Tag: Matthew

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”

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

In our readings today we continue following the story of God’s plans to rescue for himself a people by reading Exodus 4-6, and we are reading a really significant chapter in Matthew 16. It is a turning point in the gospel of Matthew.

There are 3 really important questions answered in Matthew 16.

1. Who is Jesus?
2. Why did Jesus come?
3. What does it mean to follow Jesus?

Continue reading “Jan 23 – Exodus 4-6; Matthew 16 – JESUS IS THE CHRIST”

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

Today’s readings are Exodus 1-3 and Matthew 15:21-39.

As we begin the book of Exodus, today would be a great time to join in with this reading plan. So if you’ve got friends or family who would benefit from following along with this podcast, encourage them to get started today.

The opening 3 chapters really set the scene by linking us with what has come before in the book of Genesis and introduce us to Moses – the main character that God uses to achieve his plans and purposes in the book of Exodus.

I want you to notice today the clear continuity of the storyline from Genesis to Exodus.

Let me begin with,

Exodus 2:23–25

[23] During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. [24] And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. [25] God saw the people of Israel—and God knew. (ESV)

The rest of this episode is an excerpt from “Through the Bible Through the Year” by one of my favourite Christian authors, John Stott.

Continue reading “Jan 22 – Exodus 1-3; Matthew 15:21-39 – GOD HEARD THEIR GROANING”