Daily Bible Reading Podcast

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NL-Day237 1 Chronicles 4; Proverbs 15:1-17; Ephesians 4 Aug 23, 2026

Show notes

1CHRONICLES 4:In yesterday's reading we started with David's sons, then for the descendants of King Solomon, only the kings were listed. So we jumped up to the period of the exile to Babylon.

PROVERBS 15a:Here is a favorite verse from today's group of proverbs:

Pro. 15 NLT 17 A bowl of vegetables with someone you loveis better than steak with someone you hate.

Re-reading EPHESIANS 4:This chapter has only one instance of the words I translate as 'joined as one with Christ', but the chapter is all about that oneness. Let me share this translation note about the verse mentioning baptism:

5 NLT [We all worship//There is] one Lord, [we all fully believe in Christ/one faith], [we all have been baptized as his followers/one baptism],

In Indonesia 'one baptism' has been misunderstood by people on both sides of the main baptism debate. One side say, "One baptism means you should only be baptized once (so if you were baptized as a baby, don't get baptized again anywhere else!)" The other side says, "One baptism means there is only one way to be baptized, and that is by immersion." Both sides miss the point, because this passage is about things that unify us, not divide us!

NLT Translation notes:Eph. 4:5 [We all worship//There is] one Lord, [we all fully believe in Christ/one faith], [we all have been baptized as his followers/one baptism],[In Indonesia 'one baptism' has been misunderstood by people on both sides of the main baptism debate. One side say, "One baptism means you should only be baptized once (so if you were baptized as a baby, don't get baptized again anywhere else!)" The other side says, "One baptism means there is only one way to be baptized, and that is by immersion." Both sides miss the point, because this passage is about things that unify us, not divide us!]6 and [we all serve the same//one] God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.17 With the Lord's authority I say this: Live no longer as the [non-Jewish pagans/Gentiles] do, for they are hopelessly confused. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God [has forgiven you because of your being joined to Christ./through Christ has forgiven you.]

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

NL-Day236 1 Chronicles 3; Proverbs 14:17-35; Ephesians 4 Aug 23, 2026

Show notes

1CHRONICLES 3:So far we have traced Jakob/Israel's descendants into the time of David, and today's reading picks up with David himself.

PROVERBS 14b:Here is a quote from today's group of proverbs:

Pro. 3:20 NLT The poor are despised even by their neighbors,while the rich have many "friends."

EPHESIANS 4:Paul's letters are usually divided into two parts, with the ethereal and theological part first, followed by the practical part. Yesterday we concluded the ethereal and theological part with Paul's incredible prayer for his readers and for us at the end of chapter 3. And now we enter the practical part of his letter.

NLT Translation notes:Pro. 3:5An honest witness does not lie;a false witness breathes [out] lies.====Eph. 4:5 [We all worship//There is] one Lord, [we all fully believe in Christ/one faith], [we all have been baptized as his followers/one baptism],[In Indonesia 'one baptism' has been misunderstood by people on both sides of the main baptism debate. One side say, "One baptism means you should only be baptized once (so if you were baptized as a baby, don't get baptized again anywhere else!)" The other side says, "One baptism means there is only one way to be baptized, and that is by immersion." Both sides miss the point, because this passage is about things that unify us, not divide us!]6 and [we all serve the same//one] God and Father, who is over all and in all and living through all.17 With the Lord's authority I say this: Live no longer as the [non-Jewish pagans/Gentiles] do, for they are hopelessly confused. 32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God [has forgiven you because of your being joined to Christ./through Christ has forgiven you.]

NL-Day235 1 Chronicles 2; Proverbs 14:1-18; Ephesians 3 Aug 16, 2026

Show notes

1CHRONICLES 2:Yesterday we traced from Adam to Noah, and the genealogy to Abraham. Then we heard of Abraham's two other families, those descending from Keturah and the sons and rulers descended from Esau. So now we take up Jacob's descendants, but in this book he is frequently called by his other name, Israel. (GNT has used 'Jacob' instead in this chapter, as it is more understandable for modern readers.)

