Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Jesus has been teaching his disciples what the kingdom of God looks like. He has brought in God's reign in all kinds of ways. Healing the sick, casting out demons, and even calming the wind and the waves. But all this would be for nought, if it didn't lead them to understand Jesus' true identity. The signs he performs point to something. If they are only signs, it will never lead anyone to who Jesus is and what He brings. So on the way to the next location of ministry, Jesus asks them, "Who do people say that I am?"The general consensus was that Jesus was a good teacher and prophet. And yet, all the prophets were meant to lead people to the Messiah. The people saw the signs but missed where they were pointed, the Messiah. So Jesus decides to check in with the disciples to see if they are getting it. And true to form Peter is the first to answer. Usually when Peter is the first to speak, he puts his foot into his mouth. But on this day he gets it right. He reco...

In today's world most all of us use credit cards. We buy something on credit and then hopefully pay it back by the due date, or else we incur credit card charges. We pay interest for using someone else's money. Today in Romans, Paul is describing a different kind of credit. He says Abraham believed God and it was, "credited to him as righteousness." What does this mean? In Genesis 15, God promised Abraham that he would be a father of many nations. Now since Abraham was old and didn't have any children, this would be hard for anyone to believe. But in 15:6 it says Abraham believed and it was credited to him as righteousness. Remember that in Rome Paul was trying to help the Jewish Christians understand how the Gentiles had come to faith in a religion that was called Judiasm. And then Paul shows us that when someone works for something, wages are credited to him as payment for his work. But when we trust God for the promises Jesus has fulfilled, our faith credi...

These verses contain one of the most often quoted verses by Christians. 1 Peter says, "But In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give you a reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect." Though this verse is usually associated with teaching people how to share their faith in an evangelistic way. It's primary context is when a Christian is suffering for doing good. In fact, this verse is shared to prepare those who are being threatened for their belief in Christ. Instead of returning evil for evil, they are to return evil with good. And when they do this, there may be some who will continue to harass them. But he says it is better to suffer for doing good than doing evil. But there also be a time, when you return evil with good, that it will open a door for the gospel. Why? Because the world is not used to that behavior. The world is used to getting even, and getting what you ...

Paul describes the process of going from being dead in our old ways, to now being alive in Christ. All of us in different ways lived our lives on our own terms. Basically saying, "I am going to do want I want, when I want to do it, and you can't stop me." Some of us even ran from God saying, "One day I will return to you, but for now I am having my fun!" While we think we are just living the good life and living according to the cravings of our desires, Paul says we are really being influenced by something else. He calls it the "ruler of the kingdom of the air". He is also called "Satan", the "Anti-Christ", or the "evil one". We are responsible for our individual sin actions for sure. But once we turned our nose up at God, we became subject to the spirit who is at work in all those who are disobedient. And part of this work is to distort the truth. The evil one, tells us we deserve whatever we want, and are entitl...

One of the things I love about the psalms is the honesty of the writers. They bare their hearts and do not hide anything that is really going on in their lives. Today we have King David, who is pretty well known for his psalms of confession. And when you read of his life, he had a few things to confess. And who doesn't have a lot to confess if you are human. But today he gives the antidote for being caught in sin. But before that we see his condition when he held back his true condition from God. He says, "When I kept silent, my bones wasted way through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped from me as in the heat of summer." Before David turned from his sin and turned to God he was miserable. Then he says something very significant. He says, "then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my deceit." David already knew all he had to do was acknowledge what was already true. God already knew so t...

Today the prophet Daniel again intercedes for himself and his people. The people have walked away from God and God allows another nation to come in and take over the city of Jerusalem. The people are scattered and their place of worship is no longer open. Daniel pleads with God for mercy. This is called "intercession". Later in the New Testament we will see Jesus intercedes before God for us. Daniel reasons with God, that even though the people deserve God's judgement because of their acts of rebellion, they have become the laughing stock to the people around them. He pleads with God for mercy because the house that bears His name is in shambles. He is so bold to pray, "Lord listen! Lord, forgive! Lord, hear and act! For your sake, my God do not delay!" Notice he is not just praying only for himself but the people who bear God's name. Then, we see something quite amazing. Gabriel, an angel of God, hears his prayer and comes literally flying in to give D...

