrote his gospel based on Peter's information, it seems fitting that we move to Peter's two letters now. Evidently, Peter spent the last decade of his life in Rome, where he was martyred around the year 64. Mark (whom Peter fondly refers to as ‘his son’ in chapter 5) was with him in Rome when this was written. Silas— whom we will hear of later in Acts, was the secretary for writing this letter. Scholars do not doubt that this letter is from Peter. For those who want to delve deeper in studying this short letter, I encourage you to search out and mark every occurrence of these repeated words: trials/suffering, hope, joy, grace, and glory. As we start this letter, I want to remind you that in Greek, the abstract noun ‘faith’ and verb ‘believe’ have the same root word. It would be better if our translations mirrored this, but instead they have used two dissimilar looking words, faith and belief. Using two dissimilar words damages the cohesion of the text. Unfortunately the NLT has further damaged the cohesion by using the word ‘trust’ in 1st Peter to translate ‘believe’. I encourage you to keep in mind that ‘faith’ and ‘trust’ means ‘fully believing’. /episode/index/show/dailygntbiblereading/id/8000807

GN-Day026 Genesis 42-43; Job 26; Mark 16 01/25/2026

025: EveryWord --- Mark 16 01/18/2026

025: EveryWord --- Mark 16 Today I will do my best to convince you that the last 12 verses of Mark 16 shouldn’t have brackets around them or footnotes that cast doubt on their authenticity. I believe that they are authentic Scripture inspired by God. Now, I try to stay away from saying anything controversial in the Daily Bible Reading Podcast series, and it kind of bothers me that here in this first Day 7 extra podcast of the year, I will say things that quite a few people with seminary training will consider leaning too much to the conservative side of the scale. But I feel constrained to be controversial now so I will come right out and say it: I believe what Moses (Deut. 8:3) and Jesus (Luk. 4:4) said: “Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word of God.” If we are to live by ‘every word’, then it makes sense to me to believe that God would preserve every word for us. Please remember that all Bible translations were made by humans. This means that there is no such thing as a perfect Bible translation, as almost all good versions state in their prefaces. Even the KJV translators admitted this in their Preface. So I ask for your patient understanding as I set out a weakness in the NLT. The NLT has this at Mark 16:8: 8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, and they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.[] c The most reliable early manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark end at verse 8. Other manuscripts include various endings to the Gospel. A few include both the “shorter ending” and the “longer ending.” The majority of manuscripts include the “longer ending” immediately after verse 8. Then with a sub-heading in bold and italic font: [The most ancient manuscripts of Mark conclude with verse 16:8. Later manuscripts add one or both of the following endings.] [Shorter Ending of Mark] Then they briefly reported all this to Peter and his companions. Afterward Jesus himself sent them out from east to west with the sacred and unfailing message of salvation that gives eternal life. Amen. [Longer Ending of Mark] verses 9-20 … When you get to Day 26 you will note that I didn't read the shorter ending for the podcast. That ending has extremely thin support in ancient manuscripts, and where the words occur, the manuscripts often also have the longer ending, verses 9-20. Some experts today think that Mark intended to end his Gospel with the words, “they said nothing to anyone because they were too frightened.” But this defies imagination! I don’t think authors started using the type of endings where you leave-the-audience-hanging until centuries later, like perhaps just two centuries ago. Remember that Mark starts with the words, “This is the Good News about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” Mark shows a pattern of telling the outcome for every miracle. He is not about to leave the main thesis of his story without its fulfillment. The fulfillment of the starting thesis is found in the next to last verse (16:19), which says, “19 When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.” That verse is also an important doctrinal statement, since no other Gospel includes those words as part of the story of Jesus’ resurrection. And the same verse very appropriately links Mark’s Gospel with Peter’s teaching in 1Peter 3:22. I believe that God has preserved His Word for us. Therefore it is unacceptable to me to say that the Holy Spirit would leave a whole book of the NT without a clear ending. We have two choices for the ending: One says the ladies didn’t tell anyone because they were afraid. The other ends with Jesus at the right hand of God. Which one seems to be the proper ending to you?! The NLT has words in bold italics before Mark 16 verses 9-20 which say, “[The most ancient manuscripts of Mark conclude with verse 16:8. Later manuscripts add one or both of the following endings.]” Well, how many manuscripts are we actually talking about with the words ‘The most ancient manuscripts’? Then the footnote says ‘later manuscripts add’ the last 12 verses. What are the real numbers? Two of the very oldest manuscripts plus one other do not have the last 12 verses of Mark. But the manuscripts that include the last 12 verses number more than 1,650! 