Uncategorized | Lifespring! Media

View Details

SummaryToday on the Lifespring! One Year Bible Rewind, we explore Job 33 and 34. These chapters focus on the speech of Elihu, the youngest of Job’s companions. Elihu challenges Job’s claims of innocence and emphasizes that God is far greater than any human being. The episode examines the dangers of pride and how it can obstruct our ability to trust in God’s perfect wisdom and justice. Additionally, Steve shares an important announcement regarding the production of the show moving forward.

Important Announcement Steve shares that due to a significant setback in his family business, his available time for show production has changed. While a show will still be posted every day, there will be a pause on fresh content for each episode for the foreseeable future. Steve hopes to continue producing the “Verses We Missed” show weekly. He asks that you stay subscribed, as things can change quickly, and requests your prayers for him and LeeAnn during this transition.

Entities Job: The central figure who defends his righteousness amid suffering. * Elihu: The younger visitor who speaks about God’s sovereignty. * LeeAnn: Steve’s wife and business partner. * Cotton Mather: A third generation Puritan minister born on this date. * Steve Webb:* Your host and OG Godcaster.

Why This MattersHuman understanding is limited. When we judge God’s actions based on our narrow perspective, we risk falling into the sin of pride. Acknowledging that God is the Almighty Judge who never twists justice allows us to trust Him even during confusing times. This perspective helps us move from demanding answers to resting in His sovereign wisdom.

CommentaryElihu provides a different perspective from Job’s other three friends. While he may not fully grasp Job’s specific situation, he correctly asserts that God is never unjust. He explains that God has complete control over human affairs and uses all things for His purposes. Steve highlights that many people today reject God because they cannot reconcile world conditions with a loving Creator. This often stems from pride. We must remember the warning in Romans 1.22 that those claiming to be wise often become fools. Our responsibility is to be patient and kind, gently instructing those who oppose the truth while praying for the Holy Spirit to open their eyes.

Verse of the DayRomans 1:22
“Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.”
Read Romans 1:22 on BibleGateway

On This Date In Church History On February 12, 1663, Cotton Mather was born. A prolific Puritan minister, Mather entered Harvard at age twelve. Though often remembered for his minor connection to the Salem Witch Trials, his true legacy involves his efforts to harmonize the Christian faith with science. He wrote nearly 500 books and was a pioneer in medicine and social reform. He believed a sharp mind was one of the best tools for serving God.

You can read more about his life on Wikipedia.

SupportThis show is a value for value production. Your support keeps the Lifespring! Media family of programs on the air. If you find value in these daily readings and commentaries, please consider returning that value through your time, talent, or treasure.

Contact & Social:
Email: steve@lifespringmedia.com
Comment: comment.lifespringmedia.com

The post S3E115-Job 33-34: The Sin of Pride first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Transcript

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 99 NASB; Ch. 100-101 NIRV

Podcast IntroductionToday is Psalms Wednesday, and we’ll read chapters 99-101. Plus, we’ll continue our Essentials series, and we’ll have a time of Praise reports and Prayer Requests. I’m calling this episode “David’s Call for Virtuous Leadership.”

Design: Scott Snider | Photo: Robert Lukeman on UnsplashSummary of Psalms 99-101These three psalms encompass a range of themes. Psalm 99 sets the tone by highlighting the exalted and holy nature of God, reminding believers of the reverence owed to Him. It serves as a reflection on God’s greatness and calls for a profound awe and respect towards Him.

Psalm 100, titled “A Psalm of Thanksgiving,” stands out as unique within the Psalms. It exudes a jubilant confidence in the reign of Jehovah over the entire earth. The psalm envisions a future where all people submit to God’s rule, resulting in a glorious and harmonious world. The introduction captures the reader’s imagination and inspires a longing for that ultimate fulfillment.

Moving on to Psalm 101, attributed to David, it offers insights into the responsibilities of leadership. The psalm was likely written during David’s early days as king, as he sought to reform the abuses and confusions of the previous reign. David declares his commitment to establish a monarchy that mirrors God’s own righteousness and justice. The introduction further highlights the relevance of this psalm to Christian leaders, drawing upon the exposition by Martin Luther, who emphasized the qualities that every prince or magistrate should strive to embody.

The passages encourage believers to pray for their leaders at all levels, recognizing the transformative power of God in the hearts of individuals. We should pray for our leaders to govern with integrity, righteousness, and virtue, ultimately leading to positive changes in society.

We must have consistency and authenticity in our faith. As believers we should be mindful of our behavior within our homes, not merely putting on a façade of righteousness for the public but living out their faith genuinely and consistently. We should see the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, both inside and outside our homes.

Listen to the episode for more!

SupportThis a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising equals censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and donate here: SUPPORT.

The TeamLifespring Family Berean, Sister Denise: Transcript Correction
Michael Haner: Podcasting: 2.0 Chapters
Scott Snider: Show Art
Jason Paschall: Show Art
Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Brittaney: Newsletter Publisher

TranscriptDownload .txt file.

Steve Webb 0:00
I would be delighted to be proven wrong.

Steve Webb 0:10
Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring! One Year Bible in podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG Godcaster. Steve Webb, how are you today? I hope you’re well. Thanks so much for bringing me along. Today is Psalms Wednesday And we’ll read chapters 99 through 100. Plus, we’ll continue our essential series And we’ll have a time of praise reports And prayer requests. The website is Lifespringmedia.com. And I’ll have contact information at the end of the show today. Before we get started, let’s have a word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we love you And we thank You for Your Word. And again, we thank you for the songs I pray God that you would bless us as we read, And that you would teach us. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Okay, let’s get going.

Steve Webb 0:57
Psalm 99 is another Psalm that has no title or author attribution, about Psalm 99. Commentator Derek Kidner wrote here after the carefree delight of Psalm 98 we recollect how exalted in holy he is, And how profound is the reverence we owe him.

Steve Webb 1:16
Psalms chapter 99. The Lord reigns let the peoples tremble. He is enthroned above the cherub him, Let the earth shake. The Lord is great in Zion, And He is exalted above all the peoples. Let them praise your great And awesome name. holy is he, the strength of the King loves justice. You have established equity, you have executed justice And righteousness And Jacob, exalt the Lord our God And worship at his footstool. holy is he, Moses And Aaron were among his priests. And Samuel was among those who called on his name. They called upon the Lord And he answered them, he spoke to them in the pillar of cloud. They kept his testimonies in the statute that he gave them, oh Lord, our God, you answered them. You are a forgiving God to them And yet an avenger of their evil deeds. exalt the Lord our God And worship at His holy hill, for Holy is the Lord our God.

Steve Webb 2:22
The title of Psalm 100 is a Psalm of Thanksgiving. And perhaps surprisingly, it’s the only Psalm with this title. I especially like what G Campbell Morgan said about Psalm 100. It is jubilant with confidence for the whole earth as it contemplates the glory of that earth, when all its people are submitted to the reign of Jehovah. Oh, beloved, won’t that be glorious?

Steve Webb 2:49
Psalms chapter 100. Shout to the Lord with joy, every one on Earth. Worship the Lord with gladness, come to him with songs of joy. I want you to realize that the Lord is good. He made us And we belong to Him. We are as people, we are the sheep belonging to his flock. Give Thanks as you went to the gates of his temple, give praise as you enter its courtyards. Give Thanks to Him And praise his name. The Lord is good. His faithful love continues forever. It will last for all time to come.

Steve Webb 3:25
The title of Psalm 101 is a Psalm of David. This all may have been written just after David became king. Listen to what Alexander McClaren wrote, he had but recently ascended to the throne. The abuses And confusions of Saul’s last troubled years had to be reformed. The new king felt that he was God’s viceroy, And here he declares what he will strive to make his monarchy, a copy of Gods. And James Montgomery Boice wrote this, I was startled to find that Martin Luther had done an exposition of the psalm that ran to 80 pages. The reason I discovered is that he was deeply concerned about civil government And wanted to expound the Psalm as a listing of qualities toward which every Christian Prince or magistrate should strive. Beloved, would that leaders today at all levels should aspire to this kind of administration.

Steve Webb 4:22
Psalms chapter 101. I will sing about your love And fairness. Lord, I will sing praise to You. I will be careful to lead a life that is without blame. When will you come And help me? I will lead a life that is without blame in my house. I won’t look at anything that is evil. I hate the acts of people who aren’t faithful to you. I don’t even want people like that around me. I will stay away from those whose hearts are twisted. I don’t want to have anything to do with evil. I will get rid of anyone who tells lies about his neighbor in secret. I won’t put up with anyone whose eyes And heart are proud I will look with favor on the faithful people in the land, they will live with me. Those whose lives are without blame will serve me. No one who lies And cheats will live in my house. No one who tells lies will serve me. Every morning I will get rid of all the sinful people in the land. I will remove from the city of the Lord, everyone who does what is evil.

Steve Webb 5:24
In chapter 101, verse two David wrote, I will be careful to lead a life that is without blame. When will you come And help me? In my own home, I will lead a life that is without blame. As I’ve already said, before we read this chapter, wouldn’t it be great if leaders today made this their goal? Beloved, I believe that we need to pray that God would move in the hearts of our local leaders, or a state or province leaders And our national leaders. Beloved, no matter where you’re hearing this, pray for your leaders. When God gets a hold of them or moves new, godly people into their spots will begin to see changes for the good around the world. Yes, you’ve heard me say many times, I believe that we’re in the in times, but I would be delighted to be proven wrong. If God chooses to move on the hearts of people around the world. If we were to see a new And fresh awakening, a monumental revival, I would be thrilled beyond words, granted, Lord, grant it in Jesus name. But even if that doesn’t happen, we can still make that our Go. David said in my own home, I will lead a life that is without blame. You know, sometimes people live much different lives inside their homes than they do outside. They show a smiling everything is right with a World Christian facade to the world. But at home, they’re the exact opposite. Don’t be that way. Beloved, don’t be a hypocrite. If you truly love the Lord, but don’t act like it at home that I would encourage you to take a hard look at why you act this way. Are you stressed because of work or bills or family problems? well, let me ask you this if you taken your problems to the Lord And laid them at his feet, only to pick them up again. Maybe you need help from your pastor or a trusted friend or a counselor. Listen, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everybody needs help from time to time. It’s okay. If you need help get it Galatians 522 through 26 has a lot to say about how we should behave. It says but the fruit the Holy Spirit produces his love, joy And peace. That is being patient kind in good. It is being faithful And gentle And having control of oneself. There is no law against things of that kind. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed their sinful desires to His cross. They don’t want these things anymore. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become proud. Let us not make each other angry. Let us not want what belongs to others. Beloved, as we go about our days, the fruit of the Spirit should flow from us whether we’re inside or outside of our homes. Jesus said that they will know we are Christians by our love for one another. well, let’s pray that we will mature as believers to the point that people truly see Jesus in us. I’d love to hear your comments or questions. Contact information will be at the end of today’s show. And tomorrow will be poetry Thursday, we’ll read Proverbs 19.

Adam Curry 8:32
Boost

Announcer 8:34
boost

Steve Webb 8:34
Brother Sean of San Pedro sent in two 5000 sat Loaves And Fishes boosts today, brother Sean, thank you so much. Also, Thanks to you sat streamers, you’re hanging in there, And I appreciate it. God bless you

Jingle 8:50
Lifespringmedia.com slash support

Steve Webb 9:01
This is number 12 In our series on the essentials of the faith And today we’re going to continue talking about what we believe about Jesus. Today we’ll talk about the fact that he ascended bodily into heaven. And he sat down at the right hand of God the Father, where as the only mediator between God And man, he continually makes intercession for his own. In Luke 2450, we read about the ascension of Jesus And it says, And he led them out as far as Bethany And lifting up his hands, he blessed them, while he blessed them, he parted from them And was carried up into heaven. And then x one six through 11 gives us a bit more detail. So when they had come together they asked him Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? He said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit is come upon you And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem And in all Judea And Samaria into the end of the earth. And when he had said these things as they were looking on, he was lifted up, And a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes. And they said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw Him go into heaven. Remember, last week, we talked about the fact that Jesus was resurrected in the same body that he was crucified And died in. And he spent 40 days after the resurrection with the disciples And others. And now they watched Him ascend into heaven, that same Jesus they spent about three years with during His earthly ministry. Okay, what about Jesus sitting down at the right hand of God the Father, the apostle Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Romans 834, who is to condemn Christ Jesus is the one who died more than that, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. And in Ephesians 119 through 22, Paul wrote, In what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe according to the working of his great might, that he worked in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead And seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule And authority And power And dominion, And above every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet And gave him his head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him, who fills all in all. Beloved, when God the father put Jesus at His right hand, he put him in an honored position, a position signifying that Jesus had equal honor, equal dignity And equal authority. And there are many scriptures that speak of the right hand of God. Now a mediator, what is a mediator, a mediator is a person who acts as an intermediary, a go between, as it were, between opposing sides to bring a settlement or to resolve a dispute. Jesus is the mediator between us And God the Father. But why is this necessary? Because God has an issue with us a big issue, we are sinners, All have sinned And fall short of the glory of God. Romans 623 says that the punishment for sin is death, physical And spiritual death, which is separation from God in hell. We need Jesus as our mediator because we have no hope of making up for our sins on our own. Our best efforts are like filthy rags, according to Isaiah 64 Six. well, thankfully, First Timothy two five tells us For there is one God And there is one mediator between God And men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all. Hebrews 915 says, Therefore he is the mediator of a New Covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. And notice that scripture here in Hebrews nine does not say therefore he is a mediator, it says he is the mediator. Yes, beloved, for those who put their trust in Him. Jesus is our one And only mediator, there is no need for any other, we can go directly to God the Father, through Jesus the Son, hallelujah. Next Wednesday in our series on the essentials of the faith, Lord willing, we’ll talk about the fact that man’s nature is corrupted, And he is thus totally unable to please God. Every man is in need of regeneration And renewal by the Holy Spirit. Do you agree with that, that man’s nature is corrupted? I have a friend a very close friend who doesn’t quite believe that he believes that man is basically good. What do you think? be back next week to hear what Scripture says? I welcome your comments And your questions. Of course, contact information will be at the end of the show.

Steve Webb 14:18
Praises and prayer requests, as I record this on Tuesday afternoon, Del And Kathi are on the way to city of hope. Kathi will be having a PET scan tomorrow, Wednesday today to you. podcasting And I love this time shifted thing. Kathy will be having a PET scan on Wednesday to see what’s going on with her cancer. As I understand it, what they see will determine how well her current medications are doing in shrinking the tumors And hopefully they are shrinking And they won’t need to do any more adjustments. And James in Norway asked us to pray for his dad who had a cardiac ablation procedure about two weeks ago for AFib which is what I had about a year ago. Unfortunately, his dad had another episode Have AFib a few days ago And James would like us to pray for him. And James said Hooray for Jesus. Yes, hooray for Jesus. And as far as I know, And I’m, I’m not a doctor, of course. But as far as I remember from what the doctor told me when I had my procedure, we don’t really say that a procedure has been a failure or a success for the first six months or so after the procedure. So perhaps James’s dad just got a little bit too active too soon. As I remembered, my doctor said that I should not resume normal activities until it was about a month from having the procedure. So maybe that’s what it is. Time will tell. All right, are you ready? Let’s pray. Our heavenly Father in heaven, we thank you for the psalms of praise like we read today. They teach us how to praise you And they remind us of all the things that you are And that you have done And that you will do. They remind us that you indeed are worthy of praise. We certainly do have a reason to shout joyfully And serve you with gladness. Lord, we pray that you would raise up leaders around the world that would turn to you for guidance And for godly principles to rule by like David did. We pray for a revival the likes of which have never been seen. And Lord, I believe that we’re even beginning to see the early signs of that now. Lord, I pray that you would forgive us for our failure to stand up for you And be salt And light like we should. Lord give us opportunities to share the gospel. Use us to bring glory to your name, And may the fruit of the spirit be shown in our lives. Father, we pray now for Kathi, we pray that the PET scan would show that the healing is taking place. Yes, Lord, we pray that your will would be done. But you’ve also told us in Your word that we should bring our requests or petitions to You. Lord, we want your will for Kathi without a doubt. And we’re asking that your will would be to bring glory to yourself through Kathi’s healing. We ask this humbly, Lord, And we thank you that James And Norway’s dad was able to have the ablation surgery And I pray that you’d give him a successful recovery with no further episodes of afib. I know that sometimes the episodes just become fewer than they were before the procedure. And that’s wonderful, but we pray that James’s dad would be one of the really good success stories. Father give him strength as he recovers, we pray. Father, I thank you for each one whom you’ve brought into the Lifespring family. No one’s here by accident. You’ve called them here And I thank you for that. I pray that you would take what they hear on the show And use it for your kingdom Lord, And whether our needs Father I pray that you would meet them in your own perfect And loving way. We pray this in Jesus name, amen. Our next time of prayer together here on the show will be Sunday. If there’s a praise you’d like to share with the Lifespring family or if there’s something you’d like us to pray with you about contact information is coming up in just a moment.

Steve Webb 17:56
Today’s show art was done by Scott Snider Thank you, Scott. And also Thanks to Sister Denise Michael Haner, Jason Paschall And sister Brittaney The team. If you have a comment, a question a prayer request or a praise report. Here’s how to reach me to leave a voice message call the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1-951-732-8511. Or if you want to use your keyboard for prayer requests And praise reports, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com or for comments or questions go to comment.lifespringmedia.com And also boostagram ‘s are a great way to do any of those things. And last, my email address is st@****ia.com dot com. Beloved, thank you for being with me today until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye

Announcer 18:46
the Lifespring media family of programs are made possible by the generous support of listeners like you. Thank you

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

The post S2E235-Psalms 99-101: David’s Call for Virtuous Leadership first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Transcript

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 7 GNT

Podcast IntroductionIt’s Poetry Thursday, and we’ll Proverbs chapter 7. I’m calling this episode ˆProtect Your Eyes.”

Design: Jason Paschall | Photo: MidjourneyComments on Proverbs 7I like what Solomon said in verse two of chapter seven: Be as careful to follow my teaching as you are to protect your eyes.

I had a very scary experience with my eyesight a few years ago. The lovely lady LeeAnn and I had a rare day off, and I decided to take her on a drive down the coast. Most of you know that we live in southern California, and Pacific Coast Highway is only about an hour’s drive from our home. She loves the beach, and we like to get out of town whenever possible and have lunch or dinner by the water and listen to the seagulls and watch the waves.

Well, on this particular day we were taking a nice leisurely stroll on the pier in Oceanside, enjoying the warmth of the sun with a gentle breeze on our faces, watching the pelicans dive for fish, when all of a sudden my vision was filled with what seemed like a million tiny red spots in my left eye. They seemed to sort of cascade down from the top of my field of vision and then just sort of drift around in my eye. It scared me. I didn’t know if I was going blind, having a stroke, or what was happening.

I won’t go into all the details, but as soon as I was able, I went to Urgent Care where, as soon as the doctor on call heard my symptoms, he sent me directly to an ophthalmologist who told me that part of my retina had become detached. He decided that the best thing would be to do laser surgery right away to sort of spot weld the retina to keep further damage from happening. I’m thankful that we caught it when we did. Today I’m left with no vision at all in about 40 percent of the bottom part of the left eye. I still have all of my central vision, but the bottom part of my peripheral vision is gone.

You’d better believe that I do all I can to protect my eyes now.

So Solomon’s words really hit home with me. I’ve read this verse many times before, but this is the first time this verse ever really hit close to home.

Be as careful to follow the teaching found in God’s Word as you are to protect your eyes.

SupportThis a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising=censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and send it to me here: SUPPORT.

TranscriptDownload .txt file.

Transcript not yet corrected.

Steve Webb 0:00
I didn’t know if I was going blind having a stroke or what was happening.

Steve Webb 0:11
Well hey, how are you? This is the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California in podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG Godcaster. Steve Webb and this is the daily podcast where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today is poetry Thursday, and we’ll read Proverbs chapter four. I’m calling this episode. Protect your eyes. Let’s get started with a word of prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we pray that as we read today, you would touch our minds open our spirits, and that you would teach us I pray this in Jesus name, Amen. All right, let’s begin.

Steve Webb 0:49
Proverbs chapter seven. My child, remember what I say and never forget what I tell you to do. Do what I say and you will live. be as careful to follow my teaching as you are to protect your eyes. Keep my teaching with you all the time. Write it on your heart. Treat wisdom as your sister and insight as your closest friend. They will keep you walk away from other men’s wives from women with seductive words. Once I was looking out the window of my house, and I saw many inexperienced young men, but noticed one foolish fellow in particular, he was walking along the street near the corner where a certain woman lived. He was passing near her house in the evening after it was dark. And then she met him. She was dressed like a prostitute and was making plans. She was a bold and shameless woman who always walked the streets or stood waiting at a corner, sometimes in the streets, sometimes in the marketplace. She threw her arms around, the young man kissed him, looked him straight in the eye and said, I made my offerings today and have the meat from the sacrifices. So I came out looking for you. I wanted to find you and here you are. I’ve covered my bed with sheets of colored linen from Egypt. I’ve perfumed it with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come on, let’s make love all night long. We’ll be Happy in each other’s arms. My husband is in at home. He’s on a long trip. He took plenty of money with him and won’t be back for two weeks. So she tempted him with her charms, and he gave in to her smooth talk. Suddenly, he was going with her like an ox on the way to be slaughtered like a deer prancing into a trap where an arrow would pierce its heart. He was like a bird going into a net. He did not know that his life was in danger. Now then sons, listen to me. Pay attention to what I say. Do not let such a woman win your heart. Don’t go wandering after her. She has been the ruin of many men and caused the death of too many to count. If you go to her house, you are on the way to the world of the dead. It is a shortcut to death.

