Daily GNT Bible Reading Podcast

Phil Fields
  • 4.5 (11)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Daily

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

  1. May 10

    137: 1 Samuel 1; Psalm 90; Romans 1:1-17

    1SAMUEL 1: Yesterday we heard the charming conclusion of the story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz. The words of the town women have prophetic significance: "Praise the Lord, who has now provided a redeemer for your family." (NLT) The words have a double meaning for us today, as we see them looking forward to Jesus our Redeemer. Now if you have been listening closely, you didn't hear the word 'redeemer' in the GNT. That word happens 8 times in Ruth, beginning at 2:20. GNT translated the correct meaning as "a close relative of ours, one of those responsible for taking care of us." The term meant much more than— for instance, redeeming a family member who had been sold into slavery. The nearest kinsman would also revenge a murder or marry a widow of a close family member. The advantage of GNT's term is that it accurately shows the meaning, but the advantage of translating using the word 'redeemer' is that readers will more quickly see the correspondence between what Boaz did with Jesus— who both came from Boaz' line and is our redeemer. Continuing the history of Israel, we now move to the transition from the period of judges to the period of kings. The books of 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book in the Hebrew Scripture. They were separated in the Greek Septuagint. The books are named after Samuel, not written by him. In 1 Samuel, we see that Samuel is not just a judge, but also a prophet, and that he anointed both Saul and David. This book contains many of the favorite Bible stories told to children. PSALM 90: The traditional titles in the Psalms (given as headings or footnotes in our Bibles) were written centuries afterward by the Rabbis and we need not consider them part of the inspired Word. This title of Psalm 90 may identify Moses as the author, or the Rabbis may have meant that this psalm reflects a Mosaic perspective. No other psalm is labeled like this one. This is a good psalm for meditating on the meaning of our life and our short life-span. ROMANS 1a: Yesterday in the final chapter of 1 Timothy, Paul continued giving instructions on how to teach particular groups in the church, ending with teachings for slaves and for rich people. Note that those who give generously to help others store up heavenly treasures and "a good foundation for the future." Paul's closing encouragements to Timothy are moving because we can sense Paul's deep love for Timothy. We move back in time slightly from 1 Timothy to Romans. Romans was written perhaps 6-9 years before 1Timothy, written at the time that Paul was in Corinth. The topic sentence for Romans is 1:16-17, and the book is an outstanding presentation of this thesis in impeccable logic. As a translator, I often use those two verses as an example of how hard it is to understand a literal translation versus a meaning based translation. I encourage you to compare the NLT with something like the ESV— to see what I mean. GNT Translation notes: 1Sam. 1:20 The name Samuel actually means 'name of God' but has some sounds that are similar to the Hebrew verb 'asked'. ==== Rom 1:8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because the whole world is hearing about your [fully believing in Christ//faith]. 12 What I mean is that both you and I will be [mutually encouraged to believe more fully in Christ//helped at the same time, you by my faith and I by yours]. 13 [I want you to know//You must remember], my friends, that many times I have planned to visit you, but something has always kept me from doing so. I want to win converts among you also, as I have among other Gentiles. 17 For the gospel reveals how God puts people right with himself: it is through [believing//faith] from beginning to end. As the scripture says, "The person who is put right with God through [believing//faith] shall live."

    19 min

  2. May 10

    136: Ruth 3-4; Psalm 89:19-52; 1 Timothy 6

    RUTH 3-4: In yesterday's start to the book of Ruth, we saw how Naomi was left all alone, and how one of her two daughters-in-law, Ruth, left her family and idols to accompany Naomi and to follow Naomi's God. Then it just so happened that Ruth was noticed by a man named Boaz while gathering left-behind grain in his field. PSALM 89b: Ethan, the psalm-writer was very wise in his prayer. He started his prayer with praise and adoration. Then starting in verse 19 he reminded God of his promises to Israel about the everlasting dynasty of David. But this is all building up to the big problem that Ethan will bring up in verse 38. 1TIMOTHY 6: Yesterday we heard Paul's instructions to Timothy about widows and about judging cases where church leaders are accused of wrong-doing. The chapter ended with two encouragements to Timothy. GNT Translation notes: 1Tim. 6:10 For the love of money is a source of all kinds of evil. Some have been so eager to have it that they have wandered away from the [believing in true teachings//faith] and have broken their hearts with many sorrows. 11 But you, man of God, avoid all these things. Strive for righteousness, godliness, [full belief in true teachings//faith], love, endurance, and gentleness. 12 Run your best in the race of [full belief//faith], and win eternal life for yourself; for it was to this life that God called you when you firmly professed your [belief//faith] before many witnesses. 13 Before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who firmly professed his [belief//faith] before Pontius Pilate, I command you 21 For some have claimed to possess it, and as a result they have lost [their belief in true teachings//the way of faith]. God's grace be with you all.

