Daily Bible Reading Podcast 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 with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord [Christ Jesus//Jesus Christ].   (similarly in 9, 10, 11, 12, 16, 18, 27)
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you [fully believe//trust] in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
22 In fact, my visit to you has been delayed so long because I have been preaching in [those//these] places.
23 But now I have finished my work in [those//these] regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you.
30 Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord [Christ Jesus//Jesus Christ] to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.
 
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.

 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 things often come from our differing backgrounds.
NLT Translation notes:
Rom. 15:6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord [Christ Jesus//Jesus Christ].
9 He also came so that the [non-Jews//Gentiles] might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:
“For this, I will praise you among the [non-Jews//Gentiles];
I will sing praises to [you/your name].”
[The psalmist uses ‘your name’ as a metonymy for God himself. To us in English, it sounds like idolatry to praise a name rather than the Person Himself.]
10 And in another place it is written,
“Rejoice with his people,
you [non-Jews//Gentiles].”
11 And yet again,
“Praise the LORD, all you [non-Jews//Gentiles].
Praise him, all you people of the earth.”
12 And in another place Isaiah said,
“The heir to David’s throne will come,
and he will rule over the [non-Jews//Gentiles].
They will place their hope on him.”
13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you [fully believe//trust] in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you [non-Jews//Gentiles]. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.
18 Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the [non-Jews//Gentiles] to God by my message and by the way I worked among them.
 
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.

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 happy that Paul didn't just give the churches a list of the celebrations and days that Christians were to consider as sacred. He did not give us a list of foods to not eat. That would have been the easy thing to do. To me it is a proof of God's inspiration that Paul does the counterintuitive thing: He tells us each to decide as our conscience dictates before God. Paul was not interested in establishing a man-made religion. The things that matter are “living a life of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.” And when choosing our actions, let our conscience be our guide.
NLT Translation notes:
Rom. 14:1 Accept other believers who are weak in [way that they believe//faith], and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.
Rom. 14:5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced [in your decision about this matter//that whichever day you choose is acceptable].
Rom. 14:8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, [(or do anything else,)] we belong to the Lord.
Rom. 14:13 So let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.
Rom. 14:15 And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it [right in front of him]. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died.
Rom. 14:23 But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and [eat/do] it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.
 
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.

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 second Buckling the Belt of Truth podcast— which is found in our calendar at day 141— I recommended claiming your present resurrection life. I dealt with the biblical teaching that, as a sincere believer in Christ, you have been united with Christ in his death (being crucified with Him), you died and were buried, and now have been raised with Him to new life. Our living a resurrected life is a spiritual reality, meaning it is true of you spiritually but can’t be seen by human eyes. However the Holy Spirit has given us multiple metaphors that help us grasp this reality. As you settle into living according to spiritual realities, the transformation that human eyes cannot see will be felt by you and perhaps even be noticed by others.
 
The foundational steps of Buckling the Belt of Truth that I gave in the last lesson were:
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.  
With that introduction, let’s read Romans 6:1-11 in the GNT:
Romans 6:1-11
What shall we say, then? Should we continue to live in sin so that God's grace will increase? 2 Certainly not! We have died to sin—how then can we go on living in it? 3 For surely you know that when we were baptized into union with Christ Jesus, we were baptized into union with his death. 4 By our baptism, then, we were buried with him and shared his death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from death by the glorious power of the Father, so also we might live a new life.
5 For since we have become one with him in dying as he did, in the same way we shall be one with him by being raised to life as he was.
I hope you noticed the words ‘union’ and ‘become one with him’. When we are baptized, we physically act out this oneness with Christ, both the death and burial and the resurrection. This idea of union is so important that our eating and drinking the elements of communion portray the same thing.
6 And we know that our old being has been put to death with Christ on his cross, in order that the power of the sinful self might be destroyed, so that we should no longer be the slaves of sin. 7 For when we die, we are set free from the power of sin. 8 Since we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that Christ has been raised from death and will never die again—death will no longer rule over him. 10 And so, because he died, sin has no power over him; and now he lives his life in fellowship with God. 11 In the same way you are to think of yourselves as dead, so far as sin is concerned, but living in fellowship with God through Christ Jesus.
Two points about that paragraph:
This paragraph is giving us the keys to unlock the

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 chapter 14 covers the divisive area of rituals and traditions.
NLT Translation notes:
2Sam. 12:14 Nevertheless, because you have shown utter contempt for the [0//word of the] Lord by doing this, your child will die. (The Hebrew text doesn’t seem to contain ‘word of’.)
Rom. 14:1 Accept other believers who are weak in [the way they believe//faith], and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.
5 In the same way, some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike. You should each be fully convinced [in your decision about this matter//that whichever day you choose is acceptable].
8 If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, [(or do anything else,)] we belong to the Lord.
11 For the Scriptures say, “‘As surely as I live,’ says the LORD, ‘every knee will bend to me, and every tongue will [confess and give praise//declare allegiance] to God. ’”
15 And if another believer is distressed by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you eat it [right in front of him]. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died.
 
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.

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 important theme of the book of Hebrews.
Re-reading ROMANS 13:
We are now solidly in the middle of the practical part of this letter. Today we hear the part about obeying government authorities and our obligation to love everyone. I especially like the section at the end contrasting light and dark, and taking up our spiritual weapons.
NLT Translation note:
2Sam. 9:8 Mephibosheth bowed respectfully and exclaimed, “Who [am I,//is]  your servant, that you should show such kindness to a dead dog like me?”
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Rom. 13:14 Instead, [let us become more and more like the Lord Christ Jesus, so that when people see us, it is like seeing Him.//clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.] And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
[The literal is ‘put on the Lord Jesus Christ’. And I’m not ‘putting you on’! This is one case where that English idiom could almost get in the way. It is somewhat debatable if NLT is accurate in adding ‘presence’. It does allow them to keep the clothing figure. Our PET translation drops the clothing figure entirely, but probably is closer to the meaning received by the original readers.]
 
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.