PROVERBS 14a:This chapter has one of my all-time favorite proverbs:

4 NLT Without oxen a stable stays clean,but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.//GNT Without any oxen to pull the plow your barn will be empty,But with them it will be full of grain.]

Re-reading EPHESIANS 3:There are two instances of 'joined with Christ' in this chapter. This brings the total to 13 so far in this letter.

NLT Translation notes:Pro. 14:5 An honest witness does not lie;a false witness breathes [out] lies.====Eph. 3:5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed [that secret plan//it] to his holy apostles and prophets.12 [PET: Because we who fully believe in Christ are joined as one with Him, we feel confident/bold/free and no longer need to be afraid to come to God in prayer.//Because of Christ and our faith in him,d we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence.]20-21 PET: May God— who is able to do far more than we can ask or think, always be glorified by the unity of His whole church. Let us glorify Him because of His amazing power which works in each of our lives. And because we are one with Christ Jesus, let us glorify God from age to age, forever! Amen!///NLT:20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

NL-Day_234 1Chronicles 1; Proverbs 13.12-25; Ephesians 3 Aug 16, 2026

Show notes

1 CHRONICLES 1:Jewish and Christian traditions hold that Jeremiah was the author of 1&2 Kings, which were originally one book. And that Ezra, the priest, wrote 1&2 Chronicles, which are also one book in the Hebrew. It may be that Ezra wrote these books after his return to Jerusalem. The Greek Septuagint names this book Paraleipomena, which means 'things left over'. This book does supplement things not found in other books. Compared to the books of Samuel and Kings, Chronicles focuses more on the spiritual misdeeds of the kings and the importance of worshiping the Lord properly through the ministry of the priests and the Temple. This fits well with Ezra being the author. So we turn from the Prophets and return to the books of history.

PROVERBS 13b:Here is a favorite verse from today's reading:

Pro. 13:16 NLT Wise people think before they act;fools don't—and even brag about their foolishness.

EPHESIANS 3:At the first of chapter 1, Paul mentioned God's "secret plan he had already decided to complete by means of Christ. This plan … was to bring Everything together with Christ as head." At the end of chapter 2, we learned that specifically, through our union with Christ, all believers are made one— no matter if they are Jews or non-Jews. Paul restates God's secret plan in a more concise and clear way in today's chapter as he moves to this letter's second major prayer.

There are two instances of 'joined/in union with Christ' in this chapter.

NLT Translation note:Pro. 13:23 A poor person's farm may produce much food,but injustice [can sweep//sweeps] it all away.====Eph. 3:5 God did not reveal it to previous generations, but now by his Spirit he has revealed [that secret plan//it] to his holy apostles and prophets.12 [PET: Because we who fully believe in Christ are joined as one with Him, we feel confident/bold/free and no longer need to be afraid to come to God in prayer.//Because of Christ and our faith in him,d we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence.] 20-21 PET: May God— who is able to do far more than we can ask or think, always be glorified by the unity of His whole church. Let us glorify Him because of His amazing power which works in each of our lives. And because we are one with Christ Jesus, let us glorify God from age to age, forever! Amen!///NLT:20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. 21 Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

NL-Day233 Lamentations 4-5; Proverbs 13:1-13; Ephesians 2 Aug 16, 2026

Show notes

LAMENTATIONS 4-5:

In yesterday's reading, the sun pierced the dark clouds with this glorious section:

Lam. 3:22 NLT The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning. 24 I say to myself, "The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!" 25 The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.

Those are only the most frequently quoted verses. There are many other precious verses in Lamentations chapter 3.

PROVERBS 13a: Here is a favorite proverb from today's reading:

Pro. 13:7 NLT Some who are poor pretend to be rich; others who are rich pretend to be poor.