Steve Webb 2:53
I like what Solomon said in verse two of chapter seven. He said, be as careful to follow my teaching as you are to protect your eyes. I had a really scary experience with my eyesight a few years ago, a lovely lady Liana and I had a rare day off and I decided to take her on a drive down the coast. Well as you know, I live here in Southern California and Pacific Coast Highway is only about an hour’s drive from our house. She loves the beach and we like to get out of town whenever possible and have lunch or dinner by the water and listen to the seagulls and watch the waves. Well, on this particular day, we were taking a nice leisurely stroll on the pier and ocean side enjoying the warmth of the sun with a gentle breeze on our faces. Watching the pelicans dive for fish, when all of a sudden my vision was filled with what seemed like a million tiny little red dots in my left eye. They seem to sort of cascade down from the top of my field of vision and then just sort of drift around in my eye. Man, I gotta tell you, it scared me to death. I didn’t know if I was going blind having a stroke or what was happening? Well, I won’t go into all the details. But as soon as I was able and went to the urgent care where as soon as the doctor on call heard my symptoms, he sent me directly to an ophthalmologist who told me that part of my retina had become detached. And so he decided that the best thing to do would be to do laser surgery right away to sort of spot weld the retina to keep further damage from happening. I’m so thankful that I went in when I did and he saw what was going on and did something about it. Today I’m left with no vision at all in about 40% of the bottom part of the left eye. I still have all my central vision and I’m thankful for that. But the bottom part of my peripheral vision is absolutely just gone. So you’d better believe that I do all that I can to protect my eyes now. So when I read these words from Solomon, it really hit home with me. I read this verse many times before but after this experience with my vision, it really hit close to home. The He is careful to follow the teaching found in God’s Word as you are to protect your eyes. You have a comment or a question, let me know call the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1-951-732-8511 Or comment via boostagram or email me at st@****ia.com. Tomorrow will be prophecy Friday. Our reading will be Ezekiel 13 through 18.

Announcer 5:29
New Mail notification

Steve Webb 5:31
I got this comment in from Brother John of Canada. He said I love the reading from Psalms today. Well okay today for me is March 1, since I’m way behind, but at least I’m in the same month as you for a few days. Yes, we all have a habit of giving things to God and then taking them back and worrying about them. I know I do. Yeah, me too, John. It’s hard to give worries away and rest in his piece. John continues, and he said I loved the Maranatha song. In this episode. There are many songs of theirs that I know and love from church and camp. In the first Peter verse about giving our worries to God because He cares for us made me cheer. Yes, I think of that one often. I’ve started listening to a Christian app called one minute pause by John Eldridge. And he refers to that verse often. It’s really neat app I find when I’m stressed out, I often find peace in Christian music, particularly hymns. And by listening to you read the Bible and using the pause app to take a few minutes to pray and point myself back to God. Thanks again and blessings. Well, brother, John, thank you for that note, and it’s time pretty well, it goes with today’s message. That’s one of the ways we can protect our relationship with God. And yes, it is sometimes hard to find peace in the midst of the busyness of life, being deliberate about it is sometimes the best thing to do. Studies show that stress itself can be harmful to us in so many ways in making time to be with God is not only good for our spiritual health, but also our physical health. I hadn’t heard of the One Minute pause app. So Thanks for that recommendation to John. I checked it out and it does look like a good resource. God bless you, Brother John. Thank you.

Steve Webb 7:21
Thanks to Sister Denise and Michael Haner and Scott Snider and Jason Paschall, today’s artists and SR Brittaney And Thanks to you, beloved, thank you for inviting me to be a part of your day. Until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb line

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

The post S2E180-Proverbs 7: Protect Your Eyes first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Transcript

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-5 HCSB

New Lifespring! Family BereansBrother Howie and Sister Ann

Podcast IntroductionIt’s Prophecy Friday, and we’ll read the book of Lamentations.. I’m calling this episode “Alas.”

Design: Scott Snider | Photo: Raychel Sanner on UnsplashComments on LamentationsIntroduction to LamentationsFirst, let’s talk about the name: Lamentations. In Jewish tradition, the first word of a biblical book is often the name that is used as its title. So the Hebrew title of Lamentations is eikhah, which means “Alas” or “O how.” The Septuagint and other Greek manuscripts refer to it as Thrēnoi, which means “Dirges,” or Thrēnoi Hieremion, which means “Dirges of Jeremiah.” The English translation of thrēnoi is Lamentations.

The book of Lamentations is traditionally held to have been written by the prophet Jeremiah as a sort of appendix to his book of prophetic writings. As David and others wrote many sacred songs of joy, these are sacred songs of lament, or sadness.

Jeremiah is expressing his sadness at seeing his prophecies fulfilled. Though he was ill-treated by his countrymen when he delivered God’s message to them, he is nonetheless heartbroken at the destruction that he sees come upon them.

He wrote these songs, or odes, when he saw the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldean army and the falling apart of the Jewish state…both the government and the body of Jewish believers. This might be referred to as a dirge for Jerusalem.

Thoughts on LamentationsYou may have noticed that this book ended on a down note:

19You, Lord, are enthroned forever;

Your throne endures from generation to generation.

20Why have You forgotten us forever,

abandoned us for our entire lives?

21Lord, restore us to Yourself, so we may return;

renew our days as in former times,

22unless You have completely rejected us

and are intensely angry with us.

Lamentations 5:19-22 HCSB

We’re more used to David in the Psalms. When he wrote of his times of trial, he usually said something like, “But you Lord, are my comfort and strength. I will praise you.” Or even the book of Job ended with God restoring him. Lamentations doesn’t give us the same comfort. Verse 21, the second to the last verse of chapter five says, “Lord, restore us to Yourself, so we may return; renew our days as in former times…” which does sound like something David would have written, but verse 22 says, “…unless You have completely rejected us and are intensely angry with us.” So the reader of Lamentations is left with the question, “Lord, what is your response?” Interestingly, in Jewish liturgical use, or in Temple or Synagogue, I’ve read that it was common practice, when reading Lamentations, they would end the reading with verse 21, instead of ending with the uncertainty and lack of comfort of verse 22.

Obviously, I do not have the mind of God. I don’t know why He inspired the writer of Lamentations to end like this. What I do know is that God made a way for us to know that we will not be completely rejected by God. We can know that we are forgiven for all of our sins when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We are not left wondering if we will be restored or rejected. Jesus said in Matthew 10:32, “…everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven.” So Jesus Himself will vouch for us to the Father. Beloved, we are not left wondering what our fate will be. We can have complete and total confidence that we are at peace with God. How wonderful is that?

TranscriptDownload .txt file.

Transcript not yet corrected.

Steve Webb 0:00
It is different, isn’t it?

Steve Webb 0:09
Hello, this is the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG Godcaster. Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. You’re looking good today. It’s prophecy Friday, and we’ll read the book of Lamentations and I’m calling the episode. Alas, I’m going to be doing something a little bit different today. Before reading, I’ll give you a short introduction to the book of Lamentations. And then as we begin reading the chapters, I’ll give you a brief introduction to each one as we go along. And then after reading all five chapters, I will have some thoughts for you. So let’s get started with prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we love you and we thank you for this time that you’ve given us to read through your work. I pray that as we read today, you would open our eyes and help us to understand this sometimes difficult book. Bless our time I pray in Jesus name, amen. Okay, let’s get started.

Steve Webb 1:12
First, beloved, let’s talk about the name lamentations. In Jewish tradition, the first word of a biblical Book is often the name that is used as its title. So the Hebrew title of Lamentations is eikhah, which means “Alas” or “Oh how,” and the Septuagint and other Greek manuscripts refer to it as Thrēnoi, which means “Dirges”, or Thrēnoi Hieremion, which means “The Dirges of Jeremiah.” The English translation of Thrēnoi is “Lamentations.” And if there are Hebrew or Greek scholars out there, you’ll have to forgive me if I mispronounced those names. I did not take a lot of time researching the pronunciation on those words. Anyway, the book of Lamentations is traditionally held to have been written by the prophet Jeremiah, as a sort of appendix to the book bearing his name Jeremiah, and as David and others wrote many sacred songs of joy. These are sacred songs of lament or sadness. Jeremiah is expressing his sadness and seeing his prophecies fulfilled. And even though he was ill treated by his countrymen when he delivered God’s message to them, he is nonetheless heartbroken at the destruction that he’s seen come upon them. He wrote these songs or odes when he saw the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by the Chaldean army and the falling apart of the Jewish state, both the government and the body of Jewish believers, this might be referred to as a dirge for Jerusalem. Now for chapter one. This first poem or song or ODE, is an expression of sadness for the misery and suffering of Jerusalem referred to as daughter Zion and its inhabitants.

Steve Webb 2:56
Lamentations chapter one. How she sits alone, the city once crowded with people. She who was great among the nations has become like a widow, the princess among the provinces has been put to forced labor. She weeps aloud during the night with tears on her cheeks, there is no one to offer her comfort, not one from all her lovers. All her friends have betrayed her, they have become her enemies. Judah has gone into exile following affliction in harsh slavery. She lives among the nations but finds no place to rest. All her pursuers have overtaken her in narrow places. The roads to Zion mourn, for no one comes to the appointed festivals. All her gates are deserted. Her priests grown her young women grieve and she herself is bitter. Her adversaries have become her masters, her enemies are at ease, for the Lord has made her suffer because of her many transgressions. Her children have gone away as captives before the adversary. All her splendor has vanished from daughter Zion. Her leaders are like stags that find no pasture, they walk away exhausted before the hunter. During the days of her affliction and homelessness, Jerusalem remembers all her precious belongings that were hers in days of old when her people fell into the adversaries hand, she had no one to help. The adversaries looked at her laughing over her downfall. Jerusalem has sinned grievously, therefore, she has become an object of scorn. All who honored her now despise her for they have seen her nakedness. She herself groans in turns away her uncleanness stains or skirts, she never considered her end. Her downfall was astonishing. There was no one to comfort her. Lord, look on my affliction for the enemy triumphs. The adversary has seized all her precious belongings. She has even seen the nation’s into her sanctuary, those you had forbidden to enter your assembly. All her people grown while they searched for bread, they have traded their precious belongings for food in order to stay alive. Lord, look and see how I have become despised. Is this nothing to you, all you who pass by look and see, is there any pain like mine which was dealt out to me which the Lord made me suffer on the Day of His burning anger. He sent fire from heaven into my bones. He made it descend, he spread a net for my feet and turned me back. He made me desolate, sick all day long. My transgressions have been formed into a yoke fastened together by his hand. They have been placed on my neck and the Lord is broken my strength. He has handed me over to those I cannot withstand. The Lord has rejected all the mighty men within me. He has summoned an army against me to crush my young warriors. The Lord is trampled virgin daughter Judah like grapes in a wine press. I weep because of these things. My eyes flow with tears, for there is no one nearby to comfort me, no one to keep me alive. My children are desolate because the enemy has prevailed. Zion stretches out her hands, there is no one to comfort her. The Lord has issued a decree against Jacob, that his neighbors should be his adversaries. Jerusalem has become something impure among them. The Lord is just for I have rebelled against his command. Listen, all you people look at my pain. My young men and women have gone into captivity. I called to my lovers, but they betrayed me. My priests and elders perished in the city while searching for food to keep themselves alive. Lord, see how I am in distress. I am churning within my heart is broken, for I have been very rebellious. Outside the sword takes the children inside, there is death. People have heard me groaning that there is no one to comfort me. All my enemies have heard of my misfortune. They’re glad that you have caused it. Bring on the day you have announced so that they may become like me. Let all their wickedness come before you and deal with them as you have dealt with me because of all my transgressions. For my groans are many and I am sick at heart.

Steve Webb 7:17
Here in chapter two, the cries are directed to God and recognizes him as the one who has brought about Jerusalem’s destruction as a punishment for the abandonment of his commands.

Steve Webb 7:30
Lamentations chapter two, how the Lord has overshadowed daughter Zion with his anger. He has thrown down Israel’s glory from heaven to earth. He has abandoned his footstool in the day of his anger. Without compassion, the Lord has swallowed up all the dwellings of Jacob. In his wrath, he has demolished the fortified cities of daughter Judah. He brought them to the ground and defiled the kingdom and its leaders. He has cut off every horn of Israel in His burning anger and withdrawn his right hand in the presence of the enemy. He has blazed against Jacob like a flaming fire that consumes everything. He has bent his bow like an enemy, his right hand is positioned like an adversary. He has killed everyone who was loved pouring out His wrath like fire on the tent of daughter Zion. The Lord is like an enemy. He has swallowed up Israel. He swallowed up all its palaces and destroyed its fortified cities. He has multiplied mourning and lamentation within daughter Judah. He has done violence to his temple as if it were a garden booth, destroying his place of meeting. The Lord has abolished appointed festivals and Sabbath’s in Zion. He is despised king and priest in his fierce anger. The Lord has rejected his altar, repudiated his sanctuary, he has handed the walls of her palaces over to the enemy. They have raised a shout in the house of the Lord as on the day of an appointed festival. The Lord determined to destroy the wall of daughter Zion. He stretched out a measuring line and did not restrain himself from destroying. He made the ramparts and walls grieve together, they waste away. Zions gates have fallen to the ground, he is destroyed and shattered the bars on her gates. Her King and her leaders live among the nation’s instruction is no more and even her prophets received no vision from the Lord. The elders of daughters Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth, the Young Women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground. My eyes are worn out from weeping I am churning within. My heart is poured out in grief because of the destruction of my dear people, because children in infants faint in the streets of the city. They cry out to their mothers, where is the grain and wine as they fade like the wounded in the streets of the city as their lives fade away in the arms of their mothers? What can I say on your behalf? What can I compare you to daughter Jerusalem? What can I like in you too so that I may console you virgin daughter Zion, for your ruin is as vast as the sea who can heal you? Your profits saw visions for you that were empty and deceptive. They did not reveal your guilt in Seoul restore your fortunes. They saw Oracle’s for you that were empty and misleading. All who passed by scornfully clap their hands at you. They mock and shake their heads that daughter Jerusalem. Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth. All your enemies open their mouths against you. They hiss and gnash their teeth saying we have swallowed her up. This is the day we’ve waited for. We have lived to see it. The Lord has done what he planned. He has accomplished his decree which he ordained in days of old, he has demolished without compassion. Letting the enemy gloat over you and exalting the horn of your adversaries. The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord wall of daughters Zion. Let your tears run down like a river day and night. Give yourself no relief and your eyes no rest. Arise. Cry out in the night from the first watch of the night. Pour out your heart like water before the Lord’s presence. Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children who are fainting from hunger on the corner of every street. Lord, look and consider who you have done this to. Should women eat their own children the infant’s they have nurtured should priests and prophets be killed in the Lord sanctuary. both young and old are lying on the ground in the streets. My young men and women have fallen by the sword. You have killed him in the day of your anger slaughtering without compassion. You summoned my attackers on every side as if for an appointed festival day. On the day of the Lord’s anger, no one escaped or survived. My enemy has destroyed those I nurtured and reared.

Steve Webb 12:10
Lamentations chapter three. I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of God’s wrath. He has driven me away and forced me to walk in darkness instead of light. Yes, he repeatedly turns his hand against me all day long. He has worn away my flesh and skin. He has shattered my bones. He has laid siege against me, encircling me with bitterness and hardship. He has made me dwell in darkness like those who have been dead for ages. He has walled me in so I cannot escape. He has weighed me down with chains. Even when I cry out in plead for help. He rejects my prayer. He has walled in my ways with cut stones. He has made my pads crooked. He is a bear waiting in ambush a lion in hiding. He forced me off my way and tore me to pieces. He left me desolate. He strung his bow and set me as the target for his arrow. He pierced my kidneys with his arrows. I am a laughingstock to all my people mocked by their songs all day long. He filled me with bitterness satiated me with warm wood. He grounded my teeth on gravel and made me cower in the dust. My soul has been deprived of peace. I have forgotten what happiness is. Then I thought, my future is lost as well as my hope from the Lord. Remember my affliction and my homelessness, the Wormwood in the poison, I continually remember them and have become depressed. Yet I call this to mind and therefore I have hope. Because of the Lord’s faithful love, we do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. I say the Lord is my portion. Therefore I will put my hope in Him. The Lord is good to those who wait for him to the person who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for deliverance from the Lord. It is good for a man to bear the yoke while he is still young. Let him sit alone and be silent for God is disciplined him. Let him put his mouth in the dust perhaps there is still hope. Let him offer his cheek to the one who would strike him. Let him be filled with shame. For the Lord will not reject us forever. Even if he causes suffering, he will show compassion according to his abundant faithful love, for he does not enjoy bringing affliction or suffering on mankind, crushing all the prisoners of the land beneath one’s feet, denying justice to a man in the presence of the Most High or suppressing a person’s lawsuit. The Lord does not approve of these things. Who is there who speaks and it happens unless the Lord has ordained it. Do not both adversity and good come from the mouth of the Most High. Why should any living person complain any man because of the punishment for his sins. Let us search out and examine our ways and turn back to the Lord. Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God and heaven. We have sinned and rebelled, you have not forgiven. You have covered yourself and anger and pursued us. You have killed without compassion. You have covered yourself with a cloud so that no prayer can pass through. You have made us disgusting filth among the peoples. All our enemies open their mouths against us. We have experienced panic and pitfall devastation and destruction. My eyes flow with streams of tears because of the destruction of my dear people. My eyes overflow unceasingly without end until the Lord looks down from heaven and sees my eyes bring me grief because of the fate of all the women in my city. For no apparent reason. My enemies hunted me like a bird. They dropped me alive into a pit and threw stones at me. water flooded over my head and I thought, I’m going to die. I called on your name, your way from the depths of the pit. You heard my plea, do not ignore my cry for relief. You come near when I call on you, you say, Do not be afraid. You defend my cause, Lord, you redeem my life. Lord, you see the wrong done to me judge my case, you see all their malice, all their plots against me. Lord, you hear their insults all their plots against me. The slander and murmuring of my opponents attacked me all day long. When they sit and when they arise, look, I am mocked by their songs. You will pay them back what they deserve Lord according to the work of their hands, you will give them a heart filled with anguish. May your curse beyond them, you will pursue them and anger and destroy them unto your heavens.

Steve Webb 16:54
In the fourth chapter, the writer speaks of the effects of Babylons invasion and again acknowledges that God was right in his actions. But instead of laying the blame on all of Jerusalem’s inhabitants, he places it on quote, the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, unquote.

Steve Webb 17:14
Lamentations chapter four, how the gold has become tarnished the fine gold become dull. The stones of the temple lie scattered at the corner of every st Zions precious people once worth their weight in gold, how they are regarded as clay jars, the work of a potter’s hands. Even jackals offer their breasts to nurse their young. But my dear people have become cruel like ostriches in the wilderness. The nursing infants tongue clings to the roof of his mouth from thirst. Little children beg for brat but no one gives the many. Those who use the delicacies are destitute in the streets. Those who were reared in purple garments huddle in garbage heaps. The punishment of my dear people is greater than that of Saddam, which was overthrown in an instant without a hand laid on it. Her dignitaries were brighter than snow whiter than milk. Their bodies were more ready than coral, their appearance like Sapphire. Now they appear darker than sit. They are not recognized in the streets, their skin has shriveled on their bones, it has become dry like wood. Those slain by the sword are better off than those slain by hunger, who waste away pierced with pain because the fields lack produce. The hands of compassionate women have cooked their own children. They became their food during the destruction of my dear people. The Lord has exhausted his wrath poured out His burning anger. He has ignited a fire in Zion, and it has consumed her foundations. The kings of the earth and all the world’s inhabitants did not believe that an enemy or adversary could enter Jerusalem’s gates. Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the guilt of her priests who shed the blood of the righteous within her blind they stumbled in the streets defiled by this blood so that no one dared to touch their garments. Stay away unclean, people shouted at them away, away, don’t touch us. So they wandered aimlessly. It was said among the nations they can stay here no longer. The Lord Himself has scattered them. He regards them no more. The priests are not respected. The elders find no favor. All the while our eyes were failing as we looked in vain for assistance. We watched from our towers for a nation that refused to help. Our steps were closely followed so that we would not walk in our streets. Our end drew near our time ran out. Our end had come. Those who chased us were swifter than eagles in the sky. They relentlessly pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness. The Lord’s anointed the breath of our life was captured in their traps. We had said about him, we will live under his protection among the nations. So rejoice and be glad daughter, Edom, you resident of the land of us. Yet the cup will pass to you as well. You will get drunk and expose yourself, daughter Zion, your punishment is complete, he will not lengthen your exile, but he will punish your iniquity daughter Edom, and will expose your sins.