    20 min

  3. May 10

    135: Ruth 1-2; Psalm 89:1-29; 1 Timothy 5

    RUTH 1-2: The incident of the Levite and his concubine at Gibeah resulted in the civil war that we heard about yesterday. About 24,000 men died and many women and children as well. In certain things, the army inquired of the Lord, and the Lord gave answers at his sanctuary. In the way, they found wives for the decimated tribe of Benjamin, the men of Israel were repeatedly so concerned that they do not break their vows. Paradoxically, they did many other things without any concern whatsoever about acting according to God's revealed will. Let's consider that story as a warning. Beware of the human tendency of myopic obedience to a preferred list of rules, while living like a pagan in other respects. Again the theme statement is repeated in the last verse of the book, "In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes." And now we turn to the book of Ruth. The Talmud attributes the authorship of this book to Samuel. The story of Ruth took place during the same time as the book of Judges, but the book of Ruth is a big contrast with Judges. Ruth shows that the times were not always as dark and sinful as what is portrayed in Judges. Ruth and her second husband, Boaz, figure in Jesus' genealogy in Matthew 1. PSALM 89a: The author of this poem— who was named Ethan, praises God for the covenant the Lord made especially with David. The first 3/4 is beautiful in the recitation of the wonderful promises given to Israel and to David. In these, we readers at this time often see fulfillment in Jesus, the 'Son of David'. But suddenly at verse 38, the writer claims that God has broken his promises to David. We will hear that contrast tomorrow. 1TIMOTHY 5: In the 4th chapter of 1 Timothy, Paul showed that he considered his era as 'the last times'. For the Jews, the coming of the Messiah signaled the beginning of the end times. Paul's advice is just as appropriate to us as to Timothy. Half of that chapter was personal advice and encouragement to Timothy in his role as a pastor, and God has passed those words on to all in church leadership today. GNT Translation note: 1Tim. 5:16 But if any Christian woman has widows in her family, she must take care of them and not put the burden on the church, so that [the church//it] may take care of the widows who are all alone.

    24 min

  4. May 10

    134: Judges 20-21; Psalm 88; 1 Timothy 4

    JUDGES 20-21: In yesterday's reading, the people of Dan took all the items in Micah's household shrine and Micah's Levite priest. The priest's name was given at the end of the chapter. He was the grandson of Moses! And then the Danites slaughtered the unsuspecting residents of Laish, forgetting about the law about giving terms of surrender before attacking. Then we heard of the unnamed Levite and his concubine (meaning, additional inferior-status wife). Nothing happened according to God's will in this story. While the author says nothing negative about any of the characters, all had their faults. However, the Levite stands out as a terrible husband. And what happened at Gibeah— as we will see today— became the basis for Israel's first civil war. PSALM 88: This poem is perhaps the most-dark of all the despairing psalms. One encouragement to us is that God has now revealed things about our hope of heaven which were unknown to the writer. This psalm offers no hope or encouragement. But the presence of Psalm 88 in Scripture gives us permission when in our darkest depression to come to God in prayer speaking words like found here. 1TIMOTHY 4: Yesterday in the 3rd chapter of First Timothy we heard one of the key passages in God's Word on the qualifications of church leaders. The chapter ended with a fragment of an early worship song. GNT Translation notes: 1Tim. 4:1 The Spirit says clearly that [in later times//0] some people will abandon [their belief in true teachings//the faith] [0//in later times]; they will obey lying spirits and follow the teachings of demons. 6 If you give these instructions to the believers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus[. As the Lord's servant, you must become increasingly mature in all the teachings that help us to believe more fully— like the good teachings that you already follow.//, as you feed yourself spiritually on the words of faith and of the true teaching which you have followed. ] 11 Give [the believers//them] these instructions and [0//these] teachings. 12 Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young, but be an example for the believers in your speech, your conduct, your love, [in fully believing true teachings//faith], and purity. 16 Watch yourself and watch your teaching. Keep on doing these things, because if you do, you will save both yourself and those who hear you. Verses with 'conscience': 1:5 The purpose of this order is to arouse the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and [(sincerely) believing in true teaching (without pretending/hypocrisy)//a genuine faith]. 3:9 [PET they must believe fully in the true teachings which God has revealed to us, and must live with a clear conscience. 1:19 and [to keep on believing in true teaching//keep your faith] and [to live with] a clear conscience. Some people have not listened to their conscience and [have wrecked their minds so that they are no longer able to believe in true teaching//have made a ruin of their faith]. 4:2 Such teachings are spread by deceitful liars, whose consciences are dead, as if burnt with a hot iron.

