Tag: Bible

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

Today our readings are from Exodus 22-24 and Matthew 20:17-34.

Okay as we track with the narrative of Exodus, we have seen that God has now rescued his people from slavery in Egypt and in Exodus 19 he calls them to obey him and keep a covenant with him. A covenant is a relationship that God establishes with his people. As part of a covenant, God makes promises, and then God calls his people to remain faithful to Him.

In Exodus 20 God gives his people the Ten Commandments, laws that God is calling his rescued people to obey and help remain faithful to Him. And then in Exodus 21-23 God fleshes out a bunch of those laws with further details.

In Exodus 24 we have the confirmation of God’s covenant with Moses and the Israelites. God’s people commit to walk in obedience to the God who saved them.

Continue reading “Jan 30 – Exodus 22-24; Matthew 20:17-34 – BLOOD OF THE COVENANT”

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

Our Old Testament reading today is from Exodus 19-21 – a significant section where God gives the Law to Moses. And our New Testament reading is from Matthew 20:1-16.

Let me begin by reading the whole passage from Matthew 20:1–16

[1] “For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. [2] After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. [3] And going out about the third hour he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, [4] and to them he said, ‘You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.’ [5] So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. [6] And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, ‘Why do you stand here idle all day?’ [7] They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ He said to them, ‘You go into the vineyard too.’ [8] And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last, up to the first.’ [9] And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. [10] Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. [11] And on receiving it they grumbled at the master of the house, [12] saying, ‘These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.’ [13] But he replied to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? [14] Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. [15] Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ [16] So the last will be first, and the first last.” (ESV)

I want to spend a few moments reflecting on verse 15 and begrudging the generosity of God. There are at least 3 situations where people might begrudge God’s generosity.

Continue reading “Jan 29 – Exodus 19-21; Matthew 20:1-16 – BEGRUDGING GOD’S GENEROSITY”

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

Our Bible readings today come from Exodus 16-18 and Matthew 19:16-30.

A lot has happened in the narrative of Exodus across the weekend!

In Exodus 11 and 12 we saw the final and greatest plague against the Egyptians where all the firstborns were struck down in one night. God in his kindness passed over the houses of the Israelites who had sacrificed a lamb and covered their doorposts with the blood of the lamb. This is a remarkable moment of salvation. In chapter 13 the people were told to remember this day through the ongoing celebration of God’s rescue of them. If you did some of the extra readings on Saturday you would have seen that Jesus teaches that his rescue at the cross is an even greater rescue.

In Exodus 14-15 we saw the crossing of the Red Sea and the Egyptians once and for all defeated by God. And then at the end of chapter 15 we saw that not everything was going well with the Israelites, they grumble against Moses and ask what they will drink. God in his kindness enabled Moses to turn the bitter water into sweet water. A sign of the sweetness of freedom and the provision of God for his people.

However, by the time we arrive in Exodus 16 – one of today’s passages – they again grumble and complain. They are now in their second month of being out of Egypt, and the unrest is spreading among the Israelites.

Continue reading “Jan 28 – Exodus 16-18; Matthew 19:16-30 – BREAD FROM HEAVEN”

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

It is Sunday, a day where God’s people gather together across the planet! I hope you are able to meet with others across this day to be encouraged by God’s people and to be an encouragement to God people.

Today’s readings are from Exodus 13-15 and Matthew 19:1-15.

Our Weekend Edition podcast is shorter and to the point. But the following are 4 questions you can use to dig a little deeper into one of today’s bible passages:

1. What do we learn about GOD?
2. What do we learn about PEOPLE?
3. What do we learn about God’s plan to save people through JESUS?
4. What should be our RESPONSE?

GOD – PEOPLE – JESUS – RESPONSE.

I’m going to conclude with a short prayer for our time with God today in his word.

Continue reading “Jan 27 – Exodus 13-15; Matthew 19:1-15 – WEEKEND EDITION”

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

The goal of “But first, Bible” is to encourage you to prioritise time in God’s Word. And so it’s been inspiring to speak to a number of people who have been building a new habit of regular time in the Bible as a result of this podcast.

The weekend edition of this podcast is shorter than the rest of the week. In a moment I will give you 4 questions to help you reflect on God’s word for yourself. I want to encourage you to spend some time meditating on what you read this weekend.

What is meditation? It’s not some form of eastern mysticism, here’s a quote from JI Packer,

“Meditation is the activity of calling to mind, and thinking over, and dwelling on, and applying to oneself, the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God. It is an activity of holy thought, consciously performed in the presence of God, under the eye of God, by the help of God, as a means of communion with God.” (JI Packer)

Today’s readings come from Exodus 11-12 and Matthew 18:21-35.

Continue reading “Jan 26 – Exodus 11-12; Matthew 18:21-35 – WEEKEND EDITION”

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

Today we continue to see God’s judgment on Egypt through the plagues in Exodus 9-10, and our New Testament reading is from Matthew 18:1-20.

I want to spend the next few minutes focusing on the first section in Matthew 18. Let me read from verses 1–4,

[1] At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” [2] And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them [3] and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [4] Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (ESV)

The disciples want Jesus to give them a glimpse into what greatness looks like in the kingdom of heaven. So Jesus selects one of the weakest and smallest members of the crowd: a child. Not only is being like a child a picture of greatness in the kingdom, but it’s also the only way into the kingdom of heaven. Why like a child?

Adults often like to assert their wisdom, strength, and importance. However, a child is humble, powerless, and dependent. The way into the kingdom involves humbling ourselves before God, knowing that we are powerless to enter the kingdom based on our strength, and dependent on the king – Jesus – to show us mercy to be part of his heavenly kingdom.

Continue reading “Jan 25 – Exodus 9-10; Matthew 18:1-20 – JESUS, GREATNESS & ABORTION”

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

Do you struggle to concentrate when reading the bible? You’re not alone. One of the things I’ve found super-helpful over the years is listening to an audio bible while reading. ESV has the exact bible reading plan that we use as a podcast! It’s called ‘Read Through The Bible’ and you can find links to it on our homepage butfirstbible.com

80% of listeners of this podcast are based in Australia. And so more often than not, the new episodes are a bit later in the day based on our timezone being ahead of North America, where ESV is based. I’ve been talking to ESV to see if they can publish it earlier in the day. But in the meantime, one thing I’ve found helpful over the years of following these reading plans is to just sit a day behind, i.e. on Jan 24 do the readings from Jan 23. That might help you too.

Today’s readings are from Exodus 7-8 and Matthew 17.

We saw in Exodus 1-2 that the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob have multiplied greatly, but were now living under a new Pharaoh who was threatened by the Israelites and so had them as slaves and was treating them harshly. As we saw two days ago, God heard their groaning and said he would remember the promises he made to their forefathers.

Continue reading “Jan 24- Exodus 7-8; Matthew 17 – I AM THE LORD”