Steve Webb 22:26
Beloved, you may have noticed that this book ended on a down note. Listen to verses 19 through 22. Again, you Lord are in throne forever Your throne endures from generation to generation. Why have you forgotten us forever abandoned us for our entire lives. Lord, restore us to yourself. So we may return, Renew our days as in former times, unless you have completely rejected us and are intensely angry with us. Well, that is different, isn’t it? We’re more used to David in the Psalms. When he wrote of his times in trials he usually said something like, but you Lord, our my comfort and my strength, I will praise you. Or even the book of Job ended with God restoring him. Lamentations doesn’t give us the same comfort. Verse 21, the second to the last verse of chapter five says, Lord restore us to yourself. So we may return Renew our days as in former times, which does sound like something David would have written but verse 22 says, Unless you’ve completely rejected us and are intensely angry with us, that’s how it ends. So the reader of Lamentations is left with a question, Lord, what’s your response? Interestingly, in Jewish liturgical use, or in temple or synagogue, I’ve read that it was common practice when reading lemon tations that they would end the reading with verse 21, instead of ending with the uncertainty and lack of comfort of verse 22. So what’s my answer? Well, obviously, I don’t have the mind of God. I don’t know why he inspired the writer of lamentation stand like this. But what I do know is that God made a way for us to know that we will not be completely rejected by God, we can know that we are forgiven for all of our sins when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. We are not left wondering if we will be restored or rejected. Jesus says in Matthew 1032, everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. So Jesus Himself will vouch for us to the Father, Beloved, we are not left wondering what our fate will be. We can have complete and total confidence that we are at peace with God and he at peace with us. And how wonderful is that? What do you think Beloved? Have thoughts? You have comments? You have questions? Let me know. Call the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1-951-732-8511 or send to boostagram with your comment or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com. Tomorrow we’ll be gospels Saturday and we’re going to read the book of Luke chapters nine and 10.

Steve Webb 25:22
I get to announce a new Lifespring Family Berean today. And better than that I get to announce two Lifespring Family Bereans. What is a Berean? Well, we read of the Bereans in Acts 17:10 through 15. And the key verse For our purposes here is verse 11b, which says, “…the Bereans were eager to hear what Paul and Silas said, and studied the scriptures every day to find out if these things were true.” So in my mind, as a person who loves the scriptures, and as the host of the Lifespring! One Year Bible, to be considered a Berean is something very special. And I wanted a way to recognize those who donate more than $1,000 to support the show. So that’s where the idea of the Lifespring family Berean comes from. And now I’m Happy to announce that our newest Lifespring family Bereans are Ann and Howie, who have together donated more than $1,000. In Genesis 2:24 says, “a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, so they shall become one flesh.” So since Howie and Ann are one in God’s eyes, I look at their separate donations the same as being from one person. So from this point on, I will refer to them as Brother Howie, and Sister Ann. I first learned of them in season 12, when brother Sean of San Pedro, who used to do the chapters and even wrote a web app to create the file for the chapters. He asked us to pray for Howie who was his father in law, Brittany’s dad, the one who does the newsletter. And I just realized that according to what I just said about married couples, I should be referring to Brittaney as Sister Brittaney. And so shall it be spoken. So shall it be. Anyway, Howiee was in the hospital on a ventilator with COVID. And thankfully, praise the Lord how he made it off the ventilator after quite some time, unlike so many others. But he was in the hospital for a very long time. Even after getting off a ventilator. And we continued to lift him up in prayer over the months and when he was released from the hospital, he had to undergo a long period of rehab. But today he’s doing very well. And He’s even been able to meet Sean and Brittaney his first child who bears his name, little Howie, how cool is that? Brother, Hallie and sister and have been a great encouragement to me with several very kind emails, and of course, their donations. So again, I am very Happy to welcome them into the ranks of Lifespring family Bereans God bless you two.

Steve Webb 28:23
lifespringmedia.com/support

Steve Webb 28:27
Please remember that our next time a prayer together here on the show will be Sunday. If you’ve got a praise that would encourage the family or if there’s something you’d like us to pray with you about, tell me about it on the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1951732 at 511 or go to prayer dot Lifespringmedia.com. I’ll pray for you in my quiet time and we’ll pray together here on the show.

Steve Webb 28:59
Thanks to Sister Denise Michael Haner Scott Snider, who did today’s show art, Jason Paschall and sister Brittaney The team. God bless you guys. And now until tomorrow thank you for inviting me into your day. May God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb, bye.

Announcer 29:20
Boost

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

The post S2E160-Lamentations 1-5: Alas first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Transcript

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 20-22 CEV, Ch. 23-24 NCV

Associate ProducerChris Hamilton, Timothy LaFontaine

Podcast IntroductionIt’s History Tuesday, and we’ll complete the book of 2 Samuel with the reading of chapters 20-24. I’m calling this episode “A Clean Slate”

I’m also going to talk a little about what’s been going on at Asbury University and God’s perfect timing.

Design: Scott Snider | Photo: Johannes Plenio on UnsplashComments on 2 Samuel 22Chapter 22 is David’s wonderful song of praise to God, whom he had served his entire life.

As David wrote this, he included the highs and the lows from his life. How God had delivered him from his enemies, and how he was blessed. He gave praise for who God is and how incomparable He is. He acknowledged that God was his source of…everything.

Did any particular part stand out to you? The section from verses 21 to 25 certainly did to me. Let me read it again: 21You are good to me, Lord, because I do right, and you reward me because I am innocent. 22I do what you want and never turn to do evil. 23I keep your laws in mind and never turn away from your teachings. 24I obey you completely and guard against sin. 25You have been good to me because I do right; you have rewarded me for being innocent by your standards.

Wait, what? David was not blameless, was he? He was an adulterer, a schemer, a murderer. How could he say he was innocent?

Because God had forgiven him. In 2 Samuel 12:13, Nathan the prophet told David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” Beloved, When God forgives, He forgets. He no longer holds it against you. It is as if it never happened. David wrote in Psalm 103:12, “12As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

Beloved, David put his faith in God, and he trusted God’s mercy, and he was called the friend of God.

So what does that mean for us? It means that when we remember our sins, it is only in our memory, not God’s, if we are in Christ. If you have confessed your sins to God and if you have trusted Jesus as your savior, you can join David in this song and say, “You reward me because I am innocent.”

This is literally the definition of a clean slate, isn’t it? That’s the best news you will hear all day!

TranscriptDownload .txt file.

Steve Webb 0:00
Wait a minute What?

Steve Webb 0:09
What he has, this is the Lifespring one year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 2004. I’m your og Godcaster. Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Go figure. Hope you’re doing well today. It’s history Tuesday. And we’ll complete the book of Second Samuel with a reading of chapters 20 through 24. I’m calling this episode a clean slate. I’m also going to talk on the show a little bit about what’s been going on at Asbury University and God’s perfect timing. But before we get started, let’s pray. Our gracious heavenly father how we love you and are just so thrilled to know that we are yours. Thank you for your word. And I asked that as we read today, you would bless our time together. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Okay, are you ready? Let’s begin.

Steve Webb 1:06
Second Samuel chapter 20. A troublemaker from the tribe of Benjamin was there. His name was Sheba the son of big cry, and he blew a trumpet to get everyone’s attention. Then he said, People of Israel, David, the son of Jesse doesn’t belong to us. Let’s go home. So they stopped following David and went off with Shiva. But the people of Judah stayed close to David all the way from the Jordan to Jerusalem. David had left 10 of his wives in Jerusalem to take care of his palace. But when he came back, he had them taken to another house, and he placed soldiers there to guard them. He gave them whatever they needed, but he never slept with any of them again. They had to live there for the rest of their lives as if they were widows. David said to a mesa three days from now, I want you and all of Judas army to be here. A Mesa started bringing the army together, but it was taking him more than three days. So David said to a by Shai Shibo, will hurt us more than Absalom ever did. Take my best soldiers and go after him. We don’t want him to take over any walled cities and get away from us by Shai left Jerusalem to try and capture Sheba. He took along Joab and his soldiers as well as David’s bodyguard in best troops. They had gone as far as the big rock at Debian when a mesa caught up with him. Joab had a dagger strapped around his waist over his military uniform, but it fell out as he started toward a mesa Joab said a mesa my cousin, how are you? Then Joab took hold of a mesas beard with his right hand so that he could greet Him with a kiss. A Mesa did not see the dagger in Joe ABS other hand Joab stuck it in a mesa stomach, and his insides spilled out on the ground. Joab only struck him once but a mesa was dying. Joab and his brother Obi Shai went off to chase Shiva, one of Joab soldiers stood by a mace and shouted, if any of you are for Joab and David then follow Joab. Amasa was still rolling in his own blood in the middle of the road. The soldier who had shouted notice that everyone who passed by would stop, so he dragged a mace off the road and covered him with a blanket. After this, no one else stopped. They all walked straight past him on their way to help Joab capture Shiva. Shiva had gone through all of the tribes of Israel when he came to the town of Abel, Beth maca. All of his best soldiers met him there and followed him into the town. Joab and his troops came in surrounded able so that no one could go in or come out. They made a dirt ramp up to the town wall and then started to use a battering ram to knock the wall down. A wise woman shouted from the top of the wall. Listen to me, listen to me. I have to talk to Joab tell him to come here. When he came, the woman said, Are you Joab? Yes, I am. He answered. She said, please listen to what I have to say. All right, he said, I’ll listen. She said, long ago, people used to say, if you want good advice, go to the town of able to get it. The answers they got here were all that was needed to settle any problem. We are Israelites and we want peace. You can trust us. Why are you trying to destroy a town that’s like a mother in Israel? Why do you want to wipe out the Lord’s people? Joab answered, No, no, I’m not trying to wipe you out or destroy your town. That’s not it at all. There’s a man in your town from the hill country of Ephrem His name is Sheba and he is the leader of a rebellion against King David. Turn them over to me and we will leave your town alone. The woman told Joab we will throw his head over the wall. She went to the people of the town and talk them into doing it. They cut off sheep his head and threw it to Joab Joab blew a signal. Elon, his trumpet and the soldiers returned to their homes. Joab went back to David in Jerusalem. Joab was the commander of Israel’s entire army Bonanza, the son of Jehoiada was in command of David’s body guard. A dorm was in charge of the slave labor force. Jehoshaphat, the son of a pilot kept government records. Shiva was the secretary, ze doc and Abiathar with the priests, Ira from Jr. was David’s priest.

Steve Webb 5:29
Second Samuel chapter 21. While David was King, there were three years in a row when the nation of Israel could not grow enough food. So David asked the Lord for help. And the Lord answered, Saul and his family are guilty of murder because he had the Gibby knights killed. The Gibby. And knights were not Israelites, they were descendants of the Amorites. The people of Israel had promised not to kill them. But Saul had tried to kill them because he wanted Israel and Judah to control all the land. David had to give the Knights come and he talked with him. He said, What can I do to make up for what Saul did so that you’ll ask the Lord to be kind to his people again, they give you an idea answered. Silver and gold from Saul and his family are not enough. On the other hand, we don’t have the right to put any Israelite to death. David said, I’ll do whatever you ask. They replied. Saul tried to kill all our people so that none of us would be left in the land of Israel. Give us seven of his descendants. We will hang these men near the place where the Lord is worshipped in Libya, the hometown of Saul, the Lord’s chosen King. I’ll give them to you. David said, David had made a promise to Jonathan with the Lord as his witness, so he spare Jonathan son Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul, but Saul and Rispa, the daughter of Ava had two sons named are Monet and Mephibosheth Saul’s daughter mihrab had five sons whose father was Adrian, the son of Barzilay. From a Hola. David took risk his two sons and me RABs five sons and turned them over to the Gibby knights who hanged all seven of them on the mountain near the place where the Lord was worshipped. This happened right at the beginning of the barley harvest Rizz pa spread out some sackcloth on a nearby rock. She wouldn’t let the birds land on the bodies during the day, and she kept the wild animals away at night. She stayed there from the beginning of the harvest until it started to rain. Earlier the Philistines had killed Saul and Jonathan on Mount Gilboa, and it hung their bodies in the town square at Beth Shan. The people of Jay bash and Gilead had secretly taken the bodies away. But David found out what Saul’s wife Rispa had done, and he went to the leaders of Jay bash to get the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan. David had their bones taken to the land of Benjamin and buried in a side room in Saul’s family burial place. Then he gave orders for the bones of the men who had been hanged to be buried there. It was done, and God answered prayers to bless the land. One time David got very tired when he and his soldiers were fighting the Philistines. One of the Philistine warriors was this by phenom who was a descendant of the Rephaim and he tried to kill David ish by Bina was armed with a new sword and his bronze spear head alone weighed about three and a half kilograms, but a by Shai came to the rescue and kill the Philistine. David’s soldiers told him, We can’t let you risk your life in battle anymore. You give light to our nation, and we want that flame to keep burning. There was another battle with the Philistines at Gob, where syba Chi from Hugo killed a descendant of the Rephaim named SAF. There was still another battle with the Philistines at God. A soldier named El Hainan killed Goliath from GAF, whose spear shaft was like a weaver’s beam. Albanians father was jer from Bethlehem. There was another war this time in gaff, one of the enemy soldiers was a descendant of the Rephaim. He was as big as a giant and had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. But when he made fun of Israel, David’s nephew Jonathan killed him. Jonathan was the son of David’s brother shimmy AI. David and his soldiers killed these four men who were descendants of their fam from GAF.

Steve Webb 9:13
Second Samuel chapter 22. David sang a song to the Lord after the Lord had rescued him from his enemies especially Saul. These are the words to David song, our Lord and our God, you are my mighty rock, my fortress, my protector. You are the rock where I am safe. You are my shield, my powerful weapon in my place of shelter. You rescue me and keep me safe from violence. I praise You our Lord. I prayed to you and you rescued me from my enemies. Death like ocean waves surrounded me and I was almost swallowed by it’s flooding waters. ropes from the world of the dead had coiled around me and death had set a trap in my path. I was in terrible trap But when I called out to you, but from your temple you heard me and answered my prayer. earth shook and shivered. The column supporting the sky rocked back and forth. You were angry and breathed out smoke, scorching heat and fiery flames spewed from your mouth. You opened the heavens, light curtains and you came down with storm clouds under your feet. You wrote on the backs of flying creatures. You appeared with the wind his wings. Darkness was your tent, thunder clouds filled the sky, hiding you from sight, fiery coals lit up the sky in front of you, Lord Most High, your voice thundered from the heavens, you scattered your enemies with arrows of lightning. You roared at the sea and its deepest channels could be seen. You snorted and the earth shook to its foundations. You reach down from heaven and you lifted me from deep in the ocean. You rescued me from enemies who were hateful and too powerful for me. On the day disaster struck, they came and attacked me. But you defended me. When I was fenced in, you freed me and rescued me because you love me. You are good to me, Lord, because I do right. And you reward me because I am innocent. I do what you want and never return to do evil. I keep your laws in mind and never turn away from your teachings. I obey you completely and guard against sin. You have been good to me because I do right. You have rewarded me for being innocent by your standards. You are always loyal to your loyal people. And you are faithful to the faithful with all who are sincere, you are sincere, but you treat the unfaithful as their deeds deserve. You rescue the humble, but you look for ways to put down the proud. Our Lord in God, you are my lamp. You turned darkness to light. You help me defeat armies and capture cities. Your way is perfect Lord, and your word is correct. You are a shield for those who run to you for help. You alone are God. Only you are a mighty rock. You are my strong fortress, and you set me free. You make my feet run as fast as those of a deer and you help me stand on the mountains. You teach my hands to fight in my arms to use a bowl of bronze. You alone are my shield. And by coming to help me You have made me famous. You clear the way for me. And now I won’t stumble. I kept chasing my enemies until I caught them and destroyed them. I destroyed them. I stuck my sword through my enemies and they were crushed under my feet. You helped me win victories and forced my attackers to fall victim to me. You made my enemies run and I killed them. They cried out for help. But no one saved them. They called out to you but there was no answer. I ground them to dust and I squashed them like mud in the streets. You rescued me from my stubborn people and made me the leader of foreign nations who are now my slaves. They obey and come crawling. They have lost all courage and from their fortresses they come trembling. You are the living Lord, I will praise you. You are a mighty rock. I will honor you for keeping me safe. You took revenge for me and you put nations in my power. You protected me from violent enemies, and you made me much greater than all of them. I will praise you Lord, and I will honor you among the nation’s you give glorious victories to your chosen King. Your faithful love for David and for his descendants will never end.

Steve Webb 13:36
Second Samuel chapter 23. These are the last words of David. This is the message of David son of Jesse. The man made great by the Most High God speaks. He is the appointed king of the God of Jacob. He is the sweet singer of Israel. The Lord’s Spirit spoke through me and His word was on my tongue. The God of Israel spoke the rock of Israel said to me, whoever rules fairly over people who rules with respect for God is like the morning light at dawn like a morning without clouds. He is like sunshine after a rain that makes the grass sprout from the ground. This is how God has cared for my family. God made a lasting agreement with me right ensure in every way he will accomplish my salvation and satisfy all my desires. But all evil people will be thrown away like thorns that cannot be held in a hand. No one can touch them except with a tool of iron or wood. They will be thrown in the fire and burned where they lie. These are the names of David’s warriors. Josha Bathsheba, the tequila Knight was head of the three he killed 800 men at one time. Next was Lea aser son of dough die the OHo height Eliezer was one of the three soldiers who were with David when they challenge The Philistines, the Philistines were gathered for battle and the Israelites drew back. But Eliezer stayed where he was and fought the Philistines until he was so tired, his hand stuck to his sword. The Lord gave a great victory for the Israelites that day. The troops came back after Eliezer won the battle, but only to take weapons and armor from the enemy. Next there was Shama son of Ag, the HERA height, the Philistines came together to fight in a vegetable field. Israel’s troops ran away from the Philistines, but Shama stood in the middle of the field and fought for it and killed the Philistines, and the Lord gave a great victory. Once three of the 30 David’s chief soldiers came down to him at the cave of Adullam. During harvest, the Philistine army had camped in the valley of her fam. At that time, David was in the stronghold. And some of the Philistines were in Bethlehem. David had a strong desire for some water. He said, Oh, I wish someone would get me water from the well near the city gate of Bethlehem. So the three warriors broke through the Philistine army and took water from the well near the city gate of Bethlehem. Then they brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out before the Lord saying, May the Lord keep me from drinking this water. It would be like drinking the blood of the men who risked their lives. So David refused to drink it. These were the brave things that the three warriors did. Abishai, brother of Joab, son of Zeruiah was captain of the three, a by Shai fought 300 soldiers with his spear and killed them. He became as famous as the three and was more honored than the three. He became their commander, even though he was not one of them. Binya son of Jehoiada was a brave fighter from capsule who did mighty things, he killed two of the best warriors from Moab. He also went down into a pit and killed a lion on a snowy day, B’nai a killed a large Egyptian who had a spear in his hand, but Neha had a club, but he grabbed the spear from the Egyptians hand and killed him with his own spear. These were the things Binya son of Jehoiada did. He was as famous as the three. He received more honor than the 30 but he did not become a member of the three. David made him leader of his bodyguards. The following men were among the 30 Assa held brother of Joab l Hainan, son of dodo from Bethlehem, Shama the erudite, the Leica, the erudite, he loves the Powell tight, Ira son of a cash from Tekoa a by easer, the nfo thight. My Banai that you should fight, Zalman the whole height, may arrive in a tougher fight, he led son of BANA than a tough night, if thy son of Rabbi from Libya and Benjamin B’nai of appeareth tonight, hid it from the ravines of gash a by Albin the arbor thight, Asma VEF of a bar who might the liable the CHE Alba night, the sons of Jason Jonathan son of Shama, the hero right, a Hiam son of sharer the hero, right Eliphalet that son of a has by the macrophyte Eliam son of a HIPAA fell the gala night has row the Carmelite Payra the Arbeit I gal son of Nathan from zuba, the son of hair gray Zelich, the Ammonite Neha Rai the beer thight, who carried the armor of Joab, son of Zeruiah, Ira, the birthright Ghareeb, the birthright and Uriah the Hittite. There were 37 in all,

Steve Webb 18:36
Second Samuel chapter 24. The Lord was angry with Israel again, and he caused David to turn against the Israelites. He said, Go count the people of Israel and Judah. So King David said to Joab, the commander of the army, go through all the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba, and count the people, then I will know how many there are. But Joab said to the king, may the Lord your God give you 100 times more people, and may my master the king live to see this happen? Why do you want to do this, but the king commanded Joab and the commanders of the Army, so they left the king to count the Israelites. After crossing the Jordan River, they kept near Aroer on the south side of the city in the ravine, they went through gat and onto Jazer. Then they went to Gilead and the land of taught him Huchuy and to Dan Jn and around to Sidon. They went to the strong walled city of Tyre into all the cities of the Hivites and the Canaanites. Finally, they went to Southern Judah to Beersheba. After nine months and 20 days, they had gone through all the land. Then they came back to Jerusalem. Joab gave the list of the people to the king. There are 800,000 men in Israel who could use the sword and 500,000 men in Judah. David felt ashamed after he had counted the people. He said to the Lord, I have sinned greatly by What I have done, Lord, I beg you to forgive me your servant, because I have been very foolish. When David got up in the morning, the Lord spoke his word to Gad, who was a prophet and David seer. The Lord told Gad, go and tell David, this is what the Lord says, I offer you three choices, choose one of them, and I will do it to you. So get went to David and said to him, should three years of hunger come to you and your land? Or showed your enemies chase you for three months? or should there be three days of disease in your land? Think about it, then decide which of these things I should tell the Lord who sent me. David said to get, I’m in great trouble. Let the Lord punish us because the Lord is very merciful. Don’t let my punishment come from human beings. So the Lord said a terrible disease on Israel. It began in the morning and continued until the chosen time to stop from Dan to Beersheba. 70,000 people died. When the angel raised his arm toward Jerusalem to destroy it. The Lord felt very sorry about the terrible things that had happened. He said to the angel who was destroying the people, that is enough, put down your arm, the angel of the Lord was then by the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite when David saw the angel that killed the people, he said to the Lord, I am the one who sinned and did wrong. These people only followed me like sheep, they did nothing wrong. Please punish me and my family. That day, God came to David and said, Go and build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of a run of the Jebusite. So David did what God told him to do just as the Lord commanded. A Rana looked and saw the king and his servants coming to him. So he went out and bowed facedown on the ground before the king. He said, Why is my master Thy kingdom come to me? David answered, to buy the threshing floor from you, so I can build an altar to the Lord, then the terrible disease will stop. Iran has said to David, my master and King, you may take anything you want for a sacrifice. Here are some oxygen for the whole burnt offering, and the threshing boards and the yolks for the wood, my King, I give everything to you. Ron also said to the king, may the Lord your God, be pleased with you. But the king answered a Rana No, I will pay you for the land. I won’t offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing. So David bought the threshing floor in the oxen for one and 1/4 Pounds of silver. He built an altar to the Lord there and offered whole burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. Then the Lord answered his prayer for the country, and the disease in Israel stopped.