    23 min

  5. May 10

    133: Judges 18-19; Psalm 87; 1 Timothy 3

    JUDGES 18-19: In Judges yesterday, we heard the famous and tragic story of Samson and Delilah. Victory, in that case, was not 'sweet'. Then we heard the start of the story about Micah and the not so nice background of his personal idols and shrine. This is the first time so far in Judges where we have heard the repeated theme sentence of this book, "In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes." (17:6) PSALM 87: This is a prophetic psalm. The writer gives a picture of what is foretold in Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Revelation about the glory of the New Jerusalem. Every tribe, tongue, and nation will be found there because they will have come to know the Lord. 1TIMOTHY 3: In chapter 2, Paul began his discussion of what Timothy should teach the congregation with the topic of prayer. We pray according to God's will if we pray for the salvation of others. God is always pleased with this prayer because we mirror his own heart. However the words of this chapter should not be twisted to say that every single person will be saved, or that the saving sacrifice that Jesus made will cover people who refuse to believe the Gospel. Chapter 2 also contains a part of Paul's teaching about women, including that they should place high importance on being clothed with good deeds, and should dress and act sensibly and modestly. They are not to seek to take authority over men. GNT Translation notes: 1Tim. 3:6 He must be mature in [believing (our true teaching/in Christ//the faith], so that he will not swell up with pride and be condemned, as the Devil was. 9 [PET they must believe fully in the true teachings which God has revealed to us, and must live with a clear conscience.//they should hold to the revealed truth of the faith with a clear conscience.] 13 Those helpers who do their work well win for themselves a good standing and are able to speak boldly [to others about believing in Christ Jesus//about their faith in Christ Jesus]. 16 No one can deny how great is the secret of our religion: [Christ//He] appeared in human form, was shown to be right by the Spirit, and was seen by angels. He was preached among the nations, was believed in throughout the world, and was taken up to heaven.

