NL-Day150 1 Samuel 20; Psalm 103; Romans 7:7-8:4

1SAMUEL 20:
Yesterday we heard the slow escalation of David's problems stemming from Saul's jealousy. Saul made David his son-in-law, but only because of the hope that David would be killed by the Philistines. For only the first time in yesterday's reading, we heard how Saul was humbled because of the results of acting on his jealousy. But he doesn't learn from it.

PSALM 103:
How it must please the Lord when we pray this psalm, which is another favorite! Note that the psalm starts and ends with the same line.

ROMANS 7:8—8:4:
The second key to being released from the power of sin is God's Spirit! (v.6) Paul then launched into an exposition of what he meant in verse 5: “When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.” The explanation that extends from verse 7 to the end of the chapter should NOT be construed to negate what he said in verse 6, in the preceding chapters, and in chapter 8!

Notice that in the second half of chapter 7, Paul stops mentioning Christ. That’s a hint that he is not talking about our life in union with Christ. Also, I found it interesting to do a search of Romans searching for the word ‘Spirit’. Look at the pattern of where the word ‘Spirit’ is used!

NLT Translation notes:
Rom. 7:10 and [might as well as killed me. I died— spiritually speaking.//I died]. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead.
11 Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me [— (because I couldn’t keep them)].
15 I don’t really understand [my own self//myself], for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate.
20 But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing [the] wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.
23 But there is another powere within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that [lives on//is] [0/still] within me.
[PET 24-25] [So you see how it [was//is]: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.///[NLT] 24Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? 25Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord[./!] //So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.]
[It seems to me (and I am not alone in this) that reordering Paul’s words here helps to remove the impression that Paul is contradicting everything he has said so far about the believer’s victory over the power of sin. From verse 7 on, Paul is expounding on verse 5: “When we were controlled by our old nature,b sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death.” If I am right, then, NLT is wrong to use the present tense in “you see how it is”. I don’t have a problem with this connecting phrase showing the logical connection. I just want to change the verb tense. The Greek only says, “So then,” which is really enough.
This is a very unfortunate chapter break (not made by Paul but by Robert Estienne around 1552). This chapter division has contributed to the wrong understanding of the end of this chapter. I recommend that everyone always keep reading past it!]

 

 

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.

Check out this episode!

NL-Day132 Judges 16-17; Psalm 86; 1 Timothy 2

JUDGES 16-17:
Yesterday we heard of Samson's disastrous marriage, and his first major victory over the Philistines. Ways in which Samson disobeyed God's Laws are that he touched and even ate from a carcass, he murdered people when not at war, and he associated with pagans and even married one of them. In spite of this, God used him as a tool.

PSALM 86:
In this psalm David models effective prayer. Let’s follow his example!

1TIMOTHY 2:
Yesterday we started Paul’s first letter to Timothy. As I said yesterday, this is a personal letter to Timothy, and it is one of the group of letters called the Pastoral Epistles, or sometimes called the 5 T’s. Central to the Pastoral Epistles is Paul’s concern for true teaching in the church, and he especially stressed avoiding the controversies that at that time came from Jewish background believers. These letters often include a listing of various things, and one example is the list of the types of lawlessness in chapter one. Paul frequently mentions how important it is for believers to keep a clear conscience. And chapter one also contained one of several Pastoral ‘trustworthy sayings’. A more unique point for chapter one is that Paul called himself the ‘chief of sinners’.

Additional commentary:
In twenty15, a woman wrote after hearing this chapter complaining about Paul’s attitude toward women. I hope I can help some listeners by saying this: If you do not like what Paul wrote here, consider that Paul knew the audience was writing to. Compare what Paul said in Ephesians 5 with what Peter said in 1 Peter 3, and note how Paul lovingly wrote in this same letter about taking care of widows. It can be shown that Scripture played an important role in history to raise the position of both women and slaves. If you are interested in this general topic, you might also be interested in the translation note for verse 15 in the episode notes for today.

