Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Click Here to Listen to or Daily Read the Lessons 1 2 Tell him, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Here is the man called the Branch. He will branch out from where he is and build the Temple of the Lord. 13 Yes, he will build the Temple of the Lord. Then he will receive royal honor and will rule as king from his throne. He will also serve as priest from his throne, and there will be perfect harmony between his two roles.’ As the Lord calls his people back to restore the temple, Joshua the high priest is crowned. It was an unusual thing for a high priest to be crowned, which was usually reserved as a king. But as we said Joshua is the Greek name for Yeshua, which is the name Jesus was given. The "h" in Jesus' day was not pronouced, which is why his name became "Jesus". This name means, "the Lord saves".  Joshua was the remnant of the line of David, from which the Messiah would come from, which is why he is called "the Branch". Thi

  Click Here to Listen to or Read the One Year Bible Lessons 14 Then I saw the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a sound from heaven like the roar of mighty ocean waves or the rolling of loud thunder. It was like the sound of many harpists playing together.  3 This great choir sang a wonderful new song in front of the throne of God and before the four living beings and the twenty-four elders. No one could learn this song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 They have kept themselves as pure as virgins, following the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been purchased from among the people on the earth as a special offering to God and to the Lamb. 5 They have told no lies; they are without blame. Over the years there has been much speculation about the 144,000 persons mentioned in Revelation chapters 7 and 14. These are the ones who have been sealed on their foreheads

  Click Here to Listen to or Read the One Year Daily Bible Lessons Online 3 Then the angel showed me Jeshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. The Accuser, Satan, was there at the angel’s right hand, making accusations against Jeshua. 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “I, the Lord, reject your accusations, Satan. Yes, the Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you. This man is like a burning stick that has been snatched from the fire.” 3 Jeshua’s clothing was filthy as he stood there before the angel. 4 So the angel said to the others standing there, “Take off his filthy clothes.” And turning to Jeshua he said, “See, I have taken away your sins, and now I am giving you these fine new clothes.” Jeshua, or Josiah, was the high priest at the time of Haggai's prophecy (1:1). In the vision Zechariah saw an angel of the Lord, who spoke for the Lord when Satan accused Joshua. The term Satan means "adversary" or "accuser". Satan hated the whole scene, h

  Click Here to Read or Listen to One Year Bible Readings In November of the second year of King Darius’s reign, the Lord gave this message to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah and grandson of Iddo:  2 “I, the Lord, was very angry with your ancestors. 3 Therefore, say to the people, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.’ 4 Don’t be like your ancestors who would not listen or pay attention when the earlier prophets said to them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says: Turn from your evil ways, and stop all your evil practices.’ Zechariah 1:1-5 We start the book written by the prophet Zechariah during the reign of King Darius, who had called the people of Israel back to their homeland and permitted them to worship in the temple. Only about 50,000 returned home after Babylonian captivity, presumably those who were committed to the Lord and the restoration of Israel.   Zechariah served the LORD

Click Here to Read or Listen to the One Year Bible Readings   For the Lord your God is living among you.     He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness.     With his love, he will calm all your fears.     He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17 Most of what the prophet Zephaniah has said up to this point relates to God's judgment against His own people, Judah, and the pagan nations around them like Philistia, Moab, and Ammon. But then in chapter 3, the prophet tells of a "remnant" who God has set apart for himself who he would restore. This remnant will be "lowly" and "humble" and "trust in the name of the Lord". 3:12 In verse 3:17 we see the heart of God for His chosen people. First, we see that God comes to live among them. This is no small thing given the atrocities the people had committed by offering worship to pagan gods and refusing to turn back to Him after He corrected them. We know ultimate