Steve Webb 22:45
Well, beloved, let’s talk a little bit about chapter 22. This is David’s wonderful song of praise to God who of course, he served his entire life. As David wrote this, he included the highs and the lows from his life, how God had delivered him from his enemies and how he was blessed. He gave praise for who God is and how incomparable he is. He acknowledged that God was his source of wealth, everything. As I was reading this chapter, did any particular part stand out to you? What stood out for me was verses 21 through 25. Let me read that to you again. David said, you are good to me, Lord, because I do right and you reward me because I am innocent. I do what you want and never turn to do evil. I keep your laws in mind and never turn away from your teachings. I obey you completely and guard against sin. You’ve been good to me because I do right. You’ve rewarded me for being innocent by your standards. Wait a minute, what? My guess is that part grabbed you as well? Because we know that David was not blameless was he? He was an adulterer, a schemer a murderer. How could he say he was innocent? Here’s how, because God had forgiven him. In Second Samuel 1213. Nathan the prophet told David, The Lord also has put away your sin, you shall not die. Listen, beloved, when God forgives, He forgets. He no longer holds it against you. It’s as if it never happened. David wrote in Psalm 103 12, as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us, beloved, David put his faith in God and he trusted God’s mercy. And he was called the friend of God. So what does that mean for you and me? It means that when we remember our sins, it’s only in our own memory. It’s not coming from God if we’re in Christ, if you’ve confessed your sins to Him, and you have trusted Jesus as your savior, you can join David in this song and say, you reward me because I am innocent. Oh, wow, this is literally the definition of a clean slate, isn’t it? That’s the best news you’ll hear all day. What do you think? Call the Lifespring family hotline and let me know at plus 1-951-732-8511. Comment via boostagram or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com where you’ll find a little box, you can type stuff into do that. I’d like to hear from you. Tomorrow, we’ll be Psalms Wednesday, and our reading will be chapters 60 through 62. We’ll also have a time of praise and prayer requests because it’s Wednesday, Wednesdays and Sundays, as you know, if you’ve got a prayer request or a praise that you’d like to share with the Lifespring family, let me know at prayer.lifespringmedia.com or call that Lifespring family hotline that I just gave you to a couple of seconds ago. Do it now while you’re thinking about it.

Steve Webb 25:57
I’m thankful that I’ve got a couple of people to thank today we have a couple of associate producers, Chris Hamilton came in with a $100 donation. Thank you very much, Chris. God bless you. And Timothy LaFontaine came in with his monthly $20 donation. Thank you, Tim, for your longtime support. You’ve been around for a long time, brother, and I appreciate you God bless you. And yes, I got a boostagram. And this one comes from Denise who does our transcripts. And she was using the fountain app. She said 400 SATs and she said Keep up the great work, Steve. Well, thank you, Denise you to God bless you. Beloved, does the Lifespring one year Bible bring something good to your life? If it stopped showing up in your podcast app? Would you miss it? You probably noticed by now that there are no commercials on the show. So to keep it coming, I do need your support with time, talent or treasure. That’s how you can keep the Show coming to you. Beloved, you see there are very real expenses to bringing you a seven day a week show. So if you enjoy seeing a new episode of The Lifespring one, your Bible and your podcast app each and every day, if you’re getting any benefit from hearing God’s word and maybe a little something from my comments, please prayerfully consider making a donation. A one time donation would be very much appreciated. But signing up for a weekly, monthly or quarterly donation really does help to even out the slow times. Please do pray about it. Ask God what he would have you do and then go to live stream Mania Lifespringmedia.com slash thoughts. I guarantee that all Thank you. And I believe that God will bless you.

Steve Webb 27:35
You’ve probably heard about what’s going on at Asbury University in Kentucky right? But if not, here’s a brief synopsis. On February 8, a revival began at what was supposed to just be a normal 10am chapel service at this Christian school. It started with the students. And as I record this right now, I think that the university has ended it because of how the influx of people from around the country and even the world has affected the surrounding community. Traffic and Parking has been a problem and in cooperation with the residents and law enforcement, I think they’ve decided to wind it down. It might even still be in a bit of a flux. But anyway, that’s my understanding at this time. Now, a very interesting fact about this phenomenon at Asbury is that this isn’t the first time this has happened there. Previous revival of occurred there in 1905 in 1950, and in 1958. And on February 3 1970, a revival erupted at what was then Asbury college, that one two began into mourning chapel service in lasted 185 hours non stop continuing for weeks. That was in 1970 1970 was when the Jesus movement began that I’ve talked about several times on the show, and have been talking about recently with the Jesus revolution movie which will be coming out this week. Beloved, I believe that God right now is doing a great work that many of us have been praying for for literally years. Now right now I want to share a few minutes of audio from a conversation my pastor Greg Laurie had with one of the producers of the Jesus revolution movie, listen to this.

Greg Laurie and Jon Erwin 29:14
Hey everybody, Greg Laurie, with my friend John Irwin. John, this is it. This is the week it’s finally happening. Jesus revolution is opening. Here’s what’s amazing to me. Seven years ago, we had our first conversation about this film, you tried to get the film made before the date that it’s been released, which is this week. And there were various obstacles and we couldn’t get it done. But now it’s coming out. And it just so happens that God’s Holy Spirit seems to be falling on young people on college campuses, specifically at Asbury College in Kentucky and how we heard it spread to other campuses. You’ve heard the expression of life imitates art right? So this movement happened the art the film was made the show it happened, but now we see it happen burning again. So it’s almost like all of this is coinciding, it’s almost as though the Lord is saying, I want you all to know I’m here, if you see Jesus, in Superbowl ads, you see Jesus, portrayed so beautifully by Jonathan Rumi and the other actors in the incredible series called The chosen. Now you see Jesus revolution, opening in a theater near you what’s going on with all this? I God’s timing is amazing. And I, you know, we made the movie because I read this time magazine article called The Jesus revolution. And that was when we first met as I wanted to meet someone that lived this story, and just began to study the last sweeping revival in our nation’s history that became known as the Jesus movement. And the more I learned about it, the more I thought, can this please happen again? Yes, can this happen in our time, and that’s why we’ve been trying to make the movie and we’ve been trying to make it over and over again, we were almost there when COVID shut all productions down. And God just had a timing. For this movie, a big part of the Jesus movement in 1970 Was this revival of Ashbury and huge auditorium. And it lasts like 160 hours, and it was a big part of the Jesus movement in the south. So for that to be happening again, right now is unbelievable. And I was talking to Dallas about it, Dallas Jenkins, who created the chosen, we didn’t plan to have the chosen season three, as he gets his campaign, and then Jesus revolution all in the same month, but February has become this month of Jesus, you know, we’re in the entertainment industry, which is insane. And so, about a week and a half ago, I guess, I was wrapping another movie in in Kentucky. And so I was in Kentucky. And it was like day, two or three of this revival. And my wife was with me, and we were 60 miles away. And I’m like, I saw a post on social media. And I’m like, let’s just go Yeah. And so we went over and just sat at that point, it was early. So you just walk right in and sit down. And I just wanted to listen, and, and we sat there and listening to the stories that these college kids were sharing is so much of everything that we’ve been praying for. And then also so much of what we dramatized in the film, I think you called me and said, What did it feel like? And I’m like, it was exactly like the scene movie. So I just think, for my, for this time. In the research, I heard the word desperation come up a lot. You said the late 60s was a desperate time. So similar to the times that we’re in now. And I just think we’re back in that moment of desperation. And I really think that this could happen again. And that’s why we made the movie that’s been the heartbeat of the film the whole time. So for the timing to be what it is, God’s timing is perfect. And to see this begin to happen is unbelievable. So make some noise as them as the movie comm comes out. But I was just so encouraged and inspired by listening to the college kids their stories, Beth and I both were, and you could feel God in the room in a powerful way. And that’s what we’ve been praying for this whole time. So I just think we’re back in another moment of desperation. And that’s the last time God broke through in our country. And I think he can do it again. Yeah, I think of the Jesus revolution film as a tool, not just a movie, it’s a tool for you to use. It’s a tool for you to take a non believer to check this out. You can even get an evangelistic conversation going by simply asking someone, have you heard about this movie, Jesus revolution? Good chance they have, you can say Google it right now. And the point is, you can start a conversation about Jesus. It’s been said that the theme of revival spreads the flame of revival. Jesus revolution is a true story of what happened to me and my wife, Kathy, how we met. It’s a love story. It’s a story of a pastor who was struggling Chuck Smith, a hippie evangelists that came to him and Chuck opened his heart and the doors of his church, to this preacher and an explosion happened. And we’re praying that this movie will inspire all of us to pray for another spiritual awakening. Get your tickets. Go see Jesus revolution, February 24, at a theater near you.

Steve Webb 34:11
You know, we’ve talked here on the show about God doing things in the fullness of time, haven’t we? God is never late. God is never early. God does things at just the right time, or in the fullness of time, the chosen Asbury University, the he gets us ads on the Superbowl, the Jesus revolution movie. I believe that God is just getting started, beloved, praise his holy name. Let’s continue to pray for God to pour out His Spirit on men and women, boys and girls around the world. We need Jesus beloved. Now, I do encourage you to take an unsaved friend to see the Jesus revolution movie. I promise it isn’t cheesy. Really. It’s a good film. And after you watch it with your friend, it’ll be easy to talk about what Jesus has done in your life and to ask them if anything in the movie spoke to them. It really is a wonderful evangelistic tool. I’m going to be walking across the street to my neighbor in his wife’s house tomorrow and ask them to go with us. And I want to remind you that I’m giving away three copies of the Jesus revolution book this Saturday, send an email to me at st@****ia.com with a subject line I WANT TO JESUS revolution, or send me a boostagram With those words, to be entered into the drawing. Do it now while you’re thinking about it. pause the podcast right now. I’ll be here when you’re through. Go ahead. I’ll see you in a minute. Go ahead and send that email or boostagram. Good, Thanks. I’ll put you in the drawing.

Steve Webb 35:46
My Thanks to Scott Snider today’s artists also Thanks to Sister Denise Michael Haner, Jason Paschall and Brittaney I appreciate you guys. Remember that tomorrow was Wednesday and we’ll have a time of prayer together. If you have a prayer request or a praise go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com or call the Lifespring family hotline. Let the Lifespring family rejoice with you or pray for you. Until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. It’s been great seeing you today. My name is Steve Webb. By Lifespring media bringing the message of hope, love and good news since 2004 Boost

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript not yet corrected.

The post S2E143-2 Samuel 20-24: A Clean Slate first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Transcript

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 11-12 CEB

Podcast IntroductionThis is Epistles Sunday. We’ll read 1 Corinthians 11-12. I’m calling the episode “Different, Not Better.”

Design: SWS | Photo: Jametlene Reskp on UnsplashComments on 1 Corinthians 11-12Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 11I’ll address a couple of the topics Paul wrote about in Chapter 11. He wrote about men & women, and head coverings for women.

I think it’s most beneficial before we get into this discussion that we look at what Paul said near the end of his talk on the subject of men and women. In verse 11 he said, “…woman isn’t independent from man, and man isn’t independent from woman in the Lord. 12As woman came from man so also man comes from woman. But everything comes from God.”

It looks to me as if Paul is giving equal respect to both sexes in this. Wouldn’t you agree? There are other places in his letters where that attitude comes through, as well. Some have made the charge that Paul didn’t like or respect women, but I don’t see that when I take the totality of his writings.

The difficulty lies in cultural bias. Today, the women’s equality movement that began in earnest in the 60s tries to make the assertion that there are no differences between men and women. Of course that is not true. God made us different. He didn’t make one better than the other, He just made them different.

And this is what Paul is saying in chapter 11. Men and women have different roles. One is not better than the other, but they are different. And that’s a good thing.

Remember back in Genesis when God said that it was not good for man to be alone. So he made a woman for the man. Men and women compliment each other. They complete one another. And then, after God looked at what He had made, he said something that He did not say when He completed the previous elements of creation. At those times, He looked at what He had made and said, “It is good.” But when He had finished creating Man and Woman, he said, “It is very good.”

It is good to remember that neither men nor women are to abuse their positions, just as Jesus did not abuse His position. Jesus, as God, has the right to do as He wishes with His creation. What He chooses to do is to love us. And this is how we should treat each other.

So Paul laid out the different roles of the sexes in the Corinthian church. Men had a role, women had a role. There should be order in church, not chaos. But what was happening in Corinth was not order, and Paul’s answer was that if the sexes adhered to their proper roles, there would be order. And if they treated each other as Jesus treats us, there would be love.

So what’s the deal about the covering of the head and the hair length? This whole discussion seems pretty foreign to us, doesn’t it?

In today’s American culture, especially among Protestants, we don’t make a big deal out of head coverings in church or hair length for either male or female, do we? Based on 1 Corinthians 11, are we mistaken? Is it really important to God? Let’s take a look.

As is usually the case when studying Scripture, the first thing we should consider is context. What’s happening in the scene? The recurring theme in verse 3-16 is order, or the hierarchy of authority. Paul says in verse 3: Now I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God.

Now, in the Corinthian culture, a woman who wore a head covering was showing her submission to the authority of her husband, and consequently her submission to God.

Now lest we take umbrage at this concept, understand that submission does not mean that we are implying that the one who submits is “less than” the one who is being submitted to. Do you doubt that?

Well, consider this. God the Father, God the Son and the Holy Spirit are equal parts of the One, united Triune God, are they not? Yet the Son submits to the Father, and the Spirit to the Son. They are equal, yet there is an order.

The relationship of the husband and wife is a picture of this relationship. In the Corinthian culture, a woman’s long hair and the covering of her head was an outward show of her agreement with the God established order. A man’s short hair and lack of head covering was the same.

Now, we know that what God considers important is the condition of our heart. He looks much less at the things we do than what goes on in our heart. Yes, what we do is important, because our actions often flow from our heart. But in our culture, where head covering and hair length has little or nothing to do with our marital status, God does not care about hair and covers. But He most certainly cares about our submission to His authority, and the order He has set out for husbands and wives.

Christ is in submission to the Father, the husband is in submission to Christ, the wife is in submission to the husband. No one has his or her thumb on the other. This is a love relationship, with respect and reverence.

I love the lovely Lady LeeAnn and would give my life for her, just as Christ gave Himself for me. I do not lord it over her. Her well-being is my most important priority, other than serving and loving God. She responds to that love by respecting and loving me in the same way. We are equal partners, and at the same time there is the order that God laid out. And not surprisingly, it seems to be working. We truly love each other more today than we did the day we married nearly 27 years ago. Every year our bond is stronger in every way. If she were here to talk to you, she would say the same thing.

So no, God doesn’t care today in our culture what is on your head. He cares about your submission to Him. That’s it.

Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 11In chapter 12, Paul is addressing another issue that is bringing this argumentative Corinthian church another cause for divisions. And unfortunately, the division of a church over disagreements about spiritual gifts didn’t end with them.

When I was a teenager, I gave my heart to the Lord when I was attending a very traditional Southern Baptist church. I loved the people there, and I loved the pastor. But I don’t remember ever hearing a word about spiritual gifts. When I first got married and moved away from home, I began attending a little community church in the city of Mammoth Lakes. This church had just undergone a split over disagreements about spiritual gifts. I had no idea what they were even talking about. But the new pastor, who had been brought in to replace the pastor who left, preached a series of sermons about the various gifts of the Spirit. He did such a great job, backed up by scriptures like 1 Corinthians 12, that my own theology on the subject was shaped then and hasn’t changed a lot over the ensuing years. In a nutshell, Paul taught the Corinthians that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to different people as He chooses. They all have value, just as each part of the body has value. He taught them that it is silly to argue about what part of the body is better, and it’s silly to fight over what gift is better.

Paul’s analogy of the church being like a human body is a good one. Each body part has a purpose. When one part hurts, the whole body hurts. The foot is as much a part of the body as the ear. When you separate a part of the body from the body, it cannot continue to live, and the body suffers.

TranscriptDownload .txt file.

1 Corinthians 11-12: Different, Not Better (LSFAB S14E092)

[TEASER – 0:00]
What God considers important is the condition of the heart.

[INTRO S13E092 – 0:11]
Happy New Year and coming to you from Riverside, California this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we are reading through the entire Bible in a year. And I’m glad you’re spending the first day of the year here. This is Epistle Sunday, and we’ll read 1 Corinthians 11 and 12. And I’m calling the episode “Different, Not Better.” Of course, after the reading, I’ll have some comments for you. And we will have a time of prayer a little bit later.

Now before we start, let’s pray.

[OPENING PRAYER – 0:43]
Our gracious heavenly Father, how we love you, and we thank you for a new year. As we read today, I pray that you would bless our time together and that you would teach us. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.

All right, let’s get started.

[1 CORINTHIANS 11 (CEB) – 0:57]
1 Corinthians, chapter 11.

(1) Follow my example, just like I follow Christ’s.

(2) I praise you because you remember all my instructions, and you hold on to the traditions exactly as I handed them on to you. (3) Now I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man, and the head of Christ is God. (4) Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered shames his head. (5) Every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head. It is the same thing as having her head shaved. (6) If a woman doesn’t cover her head, then she should have her hair cut off. If it is disgraceful for a woman to have short hair or to be shaved, then she should keep her head covered. (7) A man shouldn’t have his head covered, because he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is man’s glory. (8) Man didn’t have his origin from woman, but woman from man; (9) and man wasn’t created for the sake of the woman, but the woman for the sake of the man. (10) Because of this a woman should have authority over her head, because of the angels. (11) However, woman isn’t independent from man, and man isn’t independent from woman in the Lord. (12) As woman came from man so also man comes from woman. But everything comes from God. (13) Judge for yourselves: Is it appropriate for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? (14) Doesn’t nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him; (15) but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? This is because her long hair is given to her for a covering. (16) But if someone wants to argue about this, we don’t have such a custom, nor do God’s churches.

(17) Now I don’t praise you as I give the following instruction because when you meet together, it does more harm than good. (18) First of all, when you meet together as a church, I hear that there are some divisions among you, and I partly believe it. (19) It’s necessary that there are groups among you, to make it clear who is genuine. (20) So when you get together in one place, it isn’t to eat the Lord’s meal. (21) Each of you goes ahead and eats a private meal. One person goes hungry while another is drunk. (22) Don’t you have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you look down on God’s churches and humiliate those who have nothing? What can I say to you? Will I praise you? No, I don’t praise you in this.

(23) I received a tradition from the Lord, which I also handed on to you: on the night on which he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took bread. (24) After giving thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this to remember me.” (25) He did the same thing with the cup, after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Every time you drink it, do this to remember me.” (26) Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you broadcast the death of the Lord until he comes.