Let me tell the story of a missionary who served with me in Indonesia. Before Ron Kriens was a Christian and was working as a bus driver in a big city, he was impressed by Jesus’ resurrection and reputation as a teacher, so he was willing to accept Jesus’ words, and at first would only read Jesus’ teachings. But then he found that Jesus said that after his death, the Holy Spirit would lead his disciples into all truth. So he read books penned by Jesus’ disciples, John and Peter. Then he discovered that Peter respected Paul’s writings as Scripture. (2Ptr. 3) And finally, at some point, I know that he realized how important understanding the Old Testament is to understanding the New Testament. I tell Ron’s story to say this: God’s Word is a unity. The very coherence of the message is wonderful proof of God’s sovereignly in controlling the writings which have come down to us. We will find the most joy and peace in submitting to our sovereign Creator fully and not rejecting any part of His Word.

NLT Translation notes:
1Tim2:1 [PET: I advise you to teach these things to the church you serve. First of all, every member of the church should give all kinds of prayer requests to God for everyone else— and also give thanks.//I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them.]
7 And I have been chosen as a preacher and apostle to teach the Gentiles this message about [fully believing//faith] and truth. I’m not exaggerating—just telling the truth.
15 [PET: As a result of that sin, the female descendants of Eve fall under the punishment of God in having pain when giving birth. But even so, God is ready to help and save each woman— if she keeps fully believing in Him, does loving acts, and lives a holy and wise life.//NLT:/But women will be saved through childbearing, assuming they continue to live in faith, love, holiness, and modesty.]
Cross reference and footnote in the PET: See Gen. 3:1-13. This verse can also be translated, “Even so, God will make each woman safe when giving birth to children— as long as she keeps fully believing in Him, does loving acts, and lives a holy and wise life.”

 

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.

Check out this episode!

345: December 11 Special Announcements

Hi Everyone!

I’m so glad that you are listening to this extra podcast episode, because something that may cause confusion is going to happen soon. If you are listening to the NLT podcast series, and if you are now ready to listen to episode 345, you are used to seeing your next episode appearing daily at the top of your app's list. Starting this Sunday, my volunteer secretary, Vicky, will be releasing seven episodes in a row, just minutes a part. So when you open your podcast player on next Monday, your Monday episode will be the 7th one down the list. Then no new episodes will be released until the next Sunday. In other words, every Sunday afternoon, episodes for Monday through next Sunday will be released.

With most podcast players, the episodes you have aready listened to are shown in a different color than your not-yet-listened-to episodes. So hopefully it will always be visually clear where in the list for your next episode is. For instance, in the Antenapod app, episodes I have listened to are listed with a gray overlay, and unlistened to episodes show up normally.

For these remaining days of 2024, the above change will only happen in the NLT podcast, while the GNT will start with this new release method on the week of January 1st, 2025.

Because 2024 has been a leap year, our current podcasts will end on December 30th instead of the 31st. So this is a perfect opportunity for YOU to record something that I can put into a special episode for the last day of the year. This is open to anyone listening to the Daily Bible Reading Podcast series, even if you are on day 12 or 300-something. What was the most valuable insight you gained so far from listening to the podcasts? To avoid an echo in your recording, try recording in your car, parked in some quiet place.

Let me tell you about the new ministry that I am trying to launch here in Siloam Springs, Arkansas. There is a printed publication of the New Living Translation that is called Immerse. The Immerse Bible splits the Bible into six paper-back books, in which the NLT text is given without verse numbers or section headings. Readers can interact with the uncluttered content without visual distractions, just like reading a novel.

This happens to be a very strategic time in the USA when many people want to find out what the Bible really says, and those interested are often not church goers. Have you heard the news? Sales of printed Bibles are up 22% this year.

