Daily Bible Reading Podcast

NL-Day210 Jeremiah 17-18; Psalm 146; 1 Corinthians 3

JEREMIAH 17-18: One catches so clearly how trapped Jeremiah was in the time of God’s judgment, and how hot God’s anger was against Judah. Jeremiah’s audience would not have appreciated him telling them where the Lord said they could ‘go’! No wonder he so often weeps and cries out in despair. God’s verdict in 15:2, which shows his sovereign choices, is repeated in Revelation: Jer. 15:1 Then the Lord said to me, “Even if Moses and Samuel were standing here pleading with me, I would not show these ...

NL-Day209 Jeremiah 15-16; Psalm 145; 1 Corinthians 1:18-2:16

JEREMIAH 15-16: Yesterday the dialog between the Lord and Jeremiah continued. We heard of the drought. And the Lord forbid Jeremiah to pray for the people of Judah. PSALM 145: This is an acrostic psalm in Hebrew, and it gives us a great place to start when praising God. 1CORINTHIANS 1:18—2: Let’s not allow the chapter division here to interrupt what Paul teaches us about God’s wisdom! So let’s start reading in chapter 1 verse 18. NLT Translation note: Jer. 15:2And if they say to you, ‘But where ...

NL-Day208 Jeremiah 13-14; Psalm 144; 1 Corinthians 1

JEREMIAH 13-14: In yesterday’s reading, Jeremiah complained to the Lord, 12:1 “Lord, if I argued my case with you, you would [be shown//prove] to be right. Yet I must question you about matters of justice. Why are the wicked so prosperous? Why do dishonest people succeed? And the Lord replied in an answer that bears reading in context and needs some thinking about, “Jeremiah, if you get tired racing against people, how can you race against horses? If you can't even stand up in open country, how ...

NL-Day207 Jeremiah 11-12; Psalm 143; John 21

JEREMIAH 11-12: Yesterday we heard important verses in chapter 9:23-24, verses that Paul quotes more than once: “Don’t let the wise boast in their wisdom, or the powerful boast in their power, or the rich boast in their riches. But those who wish to boast should boast in this alone: that they truly know me and understand that I am the LORD … PSALM 143: It seems that prayer is very neglected these days. Oh yes, we might hear something vague about praying for victims right after some tragedy strik...

NL-Day206 Jeremiah 9-10; Psalm 142; John 20

JEREMIAH 9-10: Being a prophet is not exactly an easy job. In 7:27 God told him, “Tell them all this, but do not expect them to listen. Shout out your warnings, but do not expect them to respond.” We’ll find that God told the same thing to more than one prophet around this same time. PSALM 142: When you are discouraged, here is a psalm to pray! JOHN 20: There are so many fulfillments of Scripture that happen in the crucifixion chapters in the Gospels that many times the authors didn’t take the t...

NL-Day205 Jeremiah 7-8; Psalm 141; John 19:14-42

JEREMIAH 7-8: In this and several other prophetic books, it is important to observe where quotes begin and end, and who is speaking. The section headings are also very helpful to our understanding. Modern translators and editors use the heading to help modern readers understand such things as ancient poetic imagery. Yesterday's reading had this ironic statement spoken by the Lord: 5:19 When they ask why I did all these things, tell them, Jeremiah, that just as they turned away from me and served...

NL-Day204 Jeremiah 5-6; Psalm 140; John 18:28-19:27

JEREMIAH 5-6: God, speaking through the prophets, frequently says how he feels about idolatry. He considers it just like the faithlessness of a wayward wife. It is moving that Jeremiah could so clearly see what would happen— the anguish of the people when his prophecies are fulfilled and they will be attacked by armies from the north. PSALM 140: This is a prayer for anyone who fears the imminent attack of wicked enemies. JOHN 19a: The chapter break here interrupts the story of Jesus’ trial befor...

NL-Day203 Jeremiah 3-4; Psalm 139; John 18:19-40

JEREMIAH 3-4: In yesterday’s reading there was a play on words in Jer. 1:11-12, where the Hebrew word for ‘almond tree’ sounds like the word for ‘watching’: 11 Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?” And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree .” 12 And the Lord said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching ,* and I will certainly carry out all my plans.” *footnote: The Hebrew word for “watching” (shoqed) sounds like the word for “almond tree” (shaqed). Yesterd...

NL-Day202 Jeremiah 1-2; Psalm 138; John 18:1-27

JEREMIAH 1-2: The book of Jeremiah was written between 627 and 580 BC. Counting the number of verses, Jeremiah is longer than all other books of the Old Testament except Genesis and Psalms. Jeremiah is often called the weeping prophet, and his other book is Lamentations. It is possible that he is the son of the high priest Hilkiah who brought the book of the Law to the attention of king Josiah. Having just heard in 2 Kings an overview of what happened during the last days of the kingdom of Judah...

NL-Day201 Jonah 3-4; Psalm 137; John 17

JONAH 3-4: Running from God didn’t work for Jonah. When saved from the ocean, Jonah grudgingly obeys God. For most of my life I have been fooled by Jonah's prayer in chapter 2, and I am not alone, because others have called it, “One of the great prayers in the Bible.” For most of the prayer, Jonah simply borrowed verses from the Psalms. And there is nothing wrong with that! However, if you look closer, Jonah prayed a me-centered and self-righteous prayer. The worst thing about it is there is no ...