Re-reading EPHESIANS 2:We have an important spiritual reality expressed in verse 6: Because we are joined as one with Christ, we are already seated with Him, reigning together with Him, in heaven. We don't wait to die to find out if we will get into heaven! We're already there! In my speaking about this in Indonesia I often say, "We're not sitting on plastic folding chairs in heaven." Understanding and believing this spiritual reality should transform our prayers. Imagine how your spirit is seated with Christ right now, and pray from your heavenly position.

NLT Translation notes:Eph. 2:6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are [joined as one/united] with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are [joined/united] with Christ Jesus.8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for [that/this]; it is a gift from God. 9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.10 For we are God's masterpiece. [We who are joined with Christ Jesus have been like recreated,//He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,] so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.11 Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called "uncircumcised heathens" by the Jews, who [are so/were] proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 13 But now you have been [jointed/united] with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. [PET: That means that everyone, from every people group— each of them being [joined/one] with Christ, are as if created to become a new people group, and a peaceful nation.//He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.] 21 [PET: When each of us becomes [joined as] one with Christ, the whole building is growing larger until it becomes a holy Temple for God.//We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.]

NL-Day232 Lamentations 3; Proverbs 12:14-28; Ephesians 2 Aug 16, 2026

Show notes

LAMENTATIONS 3:A warning for the modern times is here in chapter 2:

Lam. 2:14 NLT Your prophets have saidso many foolish things, false to the core.They did not save you from exileby pointing out your sins.Instead, they painted false pictures,filling you with false hope.

The last so poignant line from yesterday's reading was,

22 … "The enemy has killed all the childrenwhom I carried and raised."

Today Jeremiah again speaks in the first person.

PROVERBS 12b:A favorite verse to introduce today's proverbs:

Pro. 12:23 NLT The wise don't make a show of their knowledge, but fools broadcast their foolishness.

EPHESIANS 2:The first chapter has 4 instances of 'joined with Christ', and this chapter has seven.

In his first chapter, Paul wrote in a formal style and showed his enthusiasm for his topic by his use of long sentences in Greek. Verse 3-14 are one long sentence, with a cascade of phrases modifying other phrases. And verses 15-23 are another long sentence. Long sentences like that seem clearer to me in Greek than they do in English. Another notable place Paul does this is in Colossians.

NLT Translation notes:Eph. 2:6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are [joined as one/united] with Christ Jesus.7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are [joined/united] with Christ Jesus.8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can't take credit for [that/this]; it is a gift from God. 9Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.10 For we are God's masterpiece. [We who are joined with Christ Jesus have been like recreated,//He has created us anew in Christ Jesus,] so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.11 Don't forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called "uncircumcised heathens" by the Jews, who [are so/were] proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. 13 But now you have been [jointed/united] with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. [PET: That means that everyone, from every people group— each of them being [joined/one] with Christ, are as if created to become a new people group, and a peaceful nation.//He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.] 21 [PET: When each of us becomes [joined as] one with Christ, the whole building is growing larger until it becomes a holy Temple for God.//We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.]

NL-Day231 Lamentations 1-2; Proverbs 12:1-15; Ephesians 1 Aug 16, 2026

Show notes

LAMENTATIONS 1-2:In the early chapters of his book, Jeremiah spoke several times of his tears. Lamentations will help us to understand how this 'weeping prophet' felt, and how God mourned also. This book has been a comfort to many who mourn. Light breaks through in the middle— in chapter 3, with words that are used in one of our greatest hymns. The book ends with poignant questions to God.

PROVERBS 12a:A favorite verse to introduce today's proverbs:

12 NLT Thieves are jealous of each other's loot,but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit.

Rereading EPHESIANS 1:This chapter has four instances of 'joined in union' with Christ.

I want to give a note about how Paul calls the Ephesians "God's holy people" (in the NLT), or in the KJV and the ESV it is 'saints'. The problem with both of these ways of translating the Greek is that most of us Christians do not see ourselves as saints or 'holy people'. In our translation work in Indonesia we found the same problem. The solution we found is to translate that we are 'people who have been made Holy by God'. That is the meaning! The people in Ephesus were ordinary humans, and were not holy because of their own efforts. God makes us holy when we fully believe in the Good News about Christ that is proclaimed in this letter. And again I want to highlight that believing what God says about our identity is key in being able to live appropriately in that identity.

