Daily Bread Pastor Mike Anderson

Click Here to Read or Listen to Ephesians 4   Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ 4 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.  7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:  “When he ascended on high,  he took many captives  and gave gifts to his people.” Paul begins section 2 (chapters 4-6) by emphasizing what the Christian life looks like and how the church can function most effectively in fulfilling the Great Commission. Paul spent the first three chapters showing how we are saved by grace thr...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Ephesians 3 God’s Marvelous Plan for the Gentiles 3 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles— 2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God’s grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets. 6 This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus. Paul's call is not one he negotiated and certainly was one he did not wish for. It was given to him by divine revelation. After all who would make up a story of a Pharisee, who rounded up Jewish Christians because of his zeal for his Jewish f...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Ephesians 2 Made Alive in Christ 2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 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 is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not ...

Click Here to Read Ephesians 1   Introduction to the Book of Ephesians 1. Ephesus was on a commercial trade route, and therefore many people visited it from many areas around it. 2. Ephesus was in Asia Minor, which is modern Turkey.  3. Many call Ephesus the hub of the early church.  4. While most of Paul's letters dealt with a specific issue in a church, Ephesians is more a manual for the early church. Chapters 1 - 3 deal with doctrine, and Chapters 4-6 deal with practical matters in the church.  5. Paul spent 2 years at Ephesus during his third missionary journey, so he knows the church well.  "Ephesus was the most easily accessible city in Asia, both by land and sea. Its location, therefore, favored its religious, political and commercial development, and presented a most advantageous field for the missionary labors of Paul."  (bibleatlas.org) Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has ble...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Galatians 6   Doing Good to All 6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, 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 they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. 4 Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, 5 for each one should carry their own load. 6 Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor. As Paul finishes his letter to the Galatians, he has some more general teaching about how they should do life together. He acknowledges that from time to time we all get caught up and ensnared in sin, especially when we are not living under the power of the Holy Spirit. When this happens the one who is walkin...

Click Here to Read or Listen Galatians 5 5 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. 2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. 3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Paul again hits on the theme of "freedom". By Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection from the dead, he has set us from free from sin, death, and the power of the devil. This is priceless. Though we were not "slaves" in the m...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Galatians 4 4 What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. 2 The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces[a] of the world. 4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. 6 Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. Paul distinguishes between an underage heir and a slave with a son who has been set free. The slave is  symbolic of the Law, which can't set us free from anything. The only thing the Law can do is to point out how we fall short. It shows ...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Galatians 3 Faith or Works of the Law 3 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 the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? 3 Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? 4 Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? 5 So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 6 So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Paul continues to rebuke the Galatians for their twisting of the gospel. Again, he points to the crucifixion of Jesus. Why would Jesus have to suffer and die for us, if we could justify ourselves by our own works. He then brings up the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is a...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Galatians 2   Paul Accepted by the Apostles 2 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. Paul traveled with Barnabas and Titus to Jerusalem. God had revealed it to him that he should go. First of all, Paul presented the gospel to them that he was preaching to the Gentiles. He wanted to make it unmistakeably clear w...

Click Here to Read or Listen to Galatians 1   1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me,  To the churches in Galatia:  3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Today we begin Paul's letter to churches the Galatians. Note he says, "churches". This was the area called Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey.  "Galatians addresses the sensitive and complex issue of the role Old Testament Law plays in salvation, specifically regarding circumcision. Paul's main goal in his letter to the Galatians is to defend salvation by faith in Jesus, not by works of the Law." www.spokengospel.com Paul starts by stating that he was an apostle who was personally called ...

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Corinthians 13 Final Warnings 13 This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” 2 I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, 3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you. Paul is writing this letter before his third visit to them. Corinth is probably the church he visited the most. Unfortunately part of the reason for his visit is to have to confront what is going on namely the people who were undercutting his name for untrue reasons. They wanted to him to give them proof he was apostle.  Paul says th...

Click Here to Read or Listen to 2 Corinthians 12   Paul’s Vision and His Thorn 12 I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger o...