NL-Day200 Jonah 1-2; Psalm 136; John 17

JONAH 1-2: For quite a few years when I was just reading the Bible without a set reading plan, I enjoyed a break from reading the books of history after Second Kings, moving to the prophets. And our first is Jonah, who was mentioned back in 2 Kings 14. Note that the little story of Jonah is masterfully written. Little details poke out everywhere. Jonah has a downward journey. He goes down from Jerusalem to Joppa, then down again into the hold of the boat, and then down into the underworld of the...

NL-Day199 2 Kings 24-25; Psalm 135; John 16

2KINGS 24-25: In yesterday’s reading, we heard of Josiah’s reforms, leading the people to renew the covenant with God. That chapter had this telling comment about the Passover: 2Kings 23:22 There had not been a Passover celebration like that since the time when the judges ruled in Israel, nor throughout all the years of the kings of Israel and Judah. Many times I think people make the naive assumption that the people of Israel customarily performed all sorts of difficult commands in the Law— lik...

NL-Day198 2 Kings 23; Psalm 134; John 15:18-16:15

2KINGS 23: Hilkiah found the book of the Law in the temple while repairs were being carried out as ordered by king Josiah. When Josiah heard the book of the Law, he instituted reforms. And God again is glorified in fulfilling a prophecy we heard in 1 Kings. PSALM 134: I would like to have been one of the Levitical temple musicians who had the duty of singing praises to God at night. This is the last of the Psalms of Ascent. JOHN 15:18—16:15: We are still in the upper room. I have chosen to rerea...

NL-Day197 2 Kings 21-22; Psalm 133; John 15

2KINGS 21-22: The Assyrian king mocked the God of Israel at the end of chapter 18. We heard God's answer yesterday in chapter 19, and we were introduced to the prophet Isaiah. Hezekiah asked to live for a longer time, and his request was granted. I have heard that there is actually scientific proof of the long day miracle that was given to Hezekiah. What a shame that he did not ask God not to send his sons to Babylon! PSALM 133: This Psalm of Ascent comes at a very fitting time in relation to ou...

NL-Day196 2 Kings 19-20; Psalm 132; John 15

2KINGS 19-20: The writer of 1 & 2 Kings was very brief about the sins of the people of Israel (in both kingdoms) until what we heard yesterday. He seems to have saved the moral of the story until chapter 17. And then we have the wonderful contrast with Hezekiah in chapter 18. Then the Asyrian king mocked the God of Israel at the end of chapter 18. We hear God's answer today. PSALM 132: It would appear that Solomon wrote this Psalm of Ascent, as part of it was quoted by him at the dedication ...

NL-Day195 2 Kings 17-18; Psalm 131; John 14:15-31

2KINGS 17-18: Yesterday we again heard quite a few names of kings, especially on the Israel/Northern side. And this culminated with Tiglath-pileser of Assyria deporting the people of Israel. Because of a heavy bribe, Judah avoided this by becoming a vassal state of Assyria. Actually, this was probably wise on king Ahaz's part. Judah was not always so wise in interpreting the signs of the time. PSALM 131: God’s grace requires that we receive from the Lord, not insisting on our working to gain goo...

089: JoySightings 12 The Enchanted City

I am releasing this episode number 12 of Joysightings at the DBRP feed in order to let you know about my recordings of Tales of the Kingdom and Tales of the Restoration, by David and Karen Mains. You can find the other chapters of these two books at Joysightings.info. It was perhaps in 1989 that a precious friend sent the two books to us, when we were living in the rainforest of Papua, Indonesia. Our children were at just the right ages to enjoy the full impact of these stories. It is a joy for ...

046: JoySightings: The private car, and Rising above the clouds

038: Reader tak note: What most people don't know about Bible translations

Every Word 2022 day 115: What most people don’t know about Bible translations Hi there, and welcome to this bonus podcast! I will be discussing the two main types of Bible translations I recommend for most people. As a Bible translator since 1983, I feel that most Christians in the USA are not given enough information about why Bible translations differ in wording, and which kinds of Bible translations will be better for different kinds of readers. This is an important topic, so I am surprised a...

020: JoySightings The dog and the limited, and Moving pictures

See more at joysightings.info .

2024 DDeeper Trailer and How-to's

Hi there! I’m so glad you have clicked to listen to this trailer to the Digging Deeper Daily Bible reading plan for 2024. If you want to read the Bible in a great reading plan that will hold your attention and enable you to stay with the program, you are in the right place. My name is Phil Fields. I’m almost 74 years old and happily married to Gale. We have three children, and five grandkids. In 1983, when our kids were still small, our family went as Bible translators to Papua, Indonesia. We fi...

Joysightings 52 Defining Faith and The Long Walk

After being directly involved in Bible translation since 1983, I have wanted to share with younger generations about the things I have learned from my experiences as a Bible translator— the things that made the most impact on me through my years. I have now decided to put a few of my most important stories in this JoySightings podcast. I know that I am never going to write a book. But now if anyone ever asks about my experiences, I will have a place to send them: Go to JoySightings.info and star...

Day 53: Pointers for understanding parables

Today I would like to give pointers for understanding Jesus’ parables. I consider the parable to be one of the greatest of all teaching devices, and a legacy of the Greatest Teacher. I will end this episode by sharing about one of my favorite writers of non-Biblical parables. One little detail to understand is that the word ‘parable’ (Greek paraboles ) had a wider meaning than we normally think of in English, and you may see this sometimes in the New Testament. In English, we normally think of a...