The Daily Reader

This Site in 2010

Peter Mead — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:12:42 +0000

This site will remain online after 2009 – however it will be under its normal domain: http://dailyreaderonline.wordpress.com . I will not be actively updating it, but it will stay online in case you want to look up a book introduction or anything else that is on here. Thanks for using the site in 2009. I hope it has been helpful!

Introducing Revelation

Peter Mead — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:02:22 +0000

Revelation is the final book in the Bible and it tells the end of the story. After sixty years of serving Jesus, elderly John is imprisoned on the island of Patmos when he gets to see his beloved Jesus again. This book is the revelation of Jesus Christ! It begins with a glorious and overwhelming presentation of Jesus, the beginning and the end, the One whose resurrection transforms everything. This Jesus gives letters to seven local churches to urge them to live out their present calling in light of their eternal future. By the end of the book John is allowed to see the end of the story – the glorious return of Christ, His reign and the New Jerusalem descending to the New Earth. With sinners fully and finally judged, and the sin problem completely answered, redeemed humanity has a glorious future dwelling in the presence of God! Yet Revelation is often neglected, perhaps because of the debates swirling around the meaning of the evocative imagery used. The bulk of the book consists of series of judgments pouring out on the earth from heaven. Is this strictly symbolic, or in some way tied to history? Were these somehow descriptive of historical events and persecution in the first century? Do they represent an ongoing spiritual battle throughout the age? Or are they specifically describing the final events leading to the return of Christ to the earth? Revelation may spark debate as to its meaning, but it promises blessing to the one who reads it. Read it, be blessed, find hope in the midst of a hopeless world, and allow your eyes to be lifted from today to the future, to the day when we will be with Jesus! Maranatha, even so, come quickly Lord!

Introducing 2 and 3 John

Peter Mead — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:01:30 +0000

2 & 3 John are a pair of brief letters sent to leading members of small churches. They deal with questions about itinerant teachers, which were a big feature of early church life. 2 John confronts the inappropriate hospitality offered teachers with flawed views of Christ – love needs truth. 3 John confronts an inappropriate lack of hospitality because of the influence of self-centred Diotrephes – truth needs love. Diotrephes was wrong in motive and action, and caused great problems in the church. In contrast Gaius was doing well as a leader in a difficult context, and John urged him to offer an appropriate welcome to Demetrius. This pair of letters show how love must be guided by proper values and sound doctrine.

Introducing 1 and 2 Chronicles

Peter Mead — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:00:16 +0000

1 & 2 Chronicles really go together, but were divided at the point of the transition from King David to King Solomon. The books offer a history from Adam to Cyrus’ decree at the end of the seventy years of exile. However, everything before King David is covered by genealogy (perhaps showing how anyone associated with God and His city are important). While focusing on the same period as 2 Samuel and the books of the Kings, Chronicles offers a different perspective on the history of David and Judah under his successors. The concern here is more with the community than the personal affairs of the leaders or prophets. So David’s sin and family scandals are barely noticed. However the importance of the Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle, and the Temple are reported in some detail. The spiritual and political welfare of David and his dynasty in Judah are a major concern. It is the right worship of God and His honour that seems to motivate the writer with his focus on priestly aspects of this history. Interestingly, in this Hebrew ordering of the books, the Old Testament ends with the return from exile still a prospect, rather than a partial reality as in our contemporary ordering of the Old Testament. When will the exile be over? When will God’s purposes be resolved?

The 1 Year Spreadsheet for 2010

Peter Mead — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 10:03:01 +0000

If you are wanting to follow through The Daily Reader schedule in 2010, here’s a link to the spreadsheet for that.

Click here

Spreadsheet – Start Anytime, Any Number of Months!

Peter Mead — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:25:51 +0000

Steve has produced a great resource – a spreadsheet that allows you to start the Daily Reader read through at any time! All you need to do is click on the link, save the file, adjust the start date and the number of months you want to take to get through the Bible and then follow the plan!

Thanks Steve!

Here’s the file!

Finishing Up – Encouraging Comment!

Peter Mead — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 09:19:00 +0000

Steve wrote to me and shared the following, which he was happy for me to put online:

I hope you’re getting lots of comments from people about coming to the end of the year of reading through the Bible. I found that as I started a month late and lost lots of time in the middle when school was crazy I had to read some slightly bigger chunks to get back on track. The advantage of that was I got into things like Daniel and just read the whole lot in one go. Then because of momentum I kept going and have already finished. So what have I done? Gone back and started again of course. And unsurprisingly for me as a Maths Geek I have put another spreadsheet together. I figure that as I lost 3 months during the year and finished a month early that I don’t need 12 months next time, so I have put a spreadsheet together that can start any day and have a target to complete in any number of months. I know that’s a little sad but I guess it’s some form of OCD coming out.

Great! Another spreadsheet . . . I’ll put it in the next post.

Introducing 1 John

Peter Mead — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:59:23 +0000

1 John is one of the last books in the New Testament, written by the last remaining apostle. It was written to an unnamed church struggling with a split. Some of the church members had left the main group and were trying to recruit others. Behind all this were leaders who claimed to have a special knowledge of God’s will. John confronts the claims of the false teachers and reassures the faithful members in the church of the certainty of their standing with God. Their faith was genuine. They did have fellowship with God. This was clear from their love for God and each other. It showed in their resistance of the false teaching and the improper conduct that went with it. It was evident in their personal experience of the Spirit within them, affirming their love and commitment to the truth. At the root of John’s response to the false teaching stood the history of Christ’s incarnation – since Jesus truly did become flesh, true human fellowship with God is truly possible!

Introducing Nehemiah

Peter Mead — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 09:57:18 +0000

Nehemiah is the second part of the story of the people back in the land after the exile. Ezra focused on the reconstruction of the Temple, but Nehemiah focuses on the reconstruction of the city wall. Again the leader discovers that projects are much easier to lead than peoples’ hearts. For a moment there seems to be a breakthrough as the people celebrate the autumn feasts with Bible reading, explanation and significant response. Yet as the large-scale repentance is described, the book ends with Nehemiah still struggling to lead as a shepherd of the hearts of the people. Would there be lasting fruit in the nation? The silent years between the end of Old Testament history and the coming of the Messiah suggest not. The people of Israel would need a greater leader than Nehemiah to address the deeper issues they faced.

Encouragement Sheet, December

Peter Mead — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:54:42 +0000

Here it is:

Encouragement Sheet – December 2009