Daily Bible Reading Podcast

How can you get more out of your Bible reading this year? My top advice is to SLOW DOWN! The readings in this plan take around 20 minutes if read aloud. If you read silently, you might finish in only 10 minutes. But if you skim through like that, you won’t retain very much! I suggest these two ways to slow down:

1. Read out loud to yourself. Read expressively. When you find that your first attempt didn’t quite have the right intonation, go back and read the sentence again. Take time to think about— and pray about, what you have just read.

2. Read along while listening to the Daily Bible Reading Podcast. This will definitely slow you down.

One advantage of listening to the podcasts is that each one ends with a short prayer that is aimed at helping you apply what you have just read. By the way, I normally don’t say an Amen at the end of the prayers. This is because I hope you keep on praying after the episode ends.

GENESIS 5-6: In chapter 3 of Genesis, the Lord gave his judgment against the serpent. God talked about the woman’s offspring (which is a collective singular noun) when speaking to the serpent, and said,

“her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring's heel.”

This is the very first prophecy looking forward to a Messiah and Redeemer who will crush Satan’s head. Just before that, there is another picture worth noting: God provided clothes for the man and woman made from animal skins. This is the first hint of the sacrificial system that prefigures Christ.

JOB 3: Today we read Job’s first speech. In the Bible— and especially in Job and the Psalms, we find out that God thoroughly understands and takes into account the fact that humans suffer. This is shown in the fact that such deep expressions of suffering are found in God’s Word— right from the earliest writings.

MARK 2: Yesterday in the second half of Mark 1, we read of Jesus miraculously healing people in Capernaum, and his refusing to stay only there. He preached and cast out demons all over the region of Galilee. The healing of the man with leprosy is notable because of the exchange between Jesus and that man, and also the results of the man’s not following Jesus’ instructions.

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NLT Translation notes:

Mrk. 2:5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, [PET: I have forgiven your sins.//your sins are forgiven.]”

[I will occasionally quote from the PET, which is the Plain English Translation. That is the English translation that matches our Plain Indonesian Translation (TSI). The PET was first created as part of the checking process for the TSI, and some parts have been published because so many Indonesians desire to learn English.]

9 [PET: Certainly you will have difficulty accepting that I said to this paralyzed man, ‘I have forgiven your sins.’ Will it be easier for you to accept it if I say to him, ‘Get up, pick up your mattress and go home’?//Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? ]

10 So I will prove to you that [I, the Son of Man have//the Son of Man has] the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, 18 Once when John’s disciples were fasting and the Pharisees were [also] fasting, some people came to Jesus and asked, “Why don’t your disciples fast like John’s disciples and the Pharisees do?”

[The translation should not give the impression that the two groups were joining together to fast.] 28 So [I,] the Son of Man [am/is] Lord, even over the Sabbath!”

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.

As I finish this podcast series, I am really thankful for this year-long experience. If you are one of the faithful ones who have listened through a year’s worth of daily podcasts— and no matter whether this has taken longer than a year, I say Way to go! I sincerely hope these podcasts have been a blessing for you— as they have been for me. I hope that nothing that I have said has caused you to stumble or decreased your desire to study God’s Word. I started this project in the hope that my four grandchildren would— in some future year, listen to this series of recordings. Now we have five grandchildren. If you are Luke Fields, Laura Fields, Ava Baughn, Joel Baughn, or Devan Baughn, know that Grampa loves you and that I desired to share spiritual treasures with you. I am proud of you and wish that we could have shared these readings in person. I urge you to stay centered upon God’s Word. And to ALL of you in the family of Christ Jesus our Savior, I send warm greetings and love. May the Lord bless you as you continue your journey with Him!

MALACHI 4: As people like Simeon and Anna (Luke 2) waited for the Messiah to come, I am sure that they were thinking of verses like Malachi 3:1:

Mal. 3:1 NLT “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.

Re-reading ISAIAH 66: Isaiah ends with blessings and promises that foreshadow Revelation, such as these:

Is. 66:12 GNT The Lord says, “I will bring you lasting prosperity; the wealth of the nations will flow to you like a river that never goes dry. ... 22 “Just as the new earth and the new heavens will endure by my power, so your descendants and your name will endure.