99.99% of ancient manuscripts contain the longer ending of Mark. The NLT also has a footnote that starts with “The most reliable early manuscripts of the Gospel of Mark end at verse 8.” But this statement is, in my opinion, totally false. The two manuscripts they are talking about (Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) cannot be said to be ‘reliable’. They are, however, recognized as the very earliest, dated at 325 and 345. However, for Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus to be considered reliable, one would hope they would be reasonably consistent with one another. Instead they differ from one another in 3,036 places. I believe that early scribes recognized that they were defective, and this offers a plausible explanation for why there are no extant copies made from them. Many old-school ‘experts’ (by that I mean seminary teachers from the mid-20th century) will say that the two oldest manuscripts outweigh all of the 1,650 other ancient manuscripts. But an increasing number of today’s informed experts will not agree with the people I just called the ‘old-school experts’. Here are some points to consider: Both of the two oldest manuscripts I just mentioned have an odd blank space at the end of Mark, showing that the scribe realized the manuscript he was copying had something left out. This is called a ‘memorial space’. Such memorial spaces are found in various places in other ancient manuscripts. So even though the two manuscripts do not have the last 12 verses of Mark, the scribes telegraphed to us that they knew such an ending existed. Remember that Codex Sinaiticus and Vaticanus are from the early 4th century. There are quotes of verses from Mark 16:9-20 by church fathers that predate those two manuscripts. Earlier support for the longer ending of Mark include “four second-century witnesses, and 99.9% of the [other ancient] Greek manuscripts, and 99.99% of the [ancient] Latin manuscripts, and 99.5% of the [ancient] Syriac manuscripts, and 40 Roman-era patristic writers.” (These statistics are quoted from Dr. James Snapp’s article: ) Codex Sinaiticus was discovered in 1844. This touched off a lot of excitement, and a revolutionary new text of the NT was published by Westscott and Hort in 1881. Please consider that there are multiple examples in history where excitement over new discoveries resulted in mistaken theories. For example, Darwin’s theory of evolution from the same time period is now discredited. Just like you have university teachers still bone-headedly holding on to the theory of evolution, so the theories of Westscott and Hort are no longer upheld by many of today’s experts but are still being repeated by seminary teachers. Westscott and Hort’s faulty decisions about what verses are not authentic are still seen in today’s Bibles. I’m sure that you will hear someone claim that the last 12 verses of Mark contain non-Markan vocabulary, but that assertion has been repeatedly disproved. Please see the resources for the podcast that I link at the end of today’s episode notes. According to one ancient writer, Mark wrote his Gospel in Rome. It is likely that Mark or one of his friends made several copies of the first manuscript. Let’s say that one stayed in Rome and was copied, and let’s say that four other copies were sent toward the north, south, east and west. Each copy was painstakingly copied by hand over and over again and sent to an ever-widening circle of locations until the Gospel arrived all over the ancient world. Each scribe worked independently to copy the text of an earlier manuscript. 