Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Readings for the Day 2 Samuel 4-5, Psalm 139, Matthew 16 Verses for the Day Once more the Philistines came up and spread out in the Valley of Rephaim; 23 so David inquired of the Lord, and he answered, “Do not go straight up, but circle around behind them and attack them in front of the poplar trees. 24 As soon as you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the poplar trees, move quickly, because that will mean the Lord has gone out in front of you to strike the Philistine army.” 25 So David did as the Lord commanded him, and he struck down the Philistines all the way from Gibeon to Gezer. We see David defeating the Philistines, as he has been now made the King. We immediately see two things that David does right. First, before he attacks the Philistines he inquires of The Lord. Before he does anything he asks God if it is His will for David and his men to attack. And then he waits for God's answer. In this case, God is very specific and tells them not to take them straig

Readings for the Day 2 Samuel 3, 1 Chronicles 12, Matthew 15 Verses for the Day 10 Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand. 11 What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?” If you read the context of these verses and then what happens in the rest of the chapter, you will see something significant in Jesus ministry. As the Pharisees and teachers try to undermine his teaching, he calls them out and labels them as "hypocrites". They rebuke the disciples for not washing their hands before meals, while they disregard helping their parents for their so called righteousness. Jesus points out the core of their hypocrisy when he teaches the crowd that it is not what goes into a person that defiles them but what comes out of them. And what comes out of them reveals their hea

Readings for the Day 2 Samuel 1, Psalm 140, Matthew 13 Verses for the Day 25 “How the mighty have fallen in battle! Jonathan lies slain on your heights. 26 I grieve for you, Jonathan my brother; you were very dear to me. Your love for me was wonderful, more wonderful than that of women. So begins the book of 2 Samuel. The era of King Saul is over as he is injured to the point of death, and asks a young soldier, an Amalekite, to finish the job. When David learns that this man did not think twice about killing the King, the Lord's anointed One, he had him put to death. Most likely the man did not show honor to King Saul, and handled the matter in a nonchalant way. Though David had plenty of reason to be glad King Saul had met his end, but he has so much respect for the office of King, he calls for the daughters of Israel to weep and grieve. Meanwhile more personal to David is the loss of his best friend Jonathan, King Saul's son. Jonathan and David made a

Readings for the Day 1 Samuel 28-29; Psalm 109; Matthew 11 Verses for the Day: Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. How could I pass up these verses for they give us insight to Jesus' call to us as his disciples. I love Eugene Peterson's "The Message" translation of these verses. He says, “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” Usually we think of rest in terms of physical rest, which of course is necessary. But Jesus addresses a different kind of stress t

Readings for the Day 1 Samuel 23; Psalm 31,54; Matthew 7 Verses for the Day Psalm 31 2 Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. 3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. 4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. 5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, Lord, my faithful God. King David is credited with writing 75, or approximately 1/2 of the Psalms in the bible. The context of today's psalm is he is trying to escape King Saul, who is vigorously hunting him down. Saul is extremely jealous of David because many of his people have gone over to David, praising him more than the King. And on top of that his son, Jonathan, is David's soulmate and friend unto death. 1 Samuel 23 says this, David stayed in the wilderness strongholds and in the hills of the Desert of Ziph. Day after day Saul searched for him, b

Readings for the Day 1 Samuel 22, Psalm 17,35, Matthew 6 Verses for the Day 9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. In chapter 6 Jesus turns to the spiritual disciplines like giving, fasting and praying. He teaches that instead of being practices that bring people closer to God, they are seeking approval from others. Jesus says if you are doing these things to be noticed and praised, you have already received your reward in full. Just like Jesus re-interprets the Ten Commandments for their true meaning, he also does the same for the spiritual disciples. And then he turns to the practice of prayer. Instead of praying long, babbling prayers he urges them to go to their room an

Readings for the Day 1 Samuel 20,21 Psalm 34, Matthew 5 Verses of the Day 13 “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. In chapter 5, Jesus takes his disciples away from the crowds, by the mountainside, to explain what the kingdom of God looks like. This is what is commonly referred to as the "Sermon on the Mount", and comprises chapters 5-7 in the Gospel of Matthew. Whether or not this is one sermon or collections of his teachings does not really matter. It is one of the most comprehensive bodies of what he taught. Importantly since he is teaching his Jewish disciples, he uses the message to help them to re-frame their understanding of the Old Testament. In Matthew 5:17 Jesus says, "I did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it." Meaning Jesus didn't come to overturn all of the scriptures from the Old Testam

Readings for the Day 1 Samuel 18, 1 Chronicles 8, Psalm 11, Matthew 3 Verses for the Day 6 When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with timbrels and lyres. 7 As they danced, they sang:“Saul has slain his thousands,and David his tens of thousands.” 8 Saul was very angry; this refrain displeased him greatly. “They have credited David with tens of thousands,” he thought, “but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?” 9 And from that time on Saul kept a close eye on David. As David is victorious in battle, the people begin to give him more praise and adulation saying, "King Saul has slain thousands, and David with tens of thousands." Saul gets more and more jealous by the minute, and begins to plot how he can put David in danger from the Philistines. He even tries to marry him off to his daughters, thinking he

Readings for the Day 1 Samuel 17, Psalm 9, Matthew 2 Verses for the Day 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God. 37 The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.” The context of these verses is that the Israelites are lined up against the Philistines in a battle line. For 40 days their giant Goliath, who is an intimidating 9 foot 9 inches (two feet bigger than "Shaq"), taunts the Israelites calling on them to send anyone to fight him. Jesse sends his youngest son David to bring some cheeses to h