In stark contrast to the promises and blessings, Isaiah also ends with vivid warnings against judgments and punishments that are like those in Revelation. Jesus himself quoted that final verse about the worms and the unquenchable fire. (Mark 9:48) You can take that as Jesus’ stamp of approval on all that Isaiah said!

REVELATION 22: In chapter 21 we heard the invitation to receive free life-giving water for anyone who is thirsty, and that invitation is repeated in today’s chapter. The culmination of everything promised and the healing of everything sick and broken occur here. God says, “Look, I am making all things new.” There is again symbolism in every aspect of the New Jerusalem— including even the shape of a huge cube. As noted above at the end of Isaiah, in stark contrast to the eternal blessings for God’s people are the vivid ending warnings of eternal judgment in the last two chapters of Revelation.

In Rev. 22:8-9, most translations make it sound that John made the same mistake twice— bowing down again to the angel that was showing everything to him. But the Greek in those verse in chapter 22 can be understood to be retelling that event that happened in chapter 19, and I think that makes better sense. The probable reason that John included the story twice was to emphasize that angels should not be worshipped. Let’s beware of such heresy! Because such false teaching keeps on resurfacing and some forms of Gnosticism remain to the present day.

Congratulations on finishing the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan!

NLT Translation Notes: Rev. 22:1b On each side of the river grew [the/a] tree of life, 8b And when I heard and saw them[— as I said before], I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. 16b I am both the [founding] source of David

• 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.

EXODUS 29:Yesterday we read about the design of the altar for burnt offerings and the plans for the courtyard. The dimensions we heard the day before were for the sacred tent that was enclosed by the courtyard that we heard about yesterday. And we read about the fabulous garments for the priests, Aaron and his sons.

PSALM 3:As the title says, this is “A psalm of David, regarding the time David fled from his son Absalom.”

Found at various strategic points in the Psalms is the word ‘Selah’. This has been variously translated. The truth is, we don’t know what it means! But people conjecture that it is a musical term, and it likely could have signalled an interlude. I suspect it could also be a repetition mark. Whatever it is, it likely would have had the effect of allowing the listener to pause and reflect on what was just performed or communicated.

Luke 4:Yesterday we heard of John the Baptist's ministry and imprisonment, and the genealogy of Jesus.

NLT Translation notes:Ps. 3:4 I cried out to [You/the], LORD ,and [You/he] answered me from his holy mountain.====Luk. 4:1 Then Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan River. He was led by the Spirit [to go into/in] the wilderness,23 Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote [0/me] this proverb [to me//0]: ‘Physician, heal yourself ’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’

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.

EXODUS 27-28:Yesterday in Exodus, we heard the beginning plans given by God for the Tabernacle (or sacred tent) and the Arc of the Covenant that were to become the focal point for worship of God under the Covenant. The whole Tabernacle— and particularly the atonement cover on top of the Arc of the Covenant (called the Mercy Seat), symbolized that God was living among them. (Ex. 25:8) The whole Tabernacle was to be made exquisitely as appropriate for God's own dwelling.

PSALM 2:In Psalm 1, the author (probably David) mentioned obeying and studying ‘the Law’. In much of the Old Testament and even in the New, the word ‘Law’ came to mean more than the Mosaic Law or just the first 5 books of the Old Testament. We are within bounds to say that the author intended meditation and study of all of God’s Word.

Today we have our first prophetic Psalm.

LUKE 3:Yesterday we heard of Jesus' childhood, and now we hear of John the Baptist's ministry. In this newer recording from 2020, the voice of John the Baptist is Nate O'Brien, Pastor of Family Ministries at Covenant Church in Siloam Springs, AR.

NLT Translation note:Luk. 3:19 John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, for marrying [Herodiana/Herodias], his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs he had done.[In Indonesia, we found it helpful for understanding to change Herodias' name to one that sounds feminine. And anyway, in Greek, one form of her name ends with -anan.]

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.

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 group 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’.

Additional commentary:In twenty15, 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.

NLT Translation notes:1Tim2:1 [PET: I advise you to teach these things to the church you serve. First of all, every member of the church should give all kinds of prayer requests to God for everyone else— and also give thanks.//I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.]7 And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about [fully believing//faith] and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.15 [PET: As a result of that sin, the female descendants of Eve fall under the punishment of God in having pain when giving birth. 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 wise life.//NLT:/But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.]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 wise life.”

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.