Lifespring! One Year Bible Rewind

Transcript Associate Producer Timothy LaFontaine Podcast Introduction Today is Monday, so we’ll read from one of the books of the Law. We’re in the book of Numbers, and we’ll read chapters 21-24. After the reading I’ll have some comments. And of course I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. I’m calling today’s episode&#160;“Don’t Be Too Eager.&#8221; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Serghei Trofimov on Unsplash Comments on Numbers 22 and 24 Thoughts on Number 22 If this were Sesame Street, I would say that today&#8217;s chapter from Numbers was brought to you by the letter &#8220;B&#8221;. Balaam, Balak, Bamoth-Baal, Beor.&#160; So what did you think about the situation with Balaam and God at first denying him permission to go to see Balak, and then telling him it was okay to go, and then being mad that he did go? Were you confused by that? Is God a capricious God? Of course not. But I was confused, too. So I did some digging, and here is what I found. Balak sent messengers first to ask Balaam to come and curse the Israelites. God told Balaam not to go since He, God, had blessed them. Then Balak sent even more distinguished messengers, with the additional message that he would confer great honor upon Balaam, in effect Balak was attempting to bribe Balaam. This appears to have been a bit of a temptation to Balaam, even though he said with his lips that even if Balak gave him enough silver and gold to fill a house, he could not do anything against what God had told him…he told the messengers that he would see if God had anything else to say on the matter. This seems to be the crux of the matter. God told Balaam that the people were blessed. Why would he expect that God would say anything different about cursing people whom He blessed?&#160; Here is what God said, and the version we&#8217;re reading today doesn&#8217;t convey the original meaning well. Commentators agree that what God said was, &#8220;If the men come to you, then you may go with them.&#8221;&#160; Let&#8217;s stop here for a moment. This is an important point. God allows us to do many things that He does not endorse. Right? Sometimes He will allow us to succumb to our own wicked and lustful hearts. He allows us, in effect, to touch the hot stove to see that it will burn us. I can imagine Balaam laying in his bed that night, thinking how cool it was that these important visitors had come to his humble home. He felt important. And I can also imagine him laying there fantasizing about the honors that Balak would bestow on him once he arrived. He got to thinking, perhaps, about the palace full of silver and gold. So what happened next? In the original Hebrew, God said, &#8220;If the men come to call thee, rise up, [and] go with them; but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that shalt thou do.&#8221; But Balaam got up the next morning and saddled his donkey and went with the men. Scripture doesn&#8217;t say, &#8220;When they came to get him, he went.&#8221; It says, &#8220;He got up and went.&#8221;&#160; Balaam was too eager. He wanted to get his hands on the treasure Balak promised him. So he did not follow God&#8217;s instruction. Remember, the reason that Balak sent for Balaam was so that Balaam would come and curse the Israelites. God&#8217;s chosen people. God does not look with favor upon those who conspire to harm His people, or those who seek to gain favor with those who conspire to harm his people. So God became angry at Balaam. &#160; Thoughts on Numbers 24 In Numbers 24 Balaam once again disappointed Balak. I guess you have to hand it to Balak. He wasn&#8217;t one to give up easily. And it is good to see that, despite the inauspicious beginning of this time with Balak, Balaam was faithful to what God told him to say.&#160; There is a good lesson to learn from this. How many times do we sin, and then feel as if, because of that sin, we cannot be a useful instrument for God? We might even think that since others saw our sin, our credibility is ruined. Here in these few chapters of Numbers we see that such is not the case. We can make an about face, we can turn in the right direction, and continue walking with God, and can go on to be a voice for Him…and be effective. Do not let the enemy of your soul steal away the blessing of following after God and doing His will just because you stumble. If you will confess your failure to God, He will forgive you. He can, and He *will* use you again for His glory. Remember, every person we have read about, or will read about in God&#8217;s Word, except Jesus, was imperfect. Every one of them failed at one time or another. Some of them multiple times. And God accomplished His will through them despite their failings. He will do the same with you, if you don&#8217;t give up and give in.&#160; Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 21 KJV; Ch. 22 CEV; Ch. 23 GWT; Ch. 24 NASB Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. STEVE WEBB &#8211; 0:00We can make an about face. INTRO S12E263 &#8211; 0:09This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California. Podcasting since 2004, I&#8217;m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. Welcome. This is the daily show where we are reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today&#8217;s Monday. So we&#8217;ll read from one of the books of the law. We&#8217;re in the book of Numbers, and we&#8217;ll read chapters 21 through 24. After the reading, I&#8217;ll have some comments, and, of course, I&#8217;ll have an On This Date in Church History, and we have a prayer request today. So I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, &#8220;Don&#8217;t Be Too Eager.&#8221; The show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e264 which means there are just 100 remaining days to this season of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. My email address is <span data-original-string='nbTiPNYIE9qsLv3MhpM5TQ==8b0dTZu9koggTdgLYXgthQjukRR+fbbv1OHNUjToIPxOTs=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. Let&#8217;s get started. NUMBERS 21 (KJV) &#8211; 0:59Numbers, chapter 21. (1) And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners. (2) And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. (3) And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah. (4) And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. (5) And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. (6) And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. (7) Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. (8) And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. (9) And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (10) And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth. (11) And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ije-abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising. (12) From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared. (13) From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. (14) Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea,And in the brooks of Arnon,(15) And at the stream of the brooksThat goeth down to the dwelling of Ar,And lieth upon the border of Moab. (16) And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. (17) Then Israel sang this song,Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:(18) The princes digged the well,The nobles of the people digged it,By the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah: (19) and from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth: (20) and from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon. (21) And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, (22) Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king&#8217;s high way, until we be past thy borders. (23) And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. (24) And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong. (25) And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof. (26) For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon. (27) Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon,Let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:(28) For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon,A flame from the city of Sihon:It hath consumed Ar of Moab,And the lords of the high places of Arnon.(29) Woe to thee, Moab!Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh:He hath given his sons that escaped,And his daughters, into captivityUnto Sihon king of the Amorites.(30) We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon,And we have laid them waste even unto Nophah,Which reacheth unto Medeba. (31) Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. (32) And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there. (33) And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei. (34) And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon. (35) So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land. NUMBERS 22 (CEV) &#8211; 5:50Numbers, chapter 22. (1) Israel moved from there to the hills of Moab, where they camped across the Jordan River from the town of Jericho. (2-3) When King Balak of Moab and his people heard how many Israelites there were and what they had done to the Amorites, he and the Moabites were terrified and panicked. (4) They said to the Midianite leaders, &#8220;That huge mob of Israelites will wipe out everything in sight, like a bull eating grass in a field.&#8221; So King Balak (5) sent a message to Balaam son of Beor who lived among his relatives in the town of Pethor near the Euphrates River. It said: I need your help. A large group of people has come here from Egypt and settled near my territory. (6) They are too powerful for us to defeat, so would you come and place a curse on them? Maybe then we can run them off. I know that anyone you bless will be successful, but anyone you curse will fail. (7) The leaders of Moab and Midian left and took along money to pay Balaam. When they got to his house, they gave him Balak&#8217;s message. (8) &#8220;Spend the night here,&#8221; Balaam replied, &#8220;and tomorrow I will tell you the Lord&#8217;s answer.&#8221; So the officials stayed at his house. (9) During the night, God asked Balaam, &#8220;Who are these people at your house?&#8221; (10) &#8220;They are messengers from King Balak of Moab,&#8221; Balaam answered. &#8220;He sent them (11) to ask me to go to Moab and put a curse on the people who have come there from Egypt. They have settled everywhere around him, and he wants to run them off.&#8221; (12) But God replied, &#8220;Don&#8217;t go with Balak&#8217;s messengers. I have blessed those people who have come from Egypt, so don&#8217;t curse them.&#8221; (13) The next morning, Balaam said to Balak&#8217;s officials, &#8220;Go on back home. The Lord says I cannot go with you.&#8221; (14) The officials left and told Balak that Balaam refused to come. (15) Then Balak sent a larger group of officials, who were even more important than the first ones. (16) They went to Balaam and told him that Balak had said, &#8220;Balaam, if you come to Moab, (17) I&#8217;ll pay you very well and do whatever you ask. Just come and place a curse on these people.&#8221; (18) Balaam answered, &#8220;Even if Balak offered me a palace full of silver or gold, I wouldn&#8217;t do anything to disobey the Lord my God. (19) You are welcome to spend the night here, just as the others did. I will find out if the Lord has something else to say about this.&#8221; (20) That night, God said, &#8220;Balaam, I&#8217;ll let you go to Moab with Balak&#8217;s messengers, but do only what I say.&#8221; (21) So Balaam got up the next morning and saddled his donkey, then left with the Moabite officials. (22) Balaam was riding his donkey to Moab, and two of his servants were with him. But God was angry that Balaam had gone, so one of the Lord&#8217;s angels stood in the road to stop him. (23) When Balaam&#8217;s donkey saw the angel standing there with a sword, it walked off the road and into an open field. Balaam had to beat the donkey to get it back on the road. (24) Then the angel stood between two vineyards, in a narrow path with a stone wall on each side. (25) When the donkey saw the angel, it walked so close to one of the walls that Balaam&#8217;s foot scraped against the wall. Balaam beat the donkey again. (26) The angel moved once more and stood in a spot so narrow that there was no room for the donkey to go around. (27) So it just lay down. Balaam lost his temper, then picked up a stick and whacked the donkey. (28) When that happened, the Lord told the donkey to speak, and it asked Balaam, &#8220;What have I done that made you beat me three times?&#8221; (29) &#8220;You made me look stupid!&#8221; Balaam answered. &#8220;If I had a sword, I&#8217;d kill you here and now!&#8221; (30) &#8220;But you&#8217;re my owner,&#8221; answered the donkey, &#8220;and you&#8217;ve ridden me many times. Have I ever done anything like this before?&#8221;&#8220;No,&#8221; Balaam admitted. (31) Just then, the Lord let Balaam see the angel standing in the road, holding a sword, and Balaam bowed down. (32) The angel said, &#8220;You had no right to treat your donkey like that! I was the one who blocked your way, because I don&#8217;t think you should go to Moab. (33) If your donkey had not seen me and stopped those three times, I would have killed you and let the donkey live.&#8221; (34) Balaam replied, &#8220;I was wrong. I didn&#8217;t know you were trying to stop me. If you don&#8217;t think I should go, I&#8217;ll return home at once.&#8221; (35) &#8220;It&#8217;s all right for you to go,&#8221; the Lord&#8217;s angel answered. &#8220;But you must say only what I tell you.&#8221; So Balaam went on with Balak&#8217;s officials. (36) When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went to meet him at the town of Ir on the Arnon River, which is the northern border of Moab. (37) Balak asked, &#8220;Why didn&#8217;t you come when I invited you the first time? Did you think I wasn&#8217;t going to pay you?&#8221; (38) &#8220;I&#8217;m here now,&#8221; Balaam answered. &#8220;But I will say only what God tells me to say.&#8221; (39) They left and went to the town of Kiriath-Huzoth, (40) where Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep and gave some of the meat to Balaam and the officials who were with him. (41) The next morning, Balak took Balaam to the town of Bamoth-Baal. From there, Balaam could see some of the Israelites NUMBERS 23 (GWT) &#8211; 10:51Numbers, chapter 23. (1) Balaam said to Balak, &#8220;Build seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.&#8221; (2) Balak did what Balaam told him, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar. (3) Balaam said to Balak, &#8220;Stay here beside your burnt offering while I&#8217;m gone. Maybe the Lord will come and meet with me. I will tell you whatever he reveals to me.&#8221; Then Balaam went off to a higher place where there were no trees. (4) God came to him, and Balaam said, &#8220;I have set up seven altars, and I offered a bull and a ram on each altar.&#8221; (5) The Lord told Balaam, &#8220;Go back to Balak, and give him my message.&#8221; (6) So he went back to Balak and found him standing beside his burnt offering with all the princes of Moab. (7) Then Balaam delivered this message: &#8220;Balak brought me from Aram.The king of Moab summoned me from the eastern mountains.&#8216;Come, curse Jacob for me,&#8217; he said.&#8216;Come, condemn Israel.&#8217;(8) How can I curse those whom God hasn&#8217;t cursed?How can I condemn those whom the Lord hasn&#8217;t condemned?(9) I see them from the top of rocky cliffs,I look at them from the hills.I see a nation that lives by itself,people who do not consider themselvesto be like other nations.(10) The descendants of Jacob are like specks of dust.Who can count themor number even one-fourth of the people of Israel?Let me die the death of innocent people.Let my end be like theirs.&#8221; (11) Balak said to Balaam, &#8220;What have you done to me? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but all you&#8217;ve done is bless them!&#8221; (12) Balaam answered, &#8220;I must say what the Lord tells me to say.&#8221; (13) Then Balak said to him, &#8220;Please come with me to another place, where you can see the Israelites. You will see only some of them, not all of them. Curse them for me from there.&#8221; (14) So he took him to the Field of Zophim on top of Mount Pisgah, where he built seven altars. He offered a bull and a ram on each altar. (15) Then Balaam said to Balak, &#8220;Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet with God over there.&#8221; (16) The Lord came to Balaam and told him, &#8220;Go back to Balak, and give him my message.&#8221; (17) He came to Balak and found him standing beside his burnt offering with the princes of Moab. Balak asked him, &#8220;What did the Lord say?&#8221; (18) Then Balaam delivered this message: &#8220;Stand up, Balak, and listen!Hear me, son of Zippor!(19) God is not like people. He tells no lies.He is not like humans. He doesn&#8217;t change his mind.When he says something, he does it.When he makes a promise, he keeps it.(20) I have received a command to bless.He has blessed, and I can&#8217;t change it.(21) He doesn&#8217;t want any trouble for the descendants of Jacob.He sees no misfortune for the people of Israel.The Lord their God is with them,praised as their king.(22) The God who brought them out of Egypthas the strength of a wild bull.(23) No spell can curse the descendants of Jacob.No magic can harm the people of Israel.Now it will be said of Jacob and Israel:&#8216;See what God has done!&#8217;(24) Here is a nation that attacks like a lionessand is as ferocious as a lion.It doesn&#8217;t lie down until it eats its preyand drinks the blood of its victim.&#8221; (25) Balak said to Balaam, &#8220;If you won&#8217;t curse them, then at least don&#8217;t bless them!&#8221; (26) Balaam answered, &#8220;Didn&#8217;t I tell you that I must do whatever the Lord says?&#8221; (27) Balak said to Balaam, &#8220;Come, let me take you to another place. Maybe God wants you to curse them for me from there.&#8221; (28) So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, which overlooks Jeshimon. (29) Balaam said to Balak, &#8220;Build seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.&#8221; (30) Balak did what Balaam told him, and he offered a bull and a ram on each altar. NUMBERS 24 (NASB) &#8211; 14:39Numbers, chapter 24. (1) When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times to seek omens but he set his face toward the wilderness. (2) And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe; and the Spirit of God came upon him. (3) He took up his discourse and said, &#8220;The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened;(4) The oracle of him who hears the words of God,Who sees the vision of the Almighty,Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered,(5) How fair are your tents, O Jacob,Your dwellings, O Israel!(6) Like valleys that stretch out,Like gardens beside the river,Like aloes planted by the Lord,Like cedars beside the waters.(7) Water will flow from his buckets,And his seed will be by many waters,And his king shall be higher than Agag,And his kingdom shall be exalted.(8) God brings him out of Egypt,He is for him like the horns of the wild ox.He will devour the nations who are his adversaries,And will crush their bones in pieces,And shatter them with his arrows.(9) He couches, he lies down as a lion,And as a lion, who dares rouse him?Blessed is everyone who blesses you,And cursed is everyone who curses you.&#8221; (10) Then Balak&#8217;s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, &#8220;I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times! (11) Therefore, flee to your place now. I said I would honor you greatly, but behold, the Lord has held you back from honor.&#8221; (12) Balaam said to Balak, &#8220;Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, (13) &#8216;Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the command of the Lord, either good or bad, of my own accord. What the Lord speaks, that I will speak&#8217;? (14) And now, behold, I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the days to come.&#8221; (15) He took up his discourse and said, &#8220;The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,(16) The oracle of him who hears the words of God,And knows the knowledge of the Most High,Who sees the vision of the Almighty,Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered.(17) I see him, but not now;I behold him, but not near;A star shall come forth from Jacob,A scepter shall rise from Israel,And shall crush through the forehead of Moab,And tear down all the sons of Sheth.(18) Edom shall be a possession,Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,While Israel performs valiantly.(19) One from Jacob shall have dominion,And will destroy the remnant from the city.&#8221; (20) And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said, &#8220;Amalek was the first of the nations,But his end shall be destruction.&#8221; (21) And he looked at the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, &#8220;Your dwelling place is enduring,And your nest is set in the cliff.(22) Nevertheless Kain will be consumed;How long will Asshur keep you captive?&#8221; (23) Then he took up his discourse and said, &#8220;Alas, who can live except God has ordained it?(24) But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim,And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict Eber;So they also will come to destruction.&#8221; (25) Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to his place, and Balak also went his way. COMMENTS ON NUMBERS 22 &#8211; 18:21If this were Sesame Street, I would say that today&#8217;s chapter from Numbers was brought to you by&#8211; COOKIE MONSTER &#8211; 18:26Hello there. Me Cookie Monster. And once again, me introduce letter of day. Haha. It &#8220;B&#8221;. Yeah, like in word &#8220;beautiful&#8221;… COMMENTS ON NUMBERS 22 (CONTINUED) &#8211; 18:41And Balaam, Balak, Bamoth-Baal, and Beor. Now getting serious, what do you think about the situation with Balaam, and God at first denying him permission to go see Balak and then telling him it was okay to go? And after that being mad that he did go? Were you confused by that? Is God a capricious God? Well, of course not. But I was confused, too, so I did some digging. And this is what I found. Balak sent messengers first to ask Balaam to come and curse the Israelites. But God told Balaam not to go, since he God had blessed them. So Balak sent even more distinguished messengers with the additional message that he would confer great honor upon Balaam. And in so doing Balak was really trying to bribe Balaam. And it looks like maybe Balaam was tempted somewhat even though he said with his lips, that even if Balak gave him enough silver and gold to fill a house, he could not do anything against what God had told him. But he told the messengers that he would see if God had anything else to say on the matter. Well, this seems to be the crux. God told Balaam that the people were blessed. Why would Balaam expect that God would say anything different about cursing people whom he had blessed? Now this is what God said to Balaam. The version we read today and many other versions really don&#8217;t convey the original meaning. In the Hebrew what God said was, &#8220;If the men come to call you, rise up and go with them, but only say what I tell you to say.&#8221; Well, let&#8217;s stop here for a moment. And this is an important point. God allows us to do many things that he does not endorse, right? Sometimes he&#8217;ll allow us to succumb to our own wicked and lustful hearts. He allows us, in effect, to touch the hot stove to see that it will burn us. I can imagine Balaam laying in his bed that night thinking how cool it was that these important visitors had come into his humble home. He felt important. And I can also imagine him laying there fantasizing about the honors that Balak, would bestow on him once he arrived. And maybe he got to thinking&#8211;no, I think he definitely got to thinking&#8211;about the palace full of silver and gold. So in the morning, what happened was&#8211;remember God said, &#8220;If they come to call you&#8221;&#8211;but instead of Balaam, waiting for the guys to come show up to get him. The word tells us that in the morning, he got up and went, he didn&#8217;t wait for them to get him. Balaam was too eager. He wanted to get his hands on the treasure Balak promised him, so he did not follow God&#8217;s instruction. Remember, the reason that Balak sent for Balaam was so that Balaam would come and curse the Israelites God&#8217;s chosen people. Well, God doesn&#8217;t look with favor upon those who conspire to harm his people, or those who seek to gain favor with those who conspire to harm his people. So that&#8217;s why God became angry at Balaam. Does that help? COMMENTS ON NUMBERS 24 &#8211; 21:34Now let&#8217;s move on to Numbers 24. Balaam once again disappointed Balak. I guess in a way you kind of have to hand it to Balak, he wasn&#8217;t one to give up easily. And it is also good to see that despite the inauspicious beginning of his time with Balak, Balaam was faithful to what God told him to say. There is a good lesson to learn from this. How many times do we sin and then feel as if because of that sin, we can&#8217;t be a useful instrument for God? We might even think that since others saw our sin, our credibility is completely ruined. Well here in these few chapters of Numbers, we see that that is not the case. We can make an about face. We can turn in the right direction and continue walking with God. And we can go on to be a voice for him and be effective. Don&#8217;t let the enemy of your soul steal away the blessing of following after God and doing His will just because you stumble. If we&#8217;ll confess our failure to God, He will forgive us. He can and he will use us for His glory. Remember, every person we&#8217;ve read about or will read about in God&#8217;s word, except for Jesus was imperfect. Every one of them failed at one time or another and some of them failed multiple times. And still, God accomplished his will through them, despite their failings, when they seek his forgiveness and follow Him. He will do the same with you. If you don&#8217;t give up and give in. You have a comment? I&#8217;d sure like to hear it. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e264 and let me know. Tomorrow we&#8217;ll begin the book of II Chronicles with chapters one through five. King David has died and now his son Solomon begins his reign. Boost! ASSOCIATE PRODUCER SHOUT-OUT &#8211; 23:23Timothy LaFontaine came in with his monthly $20 Associate Producer donation. Thank you, Tim. God bless you, I appreciate your support. If you find value in the show, please go to lifespringmedia.com/support. You can sign up for a weekly, monthly, quarterly donation, whatever makes sense to you and whatever God leads you to do. Regardless of the amount Your support helps to make this show possible, lifespringmedia.com/support. ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY &#8211; 24:02On this date in church history, May 23, 1974, Russian Orthodox liturgical scholar Alexander Schememann reflected in his journal, &#8220;The most important question is, how does objective faith become subjective? How does it grow in the heart to become a personal faith? When do common words become one&#8217;s own? The faith of the church, the faith of the fathers comes alive only when it is my own.&#8221; That&#8217;s true. Faith doesn&#8217;t matter if it&#8217;s someone else&#8217;s faith, it has to be your faith. PRAYER REQUEST &#8211; 24:43Prayer requests. Yesterday, a very good friend of mine told me about another of his friends who has a son in his early twenties who has bipolar disorder. This is a terrible disease. I&#8217;ve known other people, too, with family members who suffer from this and when someone close to you has it you become aware that it really does affect the whole family. So let&#8217;s pray for this family. CLOSING PRAYER &#8211; 25:06Our Heavenly Father, we thank you once again for your word. You&#8217;ve made your will very clear to us as to how to please you and we reaffirm now that we do want to stay within it. We don&#8217;t want to push the boundaries as Balaam did. Hold us close to you, Lord, and please forgive us when we fail. I pray for this young man with bipolar disorder and his family and I asked you to heal him. Balance his brain chemistry or whatever is causing this heartbreaking illness and help his family as they do what they can to help him. I thank you for the Lifespring family, Lord, and I ask that you bless them today. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Send in your prayer requests and your praises to prayer.lifespringmedia.com. OUTRO S12E264 &#8211; 25:57Share the show. Don&#8217;t hide it under a bushel. Comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e264. Email me at <span data-original-string='zkgMqzS657Xl3N81AdVMxg==8b0tYJG3E9s+yhqoBqSLME/EcImkeSwSjAMqq3GhLBJiPs=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. Thanks to the team, Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise for their hard work. Thanks to Associate Producer Timothy LaFontaine for his support of the show. And you can support the show at lifespringmedia.com/support. Thank you for sharing your time with me today and until tomorrow may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye. Transcribed by https://otter.aiCorrected by Denise Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will read John 7-9. I’ll have some comments after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “Who Decides?” &#160; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Ludovic Migneault on Unsplash Comments on John 7-9 But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders. John 7:13 NLT Many among the crowds at the Temple believed in him. “After all,” they said, “would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs than this man has done?” When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things, they and the leading priests sent Temple guards to arrest Jesus. John 7:31-32 NLT &#160;So the crowd was divided about him. Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him. John 7: 43-44 NLT They asked his parents, “Is this your son, the one you say was born blind? Why can he see now?” His parents replied, “We know that he’s our son and that he was born blind. But we don’t know how he got his sight or who gave it to him. You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough to answer for himself.” (His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. The Jews had already agreed to put anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ out of the synagogue. That’s why his parents said, “You’ll have to ask him. He’s old enough.”) John 19-23 NLT So now I have a question for you. Do these passages sound familiar to you? Do they sound similar to anything that is happening today?&#160; “Cancel culture” is not new, is it? The Pharisees were used to being in control of the public narrative. People were afraid to voice their opinions, if they differed from what the Pharisees taught. The people could see with their own eyes and hear with their own ears what Jesus did and what He taught, and some believed that He was who He said He was, but many were afraid to support Him, lest they be thrown out of the synagogue. But there was one in our reading today who had courage. They asked the man who had been born blind another question: “What do you say about the man who gave you sight?” The man answered, “He’s a prophet.” John 9:17 GWT At this point in the narrative, the Pharisees have the interview with his parents, which we have already read. As you know, they said, “He’s old enough, ask him yourselves.” So once again the Jews called the man who had been blind. They told him, “Give glory to God. We know that this man who gave you sight is a sinner.” The man responded, “I don’t know if he’s a sinner or not. But I do know one thing. I used to be blind, but now I can see.” The Jews asked him, “What did he do to you? How did he give you sight?” The man replied, “I’ve already told you, but you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear the story again? Do you want to become his disciples too?” The Jews yelled at him, “You’re his disciple, but we’re Moses’ disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don’t know where this man came from.” The man replied to them, “That’s amazing! You don’t know where he’s from. Yet, he gave me sight. 31We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners. Instead, he listens to people who are devout and who do what he wants. 32Since the beginning of time, no one has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. 33If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do anything like that.” John 9: 24-30 GWT The Jews answered him, “You were born full of sin. Do you think you can teach us?” Then they threw him out ⌞of the synagogue⌟. John 9:34 GWT This man refused to alter his answer just to mollify the Pharisees. And he paid a price, didn’t he? But did he really? Jesus heard that the Jews had thrown the man out ⌞of the synagogue⌟. So when Jesus found the man, he asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” The man replied, “Sir, tell me who he is so that I can believe in him.” Jesus told him, “You’ve seen him. He is the person who is now talking with you.” The man bowed in front of Jesus and said, “I believe, Lord.” John 9:35-37 GWT I would say that he gained everything. Beloved, “cancel culture” is happening more every day. You’ve heard me talk about it several times here on the show if you’ve been listening for very long. Here’s a very recent example. While the author does not specifically say that certain content should be de-platformed, they are “this” close to it. This is from the Brookings Institute, and the authors are Valerie Wirtschafter and Chris Meserole. The title of the article is “Policy recommendations for addressing content moderation in podcasts.