Readings for the Day 1 Samuel 15-16, 1 Chronicles 5, Matthew 2 Verses of the Day 22 But Samuel replied: "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. The context of this story is that King Saul is sent by Samuel to destroy the Amalekites, who God has given into their hands. But instead of completely wiping them out, he and his men spare King Agag, and take the best of the plunder for themselves. Worse yet, as Saul comes back he tries to deceive Samuel by saying he brought back the best of the animals to sacrifice to The Lord, when he is really building a monument to himself. When Samuel confronts him in his lies, Saul breaks down and he admits he was only trying to please his men, because he was afraid of them. This was the beginning of the end of King Saul, and led to the anointing of King David, son of Jesse. Then Samuel says this in the ver

Readings for the Day 1 Samuel 13, 1 Chronicles 2-3, 2 Corinthians 12 Verses of the Day in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given 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. As Paul continues to answer his critics, who have slipped into the Corinthian church to undermine his ministry, he recounts an amazing experience he had. Paul speaks in the third person ("I know a man"), but he is clearly speaking about his own revelation. He says he was caught up into the third heaven and saw things he was not permitted to tell. Again he is

Readings for the Day 1 Samuel 11-12, 1 Chronicles 1, 2 Corinthians 11 Verses for the Day Whatever anyone else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast about. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham’s descendants? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled a

Readings for the Day 1 Samuel 8-10, 2 Corinthians 10 Verses of the Day 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the Lord. 22 The Lord answered, “Listen to them and give them a king.” Today the people of God go to their leader Samuel and beg him by saying, "We want a King, we want a King!" As they see the other nations around them, they want to be like them. God wanted to be their true King and give them what they really needed, but they thought they had a better way. Samuel was distressed and knew this was the wrong direction, but the crowds kept pressing him, "we want a King, we want a King!" Finally, The Lord said, "Listen to them and give them a King." Such began the beginning of Israel being led by human king. Wh

Readings for the Day 1 Samuel 3-5, Psalm 77, 2 Coeinthians 8 Verses of the Day 19 The Lord was with Samuel as he grew up, and he let none of Samuel’s words fall to the ground. 20 And all Israel from Dan to Beersheba recognized that Samuel was attested as a prophet of the Lord. 21 The Lord continued to appear at Shiloh, and there he revealed himself to Samuel through his word. Observation As young Samuel grew up in the temple with Eli the priest, three times The Lord called to him, but each time he thought it was Eli. The scripture says that he didn't know it was The Lord because, "The Word of The Lord had not been revealed to him yet" By the third time Eli knew it was The Lord who was calling Samuel. So he told Samuel, "go down and lie down and if he calls you again say, "Speak for your servant is listening." And we see that since God was with Samuel, none of his words fall to the ground. The difference, God was now speaking through Samuel. This i

Readings for the Day Ruth 1-2, Psalm 53,61 2 Coeinthians 5 Verses of the Day 16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God. 17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her. observation The book of Ruth is beautiful book which shows us God's sovereignty in using unlikely people in the line of Jesus. Ruth was a Moabitess, who married one of Naomi's sons, as Naomi's family escaped the famine in their homeland. But as luck would have it, both of Naomi's sons died, which left her alone with no family to pass on her heritage. When Naomi realized that she had nothing to offer her daughter in laws, she urged them to return home to their families. So when s

Readings for Today Judges 19-21 Verses for the Day 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, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. Obervation The apostle Paul continues to show the humility of a man who was shown mercy and is merely responding to God's call to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. In Corinth there was a big temptation for pride and arrogance, because of the culture they lived in. Paul wants to make it abundantly clear that they do not preach themselves, but Jesus Christ, and him crucified. Paul makes the famous statement, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." In those days, treasures were hidden in every

Readings for the Day Judges 17,18 Psalm 89 2 Corinthians 3 Verse of the Day 4 Such confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6 He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Observation Paul spends quite a bit of time in 2 Corinthians 3 distinguishing the old covenant from the new covenant. Although there are 3 covenants God made with the people Israel in the Old Testament, the one he is referring to here is the Mosaic covenant. This is the one Moses received from God by direct revelation on Mount Sinai, where God inscribed the Ten Commandments on two stone tablets. Paul contrasts this with the new covenant that we have received through Jesus. Whereas Moses was the only one who came into God's presence, he had to wear a veil to protect the Israelites from seeing God

Daily Readings: Joshua 13-16, 2 Corinthians 2 Reading for the Day: Joshua 13:22 “We are doomed to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen God!” Observation: In Judges 13-16, we read the story of Samson, the son of Manoah. The Israelites had done evil so they were delivered in to the hands of the Philistines, one of the more ruthless enemies Israel had ever faced. In the midst of this, an angel appeared to Manoah's wife, who was barren and childless, and she is told she is going to have a son. He would be set apart at birth by the Nazarite vow, and no fermented drink would touch his lips. He was also never to be shaved, or a razor to touch his face. At first Manoah did not believe his wife, so he begged for the "man of God" to come again. The angel of The Lord came back to his wife in the field, and she called her husband out to meet him. After re-affirming to Monoah that she would have a son who would be set apart from birth Manoah says, "We are doomed to d