(27) This is why those who eat the bread or drink the cup of the Lord inappropriately will be guilty of the Lord’s body and blood. (28) Each individual should test himself or herself, and eat from the bread and drink from the cup in that way. (29) Those who eat and drink without correctly understanding the body are eating and drinking their own judgment. (30) Because of this, many of you are weak and sick, and quite a few have died. (31) But if we had judged ourselves, we wouldn’t be judged. (32) However, we are disciplined by the Lord when we are judged so that we won’t be judged and condemned along with the whole world. (33) For these reasons, my brothers and sisters, when you get together to eat, wait for each other. (34) If some of you are hungry, they should eat at home so that getting together doesn’t lead to judgment. I will give directions about the other things when I come.

1 CORINTHIANS 12 (CEB) – 4:50
1 Corinthians, chapter 12.

(1) Brothers and sisters, I don’t want you to be ignorant about spiritual gifts. (2) You know that when you were Gentiles you were often misled by false gods that can’t even speak. (3) So I want to make it clear to you that no one says, “Jesus is cursed!” when speaking by God’s Spirit, and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. (4) There are different spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; (5) and there are different ministries and the same Lord; (6) and there are different activities but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. (7) A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good. (8) A word of wisdom is given by the Spirit to one person, a word of knowledge to another according to the same Spirit, (9) faith to still another by the same Spirit, gifts of healing to another in the one Spirit, (10) performance of miracles to another, prophecy to another, the ability to tell spirits apart to another, different kinds of tongues to another, and the interpretation of the tongues to another. (11) All these things are produced by the one and same Spirit who gives what he wants to each person.

(12) Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many. (13) We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink. (14) Certainly the body isn’t one part but many. (15) If the foot says, “I’m not part of the body because I’m not a hand,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? (16) If the ear says, “I’m not a part of the body because I’m not an eye,” does that mean it’s not part of the body? (17) If the whole body were an eye, what would happen to the hearing? And if the whole body were an ear, what would happen to the sense of smell? (18) But as it is, God has placed each one of the parts in the body just like he wanted. (19) If all were one and the same body part, what would happen to the body? (20) But as it is, there are many parts but one body. (21) So the eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” or in turn, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.” (22) Instead, the parts of the body that people think are the weakest are the most necessary. (23) The parts of the body that we think are less honorable are the ones we honor the most. The private parts of our body that aren’t presentable are the ones that are given the most dignity. (24) The parts of our body that are presentable don’t need this. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the part with less honor (25) so that there won’t be division in the body and so the parts might have mutual concern for each other. (26) If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part gets the glory, all the parts celebrate with it. (27) You are the body of Christ and parts of each other. (28) In the church, God has appointed first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, the ability to help others, leadership skills, different kinds of tongues. (29) All aren’t apostles, are they? All aren’t prophets, are they? All aren’t teachers, are they? All don’t perform miracles, do they? (30) All don’t have gifts of healing, do they? All don’t speak in different tongues, do they? All don’t interpret, do they? (31) Use your ambition to try to get the greater gifts. And I’m going to show you an even better way.

[COMMENTARY – 8:36]
Well, Beloved, I’ve got thoughts on chapters 11 and 12 today. Let’s talk about chapter 11 first. I’ll address what he wrote about men and women and head coverings for women.

But first, I think it’s most beneficial before we get into this discussion that we look at what Paul said near the end of his talk on the subject of men and women. In verse 11, he said, “(11) …woman isn’t independent from man, and man isn’t independent from woman in the Lord. (12) As woman came from man so also man comes from woman. But everything comes from God.”

It looks to me as if Paul is giving equal respect to both sexes in this. Wouldn’t you agree? There are other places in his letters where that attitude comes through as well. Some have made the charge that Paul didn’t like or respect women. But I don’t see that when I look at the totality of his writings.

The difficulty lies in cultural bias. Today, the women’s equality movement that began in earnest in the 1960s tries to make the assertion that there are no differences between men and women. Of course, that isn’t true. God made us different, but he didn’t make one better than the other. He just made them different.

And this is what Paul is saying in chapter 11. Men and women have different roles. One is not better than the other but they’re different. And that’s a good thing.

Remember back in Genesis when God said that it was not good for man to be alone, so he made a woman for the man. Men and women complement each other. They complete one another. And then after God looked at what he had made, he said something that he did not say when he completed the previous elements of creation. At those times he looked at what he had made, and he said, “It is good.” But when he had finished creating man and woman, he said, “It is very good.”

We should remember that neither men nor women are to abuse their positions, just as Jesus did not abuse his position. Jesus as God has the right to do as he wishes with his creation. And what he chooses to do is to love us. And this is how we should treat each other.

So Paul laid out the different roles of the sexes in the Corinthian church. Men had a role. Women had a role. There should be order in church, not chaos. That was his basic message. But what was happening in Corinth was not order. And Paul’s answer was that if the sexes adhered to their proper roles, there would be order. And if they treated each other as Jesus treats us, there would be love.

So let’s move on now to the issue of covering the head and hair length. To us today, the whole discussion seems kind of foreign to us, doesn’t it?

In today’s American culture, especially among Protestants, we don’t make a big deal out of head coverings in church or hair length for either male or female. So based on 1 Corinthians 11, are we mistaken? Is it really important to God? Let’s take a look.

As is usually the case when studying the Scripture, the first thing we should consider is context, what’s happening in the scene. The recurring theme in verses 13 to 16 is order or the hierarchy of authority. Paul says in verse 3, “Now I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is the man and the head of Christ is God.”

Now in the Corinthian culture, a woman who wore a head covering was showing her submission to the authority of her husband, and consequently her submission to God.

Lest we take umbrage at this concept, consider that submission does not mean that we’re implying that one who submits is “less than” the one who’s being submitted to. You doubt that?

Well, consider this. God the Father, God, the Son, and God, the Holy Spirit are equal parts of the one united Triune God, are they not? Yet the Son submits to the Father and the Spirit to the Son, they are equal, yet there is an order.

The relationship of the husband and the wife is a picture of this relationship. In the Corinthian culture, a woman’s long hair and the covering of her head was an outward show of her agreement with the God-established order. A man’s short hair and lack of head covering was the same.

Now, we know that what God considers important is the condition of the heart, right? Yes, what we do is important because our actions often flow from our heart, but in our culture, where head covering, and hair length has little or nothing to do with our marital status, God doesn’t care about hair and covers. But he most certainly cares about our submission to his authority, and the order he set out for husbands and wives.

I deeply love the Lovely Lady LeeAnn, and I’d give my life for her, just as Christ gave himself for me. I don’t lord it over her. Her well-being is my most important priority other than serving and loving God. She responds to the love I show her by respecting and loving me in the same way. We’re equal partners, and at the same time, there is the order that God laid out. And not surprisingly, it seems to be working. We love each other more today than the day we got married nearly 32 years ago, which by the way, we’ll be celebrating that 32nd anniversary this coming New Year’s Eve. You’ll hear more about that later. The point is every year our bond is stronger in every way possible. And if she were here, right now, she’d tell you the same thing.

So no, God doesn’t care today in our culture what is on your head. He cares about your submission to him. That’s it.

Now in chapter 12, Paul is addressing another issue that’s bringing this argumentative Corinthian church another cause for divisions. And unfortunately, the division of a church over disagreements about spiritual gifts doesn’t end with them.

When I was a teenager, I gave my heart to the Lord when I was attending a very traditional Southern Baptist Church. I loved the people there and I loved the pastor but I don’t remember ever hearing a word about spiritual gifts. And when I first got married and moved away from home, I began attending a little community church in the city of Mammoth Lakes, California. Now this church had just undergone a split over disagreements about spiritual gifts. I had no idea what they were even talking about. But the new pastor who had been brought in to replace the pastor who left, preached a series of sermons about the various gifts of the Spirit. And he did such a great job backed up by Scriptures like 1 Corinthians 12, that my own theology on the subject was shaped then and hasn’t changed a lot over the ensuing years. In a nutshell, Paul taught the Corinthians that the Holy Spirit gives gifts to different people as he chooses. They all have value, just as each part of the body has value. He taught them that it’s silly to argue about what part of the body is better. And it’s silly to fight over what gift is better.

Paul’s analogy of the church being like a human body is a good one. Each part has a purpose. When one part hurts, the whole body hurts. The foot is as much a part of the body as the ear. When you separate a part of the body from the body. It cannot continue to live and the body suffers. So we shouldn’t value one gift over the other. We should just ask God to give us whatever gift it is he wants us to have, and then celebrate that.

[LIFESPRING FAMILY HOTLINE – 16:15]
What do you think? Let me know. Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511. And you can also comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com or you can email me at st@****ia.com.

Tomorrow is The Law Monday and we’ll begin the book of Exodus with chapters 1 through 4.

[SUPPORT THE SHOW – 16:43]
I have a couple of people to thank today. Jared Buer – I hope I’m saying that right… B-U-E-R – sent in $33.33. And he said, “Happy Anniversary! ITM, Steve. Thank you for your courage, and God bless you and your family.” Well, thank you, Jared. ITM, and thank you for your courage as well. I appreciate your donation. And may God bless you richly.

And Lester Graber came in with $20. And with the donation, he sent this note, “Thanks for bringing the show back for another season!” Well, Lester, thank you. It’s good to hear from you. And you’re welcome. I’m glad you’re back, too. Thank you for being there, Brother.

Of course, this is a value-for-value show. And I’m very thankful for the generous donations of so many people this past year who shared their time, talent, and treasure to make it possible for me to bring the Lifespring Family Audio Bible to you each day. If you’d like to know more about value-for-value and its importance to the show, please go to

[SUPPORT THE SHOW JINGLE – 17:40]
lifespringmedia.com/support

[PRAYER REQUESTS AND PRAISE REPORTS – 17:47]
Praises and prayer requests. We have a few today and Kevin sent in a prayer request and a praise report. First his praise. He said, “My praise is that I was finally allowed to go back to working in the office in May of 2022 after more than two years of having to work from home. It was really taking a toll on my physical, mental, and emotional health. And I was starting to feel like I was nearing the end of my rope. I praise God for changing the hearts and minds of the people who are in charge of these decisions. And for giving me the strength to keep going.”

Well, Kevin, yes, praise the Lord for that. I’m happy to hear that you’re able to be back with your coworkers and out of the house.

God did make most of us to be social and isolation is difficult. I generally tend to be okay by myself. I’ve been that way my entire life. I can work here in the studio for hours at a time producing voiceovers and studying for and producing this show. But, of course, LeeAnn comes home after work, and I have that human interaction. And we have our other business that I started back in 1988, which requires that I go to our customer’s location. So there are always those kinds of things for me to do. I’m usually only with our customers for a maximum of 30 minutes at a time, but that’s given me breaks from being alone. If I were totally isolated, I’m sure it probably would get to me as well. Being with people is a blessing for sure.

And then Kevin’s prayer request. He said, “My prayer request is related to my praise. As I mentioned, I had a difficult couple of years and I picked up some bad habits as I tried to cope with the stress, isolation, and loneliness. I’ve made some steps in the right direction now that my life has mostly gotten back to normal. But I want to start a new chapter in 2023. I pray that I can put my vices behind me and live my life in a way that is pleasing to God.”

Yes, Kevin, we will pray for that for you. And that’s really a prayer that every believer can pray. None of us are without faults. As the Apostle Paul said in Romans 7, “And I know that nothing good lives in me that is in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right but I can’t. I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.” Well, if Paul struggled with it, we know that we’re not alone, right? Well, thankfully, he followed up that confession in Romans 8 when he said, “But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit, if you have the Spirit of God living in you.” And he continued, “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do.”

Beloved, there is so much more that Paul wrote about this in chapters 7 and 8 of Romans, I recommend that all believers study these chapters, and really all of Romans. Then, yes, that’s an important prayer, Kevin, and like I said we will pray for you.

And then the Lovely Lady LeeAnn had a praise.

[LEEANN WEBB – 20:43]
Good morning to the Lifespring family. I am so blessed by you. And that is my praise report for this year, is the beautiful interaction and becoming more of a family with all of you this year. Thank you so much for all your well wishes for our anniversary. It has been a blessing and a pleasure to be married to this wonderful man for 33 years. And I know I don’t have the radio voice, but I just wanted to reach out. So thank you so much. And I hope you all have a wonderful 2023 and a very happy New Year. Take care and blessings to you.

[PRAYER REQUESTS AND PRAISE REPORTS (CONT’D) – 21:15]
Thanks for calling that in, Sweetheart.

Now, for me, my praise is that my family is in good health. My sons and their families are healthy. And of course, there was the birth of Penny, our fifth grandchild this last year. And I praise God for you. And for each and every member of the Lifespring family. As is always the case – and please don’t misunderstand, this is not at all a complaint – most of you don’t interact with the show. But you listen to almost every episode, I see the statistics for the show and there you are. I thank you for that.

Season 12 was one of the most listened-to seasons for the show. And there are more than twice as many of you this season. So I’m rejoicing about that. And not because the number is bigger, but because there are more people reading through the Bible with me, more hearts being touched by God. And that truly is the most important thing to me. So I’m glad you’re there. Of course, I invite those of you that have not yet written in or sent an email to do that. But there’s no pressure. And of course, I’m praising God for each Lifespring member who has written, commented, and donated their time, talent, or treasure. You have no idea how much you mean to me. For every email, every comment, every prayer request, every prayer, every donation, monetary or otherwise, gives me so much encouragement to keep on going. I’m doing this show because God called me to do it. But he’s using you to keep gas in the tank as it were. So yes, I praise God for you.

And now this one is kind of serious. No, it’s very serious. My biggest prayer request for 2023 is a very personal one for the Lovely Lady LeeAnn and me. This is something that both of us have lost sleep over and have shed many tears about. A few years ago, our middle son decided that he was no longer sure that he believed in God. You can imagine how that shocked and saddened his mother and me. Of course, we’ve had several conversations with him about his doubt. But he continued to go down the trail of deceit that he was following. The lies of the enemy can be very persuasive. And this past year, my son told me that he does not believe that God exists. Of course, those words hit LeeAnn and me very, very hard. Our son is a good man, married to a good woman. But he has been drawn into a lie. LeeAnn and I are leaning on Proverbs 22:6, which says, “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.” Steven had a real love for the Lord when he was small. And we’re trusting God that Steven will return to him as the prodigal son did. Our prayer request is that it would be sooner rather than later. We’re praying that God will touch Steven’s heart and that his love for God would be rekindled. We’re praying that God would bring someone or something into his life that will show him the way back. Steven has pretty much stopped listening to LeeAnn and I when it comes to the topic of God, so we’ve turned him over to God who loves him infinitely more than we ever could. I’m asking if you would keep Steven and his wife in your prayers in 2023. It would mean an awful lot to LeeAnn and me.

And then I do have this prayer request. My sister-in-law, Jane broke her wrist when she slipped and fell on Christmas Eve night, which required surgery to put a plate and at least one screw in to stabilize the bones. They weren’t able to do the surgery until this past Thursday, but it was successful and she seems to be doing well, according to LeeAnn’s brother, Rick. Jane is a flight attendant and she’ll probably not be able to go back to work for another six weeks or so. So let’s pray for a speedy recovery with no complications.

Okay, let’s pray.

Our heavenly Father, we thank you for so many blessings. You are holy and you are merciful. You are unchanging and you are faithful to your promises. You are both the Creator of the universe and you’re very personally involved with your children. We love you Lord, and we know that we need you desperately.

Father, we thank you for making a way for Kevin and so many others to get back to work this past year. It is not good to be isolated. And we thank you for the opportunity to have more normal interaction. And I pray that Kevin and each of us would learn to listen more to the Holy Spirit when he corrects us. We do want to live lives that are more pleasing to you, Lord, so teach us to say no, to run from the things you do not want us to do, and to run to you.

And Father, LeeAnn and I thank you for this Lifespring family and the wonderful support they’ve been this past year. I pray that you would bless each one Lord in every area of their lives.

I pray for Jane that you would give her a quick and complete healing with her broken wrist. And during her time off work, Lord, I pray that she’ll get some good time to be alone with you.

And once again, Lord, I lift Steven up to you. Father, you know the thought process that brought him to the place that he’s in, and I pray that you would show him the mistakes he made in his thinking in these areas. But even more Lord, I pray that you would make yourself real to him again. If it’s a life circumstance that is needed, or if it’s someone that he’ll listen to, Lord, whatever it takes, I pray that he will return to you soon. I pray that you would bring the prodigal son back to you.

I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

If you have a prayer request or to praise, please go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com. Our next time together in prayer is this coming Wednesday.

[OUTRO S13E092 – 27:04]
Comment on the show by calling the Lifespring Family Hotline at 951-732-8511, or by going to comment.lifespringmedia.com. Or just put an email in the pipeline to st@****ia.com. I want to hear from you. My thanks to the team Kirsty, Denise, Michael Haner, and Scott Snider.

And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thank you for inviting me into the very first day of 2023 with you. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

[LIFESPRING MEDIA PROMO – 27:45]
Lifespring Media, bringing the message of hope, love, and good news since 2004.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript corrected by Denise

The post S2E092-1 Corinthians 11-12: Different, Not Better first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Podcast IntroductionThis is History Tuesday. and we’ll read Nehemiah 5-9, and I’m calling today’s episode “Is This Okay?”

Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Alex Gorbi on UnsplashComments on Nehemiah 5In the New Living Translation, this is how verse 19 reads: “Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it.”

When I read “…and bless me for it” I raised my eyebrows just a bit. That seems a bit presumptuous, don’t you think?

But then I thought of the prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10: “He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!” And God granted him his request.”

God granted Jabez’s request, which tells us that God did not think Jabez’s prayer was out of line. Jabez asked God to give him more, and God did it. Why? We don’t have a lot to go on, except for the verse previous to what we just read. Verse 9 says: “There was a man named Jabez who was more honorable than any of his brothers. His mother named him Jabez because his birth had been so painful.” So now we know that Jabez was an honorable man.

And so was Nehemiah. This we know because everything we read of him here in the book that bears his name testifies to that fact. He did not take on this task of rebuilding the walls for personal gain. He did it to honor God and to help the people.

God knows our heart, beloved. You cannot fool Him. And if our heart is pure, if our motivations are right and honorable, we can come to God in confidence and humbly ask Him to bless us.

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 5-6 NLT; Ch 7-8 NIRV; Ch. 9 NCV

SupportThis a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising equals censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and donate here: SUPPORT.

The TeamTranscript Correction: Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Denise
Podcasting 2.0 Chapters: Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Sean of San Pedro and Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Michael Haner
Show Art: Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Scott Snider and Lifespring Family Berean Jason Paschall
Newsletter Publisher: Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Brittaney

The post S1E344-Nehemiah 5-9: Is This Okay? first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Podcast IntroductionToday is Prophecy Friday. We are in the Minor Prophets, and Zephaniah is next in line I do have an on this date in church history for you. I’m calling today’s episode “Here Today, Gone Tomorrow.”

Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on UnsplashComments on ZephaniahNineveh was the capital city of Assyria. It is first mentioned all the way back in Genesis, chapter 10, and then it is not mentioned again until the book of Jonah.

Nineveh was large, both in area and population. Because of its geographic location on the Tigris river, it was a bustling city of trade and commerce, one of the largest and most successful of all ancient cities.

But as we know, God was not a part of daily life. And as the capital of the Assyrian empire, they were guilty of great sins against God and His chosen people. As we heard in today’s reading, Zephaniah prophesies the destruction of Nineveh, but if you’ll remember, so did Nahum in several verses.

Around 633 B.C. the Assyrian empire began to decay, as have all empires. In 612 B.C. they were attacked by the Medes and the Babylonians. At its defeat, it was burned to the ground. By 605 B.C. there was nothing left of the once great empire. The Medes and the Babylonians divided the spoils between them.

Nineveh is not mentioned again in the Old Testament. We don’t hear of it again until the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Archaeologists have found the remains of Nineveh. Among other things, they found a wall surrounding the city with a circumference of about eight miles. Today all the ruins are covered by dirt.

It is good to remember that even a great and powerful nation can be reduced to dust if it fails to honor the one true God. And if that is true of a nation, it is even more so true of an individual. No matter your wealth, no matter your power, no matter your talent, if you do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ, if He is not your Lord and Savior, you are without hope.

Jesus came to set you free from the things that separate you from God. He is the only way to God. He said, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” Jesus is not a way to God. He is the way to God. There is only one way. You may have heard that all roads lead to God. Really? That sounds nice, but it isn’t true. And it’s actually a silly statement. Tell you what. Right now, I am inviting you to spend the 4th of July at my house. I would be happy to invite you in with my family. We’re going to have a wonderful time together. The swimming pool will be open, the grill will be hot, the beverages will be cold, and we’ll have a feast. I want you here. I invite you with open arms. Really. Come on over. What’s that? You want to know how to get here? Just take any road. All roads lead to my house.

Do you think you’d find my house? Of course not. If you don’t follow the way to my house, you’ll never get here. Same with God. There is one way to God, and Jesus is that way.

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-3 ERV

The post S1E305-Zephaniah 1-3: Here Today, Gone Tomorrow first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Associate ProducerPaul of Seattle. God bless you!

Podcast IntroductionOur reading today Joel. After the reading, I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode “Is There A Joel Out There.”