So in Siloam Springs, I am starting what we're calling TheGoodBook Reading Clubs. Groups of 12 people will agree on how much they will read per week, and find a time to meet in a coffee shop or restaurant. The meetings will not resemble a church service. In fact, we will ban any talk about churches. Instead we will simply ask,”What stood out to you in the pages we read this week?”

The six books of the Immerse Bible are titled Beginnings, Kingdoms, Chronicles, Poets, Prophets, and Messiah. The Messiah book contains the whole New Testament, but the books are reordered in an engaging way, starting with Luke, Acts, I and 2 Thessalonians. We will start the year reading the Messiah book. The Immerse Messiah book costs $11 at many Internet bookstores.

Normally, around this time every year, I suggest to listeners to find a different Bible podcast to listen to. But this year I want to suggest to everyone to start a Bible Reading Club, to experience the encouragement and discipleship that can happen in a group.

Back to my previous announcements:

Please remember that the DBRP NLT series will now be released in a different way, which will be visible in your podcast app on Monday.

To send your recording, go to https://ddeeper.today and use the contact button.

And to all listeners, what was your most important insight from God's Word this year? Please share a recording of you answering that question.

May the Lord bless you ‘real good’!

Phil & Gale

Check out this episode!

325: Buckling the Belt Lesson 6: Know who you are.

Lesson 6

THEME: Buckle up the belt of truth by believing you are ACCEPTED, SECURE, AND SIGNIFICANT.

According to Dr. Neil T. Anderson, nearly all Christians struggle to overcome Satan’s lies in at least one of these three areas:

1) I’m not accepted. No one wants me. God certainly couldn’t want someone like me. Even though I confess sins, I never feel that I am fully forgiven.

2) I’m not secure. I am weak. The evil one is stronger than I am. I'm gonna fall into the trap of sin and never get out.

3) I’m not significant. I never live up to anyone’s expectations, even my own. I am worthless and stupid.

If you are a believer in Christ and believe in what God’s Word says, these are lies. I hope that the outcome of this lesson is that you know which of the three lies is the one you struggle with the most. Then, when you figure out which is your weakness, Anderson’s Freedom In Christ Ministries gives you verses you can memorize to combat the problem. https://www.ficm.org/about-us/who-i-am-in-christ/ Buckle the belt of truth in your area of weakness.

Of course, it seems obvious that the three areas I listed will likely be related to each person’s personal history. Some children are permanently scarred by parents who cannot be pleased, no matter how hard one tries. Parents, after all, come with hang-ups that they have inherited from their parents. Other children suffer long periods wondering if they will have a mother or father tomorrow. In my case, I think my weakness relates to not learning to read in my first three grades of school.

I think that harassing evil spirits possess keen observational powers by which they discover our weaknesses. I think they can tell when their whispered temptations work. So beware! Evil spirits often introduce thoughts into our minds which they pass off as our own thoughts. In other words, they don’t tell you, “You’re worthless.” Instead they pass off the suggestion as if it came from your own mind, by whispering, “I’m worthless.” If you experience insistent negative thoughts about yourself, I urge you to ask God to reveal the source of them.

In my introduction above, I have stated the three weaknesses negatively. When stated positively, as I will start to do now, these three inner-messages are the foundation of your spiritual identity. Let’s go through them one by one in the order given by Anderson.

 

=====Say to yourself: I am ACCEPTED by Christ=====

If you believe in Jesus and simply come to him, the Bible tells you, “You are accepted by him.”

John 1:12 is the first verse Anderson gives as an antidote to this problem:

• But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.

For many verses given as antidotes to this problem, I find myself arguing if I can fulfill the conditions. The verse just quoted has easy conditions. Do I believe in Jesus? Yes. Have I asked Him to come into my life? Yes. I have accepted Him, and that means He accepts me! The verse says, “to all” who do those two things, “he gave the right …” So I’m not left out! He gives to all who believe and accept Him “the right to become children of God.” The next verse goes on to say that those same people become reborn.