&#8221; It was published just a few days ago…April 18, 2022. Just the title gives you a clue as to their intent. Here it is again: “Policy recommendations for addressing content moderation in podcasts.” James Cridland and Sam Sethi of the Podland News podcast talked about it. “A great reckoning has arrived for content moderation in podcasts.” Oh really? Content moderation? Who’s going to do the moderating? This was the opening sentence in the article.&#160; One sentence later, they say, “What speech should be permitted? What speech should be shared? And what principles should inform those decisions?” What speech should be permitted? Are you kidding me? All speech should be permitted. That’s what free speech is all about. If anyone’s speech can be disallowed, then there is no free speech. Free speech is not about, “You can say whatever you want as long as I agree with you.” Free speech guarantees the right to say whatever you want, whether anyone agrees with you or not.&#160; Because if any speech is forbidden, it’s only a matter of time before YOUR speech is forbidden.&#160; The article continues: “Debates over&#160;content moderation in podcasts&#160;hinge primarily on whether and how widely to share so-called “lawful but awful” content. Don’t you love that? Lawful but awful! Major podcasting apps—the applications commonly used on smartphones, tablets, and computers to listen and download to podcast episodes—already have policies and procedures in place to deal with blatantly illegal content. Spotify or Apple Podcasts won’t knowingly distribute an Islamic State recruitment podcast, since doing so would open them to prosecution for supporting a designated terrorist group. How podcasting apps should handle hate speech, misinformation, and related content that is legal but may have harmful societal effects is far less clear.”&#160;&#160;Who is to say what “harmful societal effects” are? Who is going to call that? Specifically, a left-leaning proponent of the LGBT+ lifestyle would very probably say that this podcast would fall into under the “harmful societal effects” umbrella because I have read the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality and said that I believe the Bible. Continuing the article. This will be the last excerpt I share.&#160; “Below the level of blatantly illegal content, the most popular podcasting apps face a daunting challenge. On the one hand, given the scale and reach of apps like Spotify and Apple Podcasts—each now enjoys more than&#160;25 million monthly podcast listeners&#160;in the United States—their content moderation policies need to account for the societal harms that can result from the mass distribution of hate speech and misinformation.” Once again, who decides what is “hate speech and misinformation?” We have seen very recently that what is deemed “misinformation” one day becomes “information” the next, based on the whims of the CDC or Fauci or whomever.&#160; We must be prepared, beloved. Christians are only a very, very short step away from being the next major target. I can see it very clearly. For example, when we plainly and boldly proclaim the Gospel, which says there is only ONE way to be saved, or when we plainly and boldly proclaim that ALL are sinners in need of the forgiveness that only comes through Jesus, we will be tried and convicted of hate speech.&#160; Will you bend the knee to these people, or will you boldly stand for Jesus? The time is coming…No, the time is almost here when you will need to make a decision.&#160; Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 10:33: But everyone who denies me here on earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven. (NLT) We must stand before men, and bow the knee only before Jesus. Philippians 2:9-11 (NASB) 9For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,&#160;10so that at the name of Jesus&#160;every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,&#160;11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. If you want to be sure that this show will continue to come to you no matter what Apple or any other podcast app decides should not be allowed, it is important to remember that it will always be available at LifespringMedia.com. That is the home base for the show. Not Apple Podcasts, not Google Podcasts. Not anywhere else. If the show stops updating in your podcast app with no warning from me, then some outside force has pulled the plug. Then what you do is go to LifespringMedia.com to see if there are new episodes of the show. If there are, then you can subscribe from my website. You don’t need Apple or any other silicon valley company. Get an app from newpodcastapps.com. Those apps use the podcastindex.org podcast directory, and the whole idea…the impetus for the entire project was to preserve free speech. I could go on about this for a long time, but I’ll stop here. Just be aware beloved, that there are forces that want to silence us, and we must do all that we can to keep them from being successful in their efforts. But this is not new. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”&#160; But 1 John 4:4 says, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 7-8 NLT; Ch. 9 GWT Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00If any speech is forbidden, it&#8217;s only a matter of time before your speech is forbidden. Steve Webb 0:13And here we are, again, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God caster Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year and I&#8217;m really happy you&#8217;ve invited me into your day today. We&#8217;re going to read John chapter seven through nine today, and I&#8217;ll have some comments after the reading. I&#8217;m calling this episode, who decides the show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 234. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com case you&#8217;d like to write, I love to hear from you. Let&#8217;s begin. Steve Webb 0:50John, chapter seven. After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. But soon it was time for the Jewish festival of shelters. And Jesus brothers said to him, leave here and go to Judea where your followers can see your miracles. You can&#8217;t become famous if you hide like this. If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world. For even his brothers didn&#8217;t believe in Him. Jesus replied, now is not the right time for me to go. But you can go any time. The world can&#8217;t hate you. But it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. You go on? Well, I&#8217;m not going to this festival because my time has not yet come. After saying these things. Jesus remained in Galilee. But after his brother&#8217;s left for the festival, Jesus also went though secretly staying out of public view. The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued he&#8217;s a good man, but others said he&#8217;s nothing but a fraud, who deceives the people. But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders. Then midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the temple and began to teach. The people were surprised when they heard him. How does he know so much when he hasn&#8217;t been trained? They asked. So Jesus told them, my message is not my own. It comes from God who sent me. Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God, or is merely my own. Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves. But a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies. Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it. In fact, you are trying to kill me. The crowd replied, your demon possessed, who&#8217;s trying to kill you. Jesus replied, I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed. But you work on the Sabbath to when you obey Moses law of circumcision. Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs long before the law of Moses, for if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath? Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly? Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other? Isn&#8217;t this the man they are trying to kill? But here he is speaking in public and they say nothing to him? Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? But how could he be for we know where this man comes from? when the Messiah comes, he will simply appear, no one will know where he comes from. While Jesus was teaching in the temple, he called out, yes, you know me, and you know where I come from. But I&#8217;m not here on my own. The one who sent me is true, and you don&#8217;t know him. But I know him because I come from him, and he sent me to you. Then the leaders tried to arrest him. But no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come. Many among the crowds at the temple believed in him. After all, they said, would you expect the Messiah to do more miraculous signs that this man has done? When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things they in the leading priests sent temple guards to arrest Jesus? But Jesus told him, I will only be with you a little longer than I will return to the one who sent me. You will search for me but not find me and you cannot go where I am going. The Jewish leaders were puzzled by this statement. Where is he planning to go? They asked? Is he thinking of leaving the country and going to the Jews in other lands? Maybe he will even teach the Greeks. What does he mean when he says you will search for me but not find me and you cannot go where I am going. On the last day the climax of the festival Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds. Anyone who was thirsty may come to me. Anyone who believe leaves in me may come and drink. For the Scriptures declare rivers of living water will flow from his heart. When he said living water he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory. When the crowds heard him say this, some of them declared, surely this man is the prophet we&#8217;ve been expecting. Others said he is the Messiah. Still, others said, but he can&#8217;t be will the Messiah come from Galilee for the scriptures clearly state that the Messiah will be born of the royal line of David in Bethlehem, the village where King David was born. So the crowd was divided about him. Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him. When the temple guards returned without having arrested Jesus, the leading priests and Pharisees demanded, why didn&#8217;t you bring him in? We&#8217;ve never heard anyone speak like this. The guards responded. Have you been led astray to the Pharisees mocked? Is there a single one of us rulers or Pharisees who believes in Him? This foolish crowd follows him but they&#8217;re ignorant of the law. God&#8217;s curse is on them. Then Nicodemus, the leader, who had met with Jesus earlier spoke up is illegal to convict a man before he&#8217;s given a hearing he asked, they replied, Are you from Galilee to search the Scriptures and see for yourself. No prophet ever comes from Galilee. Then the meeting broke up and everybody went home. Steve Webb 6:31John chapter eight, Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives. But early the next morning, he was back again at the temple. A crowd soon gathered at he sat down and taught them as he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd. Teacher, they said to Jesus, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The Law of Moses says to stone her, what do you say? They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him. But Jesus stooped down and rode in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer. So he stood up again and said, All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone. Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust. When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with a woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, where are your accusers? Didn&#8217;t even one of them condemn? You? Know, Lord, she said, And Jesus said, Neither do I go and sin no more. Gee, Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won&#8217;t have to walk in darkness because you will have the light that leads to life. The Pharisees replied, You are making those claims about yourself. Such testimony is not valid. Jesus told him, these claims are valid, even though I make them about myself, for I know where I came from, and where I am going, but you don&#8217;t know this about me. You judge me by human standards, but I do not judge anyone. And if I did, my judgment would be correct in every respect, because I am not alone. The Father who sent me is with me. Your own law says that if two people agree about something, their witness is accepted as fact. I am one witness, and my father who sent me is the other. Where is your father? They asked. Jesus answered, since you don&#8217;t know who I am. You don&#8217;t know who my father is. If you knew me, you would also know my father. Jesus made these statements while he was teaching in the section of the temple known as the Treasury. But he was not arrested because his time had not yet come. Later, Jesus said to them again, I am going away, you will search for me but will die in your sin. You cannot come where I am going. That people asked, Is he planning to commit suicide? What does he mean you cannot come where I am going? Jesus continued, You are from below, I am from above. You belong to this world? I do not. That is why I said that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am who I claimed to be, you will die in your sins. Who are you? They demanded. Jesus replied, the one I have always claimed to be. I have much to say about you and much to condemn, but I won&#8217;t, for I say only what I have heard from the one who sent me and he is completely truthful. But they still didn&#8217;t understand that he was talking about his father. So Jesus said, When you have lifted up the Son of Man on the cross, then you will understand that I am he. I do nothing on my own, but say only what the father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me. He is not deserted. Me, for I always do what pleases Him. Then many who heard him say these things believed in Him. Jesus said to the people who believed in him, you are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. But we&#8217;re descendants of Abraham, they said, We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, you will be set free? Jesus replied, I tell you the truth. Everyone who sins is a SLAVE of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family. But a son is part of the family forever. So if the sun sets you free, you are truly free. Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there&#8217;s no room in your hearts for my message. I&#8217;m telling you what I saw when I was with my father, but you are following the advice of your father. Our father is Abraham. They declared? No, Jesus replied, for if you were really the children of Abraham, you would follow his example. Instead, you&#8217;re trying to kill me because I told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. Know, you are imitating your real father. They replied, we aren&#8217;t illegitimate children. God himself is our True Father. Jesus told him, if God were your Father, you would love me because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can&#8217;t you understand what I&#8217;m saying? It&#8217;s because you can&#8217;t even hear me. For you are the children of your father, the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don&#8217;t believe me? Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don&#8217;t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don&#8217;t listen because you don&#8217;t belong to God. The people retorted, you, Samaritan devil? Didn&#8217;t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon? No, Jesus said, I have no demon in me, for I honor my father, and you dishonor me. And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify Me. He is the true judge. I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die. The people said, Now we know you&#8217;re possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died. But you say, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die. Are you greater than our father Abraham, he died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are? Jesus answered? If I want glory for myself, it doesn&#8217;t count. But it is my father who will glorify Me. You say He is our God, but you don&#8217;t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise. I would be as great a liar as you. But I do know him and obey him. Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad that people said, you aren&#8217;t even 50 years old. How can you say you&#8217;ve seen Abraham? Jesus answered, I tell you the truth. Before Abraham was even born, I am. At that point, they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the temple. Steve Webb 13:40John chapter nine. As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been born blind. His disciples asked Him, Rabbi, why was this man born blind? Did he or his parents sin? Jesus answered, neither this man nor his parents sinned. Instead, he was born blind so that God could show what he can do for him. We must do what the one who sent me wants us to do while it is day, the night when no one can do anything is coming. As long as I&#8217;m in the world, I am light for the world. After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground and mixed the spit with dirt. Then He smeared it on the man&#8217;s eyes and told him wash it off in the pool of Siloam. Silo means set, the blind man washed it off and returned. He was able to see his neighbors and those who had previously seen him begging asked, isn&#8217;t this the man who used to sit and beg? Some of them said, he&#8217;s the one other said, No, he isn&#8217;t. But he looks like him. But the man himself said, I am the one. So they asked him, How did you receive your site? He replied. The man people called Jesus mixed some spit with dirt, smeared it on my eyes and told me go to Siloam and wash it off. So I went there, washed it off and received my sight. They asked him. Where is that man? The man answered, I don&#8217;t know. Some people brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. The day when Jesus mixed the spit and dirt and gave the man site was a day of worship. So the Pharisees asked the man again, how he received his sight. The man told the Pharisees, he put a mixture of spit in dirt on my eyes, I washed it off. And now I see. Some of the Pharisees said, the man who did this is not from God, because he doesn&#8217;t follow the traditions for the day of worship. Other Pharisees said, How can a man who was a sinner perform miracles like these? So the Pharisees were divided in their opinions? They asked the man who had been born blind. Another question, what do you say about the man who gave you sight? The man answered, he&#8217;s a prophet. Until they talked to the man&#8217;s parents, the Jews didn&#8217;t believe that the man had been born blind and had been given sight. They asked his parents, is this your son? The one you say, was born blind? Why can he see now? His parents replied, We know that He&#8217;s our son, and that he was born blind. But we don&#8217;t know how he got his sight, or who gave it to him. You&#8217;ll have to ask him. He&#8217;s old enough to answer for himself. His parents said this, because they were afraid of the Jews. The Jews had already agreed to put anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ out of the synagogue. That&#8217;s why his parents said, You&#8217;ll have to ask him, he&#8217;s old enough. So once again, the Jews called a man who had been blind, they told him, give glory to God, we know that this man who gave you sight is the center. The man responded, I don&#8217;t know if he&#8217;s a senator or not. But I do know one thing. I used to be blind. But now I can see. The Jews ask him, What did he do to you? How did he give you cite? The man replied, I&#8217;ve already told you but you didn&#8217;t listen. Why do you want to hear the story again? Do you want to become His disciples to the Jews yelled at him. You&#8217;re his disciple. But we&#8217;re Moses disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we don&#8217;t know where this man came from. The man replied to them. That&#8217;s amazing. You don&#8217;t know where he&#8217;s from, yet he gave me sight. We know that God does not listen to sinners. Instead, he listens to people who are devout and who do what he wants. Since the beginning of time, no one has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn&#8217;t do anything like that. The Jews answered him, You were born full of sin. Do you think you can teach us then they threw him out of the synagogue? Jesus heard that the Jews had thrown the man out of the synagogue. So when Jesus found the man, he asked him, Do you believe in the Son of man? The man replied, sir, tell me who he is, so that I can believe in Him. Jesus told him, you&#8217;ve seen him. He&#8217;s the person who was now talking with you. The man bowed in front of Jesus and said, I believe, Lord. Then Jesus said, I have come into this world to judge blind people will be given sight, and those who can see will become blind. Some Pharisees who are with Jesus heard this. So they asked him, Do you think we&#8217;re blind? Jesus told them, If you were blind, you wouldn&#8217;t be sinners. But now you say we see. So you continue to be sinners. Steve Webb 18:23Before sharing my thoughts with you, I&#8217;d like to reread some excerpts from today&#8217;s reading. In chapter seven, verse 13, we read, but no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders. dropping down to verse 31. Many among the crowds at the temple believed in him. After all, they said, would you expect them aside to do more miraculous signs than this man has done? When the Pharisees heard that the crowds were whispering such things they in the leading priests sent temple guards to arrest Jesus? Verse 33, so the crowd was divided about him. Some even wanted him arrested, but no one laid a hand on him. And then back up to verses 19 and 20. They asked his parents, is this your son, the one you say was born blind? Why can he see now? His parents replied, We know that He&#8217;s our son and that he was born blind, but we don&#8217;t know how he got his sight or who gave it to him. You&#8217;ll have to ask him. He&#8217;s old enough to answer for himself. His parents said this, because they were afraid of the Jews, the Jews that already agreed to put anyone who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ out of the synagogue. So that&#8217;s why his parents said, You&#8217;ll have to ask him. He&#8217;s old enough. All right, so I have a question for you. Do these passages sound at all familiar to you? Do they sound similar to anything that&#8217;s happening? Oh, I don&#8217;t know. today. We&#8217;ve talked about canceled culture on the show before but it bears repeating today based on today&#8217;s reading. The Pharisees were used to being in control of the public narrative. People were afraid to voice their opinions if they differed from what the Pharisees taught. To the people couldn&#8217;t see with our own eyes and hear with our own ears what Jesus did and what He taught. And some believed that he was who He said He was. But many were afraid to support him, lest they be thrown out of the synagogue. But there was one in our reading today who had courage. In chapter nine, verse 17, we read, they asked the man who had been born blind. Another question, what do you say about the man who gave you sight? The man answered, he&#8217;s a prophet. So at this point in the narrative, the Pharisees have the interview with his parents, which we&#8217;ve already read. And as you know, they said, He&#8217;s old enough, ask Him yourselves. So picking up at verse 24. So once again, the Jews called the man who had been blind, they told him give glory to God, we know that this man who gave you sight is a sinner. The man responded, I don&#8217;t know if he&#8217;s a sinner or not. But I do know one thing. I used to be blind, but now I can see the Jews ask him, What did he do to you? How did he give you sight? The man replied, I&#8217;ve already told you but you didn&#8217;t listen. Why do you want to hear the story again? Do you want to become his disciples too? I love that. So what happened? The Jews yelled at him, you&#8217;re his disciple. But where Moses disciples, we know that God spoke to Moses, but we don&#8217;t know where this man came from. The man replied to them. That&#8217;s amazing. You don&#8217;t know where he&#8217;s from, yet he gave me sight. We know that God doesn&#8217;t listen to sinners. Instead, he listens to people who are devout and who do what he wants. Since the beginning of time, no one has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. If this man were not from God, he couldn&#8217;t do anything like that. This was the reply from the man who was given sight. So then what happened? The Jews answered him, You were born full of sin. Do you think you can teach us? Then they threw him out of the synagogue? Well, this man refused to alter his answer just to mollify the Pharisees and he paid a price, didn&#8217;t they? But did he really? Starting in verse 35, Jesus heard that the Jews had thrown the man out of the synagogue. So when Jesus found the man he asked him, Do you believe in the Son of man, the man replied, sir, tell me who he is so that I can believe in Him. Jesus told him, you&#8217;ve seen him. He is the person who is now talking with you. The man bowed in front of Jesus and said, I believe, Lord. So I would say that he gained everything, wouldn&#8217;t you? Beloved, canceled culture is happening more every day. And I have a very recent example for you today. While the author of this article I&#8217;m going to tell you about does not specifically say that certain content should be de platformed. They are this close to it and I&#8217;m holding my fingers almost touching. This is from the Brooking Institute and the authors are Valerie vert Shafter and Chris Massar roll or miss Errol or something like that. The title of the article is policy recommendations for addressing content moderation in podcasts. It was published just a few days ago, April 18 2022. And just the title gives you a clue as to their intent. Here it is, again, policy recommendations for addressing content moderation in podcasts. James Cridland in SAM Sethi of the Portland news podcast, talked about it. Here, Sam Sam Sethi 23:24talking about how platforms and their policies should be, I guess, restricting content and their discoverability, which is what it looks like Spotify is quietly doing here. She said, a great reckoning has arrived for content moderation in podcasts, what speech should be permitted and what speech should be shared? She says, and what principles should inform those decisions? I guess it&#8217;s time for the platforms to step up. Steve Webb 23:52So a great reckoning has arrived for content moderation and podcasts. Oh, really? Content moderation. This was the opening sentence in the article. And then one sentence later they say, What speech should be permitted? What speech should be shared? What principles should inform those decisions? Are you kidding me? What speech should be permitted? All speech should be permitted. That&#8217;s what free speech is all about. If any one speech can be disallowed, then there is no free speech. Free speech is not about you can say whatever you want, as long as I agree with you. Free Speech guarantees the right to say whatever you want, whether anyone agrees with you or not. Because if any speech is forbidden, it&#8217;s only a matter of time before your speech is forbidden. Then the article continues. debates over content moderation and podcasts hinge primarily on whether and how widely to share so called lawful but awful content. Don&#8217;t you love that lawful but awful. The They continue. Major podcasting apps. The applications commonly used on smartphones, tablets and computers to listen and download. The podcast episodes already have policies and procedures in place to deal with blatantly illegal content. Spotify or Apple podcasts won&#8217;t knowingly distribute in Islamic State recruitment podcast, since doing so would open them to prosecution for supporting a designated terrorist group. How podcasting apps should handle hate speech, misinformation, and related content that is legal but may have harmful societal effects is far less clear. The wait a minute, who&#8217;s to say what harmful society effects are, who&#8217;s going to call that specifically a left leaning proponent of the LGBT plus lifestyle would very probably say that this podcast, the Lifespring family Audio Bible would fall under the harmful societal effects umbrella, because I&#8217;ve read the Bible&#8217;s teaching on homosexuality, and said that I believe the Bible. Let&#8217;s continue the article. This will be the last excerpt I share. Below the level of blatantly illegal content, the most popular podcasting apps face a daunting challenge. On the one hand, given the scale and reach of apps like Spotify and Apple podcasts, each now enjoys more than 25 million monthly podcast listeners in the United States. Their content moderation policies need to account for the societal harms that can result from the mass distribution of hate speech and misinformation. Well, once again, I asked who decides what is hate speech and misinformation. We&#8217;ve seen very recently that what is deemed misinformation, one day becomes information, the next based on the whims of the CDC or Fauci, or whomever, beloved, we must be prepared. Christians are only a very, very short step away from being the next major target. I can see it very clearly. For example, when we plainly and boldly proclaim the gospel which says there is only one way to be saved, or when we plainly and boldly proclaimed that all are sinners in need of the forgiveness that only comes through Jesus, we will be tried and convicted of hate speech. Well, beloved, I have to ask, Will you bend the knee to these people? Or will you boldly stand for Jesus, the time is coming. Now the time is almost here, when you will need to make a decision. Remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 1033. But everyone who denies me here on Earth, I will also deny before my Father in heaven, beloved, we must stand before men, and bow the knee only before Jesus Philippians two nine through 11 says For this reason, also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth, and under the sun. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. So you heard in that article, how these people want to control what apps like Apple and Spotify and the other ones will allow you to hear? Well, if you want to be sure that this show will continue to come to you, no matter what Apple or any other podcast app decides should not be allowed, it&#8217;s important to remember that it will always be available at Lifespring media.com. That is the home base for this show. Not Apple podcasts, not Google podcasts, Steve Webb 28:35certainly not Spotify, not Amazon, nowhere else. If the show stops updating in your podcast app with no warning from me, then some outside force has pulled the plug. And then what you do is you go to Lifespring media.com, just to confirm whether there are or are not new episodes of the show. If there are new episodes, then you can subscribe from my website. You don&#8217;t need Apple or any other Silicon Valley company. What I suggest you do, I&#8217;ve been talking about it. But here&#8217;s another reason. Get one of the apps at new podcast apps.com. Those apps use the podcast index.org Podcast Directory, they don&#8217;t use the apple directory. And the whole idea. The impetus for the entire project at podcast index was to preserve free speech. I could go on and on about this for a long time. But I&#8217;ll stop here. Just be aware that there are forces that want to silence us, and we must do all that we can to keep them from being successful in their efforts. But this is not new. Ephesians 612 says, For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the authorities against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. But first John four four says you are of God little children and have overcome them because he who is in you is is greater than he who was in the world. The canceled culture we&#8217;re facing today, beloved is not new. It&#8217;s been around for 1000s of years. It just has a different face today. The technology may be different, but the aim is the same. Shut the people up. Well, my answer to that is greater is He that is in us than he who is in the world. Amen? Amen. All right, if you&#8217;ve got a comment, please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 234. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and you&#8217;ll see a box there where you can put your comments in. I read them all and I reply, tomorrow, our reading is First Timothy four through six boost. Steve Webb 30:45Well, if you believe in what I&#8217;m doing with the Lifespring family, Audio Bible, if you wanted to remain independent of outside forces that would silence the clear teaching of the Bible, then I need your support. There are costs to being independent. And if you think the show is valuable than I&#8217;m asking you to decide what that value is for you. And then go to Lifespring media.com/support. and donate that amount. And if you can donate time or talent, those gifts are very welcome as well. I need help with transcript correction and creating chapter art. Send me an email if you&#8217;re able to help with either one of those, but whether you support the show with time, talent or treasure, I thank you, and I think God bless you. Steve Webb 31:35On this date in church history, April 23 1982, w Cameron Townsend died, he was an American missionary pioneer and founder of Wickliffe Bible translators. Since then, Wickliffe has translated the New Testament into more than 130 native languages, they do great work. Steve Webb 32:02Let&#8217;s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for assuring us that the victory is already one. Jesus told us in John 1633 I&#8217;ve told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble but take heart I have overcome the world. Lord, though we&#8217;re still in the midst of skirmishes, you&#8217;ve already won the war. So even while we struggle against the enemy, we can have peace and we thank you for that assurance. We&#8217;re not alone. And the battle is already won. Help us Lord as we engage with the enemy. Give us wisdom to know when where and how to engage. And Lord, I ask that you bless the Lifespring family. My thank you for each one. I pray this in Jesus name, amen. If you&#8217;d like to share a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 33:00Well, I&#8217;d love to hear your comments on today&#8217;s show. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 234. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Please help to support the show at Lifespring media.com/support. My thanks to Sean of San Pedro for doing the chapters for every episode and thanks to Kirsty for putting out the newsletter every week. How did you like the picture in this one? Sign up at news dot Lifespring media.com Until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thanks again for sharing your day with me. My name is Steve Webb, fight the good fight. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Associate Producer Timothy LaFontaine Podcast Introduction Today we will read Hosea 1-7. I’ll have some comments after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “The Unfaithful Bride.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Cássio Jardim on Unsplash Introduction to Hosea Hosea is the first book in the group of OT books known as the Minor Prophets. They’re not called the Minor Prophets because they are less important than the Major Prophets (which we just completed with the reading of the book of Daniel). The reason they’re called the Minor Prophets is because these books are much shorter. These prophets probably preached just as much as the Major Prophets, they just didn’t write as much.&#160; Of the twelve books in the Minor Prophets, nine of them were written before the captivity. The last three were written after the Jews returned to their own land.&#160; The book of Hosea was the longest of the prophetic books written before the captivity. As he wrote, Israel was at its worst. The sinfulness of the nation had brought great judgment from God. Hosea himself was the first prophet who wrote down the messages God gave him. Tradition says that he was from Bethshemish, and of the tribe of Issachar. He had a long ministry. He prophesied long enough to warn the Jews of God’s coming judgment, and then see it take place and lament it. Hosea was alive at the same time as the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Micah.&#160; Comments on Hosea 1-7 We read in chapter one that God told Hosea to marry a prostitute. The Lord looked upon the Jews as an unfaithful wife, and He wanted Hosea to experience the heartbreak He felt when his wife betrayed the marriage vows.&#160; There are few things in life that are as painful as learning that your spouse has been unfaithful. It can be more painful than the death of a loved one. Death from disease, an accident or old age hurts, but the one who dies had no choice in the matter. But an unfaithful spouse made an active decision to break the trust. That’s very hard to live with for the one who has been betrayed.&#160; We don’t often think of God as being the victim of an unfaithful spouse, do we? But that is how He saw Himself in this period of history. But as we know, God is love. Instead of putting His people, His wife, away permanently, in chapter three we see His promise that He will take her back. And of course we know that the final chapter, the last great redemption is even now being played out. We know that Jesus came to make a bride for Himself, and that bride is the church. But God is not through with the Jews. They will have yet another chance to turn to God, and many will. In the book of Revelation, we see how that will happen. I’m not entirely happy with the way the first sentence of chapter 7 was translated in the New Living Translation, which is the version we read today. It read: I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great. Samaria is filled with liars. Most other major translations are very similar to this one from the NASB: When I would heal Israel, The iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, And the evil deeds of Samaria… As you can see, the NLT’s rendering of this verse is subtly different, but it does change the meaning. The NLT adds the phrase “but its sins are too great”. I looked at the original Hebrew for this verse, and that phrase is not there. There is only one sin that is too great, one sin that is unforgivable, and that is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, as we are told in Matthew 12:31.&#160; God is always willing to forgive, if we are willing to ask Him and will turn from our sin. In the Old Testament, over and over God said to the people, “If you turn from your wicked ways, I will heal you.” What God was saying here in Hosea chapter seven was, “I was prepared to heal you, but you keep on sinning.” God looks at the heart. What He saw in the hearts of the Jews was an unwillingness to repent. They did not want to obey the Lord, they wanted to continue practicing evil. As long as that continued, He could not heal them. Only a contrite heart will see forgiveness. Only a heart that is willing to turn toward God. Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 1-7 NLT Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00God looks at the heart Steve Webb 0:09Hello, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God caster Steve Webb. I&#8217;m really happy we get to spend some time together today. That&#8217;s great. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year and today we&#8217;re going to read Hosea chapters one through seven. Before we start the reading. I&#8217;ll give you a short introduction to Hosea. Then after the reading, I&#8217;ll give you some comments. The show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 233. My email address is Steven Lifespring media.com. And with that, let&#8217;s get started. Steve Webb 0:48Hosea is the first book in the group of Old Testament books known as the Minor Prophets. They&#8217;re not called the Minor Prophets, because they&#8217;re less important than the major prophets, which we just completed with the reading of the book of Daniel. The reason they&#8217;re called the Minor Prophets is because these books are much shorter. These prophets probably preached just as much as the major prophets. They just didn&#8217;t write as much of the 12 books in the Minor Prophets. None of them were written before the captivity. The last three were written after the Jews returned to their own land. The book of Hosea was the longest of the prophetic books written before the captivity. As Hosea wrote, Israel was at its worst, the sinfulness of the nation had brought great judgment from God. And Hosea was the first prophet who wrote down the messages God gave him. Tradition says that he was from Beth Shemesh, and of the tribe of Issachar. He had a very long ministry and he prophesied long enough to warn the Jews of God&#8217;s coming judgment and then to see it take place in lamented. And Hosea was alive at the same time as the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Micah. Steve Webb 1:58Hosea chapter one. The Lord gave this message to Hosea son of BNI. During the years when Uzziah Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah were kings of Judah and Jeroboam, son of Joash, was king of Israel. When the Lord first began speaking to Israel through Hosea, he said to him, Go and marry a prostitute so that some of her children will be conceived in prostitution. This will illustrate how Israel has acted like a prostitute by turning against the Lord and worshipping other gods. So Hosea married Gomer, the daughter of Dibley, him and she became pregnant and gave Hosea a son. And the Lord said, named the child Jezebel, for I am about to punish King J. Hughes dynasty to avenge of the murders, he committed a jazz real. In fact, I will bring an end to Israel&#8217;s independence, I will break its military power in the jazz real Valley. Soon, Gomer became pregnant again and gave birth to a daughter. And the Lord said to Hosea, name your daughter, Lo, Ruhama, not loved, for I will no longer show love to the people of Israel or forgive them. But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies, not with weapons and armies or horses and jury tears, but by My power is the Lord their God. After Gomer had weaned lo Ruhama, she again became pregnant and gave birth to a second son. And the Lord said, name him Lo, am I, not my people, for Israel is not my people, and I am not their God. Yet the time will come when Israel&#8217;s people will be like the sands of the seashore, too many to count. Then at the place where they were told you are not my people, it will be said, You are children of the living God. Then the people of Judah and Israel will unite together, they will choose one leader for themselves, and they will return from exile together. What a day that will be the day of jazz real when God will again plant his people in his land. Steve Webb 3:58Hosea chapter two. In that day, you will call your brothers Am I my people, and you will call your sisters Ruhama the ones I love. But now bring charges against Israel your mother for she is no longer my wife and I am no longer her husband. Tell her to remove the prostitutes makeup from her face and the clothing that exposes her breasts. Otherwise, I will strip her as naked as she was on the day she was born. I will leave her to die of thirst as in a dry and barren wilderness. And I will not love her children for they were conceived in prostitution. Their mother is a shameless prostitute and became pregnant in a shameful way. She said I will run after other lovers and sell myself to them for food and water for clothing of wool and linen and for olive oil and drinks. For this reason, I will fence her in with thorn bushes. I will block her path with a wall to make her lose her way. When she runs after her lovers, she won&#8217;t be able to catch them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think I might as well returned to my husband for I was better off with him than I am now. She doesn&#8217;t realize it was I who gave her everything she has the grain, the new wine, the olive oil. I even gave her silver and gold, but she gave all my gifts to bail. But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine I generously provided each harvest season. I will take away the wool and linen clothing I gave to cover her nakedness. I will strip her naked in public while all her lovers look on, no one will be able to rescue her from my hands. I will put an end to her annual festivals, her new moon celebrations and her Sabbath days all her appointed festivals. I will destroy her grape vines and fig trees. things she claims her lovers gave her I will let them grow into tangled thickets where only wild animals will eat the fruit. I will punish her for all those times when she burned incense to her images of bail when she put on her earrings and jewels and went out to look for her lovers but forgot all about me says the Lord. But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and Speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there as she did long ago when she was young when I freed her from her captivity in Egypt. When that day comes, says the Lord you will call me my husband instead of my master. oh Israel, I will wipe the many names of bale from your lips and you will never mention them again. On that day I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground so that they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land all swords and bows so you can live unafraid in peace and safety. I will make you my wife forever showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine and you will finally know me as the Lord. In that day I will answer says the Lord. I will answer the sky as it pleads for clouds and the sky will enter the earth with rain. Then the earth will answer the thirsty cries of the grain the grape vines and the olive trees and they in turn will answer jazz real God plants. At that time I will plant a crop of Israelites and raise them for myself. I will show love to those I called not loved and to those I called not my people, I will say now you are my people, and they will reply you are our God. Steve Webb 7:37Hosea chapter three. Then the Lord said to me, go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another lover. This will illustrate that the Lord&#8217;s still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love to worship them. So I bought her back for 15 pieces of silver and five bushels of barley and a measure of wine. Then I said to her, you must live in my house for many days and stop your prostitution. During this time, you will not have sexual relations with anyone, not even with me. This shows that Israel will go a long time without a king or Prince and without sacrifices, sacred pillars, priests or even idols. But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David&#8217;s descendent their king. In the last days they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of His goodness. Steve Webb 8:29Hosea chapter four. Hear the Word of the Lord, oh people of Israel. The Lord has brought charges against you saying there is no faithfulness, no kindness, no knowledge of God and your land. You make vows and break them. You kill and steal and commit adultery. There is violence everywhere, one murder after another. That is why your land is in mourning and every one is wasting away. Even the wild animals, the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea are disappearing. Don&#8217;t point your finger at someone else and try to pass the blame. My complaint you priests is with you. So you will stumble in broad daylight and your false prophets will fall with you in the night. And I will destroy Israel, your mother. My people are being destroyed because they don&#8217;t know me. Since you priests refuse to know me. I refuse to recognize you as my priests. Since you have forgotten the laws of your God, I will forget to bless your children. The more priests there are, the more they sinned against me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols. When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed. So the priests are glad when the people sin and what the priests do the people also do. So now I will punish both priests and people for their wicked deeds. They will eat and still be hungry. They will play the prostitute and gain nothing from it for they have deserted the Lord to worship other gods. Wine has robbed my people of their understanding. They ask if piece of wood for advice. They think a stick can tell them the future. Longing after idols has made them foolish. They have played the prostitute serving other gods and deserting their God. They offer sacrifices to idols on the mountaintops, they go up into the hills to burn incense in the pleasant shade of oaks, poplars and terabit trees. That is why your daughter&#8217;s turned to prostitution and your daughters in law committed adultery. But why should I punish them for their prostitution and adultery? For your man are doing the same thing sinning with horrors in shrine prostitutes, or foolish people you refuse to understand? So you will be destroyed? Though you Israel are a prostitute. May Judah not be guilty of such things. Do not join the false worship at Gill gal or Beth Haven, and do not take oaths there in the Lord&#8217;s name. Israel is stubborn like a stubborn heifer. So should the Lord feed her like a lamb and a lush pasture? Leave Israel alone because she is married to idolatry. When the rulers of Israel finish their drinking Off they go to find some prostitutes. They love shame more than honor so a mighty wind will sweep them away. Their sacrifices to idols will bring them shame. Steve Webb 11:16Hosea chapter five. Hear this you priests pay attention you leaders of Israel. Listen you members of the royal family judgment has been handed down against you for you have led the people into a snare by worshipping the idols at Misbah and Tabor you have dug a deep pit to trap them and Acacia Grove, but I will settle with you for what you have done. I know what you were like oh Ephram, you cannot hide yourself from me, oh Israel, you have left me as a prostitute leaves her husband. You are utterly defiled. Your deeds won&#8217;t let you return to your God. You are a prostitute through and through and you do not know the Lord. The arrogance of Israel testifies against her. Israel and Ephram will stumble into the load of guilt. Judah to will fall with them. When they come with their flocks and herds to offer sacrifices to the Lord. They will not find him because he has withdrawn from them. They have betrayed the honor of the Lord bearing children that are not his. Now their false religion will devour them along with their wealth. Sound the alarm and Guebuza blow the trumpet in Ramah raised the battle cry and Beth Haven lead on into battle warriors of Benjamin. One thing is certain Israel on your day of punishment, you will become a heap of rubble. The leaders of Judah have become like thieves so I will pour my anger on them like a waterfall. The people of Israel will be crushed and broken by my judgment because they are determined to worship idols. I will destroy Israel as a moth consumes wool. I will make Judah as weak as rotten wood. When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Syria to the great king there, but he could neither help them nor cure them. I will be like a lion to Israel, like a strong young lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces. I will carry them off and no one will be left to rescue them. Then I will return to my place until they admit their guilt and turn to Me. For as soon as trouble comes. They will earnestly search for me. Steve Webb 13:21Hosea chapter six. Come let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces. Now he will heal us. He has injured us now he will bandage our wounds. In just a short time he will restore us so that we may live in His presence. Oh that we might know the Lord. Let us press on to know Him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of Dawn Are they coming of rains in early spring? oh Israel and Judah What should I do with you asks the Lord, for Your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like do in the sunlight. I set my prophets to cut you to pieces to slaughter you with my words with judgments as inescapable as light. I want you to show love not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want bird offerings. But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust. Gilead is a city of sinners tracked with footprints of blood. Priests form bands of robbers waiting in ambush for their victims. They murder travelers along the road to check them and practice every kind of sin. Yes, I&#8217;ve seen something horrible and Ephram it Israel. My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods. Oh Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people. Steve Webb 14:45Hosea chapter seven. I want to heal Israel but its sins are too great. Samaria is filled with liars. Thieves are on the inside and bandits on the outside. It&#8217;s people don&#8217;t realize that I&#8217;m watching them their sin infill deeds are all around them and I see them all. The people entertain the king with their wickedness and the princes laugh at their lies. They are all adulterers always aflame with lust. They are like an oven that is kept hot while the baker is kneading the dough. On royal holidays, the princes get drunk with wine, carousing with those who mock them. Their hearts are like an oven blazing with intrigue. Their plot smolders through the night, and in the morning, it breaks out like a raging fire, burning like an oven they consume their leaders. They kill their kings one after another and no one cries to me for help. The people of Israel mingle with godless foreigners making themselves as worthless as a half baked cake. Worshipping foreign gods is sapped their strength, but they don&#8217;t even know it. Their hair is gray, but they don&#8217;t realize they&#8217;re old and weak. Their arrogance testifies against them, yet they don&#8217;t return to the Lord their God or even try to find him. The people of Israel have become like silly witless doves first calling to Egypt, then flying to his Syria for help. But as they fly about, I will throw my net over them and bring them down like a bird from the sky. I will punish them for all evil they do. What sorrow awaits those who have deserted me. Let them die for they have rebelled against me. I wanted to redeem them but they have told lies about me. They do not cry out to Me with sincere hearts. Instead they sit on their couches and wail. They cut themselves begging foreign gods for grain and new wine, and they turn away from me. I trained them and made them strong yet now they plot evil against me. They look everywhere except to the Most High, they are as useless as a crooked bow. Their leaders will be killed by their enemies because of their insolence toward me, then the people of Egypt will laugh at them. Steve Webb 16:54In chapter one, we read that God told Hosea to marry a prostitute. He looked upon the Jews as an unfaithful wife and he wanted Hosea to experience the heartbreak he felt when his wife betrayed the marriage vows. There really are a few things in life that are as painful as learning that your spouse has been unfaithful, it can be more painful than the death of a loved one. Death from disease and accident or old age hurts. But the one who dies had no choice in the matter. But an unfaithful spouse made an active decision to break the trust. That&#8217;s very hard to live with, for one who&#8217;s been betrayed. We don&#8217;t often think of God as being the victim of an unfaithful spouse, Dewey. But that&#8217;s how he saw himself in this period of history. But as we know God is love. Instead of putting his people his wife away permanently. In chapter three, we see His promise that He will take her back. And of course, we know that the final chapter, the last great redemption is even now being played out. We know that Jesus came to make a bride for himself and that bride is the church. But God is not through with the Jews, they will have yet another chance to turn to God in many will. In the book of Revelation, we see how that will happen. Now in Hosea seven, I&#8217;m not entirely happy with the way the first sentence was translated in the New Living Translation, which is the version we read today. It read, I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great. Samaria is filled with liars. Well, most other major translations are very similar to this one from the New American Standard. Listen, when I would heal Israel, the iniquity of FGM is uncovered in the evil deeds of Samaria. Well, as you can see, the New Living Translation is rendering of this is subtly different, but it does change the meaning. The New Living Translation adds the phrase, but its sins are too great. Well, I looked up the original Hebrew for this verse And that phrase is not there. There is only one sin that is too great, the one that is unforgivable, and that is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, as we&#8217;re told in Matthew 1231. God is always willing to forgive if we&#8217;re willing to ask him and we&#8217;ll turn from our sin. In the Old Testament, over and over, God said to the people, if you turn from your wicked ways, I will heal you. What God was saying here in Hosea chapter seven was, I was prepared to heal you but you keep on sinning. See, God looks at the heart. What he saw in the hearts of the Jews was an unwillingness to repent. They did not want to obey the Lord. They wanted to continue practicing evil. And as long as that continued, God could not heal them. Only a contrite heart will see forgiveness. Only a heart that is willing to turn toward God. I&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 233 Min let me know our reading. Tomorrow will be John chapters seven through nine. Steve Webb 20:08We have an associate producer today. His name is Timothy LaFontaine. And he came in yesterday with his monthly $20 donation. Timothy. Thank you, brother. God bless you. Thank you for helping to make this episode possible. Steve Webb 20:21You too can help support the show with time, talent or treasure. If you&#8217;d like to donate time or talent, email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com and let me know what you&#8217;d like to do. And also correcting the transcriptions let me know. And monetary donations are always welcome. You can do that at Lifespring media.com/support. Again, Timothy, thank you, my brother, God bless you. Steve Webb 20:54On this date in church history, April 22 1864. Bronze two cent pieces were imprinted with the words In God We Trust, making them the first American coins to carry that motto. The motto was designed to remind the union that the resolution of the American Civil War was in God&#8217;s hands. Steve Webb 21:23Let&#8217;s pray. Our heavenly Father Lord, we do love you. We ask that you forgive us when we fail you. We want to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit when he corrects us. And we want to hear you say well done good and faithful servant when we see you face to face. Lord, I ask that you bless the Lifespring family today. I thank you for each one listening right now. And I pray Lord, that they would feel your presence in their life today. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Send your prayer requests and your praises in at prayer dot Lifespring media.com. I will pray for you in my private prayer time. And we&#8217;ll pray together on the show. Agreeing together as we lift up prayer requests is something that God asks us to do. So I look forward to hearing from you prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 22:17Your comments on the show are always welcome. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 233. That&#8217;s the show notes page for today. Scroll to the very bottom of the show where you&#8217;ll find a box where you can put your comments. I&#8217;m always happy to get your emails to Steve at Lifespring media.com. My thanks to Sean of San Pedro for doing the chapters for every episode. And thanks to Kirsty for putting the newsletter together each week. You can sign up for that it news dot Lifespring media.com And thanks again to associate producer Timothy LaFontaine for helping to make this episode possible. You can help support the show to go to Lifespring media.com/support. Check it out. Think about it, pray about it, and then do his God leads until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. Thanks again for sharing your day with me. My name is Steve Webb. See you tomorrow. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Distinguished Producer Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Paul of Seattle. Podcast Introduction Today is&#160; Epistles Sunday James 4-5. I’m calling today’s episode “Golden Nuggets.”&#160; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash Comments on James 4 Some have said that James is a bit like the book of Proverbs because of the way nuggets of truth are presented. Let&#8217;s look at a few of them. James 4:2b &#8211; You do not have, because you do not ask. Prayer is a necessary part of the Christian&#8217;s life. If we want God to bless us, we must ask. Listen to Charles Spurgeon: “Remember this text: Jehovah says to his own Son, ‘Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.’ If the royal and divine Son of God cannot be exempted from the rule of asking that he may have, you and I cannot expect the rule to be relaxed in our favor. Why should it be?” Also from Spurgeon: “If you may have everything by asking, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is, and I beseech you to abound in it… Do you know, brothers, what great things are to be had for the asking? Have you ever thought of it? Does it not stimulate you to pray fervently? All heaven lies before the grasp of the asking man; all the promises of God are rich and inexhaustible, and their fulfillment is to be had by prayer.” James 4:3 &#8211; You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.&#160; Contrast this with 1 John 5:14 &#8211; And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. James 4:4b &#8211; Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.&#160; Beloved, we cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in God&#8217;s kingdom. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, &#8220;“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.&#8221; James 4:6b-7a &#8211; “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God.” Pride is at the center of sin. Pride caused the fall of Lucifer. Pride caused the fall of Adam and Eve, and thus our sinful nature. Is it any wonder that God opposes the proud? But when we humble ourselves before God, when we confess our sin, God pours out His grace. It isn&#8217;t as though our humility *earns* God&#8217;s grace, but when we are humble, we are acknowledging that we are in need of the grace that He so freely gives. Spurgeon: “Do you suffer from spiritual poverty? It is your own fault, for he giveth more grace. If you have not got it, it is not because it is not to be had, but because you have not gone for it.”&#160; James 4:7b &#8211; Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Notice the text does not say, &#8220;&#8230;and he may flee from you.&#8221; or &#8220;&#8230;sometimes he will flee from you.&#8221; When we actively resist the enemy&#8217;s lies and temptations, we are *promised* that he will flee, though he will return to test our resolve. We can and we must resist him, in the name of Jesus,&#160; as the already defeated foe he is. The Greek word translated as &#8220;resist&#8221; is a combination of two words: stand against. We are never conquered as long as we do not consent.&#160; James 4:8 &#8211; Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. This is both an invitation and a promise. And it comes directly after the &#8220;resist and he will flee&#8221; promise. When we resist the devil, we can and we *should* draw near to God. It is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted in the desert, but He did not sin. When we have had an encounter with temptation, the best thing we can do is draw near to God for shelter and for strength. How do we draw near to God? In prayer, in worship and in praise. We learn to walk with God in our daily lives. We respond to His invitation to have an ongoing, daily, hour by our and minute by minute relationship with Him. We ask Him to guide our decisions and help us with our struggles. We thank Him for His blessings. In short, we live our lives with the awareness that He is always with us, and He delights in us. And we delight in Him. Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 4-5 ESV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. STEVE WEBB &#8211; 0:00We can&#8217;t have one foot in the world and one foot in God&#8217;s kingdom. INTRO S12E305 &#8211; 0:11Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Podcasting since 2004, I&#8217;m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. I&#8217;m so glad you&#8217;re here today. Thanks for joining me. Today is Epistle Sunday. We&#8217;re going to read James 4 and 5. I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, “Golden Nuggets”. The show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e305. I&#8217;d love it if you go by and leave a comment. My email address is <span data-original-string='lcs2zZHL7srNjjqx15qnDw==8b0G+elvWhi582d/Ip7PeEijtOoj+Hkd9nYN6OrJZ5jwH0=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. Let&#8217;s begin. JAMES 4 (ESV) &#8211; 0:45James, chapter 4. (1) What causes quarrels and fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? (2) You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. (3) You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (4) You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (5) Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? (6) But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (9) Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. (10) Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (11) Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. (12) There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? (13) Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— (14) yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (15) Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (16) As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (17) So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. JAMES 5 (ESV) &#8211; 2:52James, chapter 5. (1) Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. (2) Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. (3) Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. (4) Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. (5) You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (6) You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. (7) Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. (8) You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (9) Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. (10) As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. (11) Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (12) But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (13) Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. (14) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. (15) And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (16) Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (17) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. (18) Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. (19) My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, (20) let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. COMMENTS &#8211; 5:31Let&#8217;s talk a bit about James 4. Some have said that James is a bit like the book of Proverbs because of the way nuggets of truth are presented. Let&#8217;s take a look at just a few of them. In verse 2b it says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” Beloved, prayer is a necessary part of the Christian life. If we want God to bless us, we have to ask. Listen to what Charles Spurgeon said, “Remember this text: Jehovah says to his own Son, ‘Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.’” Spurgeon continues, “If the royal and divine Son of God cannot be exempted from the rule of asking that he may have, you and I cannot expect the rule to be relaxed in our favor. Why should it be?” Good question. He also said, “If you may have everything by asking, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is, and I beseech you to abound in it… Do you know, brothers, what great things are to be had for the asking? Have you ever thought of it? Does it not stimulate you to pray fervently? All heaven lies before the grasp of the asking man; all the promises of God are rich and inexhaustible, and their fulfillment is to be had by prayer.” Is prayer important? I&#8217;d say it is. And then in verse 3, we read, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly.” To spend it on your passions. Well, let&#8217;s contrast this with 1 John 5:14, which says, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” So if we ask for the wrong motivation, our prayers are not answered. But if we ask according to his will, he does hear us. And verse 4b, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” Beloved, we can&#8217;t have one foot in the world and one foot in God&#8217;s kingdom. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” Beloved, we have to ask ourselves, Where is my focus? Is my focus on the things of God or on the things of the world? And verses 6b and 7a, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God.” God opposes the proud. Pride is the center of sin. Pride caused the fall of Lucifer. Pride caused the fall of Adam and Eve, and thus our sinful nature. Is it any wonder that God opposes the proud? But when we humble ourselves before God, when we confess our sin, God pours out His grace. It isn&#8217;t as though our humility earns God&#8217;s grace. But when we are humble, we&#8217;re acknowledging that we&#8217;re in need of the grace that he so freely gives. Charles Spurgeon said this, “Do you suffer from spiritual poverty? It is your own fault, for he giveth more grace, if you have not got it, it is not because it is not to be had but because you have not gone for it.” Verse 7b, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Beloved, notice that the text does not say “and he may flee from you” or “sometimes he will flee from you.” When we actively resist the enemy&#8217;s lies and temptations we are promised that he will flee, though he will return to test our resolve. We can and we must resist him in the name of Jesus as the already defeated foe that he is. The Greek word translated as “resist” is a combination of two words, “stand against”. Beloved, we are never conquered, as long as we do not consent. Then verse 8 says, “Draw nearer to God and he will draw near to you.” This is both an invitation and a promise, “Draw near to God” is the invitation and “He will draw near to you” is the promise. And this promise comes directly after the “resist and he will flee” promise. When we resist the devil we can and we should draw near to God. We have to understand it is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted after all in the desert, but he did not sin. When we have had an encounter with temptation, the best thing that we can do is draw near to God for shelter and for strength. Well, how do we draw near to God? We do it in prayer, in worship, and in praise. We learn to walk with God in our daily lives, we respond to His invitation to have an ongoing daily, hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute relationship with him. We ask him to guide our decisions and help us with our struggles. We thank him for his blessings. In short, we live our lives with the awareness that he is always with us, and he delights in us, and we should delight in him. What do you think? Let me know. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e305 and let me know. Tomorrow&#8217;s Monday, so we&#8217;ll read from the Law. We&#8217;ll read Deuteronomy 7 through 9. Boost. DISTINGUISHED PRODUCER SHOUT-OUT &#8211; 11:05I want to thank Lifespring Family Berean Brother Paul of Seattle who came in with his weekly $22.22 donation. He&#8217;s our Distinguished Producer today. And thank you, Brother Paul of Seattle for helping to produce episode s12e305. Beloved, if you believe in what the Lifespring Family Audio Bible is all about, if the show has helped you in any way, whether in helping you to read the Bible on a more consistent basis, or helping you to understand Scripture a little better or in challenging you to walk closer to God, then please consider supporting the show with your time, talent or treasure. Go to lifespringmedia.com/support and see if what you find there makes sense to you, lifespringmedia.com/support. And whether you support the show with time, talent or treasure, I thank you and I think God will bless you. ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY &#8211; 12:01On this date in church history, July 3, 1756, John Wesley, the founder of English Methodism, wrote in a letter, “One who lives and dies in error or is in dissent from our church may yet be saved, but one who lives and dies in their sin must perish.” And on this date in church history, July 3, 1878, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod missionaries J. Friedrich Doescher and Frederick Berg established the Negro Lutheran Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, the first formal outreach to African-Americans made by Lutherans in the United States. CLOSING PRAYER &#8211; 12:44Let&#8217;s pray. Our heavenly Father, you have given us everything we need. You have given us our life, you have given us your word, and you have given us the way to spend eternity with you. Thank you for those and countless other blessings. Your love for us is just immeasurable, and we praise you. We ask the Lord that you work closely with us today and we ask for your blessing. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Do you have a prayer request? Do you have a praise? Would you like to share it with the Lifespring family? Go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com? OUTRO S12E305 &#8211; 13:27Comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e305. Email me at <span data-original-string='bvpmK5yJTCaCd9ibX60JLg==8b0/rwG/hJ/TFJ+6hXvn4zVjMUNzdnwwHXnwYQ2ZgLsgdc=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. Thanks to Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise for everything you guys do for us. Thanks to Lifespring Family Berean Brother Paul of Seattle for his support of this show today. Thanks to those of you who faithfully stream sats and send boosts every single day. And thank you, Beloved, for inviting me into your day today support the show at lifespringmedia.com/support. And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye. Transcribed by https://otter.aiCorrected by Denise Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Our reading today 1 Chronicles 10-14, after which I’ll have some comments, and I have a very important clarification of my comments on Numbers chapter 5 from yesterday’s reading. I’m calling today’s episode “What’s In Your Heart?” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Andrik Langfield on Unsplash Comments on 1 Chronicles 13 Because of what God does to Uzzah in chapter 13, I’m going to rerun my comments from s12e127, which was titled “Follow the Directions”, where we read about this same event in 2 Samuel chapter 6. If you were with me then, please bear with me. It doesn’t hurt to review sometimes, and new Lifespring Family members might not have heard it. It’s important, I think, to have a better understanding of why God reacted as He did. This can be a difficult story for some people. Why would God kill Uzzah for merely reaching out to steady the Ark of the Covenant (or Covenant Box in the Good News Translation that we read today), to keep it from falling off the cart? Let&#8217;s dig into this a bit. To some, God’s reaction to Uzzah’s actions here seems to be extreme, to say the least. David thought so, since we’re told that he became angry at God. So what happened? Why did God do this? Here are the thoughts of scholars. First off, when God gave His instructions to the Israelites on how they were to build the Ark, he was very clear about the most minute detail, including how it was to be transported, who was allowed to move it and who was allowed to touch it. It was never to be put onto a cart, but it was to be carried by Kohathites only. There were two poles that went through two loops on each side of the Ark, and these poles were to be placed on the Kohathite’s shoulders, bearing the Ark between them. No one but a priest was to touch the Ark, because the Ark had the very presence of God upon it. Remember, this all happened before the Messiah had come, and only the priests had direct access to God and only priests could perform the sacrifices that could cover the sins of the people. The Ark represented a holy and awesome (in the very real sense of that word) God, and God had made it very clear how it was to be honored, because it was a reflection on how they were to honor God Himself. So by putting the Ark on the ox drawn cart, they were guilty of transgressing God’s direct instructions. But why was Uzzah killed? Touching the Ark was a direct violation of God’s clear instruction. It could be that God saw the condition of Uzzah’s heart, that he didn’t have the proper attitude toward it. It had been in Uzzah&#8217;s house, after all for some time, and he might have become indifferent to it. We must not become indifferent to God. He. Is. God. The creator of all that is. The One who gives us life and sustains us. It could be that Uzzah had a cavalier attitude regarding God’s Word. He didn’t think it was important to sweat the details. Maybe his reaching out to steady the Ark reflected a lack of faith on Uzzah&#8217;s part, that God somehow needed his help. What we might want to draw from this is that we need to pay attention to what God says, and we should do all we can to be obedient to Him. Yes, He is loving and He is merciful. But He is also Holy, and it is important that we never forget that. It is His holiness and justice that requires payment for sin. It is His love that made a way for me and you to not have to make the payment for our sins. It is His holiness and justice and love that required the sacrifice of His Son in my place and yours. Because of His holy and just nature, he couldn’t just overlook the sin. It had to be dealt with. I’m thankful that God made a way for me to escape His wrath, and that He has offered that way, that gift, to anyone who will receive it. Jesus said, “…I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”&#160; Clarification on Numbers 5:27 Sean of San Pedro sent a 1000 sat boostagram and said, “Thanks as always! Your commentary is always helpful. I’m still a bit conflicted by the jealousy ceremony. It sounds like the special clay is very similar to a Plan B pill, but with the added effect of sterilization. Quite shocking.” Thanks for your boostagram, Sean. I’m really glad you sent it, because I should have addressed this in my commentary. You’re referring to Numbers 5:27, which in the Easy To Read Version that I read from said, “If the woman has sinned against her husband, the water will bring her trouble. The water will go into her body and cause her much suffering. Any baby that is in her will die before it is born, and she will never be able to have children.” However, in the original Hebrew, the phrase about the baby dieing is not there. Nowhere in the entire passage dealing with how they were to address whether or not a woman had been unfaithful or not is there any language having to do with the woman’s pregnancy or lack of pregnancy. Nothing. The only thing in the original Hebrew that sounds remotely like pregnancy is where it says that the “water that causeth the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter, and her belly shall swell…”, but this is not referring to pregnancy. It is a visible sign that she is guilty of unfaithfulness. The other sign is that she will be unable to conceive again. Remember that the ability to bear children was considered to be a sign of God’s blessing. And remember, too, that God was teaching the entire nation how important faithfulness to the marriage vows, and faithfulness to Him was.&#160; If she conceived at some time in the future, then all would know that she was innocent. But if she did not, they would know that she had been unfaithful, and she was under God’s curse. This mistranslation by the ERV translators, as well as a few other Bible translators, is a very unfortunate mistake. It is not in the original language at all. That’s another reason that having multiple translations to compare is so important. And when there are questions, consulting an interlinear Bible is imperative.&#160; I’m sorry I didn’t address this in my commentary yesterday, Sean. Thanks again for bringing it up.&#160; Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 10-11 NCV; Ch. 12-13 GNT; Ch. 14 NIRV Support This 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. Transcript Steve Webb 0:00He is God after all. Well, hi there. This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God caster Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year and it&#8217;s so good to see you today. Are you doing are reading today&#8217;s first Chronicles 10 through 14 After which I&#8217;ll have some comments. And I have a very important clarification of my comments on Numbers chapter five from yesterday&#8217;s show, be sure to listen to that after my comments on today&#8217;s reading. I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode. What&#8217;s in your heart? You&#8217;d like to leave a comment on today&#8217;s show, please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 237. You can also email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Are you ready? Let&#8217;s go. First Chronicles chapter 10. The Philistines fought against Israel and the Israelites ran away from them. Many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines fought hard against Saul and his sons killing his sons, Jonathan Abinadab and Malka shuaa The fighting was heavy around Saul and the archers shot him with their arrows and wounded him. Then Saul said to the officer who carried his armor, pull out your sword and stab me. If you don&#8217;t these Philistines who are not circumcised will come and hurt me. But Saul&#8217;s officer refused because he was afraid. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it. When the officer saw that Saul was dead, he threw himself on his own sword and died. Sol Sol and three of his sons died, all his family died together. When the Israelites living in the valley saw that their army had run away, and that Saul and his sons were dead. They left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and settled in them. The next day when the Philistines came to strip the dead soldiers, they found Saul and his sons dead on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines stripped Saul&#8217;s body and took his head and his armor. Then they sent messengers through all their country to tell the news to their idols and to their people. The Philistines put Saul&#8217;s armor in the temple of their idols and hung his head in the temple of Dagon. All the people in J. Besh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul. So the brave men of J. Bash went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to J bash. They buried their bones under the large tree and J bash. Then the people of J. Bash fasted for seven days. Saul died because he was not faithful to the Lord and did not obey the Lord. He even went to a medium and asked for her advice instead of asking the Lord, this is why the Lord puts us all to death, and gave the kingdom to Jesse son, David. First Chronicles chapter 11. Then the people of Israel came to David at the town of Hebron and said, Look, we are your own family. Even when Saul was King, you were the one who led Israel and battle. The Lord your God said to you, you will be the shepherd for my people Israel, you will be their leader. So all the elders of Israel came to King David at Hebron, he made an agreement with them in Hebron in the presence of the Lord. Then they poured oil on David to make him king over Israel. The Lord had promised through Samuel that this would happen. David and all the Israelites went to the city of Jerusalem. At that time, Jerusalem was called jeebus. And the people living there were named Jebusites. They said to David, you can&#8217;t get inside our city. But David did take the city of Jerusalem with its strong walls and it became the city of David. David had said, the person who leads the attack against the Jebusites will become the commander over all my army Joab, son of the ruya led the attack, so he became the commander of the army. Then David made his home in the strong walled city, which is why it was named the city of David. David rebuilt the city beginning where the land was filled in and going to the wall that was around the city. Joab repaired the other parts of the city, David became stronger and stronger, and the Lord all powerful was with him. This is a list of the leaders over David&#8217;s warriors who helped make David&#8217;s Kingdom strong. All the people of Israel also supported David&#8217;s kingdom. These heroes and all the people of Israel made David King just as the Lord had promised. This is a list of David&#8217;s warriors. Just show BM was from the Hackman, ICT people. He was the head of the three David&#8217;s most powerful soldiers. He used his spear to fight 300 men at one time and he killed them all. Next was Lea aser one of the three Eliezer was dough dies son from the whole height people Eliezer was with David it passed Dammam when the Philistines came there to fight. There was a field of barley at that place The Israelites ran away from the Philistines. But they stopped in the middle of that field and fought for it and killed the Philistines. The Lord gave them a great victory. Once three of the 30 David&#8217;s chief soldiers came down to him at the Rock by the cave near a Dahlem. At the time the Philistine army had camped in the valley of her fame. At that time, David was in a 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 broke through the Philistine army and took water from the well near the city gate in Bethlehem. Then they brought it to David, but he refused to drink it. He poured it out before the Lord saying, May God keep me from drinking this water. It would be like drinking the blood of the men who risked their lives to bring it to me. So David refused to drink it. These were the brave things that the three warriors did. A by Shai brother of Joab was the captain of the three 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. But Neha son of Jehoiada was a brave fighter from cab zo who did mighty things. He killed two of the best warriors for Moab. He also went down into a pit and killed a lion on a snowy day. Binay a killed an Egyptian, who was about seven and one half feet tall, and had a spear as large as a weaver&#8217;s rod. 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 Binay a son of Jehovah did 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. These were also mighty warriors, as they held brother of Joab l Hainan son of dodo from Bethlehem, Sham off the hero, right? He Lez the pillow night, Ira son of IK ash from Tekoa. A by ease or the Anima fight syba Chi that you should fight. I lie the whole height may arrive in a tougher fight. He led son of bayyinah than a tougher fight. If I send a ribeye from Libya in Benjamin banana the paratha night he arrived from the ravines of gay Ash ablv, Arbor, thight. Asma veth. The Behera might Elia the CHE Alba night, the sons of Heysham, the guest tonight, Jonathan, son of Shaggy, the heritage site, a Hiam, son of say, car, the heritage site, a lightful, son of earth, He further McCarthyite, a hija the peeler Knight has row the Carmelite nearby Son of ezbuy Joel, brother of Nathan midbar, son of hag Ray Zelich, the Ammonite Neha re the Bira thight, the officer who carried the armor for Joab, son of Zeruiah. Ira the birthright Ghareeb the birthright Uriah the Hittite is a bad son of ally, Adena son of shizer, the Reubenites who was the leader of the Reubenites and it&#8217;s 30 soldiers, Hainan son of may occur. Joshua fat the midnight Uzziah the Astra fight Shaimaa and Gentile sons of Hawthorn, the Aurora right, Judah al son of Shivraj Jolla, Judah ales brother the TOS ight, a Lyle the May of eight, Jeremiah and Joshua via l names sons IFMA, the Moabite, a Lyle Obed, and j as to the mosquito bites. First Chronicles chapter 12. David was living in Ziklag, where he had gone to escape from King Saul. There he was joined by many experienced reliable soldiers members of the tribe of Benjamin to which Saul belonged. They can shoot arrows and sling stones either right handed or left handed. They run to the command of AI easer in Joash, sons of Shemaiah from Libya. These were the soldiers GZ L and Pilet, sons of Asma. veth Barraca and GU from Anna, Thoth, Ishmael from Gibson, a famous soldier and one of the leaders of the 30 Jeremiah J. Hazel, Johanna and jhaza bed from Madeira l us I, Jeremiah, B Elia Shem, Araya and shefa Taya from Harith al Cana is Shi&#8217;a as a rel joeytsa and just Showbie him of the clan of Cora, Joe Isla and Zebedee, Jaya sons of Jerome from Vidor. These are the names of the famous experienced soldiers from the tribe of Gad who joined David&#8217;s troops when he was at the Desert fort. They were experts with shields and spears is fierce looking as lions and as quick as mountain deer. They were ranked in the following order easer Obadiah Eliab mish mana Jeremiah at high a Lyle, Joe Hainan, el ze bad Jeremiah and Mack ban I. Some of these men from the tribe of Gad were seeing your officers in command of 1000 men and others were junior officers in command of 100. In the first month of one year, the time when the Jordan River overflowed its banks, they crossed the river scattering the people who lived in the valleys both east and west of the river. Once a group of men from the tribes of Benjamin and Judah went out to the fort where David was, David went to meet them and said, If you are coming as friends to help me, you&#8217;re welcome here, join us. But if you intend to betray me to my enemies, even though I have not tried to hurt you, the God of our ancestors will know it and punish you. God&#8217;s Spirit took control of one of them. I&#8217;m a sigh, who later became the commander of the 30 and he called out David son of Jesse, we are yours, success to you and those who help you. God is on your side. David welcomed them and made them officers in his army. Some soldiers from the tribe of Manasseh went over to David&#8217;s side when he was marching out with the Philistines to fight King Saul. Actually, he did not help the Philistines for their kings were afraid that he would betray them to his former master Saul, so they sent him back to Ziklag. These are the soldiers for Manasa, who went over to David&#8217;s side when he was returning adna jhaza Bad Jedi al Michael jhaza Bad ally Hugh and Zillah phi in Manasa. They had all commanded units of 1000 men. They served David as officers over his troops because they were all outstanding soldiers. Later they were officers in the Israelite army. Almost every day new men join David&#8217;s forces so that his army was soon enormous. When David was at Hebron, many trained soldiers joined his army to help make him king in place of Saul as the Lord had promised. Their numbers were as follows Judah 6800 well equipped men armed with shields and spears, Simeon 7100, well trained men, Levi 4600 Men, followers of Jehoiada descendant of Aaron 3700 Men, relatives a doc enable young fighter 22 leading men, Benjamin Saul&#8217;s own tribe 3000 Men, most of the people of Benjamin had remained loyal to Saul II frame 20,800 Men famous in their own clans, West Manasa 18,000 men chosen to go and make David King is a car 200 leaders together with a man under their command, these leaders knew what Israel should do in the best time to do it. Zamberlan 50,000 loyal and reliable men ready to fight train to use all kinds of weapons nafed Ally 1000 leaders together with 37,000 men armed with shields and spears, Dan 28,600 Men, Asher 40,000 men ready for battle tribes east of the Jordan, Reuben Gad and East Manasa 120,000 Men trained to use all kinds of weapons. All these soldiers ready for battle went to Hebron determined to make David King over all Israel. All the rest of the people of Israel were united in the same purpose. They spent three days there with David feasting on the food and drink which their relatives had prepared for them. From as far away as the northern tribes of Issachar, Zebulun and Naphtali people came bringing donkeys camels, mules and oxen loaded with food, flour, figs, raisins, wine and olive oil. They also brought cattle and sheep to kill and eat. All this was an expression of the joy that was felt throughout the whole country. First Chronicles chapter 13. King David consulted with all the officers in command of units of 1000 men in units of 100 men. Then he announced to all the people of Israel, if you give your approval and if it is the will of the Lord our God. Let us send messengers to the rest of our people and to the priests and Levites in their towns and tell them to assemble here with us. Then we will go and get God&#8217;s covenant box which was ignored while Saul was king. The people were pleased with the suggestion and agreed to it. So David assembled the people of Israel from all over the country from the Egyptian border in the south to Heyworth paths and the North in order to bring the covenant box from Curiosity grm to Jerusalem. David and the people went to the city of baila that is to carry F grm in the territory of Judah to get the covenant box of God which bears the name of the Lord enthroned above the winged creatures at Hubin. adapts house they brought out the covenant box and put it on a new cart Uzza and Ohio guided the cart while David and all the people danced with all their might To honor God. They sang and played musical instruments, harps, drums, cymbals and trumpets. As they came to the threshing place of Caiden, the oxen stumbled, and does or reached out and took hold of the Covenant box. At once the Lord became angry with us and killed him for touching the box. He died there in God&#8217;s presence. And so that place has been called P res. Uzza. Ever since David was furious because the Lord had punished us in anger. Then David was afraid of God and said, How can I take the covenant box with me now? So David did not take it with him to Jerusalem. Instead, he left it at the house of a man named Obed Edom, a native of the city of Gath. It stayed there three months and the Lord blessed Obed Edom, his family, and everything that belonged to him. First Chronicles chapter 14, Hiram was king of Tyre, he sent messengers to David, he sent cedar logs along with them. He also sent skilled workers to build a palace for David. They worked with stone and wood. David knew that the Lord had made his position his king secure. He knew that he had made him king over the whole nation of Israel. He knew that the Lord had greatly honored his kingdom. The Lord had done it because the Israelites were his people. In Jerusalem, David got married to more women. He also became the father of more sons and daughters. Here is the list of the children who were born to him in Jerusalem. Their names were SHA MEWA show Babb. Nathan, Solomon iPAR, lsua, LP let Noga nee fig. Jaffa, Alicia Ma. B Eliana and Alisa let the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over the entire nation of Israel. So their whole army went to look for him. But David heard about it. He went out to where they were, the Philistines had come and attack the people in the valley of Irfan. So David asked God for advice. He said, Should I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me? The Lord answered him go, I will hand them over to you. So David and his men went up to Baal Paradism. There, David won the battle over the Philistines. He said, God has broken through against my enemies, just as water breaks through a dam. That is why the place is called bale Paradism. The Philistines had left the statues of their gods there, so David gave orders to burn them up. Once more, the Philistines attack the people in the valley. So David asked God for advice again, God answered him, do not go straight up. Instead, circle around them, attack them in front of the Balsam trees. Listen for the sound of marching in the tops of the trees, then move out to fight. The sound will mean that I&#8217;ve gone out in front of you, I will strike down the Philistine army. So David did just as God had commanded him, he and his men struck down the Philistine army. They struck them down from Gibson all the way to geezer. So David became famous and every land, the Lord made all of the nations afraid of him. What was your thought when God killed Uzza in chapter 13, this can be a difficult story for some people. So what I&#8217;m going to do is go over my comments from Episode s 12, e 127, which was titled follow the directions where we read about this same event in Second Samuel chapter six. If you are with me, then please bear with me. It doesn&#8217;t hurt to review sometimes and new Lifespring family members might not have heard it. It&#8217;s important, I think, to have a better understanding of why God reacted as he did. So why would God kill us for merely reaching out to study the Ark of the Covenant or the covenant box in the Good News Translation that we read today? As it did it to keep the Ark from falling off the cart? Right? So why did God react that way? Well, let&#8217;s dig into it. To some God&#8217;s reaction to us his actions seem extreme to say the least, David thought so since we&#8217;re told that he became angry at God. So what happened? First off, when God gave His instructions to the Israelites on how they were to build the ark, he was very clear about the most minut detail, including how it was to be transported, who was allowed to move it, and who was allowed to touch it. It was never to be put onto a cart, but it was to be carried by Kohathites only. There were two poles that went through two loops on each side of the arc. And these poles were to be placed on the coat with heights shoulders bearing the arc between them. Now, no one but a priest was to touch the arc because the arc had the very presence of God upon it. Remember, this all happened before the Messiah had come in only the priests had direct access to God, and only priests could perform the sacrifices that could cover the sins of the people. The Ark represented a holy and an awesome God, and I mean awesome in the very real sense of that word, something that inspires or, or commands ah, and God had made it very clear how it was to be honored because it was a reflection on how they were to honor God himself. So by putting the ark on the ox drawn cart, they were guilty of transgressing God&#8217;s direct instructions. But why was as a killed? Well, touching the ark was a direct violation of God&#8217;s clear instruction. It could be that God saw the condition of us as heart, and that as it didn&#8217;t have the proper attitude toward the Ark or toward God, it had been in us His house after all, for some time, and he might have become indifferent to it. You know how that is, the more you are around something or around someone, the less impressed you are with him sometimes, well, we can&#8217;t become indifferent to God, He is God, after all, the creator of all that is the one who gives life and sustains it. And it could be that as I had a cavalier attitude regarding God&#8217;s word, he didn&#8217;t think it was important to sweat the details, maybe is reaching out to study the Ark reflected a lack of faith on us as part were that God somehow needed his help. So what we might want to draw from this is that we need to pay attention to what God says, and we should do all that we can to be obedient to him. Yes, he&#8217;s loving, and he&#8217;s merciful, but he&#8217;s also holy. And it&#8217;s important that we never forget that it is His Holiness and justice that requires payment for sin. And it is his love that made a way for me and you to not have to make the payment for our sins. It&#8217;s his holiness and His justice in his love, that required the sacrifice of His Son, in my place, and in yours. Because of His holy and just nature. He couldn&#8217;t just overlook the sin. It had to be dealt with. I&#8217;m just so thankful that God made a way for me to escape his wrath, and that he&#8217;s offered that way that gift to anyone who will receive it. Jesus said, I am the way in the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you haven&#8217;t accepted that gift yet, I&#8217;d like to hear from you. Write me an email at Steve at Lifespring media.com. If you got any questions about that, you have a comment? Let me know Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 237. Scroll to the bottom of the page and leave your comment there. Here&#8217;s your cue to boost. Well, I got a boostagram this morning from Sean of San Pedro. He said thanks. As always, your commentary is always helpful. I&#8217;m still a bit conflicted by the jealousy ceremony. It sounds like the special clay is very similar to a plan B pill, but with the added effect of sterilization. Quite shocking. Well, Sean, thank you for your booster. Gram. Brother, I&#8217;m really glad you said it. Because I should have addressed this in my commentary yesterday, you&#8217;re referring to numbers 527, which in the easy to read version that I read from yesterday said, if the woman has sinned against her husband, the water will bring