    20 min

  6. May 10

    132: Judges 16-17; Psalm 86; 1 Timothy 2

    JUDGES 16-17: Yesterday we heard of Samson's disastrous marriage and his first major victory over the Philistines. Ways in which Samson disobeyed God's Laws are that he touched and even ate from a carcass, he murdered people when not at war, and he associated with pagans and even married one of them. In spite of this, God used him as a tool. PSALM 86: In this psalm, David models effective prayer. Let's follow his example! 1TIMOTHY 2: Yesterday we started Paul's first letter to Timothy. As I said yesterday, this is a personal letter to Timothy, and it is one of the groups of letters called the Pastoral Epistles or sometimes called the 5 T's. Central to the Pastoral Epistles is Paul's concern for true teaching in the church, and he especially stressed avoiding the controversies that at that time came from Jewish background believers. These letters often include a listing of various things, and one example is the list of the types of lawlessness in chapter one. Paul frequently mentions how important it is for believers to keep a clear conscience. And chapter one also contained one of several Pastoral 'trustworthy sayings'. A more unique point for chapter one is that Paul called himself the 'chief of sinners'. GNT Translation notes: 1Tim. 2:7 and that is why I was sent as an apostle and teacher of the Gentiles, to proclaim [true teaching to them so that they may become believers.//the message of faith and truth.] [I promise that] I am not lying; I am telling the truth! 15 [Verse 15 is particularly difficult to translate. NLT is a good translation, but it makes it sound like Christian women must bear at least one child in order to be saved: "But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty." 15 GNT But a woman will be saved through having children,* if she perseveres** in faith and love and holiness, with modesty. *2.15: will be saved through having children; or will be kept safe through childbirth. **2.15: if she perseveres; or if they persevere. I offer the PET as an alternative: "As a result of that sin, the female descendants of Eve fall under the punishment God gave of having pain in childbirth. But even so, God is ready to help and save each woman— if she keeps fully believing in Him, does loving acts, and lives a holy and [self-controlled//wise] life." Cross reference and footnote in the PET: See Gen. 3:1-13. This verse can also be translated, "Even so, God will make each woman safe when giving birth to children— as long as she keeps fully believing in Him, does loving acts, and lives a holy and sensible life."] Additional commentary: In 2015, a woman wrote after hearing this chapter complaining about Paul's attitude toward women. I hope I can help some listeners by saying this: If you do not like what Paul wrote here, consider that Paul knew the audience was writing to. Compare what Paul said in Ephesians 5 with what Peter said in 1 Peter 3, and note how Paul lovingly wrote in this same letter about taking care of widows. It can be shown that Scripture played an important role in history to raise the position of both women and slaves. If you are interested in this general topic, you might also be interested in the translation note for verse 15 in the episode notes for today. Let me tell the story of a missionary who served with me in Indonesia. Before Ron Kriens was a Christian and was working as a bus driver in a big city, he was impressed by Jesus' resurrection and reputation as a teacher, so he was willing to accept Jesus' words, and at first would only read Jesus' teachings. But then he found that Jesus said that after his death, the Holy Spirit would lead his disciples into all truth. So he read books penned by Jesus' disciples, John and Peter. Then he discovered that Peter respected Paul's writings as Scripture. (2Ptr. 3) And finally, at some point, I know that he realized how important understanding the Old Testament is to understanding the New Testament. I tell Ron's story to say this: God's Word is a unity. The very coherence of the message is wonderful proof of God's sovereignly in controlling the writings which have come down to us. We will find the most joy and peace in submitting to our sovereign Creator fully and not rejecting any part of His Word.

    22 min

  7. May 10

    131: Judges 14-15; Psalm 85; 1 Timothy 1

    JUDGES 14-15: Yesterday we heard the conclusion of Jephthah's six years as a judge of Israel. Then we heard briefly of three more judges, and then about the miracles preceding the birth of Samson. PSALM 85: This psalm is one appropriate at any time and to anyone. There are hidden nuggets of spiritual gold here— deep truths that are worth digging for. 1TIMOTHY 1: Yesterday in the final chapter of Galatians, Paul continued what he was saying (from chapter 5) about the contrast between being led by God's Spirit versus allowing our sinful natures to lead us. And Paul returned to something he said in chapter two, explaining the figure of being crucified with Christ. It means being so much in union with Christ as to consider ourselves dead to this world. Paul had marks on his body that were much more valuable than circumcision, and those were the scars he had gained as a representative of Christ. Today we turn to Paul's first letter to Timothy. This contrasts with the letter we have just finished in that it is personal correspondence written to Paul's disciple. Timothy was so dear to Paul that he considered him a son. Paul had given Timothy— who was still a young man, the task of shepherding the church at Ephesus. This book is important for the personal advice, for personal insight given about Paul, for insight into church leadership, and for the sound teachings for us to follow. GNT Translation notes: Ps. 85:2 [CEV You have forgiven the sin and taken away the guilt of your people.// You have forgiven your people's sins and pardoned all their wrongs.] 3 [CEV Your fierce anger is no longer aimed at us.//You stopped being angry with them and held back your furious rage.] 8 I am listening to what [You, O Lord God are//the Lord God is] saying; You promise//he promises] peace to us, [your//his] own people, if we do not go back to our foolish ways. 9 Surely [You are//he is] ready to save [us//those] who honor [You//him], and [your//his] saving presence will remain in our land. 11 [CEV Loyalty will sprout from the ground; justice will look down from the sky above. //Human loyalty will reach up from the earth, and God's righteousness will look down from heaven.] 12 [You, O Lord//The Lord] will make us prosperous, and our land will produce rich harvests. 13 [Righteousness is like a path spread out before You, Lord— And that is the road You will always follow. //Righteousness will go before the Lord and prepare the path for him. ==== 1Tim. 1:2 [To Timothy. You are like my own dear son because we share the same true beliefs.//To Timothy, my true son in the faith:] May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace. 4 Tell them to give up those legends and those long lists of ancestors, which only produce arguments; they do not serve God's plan, which is known by [believing (sound teachings/God's Word)//faith]. 5 The purpose of this order is to arouse the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and [(sincerely) believing in true teaching (without pretending/hypocrisy)//a genuine faith]. 13 even though in the past I spoke evil of him and persecuted and insulted him. But God was merciful to me because I did not yet [believe in the Lord//have faith] and so did not know what I was doing. 14 And our Lord poured out his abundant grace on me and [enabled me to believe in Him//gave me the faith] and [to love all who are joined//love which are ours] in union with Christ Jesus. 18 Timothy, my [son//child], I entrust to you this command, which is in accordance with the words of prophecy spoken in the past about you. Use those words as weapons in order to fight well, 19 and [to keep on believing in true teaching//keep your faith] and [to live with] a clear conscience. Some people have not listened to their conscience and [have wrecked their minds so that they are no longer able to believe in true teaching//have made a ruin of their faith].