I will depart from Anderson’s list to give some of my favorites:

• Mat. 11:28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

If you fit the description, notice the word ‘all’.

I find many such verses in John’s writings. In Rev. 21:6 Jesus—from his position sitting on the throne with God — says,

• “To all who are thirsty, I will give freely from the springs of the water of life.”

Then in chapter 22:17,

• “The Spirit and the bride (that is the whole assembly of redeemed people) say, “Come.” Let anyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who desires drink freely from the water of life.”

Similarly, in John 7:38, Jesus promises,

• “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”

For your convenience, in the episode notes, I list the verses that Anderson gives that help you to claim that YOU are ACCEPTED by God:

I am accepted…

John 1:12 I am God’s child.

John 15:15 As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:1 I have been justified.

1 Corinthians 6:17 I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.

1 Corinthians 12:27 I am a member of Christ’s body.

Ephesians 1:3-8 I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.

Colossians 1:13-14 I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.

Colossians 2:9-10 I am complete in Christ.

Hebrews 4:14-16 I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

 

=====Say to yourself: I am SECURE=====

I love how Romans 8 gives us a wonderful logical progression to tell us that we are secure.

• We are one with Christ, or as the NLT translates it, we belong to Christ.
• This means no one can condemn us.
• Those in that position will find the life-giving Spirit working in them.
• Other than transforming our lives, the Spirit is a guarantee that we are God's sons. Again God's Word uses the word ‘all’:

  Romans 8:14 NLT

• For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
• Even though, to be gender sensitive, some translations use ‘children’ here, I think it is good for women to also consider that they become— spiritually speaking— ‘sons’. (Men have a similar difficulty in accepting that they are part of the ‘bride of Christ’.) The precious thing here is that these verses say that we ALL are given the legal status of ‘sonship’, which according to Roman law, could not be changed. (Rom. 8:15)
• Having this legal position of sonship means that no one and no spiritual power can separate us from the love of God and of Christ. Romans 8 is the most emphatic statement about our security that you will find in Scripture!

Once again, in the episode notes I give the nine verses Anderson lists:

I am secure!
Romans 8:1-2 I am free from condemnation.
Romans 8:28 I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
Romans 8:31-39 I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.
Colossians 3:1-4 I am hidden with Christ in God.
Philippians 1:6 I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.
Philippians 3:20 I am a citizen of heaven.
2 Timothy 1:7 I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
1 John 5:18 I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

 

=====Say to yourself: I am SIGNIFICANT=====

It is actually a short logical step from our believing that we are Accepted and Secure to believing that we are SIGNIFICANT in God’s eyes. For instance, if you are one with Christ, it is like you are part of his body. Let's say a little toe. Well just think: No one wants to lose a toe! Every little part of our body is significant to us, especially if it becomes hurt.

I suspect that Satan's lackies whisper to people that believing yourself to be significant to God is prideful. But it is not being prideful to tell the truth about yourself. Base your significance on the amazing things God's Word says about you, then your significance will not be prideful.

It can be helpful to notice the times when the Holy Spirit gives you a nudge.

• Do you feel it natural to call God your Father (Abba) when you pray?— as Romans 8 talks about.
• Have you ever felt the nudge to pray for someone?
• Has a verse of Scripture ever sort of ‘jumped off the page’? Did that ever cause you to repent or take some action?
• In a conversation, have you ever suddenly felt that you should say something to help someone.
• Has anything ever happened to you that might be leading you to exercise a spiritual gift? (Gifts like teaching, counseling, encouraging, being generous, etc.)

These things can be reassuring, we must not totally rely on such experiences, to encourage us about our significance. Please also realize that having a packed schedule of all kinds of church volunteering will never bring a true assurance of your significance.

