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 f...

  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.   Zechari...

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 yo...

  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...