The season of Lent, which started last night with Ash Wednesday, is a time to reflect on your life and be honest with God about how things are really going. We can't fool God so to try and act like things are well when they aren't, doesn't work with God. When we realize the ways in which we have drifted away from God and done things we know are wrong, we confess our shortcomings. The bible calls it sin, but often we don't really understand what this means so it is not always helpful. What is helpful is not hiding from God and coming into the light, which we call confession. In the Old Testament today we see Daniel, confessing the sins of the nation of Israel. He pleads with God in sackcloth and ashes on behalf of the people. Last night we placed ashes on each person's forehead reminding all of us, "Remember we are dust and to dust we shall return." Daniel basically says, we have turned against you God and rebelled against the covenant you made with us. ...

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, the 40 days leading up to Good Friday and the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter. If you belong to a more traditional church, there is usually a worship service at night, with an imposition of ashes from the minister with the words, "Remember you are to dust, and to dust you shall return." Genesis 3:19 This may seem a little morbid, but sometimes it is good to ponder the limitations of our humanity, and put our lives in perspective. It is also good to set aside a good chunk of time to focus on what Jesus, the Son of God, did for us on the cross. Holy Week is a re-enactment of Jesus' last days on earth. On Maundy Thursday, we remember Jesus' last supper with his disciples. On Good Friday, we remember Jesus' last words on the cross when he was crucified by men, despite doing nothing wrong. And on Easter morning we proclaim, "Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed," And many times during Lent people will ta...

Paul continues to instruct Timothy on how to be a good, young pastor shepherding the flock God has entrusted to his care. Paul is not suggesting that we should have a bunch of rules in the church, but remember what the Church really is, the household of God. We all take care of our own household, and as much as possible if we have kids, we try to help them understand that they represent the family wherever they go. And if we give this much emphasis to our own household, how much more the household of God. Paul makes it more clear by saying it is the "church of the living God". Although our churches are buildings that need maintenance like any other building. There is also a spiritual reality about the church of the living God. It is the Church of Christ from whom the power to lead a good life comes from. Paul says the only way those in the Church can represent the living God is to connect with God through the living Christ. When Paul says that church is the household of God...

There are not many times God reveals himself directly to the people of God. This is what we call a "theophany". This means a visible manifestion of God to a human being. In this case God told Moses that he would appear in a dense cloud at the top of Mount Sinai. Moses was to prepare the people to be at the bottom of the mountain, but set limits on how close they could be. In fact, if they as much as put a step on the mountain they would die. This shows us the powerful nature of God and how awesome it would be to come into his presence. It also shows his holiness and what it would mean for something or someone unholy to come into His presence. In this case, he wants the people to hear him speaking to Moses, so they will know God sent him to lead the people. So on the third day, just as He had told Moses, he appeared in a dense could on top of the mountain. And when God came, He came with power and visible manifestion. He came in fire and smoke, with thunder and lightning, an...

If we ever wondered if Jesus cared for lost people, today shows his passion for rescuing his own people, the Israelites. Jesus shows that lost people matter to God, when he looks over the city and weeps for it. He weeps because he knows they will reject the peace that he came to bring, first to the Jew, and then to the Gentiles. This is a peace that is greater than protection from their neighboring enemies, a peace with God that comes from faith in Him who God has sent to them. A peace that was talked about in the Old Testament through the various prophets, but a peace they would soon reject. Jesus prays that they would seize this moment when God himself has come to save them, but this has been hidden from their eyes. They are spiritually blind. They are so focused on their version of the Messiab, that they can't recognize the true Messiah. When Jesus realizes this, he weeps. This shows his true heart for his fellow Jews, and really all people. Jesus is God, and yet he can't ...

In today's readings we see two types of leaders. King Jeroboam had led the people into sin and the worship of idols. So God tore away the kingdom from him and he lost the privilege of leading. In 1 Timothy we see the apostle Paul. Though he was once a blasphemer, and as he calls himself "the worst of sinners", he received God's mercy through Christ. Though he was once far away from God, God proved his love to Paul by sending His Son to save sinners like him. Jesus didn't come into the world to save those who were righteous but sinners. Paul sums this up by saying that God showed grace and mercy to the worst of sinners, so His patience would be revealed to all. And then he says something profound for Christian leadership. He says. "He considered me trustworthy". It was God who chose Paul to show him mercy, and then equipped him to bring the Gospel to the Gentiles, for which he labored so well for the rest of his life. And then at the end of the reading,...

I love Paul's use of the metaphor of "aroma". Of course, we are all familiar with it, as we can mention things and immediately think of the aroma it brings with it. I won't elaborate on that right now for the sake of decency. But more importantly, Paul uses it in connection with the type of aroma we give off as believers. Like an aroma gets the attention of those around it, so as Christians we exude an aroma by the way we live and how we follow Christ. And it will have an effect n those around us as well. To other believers God's work is pleasant, encourages them and draws them closer to Christ. But to those who are still living as slaves to the world, we "stink". What do I mean by this? When someone is living out their Christian in faith in public ways, those who are moving away from God will be convicted by their lack of faith or wavering faith. They will think of these believers as holier than thou, and hypocritical even if they are not act...