Consider these eye-opening verses assembled by Dr. Neil Anderson:

I am significant…
John 15:5 I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
John 15:16 I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
1 Corinthians 3:16 I am God’s temple.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
Ephesians 2:6 I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
Ephesians 2:10 I am God’s workmanship.
Ephesians 3:12 I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

• This is the link to the display of “Who I am in Christ” at the Freedomn In Christ Ministries website:
• https://www.ficm.org/about-us/who-i-am-in-christ/

So, the identity we possess in Christ means that we are ACCEPTED, SECURE, AND SIGNIFICANT. And I think it is revealing how this relates to our spiritual armor, as found in Ephesians 6. The seven items of our armor are seven facets of every believer's identity.

There is a PDF file attached to this episode that documents what the figures of speech mean for each item of our spiritual armor: Armor Handout: Understanding how to wear our spiritual armor

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Yyi6NShxL3bmz_-SMMsomuBauK0Y754A/view?usp=drive_link

 

14a belt of truth — significant

14b breastplate of righteousness — accepted

15 shoes — accepted, secure, and significant

16 shield of faith — secure

17a helmet of salvation — accepted

17b sword of the spirit — secure

18 cell phone of prayer — accepted and significant

 

[Improved from lesson 4:]

How to pray to make sure you are wearing your spiritual armor:

Lord God, give me strength to stand firm. Help me to wear— and be aware— of all the spiritual armor You have given to me, so that I can stand against Satan and his forces:

• Please remind me that I am already wearing the breastplate of righteousness, because Jesus died and was raised to life, and He has given me right standing in your sight.
• Help me to keep on the boots of the Gospel of peace, not only being ready to share the good news about Christ, but also anchoring my life in the truth of the Gospel.
• May I always wear the belt of truth, believing in everything you say about me in the Bible,
• and therefore never letting go of my shield, which is fully believing that you will shield me when I experience Satan's temptations and be with me in all my trials.
• May I always have the helmet of salvation, because I know You have saved me.
• Help me to study the Word of God, so that it is a ready resource that the Holy Spirit will use (like a scalpel) to operate on me, as well as prompting me to lovingly share Your truth with others.
• And help me to never forget that the Holy Spirit gives me an instant connection to You in prayer.

Check out this episode!

019: Genesis 32-33; Job 19; Mark 12:1-27

GENESIS 32-33:
Yesterday we heard how Jacob and his big family got away from Laban and started the journey home. When Laban caught up with him, he and Jacob got into a quarrel and ended up making a covenant.

JOB 19:
In chapter 18, Bildad once again gave a speech about what happens to wicked people, and by implication, he said, “You're just getting what you deserve.” Job’s response in today’s chapter includes amazing revelations. Verses 23-27 can be compared with the second half of 1Corinthians 15.

MARK 12a:
In Mark 11, Jesus was welcomed in triumph in Jerusalem, he cursed a fig tree and taught about prayer, and cleansed the temple of merchant activity. Then he answered and confuted the chief priests who challenged his authority to “do these things,”— in particular, taking their businesses out of the temple.

 

NLT Translation notes:
Job 19:15 My servants and maids [even/0] consider me a stranger.
I am like a foreigner to them.
16 When I call my servant, he doesn’t [even/0] come;
I have to plead with him!
====
Mrk. 12:1 Then Jesus began teaching them with stories [like this one]: “A man planted a vineyard. …
13 Later the leaders sent some Pharisees and supporters of [king/0] Herod to trap Jesus into saying something for which he could be arrested.
16 When they handed [one/it] to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped [here//on it]?”
26b Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses, ‘I am the God [Abraham worships//of Abraham], the God [Isaac worships], and the God [Jacob worships].’
27 PET God spoke of our three forefathers as men who still live and worship Him. …
[In Lumina.Bible.org Constable quotes Lane:
“If the death of the patriarchs is the last word of their history, there has been a breach of the promises of God guaranteed by the [Abrahamic] covenant, and of which the formula ‘the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob’ is the symbol. It is in fidelity to his covenant that God will resurrect the dead.”
Using a present tense verb makes it obvious to the English-speaking listener that the three patriarchs are still living. However, the problem becomes that if the Hebrew had been that specific, everyone would have understood that the patriarchs were still living. So my fix here, I now admit, goes too far.]