Click Here to Listen to or Read the One Year Bible Readings for the Day O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. 8 First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. 9 For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name. I love what the writer of Proverbs says today. He says, " Never give me too much or too little !" That is not a prayer a lot of us pray. We live in a culture where enough is never enough. The writer realizes that if he gets richer it may lead to a focus on himself. He may forget the Lord. He realizes that having more than enough might lead to wanting more and possibly lead him to idolatry.  We see this all around us today. The rich get richer and never seem to be satisfied until they realize that money can't buy happiness. Some go to their death never figuring this out. That is sad. But

Click Here to Listen to or Read the One Year Bible Daily Lessons In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. 7 The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. 8 Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty—     the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.” 9 Whenever the living beings give glory and honor and thanks to the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever), 10 the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, 11 “You are worthy, O Lord our God,     to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all thing

  Click Here to Read or Listen To Or Read To The One Year Bible Lessons 1 This letter is from John, the elder. I am writing to the chosen lady and to her children, whom I love in the truth—as does everyone else who knows the truth— 2 because the truth lives in us and will be with us forever. 3 Grace, mercy, and peace, which come from God the Father and from Jesus Christ—the Son of the Father—will continue to be with us who live in truth and love. 4 How happy I was to meet some of your children and find them living according to the truth, just as the Father commanded. 2 John 1:1-4 This is the apostle John's second letter to go along with his gospel. One of the most important words that John uses in all of his writing is the word "truth". He uses the word 37 times in his New Testament writings. In these first 4 verses of 2 John, he uses the word "truth" 5 times.  One of the issues we see in the post modern society we live in is that the idea of absolute truth has

  Click Here to Read or Listen to the One Year Daily Bible Readings 1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. 2 We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. 3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 13 I have written this to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life. 1 John 5:1-5, 13 Another aspect of the heresy that John is confronting is the idea that someone could be a Christian, and then live their life however they wanted. John teaches that the believer's behavior flows out of their identity as a child of God.  He returns to the theme of his gospel. When someone believes Jesus is the Messiah, they are born again. And the direct result of being born of God is loving God's other children. At the heart of being a believer is to obey God's commandments. Like a chi

Discerning False Prophets 4 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. 2 This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet[a] acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. 3 But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.  I am sure you are not able to count how many times you have heard someone use the words, " The Lord told me to say ...". First of all it is very presumptive to assume one is speaking on behalf God. John  gives us these important precautions in the reading today. Most importantly he says don't assume just because someone claims they are speaking for God

  Click Here to Listen to or Read the One Year Bible Lessons 3 And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. 4 If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. 5 But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. 6 Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did. 1 John 2:3-6 John has a different style of writing than Paul does. Paul's main themes are justification, santification, and the balance between law and gospel. John's gospel and letters are more relational in nature. He writes lovingly to a community of new believers. He describes them as "children", reflecting the close relationship he had with them. There were already some heresies being introduced, one of which was if you are saved you don't have to worry so much following all of the commandments. It was the polar opposite of leg

  Click Here to Read or Listen to the One Year Bible Readings Daniel 6 6 So the administrators and high officers went to the king and said, “Long live King Darius! 7 We are all in agreement—we administrators, officials, high officers, advisers, and governors—that the king should make a law that will be strictly enforced. Give orders that for the next thirty days any person who prays to anyone, divine or human—except to you, Your Majesty—will be thrown into the den of lions. 8 And now, Your Majesty, issue and sign this law so it cannot be changed, an official law of the Medes and Persians that cannot be revoked.” 9 So King Darius signed the law.  10 But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God. 11 Then the officials went together to Daniel’s house and found him praying and asking for God’s help. 12 S

  Click Here to Read or LIsten to the One Year Bible Daily Lessons Daniel 3 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. 17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. 18 But even if he doesn’t, we want to make it clear to you, Your Majesty, that we will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up.” Though Daniel had interpreted the king's dream, which influenced the king favor to him and his other friends, this favor soon faded for Daniel's three friends. The king made a gold statue, ninety feet high and demanded all people from all nations come and worship him as king. All the people obeyed, except for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Why were they so courageous? Because they knew God would deliver them.  And here was the amazing thing that they said. Even if God didn't deliver them, they would not