The Psalms often contain the prayers of God's people, and they ask God for healing and intervention for what they are going through. If you read the first eleven verses of this psalm, you see the writer of this psalm is severely afflicted. Here is a sampling of his fervent lament: "3 For my days vanish like smoke; my bones burn like glowing embers. 4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food. 5 In my distress I groan aloud and am reduced to skin and bones. 6 I am like a desert owl, like an owl among the ruins. 7 I lie awake; I have become like a bird alone on a roof." You can see he is definitely not having a good day. But even though he cries out to God to not cut his days short, we see his deep faith in God. He has faith that at the appointed time God will deliver him from his distress. And he realizes it is not just for him, but also the people of God. He realizes one day God will rebuild Zion, an important p...

There is always lots of hesitation when it comes to signs and wonders. When Jesus left his disciples he said, "you will do even greater things that I have done." And indeed, when Jesus sent the 72 disciples out in two'a, they came back reporting many of the things they did, including healing the sick, and casting out demons. Almost always when we see sign and wonders done in and through Jesus' followers, it is to confirm the message they have given. It is not so much the sign itself, but what the sign is pointing to, the Good News about Jesus. This is the case with Paul and Barnabas when they went to Iconium. They spoke so effectively and persuasively about Jesus, that many came to faith. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles. So when they continued in boldness, God enabled them to do signs and wonders to validate their message. But despite the preaching and the signs, the Jewish men stirred up other Jews as well as Gentiles to mistreat ...

In Isaiah 46, the prophet compares the gods of Babylon with the one true God, Yahweh. He describes their gods as a beast of burden. They make their gods from gold, carry it to the spot of worship and there it sits unable to move or speak. They cry out to it and it does not answer. It cannot save them from their time of trouble, and their burden remains on their shoulders. The prophet contrasts these gods, with the God of Jacob, who has made them and carried them from their youth. The Lord says, "I have made you and I will sustain you. I will rescue you in times of trouble. You can give me your burdens and I will carry them. When you call out to me I will answer you." God is unique and there is no other one like him. He uses birds of prey and humans alike for his Divine purpose. The prophet looks forward to this purpose, which will be fulfilled in Jesus the son of God. But for now Isaiah is speaking to the rebellious and stubborn Israelites, who are far from His righteousnes...

As Paul writes this letter to the believers in Galatia, he is passionate about preserving the purity of the gospel. The Jewish believers are requiring the new Gentile converts to be circumcised and Paul will have none it. Having started with the Gospel he is badly disappointed they are returning to the Law. They are returning to a justification by works. It is not that circumcision was bad in itself, but it doesn't save someone only Jesus does. Circumcision was a commandment given to the. Jewish males as part of the Old Testament covenant with Israel. But the old covenant was replaced by the new covenant offered by God through Jesus. Paul says our hearts have been circumcised when we come to faith in Christ. Paul knew the Law well and knew if never brought peace because he could never live up to its demands. But when Paul experienced grace, he realized peace with Christ by what Jesus did on the cross. After having tasted grace, he never wanted to go back to the Law. And he didn...

Although Jeremiah has had plenty of words rebuking the people of Israel for their forsaking of The Lord and His ways, today he has a message of hope and restoration. Though the people are in exile and under the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah announces to them that God has not forgotten them. And, in fact, has plans for them, and a future and a hope. You can imagine how discouraged the people were and what hope this must have given to them. After all, they had been completely stripped of their land and their temple, two major aspects of their identity. But God tells them to plant and build within the place they had been exiled. As a sign of God's presence, they would prosper. Their sons and daughters would marry and they would grow in number, and they would even bring peace to the city they were exiled to. Then, we see this important verse from Jeremiah, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to giv...

We see today God will use any means to implement His will. God is sovereign over all things so he can even use a donkey. Balaam didn't recognize that God was speaking through his donkey sohe started to beat him. Finally the spoke and said what are you doing to me. Sometimes we are so stubborn God needs a donkey to show us His will. We don't listen to God's voice because we would rather be in control. What is God saying to you today? Will you listen? Or, will he need a donkey to let you know it is him? Psalm 35:1-10 Psalm 35 Of David. 1 Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. 2 Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid. 3 Brandish spear and javelin[a] against those who pursue me. Say to me, “I am your salvation.” 4 May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay. 5 May they be like chaff before the wind, wi...