Design: Steve Webb | Photo: vonMitzscha on UnsplashComments on JoelIn studying this book, I came upon a commentary by the 19th century English preacher, Joseph Parker. This man was known as a great orator, so I know I won’t do him justice in quoting him, but these are his words in regards to the prophet Joel:

“We need a Joel today. For his wages we would award him starvation. He would not live in king’s houses. There is nothing today in Church or state that does not need pulling to pieces, cross examination, analysis, that all that is good therein…and there is much good…may be brought into new cohesion, and set to new and fuller uses. Men are bribing men, and then going to the Sunday school; many are saying, “If you will get this property on these terms through my hands it will be on the understanding that…” and the all but silent reply is…”That will, of course, be understood.” And then they go to church! If some Joel were to come he would be starved, he must be starved. No one ever came to do Messianic work who was not nailed and pierced and crucified. It is in vain to preach peace until we have first preached repentance; it is mischievous to say, peace, peace, where there is no peace; It is iniquity in the sight of God to daub the wall with untempered mortar. Nothing is settled until it is settled at the foundations.”

We don’t speak like that today, do we? Let me try to paraphrase Rev. Parker: We need someone like Joel today. The church and the culture needs to be completely re-examined to find what is good so that there can be a new and unified partnership with them in order for them to be effective. There is corruption and deal making, even among so called believers. It is foolish to call for peace until we first call for repentance, a turning from our sins and to Almighty God. It is wrong in the sight of God to try to bring repairs with corrupt methods and people. Nothing will stand unless the foundation is strong.

As we look at our world today, I think we would have to agree with Rev. Parker’s message. The world is in turmoil. People call for peace and unity, but there is neither peace nor unity. Why? Because God has been expunged from our governments, our schools, our society. We will never have peace until the people turn back to him.

Several shows back I asked you to pray with me for a world wide revival. I believe that is the only way we’ll see sanity return to the world. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Like God promised through Joel to heal Israel, I believe he can do the same now. We don’t know God’s plan for us now, but I do believe it is our responsibility to pray, to confess our sins and to ask God to move on people’s hearts.

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-3 HCSB

The post S1E249-Joel 1-3: Is There A Joel Out There? first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Podcast IntroductionOur reading today Proverbs 22. After the reading, I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode “What Will They Say?”

Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Zlaťáky.cz on UnsplashComments on Proverbs 22

You should want a good name more than you want great riches. To be highly respected is better than having silver or gold.

Proverbs 22:1 NIRV

My wife, the Lovely Lady LeeAnn, doesn’t like it when I talk about this, but Proverbs 22:1 brought it to mind, so I must.

I’m at the age where I sometimes think about how I will be remembered when I’m no longer around. At close to 68 years old, I think I have eased out of middle age. Wouldn’t you agree? As a matter of fact, at this point I have lived longer my biological father, and three of his four brothers. The paternal side of my family didn’t live long lives. My mother’s side of the family mostly lived into their 80’s and 90’s, so it’s anybody’s guess what the chances are that I’ll live to be an old man. I tease about being old now, but 68 really isn’t considered to be old like it was in past generations. Is it??? Maybe I’m just kidding myself.

But I do think about how I’ll be remembered. One thing is for sure, I have no interest at all in being remembered for how wealthy or poor I was. I have never lived my life to see how much wealth I could acquire. Sure, I tried to provide as comfortable life as I could for the Lovely Lady LeeAnn and my kids, but I never made it a goal to see how large I could grow my business or bank account.

I had a childhood friend who I was very close to, even into our twenties. We were both Christians and grew up in middle class families, we played sports together at our high school, and generally had the same values. Around the age of about 30 we began to grow apart, mostly because our lives just got busy with family and trying to earn livings for ourselves.

But then this friend of mine got into a business that eventually made him a multi-millionaire. It’s a good business. He is well respected in his industry, as far as I know, and he travels the world and has all the trappings of success. Except it does not appear that he has a relationship with the Lord. Again, I am no longer close him, but I see him occasionally. Obviously I can’t know what is in his heart. But I cannot say that there is any observable evidence that Jesus has a place in his life.

Sure, when he is gone people will know that he had great wealth. From that perspective, his life will have been a success. When we were in our twenties, I remember having conversations about gaining wealth, and that was one of his top goals. So he made it.

But when people remember me, I want to be remembered as a godly man. I want my kids and grandkids to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I loved God, and I lived my life for Him. Of course, they’ll remember I was far from perfect, but I hope they’ll know that despite my flaws, I was one hundred percent in love with my Lord. I hope that I have many more years to build memories with them that they’ll be able to look back on when I’m gone that will cause them to say, “Yes. He was a good man, an honest man, a fair man, a man of integrity, and above all, a godly man.”

That matters far more to me than leaving them a big inheritance. I would much rather leave a legacy of living for the Lord, than how to become wealthy.

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 22 NIRV

The post S1E248-Proverbs 22: What Will They Say? first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Podcast IntroductionToday we will read 1 Timothy 4-6. I’ll have some comments after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “Fitness.”

Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Alexandra-Fuller on UnsplashComments on 1 Timothy 4

Training the body helps a little, but godly living helps in every way. Godly living has the promise of life now and in the world to come. This is a statement that can be trusted and deserves complete acceptance. Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life, because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

1 Timothy 4:8-10 God’s Word Translation

Paul was, as you remember, advising the younger Timothy, who was pastoring the church at Ephesus, which had become infiltrated with many false teachings.

In verse 8 Paul is addressing the idea that was held by many in the Greek and Roman culture that put a great deal of value in physical training. We know that taking care of our body is good, but let’s face it, the benefits are strictly temporary. They don’t last. Eventually, given enough time, we all grow old and our bodies deteriorate.

I started swimming competitively when I was about eight years old. By the time I graduated high school, I had swum the equivalent of nearly the distance from Los Angeles to New York. I was in great shape! A couple of years after graduating, I was a professional ski patrolman. After that I was an apprentice carpenter. All through these years, I maintained a very high level of fitness. But here in my late 60s, my body is definitely showing signs of age. Even if I had continued to exercise at the level I did in my youth, my body would not have been able to stop the aging process. Physical discipline can’t stop the march of time. And one day, my body will die. No one gets outta here alive.

But on the spiritual level, I am in the best shape of my life. My walk with God has made me better able to deal with the challenges of life here and now, and the spiritual discipline I have practiced over the years also produces eternal benefits. When my body stops, I will enjoy the eternal benefit of my faith in Christ.

I assure you, and there are thousands of my brethren who can affirm the same, that after having tried the ways of sin, we infinitely prefer the ways of righteousness for their own pleasure’s sake even here, and we would not change with ungodly men even if we had to die like dogs. With all the sorrow and care which Christian life is supposed to bring, we would prefer it to any other form of life beneath the stars.

Charles Spurgeon

Verse 10: “Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life, because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”

“He is the Savior of all people…” There is a belief among some people that everyone will ultimately be saved. But that is not what Paul was saying here. The second half of Paul’s sentence is “…especially of those who believe.”

What God intends for ALL, he actually gives to them that believe in Christ, who died for the sins of the world, and tasted death for every man. As all have been purchased by his blood so all may believe; and consequently all may be saved. Those that perish, perish through their own fault.

Adam Clarke

ALL are offered forgiveness if they place their faith in Jesus. No one who comes to Jesus will be rejected.

God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. Those who believe in him won’t be condemned. But those who don’t believe are already condemned because they don’t believe in God’s only Son.

John 3:16-18 God’s Word Translation

Paul was instructing Timothy to live a godly life and be an example to the Ephesian church, so that no one could fault him for his youth.

Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live. Also set an example in how you love and in what you believe. Show the believers how to be pure.

1 Timothy 4:11-12 God’s Word Translation

Many Bible scholars believe that a better translation here is, “Be an example of the believers” as opposed to to or for the believers. I agree. Each of us should be an example of what it is to be a follower of Christ.

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 4 GW, Ch. 5-6 HCSB

The post S1E237: 1 Timothy 4-6: Fitness first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Podcast IntroductionToday we’ll read Proverbs 10. Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you. I’m calling today’s episode “Knowing When To Be Quiet.”

Comments on Proverbs 10There were a lot of topics in this chapter, weren’t there? Where to focus for today?

How about this. One thought that comes up repeatedly for me is that a wise person knows that no matter how much he knows, there is still a lot he does not know. And a foolish person thinks he knows it all.

1 Corinthians 8:2 says, “Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn’t really know very much.”

Have you ever seen the old TV show, Cheers? There’s a character on the show who is a mail carrier. His name is Cliff Clavin? He’s one of those guys that you often see in a group situation that always acts like an expert about whatever subject comes up in conversation. He puffs up his chest and says, “Oh yeah. Let me tell you about that…” And then he goes on to demonstrate that he really doesn’t know anything about it. Cliff Clavin was a fool.

And then on another TV show there is a character that demonstrates wisdom.. It’s the Jesse Stone TV movies that starred Tom Selleck. In that show he plays a small town chief of police. He has many personal problems, but he does demonstrate the characteristic of knowing when to keep quiet. In one scene the town council, the group to whom he is accountable, is not happy with the way he is handling a particular crime investigation. To their questions, he responds with primarily one word answers.

The wise person doesn’t feel the need to demonstrate how smart he is. The foolish person is too stupid to know when to shut up.

I think I’ll shut up now.

Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Etty Fidele on UnsplashToday’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 10 GNT

This a value for value podcast. There are no advertisers because advertising equals censorship. If you enjoy the Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind, decide how much value it brings to you. Only you can make that determination. Then put a number on the value and donate here: SUPPORT.

The post S1E192: Proverbs 10: Knowing When To Be Quiet first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Podcast IntroductionThis is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, I am your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. Welcome! I’m so glad you are here today. If you are new to the show, I want you to know that we don’t have listeners, we have family…the ls fam. If you’re hearing my voice, you are a member of the ls fam, and I hope you’ll be with us every day, because this is the daily podcast where we are reading through the entire bible in a year. We’re a little more than halfway through, but you can jump in any time. All of the past episodes from the beginning of the season (and this is season 12) are available at lifespringmedia.com. So if you want to start at episode 1, you can do that, too. Either way, I’m so glad you’re here. And if you’ve been with me since the beginning or joined sometime after, you know I’m glad you’re here. But I’ll say it anyway. I’m so happy to have you along!

Today we’ll read Psalms 81-83. Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you. I’m calling today’s episode “Accountability.”

Comments on Psalm 82You probably noticed in verse one where it said, “He pronounces judgment among the gods” and then in verses six and seven, “You are gods. You are all sons of the Most High.”

If you’re not reading along with me with a printed or online Bible, I should probably point out to you that the word “gods” here is written with a small “g”, meaning that God is not making them equal with Himself. But besides that, what is going on here? Are there other gods?

Well, of course we make gods of many different things. Anything you put above the true Almighty God (capital “G”) has become, for you, a god (small “g”), and that can only spell trouble for you. That’s why Jesus told the rich young ruler in Matthew 19:16-22 to go and sell everything. Remember that story? The young man asked Jesus what he must do to have eternal life. Jesus told him, “Keep the commandments.” The man told him that he had, and asked Jesus what he still lacked. Jesus told him to sell what he had and give to the poor, and then he would have treasure in heaven. Then he should go and follow Jesus. At that point the young man went away, grieving, because he had great wealth. So this young man’s god was his wealth.

We must guard against putting anything above Almighty God, our Creator.

But this isn’t the small “g” god that is referred to here in Psalms 82.

The word here refers to earthly magistrates and governors (or politicians). We can tell this by the language. It says, “How long are you going to judge unfairly? How long are you going to side with wicked people?” And it goes on to tell them what they should be doing, like defending the weak and defenseless. He is talking to those who were judges in Israel, because he says, “You are all sons of the Most High.” And he reminds them that they will be judged because of their own wickedness, ” You will certainly die like humans and fall like any prince.”

Luke 12:48 says, “To whom much is given, much will be required.” These “gods” were thinking much too highly of themselves, and had become corrupt and evil. The Psalmist was passing along God’s reproach to them.

This actually makes me think of another scripture. Ecclesiastes 1:9 says, “9Whatever has happened before will happen ⌞again⌟. Whatever has been done before will be done ⌞again⌟. There is nothing new under the sun.” Corrupt and evil politicians? Say it isn’t so.

Let us humbly thank God for the blessings and responsibilities He has given us, whatever they may be. And let us prayerfully consider how He wants us to use those things. We are only temporary custodians. If we are foolish enough to think that they come to us by our own efforts or because we deserve them, we run the risk of a great fall.

Comment at the bottom of the page.

Design: Steve WebbToday’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 81-83 GWT

The post S1E191: Psalms 81-83: Accountability first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Podcast IntroductionToday we’ll read 2 Kings 1-5. Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you. I’m calling today’s episode “It Can’t Be That Easy.”

Comments on 2 Kings 5 So this Naaman was an important guy, commander of the army of Syria. Note that Syria is not part of the Promised Land, and the Syrians are not part of God’s chosen people. As a matter of fact, one of the key people in this chapter was a young girl that was from Israel that had been captured by the Syrians.

And this girl, when she became aware that Naaman had leprosy, told him that there was a prophet who could cure him. This prophet was Elisha. This girl had huge faith. Elisha had never healed anyone of leprosy, but her faith was great.

Now here is an important fact about faith. It is not something that comes from us. It is a gift of God. There are many scriptures that tell us this, but I’ll just give you one for now. Hebrews 12:2 says that He is the author and finisher of our faith. Whatever faith we have comes from Him.

So God gave this young girl the faith that would move Naaman to seek out Elisha. And what happened when Elisha first told Naaman how to receive his healing? Naaman rejected it! It seemed too easy! “What? Wash in the Jordan?!?”

Why did he discount the prescription? First off, he expected more of a production…he expected some sort of hocus pocus and arm waving. Secondly, the Jordan was seen by this Syrian as “less than” one of his own rivers from his home.

Naaman had no faith in the cure.

But his servants said, “Hey, why not try it? What have you got to lose? What if it works? Isn’t it worth a try?”

And you know what happened. He went in the Jordan and was cured.

He was cured not because of his faith, but because of the glory that would come to God.

Naaman declared that he now believed that the Lord was the only God. And he committed to worship and sacrifice to only the Lord. Think of it. This man who was very important, and had thousands of people under his leadership declared that the God of the Hebrews is the one and only God. How many other people were changed by that declaration we do not know, but God saw to it that His name became known to an entire nation. And He did that through the faith He gave to one young slave girl.

What will God accomplish through you? You don’t need a pulpit. You don’t need a degree or a prestigious job or 10,000 followers on Twitter. All you need is the faith God gave you and the willingness to speak when He prompts you. Who knows what’ll happen?

Feel free to comment below.

Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Behrouz Jafarnezhad on UnsplashToday’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-2 CEB; Ch. 3-5 ESV

The post S1E190: 2 Kings 1-5: It Can’t Be That Easy first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Podcast IntroductionToday we’ll read Leviticus 10-12. Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you. I’m calling today’s episode “What Were They Thinking?”

Comments on Leviticus 10Let’s look at verses 1 and 2:

Nadab and Abihu were two of Aaron’s sons. They got their shallow cups for burning incense. They put fire in them. They added incense to it. They made an offering to the Lord by using fire that wasn’t allowed. They did it against his command. So the Lord sent fire on them. It burned them up. They died in front of the Lord.

Leviticus 10:1-2 NIRV

Think about what Nadab and Abihu had witnessed. In the closing verse of chapter 9, the Lord Himself sent fire down on the altar and burned up the burnt offering. So they had a very recent evidence of the reality of God.

In addition, they witnessed the miracles that He did in bringing them out of Egypt. They heard the voice of the Lord, saw the fire, smoke and lightning, and they felt the earth shake at Mt. Sinai. They were there with Moses, Aaron and the seventy elders when God called a meeting on Mt. Sinai, and according to Exodus 24, they actually saw God!

What were Nadab and Abihu thinking on this fateful day when they decided to go against the very explicit instructions of God? Was it pride? Ambition? Jealousy? We don’t know. Maybe it was familiarity…they might have just become used to the idea of serving God. Maybe they no longer thought of their duties as special. Whatever they were thinking, they were not considering the holiness and truly awesome nature of God.

Beloved, though we live in the age of grace, once again we must be reminded that God does not change. Yes, Jesus is our intercessor at the right hand of God the Father. And it is Jesus who took upon Himself the sin of the world…my sin and yours. But let us not become so familiar with God that we take His grace for granted. That grace came with an enormous price. Let us not cheapen it with a cavalier attitude. Because I can assure you, God does not.

Let us be thankful each and every day for the forgiveness we have received through the shed blood of Jesus. Let us magnify Him, let us lift His name, let us worship Him for what He has done for us. Let us thank Him for allowing us to be alive today, and for sustaining us because of His love. Let us consider how we can serve Him with thanksgiving in our hearts.

With Easter, or Resurrection Day as I prefer to call it, just a little over a month away, let us think of how Jesus, of His own free will, gave up the glories of Heaven to be born a completely helpless human baby, in a very primitive time, into a poor, working class family, with a mission to live a perfect sinless life, to ultimately be deserted by his friends and beaten nearly to death, and hung on a cross, where even God the Father had to turn his face from Him. But just three days later, Jesus triumphed over sin and death when He walked out of the tomb. Hallelujah! Oh death, where is thy sting? Jesus is triumphant, and He sits at the right hand of the Father, now and forever.

This is the God we serve. This is the God who saved us. And this is why we must never take Him for granted. Hallelujah and amen!

Comment at the bottom of this page.

Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Sayak Bala on UnsplashToday’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 10 NIRV, Ch. 11-12 NKJV

The post S1E189: Leviticus 10-12: What Were They Thinking? first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Welcome to the newest show in the Lifespring! Media family of podcasts! Every week host Steve Webb will bring you great value for value music for your enjoyment.

Support the show and stream sats, boost and send boostagrams! The sats will automatically switch to the artists wallets when playing their songs. How cool is that?

Use a modern podcast app from podcastapps.com to support the show and the music:

Fountain
Podverse
Podfans
Curiocaster
Podfriend
Podcast Guru
Podcast Addict
More will certainly be added!

Music on Today’s ShowBryan Duncan: I’d Like To Thank You (For One Thing)

Vertigo Kidd: Pirate Radio

City Beach: Pour Over

Mosquito Virtual: Melancia

Geoff and The Tonewheels: Step Kick

Cody Canyon: Dreams Of You

LifePoint Music: This Is The Good News

Jeremy Oliveria: Looking For You (Feat. Kellin Quinn)

Amber Sweeney: Finding Your Way

Allen C. Paul: Sergio’s Serenade

Jimmie Bratcher: Get Out The Boat 2023 LIVE

The Doerfels: Don’t Forget Me

The post Lifespring Music Show 2.0 – Episode 2 first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Podcast IntroductionOur reading today is 2 Corinthians 4-5, and I’m calling the episode “Make A Decision.”

Comments on 2 Corinthians 5Today I’m going to focus on the seventh verse of chapter 5, which just happens to consist of only seven words: We live by believing, not by seeing.

You know, there comes a time in each person’s life where they just have to make a decision. Given the facts that can be known, and accepting that there are some things that cannot be known, we just have to decide and move forward.

I have someone in my life who has a tremendous amount of knowledge about the Word of God, he’s well read, he’s listened to some of the world’s best teachers, he says he believes, and yet he cannot rest in his faith. He continues to have doubts, because there are things of God that he cannot understand.

My first response is, “Of course you can’t understand it all. God is infinite. We are finite. It would be a small god indeed if we could have perfect understanding of him.”

Thankfully, God has loving patience. He allows circumstances in our lives that cause us to have to trust Him, and when we see how He was present in those circumstances, our faith grows.

About nine years ago, when my middle son, Steven, nearly died, God showed the Lovely Lady LeeAnn and I once more that He is trustworthy. Today, Steven is physically healthy, he just celebrated his seventh wedding anniversary with his beautiful wife, and he’s doing well in his career.

My wife and I felt God’s presence during Steven’s crisis, and we knew that whatever happened, He would not desert us. It would have been easy to look at circumstances and fall apart. Steven came within a hair’s breadth of dying. During those hours that he was in the operating room, my wife and I certainly were afraid for Steven, and we shed many tears as we cried out to God to spare him, but we didn’t doubt that God had Steven in His hands. And we knew that his being in God’s hands was the very best place that he could be. LeeAnn and I were willing to accept God’s will for Steven and for us, because we were living by believing, not by seeing.

Beloved, there are countless times in each of our lives where we cannot see what lies ahead. We don’t know what God is doing in a given situation. All seems lost, or the way forward is unknown. That is where faith comes in. We live by believing, not by seeing.

Philippians 4:6 and 7 says, “6Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

“The peace of God, which transcends all understanding…” All of the knowledge in the world, all of the “seeing” in the world, will not bring such peace. To have this peace, the peace of God, we need to decide to believe. Put the “need to know” away. You can’t know. Do your due diligence, to be sure, but then, make the decision and let the peace of God guard your heart and mind. He has made promises galore in regards to his love and protection.

Decide to believe. Rest in God’s peace. Live as God guides you.

Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Jen Theodore on UnsplashToday’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 5-6 NIRV

TranscriptTranscript not corrected.

The post S1E125-2 Corinthians 4-5: Make A Decision first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Transcript Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 5-6 NET; Ch. 7 NLT Associate Producer Sister Ann Podcast Introduction It’s Epistles Sunday, and we’ll Epistles Sunday, and we’ll read Hebrews 5-7. We’ll also have a time of prayer. I’m calling this episode “Phinehas’ Righteous Anger.“ Summary Hebrews 7 discusses Melchizedek, a mysterious...

The post Hebrews 5-7: The Priesthood of Jesus (Corrected) first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Transcript

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 29-30 GW, Ch. 31-32 NET

Executive ProducerJohn Train

Associate ProducerJørn Rune Reinertsen

Podcast IntroductionIt’s the Law Monday, and we’ll read Exodus 29-32. I’m calling this episode “Why Should I Worry?” And I’m going to answer a question from a Lifespring! Family member about the childhood of Jesus.

Design: Scott Snider | Photo: Jeff Jacobs on UnsplashComments on Exodus 29-32Today’s reading really covered a tremendous range didn’t it? From the anointing Aaron and his sons as priests, to the instructions for sacrifices, to God’s giving the Tablets of the Law (inscribed with his own finger, by the way), to the abomination of the golden calf, to Moses interceding on behalf of the people. It’s hard to know where to focus my comments today,

I could talk about how Jesus is represented in establishing the priesthood in the daily offerings, and in the different elements talked about in Chapter 30, which were the altar of incense, the ransom each person was to pay at the census, the bronze basin, the anointing oil, and the incense that was used in the tent or tabernacle. All of these things pointed to Christ in a specific way.

I could talk about how God enables us for the work he calls us to as he did Bezalel and Oholiab, and all the workers who were to help with the work.

I could also talk about the significance of God delivering the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone.

And I could talk at some length about the shameful scene of the golden calf.

Beloved, as I sit here today, reading these four chapters, I’m struck at God’s infinite patience and love for us. I can’t fathom how or why our omniscient, righteous, holy God, knowing the path that mankind would take, would nonetheless create us. I mean, think of it, he created a perfect planet for us. He placed our first parents, Adam and Eve there, where there was no sickness and no death. Nothing was there that would cause harm. But because God wanted mankind to love him of our own freewill, he gave us the ability to make the choice between right and wrong, knowing that we would make wrong choices. And of course, you know the rest of the story.

Ultimately, God made a way, at great cost to himself, for mankind to be reconciled to Him, if they would just believe in the Savior that he himself provided.

This is a love that drives me to my knees, beloved. I can only offer up my feeble praise and worship. I have nothing of value to offer him. He didn’t choose me or you because of anything that we could do for Him. He is entirely self sufficient. He doesn’t need us. But for some inexplicable reason God wants to love us and to be loved by us. The entire relationship between God and man is based on his infinite love.

Why would he put himself through the heartbreak of seeing us rebel against him, time and time and time again? Why would he give up the glories of heaven to live on the earth as one of us, only to be mercilessly beaten and hung on a cross? Why would he?

I honestly cannot begin to imagine this kind of love. All I can do is accept it, knowing that it cost him so much that I can never repay him. All I can do is offer Him my life, as broken as it is, to do with it whatever he wants. Some people might say, “Isn’t that a scary thought to offer your life, not knowing what he’ll do with it?” And my response is, whatever he does, he will do with love. Why should I worry? He loves me, and he is good.

TranscriptDownload .txt file.

Steve Webb 0:00
For some inexplicable reason God wants to love us and to be loved by us.

Steve Webb 0:14
This is the Lifespring one year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California. And I’m Steve Webb, your og Godcaster. Podcasting since 2004. How are you? This is the law Monday and Our reading today will be Exodus 29 through 32. I’m calling this episode, why should I worry? And I’m going to answer a question from a Lifespring family member about the childhood of Jesus. Remember, I’m giving away a copy of the Jesus revolution book to three Lifespring family members this coming Saturday, if you’d like to have one of these, you’ll have to enter the drawing. And the way you do that is by sending an email to me at steve@lifespringmedia.com with the words, I want a Jesus revolution in the subject line, or you can send a boostagram With those words, or you’re planning to go to see the movie this week. We had an IR for us, it’ll be the second time. If you’re on the fence and you want to see some trailers for go to Lifespringmedia.com slash Jesus revolution. I’ve got some trailers up there. Now before we get to the reading, let’s pray. Our Father, we thank You for Your Word. And I pray that You would speak through me as I comment on today’s reading. And as I answer the question about the boyhood of Jesus, I pray this in his name, amen. Okay, you’re ready. Let’s begin.

Steve Webb 1:29
Exodus chapter 29. The Lord continued. Now this is what you must do in order to set Aaron and his sons apart to serve me as priests. Take a young bull that has no defects and two rams that have no defects. Use the finest wheat flour but no yeast and bake some loaves of bread, some rings of bread made with olive oil, and some wafers brushed with olive oil. Put the bread in a basket and bring the basket along with the young bull and the two RAMs. Then bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and wash them. Take the clothes and put them on Aaron, the linen robe, the ephod in the robe that is worn with it and the breastplate. Use the belt to tie it on him tightly. Put his turban on him and fasten the Holy Crown to it. Take the anointing oil, pour it on his head and anoint him, have his sons come forward, dress them in their linen robes and put turbans on them. Tie belts around the waist Savannah and his sons. They alone are to be priests. This is a permanent law. In this way, you will ordain Aaron and his sons. Then bring the young bowl to the front of the Tent of Meeting. Aaron and his sons will place their hands on its head. Slaughter the bowl in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the 10 of meeting. Take some of the bulls blood and put it on the horns of the altar with your finger. Pour the rest of it out at the bottom of the altar. Then take all the fat that covers the internal organs, the lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with the fat on them and burn them on the altar. But burn the bulls meat skin and excrement outside the camp. It is an offering for sin. Take one of the Rams then Aaron and his sons will place their hands on its head, slaughter it take the blood and throw it against the altar on all sides. Cut the ran into pieces, washed the internal organs and legs and put them with the other pieces in the head. Then burn the whole RAM on the altar. It’s a burnt offering a soothing aroma and offering by fire to the Lord. Take the other RAM then Aaron and his sons will place their hands on its head, slaughter it take some of the blood and put it on the right ear lobes of Aaron and his sons on their right thumbs and on the big toes of their right feet. Throw the rest of the blood against the altar on all sides. Take some of the blood that is on the altar in some of the anointing oil and sprinkle it on Aaron and his clothes and on his sons and their clothes. In this way, Aaron his sons and their clothes will be holy. From the same RAM take the fat, the fat of the tail, the fat that covers the internal organs, the lobe of the liver, the two kidneys with the fat on them and the right thigh. This is the ramp for the ordination. From the basket of unleavened bread which is in the Lord’s presence. Take a round loaf of bread, a ring of bread made with olive oil and a wafer put all of these in the hands of Aaron and his sons who will offer them to the Lord. Then take them from their hands and burn them on the altar on top of the burnt offering. It’s a soothing aroma in the Lord’s presence and offering by fire to the Lord. Take the breast from the RAM used for Aaron’s ordination and present it to the Lord. This will be your share set apart is wholly the breast that is offered to the Lord and the thigh that is the contribution both will come from the ram used for the ordination, they both belong to Aaron and his sons. It is a permanent law that the Israelites give this portion to Aaron and his sons as a contribution. This will also be their contribution to the Lord from the fellowship offerings. Aaron’s holy clothes will belong to his descendants so that they can be anointed and ordained in them. The son who succeeds him as priest, the one who goes into the 10 of meeting to serve in the holy place, will wear them for seven days. Take the RAM used for the ordination and toilets meet in a holy place. At the entrance to the 10 of meeting, Aaron and his sons will eat the meat of the ram and the bread left in the basket. They will eat those offerings through which they made peace with the Lord at their ordination and installation. No one else may eat them because the offerings are holy. If any meat or bread from the ordination is left over until morning, burn it up. It must not be eaten because it is holy. Do this with Aaron and his sons exactly as I have commanded you. Take seven days to ordain them. Each day sacrifice a young bull is an offering to make peace with the Lord. Sacrifice this offering for sin on the altar in order to pay for its sins, then anointed with olive oil in order to dedicate it. For seven days at the altar, make peace with the Lord and set the altar apart for its holy purpose, then the altar will be most holy. Anything that touches the altar will become holy. This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly every day to one year old lambs offer one in the morning in the other at dusk. With the first lamb make an offering of eight cups of flour mixed with one quart of virgin olive oil. Make a wine offering of one quart of wine, offer the other lamb at dusk and with it make the same grain offering and wine offering as in the morning. This is a soothing aroma and offering by fire to the Lord. For generations to come. This will be the daily burn offering made in the Lord’s presence at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. There I will meet with you to speak to you. I will also meet with the Israelites there and my glory will make this place holy. I will dedicate the Tent of Meeting and the altar for their holy purposes. I will set Aaron and his sons apart for their holy duties of serving me as priests, then I will live among the Israelites and be their God. They will know that I am the LORD their God. I brought them out of Egypt so that I might live among them I in the Lord their God.

Steve Webb 7:42
Exodus chapter 30 The Lord continued build an altar out of acacia wood for burning incense. Make it 18 inches square and 36 inches high. The horns at altar must be made out of one piece of wood. Cover all of it with pure gold the top the sides in the horns, put a gold molding around it. Make two gold rings and put them below the molding on opposite sides to hold the poles for carrying it. Make the poles out of acacia wood and cover them with gold. Put the altar in front of the canopy which hangs over the Ark containing the words of my promise. I will meet with you there in front of the throne of mercy that is on the ark. Aaron must burn sweet smelling incense on this altar every morning when he takes care of the lamps. Also when Aaron lights the lamps at dusk he must burn incense for generations to come and incense offering must burn constantly in the Lord’s presence. Never burn any unauthorized incense on this altar or any burnt offerings or grain offerings. Never pour a wine offering on it. Once a year Aaron must make peace with the Lord by putting blood on its horns. Once a year for generations to come, blood from the offering must be placed on the altar to make peace with the Lord. It is most holy to the Lord. Then the Lord said to Moses, when you take a census of the Israelites, each person must pay the Lord a ransom for his life when he is counted, then no plague will happen to them when they are counted. As each person is counted, he must give 1/5 of an ounce of silver using the standard weight of the holy place. This 1/5 of an ounce of silver is a contribution to the Lord. Everyone counted who was at least 20 years old must give this contribution to the Lord. The rich must not give more than 1/5 of an ounce of silver and the poor must not give less. This contribution is given to make peace with the Lord and make your lives acceptable to the Lord. Take the money the Israelites give to make peace with the Lord and use it to pay the expenses of the 10 of meeting. It will be a reminder for the Israelites in the Lord’s presence that the sins in their lives are removed. The Lord said to Moses, make a bronze basin with a bronze stand for washing, put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and fill it with water. Aaron and his sons will use it for washing their hands and feet. Before they go into the 10 of meeting they must wash so that they will not die. Before they come near the altar to serve as priests and burn in offering by fire to the Lord. They will wash their hands and feet so that they will not die. This will be a permanent law for him and his descendants for generations to come. The Lord said to Moses, take the finest spices 12 and a half pounds of powdered myrrh, half as much that is six and a quarter pounds of fragrant cinnamon, six and a quarter pounds of fragrant cane 12 and a half pounds of Kashia. All weighed using the standard weight of the holy place, and four quarts of olive oil. Have a perfumer make these into a holy oil, a fragrant mixture used only for anointing. This will be the holy oil used for anointing. Use it to anoint the tent of meeting the Ark containing the words of my promise, the table and all the dishes, the lampstand and all the utensils, the altar for incense, the altar for burnt offerings and all its accessories and the basin with its stand. In this way you will dedicate them for their holy purpose, then they will be most holy, and anything that touches them will become holy, anoint Aaron and his sons as well. In this way you will set them apart for their holy duties of serving me as priests say to the Israelites for generations to come. This will be my holy oil used only for anointing. It must never be poured on the bodies of other people. Never make any perfumed oil using this formula. It is holy, and you must treat it as holy. Whoever prepares a perfume like this or puts it on anyone who is not a priest must be excluded from the people. The Lord said to Moses, take one part fragrant spices, two kinds of gum resin and aromatic mollusk shells and mix them with one part pure frankincense. Have a perfumer, make it into a fragrant incense seasoned with salt pure and holy grind some of it into a fine powder and put it in front of the Ark containing the words of my promise. In the tent of meeting where I will meet with you, you must treat it as most holy. Never make any incense for yourselves using this formula. Treat it as holy to the Lord. Whoever prepares anything like it for his own enjoyment, must be excluded from his people.

Steve Webb 12:46
Exodus chapter 31. The Lord spoke to Moses. See, I have chosen Bezaleel son of Uriah the son of her of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God in skill in understanding in knowledge and in all kinds of craftsmanship, to make artistic designs for work with gold with silver and with bronze. And with cutting in setting stone and with cutting wood to work in all kinds of craftsmanship. Moreover, I have also given him a holy app SON OF A his iMac of the tribe of Dan and I have given ability to all the specially skilled that they may make everything I have commanded you the Tent of Meeting, the Ark of the testimony, the atonement lid that is on it, all the furnishings of the tent, the table with its utensils, the pure Lampstand with all its utensils, the altar of incense, the altar for the burnt offering with all its utensils, the large base it with its base, the woven garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments for his sons to ministers, priests, the anointing oil and sweet incense for the holy place. They will make all these things just as I have commanded you. The Lord said to Moses, tell the Israelites surely you must keep my Sabbath’s for it as a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. So you must keep the Sabbath for it is holy for you. Everyone who defies it must surely be put to death. Indeed, if anyone does any work on it, then that person will be cut off from among his people. Six days work may be done. But on the seventh day is a sabbath of complete rest holy to the Lord. Anyone who does work on the Sabbath day must surely be put to death. The Israelites must keep the Sabbath by observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the Israelites forever. For in six days the LORD made the heavens in the earth and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed. He gave Moses two tablets of testimony when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, tablets of stone written by the finger of God.

Steve Webb 15:08
Exodus chapter 32. When the people saw that Moses delayed in coming down from the mountain, they gathered around Aaron and said to him, Get up, make us Gods that will go before us. As for this fellow, Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what is become of him. So Aaron said to them, break off the gold earrings that are on the ears of your wives, your sons and your daughters and bring them to me. So all the people broke off the gold earrings that were on their ears and brought them to Aaron. He accepted the gold from them, fashioned it with an engraving tool and made a molten calf. Then they said, these are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt. When Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it. And Aaron made a proclamation and said, Tomorrow we will feast to the Lord. So they got up early on the next day and offered up burnt offerings and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and drink and they rose up to play. The Lord spoke to Moses, Go quickly descend, because your people whom you brought up from the land of Egypt have acted corruptly. They have quickly turned aside from the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and have bowed down to it and sacrificed to it and said, these are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt. Then the Lord said to Moses, I have seen this people, look what a stiff neck, people they are. So now leave me alone so that my anger can burn against them, and I can destroy them. And I will make from you a great nation. But Moses sought the favor of the Lord his God and said, Oh Lord, why does your anger burn against your people whom you have brought out from the land of Egypt, with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say for evil, he led them out, to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth. Turn from your burning anger, and relent of this evil against your people. Remember, Abraham, Isaac and Israel, your servants to whom you swore by yourself and told them, I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken about I will give to your descendants, and they will inherit it forever. Then the Lord relented over the evil that he had said he would do to his people. Moses turned and went down from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hands, the tablets were written on both sides, they were written on the front and on the back. Now the tablets were the work of God. And the writing was the writing of God engraved on the tablets. When Joshua heard the noise of the people as they shouted, he said to Moses, it is the sound of war in the camp. Moses said, it is not the sound of those who shout for victory. Nor is it the sound of those who cry because they are overcome. But the sound of singing I hear, when he approached the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses became extremely angry. He threw the tablets from his hands and broke them to pieces at the bottom of the mountain. He took the calf they had made and burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, pour it out on the water, and may the Israelites drink it. Moses said to Aaron, what did this people do to you that you have brought on them so greatest sin, Aaron said, do not let your anger burn hot, my lord, you know these people that they tend to evil. They said to me, make us God’s that will go before us for His for this fellow, Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him. So I said to them, whoever has gold, break it off. So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire. And this calf came out. Moses saw that the people were running wild, for Aaron had let them get completely out of control, causing derision from their enemies. So Moses stood at the entrance of the camp and said, whoever is for the Lord come to me, all the Levites gathered around him. And he said to them, Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, each man fasten his sword on his side, and go back and forth from entrance to entrance throughout the camp, and each one kill his brother, his friend and his neighbor, the Levites did what Moses ordered. And that day, about 3000 Men of the people died. Moses said, you have been consecrated today for the Lord, for each of you was against his son or against his brother, so he has given a blessing to you today. The next day, Moses said to the people, you have committed a very serious sin, but now I will go up to the Lord, perhaps I can make atonement on behalf of your sin. So Moses returned to the Lord and said, Alas, this people has committed a very serious sin and they have made for themselves gods of gold. But now, if you will forgive their sin, but if not, wipe me out from your book that you have written. The Lord said to Moses, whoever has sinned against me, that person I will wipe out of my book. So now go lead the people to the place I have spoken to you about, see, my angel will go before you. But on the day that I punish, I will indeed punish them for their sin. And the Lord sent a plague on the people because they had made the calf the one Aaron made.

Steve Webb 20:36
Well, today’s reading really covered a tremendous range didn’t it? From the anointing a veteran and his sons as priests to the instructions for sacrifices to God’s giving the Tablets of the Law inscribed with his own finger, by the way, to the abomination of the golden calf, to Moses interceding on behalf of the people, it’s hard to know where to focus my comments today, I could talk about how Jesus is represented in establishing the priesthood in the daily offerings, and in the different elements talked about in Chapter 30, which were the altar of incense, the ransom each person was to pay at the census, the bronze basin, the anointing oil, and the incense that was used in the tent or tabernacle. All of these things pointed to Christ in a specific way. I could talk about how God enables us for the work he calls us to as he did bezel L and a holy AB and all the workers who were to help with the work. I could also talk about the significance of God delivering the 10 commandments on tablets of stone, and I could talk at some length about the shameful scene of the golden calf. Beloved, as I sit here today, reading these four chapters, I’m struck at God’s infinite patience and love for us. I can’t fathom how or why are omniscient, righteous, holy God, knowing the path that mankind would take, would nonetheless create us. I mean, think of it, he created a perfect planet for us. He placed our first parents, Adam and Eve there, where there was no sickness and no death. Nothing was there that would cause harm. But because God wanted mankind to love him of our own freewill, he gave us the ability to make the choice between right and wrong, knowing that we would make wrong choices. And of course, you know the rest of the story. Ultimately, God made away at great cost to himself, for mankind to be reconciled to Him, if they would just believe in the Savior that he himself provided. This is a love that drives me to my knees, beloved, I can only offer up my feeble praise and worship, I have nothing of value to offer him. He didn’t choose me or you because of anything that we could do for him. He is entirely self sufficient. He doesn’t need us. But for some inexplicable reason God wants to love us and to be loved by us. The entire relationship between God and man is based on his infinite love. Why would he put himself through the heartbreak of seeing us rebel against him? Time and time and time again? Why would he give up the glories of heaven to live on the earth is one of us only to be mercilessly beaten and hung on a cross? Why would he, I honestly cannot begin to imagine this kind of love. All I can do is accept it, knowing that it cost him so much that I can never repay him. All I can do is offer Him my life as broken as it is to do with it whatever he wants. Some people might say, isn’t that a scary thought to offer your life, not knowing what he’ll do with it? And my response is, whatever he does, he will do with love. Why should I worry? He loves me, and he is good. Well, beloved, what do you think about God’s love? Let me know, call the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1-951-732-8511 Or comment via boostagram. You can also go to comment.lifespringmedia.com or send an email to me at Steve at Lifespringmedia.com. See how easy I make it for you to get in touch with me. That’s how much I want to hear from you. About tomorrow. We’ll be history Tuesday, and we’ll complete the book of Second Samuel with a reading of chapters 20 through 24.