NLT Translation notes:Lam. 2:4 He bends his bow against his people,as though he were their enemy.His strength is used against [his people/them]to kill their finest youth.His fury is poured out like fireon beautiful Jerusalem.====Eph. 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are [joined/united] with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us [0>>>— joined with/in Christ] to be holy and without fault in his eyes [> through becoming joined to Christ]. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us [because we have become joined with//who belong to] his dear Son.7 [PET: Through oneness with Christ, we have been redeemed by the sacrifice of His blood as payment for the punishment for sin that we should have suffered. That means we receive forgiveness of sin because of God's amazing kindness to us.//He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.]11 Furthermore, because we are [joined/united] with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.15 Ever since I first heard of your [fully believing//strong faith] in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere,

NL-Day230 Jeremiah 52; Proverbs 11:16-31; Ephesians 1 Aug 16, 2026

Show notes

JEREMIAH 52:We come to the addendum to Jeremiah— seemingly written by someone else, perhaps Baruch.

I commented yesterday how chapter 51 foreshadows Revelation 18. Jeremiah was prophesying the downfall of the real city of Babylon.What he foretold happened around 70 years later. His prophecy includes details about the enemies being from Media, about the drunkenness of the Babylon's leaders, and God proclaims more than once that Babylon will become a desert for all time to come. The famous hanging gardens of Babylon would never be restored, even though Sadam Hussein wanted to see that happen. Observe how all this fits with a theme that runs all the way through Scripture: We see the City of Man going all through the Bible, represented by Babel, Nineveh, Babylon, Rome (figuratively called Babylon), and finally the Babylon in Revelation. Guess which city we are all living in (figuratively) today?!

PROVERBS 11b:I'm going to repeat this today: An important thing about the book of Proverbs is that it contains principles, not promises. This particularly needs to be remembered for verses that talk about prosperity. There will be times, such as what Jeremiah experienced, when no amount of Godly living will bring us wealth.

EPHESIANS 1:The introduction for Ephesians that I recorded in 2014 said this: "In verse 1 of the ascription of this letter, the words 'in Ephesus' are missing from the best manuscripts. It is believed that this was a circular letter and every church who received it would fill in their location name." That is, would fill in their location name in the public reading. I now believe that this is wrong. I no longer believe that the few manuscripts that lack the words 'in Ephesus' are the 'best manuscripts'. 96% of ancient Greek manuscripts of the book of Ephesians contain these two words. The idea of Ephesians being a circular letter is speculation without any early verification. However, it is true that most if not all of Paul's letters were circulated around and copied. There would be no need to leave a blank spot.

H.C. Mears says of Ephesians:

In this epistle, we enter the holy of holies in Paul's writings. Paul speaks in 2Corinthians 12:2 of being "caught up to the third heaven." Here [in Ephesians], as it were, he gives his report, and he seems to be carried away as he tells about it. It is the greatest revelation of truth that God has given to us, the revelation of a mystery that [was//has been] hidden from before the foundation of the world.

An important theme in Ephesians is one I have often highlighted this year. It is the idea of being (in literal translations) 'in Christ'. This idea is also important in John's writings, like the chapter we heard yesterday. Remember the vine and branches metaphor in John 15. 'In Christ' doesn't mean inside. It means being joined to Christ or one/in union with Christ, like a branch is with the vine.

This is the letter where we hear of the Christian's armor. I believe that a key part of the belt of truth is to believe what God says about us believers— is true.