    19 min
  8. 127: Reader Take Note, Buckling the belt of truth, Day 2

    May 7

    127: Reader Take Note, Buckling the belt of truth, Day 2

    Review: This podcast is Day number 2 in my series about Buckling the belt of truth. In the first day in this series (which can be found by searching for 195 or the word 'buckling', I explained what I consider to be the first step in putting on the belt of truth. The belt of truth is one of seven parts to the Christian's armor found in Ephesians 6. But I suggest that we make this clarification: Buckle the belt of truth by believing what God says about you in the Bible. The belt of truth is put on by believing what God says. (Remember: Believing = faith.) The belt of truth includes all of the truth found in Scripture. But if you just believe a lot of general truths found in the pages of the Bible, but don't believe what the Bible says about YOURSELF (your own identity), it would be like leaving your house with your belt in your belt loops, but not buckled. Everyday we live in a spiritual war zone. You'll be at a great disadvantage if your belt isn't buckled! The main thing I am after in this belt-buckling is living in spiritual victory and standing firm in our worldly battle with the flesh and the devil. What God says about you in the Bible often seems too good to believe, because the devil has been feeding us lies about ourselves all of our lives. So, taking one example from the Day 1 lesson, when we read in the Bible, "God loves you," the truth of this seems to bounce off of our minds. "How nice," we think, "but God can't really love me because I am so bad." We must seek to notice the things we find in the Bible that are repelled by our minds. Write them down. Underline them. Preach to yourself that you should believe what God clearly says about you. Pray, asking for God to make the concepts clear and believable to you. Meditate on those things, and you will start seeing your life being transformed by God's Word. Here are some major mind-challenging truths from our Day 1 study: God loves us. We often unfairly think of God as an angry judge. God's Word tells us that we are one with Christ, joined to Him. We are united to Christ, so much so that He considers us actually part of his body. We have a powerful guarantee, the Holy Spirit, which is not an external thing, but an inward witness that we are joined to Christ. We are God's holy people, not because we have the power to be holy. But God has made us holy by our unity with Christ. This is our identity! Take hold of this identity. Paul wants us to understand all these things so that we understand that God will use his power to help us. Residue from Day 1: Here's something I ask you to bear in mind: We each have different versions of what the Bible calls 'flesh'. The flesh is basically the evil and selfish desires that spring from our bodies. Men and women are normally very different in their sinful desires. And even among Christians of the same sex, one sin may be highly adictive to you, but not to your fellow brother or sister. This means that Bible verses that I will share which mean so much to me may not ring any bells for you. If so, I hope you will still find basic principles in my presentation that will apply powerfully to you. I think that it is important to remove a faulty excuse for persistent sin that many people use. In Romans 7:24 Paul says, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" Please do not take the end of Romans 7 to negate what Paul was saying in chapter 6 and 8! The theme of chapter 6 is given by the NLT translators in the section heading, "Sin's Power is Broken." And Romans 6:6 is a key verse for buckling the belt of truth: "We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives." Here's why readers have been confused by Romans 7:24: In Rom. 7:5-6, Paul brings up a difficult concept: "For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the lawThen starting in verse 7, Paul explains how the law gets involved in our 'living in the flesh'. Note that for 17 verses more, Paul carries on for an uncharacteristically long time without mentioning Christ. That's because he is either talking about how living in the flesh works out for someone who doesn't know Christ, or someone who forgets about Christ and reverts to living in the flesh., were at work in our members to bear fruit for death." But Paul doesn't leave us wallowing in our fleshly weaknesses (in 7:24-25) with 'Wretched man that I am', but quickly returns to his victorious theme. In chapter 8:2 he says: "For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death." And then he begins to talk about living in the Spirit. Clearly, we are supposed to start having victory because of the Spirit. Understanding our spiritual position plus the help of the Spirit allows us to 'put to death' various sins that beset us. Yes, I must admit that as long as we are in our bodies, we will stumble. We are 'saints' (holy people) who occasionally still fall into sin. However, overwhelming victory over fleshly sin is available to us. Don't be satisfied with falling back to being a 'wretched man' or woman like Romans 7:24 when you have the riches of chapter 8 available! THEME: Buckle up the belt of truth regarding your PRESENT RESURRECTION LIFE. Readings: ROM.6.1-14, 8:10-13; 12:1-2 2CO.5.14-15 GAL.2.19-20 COL.2.11-15 COL.3.1-11 EPH2.6 There are basically four steps to buckling the belt of truth: Realize: Be alert when reading the Bible for truths that are presented as true for believers in Christ, but which seem too good to be true. Note them down, and check out translations like the NLT, GNT, and NET to make sure you are understanding what the Scripture says. Ask God to help you overcome your difficulty in believing the truth you have discovered. It may be appropriate to ask God to help you discover if strong opposing ideas are coming from demonic influence or previous sins that you should confess. Meditate on the scriptural truth you are working to internalize. Imagine how your life would be different if you started to live according to that truth. Take any steps the Holy Spirit gives you to put your new identity into practice. Today's topic for belt-buckling is our resurrection life in unity with Christ. This goes along with Romans 6:6 that we just read: "We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives." Being 'crucified with Christ' of course means that in some sense we have died. There's a truth that will definitely bounce off your mind! It will go in one ear and right out the other. This is because we are dealing with a spiritual reality, not something that we can see with physical eyes or understand with earthly minds. It will often help to consult a meaning based translation when we deal with spiritual realities. Let me illustrate from my experience in Indonesia. I was speaking to a small congregation and I read Colossians 3:1-3 in the default Indonesian literal translation. You'll understand better if I read the ESV: 3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. There was a man on the second row who must have been an elder in the church, and I put him on the spot. I said to him, "This verse says, 'For you have died'. Have you died?" And he replied, "No." So I asked someone else to read the verses again and I again asked the man, "Sir, this verse in your Bible says 'You have died.' Have you died?" And he again said, "No." I would have been smiling by now, because I knew this would help me make my point. I said, "This verse says 'You have died'. Is there a spiritual way that you have died?" "Oh," he said, "well yes, if you put it that way!" The next thing I would have done is to read our translation, which makes the verse much clearer. So let's read the NLT for those verses: Col. 3:1 Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. Our first step that I mentioned above is to realize that this truth is something every Christian is supposed to believe. I hope you will take steps 2 and 3, namely Asking God how to do this and Meditating on this truth. But we are helped significantly in step 4, as Paul gives us steps to follow in the next part of Colossians 3. For now, I am leaving those as homework. Let's go back to Colossians 2 to pick up more important ideas about how God releases us from our fleshly weaknesses. Col. 2:11 NLT When you came to Christ, you were "circumcised," but not by a physical procedure. Christ performed a spiritual circumcision—the cutting away of your sinful nature. 12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. In verse 11, we see a different spiritual reality: That of our receiving a spiritual circumcision. This invisible circumcision was performed by Christ, and putting two and two together, I conclude that his own crucifixion is what made this possible. Verse 12 is linked with the word 'For', describing how this circumcision takes place. 2:12 For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead. So in chapter 3, Paul says we died, and here in chapter 2, we have been buried with Christ when we were baptized. This is exac

    22 min
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