1650 manuscripts could not have the last 12 verses of Mark if the verses had not come from the first papyrus copy written by Mark. The Greek text of the New Testament that is the direct descendant of the Westscott and Hort 1881 text is published now in various editions of the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament, and also published as the United Bible Societies Greek New Testament. There are, of course, slight changes in these editions coming down to the present day. But even today, the main text is still remarkably similar to the 1881 text by Westscott and Hort. These texts are referred to collectively as the Critical Text or the Eclectic Text. Most of our English Bible translations of the last century have been based on that text, including NASB, GNT, NLT, NIV, and ESV. It is for that reason that you will find faith-destroying footnotes in them. By ‘faith-destroying’, I mean that thinking readers ask, “If whole verses could disappear and marr the conclusion of Mark’s Gospel, how many other corruptions might there be in the New Testament?” Opponents of Christianity seize on such things to say that the Bible text is not reliable. Islamic people frequently repeat that criticism. It is for that reason that our New Testament translation into the Indonesian language is based on the Majority or Byzantine Text. The Majority Text is not the same as the text that was the basis of the KJV, but it is similar to it. I am so pleased that I can announce that at the end of 2022 Adam Boyd published his Text Critical English New Testament, which is an English translation of the Majority/Byzantine Text. (You can get this for free. I have included links to this and other resources at the end of the episode notes.) This is a real game changer because at last modern scholarship is able to give us accurate statistics about the percentage of manuscript support for variants in the Greek text. (The collating of manuscripts is still in process, and the percentages will continue to increase in accuracy.) Let me give you two short examples. It would help if you could open your Bible to Mark 1 and also open on your computer and navigate to Mark 1. You will see two columns for Scripture. Put the TCENT in the first column and the NASB in the second column. You will see that both translations give the first verse as “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” But click the superscript footnote at the word ‘Christ’ in the TCENT. It shows that 98.2% of the manuscripts have the last words, “the Son of God.” No matter what translation you are holding, it is likely that verse 1 ends with “the Son of God. Move to verse 2. The NASB starts with, “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,” whereas the TCENT begins with “As it is written in the prophets.” Which is right? The footnote in the TCENT shows us that 96.2% of ancient manuscripts say ‘in the prophets’. Only 1.3% of manuscripts say ‘Isaiah the prophet’. Well now look at the NASB and you will see a superscript cross reference symbol at the start of the quote. The quote in the last two lines of verse 2 is not from Isaiah, but from Malachi! (The quote in verse 3 is from Isaiah.) So the Majority Text is proved right. The NASB chose to follow the Critical Text. But at the time the NASB was translated, they would not have known that their translation was supported by only 1.3% of the manuscripts. I hope that finding a weakness in your printed Bible doesn’t upset your belief in God preserving his Word. He has preserved his Word, and we humans have a persistent habit of messing things up. If you follow the links at the end of today’s episode notes, you can find some good literal translations of the Majority/Byzantine Text. But unfortunately, we still do not have a good meaning-based translation of that text that rivals the NLT or GNT for understandability. We’ll keep on with the NLT and GNT podcasts for now. But please join me in prayer that an easy-to-utderstand translation of the Majority Text will soon be made! Wow, what a difficult topic this is! If you have listened to this point, I thank you! Normally my extra podcasts on the 7th day of each month will not deal with such complicated topics! Until next time, may the Lord bless you ‘real good’. Resources: Please consider supporting the work of James Snapp by buying and reading his 400-page book entitled Authentic: The Case for Mark 16:9-20: 2016 Edition. The Kindle book is only 99 cents. Phil Fields, 2019, Playing ‘Follow the Leader’ in Bible Translation: Phil Fields, 2020, EveryWord podcast 005: Please follow that last link to find the supplemental PDF for that episode containing an essay on the ending of Mark by Dr. Wilbur Pickering, plus two other articles. (The last one deals with Markan vocabulary.) Adam Boyd, 2022, Text Critical Greek New Testament (TCGNG) and Text Critical English New Testament (TCENT): This page has a downloadable PDF of the Introduction to the TCGNT: (Scroll down the page until you see the PDF file displayed in a box.) You will need the information in the Introduction to understand the abbreviations in the TCENT/TCGNT footnotes. My favorite way to access the TCENT using this nifty online study app provided by ebible.org: You can also easily access the Introduction at the top of the book menu. (Click on the zero.) /episode/index/show/dailygntbiblereading/id/25509354

