Author: Dave Miers

Welcome to the “But first, Bible” daily devotional podcast with Dave Miers.

Our readings for today are Leviticus 20-21 and Matthew 28:1-20.

Good news. Jesus’ tomb is empty! He died on the cross, but on the third day, he rose from the dead. This was surprising news for the disciples in Matthew 28. However, it shouldn’t have been a surprise as Jesus said specifically back in chapter 16, chapter 17, chapter 19 that he would suffer, die, and then be raised again.

The empty tomb of Jesus is the guarantee that all those who trust in him will also have empty tombs. Jesus died on the cross, in our place, and for our sin. Jesus rose from the dead and offers resurrected eternal life to all who trust in Him.

There’s been a bunch of mountain top experiences throughout Matthew’s Gospel, and now the final scene of this book has Jesus – once again – on a mountain top with his disciples. What is the final message that Jesus gives his disciples before he ascends back up to heaven?

Let me read from Matthew 28:18-20,

[18] And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)

This is often called by commentators: The Great Commission. Three things to notice:

• JESUS RULES.
• JESUS COMMANDS.
• JESUS PROMISES.

Continue reading “Feb 15 – Leviticus 20-21; Matthew 28:1-20 – THE GREAT COMMISSION”

Welcome to the “But first, Bible” daily devotional podcast with Dave Miers.

Our readings today are from Leviticus 14 and Matthew 26:55-75.

I shared a couple of weeks ago two of my favourite books, the New Bible Commentary and the New Bible Dictionary. Both excellent tools to help you dig a little deeper into God’s word. Go check out the Feb 5 podcast for more details.

I wanted to briefly share another resource today. Over at esv.org you can now access the Global Study Bible for free. It’s a really simple guide that will give you insights into the text, characters, and other related cross-references in the Bible. Go check it out and let me know how you find it.

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Today, we will continue our study of Matthew 26 as we see Jesus get even closer to his death on the cross. I want to focus on two of Jesus’ disciples and their role in these events.

Judas and Peter.

First, Judas. Earlier in Matthew 26, Judas agrees to hand over Jesus to the chief priests for 30 pieces of silver. And by this part of our reading, it has now happened.

Continue reading “Feb 12 – Leviticus 14; Matthew 26:55-75 – JUDAS & PETER, YOU & ME”

Welcome to the “But first, Bible” daily devotional podcast with Dave Miers.

Our Old Testament reading is from Leviticus 13 and our New Testament reading is from Matthew 26:20-54.

We haven’t reflected on our Matthew reading for over a week, so it’s worth doing so today. I hope you’ve been enjoying the opportunity to slow down and read a few paragraphs per day as Jesus gets closer to his death and resurrection.

Before we reflect on our Matthew reading, it’s worth doing a quick recap of one of the major events in Exodus. If you’ve been following along with this podcast for a while, hopefully the events of the Exodus are still fresh from our readings.

The book of Exodus began with God’s people – the Hebrews – being numerous in population, but also oppressed and enslaved under the harsh regime of Pharaoh in Egypt. Remember – the LORD heard their groaning and said that he would rescue them. The LORD raised up Moses and Aaron to lead the people and they had the task of approaching Pharaoh to ask him to let God’s people go. He refused, and upon each refusal, the LORD sent a series of plagues in judgement upon the Egyptians.

The tenth plague – the death of the firstborn – was the most devastating of all. On that night all the firstborns were struck down. But the LORD passed over the homes of the Israelites who had painted the blood of a lamb on their doorposts.

After they were spared from death, God’s people came out of Egypt having been saved by the LORD. Immediately after their rescue, Moses said to the people, “remember this day in which you came out from Egypt, out of the house of slavery, for by a strong hand the LORD brought you out from this place.” (Exodus 13:3). And the Passover Feast of Unleavened Bread was instituted.

Every year – God’s people were to celebrate the Passover – remembering God’s mighty act of redemption.

Continue reading “Feb 11 – Leviticus 13; Matthew 26:20-54 – THE LORD’S SUPPER”

Welcome to the “But first, Bible” daily devotional podcast with Dave Miers.

Our bible readings for today are Leviticus 10-12 and Matthew 26:1-19.

It is Sunday – a day when followers of Jesus gather together all across the globe to hear God speak, sing, pray, confess their sin, be reminded of the gospel of Jesus’ death & resurrection, and encourage one another to keep trusting Jesus.

Here’s a verse to encourage you to get along to church today…

Hebrews 10:24–25

[24] And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, [25] not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (ESV)

Continue reading “Feb 10 – Leviticus 10-12; Matthew 26:1-19 – WEEKEND EDITION”

Welcome to the “But first, Bible” daily devotional podcast with Dave Miers.

Our passages for today are Leviticus 7-9 and Matthew 25:31-46.

Now yesterday I shared about an elderly man who listens to this podcast while running and made a joke about how it was amazing that he’s still running at his age. Just to let you know, that wasn’t a joke about a random listener, it was actually about… my brother!

Three quick things about my brother. First, while he is 7 years older than me, he’s hardly elderly! Second, he’s actually a much better runner than me. Third, he was disappointed I didn’t share the obscure connection between Leviticus and the New York Times food review. What was it? In his translation of the Bible in Leviticus 1:8 and a few other places, it uses the word “suet” instead of fat. And apparently, the NYTimes food review used “suet” to describe fat at some pretentious restaurants. So there you go.

I also thought I’d share part of an encouraging message my brother sent me this week. Here it is,

“And what I found really helpful was your tip in your Eternity article about “don’t try to catch up”. That was so helpful because that’s where I always fall down – I fall behind a plan so get discouraged and overwhelmed and then just give up. It’s so liberating to think I don’t have to catch up – better to pick it up again somewhere random and midstream than not at all. Otherwise, you spend your life reading genesis/exodus/Matthew etc over and over again and nothing else!” (My Brother)

Thanks brother for the encouragement! It’s now mid-Feb, and I really want to keep encouraging people to press on with their Bible reading, even if it means not catching up on what they’ve missed. So maybe this weekend or in church as you speak to your friends, you can encourage them to keep going with whatever reading plan they’re doing – even if it means skipping the parts they’ve fallen behind on.

Continue reading “Feb 9 – Leviticus 7-9; Matthew 25:31-46 – WEEKEND EDITION”