Click Here To Read or Listen To The One Year Bible Lessons Daniel 1:8-10 8 But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. 9 Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. 10 But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.” The Old Testament book of Daniel is written in the 6th century B.C. (500-600 B.C.). Many people think B.C. stands for "Before Christ", and although you could think of it along those terms it actually means "Before Common Era". It is a book of the visions and revelations of the prophet Daniel when he was exiled in Babylon (modern day Iraq). The first six chapter are a series of tales showing how Daniel was set apart by God an

  Click Here to Read or Listen to the One Year Bible Daily Lessons Respecting People in Authority - 1 Peter 2 and 3 13 For the Lord’s sake, submit to all human authority—whether the king as head of state, 14 or the officials he has appointed. For the king has sent them to punish those who do wrong and to honor those who do right.15 It is God’s will that your honorable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you Slaves 18 You who are slaves must submit to your masters with all respect.[c] Do what they tell you—not only if they are kind and reasonable, but even if they are cruel. 19 For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. 20 Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. Wives 3 In the same way, you wives must accept the authority of your husbands. Then, even if some refuse to obey the

  Click Here to Read or Listen to the One Year Bible Lessons A Call to Holy Living 13 So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. 14 So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. 15 But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. 16 For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” As Peter continues to admonish the believers in Asia who are undergoing persecution, he also wants them to exhibit good character as a result of the grace they have been given in Christ. Grace is opposed to earning not effort. Since they did not know when Jesus would come back, in the meantime they needed to live out their lives as newborn children of God. They could not go back to their old ways and conform to their former desires bec

  Click here to listen to or read the One Year Bible Daily Readings The Hope of Eternal Life 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, 5 who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5 A lot of people put their hope into a lot of things that only end up disappointing them. The stock market, their job, the government, even a relationship. Today Peter is writing to the Jewish exiles who have been scattered across Asia Minor due to the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor. It would been tempting for them to be without hope as well.  But Peter tells them about the most important hope you have have which is eternal life. After all, our life here in

Click Here to Read or Listen to the One Year Daily Bible Readings Warning about Self-Confidence 13 Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” 14 How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. 15 What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” 16 Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil. Sometimes we make our plans and then ask God to bless them. While there is nothing wrong with planning for your future, we need to hold our plans "lightly". Our circumstances may change, or God may have a new assignment for us.    “There are two great certainties about things that shall come to pass – one is that God knows, and the other is that we do not know.” (Spurgeon) There is a helpful phrase we can use to keep us f

Click Here to Listen to or Read the One Year Bible Lessons " 18 Now someone may argue, “Some people have faith; others have good deeds.” But I say, “How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.  19 You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. 20 How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?" James 2:18-20 One of the longest standing tensions in the Christian faith is the relationship between faith and works. Remember James was writing Jewish Christians. For Jews who had been taught that obeying the Torah was the only way to have a relationship with Yahweh, the freedom from the law was life changing. But a problem was developing. They minimized the fact that good works flow out of saving faith. They go together like birds of a feather.   James wrote to Christians from a Jewish background that discovered the

Click Here to Listen To or Read the Daily One Year Bible Lessons "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires." James 1:19-20 I wonder how different our world would be if we all just lived by this simple mandate James gives us today to, " Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry ". Too often we are slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry.  I feel like one of the greatest services you can give another person is to listen to them. I mean REALLY LISTEN to them. Not having one eye on them and one eye on your cell phone. Not stopping in the middle of your conversation to text someone because it is more urgent than the conversation you are having with the person in front of you.  I was in a conversation recently where the person asked me how my family was doing. I started to share what

Click Here to Listen to or Read the One Year Bible Lessons God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. And remember, when you are being tempted, do not say, “God is tempting me.” God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else. 14 Temptation comes from our own desires, which entice us and drag us away. These desires give birth to sinful actions. And when sin is allowed to grow, it gives birth to death. James 1:12-15 We don't really have conclusive evidence as to who is the author of this letter in the bible. The authorship of James is one of the most contentious questions in the world of biblical scholarship  Why? Because the letter does not signify which James is the author. We know of at least three James in the New Testament. James, and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee. James, son of Alphaeus, one of the 12 apostles. Or, James the half brother of J