NLT Translation notes:Eph. 1:3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are [joined/united] with Christ. 4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us [0>>>— joined with/in Christ] to be holy and without fault in his eyes [> through becoming joined to Christ]. 5 God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. 6 So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us [because we have become joined with//who belong to] his dear Son.7 [PET: Through oneness with Christ, we have been redeemed by the sacrifice of His blood as payment for the punishment for sin that we should have suffered. That means we receive forgiveness of sin because of God's amazing kindness to us.//He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.]11 Furthermore, because we are [joined/united] with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan.15 Ever since I first heard of your [fully believing//strong faith] in the Lord Jesus and your love for God's people everywhere,

NL-Day229 Jeremiah 51; Proverbs 11:1-16; 1 John 4:15-5:21 Aug 16, 2026

Show notes

JEREMIAH 51:Today the Lord continues the long prophecy against Babylon. This chapter foreshadows what will happen to the figurative Babylon in Revelation 18.

PROVERBS 11a:An important thing I didn't mention before is that these proverbs represent principles, not promises. This particularly needs to be remembered for verses that talk about prosperity. There will be times, such as what Jeremiah experienced, when no amount of Godly living will bring us wealth. However, the principles hold true.

1JOHN 4.15—5:John has been giving us important keys that will unlock assurance and victory in our spiritual lives. This also will provide confidence and power in our prayers.

NLT Translation notes:1Jn. 5:4 For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our [fully believing/faith]. 5And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.[Note that keeping the word as 'believing' allows us to understand the cohesion here.]6 And Jesus Christ was revealed as God's Son [through//by his baptism in] water and [through//by shedding] his blood on the cross —not by water only, but by water and blood. And the Spirit, who is truth, confirms it with his testimony.[I believe that NLT takes the weaker interpretation here that John is speaking of Jesus' baptism in water. I think it more likely that John is speaking of the blood and water that came from Jesus' side when He was pierced with a Roman spear. I think this because of the way John highlights this in John 19:35. I believe that John saw a symbolic meaning in that event.]12 Whoever [is joined together with the//has the] Son has life; whoever [is not joined together with//does not have] God's Son does not have life.13I have written this to you who believe in [Jesus,//the name of] the Son of God, so that you may know you have eternal life.'Name' is used as a metonymy here, indicating the whole person of Christ. We don't actually just believe in a magic name. That is not the intent here.]20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God.e And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He [(Jesus)] is the [0/only] true God, and he is eternal life.21 Dear children, keep away from [idols, that is] anything that might take God's place in your hearts.

NL-Day228 Jeremiah 50; Proverbs 10:16-32; 1 John 3:19-4:21 Aug 09, 2026

Show notes

JEREMIAH 50:Finally after hearing messages prophesying against so many nations, always telling or implying that the Babylonians would be God's instrument to punish them, now this long chapter tells how Babylon will finally be judged as well, and God will return to take pity on Israel.

PROVERBS 10b:Here is an example of Hebrew parallelism from today's 2nd half of Proverbs 10:

Pro. 10:23 NLT Doing wrong is fun for a fool,but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible.

'Fool' and 'the sensible' oppose each other. "Doing wrong is fun for a fool," and it seems like 'fun' would only be temporary. Whereas the sensible who live wisely receive 'pleasure', which is much longer lasting than the 'fun' the fools get.

1JOHN 3:19—4:Chapter 3 of 1John circles around the theme of being children of God. There are important verses at the end of chapter 3 which can provide assurance and power when we pray. If our consciences do not condemn us— which is strongly related to living the way John has urged us in this chapter, then we can boldly come to God in prayer and have courage to ask for 'whatever'. I have met people with overactive consciences. If you are the kind of person who always feels guilty even though you have just finished asking God for forgiveness, this passage helps you too! Verse 20 says "God is greater than our conscience and he knows everything." He knows if you are having trouble believing that Jesus would forgive you, or if evil spirits are whispering false guilt messages to you. Read the chapter again and see how you are doing in the areas John mentions. Pray asking the Holy Spirit to remove false guilt, or to reveal any reason you keep feeling guilty. Here is just one of many: If there are people you have harmed, make restitution. THEN, when you have done this homework, pray with boldness, because you have done everything needed to have a clear conscience.

NLT Translation notes:1Jn. 4:13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live [joined together with//in] him and he [joined together with//in] us. 15 All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live [joined together with//in] God.16 We [have come to] know how much God loves us, and we have [believed fully//put our trust] in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

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