GN-Day025 Genesis 41; Job 25; Mark 15:33-47 01/18/2026

GN-Day024 Genesis 40; Job 24; Mark 15:1-32 01/18/2026

GN-Day023 Genesis 38-39; Job 23; Mark 14:43-72 01/18/2026

GN-Day022 Genesis 37; Job 22; Mark 14:1-42 01/18/2026

GN-Day022 Genesis 37; Job 22; Mark 14:1-42 GENESIS 37:The focus of Genesis 36 was on the descendants of Esau, and the ethnic groups they spawned. JOB 22:Yesterday in Job chapter 21, Job— refuting what Zophar said, gave a very convincing argument that God does not always punish wicked people. Today Eliphaz begins the third set of exchanges between Job and his ‘friends’. The promises Elifaz gives at the end of his speech sound rather hollow to me. MARK 14a:Yesterday we read the prophecy chapter of Mark, chapter 13. The theme of that chapter is “Be ready” and Jesus says, “Keep watching for Me.” In Mrk. 13:14 Jesus says, “You will see ‘The Awful Horror’ standing in the place where he should not be.” Then there is a note that is often in parentheses, “Let the reader understand.” Following good exegetical experts, I translate that this way, “Hey, public reader, explain this!” At the time Mark wrote his gospel, only a small percentage of a congregation would be able to read. In Greek ‘the one reading’ (ho anaginoskon) probably means ‘the one reading out loud (to others)’. The word often translated ‘understand’ (noeito) would then take on the meaning ‘explain’ to the listeners. This would make three Greekwords (Ho anaginoskon noeito) to be Mark’s parenthetical comment, saying, “Hey public reader, explain this!” This makes sense because Jesus was speaking, and would more likely say, “If you have ears, listen.” Mark was the one writing, so it makes sense for him to address the reader. Following Marks advice, like the well-read reader of old, it behooves me to explain to you: In saying ‘the Awful Horror’ Jesus is referring to the Antichrist, which was first clearly prophesied in Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11. Here we see a prime example of the way God repeats the fulfillment of important prophecies. In the immediate context in Mark 13 of fleeing to the hills, we can clearly see that Jesus was talking about the destruction of Jerusalem that happened in AD 70— just 40 years after he gave this prophecy. But Paul in 2Thessalonians 2 teaches that ‘the man of lawlessness’ or alternately translated ‘Wicked One’ “will oppose every so-called god or object of worship and will put himself above them all. He will even go in and sit down in God’s temple and claim to be God.” While there have been many intermediate fulfillments of the Antichrist, the ultimate Antichrist still has not been revealed. We all must still keep watch. /episode/index/show/dailygntbiblereading/id/8000690

