Digging Deeper Daily: By Daily Bible Reading PodcastSample

2KINGS 19-20:
The writer of 1 & 2 Kings was very brief about the sins of the people of Israel (in both kingdoms) until what we heard yesterday. He seems to have saved the moral of the story until chapter 17. And then we have the wonderful contrast with Hezekiah in chapter 18. Then the Assyrian king mocked the God of Israel at the end of chapter 18. We hear God's answer today.

PSALM 132:
It would appear that Solomon wrote this Psalm of Ascent, as part was quoted by him at the dedication of the temple.

JOHN 15:
Yesterday we heard Jesus promise that He would send our Advocate/Comforter/Helper, the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the one who literally ‘comes along beside’ and will lead us into all truth and be with us forever. And I think it is really due to Him that we can have “a peace that the world cannot give or understand.”

Translation notes:
When talking of the organic unity of a branch and a vine, we don’t say a branch ‘remains in’ a vine, do we?! No, we say the branch is ‘stays joined’ or is ‘connected’, and various other words. Because of this, we also tend to miss out on the meaning of ‘in Him/Christ’ that comes up so often in the New Testament. The meaning is NOT that we are ‘inside’ Him, but that we are joined as one with him.

John 15:4 NLT Remain [joined to//in] me, and I will remain [joined to//in] you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain [joined to//in] me. (Similarly in 5-7.)

16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, [for my name’s sake/for the sake of my glory//using my name.