 

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.

Check out this episode!

000: 2024 DDeeper Trailer and How-to's

Hi there!

I’m so glad you have clicked to listen to this trailer to the Digging Deeper Daily Bible reading plan for 2024. If you want to read the Bible in a great reading plan that will hold your attention and enable you to stay with the program, you are in the right place.

My name is Phil Fields. I’m almost 74 years old and happily married to Gale. We have three children, and five grandkids. In 1983, when our kids were still small, our family went as Bible translators to Papua, Indonesia. We finished a New Testament translation for the Orya people in 2005. Since that time I have been leading an organization which is translating the Bible into the national language of Indonesia. We’re hoping that the entire Bible in the Plain Indonesian Translation will be finished at the end of 2025. Our sponsoring organization is Pioneer Bible Translators.

When I started the Daily Bible Reading Podcast in 2014 the audience I had in mind was my grandkids. I wanted to make a set of Bible recordings for them, to leave behind what I would tell each one of them if and when they fall into difficult times. 

Here’s a list of what I will cover:

• Remember this new Web address: DDeeper.today.
• Please Sign up for email
• Why it’s a good idea to use a good Bible reading plan.
• Choose a Bible translation that makes sense for you for daily reading.
• Different ways to follow the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan
• Pointers about podcast listening
• How to contact me.

Remember this new Web address: DDeeper.today. I realized recently how hard it is to find my websites when they are named DailyBibleReading.info. When I started podcasting in 2014, there were not many podcasts or blogs with that name. So I am hoping that the oddity of the new web address will help everyone looking for information on the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan and podcasts. The site is DDeeper.today with two D’s. I figure most other podcasters won’t misspell Deeper like I have. Even though it starts with two D’s, I’m pronouncing it like it started with just one.

Please Sign up for email: There are times when I want to announce a special episode or a new feature in the YV Bible app. And listeners often like to hear about our Bible translation ministry. That is why I suggest that you sign up for my email updates. You will join a special list that is only for 2024. You will receive no more than 5 emails. I won’t ask for donations or try to sell you something. Please sign up by going to DDeeper.today, click the How-to’s link, and choose the menu item entitled 2024 Email Sign-up.

Why it’s a good idea to use a good Bible reading plan: If you start at the beginning of the Bible and attempt to read straight through, you will likely get bogged down somewhere in the Old Testament. The Bible is not organized like a novel. The Digging Deeper Daily reading plan will help you be successful. If you are looking for a reading plan that covers the whole Bible, I highly recommend you choose a reading plan that contains something from the New Testament every day.

For more information about the 3D reading plan, please click the How-To link at DDeeper.today and scroll down. I suggest that you view the short video on that page entitled How to Study the Bible.

READ in a real-book Bible: You’ll want to download the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. The link for that is found right on the front of DDeeper.today. It is labeled Plan.PDF.

READ the 3D reading plan using Bible apps on your smartphone or tablet: Subscribe to the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan in the YouVersion Bible app. This app is available for Android and Apple devices.

LISTEN to the DDeeper.today podcasts. The podcasts have an introduction to each of the three daily readings. The introductions remind you of what you heard yesterday, and the podcast ends with a prayer that I normally don’t close with an Amen, hoping that you will continue to pray.

How about READing and LISTENing?! Open your podcast player and start the introduction to your next episode. While listening to my greeting, you’ll have time to open the YV app to your next day in the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. You’ll get way more out of each day’s readings if you have time to do it this way, reading and listening.

When you sign up for a YV reading plan, you are given an option to do the plan privately or share it with your friends. If you share the plan with friends, at the end of each day’s readings, you will be given the opportunity to share something you gleaned from the readings. This is fabulous and a great way to connect with your friends through the Bible app. But since the Digging Deeper Daily plan is for the whole Bible in 365 days, I suggest you share with a select group of close friends, or maybe 1-2 other people, or just do the plan privately.