Announcer 24:27
New mail notification

Steve Webb 24:27
James Garner sent me a comment and he said, “I caught up! Now that I’ve heard the beginning until now I get what you’re doing. It’s not as confusing as I thought it was. But now the question. I was listening to someone talking about the Quran and she mentioned that in the Holy Bible, you don’t hear much if anything about Jesus during childhood. I suspect she’s right as I cannot call up anything from what exposure I had to the Bible. Yet I seem to know just about every Old Testament story you’ve covered so far. Furthermore, she said that Jesus, specifically his childhood, is covered in detail in the Quran. Is this true? Why would this information not be covered in the Holy Bible? Seems like it would be there.” And he just signed, “James.” Well, first off, thank you for your note, James, and congratulations on getting caught up. I do understand how the format can be confusing at the beginning. And that’s one reason that every so often I take a moment in the show to explain why we seem to be jumping around in the schedule. I’m glad that makes sense to you now. Now, your question about Jesus childhood is reasonable. Of course, we’re curious about his childhood. Really, though all we know about Jesus as a boy is found in Luke chapter two, verses 41 through 52. I encourage you to go read that. But the fact that God only gave us this very brief glimpse of Jesus childhood tells us that God didn’t find it necessary to give that information to us. But he did give us what was needed for his purposes. We just have to in faith, trust that he knows what he’s doing. And of course he does. Now, in regards to the Koran, while we are supposed to demonstrate God’s love to the Muslim people, just as we are to anyone else, the Koran is not God inspired scripture. If it has a story of Jesus childhood, we can’t look at it as reliable. While the Muslims regard Jesus as a prophet, they deny that he is the Son of God, and the fact that he is God. As a matter of fact, one of their primary teachings is that God has no son. Well, as Christians, we believe that God is one but that he is at the same time, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit with Jesus being the Son, of course. And there are many biblical passages to support the concept of the Trinity, many. And Jesus said, I and the Father are One son tried to say that when Jesus said He and the Father are One, that he just meant that they had the same mission, the same mindset. Well, that’s not at all what he was saying. When Jesus said I am the Father are one he was saying that he was equal to the Father. And when he said that to the Jewish leaders, they understood that he was making that claim. That’s why they picked up stones to stone him to death for the crime of blasphemy. When they picked up the stones, Jesus said, Why are you doing that? They said, because you being a man, make yourself God. So they understood what claim he was making. And Jesus also said, I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. Muslims reject that. I could spend literally hours on the differences between Christianity and Islam. But that isn’t what the Lifespring one your Bible is all about. We read the Bible here and we discuss what God says in it. And by becoming students of the Bible, it becomes easier to discern the truth from falsehood. If other teachings contradict what the Bible says, we have to set them aside. James, I hope that helps. And Thanks again for your question. Feel free to write in any time.

Steve Webb 28:23
I get to thank a couple of people today John Train came in today with his monthly $50 donation making him this episode’s executive producer John thank you so very much, brother, God bless you. And Jørn Rune Reinertsen came in today with his weekly $5 donation. He is today’s associate producer, thank you Jørn and God bless you.

Jingle 28:43
Lifespringmedia.com/support

Steve Webb 28:50
Remember that our next time of prayer will be this coming Wednesday. If you have something you’d like to share with the family in terms of prayer requests or praises, go on over to prayer.lifespringmedia.com and fill out that form there. If you’d like you can call in your prayer request or praise on the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1-951-732-8511.

Steve Webb 29:17
Remember to send in your entry for the drawing for a copy of the Jesus revolution book, send an email to me with the words I want Jesus revolution or send to boostagram with those same words. I’ll do the drawing on Saturday.

Steve Webb 29:37
Thanks to Scott Snider for today’s art and also Thanks to Sister Denise who does the transcripts. Michael Haner, who does the chapters, Jason Paschall who also does some of the artwork and Brittaney Who does the newsletter. I’m so thankful for you guys and I’m thankful for you. Thank you for inviting me into your day. And now until tomorrow may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

Announcer 30:03
The Lifespring media family of programs are made possible by the generous support of listeners like you. Thank you.

Announcer 30:11
Boost.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript not yet corrected.

The post Exodus 29-32: Why Should I Worry? first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Transcript

Today’s Bible TranslationBible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 48 GWT, Ch. 49 NIV, Ch. 50 CEB

Podcast IntroductionThis is Psalms Wednesday, and we’ll read chapters 48-50. The show title is ˆThe Motivation Is Love.”

Design: Jason Paschall | Photo: Zac Durant on UnsplashComments on Psalms 50God, who “owns the cattle on a thousand hills” does not find pleasure in the sacrifice of bulls or rams or (in our modern time) money. What He desires is our heart, our devotion, our thanks, our praise, our “us”. He wants a people who acknowledge Him for who He is, and what He has done for us. He wants us to desire to know Him, not go through religious motions with no heart.

I am deeply in love with my wife, the Lovely Lady LeeAnn. Of all the people on Earth, she is the one who gives me a reason to get up in the morning. She is my world. I still tell her multiple times a day that I love her. But more than that, I still look for ways to show her that I love her. Not because she requires it, but because I love to make her happy. And I would never dream of doing something that I know would make her unhappy, even though, sometimes I do. And when I become aware that I have disappointed her, I try to be quick to apologize.

LeeAnn works outside the home. Most of the time, I do my work from home. On the days when she has to leave early in the morning, I usually get out of bed to make breakfast for her. I don’t do this because I have to, or because it’s an obligation. I do it because I love her, and it helps to make her day just a little bit better.

The relationship I have with my wife is a type, an example, of the relationship God wants to have with us. He desires that we love Him. That we tell Him so. That when we do things for Him, it’s because of love, not because it’s a requirement. As I find joy in doing things to make LeeAnn happy, God wants us to find joy in the things we do for Him.

Think of all He has done for us, before we even knew Him! He gave us the gift of life. He gave us a beautiful planet on which to live. He gave us music. He gave us sunshine. He gave us rain. He gave us puppies and kittens and the giggles of children. And He gave us His Son, who so selflessly gave His life so that we could have fellowship with God for all eternity.

For the life of me, I cannot understand people who reject such a God as this.

TranscriptDownload .txt file.

Steve Webb 0:00
What He desires is our hearts, our devotion, our thanks, our praise, our us.

Steve Webb 0:14
It’s the Lifespring one year Bible and coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I’m your og Godcaster. Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And it’s Psalms Wednesday, we’ll read chapters 48 through 50. The title of this episode is the motivation is love. Now being Wednesday, this is supposed to be our praises and prayer requests day, but I’m going to push it back a day. As you know, I usually record a day ahead. So this show normally would be recorded on Tuesday. But I’m actually recording the show on Monday because the Lovely Lady LeeAnn and I are going to be spending Tuesday with some lifelong friends, Mark and Karen. I told you a little bit about Mark just recently, well, they live in the Palm Springs area a little over an hour away. And there’s an aerial tramway just outside of Palm Springs that takes you from the desert floor, up to an elevation of 8516 feet into the mountains, which are covered in snow right now. There’s a couple of restaurants up there. And of course, there are beautiful views. So needless to say, I won’t be recording this show on Tuesday, in case there are prayer requests or praises that come in the expecting to be shared on Wednesday show I decided to push them to Thursday, so they won’t have to wait until this Sunday. Hope that makes sense. I know that was a lot of explanation. But I do like to keep you in the loop. Today before we read each chapter as always with the Psalms. I’ll have a brief introduction and then I’ll have some comments after reading today’s chapters. Just a heads up this will be a short episode what with no prayer segment today. Now before we read, let’s pray. Our loving Heavenly Father, we thank you again for your word. And again, we thank you for the songs. I pray that as we read today you would teach us that you would touch our hearts and that you would touch our mind and pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Okay, let’s begin.

Steve Webb 2:12
The title of chapter 48 is a song A Psalm of the sons of Korah. The Hebrew word for song in the title is shear which conveys the idea of a joyful song. The same word is used in Genesis 3127, which says, Why did you flee away secretly and steal away from me and not tell me for I might have sent you away with joy and songs with timberland harp. It’s also in Psalm 33. Three, sing to him a new song play skillfully with a shout of joy. And I’ve told you before that the Sons of Korah were Levites, the tribe of priests and they seem to have been a part of the music ministry of Temple worship sort of the worship band.

Steve Webb 2:55
Psalms chapter 48. The Lord is great, he should be highly praised. His holy mountain is the city of our God. It’s beautiful peak is the joy of the whole earth. Mount Zion is on the northern ridge. It is the city of the great king. God is in its palaces, he has proved that he is a stronghold. The Kings have gathered, they marched together. When they saw Mount Zion, they were astonished. They were terrified and ran away in fear. Trembling sees them like the trembling that a woman experiences during labor. With the East when you smashed the ships of Tarshish the things we had only heard about we have now seen in the city of the Lord of Armies in the city of our God. God makes Zion stand firm forever. Sayla. Inside your temple, we carefully reflect on your mercy. Oh God, like your name. Oh God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. Let Mount Zion be glad in the cities of Judah rejoice because of your judgments. Walk around Zion, go around it, count its towers, examine its embankments, walk through its palaces, then you can tell the next generation. This God is our God forever and ever. He will lead us beyond death.

Steve Webb 4:19
The title of Psalm 49 is to the chief musician, a Psalm of the sons of Korah. Of this song G. Campbell Morgan wrote, the teaching of the song is simple and sublime, present and perpetual. And I love this from Alexander McLaren. This psalm touches the high watermark of Old Testament faith in a future life.

Steve Webb 4:43
Psalm chapter 49. Hear this all you peoples. Listen, all who live in this world both low and high, rich and poor alike. My mouth will speak words of wisdom. The meditation of my heart will give you understanding. I will turn my ear to a proverb with the harp I will expound my riddle. Why should I fear when evil days come? When wicked deceiver surround me, those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches, no one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them. The ransom for a life is costly. No payment is ever enough so that they should live on forever and not see decay. For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish in the senseless also perish leaving their wealth to others. Their tombs will remain their houses forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had named lands after themselves. People despite their wealth do not endure. They are like the beasts that perish. This is the fate of those who trust in themselves and of their followers who approve their sayings. They are like sheep and are destined to die. Death will be their shepherd, but the upright will prevail over them in the morning. Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions. But God will redeem me from the realm of death, he will surely take me to himself, do not be overawed when others grow rich. When the splendor of their houses increases, for they will take nothing with them when they die. Their splendor will not descend with them. Though while they live, they count themselves blast and people praise you when you prosper. They will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life. People who have wealth but lack understanding, are like the beasts that perish.

Steve Webb 6:44
Psalm 50 is entitled A Psalm of Asaph. This is the first song we see from a staff in the book of songs. We know from First Chronicles 15:16 and 25. That Asaph was a great singer and musician in both David in Solomon’s time. In addition, some of his songs were prophetic.

Steve Webb 7:05
Psalms chapter 50. From the rising of the sun to where it sets God, the Lord God speaks, calling out to the earth. From Zion, perfect and beauty. God shines brightly. Our God is coming. He won’t keep quiet. A devouring fire is before him. A storm rages all around him. God calls out to the skies above and to the Earth in order to judge his people. Bring my faithful to me, those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice. The skies proclaim His righteousness because God Himself is the judge. Selah. Listen, my people I will now speak Israel, I will now testify against you. I am God, Your God. I am not punishing you for the sacrifices or for your entirely burned offerings which are always before me. I won’t accept bowls from your house or goats from your corrals, because every forest animal already belongs to me as do the cattles on 1000 hills. I know every mountain bird, even the insects in the field are mine. Even if I were hungry, I wouldn’t tell you because the whole world and everything in it already belongs to me. Do I eat bulls meat? Do I drink goats blood? offer God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, fulfill the promises you made to the Most High? Cry out to me whenever you are in trouble, I will deliver you then you will honor me. But to the wicked God says, Why do you talk about my laws? Why do you even mention my covenant? You hate discipline and you toss my words behind your back. You make friends with thieves whenever you see one. You spend your time with adulterers. You set your mouth free to do evil, then harness your tongue to tell lies. You sit around talking about your own siblings, you find fault with the children of your very own mother. You’ve done these things and I’ve kept quiet. You thought I was just like you. But now I’m punishing you. I’m laying it all out right in front of your face. So consider this carefully. All you who forget God, or I’ll rip you to pieces with no one to deliver you. The one who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving is the one who honors me. And it is to the one who charts the correct path that I will show divine salvation.

Steve Webb 9:34
Let’s talk for a moment about Psalm 50. God who owns the cattle on 1000 hills does not find pleasure in the sacrifice of bulls or rams or in our modern time money. What he desires is our heart our devotion or thanks or praise our us. He wants to people who acknowledge Him for who He is and what He has done for us. He wants us to desire to know him not to go through religious motions with no heart, as you’ve heard me say, and maybe you’re getting tired of it, but I never get tired of saying it. I am deeply in love with a lovely lady Leanne, of all the people on earth. She is the one who gives me a reason to get up in the morning. She is my world. And I still tell her multiple times a day that I do love her. But more than that, I still look for ways to show her that I love her, not because she requires it, but because I love to make her Happy. And I would never dream of doing something that I know would make her unhappy even though sometimes I do. And when I become aware that I’ve disappointed her, I try to be quick to apologize. She works outside the home and most of the time I do my work from home. On the days when she has to leave early in the morning to go to work. I usually get out of bed to make breakfast for I don’t do it because I have to or because it’s an obligation. I do it because I love her. And it helps to make her day just a little bit better. The relationship that I have with Leanne is a type or example of the relationship God wants to have with us. He desires that we love him, and that we tell him so that when we do things for him, it’s because of love, not because it’s a requirement. As I find joy in doing things to make Leann Happy. God wants us to find joy in the things we do for him. Think of all these done for us before we even knew him. He gave us the gift of life. He gave us a beautiful planet on which to live. He gave us music. He gave us sunshine, he gave us rain. He gave us puppies and kittens and the giggles of little children. And as the grandfather that’s one of the greatest sounds in the world. And he gave us his son who so selflessly gave his life so that we could have fellowship with God for all of eternity. For the life of me, I can’t understand people who reject such a God is this. Let me know what you think. Call the Lifespring family Hotline at plus 1-951-732-8511 Or comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com or email me at Steve at Lifespringmedia.com dot com. And tomorrow will be poetry Thursday and we’ll read job 31 through 34.

Steve Webb 12:24
Today’s show art is by Jason Paschall, and my thanks to the entire team: Kirsty, Denise, Mike Haner, Scott Snider and Jason Paschall. God bless you guys. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. We will have prayer requests tomorrow, Thursday. Thanks for including me in your day today. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

James Cooper 12:48
all the programs in the Lifespringmedia.com family are made possible by the generous gifts of people like you

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

Transcript not yet corrected.

The post Psalms 48-50: The Motivation Is Love first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Transcript

It’s A Contest!Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Marek Piwnicki on UnsplashThe Announcement!Today is a very special show!

You’ll learn how you can get the chance to win a signed copy of Bryan Duncan’s “A NehoSoul Christmas” CD!

To enter, email the answers of the Christmas Trivia questions below to steve@lifespringmedia.com or info@whychristmas.com

The Questions1. What famous Christmas Classic did Bing Crosby record in 1942? 2. What was the name of Mary’s cousin she went to visit when she was pregnant? 3. Who invented electric lights for Christmas trees? 4. What’s the name of the Jewish festival that’s celebrated around the same time as Christmas? 5. How many other reindeer help Rudolph pull Santa’s sleigh? 6. What sweet bread is eaten for Christmas day breakfast in some parts of Belgium? 7. What town was Jesus born in? 8. What coin is it traditionally lucky to find in your portion of Christmas Pudding? 9. In what country would you sing the carol ‘Sambasamba Zanahary’? 10. What ancient religion might have the Wisemen belonged to?

TranscriptDownload .txt file.

Steve Webb 0:01
Hi there, this is day nine of the 2022 encore of the 2009 season of the Lifespring Why Christmas show hosted by James Cooper, creator of whychristmas.com. And me the OG Godcaster Steve Webb. Today, James and I’ll be announcing a very exciting contest. Be sure to listen closely for the details. The one thing that has changed since we did the show in 2009, is the location of the questions referred to in the episode on the show, you’ll hear me announced that the website to go to his Lifespring white christmas.com, that’s changed. The website is Lifespring media.com/day. Nine, that’s numeral nine. So keep that in mind. If you forget, come back and listen, you’ll want to know it. Every day from now to Christmas day you’ll hear an episode from the 2009 season. If you’re not yet subscribed, or following the show, you can do that at Lifespring White Christmas dot show. And if you enjoy the show, and would like to give some value back you can do so at Lifespring White Christmas dot show slash support. And if you have one of those new modern podcast apps, you can stream support as you listen and you can boost the show. It took a bit to get that working but it is full steam ahead for that now. Any questions? Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Okay, let’s go.

James Cooper 1:38
Welcome to day nine of the 2009 Lifespring by Christmas show. Steve’s with me today and it’s a bit of a special occasion.

Steve Webb 1:45
Hello, everyone. Yes, that’s right. As a first here on the Lifespring Why Christmas show. We’ve got a competition. You got the chance to win a signed copy of my good friend Brian Duncan’s Christmas album at Neil soul Christmas. This CD has got some new Christmas songs on it that will become some of your favorite Christmas songs, and several Christmas standards done with a new Brian duck and twist on it. I actually got together with Brian just a few days ago and we produced a commercial for the CD that will play at the end of today’s show. So you can get an idea of what it’s like.

James Cooper 2:15
To win the CD, we’ve got 10 Christmas trivia questions for you to answer. We’ll read the questions on the show. And all of the answers are somewhere on www dot whychristmas.com. And you might also get the answers on the Lifespring my Christmas show as well.

Steve Webb 2:29
The questions will also be in the show notes at Lifespringwhychristmas.com And on the whychristmas.com blog. When you know the answers, email them to Steve at Lifespring media.com or info at Whychristmas.com. And I’ll pull the winner out of Sants’s hat on the December 25 show.

James Cooper 2:46
So let’s get on with the questions. Sounds good. James, you start with question number one. What famous Christmas classic did Bing Crosby record in 1942?

Steve Webb 2:58
Number two, what was the name of Mary’s cousin that she went to visit when she was pregnant?

James Cooper 3:04
Number three, who invented electric lights for Christmas trees?

Steve Webb 3:09
That’s a good one. Number four, what’s the name of the Jewish festival that celebrated around the same time as Christmas?

James Cooper 3:16
Question five. How many other reindeer help Rudolph to pull Santa sleigh?

Steve Webb 3:22
That’s an easy one. Number six. What sweet bread is eaten for Christmas Day breakfast in some parts of Belgium.

James Cooper 3:28
Question number seven. What town was Jesus born in?

Steve Webb 3:32
Now that’s a giveaway isn’t it?

James Cooper 3:34
Well, we we have to put one hard one in Don’t worry. Okay.

Steve Webb 3:37
Number eight. What coin is it traditionally lucky to find in your portion of Christmas pudding.

James Cooper 3:43
Question number nine in what country would you sing the Carol Samba Samba, Zanna Hari.

Steve Webb 3:49
Now that’s a hard one. And last but not least number 10. What ancient religion might have the wise men belonged to. So there are the questions and you can hear them again, of course by rewinding the show or read them on the show notes at LifespringWhychristmas.com and the whychristmas.com blog.

James Cooper 4:09
Remember, Send your answers by email to me or Steve and we’ll add all the correct ones into Santa’s hat. Come back tomorrow when Steve will be telling you about two familiar festive plots.

Steve Webb 4:19
And remember you can listen to any of the Lifespring media shows it Lifespring media.com

James Cooper 4:24
for Steve Webb, I’m James Cooper and thank you for listening to the Lifespring y Christmas show.

Bryan Duncan 4:44
Hey, just because Christmas comes every year doesn’t mean you have to hear the songs the same way this year. Make it a neo soul Christmas with Brian Duncan and the neo soul band There’s almost enough songs here to play one for each day of the 12 days of Christmas. Or sit back and enjoy a glass of eggnog while taking in the whole record. It’s just that good

Bryan Duncan 5:19
That’s right. It’s Bryan Duncan and the NehoSoul band playing A NehoSoul Christmas. Yes, you won’t recognize some of your favorite Christmas tunes until Bryan Duncan comes in singing. Put the record on while you decorate your tree this year, and you will be finished in half the time. Christmas come but once a year, say bells ringing. I listening. It’s a neo soul Christmas with Bryan Duncan and the neo soul band playing for your friends over a loudspeaker on your front yard or just long enough to read gift all those things you got last year that you didn’t want is a blooper. That’s right. Avoid the exhaustion that comes with the Christmas season this year. With a neo soul Christmas on your turntable. You can staple those lights to your ears while snapping your fingers to a catchy little version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. Merry Christmas at your heartbeat. You’ll hear songs like Christmas time is here. The way Charlie Brown wished it had been sun. Christmas Oh, holy night. What a great time you’ll have waiting for Santa while listening to a neo soul Christmas. Holy Night. The stars are bright Alicia. YouTube can help the neo soul band celebrate their own Christmas. Buy now. Buy early and buy often. Buy now. And it’s one. Buy now. Buy early and buy often. Bye bye now. Bye bye now. Bye bye now.

Bryan Duncan 7:14
Yes, folks, it’s true. Supplies are limited. So if you want a copy this great Christmas CD you’ve got to order today at BryanDuncan.com

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

The post Lifespring! Why Christmas Day 9 – 2022 first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

View Details

Transcript Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 29-33 NLT Podcast Introduction Today is Prophecy Friday. We’ll read Isaiah 29-33. I’m calling today’s episode “Tell Us Lies” Comments on Isaiah 30 and 32 Thoughts on Isaiah 30 Sometimes prophecy reads like today’s news, doesn’t it? Let me read chapter 30, verses 8-11 again:...

The post Isaiah 29-33: Tell Us Lies first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Uncategorized | Lifespring! Media: Recent Episodes

Steve Webb