Click Here To Listen to or Read the Daily One Year Bible Lessons "22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel. 25 Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven! 26 When God spoke from Mount Sinai his voice shook the earth

Click Here to Listen to Or Read the Daily Bible Lessons 12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. When you are running a race, you don't want to have anything extra on that will slow you down. Even if it is cold, once you start running your body heats up so you don't want to be overly weighed down. You keep only the essentials on. A light pair of running shorts, a light t shirt, socks and shoes. Even running shoes are rated based on how much they weigh.  The author of Hebrews uses the metaphor of a race to portray the Christian life.  He points out that sin hinders us from running the race of life. As believers in Jesus, we know our sin has been paid for on the cross, but that d

" For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. 15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, 16 “This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts and I will write them on their minds.” 17 Then he says, “I will never again remember their sins and lawless deeds.”   I have always been a little bit of a perfectionist. A perfectionist is usually hardest on themselves. A perfectionist who becomes a Christian can be tempted to be a perfectionist about their obedience to Christ. Expecting perfection of ourselves as a Christ follower denies the power of the cross. It has its roots in pride and ego. If someone thinks they are perfect, they usually have even bigger problems. Being a disciple of Christ becomes all about religious activity that makes us a "better" Christian.  The author of Hebrews today says, " He made perfect those who are being made holy .

  Click Here to Listen to or Read the One Year Bible Readings 30 “Therefore, I will judge each of you, O people of Israel, according to your actions, says the Sovereign Lord. Repent, and turn from your sins. Don’t let them destroy you! 31 Put all your rebellion behind you, and find yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O people of Israel? 32 I don’t want you to die, says the Sovereign Lord. Turn back and live! Ezekiel 18 I have heard people say, "I don't even read the Old Testament because God is so full of wrath and judgment." The author of Ezekiel explains that it is not because of a person's father or mother that they are punished, but each person is responsible for the own behaviors.  Time after time in the Old Testament, we see God being incredibly patient with the stubborn Israelites, who turn their backs on God even after he has provided for them so miraculously. In chapter 18, the prophet Ezekiel is still calling the Israelites to r

Click Here to Listen to or Read the One Year Bible Daily Lessons " But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. 12 And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins. ” Hebrews 8:10-12 We often hear the words when a company is marketing a new product, " New and improved ". While there may be some improvement in the product, in the end the product is not much different, though it might have boosted sales.  You could say it is, " New and barely improved! "  But the new covenant Jeremiah prophesied some 600 years before Jesus came, is new in the truest sense of the wor

Click Here to Listen to or Read the One Year Bible Online Lessons   18 Yes, the old requirement about the priesthood was set aside because it was weak and useless. 19 For the law never made anything perfect. But now we have confidence in a better hope, through which we draw near to God. A lot of the book of Hebrews is about how Jesus was a superior priest in the order of Melchizedek. You can read the story about Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18-20.  He was the king of Salem and also a priest of the Most High God. In a similar way Jesus was both a priest and a king, but in a much more significant way. Jesus' sacrifice was superior to the priest who went into the most holy place every year to offer the innocent lamb's blood on behalf of the people. Jesus offered the once and for all sacrifice for the forgivness of sin. Jesus is the only one who could make this sacrifice, because he was the sinless Son of God.  Importantly the author says the old priesthood was " weak and useless

Click Here to Listen To or Read the Daily One Year Bible Lessons A Call to Spiritual Growth 11 There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don’t seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. I am one of those people that if I haven't had some kind of meat for dinner, I don't feel like I have really eaten. Sure I love milk with chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter sandwiches, but it doesn't fill me up.  The author of Hebrews uses the metaphors of "milk" and "meat&qu