GN-Day021 Genesis 36; Job 21; Mark 13 01/18/2026

GN-Day020 Genesis 34-35; Job 20; Mark 12:24-44 01/18/2026

GN-Day019 Genesis 32-33; Job 19; Mark 12:1-27 01/18/2026

GN-Day018 Genesis 31; Job 18; Mark 11 01/11/2026

GN-Day017 Genesis 30; Job 17; Mark 10:28-52 01/11/2026

GN-Day017 Genesis 30; Job 17; Mark 10:28-52 GENESIS 30:In yesterday’s reading in Genesis 28-29, Jacob left home, and God appeared to him and promised to bless him as he blessed Isaac. Jacob worked for Laban, married both Leah and Rachel, and he had four sons through Leah. JOB 17:Yesterday was the first chapter of Job's response to Eliphaz. He complained that his three comforters were not very comforting, saying 1-2 GNT I have heard words like that before;the comfort you give is only torment.3 Are you going to keep on talking forever?Do you always have to have the last word? And he said, 6 But nothing I say helps,and being silent does not calm my pain. And 9 In anger God tears me limb from limb;he glares at me with hate. This last statement shows how easy it is for us humans to misunderstand God’s will or intentions concerning us. God did not hate Job! MARK 10b:Yesterday in the first half of chapter 10, Jesus gave God's true perspective on divorce, blessed some children, and said that is impossible for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God (in their own strength). By the way, there is a wrong teaching that is still often heard. People have heard that the ‘eye of the needle’ was a little door next to the big gate in Jerusalem, and that a camel could get through this gate but all the burden would have to be taken off. This is just plain wrong, but it is one of those things that just keeps being passed on. No such gate was made in New Testament days in Jerusalem. Such gates were made in castles in Europe in the middle ages. No, instead of holding out hope for rich people, Jesus’ meaning is just what he said: It is just as impossible for the rich to enter heaven as it is for a camel to go through the eye of a real sewing needle. The next statement of Jesus however shows the way the rich may enter heaven. Jesus gave a wonderful promise for missionaries at the end of the chapter. I bear witness to every part of that. 2,000 Orya people call me ‘Aya Bak’— which means ‘older brother’. The Lord has blessed me way more than 100 times. /episode/index/show/dailygntbiblereading/id/8000555

GN-Day016 Genesis 28-29; Job 16; Mark 10:1-31 01/11/2026

GN-Day015 Genesis 27; Job 15; Mark 9:30-50 01/11/2026

GN-Day015 Genesis 27; Job 15; Mark 9:30-50 GENESIS 27:In yesterday's reading we read the history of Isaac and Rebecca's family before the narrative focuses on their dissimilar twin sons— and especially Jacob. JOB 15:God has revealed so much more to us in our day than what Job could know in his day. One thing was shown yesterday. Job asked, 15:14 GNT If a man dies, can he come back to life? … MARK 9b:After coming down the mountain with three of his disciples, Jesus met his other disciples who were having two difficulties simultaneously with people arguing with them and with failing to heal a man’s son— who was possessed by an evil spirit or a demon. Repeating a little of what I said in an earlier podcast: In Greek, ‘demon’ is daimonia, and the other term, ‘evil spirit’, is more literally ‘unclean spirit’. As someone who has worked in another culture and seen what has happened over my lifetime in the USA, I hope it will be helpful to some readers if I share about this topic. Some of you— particularly those of the older generation in the USA, will say, “What people called demons in Jesus’ day were just what we call mental illness.” While, paradoxically, it is the younger generation in the USA who more readily believe that demons actually exist. I think the younger generation have it right this time. Demons do exist. Here’s what I have observed: Where demons are not believed in, they are happy to stay in the background— where they are very adept at promoting falsehood and sin. Where demons are feared, worshipped, where people listen to satanic music and take part in occult rituals, demons come out more openly— to increase people’s fear of them and to manipulate people. As believers in Jesus, remember that Jesus has complete power over Satan and all demons. We who belong to Jesus should not fear them. Nor should we seek communication with such beings. Remember two things from yesterday’s story: The father wisely cried out, “Help my unbelief!” So the first thing to remember is to fully believe in Christ Jesus. The second is the answer Jesus gave to the disciples question: Prayer is of vital importance in this area of spiritual warfare. Share your questions and comments at the . GNT Translation notes:Job 15:25 That is the fate of thosewho shake their fists at Godand defy the Almighty [— like you].====Mrk. 9:42“If anyone should cause one of these little ones [who believe in me to fall away//to lose faith in me], it would be better for that person to have a large millstone tied around the neck and be thrown into the sea.43 So if your hand makes you [fall away from me//lose your faith], cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a hand than to keep both hands and go off to hell, to the fire that never goes out.45 And if your foot makes you [fall away from me//lose your faith], cut it off! It is better for you to enter life without a foot than to keep both feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye makes you [fall away from me//lose your faith], take it out! It is better for you to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to keep both eyes and be thrown into hell. 48 There ‘the worms that eat them never die, and the fire that burns them is never put out.’[Jesus also taught using these sayings:]49 “Everyone will be purified by fire as a sacrifice is purified by salt. /episode/index/show/dailygntbiblereading/id/7027581