Choose a Bible translation that makes sense for you and for a year-long reading program. Many of you will be using a translation like the ESV for taking to church. My own church uses that translation. But it is not very well suited to a year-long reading program, especially if this is your first time reading the whole Bible. I strongly recommend the NLT or the GNT for following the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. Please take my advice as a Bible translator: Using a translation like the NLT or GNT is even more important if you will be Listening to the Bible readings while doing something like driving to work. See more information about Bible translations under the READ heading in the How-To’s.

How to listen to podcasts: Please see the Listening How-To’s by clicking the How-To’s link at DDeeper.today. I recommend you use a podcast aggregator app that

• makes it easy to see the episode notes,
• that remembers your place and will automatically queue up your next episode,
• and that lets you speed up my reading to 1.20% speed.

If you use smart speakers to play the DDeeper.today podcasts, please help me improve the instructions found in the How-To’s.

My favorite way for you to contact me is via the contact button at the top of all my websites. If you are using an Alexa device, I recommend controlling the playback with the Amazon Music app.

The three older domain names for my two Bible-reading websites will still take you to the same pages. The main old website is dailybiblereading.info.
Also: dailyNLTbiblereading.info
dailyGNTbiblereading.info

For any long-time listeners, I believe that the change of the name of the podcast to DDeeper Daily and the new domain name will not change the way your podcast player is interacting with the podcasts. If you find otherwise, please let me know.

When I chose the odd extension for the DDeeper site, not dot Com, or dot info, but ‘today’, I thought of two places where the word ‘today’ is highlighted in the New Testament. One is

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭6:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

[2] For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:6‭-‬7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

[6] So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. [7] So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.”

That last quote is one you will need to read in context to really understand. My point in sharing those two verses is to encourage you. Each day that you read the Bible with the goal of reading all of it, the Holy Spirit will be helping you experience the amazing spiritual transformation that God wants for you. Find salvation, and enter the place of rest and safety God has for you.

Please Sign up for email by going to the How-to’s at DDeeper.today.

Check out this episode!

2024 DDeeper Trailer and How-to's

Hi there!

I’m so glad you have clicked to listen to this trailer to the Digging Deeper Daily Bible reading plan for 2024. If you want to read the Bible in a great reading plan that will hold your attention and enable you to stay with the program, you are in the right place.

My name is Phil Fields. I’m almost 74 years old and happily married to Gale. We have three children, and five grandkids. In 1983, when our kids were still small, our family went as Bible translators to Papua, Indonesia. We finished a New Testament translation for the Orya people in 2005. Since that time I have been leading an organization which is translating the Bible into the national language of Indonesia. We’re hoping that the entire Bible in the Plain Indonesian Translation will be finished at the end of 2025. Our sponsoring organization is Pioneer Bible Translators.

Here’s a list of what I will cover:

• Remember this new Web address: DDeeper.today.
• Please Sign up for email
• Why it’s a good idea to use a good Bible reading plan.
• Choose a Bible translation that makes sense for you for daily reading.
• Why I started podcasting in 2014.
• Different ways to follow the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan
• Pointers about podcast listening
• How to contact me.

Remember this new Web address: DDeeper.today. I realized recently how hard it is to find my websites when they are named DailyBibleReading.info. When I started podcasting in 2014, there were not many podcasts or blogs with that name. So I am hoping that the oddity of the new web address will help everyone looking for information on the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan and podcasts. The site is DDeeper.today with two D’s. I figure most other podcasters won’t misspell Deeper like I have. Even though it starts with two D’s, I’m pronouncing it like it started with just one.

