Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Daily Bread 2011 – Ephesians 5:1-5; 15-20 1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19 Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritu

Daily Bread Together 2011: Ephesians 4:1-5,11-16 Unity in the Body of Christ 1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 11 It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and bl

Daily Bread 2011 – Ephesians 3 A Prayer for the Ephesians 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. What Does This Mean? As we survey Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians, we see his heart for them to experience the fulln

Daily Bread 2011 – Ephesians 2 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. What Does This Mean? In chapter 1, Paul gives us a glimpse of all of the spiritual blessings we have in Christ. Now, in chapter 2, he explains how we have been made alive through God’s great love and grace in the person of Jesus Christ. There is probably no clearer explanation of ho

Daily Bread 2011 – Ephesians 1 Spiritual Blessings in Chris t 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.11 In him we were also chosen, having been p

Daily Bread 2011 – Galatians 6 Doing Good to All 1 Brothers (and sisters), if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. 3 If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, 5 for each one should carry his own load. What Does This Mean? As Paul finishes up his letter (epistle) the church in Galatia, he gives some general instruction regarding how to handle when someone is caught in a sin. Obviously, we all sin every day, but the sense here is someone caught in a habitual sin that could bring damage to the cause of Christ. When Paul says “you who are spiritual should restore him”, he is not talking about the spiritual elite, or spiritual superstars. Earlier he made clear th

Daily Bread 2011 – Galatians 5 Life by the Spirit 16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and

Daily Bread 2011 – Galatians 4 17 Those people are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them. 18 It is fine to be zealous, provided the purpose is good, and to be so always and not just when I am with you. 19 My dear children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you, 20 how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you! What Does This Mean? We see again the heart of the pastor in Paul, as he is deeply concerned that having started with the free gospel of grace they are turning back to the Law. Specifically, some teachers have slipped into the church who were preaching circumcision for adult male converts, and also advocating the observance of special days (Sabbaths), months (new moons), and seasons (seasonal festivals such as Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles), which were all stipulated under the Mosiac Law. It wasn’t th

Daily Bread 2011 – Galatians 3 Faith or Observance of the Law 1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. 2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort? 4 Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing? 5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard? 6 Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” 7 Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. 8 The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: “All nations will be blessed through you.” 9 So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man o

Daily Bread 2011 – Galatians 2 15 “We who are Jews by birth and not ‘Gentile sinners’ 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.17 “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” What Does This Mean? Paul continues to lift up the is

No Other Gospel 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!10 Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. Paul Called by God 11 I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. What Does This Mean? We now move

2011 Daily Bread – 2 Corinthians 13 14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. What Does This Mean? Oftentimes people will state quite boldly, the doctrine of the Trinity is not even in the bible. And yes, while an explicit statement about the Trinity does not exist, there are certainly many Trinitarian references, including this one. We also see the most explicit one in the Great Commission as Jesus commands His disciples to, “Baptize them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” Clearly throughout the bible we see that although God is “one”, God also exists in “three persons”. Although this particular reference omits the use of the word “Father” it is clearly a Trinitarian reference that was a greeting used often in the early church. We know that it is the love of God that sent Jesus into the world, so when it says “God’s love” it can easily refer to God the Father. And since the grace of Jesu

Daily Bread 2011 – 2 Corinthians 12 7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. What Does This Mean? This is Paul’s famous “thorn in the flesh” passage. While no one has ever really given a plausible answer as to what his particular thorn was, the passage still has lot of relevance for us today. Paul’s thorn was obviously something he wasn’t proud of, and he had even pleaded with God to take it away from him. Yet, God allowed this trial/weakness in Pau

Paul and the False Apostles 1 I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness; but you are already doing that. 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. 5 But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” 6 I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. What Does This Mean? Paul continues on with the theme of defending himself for the sake of the Gospel, and in this chapter, with quite a bit of sarcasm. He say