GN-Day014 Genesis 25-26; Job 14; Mark 9:1-29 01/11/2026

GN-Day014 Genesis 25-26; Job 14; Mark 9:1-29 I encourage you to Dig Deeper in your Bible study this year. I have linked several powerful on-line Bible study tools in the Shovels blog post at . The same information can be found in the Read This First pages under the menu entry Links and Shovels. And when you find an especially precious insight or a question, please share it with us via our Facebook group. Our Facebook group and other ways to stay connected with other Bible readers will change each year. Please see the links in the site header of . GENESIS 25-26:Yesterday in Genesis 24 we read the charming story of how Rebecca became Isaac's wife. JOB 14:In Job chapter 13, Job challenged Zophar and his other two friends with these words, 6 GNT Listen while I state my case.7 Why are you lying?Do you think your lies will benefit God?8 Are you trying to defend him?Are you going to argue his case in court?9 If God looks at you closely, will he find anything good?Do you think you can fool God the way you fool others? …14 I am ready to risk my life.15 I've lost all hope, so what if God kills me?I am going to state my case to him.16 It may even be that my boldness will save me,since no wicked person would dare to face God. Job said in 13:15 that he would present his case to God, and that is exactly what he does, starting in verse 19 (in the GNT) or 20 (in the NLT). And Job continues to speak to God through all of chapter 14. MARK 9:Yesterday at the end of Mark 8, Jesus gave this requirement for all his followers: “Everyone who wants to follow Me must leave his own self-interests, and follow Me continually with this resolve, ‘No matter if I die— even if that be by crucifixion, I will keep following the Lord!’” [That translation sounds different because it is from what I call the Plain English Translation. That is an English translation of our Plain Indonesian Translation (TSI).] The rest of Mark chapter 8 has other important verses including this one: If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. /episode/index/show/dailygntbiblereading/id/7996583

GN-Day013 Genesis 24; Job 13; Mark 8:22-38 01/11/2026

GN-Day013 Genesis 24; Job 13; Mark 8:22-38 GENESIS 24:In Genesis 22, Isaac asked, 22:7b GNT “I see that you have the coals and the wood, but where is the lamb for the sacrifice?” 8 Abraham answered, “God himself will provide one.”It is amazing to me that Moses adds the proverb, 14 “even today people say, “On the Lord's mountain he provides.” In our time, we easily see how this points to the provision of the Lamb of God on the mountain called Calvary. JOB 13:As we saw in Job chapter 12, by now he is pretty ticked off, starting off with, Job 12:1-2 GNT “Yes, you are the voice of the people.When you die, wisdom will die with you. Note the irony Job points out: 4 Even my friends laugh at me now;they laugh, although I am righteous and blameless;but there was a time when God answered my prayers.5 You have no troubles, and yet you make fun of me;you hit someone who is about to fall.6 But thieves and godless people live in peace,though their only god is their own strength. MARK 8b:In yesterday's reading in the first half of Mark chapter 8, Jesus fed the 4,000, and then the Pharisees demanded a miraculous sign ‘showing God’s approval’— literally a sign ‘from heaven’. The reading yesterday ended with the disciples not understanding what Jesus meant by Mark. 8:15 GNT “Take care and be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.” In many passages of Mark and the other Gospels, there are places where Jesus talks of ‘the Son Man’. And He is talking about himself, but using the pronoun ‘he’ for the Son of Man. Here is an example from verse 31: 8:31 GNT Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will rise to life.” This form of speech— speaking of oneself in the third person, is quite unusual in any language. For modern readers, the term ‘son of man’ is also very strange sounding. The standard meaning for the Hebrew idiom ‘son of man’ was ‘ordinary flesh and blood human being’. Jesus was both concealing his identity to some, and revealing it to those who were able to remember the prophecy about a special Son of Man in Daniel 7. /episode/index/show/dailygntbiblereading/id/7996493

GN-Day012 Genesis 22-23; Job 12; Mark 8:1-21 01/11/2026

GN-Day011 Genesis 20-21; Job 11; Mark 7 01/04/2026

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