Please Sign up for email: There are times when I want to announce a special episode or a new feature in the YV Bible app. And listeners often like to hear about our Bible translation ministry. That is why I suggest that you sign up for my email updates. You will join a special list that is only for 2024. You will receive no more than 5 emails. I won’t ask for donations or try to sell you something. Please sign up by going to DDeeper.today, click the How-to’s link, and choose the menu item entitled 2024 Email Sign-up.

Why it’s a good idea to use a good Bible reading plan: If you start at the beginning of the Bible and attempt to read straight through, you will likely get bogged down somewhere in the Old Testament. The Bible is not organized like a novel. The Digging Deeper Daily reading plan will help you be successful. If you are looking for a reading plan that covers the whole Bible, I highly recommend you choose a reading plan that contains something from the New Testament every day.

For more information about the 3D reading plan, please click the How-To link at DDeeper.today and scroll down. I suggest that you view the short video on that page entitled How to Study the Bible.

READ in a real-book Bible: You’ll want to download the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. The link for that is found right on the front of DDeeper.today. It is labeled Plan.PDF.

READ the 3D reading plan using Bible apps on your smartphone or tablet: Subscribe to the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan in the YouVersion Bible app. This app is available for Android and Apple devices.

LISTEN to the DDeeper.today podcasts. The podcasts have an introduction to each of the three daily readings. The introductions remind you of what you heard yesterday, and the podcast ends with a prayer that I normally don’t close with an Amen, hoping that you will continue to pray.

How about READing and LISTENing?! Open your podcast player and start the introduction to your next episode. While listening to my greeting, you’ll have time to open the YV app to your next day in the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. You’ll get way more out of each day’s readings if you have time to do it this way, reading and listening.

When you sign up for a YV reading plan, you are given an option to do the plan privately or share it with your friends. If you share the plan with friends, at the end of each day’s readings, you will be given the opportunity to share something you gleaned from the readings. This is fabulous and a great way to connect with your friends through the Bible app. But since the Digging Deeper Daily plan is for the whole Bible in 365 days, I suggest you share with a select group of close friends, or maybe 1-2 other people, or just do the plan privately.

Choose a Bible translation that makes sense for you and for a year-long reading program. Many of you will be using a translation like the ESV for taking to church. My own church uses that translation. But it is not very well suited to a year-long reading program, especially if this is your first time reading the whole Bible. I strongly recommend the NLT or the GNT for following the Digging Deeper Daily reading plan. Please take my advice as a Bible translator: Using a translation like the NLT or GNT is even more important if you will be Listening to the Bible readings while doing something like driving to work. See more information about Bible translations under the READ heading in the How-To’s.

When I started the Daily Bible Reading Podcast in 2014 the audience I had in mind was my grandkids. I wanted to make a set of Bible recordings for them, to leave behind what I would tell each one of them if and when they fall into difficult times.

How to listen to podcasts: Please see the Listening How-To’s by clicking the How-To’s link at DDeeper.today. I recommend you use a podcast aggregator app that

• makes it easy to see the episode notes,
• that remembers your place and will automatically queue up your next episode,
• and that lets you speed up my reading to 1.20% speed.

If you use smart speakers to play the DDeeper.today podcasts, please help me improve the instructions found in the How-To’s.

My favorite way for you to contact me is via the contact button at the top of all my websites.

When I chose the odd extension for the DDeeper site, not dot Com, or dot info, but ‘today’, I thought of two places where the word ‘today’ is highlighted in the New Testament. One is

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭6:2‬ ‭NLT‬‬

[2] For God says, “At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.” Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭4:6‭-‬7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

[6] So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. [7] So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. God announced this through David much later in the words already quoted: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts.”

That last quote is one you will need to read in context to really understand. My point in sharing those two verses is to encourage you. Each day that you read the Bible with the goal of reading all of it, the Holy Spirit will be helping you experience the amazing spiritual transformation that God wants for you. Find salvation, and enter the place of rest and safety God has for you.

Please Sign up for email by going to the How-to’s at DDeeper.today.

Check out this episode!