2011 Daily Bread – 2 Corinthians 10 Paul’s Defense of His Ministr y 1 By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appealface with you, but “bold” when away! 2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3 For though we live in the world, we do no to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to t wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. What Does This Mean? As we have seen before, part of the purpose behind the 2nd letter to the Corinthians was to dispel some of the lies that some outside the Church brought in concerning the apostle Paul. They were saying that he was soft in person, yet harsh in his letters. His mann

Daily Bread 2011 – 2 Corinthians 9 Sowing Generous ly 6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions

2011 Daily Bread – 2 Corinthians 8 Generosity Encoura ged 1 And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5 And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will. 6 So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving. What Does This Mean For Us? Paul now moves to the practical application of “giving generously ”. Paul encourage

2011 Daily Bread – 2 Corinthians 7 Paul’s Joy 2 Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. 3 I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you. 4 I have great confidence in you; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds.5 For when we came into Macedonia, this body of ours had no rest, but we were harassed at every turn—conflicts on the outside, fears within. 6 But God, who comforts the downcast, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort you had given him. He told us about your longing for me, your deep sorrow, your ardent concern for me, so that my joy was greater than ever. What Does This Mean For Us? As Paul has to deal with this difficult issue in the church at Corinth, we see the human side of him as he speaks of how important their relati

2011 Daily Bread – 2 Corinthians 6 1 As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. What Does This Mean For Us? Paul transitions from the “indicatives”, “what God has done for us in making us a new Creation” (regeneration) and “how Christ has reconciled us to God” (reconciliation), and he now issues an “imperative” to not receive God’s grace in vain. It was Paul’s greatest fear, especially since after he planted churches, he often didn’t have time to nurture the new believers to maturity in Christ. In the case of the Church at Corinth, since people were making accusations about him (his “yes” wasn’t “yes” and his “no” wasn’t “no”) he worried that this would cause them to not realize the grace given them. He points back to the fact that it is God’s grace that brought them to salvation, and today

Daily Bread 2011 – 2 Corinthians 5 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. What Does This Mean For Us? Paul introduces two wonderful concepts to us today, “Regeneration and Reconciliation”. In verse 17, he says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come.” Through the work of Christ everything about us has changed. We have a new heart, a new will, a new peace and a new j

Daily Bread 2011 – 2 Corinthians 4 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. What Does This Mean? Paul uses the metaphor in 4:7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay” (the name of one of my favorite Christian bands!). But nonetheless God uses these clay pots to shine forth His glory. Importantly, the clay pot is not in itself that valuable, but what it holds in priceless. This same analogy goes for our bodies, which waste away over the years, but house “our souls”, which are meant to last for eternity. Paul presses the analogy further as he points to some of the persecution they face, as they bring the Good News of Christ to the world. Some are threatened by this same G

Daily Bread 2011 – 2 Corinthians 3 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. What Does This Mean? Clearly this is a reference to an earlier dispensation when Moses received the glory of the Lord and the stone tables containing the Old Covenant, as summarized by the Ten Commandments. When Moses met with the Lord on Mt. Sinai, he reflected the Lord’s glory and had to wear a veil to shield the Israelites from the transcendent glory and power of the Lord. Metaphorically, the veil not only shielded their eyes from seeing God’s glory, but there was also a veil over their hearts which kept them from understanding the Spirit of the Law. Therefore there was no inherent power for them to keep God’s commandme

Daily Bread 2011 – 2 Corinthians 2 Forgiveness for the Sinner 5 If anyone has caused grief, he has not so much grieved me as he has grieved all of you, to some extent—not to put it too severely. 6 The punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him. 7 Now instead, you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 I urge you, therefore, to reaffirm your love for him. 9 The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything. 10 If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, 11 in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes. What Does This Mean? In his first letter to the church at Corinth, Paul had admonished the church for some sexual immorality that was going on in the body. Apparently the church had taken steps to discipline this member, and no