her trouble, the water will go into her body and cost her much suffering. Any baby that is in her will die before it is born. And she will never be able to have children. All right. So that&#8217;s what it said in the easy to read version. But in the original Hebrew, the phrase about the baby dying, isn&#8217;t there. Nowhere in that entire passage that deals with how they were to address whether or not a woman had been unfaithful. Nowhere does it say anything about a woman&#8217;s pregnancy or lack of pregnancy. There&#8217;s nothing in the original language at all about that. The only thing in the original Hebrew that sounds remotely like pregnancy is where it says that the quote, water that causes the curse shall enter her and become bitter, and her belly shall swell. But this is not referring to pregnancy. It&#8217;s a visible sign that she&#8217;s guilty of unfaithfulness. And the other sign is that she&#8217;ll be unable to conceive again. Remember that the ability to bear children was considered to be a sign of God&#8217;s blessing. And remember, too, that God was teaching the entire nation how important faithfulness to the marriage vows and faithfulness to him was in drinking this water and looking for the sign of either guilt or innocence. God had to personally be involved in the outcome. There was nothing magic about the water or the things that they put into it. God Himself was going to intervene and either show her innocence by there being no ill effects or her guilt by making it so that she would blow it up in her stomach and have her womb be unable to conceive. So this is not something that would happen immediately. This is something that the people, the nation would be able to watch the effects on the woman. If she conceived at some time in the future, then all would know that she was innocent. But if she did not, they would know that she had been unfaithful, and she was under God&#8217;s curse. But again, I just want to make it clear. There is not one word in that section in the original Hebrew that had anything to do with a baby dying or with a spontaneous abortion or anything like that. This mistranslation by the easy to read version translators, as well as a few other Bible translators is a very unfortunate mistake. And that&#8217;s another reason that having multiple translations to compare is so very important. And when there are questions, consulting an interlinear Bible is imperative. You can find interlinear Bibles for free online. I&#8217;m really sorry, I didn&#8217;t address this in my commentary yesterday. So Sean, thank you for bringing it up. If you think this podcast is worthwhile, and you must since your time is valuable, and you&#8217;re spending some of it listening to the show, your donation of time, talent or treasure means I can keep producing the show for you. When you donate some of your treasure, it means I can pay a bill it means I can invest the time to study the Scripture so that the thoughts I bring to you are helpful and well thought through. And donating your time, talent or treasure is a way for you to encourage me to keep producing the show for you. It tells me that you think what I&#8217;m doing is worthwhile and it helps me to share the good news have arisen savior. In other words, your donation has a great deal of value to me. All I ask is that you give in proportion to the value you receive from the show. Take a look at Lifespring media.com/support. Pray about it, and then do as God leads you. When you do that. I&#8217;ll thank you and I think God will bless you. On this date in church history, April 26 1518, German reformer Martin Luther stated in his disputation of Heidelberg, Grace has given to heal the spiritually sick not to decorate spiritual heroes. And on this date in church history, April 26 1992 worshipers celebrated Russian Orthodox Easter in Moscow for the first time in 74 years. Every so often, I like to ask this question and new Lifespring family members might not have heard it. So here it goes. I&#8217;d like to know how you found the show. Did a friend tell you? Did you hear about the show on another podcast? Did you hear about it from a social media post somebody at church smoke signals? Let me know. Send me an email at Steve at Lifespring media.com and use the subject line. Here&#8217;s where I found you. Don&#8217;t be shy. send me that email. Let&#8217;s pray together. Our Father in heaven Lord, we thank you for mercy and grace. We do not we cannot earn it but you give it because Jesus paid the terrible price for our sins. Lord, let us never take that sacrifice lightly. May we ever remember that you are a holy and awesome God. We must always remember that you are God not to be taken lightly. And yet you&#8217;ve made us heirs with Christ if we&#8217;ve placed our faith in Him as our Savior. He even told us when we pray to say Our Father, so we can come to you with humble confidence and even call you ABA. We are to fear you, but not be afraid to come into Your presence. You delight in our offerings of praise and worship. And we do that now. We do worship you. And we do praise your name. And we do come to you together now praying in Jesus name. Amen. If you&#8217;ve got a prayer request or a praise, please let me know at prayer dot Lifespring media.com. I pray for you in my private prayer time and we&#8217;ll pray together on the show. It always brightens my day when I get a comment on the show. So please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 237. And let me know what you thought about today&#8217;s show. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. And I&#8217;d like to thank Sean of San Pedro who&#8217;s doing a great job on the chapters you see on your podcasting 2.0 app. You do have one of those right? Don&#8217;t tell me you&#8217;re still using one of those old fashioned legacy apps are you come on, it&#8217;s time for an upgrade, go to new podcast apps.com and find one that looks interesting to you. And of course Kirsty is the official Lifespring family Audio Bible newsletter publisher. She makes sure that you get a new edition every week so you&#8217;ll know what the upcoming week&#8217;s readings will be. And if you want to read ahead and send questions to me ahead of time, I might answer your question on the show. Thank you Kirsty you for being our publisher. Both Kirstie and Sean truly help to make the show better. God bless both of you. Please remember to go to Lifespring media.com/support to help keep the Show coming to you every day. And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. I have enjoyed our time together today. Thank you for that gift. My name is Steve Webb. See you tomorrow. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will read 1 Timothy 4-6. I’ll have some comments after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “Fitness.” &#160; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Alexandra-Fuller on Unsplash Comments 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&#8217;s Word Translation Paul was, as you remember, advising the younger Timothy, who was pastoring the church at Ephesus, which had&#160; 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&#8217;s face it, the benefits are strictly temporary. They don&#8217;t last. Eventually, given enough time, we all grow old and our bodies deteriorate.&#160; 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&#8217;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.&#160; 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: &#8220;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.&#8221; &#8220;He is the Savior of all people&#8230;&#8221; 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&#8217;s sentence is &#8220;&#8230;especially of those who believe.&#8221;&#160; 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&#8217;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&#8217;s Word Translation Many Bible scholars believe that a better translation here is, &#8220;Be an example of the believers&#8221; 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.&#160; Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 4 GW, Ch. 5-6 HCSB Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00Physical discipline can&#8217;t stop the march of time. Steve Webb 0:11And here we are again. This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God caster Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year and I&#8217;m really happy you&#8217;ve invited me into your day to day. Our reading today is First Timothy four through six. I will have some comments after the reading and I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode fitness. If you&#8217;d like to comment on today&#8217;s show, you can do that at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 235. You can also email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com If you&#8217;d like I&#8217;d love to hear from you. And with all the preliminaries out of the way, let&#8217;s get started. Steve Webb 0:52First Timothy chapter four. The Spirit says clearly that in later times, some believers will desert the Christian faith. They will follow spirits that deceive and they will believe the teachings of demons. These people will speak lies disguised as truth. their consciences have been scarred as if branded by a red hot iron. They will try to stop others from getting married and from eating certain foods. God created food to be received with prayers of thanks by those who believe and know the truth. Everything God created is good. Nothing should be rejected if it is received with prayers of thanks, God&#8217;s word and prayer, set it apart as holy. You are a good servant of Christ Jesus. When you point these things out to our brothers and sisters, then you will be nourished by the words of the Christian faith and the excellent teachings which you have followed closely. Don&#8217;t have anything to do with godless myths that old women like to tell. rather train yourself to live a godly life. 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 is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Insist on these things and teach them. Don&#8217;t let anyone look down on you for being young. Instead, make your speech behavior love, faith and purity and example for other believers. Until I get there. Concentrate on reading scripture in worship, giving encouraging messages and teaching people don&#8217;t neglect the gift which he received through prophecy, when the spiritual leaders placed their hands on you to ordain you. Practice these things. devote your life to them so that everyone can see your progress. Focus on your life and your teaching. Continue to do what I&#8217;ve told you. If you do this, you will save yourself and those who hear you. Steve Webb 3:05First Timothy chapter five. Do not rebuke an older man but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and with all propriety the younger women as sisters, support widows who are genuinely widows. But if any widow has children or grandchildren, they must learn to practice godliness toward their own family first and to repay their parents for this pleases God. The real widow left all alone has put her hope in God and continues night and day in her petitions and prayers. However, she who is self indulgent is dead even while she lives. Command this also so they won&#8217;t be blamed. But if anyone does not provide for his own that is in his own household. He has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. No widow should be placed on the official support list unless she is at least 60 years old, has been the wife of one husband, and is well known for good works. That is if she has brought up children shown hospitality, washed the saints feet, helped the afflicted and devoted herself to every good work, but refuse to enroll younger widows for when they are drawn away from Christ by desire they want to marry and will therefore receive condemnation because they have renounced their original pledge. At the same time. They also learned to be idle going from house to house. They are not only idle, but are also gossips and busybodies, saying things they shouldn&#8217;t say. Therefore, I want younger women to marry, have children manage their households and give the adversary no opportunity to accuse us. For some have already turned away to follow satan. If any believing woman has widows in her family, she should help them and the church should not be burdened so that it can help those who are genuinely widows. The elders who are good leaders should be considered worthy of an ample honorarium, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the scripture says, Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain and the worker is worthy of his wages. Don&#8217;t accept an accusation against an elder unless it is supported by two or three witnesses, publicly rebuke those who sin so that the rest will also be afraid. I solemnly charge you before God in Christ Jesus and the elect angels to observe these things without prejudice, doing nothing out of favoritism. Don&#8217;t be too quick to appoint anyone as an elder, and don&#8217;t share in the sins of others. keep yourself pure. Don&#8217;t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. Some people&#8217;s sins are obvious going before them to judgment, but the sins of others surface later. Likewise, good works are obvious, and those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden. Steve Webb 6:00First Timothy chapter six. All who are under the yoke as slaves must regard their own masters to be worthy of all respect, so that God&#8217;s name and his teaching will not be blasphemed. Those who have believing masters should not be disrespectful to them because they are brothers, but should serve them better, since those who benefit from their service are believers and dearly loved, teach and encourage these things. If any one teaches other doctrine and does not agree with the sound teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with a teaching that promotes godliness, he has conceded understanding nothing but has a sick interest in disputes and arguments over words. From these come envy, quarreling, slander, evil suspicions, and constant disagreement among people whose minds are depraved and deprived of the truth, who imagine that godliness is a way to material gain, but godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil and by craving it some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. But you man of God, run from these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness. Fight the good fight for the faith, take hold of eternal life that you were called to, and have made a good confession about in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God who gives life to all and of Christ Jesus, who gave a good confession before Pontius Pilate, I charge you to keep the command without fault or failure until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. God will bring this about in his own time. He is the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, the only one who has a mortality dwelling in unapproachable light, no one has seen or can see him, to Him be honored and eternal might, amen. Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. instruct them to do what is good, to be rich and good works to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real. Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you avoiding irreverent empty speech and contradictions from the knowledge that falsely bears that name. By professing it, some people have deviated from the faith, Grace be with all of you. Let&#8217;s talk a little bit about chapter four. verses eight through 10 said 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. Beloved, you&#8217;ll probably remember that Paul was advising the younger Timothy who was pastoring, the church at Ephesus which had become infiltrated with many false teachings. In verse eight, 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 bodies a good thing to do, right, but let&#8217;s face it, the benefits are strictly temporary, they don&#8217;t last. Eventually, given enough time we all grow old and our bodies deteriorate. Steve Webb 10:00I started swimming competitively when I was about eight years old. By the time I graduated high school, I had swarmed the equivalent of nearly the distance from Los Angeles to New York, I was in great shape. And then a couple of years after graduating, I was a professional ski patrolman. After that I was an apprentice carpenter. And all through these years, I maintained a very high level of fitness. But here I am in my late 60s, and my body is definitely showing signs of age. But 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&#8217;t stop the march of time, in one day, my body will just give up, I&#8217;ll die. No one gets out of here alive, right. But on the spiritual level, I&#8217;m 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&#8217;ve practiced over the years also produces eternal benefits. When my body stops, I will enjoy the eternal benefit of my faith in Christ. I like what Charles Spurgeon said, I assure you, and there are 1000s 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 sake, even here, and we would not change with ungodly men, even if we had to die like dogs with the sorrow and care which Christian life is supposed to bring. We would prefer it to any other form of life beneath the stars. Amen. Brother Spurgeon. And then here in chapter four, verse 10, Paul said, 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 those who believe. Well, let&#8217;s go back here. What did Paul mean when he said, He&#8217;s the savior of all people, there is a belief among some people that everyone will ultimately be saved. But that isn&#8217;t what Paul was saying here. The second half of Paul&#8217;s sentence is especially of those who believe, Bible commentator Adam Clarke said this, 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 in Consequently all may be saved. Those that perish, perish through their own fault. Yes, beloved, all are offered forgiveness if they place their faith in Jesus, because no one who comes to Jesus will be rejected. John 316, through 18 says, 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&#8217;t be condemned. But those who don&#8217;t believe are already condemned, because they don&#8217;t believe in God&#8217;s only son. So yes, he is the savior of all people. But then, as Paul said, especially of those who believe Jesus is the Savior of the world, but we have to accept his gift. Steve Webb 13:27So Paul was instructing Timothy to live a godly life and to be an example to the Ephesian church, so that no one could fault him for his youth. He said in verses 11, and 12, command and teach these things. Don&#8217;t let anyone look down on you because you&#8217;re 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. That is an important thing for every pastor to do, but especially a young pastor. But let&#8217;s go back to the sentence that said, set an example for the believers. 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 with that. Each of us not just pastors, but each of us should be an example of what it is to be a follower of Christ. That&#8217;s how we become salt and light to the world. We are to be an example of what a believer is supposed to be. So the sentence still holds up. Set an example of the believers in what you say and how you live. Also send an example of how you love and in what you believe. What do you think? I&#8217;d love to hear from you go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 235. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and tell me what you think. Our reading tomorrow We&#8217;ll be numbers five through eight boost Steve Webb 15:10I want to take a moment to encourage you, especially if you&#8217;ve been with me since the beginning of season 12. You&#8217;re at the Lifespring family Audio Bible. I know it takes a great deal of commitment to listen to the show every day or if you get behind to catch up. Reading through the Bible does take a lot of time. And life is busy. For most of us. We have responsibilities. We have jobs, school, families, church, what have you. But you are here, and I commend you for your persistence. This is episode 235. Keep going. Keep listening. We have just 128 more episodes to go before we achieve our goal. Next Sunday will be two thirds of the way through. Keep your eye on the prize. Beloved, we&#8217;ve made it this far. We can make it to the finish line. Are you with me? Come on, let&#8217;s go. Steve Webb 16:07Let&#8217;s pray. Our heavenly Father Lord, we love you. And we thank you for your word. Thank you, Lord for encouraging us to live godly lives. Life is so much better when we&#8217;re living for you. You give us peace and joy when we follow you and we know that we will live with you for all of eternity which is the greatest benefit. Help us Lord to be good examples. Good representatives of Jesus to those around us. Give us Lord the spiritual discipline we need to finish our race well. We do want to hear you say well done good and faithful servant when we see you face to face. Bless the Lifespring family Lord, encourage them, strengthen them, hold them up when they grow weary as we all do from time to time. Forgive us, Lord, when we fail you. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If God is doing something great in your life, or if you&#8217;ve got a prayer request, please go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com. And let me know i&#8217;ll rejoice with you and I&#8217;ll pray for you in my private prayer time. And we&#8217;ll share here on the show prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 17:20I&#8217;d love to hear your comments. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 235 and comment there or send me an email at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Support the show with time talent or treasure. If you&#8217;d like to donate time or talent email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. I can get you set up or you can donate treasure at Lifespring media.com/support. John of San Pedro is doing a great job doing the chapters for every episode. And first he is putting the newsletter together each week of course and we thank her for that. God bless you guys. Well until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. Thank you for sharing your time with me today. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. My name is Steve Webb. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will complete the book of John 5-6. I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “The Pool at Bethesda.&#8221;&#160; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Linus Nylund on Unsplash Looking for the Chosen Video? Unfortunately the Video Is no longer available. Comments on John 5 After Jesus healed the man who had been unable to walk for 38 years, at the pool of Bethesda, the Jewish religious leaders were indignant that Jesus told the man to carry his mat on the Sabbath. Jesus answered their &#8220;offendedness&#8221; (to coin a word) in some detail, and then said this: John 5:39-40 39 You search the Scriptures, because you think you will find eternal life in them. The Scriptures tell about me, 40but you refuse to come to me for eternal life. (CEV) 39 “You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the Scriptures point to me! 40Yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. (NLT) 39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; 40and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. (NASB) 39‘Ye search the Writings, because ye think in them to have life age-during, and these are they that are testifying concerning me; 40and ye do not will to come unto me, that ye may have life; (Young&#8217;s Literal Translation) 39 You search and keep on searching and examining the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and yet it is those [very Scriptures] that testify about Me; 40and still you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. (Amp) I show these different translations so that you could really get what Jesus was saying. Let us not be like these people, beloved. You and I study the Scriptures together, but let us remember that the goal is not to become experts in Scripture. Our goal is to know *the* Word, as in John 1:1. &#8220;1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.&#8221; If we study Scripture and miss Christ, we are as lost as the so called &#8220;religious experts&#8221; Jesus was speaking to at the pool. To know Him, to love Him, to put our trust in Him, is life. Amen? Amen! Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 5 CEV; Ch. 6 NIV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00Can you imagine? Steve Webb 0:09Hello, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God caster Steve Webb, welcome. I&#8217;m so glad you&#8217;re here today. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today, we&#8217;re going to read from the Gospel of John chapters five and six, I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, the pool of Bethesda. And I&#8217;ve got a heads up for you. This is going to be a short one today. It is of course the day before Resurrection Day, which is my preferred way to refer to Easter. And my guess is that you might have a lot on your plate. I know I do. So to respect your time, today&#8217;s show will be short as well Tomorrow&#8217;s the show notes page. And you&#8217;re gonna want to take note of this even if you&#8217;ve never been to the show notes page, but I want you to go to today&#8217;s show notes page for a very special reason, which I&#8217;ll tell you about in a few moments that we read. The show notes page for today is Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 227. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. And I think it&#8217;s about time to get started. Steve Webb 1:14John chapter five. Later, Jesus went to Jerusalem for another Jewish festival. In the city near the sheep gate was a pool with five porches. And its name in Hebrew was Beth zeta. Many sick, blind, lame and paralyzed people were lying close to the pool. beside the pool was a man who had been sick for 38 years. When Jesus saw the man and realized that he had been crippled for a long time, he asked him, Do you want to be healed? The man answered, Sir, I don&#8217;t have anyone to put me in the pool when the water is stirred up. I tried to get in. But someone else always gets there first. Jesus told him, pick up your mat and walk. Right then the man was healed. He picked up his mat and started walking around. The day on which this happened was the Sabbath. When the Jewish leaders saw the man carrying his mat, they said to him, this is the Sabbath. No one is allowed to carry a mat on the Sabbath. But he replied, The Man Who healed me told me to pick up my mat and walk. They asked him who is this man that told you to pick up your mat and walk. But he did not know who Jesus was in Jesus had left because of the crowd. Later, Jesus met the man in the temple and told him, you are now well, but don&#8217;t sin anymore, or something worse might happen to you. The man left and told the leaders that Jesus was the one who had healed him. They started making a lot of trouble for Jesus because He did things like this on the Sabbath. But Jesus said, My father has never stopped working. And this is why I keep on working. Now the leaders wanted to kill Jesus for two reasons. First, he had broken the law of the Sabbath. But even worse, he had said God was his father, which made him equal with God. Jesus told the people, I tell you, for certain the son cannot do anything on his own. He can do only what he sees the Father doing. And he does exactly what he sees the Father do. The Father loves the Son, and has shown him everything he does. The father will show him even greater things, and you will be amazed. Just as the Father raises the dead and gives life. So the Son gives life to anyone he wants to. The father doesn&#8217;t judge anyone, but he has made his son, the judge of everyone. The father wants all people to honor the Son as much as they honor him. When anyone refuses to honor the Son, this is the same as refusing to honor the Father who sent him. I tell you for certain that every one who hears my message in has faith in the One who sent me has eternal life, and will never be condemned. They have already gone from death to life, I tell you for certain the time will come. And it is already here. When all of the debt will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who listened to it will live. The father has the power to give life and he has given that same power to the son. And he has given his son the right to judge everyone because he is the son of man. Don&#8217;t be surprised. The time will come when all of the dead will hear the voice of the Son of Man and they will come out of their graves. Everyone who has done good things will rise to life. But everyone who has done evil things will rise and be condemned. I cannot do anything on my own. The father sent me and he is the one who told me how to judge. I judge with fairness because I obey him and I don&#8217;t just try to please myself. If I speak for myself, there is no way to prove I am telling the truth. But there is someone else who speaks for Me, and I know what he says is true. You sent messengers to John, and he told them the truth. I don&#8217;t depend on what people say about me. But I tell you these things so that you may be saved. John was a lamp that gave a lot of light, and you were glad to enjoy his light for a while. But something more important than John speaks for me. I mean, the things that the Father has given me to do, all of these speak for me and prove that the Father sent Me. The Father who sent Me also speaks for me, but you have never heard his voice or seen him face to face. You have not believed his message because you refused to have faith in the one he sent. You searched the scriptures because you think you will find eternal life in them. The Scriptures tell about me, but you refuse to come to me for eternal life. I don&#8217;t care about human praise. But I do know that none of you love God. I have come with my Father&#8217;s authority, and you have not welcomed me. But you will welcome people who come on their own. How could you possibly believe you like to have your friends praise you and you don&#8217;t care about praise that the only God can give? Don&#8217;t think that I will be the one to accuse you to the Father, you have put your hope in Moses, yet he is the very one who will accuse you. Moses wrote about me. And if you had believed Moses, you would have believed me. But if you don&#8217;t believe what Moses wrote, how can you believe what I say. Steve Webb 6:28John chapter six. Sometime after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee, that is the Sea of Tiberius, and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. The Jewish Passover festival was near. When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat? He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, it would take more than half a year&#8217;s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite. Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon, Peter&#8217;s brother spoke up. He was a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish. But how far will they go among so many? Jesus said, Have the people sit down, there was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down about 5000 men were there. Jesus then took the loaves gave thanks and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples gathered the pieces that are left over, Let nothing be wasted. So they gathered them and filled 12 baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, surely this is the prophet who was to come into the world. Jesus knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself. When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Copernican. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. A strong wind was blowing, and the waters grew rough. When they had rode about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat walking on the water, and they were frightened. But he said to them, it is I don&#8217;t be afraid, then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading. The next day, the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples that that they had gone away alone. Then some boats from Tiberius landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, Rabbi, when did you get here? Jesus answered, very, truly, I tell you, you were looking for me not because you saw the signs I performed, but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you, for on him, God the Father has placed His seal of approval. Then they asked him, What must we do to do the works God requires? Jesus answered, the work of God is this to believe in the one he has sent? So they asked him, What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you, what will you do? Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. Jesus said to them, Very truly I tell you, it is not most As who was given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world. Sir, they said, always give us this bread, then Jesus declared, I am the bread of life, Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. But as I told you, you have seen me, and still you do not believe all those the Father gives Me will come to me. And whoever comes to me, I will never drive away, For I have come down from heaven, not to do my will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me. And this is the will of Him who sent me that I shall lose none of all those He has given me that raise them up at the last day, for my father&#8217;s will, is that everyone who looks to the sun and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. At this, the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, I am the bread that came down from heaven. They said, Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, I came down from heaven? Stop stopped grumbling among yourselves, Jesus answered, No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me, no one has seen the Father except the one who is from God, only he has seen the Father, very, Truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life, I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here&#8217;s the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, how can this man give us his flesh to eat? Jesus said to them, Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you, whoever eats my flesh and drinks, my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food. And my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks, my blood remains in me and I and then, just as the living Father sent me at I live because of the Father. So the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died. But whoever feeds on this bread will live forever. He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. On hearing it, many of His disciples said, this is a hard teaching who can accept it? Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, Does this offend you? Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before? The Spirit gives life? The flesh counts for nothing? The words I have spoken to you, they are full of the spirit and life. You have there are some of you who do not believe for Jesus had known from the beginning, which of them did not believe and who would betray him. He went on to say, this is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has enabled them. Steve Webb 13:37From this time, many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed him. You do not want to leave to do you. Jesus asked the 12. Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, we have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God. Then Jesus replied, have I not chosen you the 12 yet one of you is a devil. He met Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, who the one of the 12 was later to betray him. Let&#8217;s talk a little bit about John five, after Jesus healed the man who had been unable to walk for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda, the Jewish religious leaders were indignant that Jesus told the man to carry his mat on the Sabbath. Can you imagine he healed a man who had been lame for 38 years? And they got mad at him for telling them man pick up your mat and walk? Unbelievable. Well, Jesus answered their offensiveness to coin a word in some detail. And then this is what he said. You search the Scriptures because you think you&#8217;ll find eternal life in them. The Scriptures tell about me, but you refuse to come to me for eternal life. Now, I&#8217;m going to read some other translations for you just so you can get it A real flavor for what Jesus was saying to them. The New Living Translation says, You search the Scriptures because you think they give you eternal life. But the scriptures point to me, yet you refuse to come to me to receive this life. And the New American Standard says, You search the Scriptures because you think that in them, you have eternal life. It is these that testify about Me and you are unwilling to come to me, so that you may have life. And then the Young&#8217;s Literal Translation reads a little bit strange, because it is a literal word for word translation. But listen to what it says, Ye search the writings, because you think in them to have life age during, in other words, eternal life. Now continuing, and these are they that are testifying concerning me, and you do not will to come unto me that ye may have life. And then one more just for good measure. The Amplified Version says that this way, you search and keep on searching and examining the scriptures, because you think that in them, you have eternal life. And yet it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me. And still you are unwilling to come to me so that you may have life. So I read these different translations, like I said, so that you could really get what Jesus was saying. Now, Beloved, let us not be like these people. You and I study the scriptures together. But let&#8217;s remember that the goal is not to become experts in Scripture. Our goal is to know the word as in John one one, in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, all things came into being through him. And apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being In him was life, and the life was the light of men. Listen, if we study scripture, and we miss Christ, we are as lost as the so called religious experts. Jesus was speaking to at the pool, to know Him, to love Him, to put our trust in Him. That is life. Amen. Amen. Now, by now, you&#8217;ve probably heard of the movie project called the Chosun. If you haven&#8217;t, then you really must look for it and watch it. Now, here&#8217;s my homework for you. Yeah, I have homework today for you. Go to the show notes page Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 227. And watch the video I&#8217;m going to be putting up there. It&#8217;s from the Chosun. And it&#8217;s the scene we read about in chapter five where Jesus heals the man at the pool. It is such a beautiful scene, and it just touches my heart so deeply. Really, you have to watch it, do yourself a favor, even if you&#8217;ve already seen it. Go watch it again. Now, while you&#8217;re there, after you watch the video, scroll on down to the very bottom of the page. And leave me a comment on today&#8217;s show. I&#8217;d love to hear from you. Especially if you&#8217;ve never written before. Come on, leave a comment right there. bottom of the page. Can&#8217;t miss it. All right, tomorrow resurrection day, we&#8217;re going to begin the book of First Timothy will read the first three chapters. Again, it&#8217;s going to be a short show. Steve Webb 18:32Timothy LaFontaine said into $30 donation. And Timothy, thank you so much. God bless you, my brother, I appreciate you and your support. It means a lot to me. Now tell you beloved support like Tim&#8217;s really helps to keep things running here at the Lifespring family Audio Bible. If you enjoy the show, if it&#8217;s a valuable part of your life, then please consider returning some of that value to me to keep it going. Think about and pray about how much support you should send that&#8217;s between you and the Lord, and then go to Lifespring media.com/support. There are several payment methods that I&#8217;ve set up there to make it as easy as possible for you pick one of those methods and do as the Lord leads. Thank you and God bless you. Steve Webb 19:26On this date in church history, April 16 1922. I&#8217;ve never really mentioned on this show. I don&#8217;t think that I love to fly. I like to get on a plane and just go somewhere. And of course I like being behind the microphone too. And what happened on April 16 1922 Just kind of pushes both of those buttons for me. Belvin W Maynard was an ordained Baptist minister known as the flying parson. And on this date, he delivered the first sermon preached from an airplane by radio I think that is so cool. Steve Webb 20:10And now let&#8217;s pray Our Father in heaven, how are we thank You for Your Word, the Bible. We love reading and studying it not for the words on the page, but for the fact that they point us to you, the whole of you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The words reveal to us your amazing love for us and the extent you went to redeem us, and when you reveal your character to us through the word, when we see Jesus for who he is, and what he did for us, and what he&#8217;s doing even now interceding for us at your right hand, when we learn how the Holy Spirit ministers to us and for us, Lord, we just can&#8217;t help but love you. Oh, Lord, thank you for loving us. Thank you for giving us life everlasting life, when we were in Jesus. Lord, as we prepare to celebrate the resurrection, tomorrow, may we be moved like never before by what Jesus accomplished that morning when he threw off the bonds of sin and death. And that not happened, we would have nothing but he is risen, and death and the grave no longer have any power over those who believe in it. Tomorrow truly is a holy day, and we praise You for it. Lord, I pray that you bless the Lifespring family today. I thank you for each one who&#8217;s listening right now. Whenever there now is, I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you have something you&#8217;d like us to pray with you about or if you&#8217;ve got something you&#8217;d like us to rejoice with you about, please go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com and fill that form out you find it&#8217;s quick, it&#8217;s easy. And that&#8217;s what family does. We share with one another prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 22:00Please remember to share the show if you enjoy it. And if you don&#8217;t enjoy it. Why are you here? I mean, come on and comment on the show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 227. Watch that video there. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com support the show please at Lifespring media.com/support. And until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thank you for inviting me to be with you today. One more time. Remember to go to the show notes page and watch that video. You&#8217;ll be glad you did. See you next time. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will complete the book of&#160;Daniel 7-12. I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “What Time Is It?&#8221; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash Comments on Daniel 7-10 It’s an interesting fact that throughout history, the focus of the church has not always been what it is today. In the first few hundred years after Jesus left the church with the Great Commission, the church focused on the doctrine of Scripture. Which makes sense, right? In the early years, the church had to define what was and what was not divinely inspired scripture. And then, through the centuries, the focus shifted to the doctrine of the Trinity, to the doctrine of who and what Jesus is, to the doctrine of who and what man is, to the doctrine of salvation, to the doctrine of the church. And it really wasn’t until the last couple hundred years that the church spent much time studying the doctrine of the end days. Yes, it is true. For most of our history the biblical books of prophecy have been looked at as being impossible to understand. Some of the prophets who wrote them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit even said that they didn’t understand everything they wrote. But that is because it was not time yet to understand them. As we read these books today, we can begin to see glimpses that make sense. In these chapters having to do with the end times, it is going to be impossible for me to talk about all the possible interpretations or applications to the days in which we are living. Entire books have been, and probably are being written even as I speak about how the book of Daniel applies to today.&#160; What I’m going to do in the short time we have today is look at a couple verses from today’s reading.&#160; First let’s take a look at Daniel 8, verse 26. Someone who looked like a man spoke to Daniel about future events, at the end he said, “The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.&#8221; What did he mean when he told Daniel to seal up the vision? Many people believe that he meant that no one would be able to understand the vision until the end times. “…seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.&#8221; I disagree. I think he meant, “Safeguard the vision, put it someplace safe because it will be needed later.”&#160; Here’s an example. My wife, the the Lovely Lady LeeAnn and I had a will written for us several years ago. We hope that it won’t be needed for many more years. Do you think we keep it on the kitchen table or the coffee table in the living room? Of course not. We have locked it, sealed it up, in our safe. It’s an important document, and we have put it in a place of safekeeping.&#160; This is, I believe, what the one speaking to Daniel meant. Write this message down, and keep it safe for the day that it is needed. As we read this book, it certainly seems as if we are in the end times, doesn’t it? There are so many things prophesied here that it sounds like we’re reading from today’s newspapers. And reading about just the general condition of life in the end times sounds like today, too. For example, in chapter 12, at the end of verse four, the one speaking to Daniel says, “Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.&#8221; In the past, some thought that the “running to and fro” reference means missionaries going throughout the world preaching the Gospel. Others have thought that it means that many would search the scriptures trying to discern the meaning of the words in the prophecies. Personally, I disagree with those interpretations, and I’ll tell you why in a moment.&#160; The second half of that sentence was, “…and knowledge will increase.” It’s been thought that this referred to the fact that as we enter the end times, we will understand the prophetic scriptures more clearly. I think that is partly right, but I think there is more. We can’t fault the notions that people in the past had about these scriptures, but how could they possibly know what it would be like to live in our age? We can hop on an airplane and fly from one coast of the United States to the other in a matter of hours. And the U.S. military has aircraft that can do it in about an hour’s time. It’s common for some business people to fly around the world multiple times a week. The point is, mobility for virtually everyone in developed countries is a fact of life. That could be the running to and fro Daniel wrote about. But it also just might refer to the fact that our lives have become so extremely hectic. These days many of us are on the go constantly. We have virtually no leisure time. Even when we are technically “on vacation”, we have our electronic devices with us. Many of us are never disconnected from the internet. Can we even imagine going back to a world where we are not constantly connected?&#160; Which brings up the second point. “…and knowledge will increase.” Scholars of old could not anticipate the internet. When I was a boy, I had to go the library if I wanted to know something that was not in a book at my house. Today, all I have to do is get online and type in a search. Or now, all I have to do is speak to my phone. “OK Google (or Siri or Alexa). Who won the 2016 World Series?” “What was the score?” “What is the specific gravity of water?” “What is the atomic number of lead?” “Who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1954” “What is tomorrow’s weather forecast?” You get the idea. You can find almost anything that man has learned within seconds. That capability did not exist until about 15 years ago when the first iPhone was introduced. Knowledge has increased, and it continues to increase geometrically. I think we can check that one off the list of things to look for. Are we in the end times? Perhaps. Jesus said that only the Father knows the exact time, but scripture gives us many, many things to look for. Are the end times, or last days, something to fear? If you don’t know Jesus as your Savior you might want to worry. Verses 1 and 2 of Daniel 12 say, “…And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. 2And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” What side are you on? The one who will have everlasting life, or shame and everlasting contempt? Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 7-12 ESV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00Are the end times or last days something to fear? Steve Webb 0:11One more time. Here we are. Again, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God casters. Steve Webb, welcome. Good to see you again. Thanks for sharing your day with me. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today we&#8217;re going to complete the book of Daniel will read chapters seven through 12. Of course, I&#8217;ll have some comments after the reading. The title of today&#8217;s show is what time is it? If you&#8217;d like to come in on today&#8217;s show, please do go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 226. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. I&#8217;d love to hear from you. Let&#8217;s get started. Steve Webb 0:53Daniel chapter seven. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. Daniel declared, I saw in my vision by night and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagle&#8217;s wings. Then as I looked, the wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man and the mind of a man was given to it. And behold another beast, a second one like a bear. It was raised up on one side, it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth, and it was told, Arise, devour much flesh. After this, I looked and behold another like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back, and the beast had foreheads and a dominion was given to it. After this I saw on the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth, it devoured and broken pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had 10 horns, I considered the horns and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great things. As I looked, thrones were placed in the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, its wheels were burning fire, a stream of fire issued and came out from before him. 1000 1000s served him and 10,000 times 10,000 stood before him, the Court said in judgment, and the books were opened. I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season at a time. I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a Son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples nations and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. I approached one of those who stood there, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. These four great beasts are the four kings who shall rise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever. Then I desire to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, which devoured in broken pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, and about the 10 horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom. Thus, he said, As for the fourth beast, there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all the kingdoms, and it shall devour the whole earth and trample it down and break it to pieces. As for the 10 horns, out of this kingdom, 10 king shall arise and another show arise after them, he shall be different from the former ones, and shall put down three kings. He shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and shall think to change the times and the law, and they shall be given into his hand for a time, times, and half the time. But the court shall sit in judgment and his dominion shall be taken away to be consumed and destroyed to the end. And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him. Here&#8217;s the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me. And my color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart. Daniel chapter eight. In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first and I saw in the vision, and when I saw I was in Susa, the Citadel which is in the province of Elam, and I saw in the vision, and I was at the you lie canal, I raised my eyes and saw and behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last, I saw the RAM charging westward and northward and southward, no beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great. As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth without touching the ground. And the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes, he came to the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, and he ran at him with his powerful rap. I saw him come close to the RAM, and he was enraged against him, and struck the ram and broke his two horns, and the Ram had no power to stand before him. But he cast him down to the ground and travelled upon him. And there was no one who could rescue the RAM from his power, then the goat became exceedingly great. But when he was strong, the great horn was broken. And instead of it, there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven. Out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the glorious land. It grew great even to the host of heaven. And some of the hosts and some of the stars it through to the ground and traveled on them. It became great, even as great as the prints of the host. And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. And a host will be given over to it together with a regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and it will act and prosper. Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke for how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot. And he said to me, for 2300 evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state. When I Daniel had seen the vision, I sought to understand it, and behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. And I heard a man&#8217;s voice between the banks of the ULI and it called Gabriel make this man understand the vision. So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, understand, Oh, son of man, that the vision is for the time of the end, that when He had spoken to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But he touched me and made me stand up. He said, Behold, I will make known to you what shall be the latter end of the indignation for it refers to the appointed time of the end. As for the RAM that you saw with two horns, these are the kings of media in Persia, and the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king. As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, for kingdom shall arise from his nation, but not with his power. And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of boldface, one who understands riddles shall arise, his power shall be great, but not by his own power, and he shall cause fearful destruction and shall succeed in what he does, and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind, he shall become great. Without warning he shall destroy many, and he shall even rise up against the Prince of Princes, and he shall be broken But by no human hand, the vision of the evenings in the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision for it refers to many days from now. And I Daniel was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the Kings business, but I was appalled by the vision and did not understand it. Steve Webb 10:20Daniel chapter nine. In the first year of Darius, the son of a has us by descent, a Mead, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans in the first year of his reign. I, Daniel, proceed in the books, the number of years that according to the Word of the Lord to Jeremiah, the prophet must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely 70 years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking Him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession, saying, Oh Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love Him and keep His commandments. We have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly, and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. We have not listened to your servants, the prophets who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, oh, Lord belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far away in all the lands to which you have driven them because of the treachery that they have committed against you. To us, oh, Lord belongs open shame to our kings, to our princes into our fathers because we have sinned against you, to the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness for we have rebelled against Him, and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, by walking in His laws, which he set before us by His servants, the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law in turn, decide, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath that were written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, had been poured out upon us because we have sinned against him. He has confirmed his words which He spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven, there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem, as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us. Yet we have not been treated the favor of the Lord our God, turning from our iniquities in gaining insight, by your truth. Therefore, the Lord has kept ready the calamity, and has brought it upon us. For the Lord, our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. And now a Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly, oh Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city, Jerusalem, Your holy hill, because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are around us. Now, therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his pleas for mercy. And for your own sake, oh, Lord, make your face to shine upon your sanctuary which is desolate. Oh my god, incline your ear in here. Open your eyes and see our desolations and the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our please before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. Oh, Lord here, oh, Lord, forgive all Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not for your own sake, oh my God, because your city and your people are called by your name. Steve Webb 14:06While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my god, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first came to me in Swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He made me understand speaking with me and saying, oh, Daniel, I have now come out to give you insight and understanding. At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out, and I have come to tell it to you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision 70 weeks or decreed about your people and your holy city to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and profit, and to anoint a most Holy Place, no therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for 62 weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the 62 weeks and anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come, shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end, there shall be war. desolations are decreed, and he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week, he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering and on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate until the decreed end is poured out on the Desolator. Steve Webb 15:51Daniel chapter 10. In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a word was revealed to Daniel who was named belta. Shahzad, and the Word was true, and it was a great conflict, and he understood the word and had understanding of the vision. In those days, I Daniel was mourning for three weeks, I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all for the full three weeks. On the 24th day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of a great river, that is the Tigris, I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen with a belt of fine gold from youth as around his waist. His body was like barrel, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs, like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words, like the sound of a multitude. And I Daniel alone saw the vision for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. Then I heard the sound of his words. And as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground. And behold, a hand touched me and sent me trembling on my hands and knees. And he said to me, oh, Daniel, man greatly loved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand up right for now I have been sent to you. And when He had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. Then he said to me, fear not Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words, the prince of the kingdom of Persia with stood me 21 days. But Michael, one of the chief princes came to help me for I was left there with the kings of Persia, and came to make you understand what has to happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision is for the days yet to come. When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was mute, and behold, one in the likeness of the children of man touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke, I said to him who stood before me, Oh, my Lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me and I retain no strength. How can my lord servant talk with my Lord, for now, no strength remains in me and no breath is left in me. Again, one having the appearance of a man touched me and strengthened me. And he said, Oh, man, greatly loved fear not peace, be with you, be strong and of good courage. And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, Let my Lord speak for you have strengthened me. Then he said, Do you know why I have come to you, but now I will return to fight against the Prince of Persia. And when I go out, Behold, the prince of Greece will come. But I will tell you what is inscribed in the Book of Truth. There is none who contends by my side against these except Michael, your prince. Steve Webb 19:03Daniel, chapter 11. And as for me, in the first year of Darius, the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him, and now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. Then a mighty king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and do as He wills and as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, or his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these. Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule and his authority shall be a great authority. After some years they shall make an alliance and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up and her attendance he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times, and from a branch from her roots, one shall arise in his place, he shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail, he shall also carry off to Egypt, they are gods with their metal images in their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years, he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but shall return to his own land, his son shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. Then the king of the south move with rage shall come out and fight against the king of the north, and he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down 10s of 1000s, but he shall not prevail. For the king of the north shall again raised a multitude greater than the first, and after some years he shall come on with a great army and with abundant supplies. In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. Then the king of the north shall common throw up siege works and make a well fortified city, and the forces of the south shall not stand or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. But he who comes against him shall do as He wills, and none shall stand before him, and he shall stand in the glorious land with destruction in his hand, he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them, he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him, then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found, then shall arise in his place, one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle, in his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom Royal Majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken even the prince of the covenant. And from the time that an alliance is made with him, he shall act deceitfully and he shall become strong with a small people. Without warning, he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his father&#8217;s nor his father&#8217;s father&#8217;s have done, scattering among them plunder spoil in goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time, and he shall stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand for plots shall be devised against him. Even those who eat his food shall break him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil, they shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail. For the end is yet to be at the time appointed, and he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant, and he shall work his will and return to his own land. At the time appointed, he shall return in come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before for ships of kingdom shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw and shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the Holy Covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant, forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering, and they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame by captivity and plunder. When they stumble, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join themselves to them with flattery, and some of the wives shall stumble so that they may be refined, purified and made white until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time. And the King shall do as He wills he will exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished for what is decreed shall be done. He shall pay no attention to the gods of his father&#8217;s or to the one beloved by women, he shall not pay attention to any other God, for he shall magnify himself above all, he shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these, a god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign God. Those who acknowledge Him He shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many, and shall divide the land for a price. At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships, and he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through, he shall come into the glorious land, and 10s of 1000s shall fall but the shall be delivered out of his hand, Edom and Moab in the main part of the Ammonites, he shall stretch out his hand against the country&#8217;s, and the land of Egypt shall not escape, he shall become ruler of the treasuries of gold and of silver and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the KU shites shall follow in his train, but news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain, yet he shall come to his end with none to help him. Steve Webb 26:41Daniel chapter 12. At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people, and bear shall come a time of trouble such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time, your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book, in many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end, many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase. Then I Daniel looked, and behold, two others stood one on this bank of the stream, and one on that Bank of the stream. And someone said to the man, clothed and linen, who was above the waters of the stream, how long shall it be till the end of these wonders? And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream, he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever, that it would be for a time, times and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end, all these things would be finished. I heard but I did not understand. Then I said, Oh, my Lord, what shall be the outcome of these things? He said, Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white, and be refined, but the wicked shall act wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand. But those who are wise shall understand. And from the time that the regular burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1290 days, Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1335 days, but go your way till the end, and you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days. Steve Webb 28:51You know, it&#8217;s an interesting fact that throughout history, the focus of the church has not always been what it is today. In the first few 100 years after Jesus left the church with a great commission, the church focused on the doctrine of Scripture, which makes sense, right? In the early years, the church had to define what was and what was not divinely inspired scripture. And then through the centuries, the focus shifted to the doctrine of the Trinity, to the doctrine of who and what Jesus is to the doctrine of who and what man is to the doctrine of salvation to the doctrine of the Church. And it really wasn&#8217;t until the last couple of 100 years that the church spent much time studying the doctrine of the end days. Yes, it&#8217;s true for most of our history, the biblical books of prophecy have been looked at as being impossible to understand. Some of the prophets who wrote them under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit even said that they didn&#8217;t understand everything they wrote. But that&#8217;s because it was not time yet to understand them. As we read these books today, we can begin to see glimpses that do make sense. In Our reading today, we read Daniel chapter seven through 12 Obviously, it&#8217;s going to be impossible for me to talk about all the possible interpretations or applications to the days in which we&#8217;re living on the show. Entire books have been and probably are being written even as I speak about how the book of Daniel applies to today. What I&#8217;m going to do in the short time we have today is look at a couple of verses from today&#8217;s reading. First, let&#8217;s take a look at Daniel eight, verse 26, someone who looked like a man spoke to Daniel about future events. And at the end, he said, the vision of the evenings in the mornings that has been told is true, but seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now. What do you suppose he meant when he told Daniel to seal up the vision? Many people believe that he meant that no one would be able to understand the vision until the end times, seal up the vision for it refers to many days from now. He said, Well, I disagree. I think he meant safeguard the vision, put it someplace safe, because it&#8217;ll be needed later. It&#8217;s kind of like this. My wife, a lovely lady Liana and I had a will written for us several years ago. We hope that it won&#8217;t be needed for many more years. Steve Webb 31:11Do you think we keep it on the kitchen table or the coffee table in the living room? No, we&#8217;ve locked it up. We&#8217;ve sealed it up in our safe. It&#8217;s an important documents, and we&#8217;ve put it in a place of safekeeping. This, I think is what the one speaking to Daniel meant, write the message down and keep it safe for the day that it&#8217;s needed. And as we read this book, it really seems like we&#8217;re in the in times, doesn&#8217;t it? There are so many things prophesied here that sounds just like we&#8217;re reading it from today&#8217;s papers, like I said, in reading about just the general condition of life in the in time sounds like it today to, for example, in chapter 12 of the universe for the ones speaking to Daniel says, Many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase. In the past some thought that the running to and fro reference means missionaries going throughout the world preaching the gospel. Others have thought that it means that many would search the Scriptures trying to discern the meaning of the words. Personally, I disagree with those interpretations. And I&#8217;ll tell you why in just a moment. Now, the second half of that verse was and all knowledge will increase. It was thought that this referred to the fact that as we enter the end times, we&#8217;ll understand the prophetic Scriptures more clearly. I think that&#8217;s partly right. But I think there&#8217;s more. Now we can&#8217;t fault the notions that people had in the past about the scriptures, but how could they possibly know what it would be like to live in our age, we can hop on an airplane and fly from one coast of the US to the other in a matter of hours. And the US military has aircraft that can do it in about an hour&#8217;s time. It&#8217;s common for some business people to fly around the world multiple times a week. The point is mobility for virtually everyone in developed countries is a fact of life. That could be the running to and fro Daniel wrote about, but it also just might refer to the fact that our lives have become so extremely hectic. These days, many of us are on the go constantly, we have virtually no leisure time. And even when we are technically on vacation, quote unquote, we have our electronic devices with us. Many of us are never disconnected from the internet. Can we even imagine going back to a world where we&#8217;re not constantly connected. Which brings up the second point from this verse, and knowledge will increase. Scholars of old could not anticipate the internet. When I was a boy, I had to go to the library. If I wanted to know something that was not in the book that was at my house. Today, all I have to do is get online and type in a search. Or I could just speak to my phone. Okay, Google, or Siri or Alexa, who won the 2016 World Series? Steve Webb 33:51What was the score? What&#8217;s the specific gravity of water? What&#8217;s the atomic number of LED, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1954? What is tomorrow&#8217;s weather forecast? You get the idea, you can find almost anything that man has learned within seconds. That capability did not even exist until about 15. short years ago, when the first iPhone was introduced. Knowledge has increased and it continues to increase geometrically. I think we can check that off of the list of the things that we need to look for before the end times. Are we in the End Times? Maybe. Jesus said that only the Father knows the exact time But Scripture gives us many, many things to look for, or the in times or last days something to fear? Well, if you don&#8217;t know Jesus as your savior, you might want to worry. verses one and two of Daniel 12 Say, and there shall be a time of trouble such as there never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time, your people shall be delivered. Everyone whose name shall be found written in the book, and many of those who sleep In the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Well, what side are you on? The one who will have everlasting life or shame and everlasting contempt. If you&#8217;re not sure that you&#8217;ll have everlasting life you can be. All you need to do is accept Jesus into your life right now. To accept Jesus into your life means that you put your trust in Him, it means that you accept His free gift of salvation. What does that mean? Well, the Bible tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. And it says the wages of sin is death. But the Bible also tells us that God is not willing that any should perish. He&#8217;s made a way to have your sins forgiven. He sent Jesus to this earth, Jesus, His only begotten Son, the Son of God, to live a sinless life, and he was sacrificed on the cross for my sins and for yours. And then on the third day, he rose to life again, proving that He is God. And he has the ability to forgive our sins. If you believe that, and if you accept that gift that he gives to you that free gift of salvation, you can absolutely know that you&#8217;ll have everlasting life. If you believe that, and if you want that for yourself, all you have to do is pray this prayer, pray with me. Jesus, I know that I&#8217;m a sinner, and I&#8217;m sorry, I turned for my sins now. And I asked you to forgive me of my sins. I pray that you&#8217;ll come into my life, and that you&#8217;ll be my Lord, and my savior helped me to be the person you created me to be. Thank you for forgiving me. Amen. Well, if you prayed that prayer, and you meant it, congratulations, you&#8217;re now a believer in Christ. you&#8217;re a Christian, you&#8217;re a new creation. The Bible says that when we believe in Him, we become new creatures, old things have passed away. All things are new. I&#8217;d like to help you get started in this new life. And I&#8217;ve got a Bible that I&#8217;d like to send you. It&#8217;s called the new believers Bible. And it&#8217;s a New Testament, and it&#8217;s got hundreds of notes in there written just for brand new believers. I&#8217;d like to send it to you at no charge, all you have to do is send me an email Steve at Lifespring media.com. Tell me you prayed that prayer, tell me your mailing address, and we&#8217;ll send it off to you again, no charge and I&#8217;m not going to take your email address and send it to anybody sell it to anybody or anything like that. Your email addresses safe with me. I just want you to have this Bible to get the very best start you can. I&#8217;d love to hear your comments on what I&#8217;ve said today. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 226. Scroll to the bottom of the page and let me know your thoughts are reading tomorrow was John five and six. Here&#8217;s your cue to boost boost. Steve Webb 37:51Boostagram. Got a boostagram from Sean of San Pedro this morning and he sent 1160 sats, and said No wonder people love proverbs so much. These are amazing. It&#8217;s awesome that this ancient wisdom is still so applicable today. Well, Sean, you know what the writer of Ecclesiastes said he said there&#8217;s nothing new under the sun. People really are no different today than they were when Solomon wrote the Proverbs. I&#8217;m so glad that God preserved them for us. Thanks for the boostagram Sean. Steve Webb 38:34On this date in church history, April 15 1452. Today is the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci, the Italian Renaissance artist, scientist and inventor. Of course, among his more memorable paintings are the Last Supper, which he did in 1498 and the Mona Lisa, which he did in 1503. And on this date in church history, April 15 1729, Johann Sebastian Bach conducted the first and only performance during his lifetime of the passion, according to St. Matthew, at a Good Friday Vespers service at the St. Thomas Lutheran Church of Leipzig, Germany, the St. Matthew Passion, which of course Bach composed, has been called by some the supreme cultural achievement of all Western civilization. Steve Webb 39:30Let&#8217;s pray our Heavenly Father as we read the book of Daniel and see what appears to be signs that we are near the end of days, Lord, give us a burden to share the good news with those who don&#8217;t know Jesus. Give us opportunities, Lord, to share with the people around us. Give us the courage to speak in the words to say, prepare the hearts of those you do bring to us that they would listen and truly hear. We know Lord that you don&#8217;t want any to perish and if no one tells them How will they here? Help us to fulfill the Great Commission? Lord, I ask this in Jesus name, amen. Do you have a prayer request that you want to share with the family? Is God doing something great in your life? Let us know about it. Go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com and fill out that form there Steve Webb 40:25I&#8217;d love it if you&#8217;d go by Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 226. And let me know what you thought about today&#8217;s show. If you&#8217;d like you can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And please support the show at Lifespring media.com/support. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thanks for inviting me to be with you today. My name is Steve Webb. Now let&#8217;s get to work. 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Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will read Proverbs 17-18. I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “The Best Medicine.&#8221; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Suad Kamardeen on Unsplash Comments on Proverbs 17 Verse 3 A crucible for silver, and a smelter for gold,&#160;and the Lord is the tester of hearts. Silver and gold are purified in the fire. All the impurities rise to the top when these metals are heated in the crucible and the smelter. In the same way, God purifies our hearts. It is in the heat of trials that our weaknesses are exposed. It is a wise person who allows the Lord to remove the weaknesses, thus purifying the heart. I am the man I am today because of the trials that I’ve been through. Some of the trials were because of poor decisions on my part, and some were what some might call happenstance. I don’t believe in happenstance, though. I believe that we live in a fallen world, a world that is suffering because of sin. And sometimes bad things happen, to good and bad people. God allows these things to happen for various reasons. Sometimes the reason is to take us through the Refiner’s fire. Our faith grows, our reliance on Him grows, and He is glorified. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” All things. Even what appear to be tragedies. All things.&#160; Verse 6 Grandchildren are the crown of the elderly, and the pride of sons is their fathers. As a grandfather, I can certainly say a hearty &#8220;Amen!&#8221; to the first part of this proverb. When I see how my grandkids&#8217; faces light up when they see me, my heart just melts. There are four of them now, with another due in about eight weeks as of today. (April 13, 2022) I can&#8217;t wait to meet her! The second part, &#8220;the pride of sons is their fathers&#8221;, is something that men should aspire to. I was not a perfect dad. But my deficits, I hope, were made up for by the fact that my sons knew that I loved them. All three of them are very different from one another, and each has made choices in their lives that I have not always agreed with, but I love and respect each of them, and they know it. As I have grown older and (I hope) wiser, I try to be a dad that they can be proud of. For the dads listening&#8230;and even for the moms&#8230;remember to pray for wisdom as you raise your kids. Ask the Lord for guidance. Be in the Word, read, study, meditate on it. Let your kids see you read the Bible, and let them see and hear you pray. Let them know by your actions how important having a relationship with God is. Not just at church, but at home, too.&#160; Verse 22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. The word &#8220;joyful&#8221; is sameach in Hebrew. It means glad, joyful, merry (Strongs Concordance). Merriam-Webster defines glad as&#160; 1a) experiencing pleasure, joy, or delight : made happy. b) very willing (glad to do it). c) made pleased, satisfied , or grateful 4 *archaic* : having a cheerful or happy disposition by nature So to have a joyful heart is to have (at least in part) a heart of gratitude. Sometimes when life gets difficult, it&#8217;s hard to remember to live with a grateful heart. But as believers, we have so very much to be thankful for. Despite the circumstances we need to remember that we are deeply loved by the God of the universe. And as Jesus said in Matthew 6:26, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Of course you are.&#160; In Luke 12:7, Jesus said, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Yes beloved, God knows you and He loves you. So much that He gave His Son so that you would be with Him in eternity, if you have placed your faith in Him.&#160; For that reason alone, you have cause to have a joyful heart. How&#8217;s that for good medicine?&#160; Verses 27-28 The intelligent person restrains his words,&#160;and one who keeps a cool head is a man of understanding. Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent, discerning when he seals his lips. I’ll make this one short. These two verses remind me of Abraham Lincoln’s remark: “It is better to keep your mouth shut and let them think you a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 17 HCSB; Ch. 18 ERV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00Sometimes the reason is to take us through the refiner&#8217;s fire. Steve Webb 0:11Hi there, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God castors. Steve Webb, welcome. I hope you&#8217;re well today and I&#8217;m thankful that you&#8217;re spending part of your day with me truly, this is the Daily Show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Now we&#8217;re reading today is Proverbs 17 and 18. I&#8217;ll have some comments after the reading and I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, the best medicine. Today&#8217;s Show Notes Pages at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 225. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. And with that, let&#8217;s get going. Steve Webb 0:50Proverbs chapter 17. Better a dry crust with peace than a house full of feasting with strife. A ye servant will rule over a disgraceful son and share an inheritance among brothers. A crucible for silver at his smelter for gold and the Lord is the tester of hearts. A wicked person listens to malicious talk, a liar pays attention to a destructive tongue. The one who mocks the poor insults his maker and one who rejoices over calamity will not go unpunished. grandchildren are the crown of the elderly in the pride of sons is their father&#8217;s eloquent words are not appropriate on a fool&#8217;s lips. How much worse are lies for a ruler? A bribe seems like a magic stone to its owner. Wherever he turns he succeeds. Whoever conceals an offence promotes love, but whoever gossips about it separates friends. A rebuke cuts into a perceptive person more than 100 lashes into a fool. An evil man seeks only rebellion, a cruel messenger will be sent against him. Better for a man to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool in his foolishness. If anyone returns evil for good evil will never depart from his house. To start a conflict is to release a flood. Stop the dispute before it breaks out. acquitting the guilty and condemning the just both are detestable to the Lord. Why does a fool have money in his hand with no intention of buying wisdom? A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a difficult time. One without sense, enters in agreement and puts up security for his friend. One who loves to offend loves strife. One who builds a high threshold invites injury. One with a twisted mind will not succeed and one with deceitful speech will fall into ruin. A man father&#8217;s a fool to his own sorrow. The father of a fool has no joy. A joyful heart is good medicine. But a broken spirit dries up the bones. A wicked man secretly takes a bribe to subvert the course of justice. Wisdom is the focus of the perceptive, but a fools eyes roam to the ends of the earth. A foolish son is grief to his father and bitterness to the one who bore him. It is certainly not good to find an innocent person or to beat a Nobel for his honesty. The intelligent person restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a man of understanding. Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent, discerning when He seals his lips. Steve Webb 3:50Proverbs chapter 18. Some people like to do things their own way, and they get upset when people give them advice. fools don&#8217;t want to learn from others. They only want to tell their own ideas. Do something evil and people will hate you. Do something shameful and they will have no respect for you. Words from wise people are like water bubbling up from a deep well, the well of wisdom. You must be fair in judging others. It is wrong to favor the guilty and robbed the innocent of justice. Fools say things to start arguments. They&#8217;re just asking for a beating. Fools hurt themselves when they speak their own words trap them. People love to hear gossip. It is like tasty food on its way to the stomach. Someone who does careless work is as bad as someone who destroys things. The name of the Lord is like a strong tower. Those who do what is right can run to Him for protection. The rich think their wealth will protect them. They think it is a strong fortress. A proud person will soon be ruined, but a humble person will be honored. Let people finish speaking before you try to answer them. That way you will not embarrass yourself and look foolish. A good attitude will support you when you are sick. But if you give up nothing can help. Wise is people want to learn more so they listen closely to gain knowledge. Gifts can open many doors and help you meet important people. The first person to speak always seems right, until someone comes and asks the right questions. The best way to settle an argument between two powerful people may be to use lots and insulted brother is harder to win back than a city with strong walls. Arguments separate people like the strong bars of a palace gate. Your words can be as satisfying as fruit as pleasing as the food that fills your stomach. The tongue can speak words that bring life or death. Those who love to talk must be ready to accept what it brings. If you find a wife, you have found something good, she shows that the Lord is happy with you. The poor are polite when they beg for help. The rich are rude with their answer. Some friends are fun to be with. But a true friend can be better than a brother. Steve Webb 6:27Oh my goodness, so many great verses to talk about. But I&#8217;m just going to comment today on just a few from Proverbs 17. Verse three said, a crucible for silver and a smelter for gold in the Lord is the tester of hearts. As you probably know silver and gold are purified in the fire. All of the impurities rise to the top when silver or gold are melted in the crucible or the smelter. And in the same way God purifies our hearts. It&#8217;s in the heat of trials that our weaknesses are exposed. And it&#8217;s a wise person who allows the Lord to remove the weaknesses, thus purifying the heart. I still have a long way to go. But I am the man I am today because of the trials that I&#8217;ve been through. Some of the trials were because of poor decisions on my part. And some were what some might call happenstance. But I don&#8217;t believe in happenstance, I believe that we live in a fallen world a world that is suffering because of sin. And sometimes bad things happen to bad people and good people. God allows these things to happen for various reasons. And sometimes the reason is to take us through the refiners fire. Our faith grows, our reliance on him grows, and he is glorified. Romans 828 says, and we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, and who have been called according to His purpose, all things you hear that all things, even the things that appear to be tragedies, all things. And then verse six, grandchildren are the crown of the elderly, and the pride of sons is their fathers. As the grandfather, I can certainly say a hearty amen to the first part of that proverb, grandchildren are the crown of the elderly. When I see how my grandkids faces light up, when they see me, my heart just melts. There are four of them now with another do in about eight weeks as of today, and I just can&#8217;t wait to meet her. Yes, grandchildren are the crown of the elderly. I don&#8217;t think of myself as being elderly. But who am I to argue with the Bible. The second part that says, The End the pride of sons is their fathers. Well, to me, that&#8217;s something that men should aspire to. I was not a perfect dad. But my deficits I hope were made up for by the fact that my sons knew that I loved them. All three of them are very different from one another as they&#8217;ve grown to be men, and each one has made choices in their lives that I&#8217;ve not always agreed with. But I love and I respect each one of them, and they know it. And as I&#8217;ve grown older, and I hope wiser, I try to be a dad that they can be proud of. Now for you dads that are listening, and even for the moms. Remember to pray for wisdom as you raise your kids. Ask the Lord for guidance. Be in the word, read, study, meditate on it, and let your kids see you read the Bible and let them see and hear you pray. Let them know by your actions. How important having a relationship with God is. Let them see you living it. And not just at church. But at home to verse 22 says, a joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones. The word joyful there Is Samia in Hebrew, it means glad joyful merry. According to the Strong&#8217;s Concordance in Merriam Webster defines glad as experiencing pleasure, joy or delight, or to be made happy, to be very willing as in glad to do it, to be made pleased, satisfied or grateful. And an archaic meaning for the word glad is having a cheerful or happy disposition by nature. Steve Webb 10:32So, as I as I consider all of those different things, and I kind of condense them, part of it is to have a joyful heart is to have a heart of gratitude. Sometimes when life gets difficult, it&#8217;s hard to remember to live with a grateful heart. But as believers, we have so very much to be thankful for. Despite the circumstances, we need to remember that we are deeply loved by the God of the universe. And as Jesus said, in Matthew 626, look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Well? Of course you are, aren&#8217;t you? You know that you have to know that. It&#8217;s a believe that to your very core. And if you doubt it, in Luke 12, seven, Jesus said, Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don&#8217;t be afraid, you are worth more than many sparrows. Yes, beloved, God knows you. And he loves you so much that He gave His own Son, so that you would be with him in eternity, if you&#8217;ve placed your faith in Him. So for that reason, alone, you have cause to have a joyful heart. How&#8217;s that for good medicine. And then verse 27, I&#8217;ll make this one short. While it&#8217;s actually going to be 27 and 28. Together, the intelligent person restrains his words, and one who keeps a cool head is a man of understanding. Even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent, discerning when He seals his lips. So to make this short, these two verses remind me of what Abraham Lincoln once said, It is better to keep your mouth shut and let them think you are a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt. I&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts today. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 225. And leave your comment there. You&#8217;ll scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and find a place to put your comment in there. In our reading tomorrow, we&#8217;ll finish the book of Daniel will read chapters seven through 12. Steve Webb 12:57On this date in church history, April 14 1813. In Philadelphia, the religious Society of Friends otherwise known as Quakers, opened the first privately operated hospital for insane patients. The Asylum for the relief of persons deprived of the use of their reason that was the name of the place, used no manacles, handcuffs, iron grates are bars. In 1888, the name of the hospital was changed to the friends asylum for the insane and later just to the friends hospital in 1914. That change happened. And then on this date in church history, April 14 1940, English Bible expositor, Arthur W. Pink declared in a letter, nothing is too great. And nothing is too small to commit into the hands of the Lord. How true that is. Steve Webb 13:59Prayer requests I&#8217;d like us to pray for Del and Kathy, I was talking to Dell a little while ago. And he was telling me that the both of them are having a bit of a rough go of things right now. Because of Del&#8217;s heart condition, he&#8217;s really weak. There&#8217;s work to do around the house and some other chores. But he&#8217;s only got about 20% of his heart function. So he tires really easily. And Kathy is having a hard time regaining her strength after her surgery. So she&#8217;s getting a little bit discouraged. So let&#8217;s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we have so very much to be grateful to you for so many reasons to be joyous, that you are our God. We thank you for life now and for the life to come because of your son Jesus. And I pray for Dell and Kathy right now, Lord, that You would help them as they deal with their health issues. I pray that you would be with them. I pray for healing. I pray for strength. I pray, Lord that us simply be with them. I&#8217;m grateful for the Lifespring family today, Lord Bless each one where there are needs Lord, I pray that you would meet them in your perfect loving way. You know each person who&#8217;s listening right now and you know their heart. Bless them I ask in Jesus name, amen. If you&#8217;ve got a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com and fill out that forum you find there. I&#8217;ll pray for you my private prayer time and pray together on the show Steve Webb 15:29I&#8217;d love to get your comments today please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e to 25 mil let me know your thoughts. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And please support the show at Lifespring media.com/support. I want to thank Sean of San Pedro for doing the chapters for the shows now and I want to thank Kirsty for her help and doing the newsletter. If you&#8217;re not signed up yet, go to news dot Lifespring media.com and sign up. Your email is safe with me. I won&#8217;t sell it I won&#8217;t share it. Your email is safe with me until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. Thank you for inviting me to be with you today. My name is Steve Webb. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will complete the book of&#160; Psalms 96-98. I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “Praise and Worship.&#8221; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Steve Webb Comments on Psalms 96-98 For the most part, these chapters were psalms of worship and celebration.&#160; Do you know Dennis Prager? I love the guy. He is a Jew, and of course I disagree with him on that point, but he is right on so many things. I pray that he will meet Yeshua, and see that He is the Messiah that the Jews have been looking for. Dennis has been on the radio since 1982, and his show has been syndicated to hundreds of radio stations for decades. And he&#8217;s had a syndicated newspaper column for even longer than his radio show, I think. He&#8217;s written several books, one of which is &#8220;Happiness Is A Serious Problem.&#8221; On his daily radio show, every week he devotes an hour to discussing happiness. He calls it &#8220;The Happiness Hour&#8221;. And he believes is that it is your responsibility, especially to the people around you, to be happy. And he says that you can become happy by acting happy. I am, of course greatly over simplifying Dennis&#8217; thoughts, but you get the essence. Just as we have a responsibility to be happy, we as believers have a responsibility to worship and praise God. Even when you don&#8217;t feel like giving worship and praise to God, do it anyway. And when you do, I can almost guarantee that you will begin to feel God&#8217;s blessings, and you will actually feel like praising and worshipping. It&#8217;s happened this way for me many, many times.&#160; The psalms we read today can be used as a template, or even a verbatim script to get you started. David is so good pouring out his heart in song, both his broken heart and his soaring heart. And when you are feeling like you just can&#8217;t bring yourself to rejoice in the Lord, I hope you will remember to turn to David for inspiration. That&#8217;s why God included the Psalms in Scripture, beloved. Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 96 NLT; Ch. 97-98 NASB Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00It&#8217;s happened like this for me many many times over the years Steve Webb 0:11Hello, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible and it&#8217;s good to see you today, coming to you from Riverside, California at podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God caster Steve Webb, I appreciate your joining me. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Our reading today is Psalms 96 through 98. I&#8217;ll have an introduction before I read each chapter and afterward, I&#8217;ll have some comments. The title for today&#8217;s episode is praise and worship the shownotes pages at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e to 24. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. Let&#8217;s begin. Steve Webb 0:52Psalm 96 has no title and no author is mentioned either. However, in First Chronicles 16th, when the Ark of the Covenant was brought to Jerusalem, David sang a song of praise to the Lord. This psalm echoes much of that song, giving an indication that this might be a Psalm of David of Psalm 96. James Montgomery Boice wrote, the meaning of the Hebrew word for worship is to prostrate oneself not to praise God for His attributes, which is what the English word worship means. But here we must note that although the meaning of the Hebrew word differs from the English word, the Hebrew understanding of worship, nevertheless also involves giving God praise for his attributes. This is what is being said here. Here, the nations of the world are told to give God glory. Beloved, as we read this psalm, notice that at first it speaks to God&#8217;s people, then it speaks to the nation&#8217;s and it concludes by speaking to all of creation. Steve Webb 1:55Psalms chapter 96. Sing a new song to the Lord. Let the whole earth sing to the Lord. Sing to the Lord, praise his name. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves, publish his glorious deeds among the nations tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great as the Lord he is most worthy of praise. He is to be feared above all gods. The gods of other nations are mere idols, but the Lord made the heavens honor and majesty surround him. strength and beauty fill his sanctuary, oh nations of the world, recognize the Lord. Recognize that the Lord is glorious and strong. Give to the Lord the glory He deserves. Bring your offering and come into His courts. Worship the Lord in all His holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him. Tell all the nations The Lord reigns. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. He will judge all peoples fairly. Let the heavens be glad in the earth rejoice. Let the sea and everything in it Shout His praise. Let the fields and their crops burst out with joy. Let the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord for He is coming. He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the earth with justice and the nations with his truth. Steve Webb 3:21Psalm 97 also has no title nor is an author cited. Alexander McClaren wrote of this psalm, the Psalmist mind is saturated with old sayings which he finds flashed up into new meaning by recent experiences. He is not original and does not try to be so but he has drunk in the spirit of his predecessors, and words which to others were antiquated, in cold Blaze with light for him and see made for his lips. And James Montgomery Boice added Psalms 96 through 98 Each hail God&#8217;s coming as the world&#8217;s king. But Psalm 96 And Psalm 98 soar with the light at what is in store for the world when God returns while in Psalm 97. The frightening awesome side of God&#8217;s kingly rule is emphasized. Steve Webb 4:13Psalms Chapter 97 The Lord reigns Let the earth rejoice. Let the many islands be glad. clouds and thick darkness surrounds him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries round about his lightnings lit up the world the earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare his righteousness and all the peoples have seen his glory. Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols, worship Him all you God&#8217;s. Zion heard this and was glad and the daughters of Judah have rejoiced because of your judgments, oh Lord, for You are the Lord Most High over all the earth. You are Exalted far above all gods hate evil you who love the Lord who preserves the soles of his godly ones, he delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart. Be glad in the Lord you righteous ones, and give thanks to his holy name. Steve Webb 5:29Unlike the last few chapters, Psalm 98 does have a title. The title is a psalm, making it unique in that no other Psalm has this simple title. Thomas Chalmers, the 18th and 19th century Scottish theologian wrote of Psalm 98, that it was a noble spirit stirring Psalm. Steve Webb 5:51Psalms chapter 98. Oh, sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wonderful things. His right hand and his holy arm have gained the victory for him. The Lord has made known his salvation, He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered his loving kindness and his faithfulness to the house of Israel, all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. shout joyfully to the Lord all the earth, break forth and sing for joy and sing praises. Sing praises to the Lord with a liar, with the liar in the sound of melody, with trumpets and the sound of the horn shout joyfully before the King, the Lord, let the sea roar and all it contains the world in those who dwell in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth, He will judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with equity. Steve Webb 6:53Beloved, for the most part, I think you&#8217;d agree with me when I say that these chapters were psalms of worship and celebration. Do you know Dennis Prager, I love the guy. He&#8217;s a Jew. And of course, I disagree with him on that point. But he is right on so many other things. I&#8217;ve prayed many times for dentists that he would meet Yeshua and see that he is the Messiah that the Jews have been looking for. Dennis has been on the radio since 1982 or so. And it shows been syndicated to hundreds of radio stations for decades. And he&#8217;s had a syndicated newspaper column for even longer than that. I think. He&#8217;s written several books, one of which is called happiness is a serious problem. On his daily radio show, every week, he devotes an hour to discussing happiness, and he calls it the happiness our Dennis believes that it&#8217;s our responsibility, especially to the people around us to be happy. And he says that you can become happy by acting happy. Of course, I&#8217;m greatly oversimplifying what Dennis says about the subject, but you get the essence. Well, just as we have a responsibility to be happy, we as believers have a responsibility to worship and praise God, even when you don&#8217;t feel like giving worship and praise to God, do it anyway. And guess what? When you do, I can almost guarantee that you&#8217;ll begin to feel God&#8217;s blessings. And you&#8217;ll actually feel like praising and worshiping. It&#8217;s happened like this for me many, many times over the years. The Psalms we read today can be used as a template, or even a verbatim script to get you started. David and the other writers of the psalms are so good at pouring out their hearts in song both the broken heart and the soaring heart. And when you&#8217;re feeling like you just can&#8217;t bring yourself to rejoice in the Lord. I hope you&#8217;ll remember to turn to some of these psalms for inspiration. After all, that&#8217;s why God included the Psalms in Scripture. I&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e to 24 or write to me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Our reading tomorrow will be proverbs 96 through 98 Steve Webb 9:05Boost boost. Boost John sent in a 1000 sat boostagam today. He said many thanks for the excellent discussion of tithing. RJ Rushdoony has a very helpful short book on the subject called tithing and dominion that deserves a wider readership. I believe the tithe is an important tool the body of Christ has neglected for far too long. God bless. Well, John, thank you and God bless you. And I&#8217;ve ordered the book, from the reviews and on your recommendation, John, it sounds like an excellent read. I can&#8217;t wait for it to get here. Thanks again, John, for the boostagam and for the recommendation. Steve Webb 9:49Beloved, you&#8217;ll remember that I&#8217;ve mentioned time talent or treasure in the context of value for value. Well right now I want to thank Sean of San Pedro for not only being a consistent donor In terms of SATs and dollars, but he&#8217;s now volunteered to donate time by adding chapters to the episodes, beginning with yesterday&#8217;s show on First Chronicles, one through four, Sean brother, I thank you for that you&#8217;re really going above and beyond the call of duty. I appreciate it. Thank you, Sean. Steve Webb 10:17Now, if you&#8217;re using one of those awesome podcasting 2.0 compliant podcast apps, it should support chapters and you&#8217;ll see Sean&#8217;s contribution. Now right now, the art does not change for each chapter. But if someone steps up to help with artwork, I&#8217;d love to add that to email me at Steve at Lifespring media if you&#8217;d like to contribute your talent, and we&#8217;ll get you set up. And as always, however you decide to support the show I thank you and I think God will bless you. Steve Webb 10:54On this date in church history, April 13 1742 George Frederick Handel&#8217;s oratorio Messiah was first performed in Dublin, Ireland as an oratorio for Lent, rather than for Advent as it is today. And on this date in church history, April 13 18/28, Joseph B. Lightfoot was born he was an Anglican prelate, Bible critic and Bishop of Durham from 1879 to 1889. He&#8217;s best remembered for his analytical work on both the New Testament and the writings of the Apostolic fathers. And many of his writings are still available today. Steve Webb 11:41Let&#8217;s pray. Our Heavenly Father we do worship You, Lord, you are above all things. Your name is great, you are worthy, most worthy of praise. You are the creator of all things and without you, nothing was created. You are our rock, our healer, our provider, our salvation, our fortress, our shield, and you are the one to whom we run. We thank You, Lord, for calling us and for giving us the faith to believe in you. We ask Lord for your blessings. And I thank you that you blessed me with the opportunity to do this show and for the Lifespring family that you brought here. Each of us has a desire to know you more each day and we ask you to open our hearts to hear and understand your word more clearly. We ask this in Jesus name, amen. If you&#8217;ve got a prayer request or praise, you know what to do, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com Steve Webb 12:44I&#8217;d love to hear your comments. Please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 v 224. Email me at Steve at lions free media.com If you have any other kinds of comments, support the show at Lifespring media.com/support. Please and share the show until tomorrow may God bless you richly thank you for being with me today. My name is Steve Webb. Check out the chapters in a podcasting 2.0 app by Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction This is History Tuesday. and we’ll read Nehemiah 5-9, and&#160; I’m calling today’s episode “Is This Okay?” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Alex Gorbi on Unsplash Comments on Nehemiah 5 In the New Living Translation, this is how verse 19 reads: &#8220;Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it.&#8221; When I read &#8220;&#8230;and bless me for it&#8221; I raised my eyebrows just a bit. That seems a bit presumptuous, don&#8217;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&#8217;s request, which tells us that God did not think Jabez&#8217;s prayer was out of line. Jabez asked God to give him more, and God did it. Why? We don&#8217;t have a lot to go on, except for the verse previous to what we just read. Verse 9 says: &#8220;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.&#8221; 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.&#160; 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.&#160; Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 5-6 NLT; Ch 7-8 NIRV; Ch. 9 NCV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. STEVE WEBB &#8211; 0:00I kind of raised my eyebrows just a bit. INTRO S12E342 &#8211; 0:10Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And podcasting since 2004, I&#8217;m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And today is History Tuesday. We&#8217;ll read Nehemiah 5 through 9 and I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode “Is This Okay?” The show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e342. And my email address is <span data-original-string='r5M352GOGnM8/qSNrQ+kyQ==8b08t2SLpkVFcZUecCw6iSN5Ao7EGmspFWIM1ps5w2YdU0=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. Let&#8217;s get started. NEHEMIAH 5 (NLT) &#8211; 0:42Nehemiah, chapter 5. (1) About this time some of the men and their wives raised a cry of protest against their fellow Jews. (2) They were saying, “We have such large families. We need more food to survive.” (3) Others said, “We have mortgaged our fields, vineyards, and homes to get food during the famine.” (4) And others said, “We have had to borrow money on our fields and vineyards to pay our taxes. (5) We belong to the same family as those who are wealthy, and our children are just like theirs. Yet we must sell our children into slavery just to get enough money to live. We have already sold some of our daughters, and we are helpless to do anything about it, for our fields and vineyards are already mortgaged to others.” (6) When I heard their complaints, I was very angry. (7) After thinking it over, I spoke out against these nobles and officials. I told them, “You are hurting your own relatives by charging interest when they borrow money!” Then I called a public meeting to deal with the problem. (8) At the meeting I said to them, “We are doing all we can to redeem our Jewish relatives who have had to sell themselves to pagan foreigners, but you are selling them back into slavery again. How often must we redeem them?” And they had nothing to say in their defense. (9) Then I pressed further, “What you are doing is not right! Should you not walk in the fear of our God in order to avoid being mocked by enemy nations? (10) I myself, as well as my brothers and my workers, have been lending the people money and grain, but now let us stop this business of charging interest. (11) You must restore their fields, vineyards, olive groves, and homes to them this very day. And repay the interest you charged when you lent them money, grain, new wine, and olive oil.” (12) They replied, “We will give back everything and demand nothing more from the people. We will do as you say.” Then I called the priests and made the nobles and officials swear to do what they had promised. (13) I shook out the folds of my robe and said, “If you fail to keep your promise, may God shake you like this from your homes and from your property!” The whole assembly responded, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised. (14) For the entire twelve years that I was governor of Judah—from the twentieth year to the thirty-second year of the reign of King Artaxerxes—neither I nor my officials drew on our official food allowance. (15) The former governors, in contrast, had laid heavy burdens on the people, demanding a daily ration of food and wine, besides forty pieces of silver. Even their assistants took advantage of the people. But because I feared God, I did not act that way. (16) I also devoted myself to working on the wall and refused to acquire any land. And I required all my servants to spend time working on the wall. (17) I asked for nothing, even though I regularly fed 150 Jewish officials at my table, besides all the visitors from other lands! (18) The provisions I paid for each day included one ox, six choice sheep or goats, and a large number of poultry. And every ten days we needed a large supply of all kinds of wine. Yet I refused to claim the governor’s food allowance because the people already carried a heavy burden. (19) Remember, O my God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it. NEHEMIAH 6 (NLT) &#8211; 3:55Nehemiah, chapter 6. (1) Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab, and the rest of our enemies found out that I had finished rebuilding the wall and that no gaps remained—though we had not yet set up the doors in the gates. (2) So Sanballat and Geshem sent a message asking me to meet them at one of the villages in the plain of Ono. But I realized that they were plotting to harm me, (3) so I replied by sending this message to them: “I am engaged in a great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?” (4) Four times they sent the same message, and each time I gave the same reply. (5) The fifth time, Sanballat’s servant came with an open letter in his hand, (6) and this is what it said: “There is a rumor among the surrounding nations, and Geshem tells me it is true, that you and the Jews are planning to rebel and that is why you are building the wall. According to his reports, you plan to be their king. (7) He also reports that you have appointed prophets in Jerusalem to proclaim about you, ‘Look! There is a king in Judah!’ “You can be very sure that this report will get back to the king, so I suggest that you come and talk it over with me.” (8) I replied, “There is no truth in any part of your story. You are making up the whole thing.” (9) They were just trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could discourage us and stop the work. So I continued the work with even greater determination. (10) Later I went to visit Shemaiah son of Delaiah and grandson of Mehetabel, who was confined to his home. He said, “Let us meet together inside the Temple of God and bolt the doors shut. Your enemies are coming to kill you tonight.” (11) But I replied, “Should someone in my position run from danger? Should someone in my position enter the Temple to save his life? No, I won’t do it!” (12) I realized that God had not spoken to him, but that he had uttered this prophecy against me because Tobiah and Sanballat had hired him. (13) They were hoping to intimidate me and make me sin. Then they would be able to accuse and discredit me. (14) Remember, O my God, all the evil things that Tobiah and Sanballat have done. And remember Noadiah the prophet and all the prophets like her who have tried to intimidate me. (15) So on October 2 the wall was finished—just fifty-two days after we had begun. (16) When our enemies and the surrounding nations heard about it, they were frightened and humiliated. They realized this work had been done with the help of our God. (17) During those fifty-two days, many letters went back and forth between Tobiah and the nobles of Judah. (18) For many in Judah had sworn allegiance to him because his father-in-law was Shecaniah son of Arah, and his son Jehohanan was married to the daughter of Meshullam son of Berekiah. (19) They kept telling me about Tobiah’s good deeds, and then they told him everything I said. And Tobiah kept sending threatening letters to intimidate me. NEHEMIAH 7 (NIRV) &#8211; 6:43Nehemiah, chapter 7. (1) The wall had been rebuilt. I had put up the gates at the main entrances to the city. The people who guarded the gates were appointed to their positions. So were the musicians and the Levites. (2) I put my brother Hanani in charge of Jerusalem. Hananiah helped him. Hananiah was commander of the fort that was by the temple. Hanani was an honest man. He had more respect for God than most people do. (3) I said to Hanani and Hananiah, “Don’t open the gates of Jerusalem until the hottest time of the day. Tell the men who guard the gates to shut them before they go off duty. Make sure they lock them up tight. Also appoint as guards some people who live in Jerusalem. Station some of them at their appointed places. Station others near their own homes.” (4) Jerusalem was large. It had a lot of room. But only a few people lived there. The houses hadn’t been rebuilt yet. (5) So my God gave me the idea and encouraged me to gather the people together. He also encouraged me to gather the nobles and officials together with them. He wanted me to list them by families. I found the family history of those who had been the first to return. Here is what I found written on it. (6) Nebuchadnezzar had taken many Jews away from the land of Judah. He had forced them to go to Babylon as prisoners. Now they returned to Jerusalem and Judah. All of them went back to their own towns. Nebuchadnezzar was king of Babylon. (7) The leaders of the Jews included Zerubbabel, Joshua, Nehemiah, Azariah, Raamiah and Nahamani. They also included Mordecai, Bilshan, Mispereth, Bigvai, Nehum and Baanah. Here is a list of the men of Israel who returned home.(8) There were 2,172 from the family of Parosh.(9) There were 372 from Shephatiah.(10) There were 652 from Arah.(11) There were 2,818 from Pahath-Moab through the family line of Jeshua and Joab.(12) There were 1,254 from Elam.(13) There were 845 from Zattu.(14) There were 760 from Zakkai.(15) There were 648 from Binnui.(16) There were 628 from Bebai.(17) There were 2,322 from Azgad.(18) There were 667 from Adonikam.(19) There were 2,067 from Bigvai.(20) There were 655 from Adin.(21) There were 98 from Ater through the family line of Hezekiah.(22) There were 328 from Hashum.(23) There were 324 from Bezai.(24) There were 112 from Hariph.(25) There were 95 from Gibeon. (26) There were 188 from the men of Bethlehem and Netophah.(27) There were 128 from Anathoth.(28) There were 42 from Beth Azmaveth.(29) There were 743 from Kiriath Jearim, Kephirah and Beeroth.(30) There were 621 from Ramah and Geba.(31) There were 122 from Mikmash.(32) There were 123 from Bethel and Ai.(33) There were 52 from the other Nebo.(34) There were 1,254 from the other Elam.(35) There were 320 from Harim.(36) There were 345 from Jericho.(37) There were 721 from Lod, Hadid and Ono.(38) There were 3,930 from Senaah. (39) Here is a list of the priests.There were 973 from the family line of Jedaiah through the line of Jeshua.(40) There were 1,052 from Immer.(41) There were 1,247 from Pashhur.(42) There were 1,017 from Harim. (43) The Levites belonged tothe family line of Jeshua through Kadmiel through the line of Hodaviah. The total number of men was 74. (44) The musicians belonged tothe family line of Asaph. The total number of men was 148. (45) The men who guarded the temple gates belonged tothe family lines of Shallum, Ater, Talmon, Akkub, Hatita and Shobai. The total number of men was 138. (46) Here is a list of the members of the family lines of the temple servants. Ziha, Hasupha, Tabbaoth,(47) Keros, Sia, Padon,(48) Lebana, Hagaba, Shalmai,(49) Hanan, Giddel, Gahar,(50) Reaiah, Rezin, Nekoda,(51) Gazzam, Uzza, Paseah,(52) Besai, Meunim, Nephusim,(53) Bakbuk, Hakupha, Harhur,(54) Bazluth, Mehida, Harsha,(55) Barkos, Sisera, Temah,(56) Neziah, Hatipha (57) Here is a list of the members of the family lines of the servants of Solomon. Sotai, Sophereth, Perida,(58) Jaala, Darkon, Giddel,(59) Shephatiah, Hattil,Pokereth-Hazzebaim, Amon (60) The total number of the members of the family lines of the temple servants and the servants of Solomon was 392. (61) Many people came up to Judah from the towns of Tel Melah, Tel Harsha, Kerub, Addon and Immer. But they weren’t able to prove that their families belonged to the people of Israel. (62) There were 642 of them from the family lines ofDelaiah, Tobiah and Nekoda. (63) Here is a list of the members of the family lines of the priests.They were Hobaiah, Hakkoz and Barzillai. Barzillai had married a daughter of Barzillai from Gilead. So he was also called Barzillai. (64) The priests looked for their family records. But they couldn’t find them. So they weren’t able to serve as priests. They weren’t “clean.” (65) The governor gave them an order. He told them not to eat any of the most sacred food. They had to wait until there was a priest who could use the Urim and Thummim. The priest would use them to get decisions from the Lord. (66) The total number of the entire group that returned was 42,360. (67) That didn’t include their 7,337 male and female slaves. There were also 245 male and female singers. (68) And there were 736 horses, 245 mules, (69) 435 camels and 6,700 donkeys. (70) Some of the family leaders helped pay for the work. The governor gave 19 pounds of gold to be added to the temple treasure. He also gave 50 bowls and 530 sets of clothes for the priests. (71) Some of the family leaders gave 375 pounds of gold for the work. They also gave one and a third tons of silver. All of that was added to the temple treasure. (72) The rest of the people gave a total of 375 pounds of gold and one and a fourth tons of silver. They also gave 67 sets of clothes for the priests.(73) The priests and Levites made their homes in their own towns. So did the musicians, the temple servants and the men who guarded the gates. The rest of the Israelites also made their homes in their own towns. The Israelites had made their homes in their towns. In the seventh month…[Narrators note: This verse continues in verse 1 of chapter 8.] NEHEMIAH 8 (NIRV) &#8211; 14:09Nehemiah, chapter 8. [Narrators note: Verse 1 is continued from the final verse of chapter 7.] (1) …all of them gathered together. They went to the open area in front of the Water Gate. They told Ezra to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses. The Lord had given Israel that Law so they would obey him. Ezra was the teacher of the Law. (2) Ezra the high priest brought the Law out to the whole community. It was the first day of the seventh month. The group was made up of men, women, and children old enough to understand what Ezra was going to read. (3) He read the Law to them from sunrise until noon. He did it as he faced the open area in front of the Water Gate. He read it to the men, the women, and the children old enough to understand. And all the people paid careful attention as Ezra was reading the Book of the Law. (4) Ezra, the teacher of the Law, stood on a high wooden stage. It had been built for the occasion. Mattithiah, Shema and Anaiah stood at his right side. So did Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah. Pedaiah, Mishael and Malkijah stood at his left side. So did Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam. (5) Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him. That’s because he was standing above them. As he opened the book, the people stood up. (6) Ezra praised the Lord. He is the great God. All the people lifted up their hands and said, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down. They turned their faces toward the ground and worshiped the Lord. (7) The Levites taught the Law to the people. They remained standing while the Levites taught them. The Levites who were there included Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai and Hodiah. They also included Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah. (8) All these Levites read to the people parts of the Book of the Law of God. They made it clear to them. They told them what it meant. So the people understood what was being read. (9) Nehemiah was the governor. Ezra was a priest and the teacher of the Law. They spoke up. So did the Levites who were teaching the people. All these men said to the people, “This day is set apart to honor the Lord your God. So don’t weep. Don’t be sad.” All the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. (10) Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy some good food and sweet drinks. Send some of it to people who don’t have any. This day is holy to our Lord. So don’t be sad. The joy of the Lord makes you strong.” (11) The Levites calmed all the people down. They said, “Be quiet. This is a holy day. So don’t be sad.” (12) Then all the people went away to eat and drink. They shared their food with others. They celebrated with great joy. Now they understood the words they had heard. That’s because everything had been explained to them. (13) All the family leaders gathered around Ezra, the teacher. So did the priests and Levites. All of them paid attention to the words of the Law. It was the second day of the month. (14) The Lord had given the Law through Moses. He wanted the Israelites to obey it. It is written there that they were supposed to live in booths during the Feast of Booths. That feast was celebrated in the seventh month. (15) They were also supposed to spread the message all through their towns and in Jerusalem. They were supposed to announce, “Go out into the central hill country. Bring back some branches from olive and wild olive trees. Also bring some from myrtle, palm and shade trees. Use the branches to make booths.” (16) So the people went out and brought back some branches. They built themselves booths on their own roofs. They made them in their courtyards. They put them up in the courtyards of the house of God. They built them in the open area in front of the Water Gate. And they built them in the open area in front of the Gate of Ephraim. (17) All the people who had returned from the land of Babylon made booths. They lived in them during the Feast of Booths. They hadn’t celebrated the feast with so much joy for a long time. In fact, they had never celebrated it like that from the days of Joshua, the son of Nun, until that day. So their joy was very great. (18) Day after day, Ezra read parts of the Book of the Law of God to them. He read it out loud from the first day to the last. They celebrated the Feast of Booths for seven days. On the eighth day they gathered together. They followed the required rules for celebrating the feast. NEHEMIAH 9 (NCV) &#8211; 18:42Nehemiah, chapter 9. (1) On the twenty-fourth day of that same month, the people of Israel gathered. They fasted, and they wore rough cloth and put dust on their heads to show their sadness. (2) Those people whose ancestors were from Israel had separated themselves from all foreigners. They stood and confessed their sins and their ancestors’ sins. (3) For a fourth of the day they stood where they were and read from the Book of the Teachings of the Lord their God. For another fourth of the day they confessed their sins and worshiped the Lord their God. (4) These Levites were standing on the stairs: Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Kenani. They called out to the Lord their God with loud voices. (5) Then these Levites spoke: Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah. They said, “Stand up and praise the Lord your God, who lives forever and ever.” “Blessed be your wonderful name.It is more wonderful than all blessing and praise.(6) You are the only Lord.You made the heavens, even the highest heavens,with all the stars.You made the earth and everything on it,the seas and everything in them;you give life to everything.The heavenly army worships you.(7) “You are the Lord,the God who chose Abramand brought him out of Ur in Babyloniaand named him Abraham.(8) You found him faithful to you,so you made an agreement with himto give his descendants the land of the Canaanites,Hittites, Amorites,Perizzites, Jebusites, and Girgashites.You have kept your promise,because you do what is right.(9) “You saw our ancestors suffering in Egyptand heard them cry out at the Red Sea.(10) You did signs and miracles against the king of Egypt,and against all his officers and all his people,because you knew how proud they were.You became as famous as you are today.(11) You divided the sea in front of our ancestors;they walked through on dry ground.But you threw the people chasing them into the deep water,like a stone thrown into mighty waters.(12) You led our ancestors with a pillar of cloud by dayand with a pillar of fire at night.It lit the waythey were supposed to go.(13) You came down to Mount Sinaiand spoke from heaven to our ancestors.You gave them fair rules and true teachings,good orders and commands.(14) You told them about your holy Sabbathand gave them commands, orders, and teachingsthrough your servant Moses.(15) When they were hungry, you gave them bread from heaven.When they were thirsty, you brought them water from the rock.You told them to enter and take overthe land you had promised to give them.(16) “But our ancestors were proud and stubbornand did not obey your commands.(17) They refused to listen;they forgot the miracles you did for them.So they became stubborn and turned against you,choosing a leader to take them back to slavery.But you are a forgiving God.You are kind and full of mercy.You do not become angry quickly, and you have great love.So you did not leave them.(18) Our ancestors even made an idol of a calf for themselves.They said, ‘This is your god, Israel,who brought you up out of Egypt.’They spoke against you.(19) “You have great mercy,so you did not leave them in the desert.The pillar of cloud guided them by day,and the pillar of fire led them at night,lighting the way they were to go.(20) You gave your good Spirit to teach them.You gave them manna to eatand water when they were thirsty.(21) You took care of them for forty years in the desert;they needed nothing.Their clothes did not wear out,and their feet did not swell.(22) “You gave them kingdoms and nations;you gave them more land.They took over the country of Sihon king of Heshbonand the country of Og king of Bashan.(23) You made their children as many as the stars in the sky,and you brought them into the landthat you told their ancestors to enter and take over.(24) So their children went into the land and took over.The Canaanites lived there, but you defeated them for our ancestors. You handed over to them the Canaanites, their kings, and the people of the land. Our ancestors could do what they wanted with them.(25) They captured strong, walled cities and fertile land.They took over houses full of good things,wells that were already dug,vineyards, olive trees, and many fruit trees.They ate until they were full and grew fat;they enjoyed your great goodness.(26) “But they were disobedient and turned against youand ignored your teachings.Your prophets warned them to come back to you,but they killed those prophetsand spoke against you.(27) So you handed them over to their enemies,and their enemies treated them badly.But in this time of trouble our ancestors cried out to you,and you heard from heaven.You had great mercyand gave them saviors who saved them from the power of their enemies.(28) But as soon as they had rest,they again did what was evil.So you left them to their enemieswho ruled over them.When they cried out to you again,you heard from heaven.Because of your mercy, you saved them again and again.(29) You warned them to return to your teachings,but they were proud and did not obey your commands.If someone obeys your laws, he will live,but they sinned against your laws.They were stubborn, unwilling, and disobedient.(30) You were patient with them for many yearsand warned them by your Spirit through the prophets,but they did not pay attention.So you handed them over to other countries.(31) But because your mercy is great, you did not kill them all or leave them. You are a kind and merciful God.(32) “And so, our God, you are the great and mighty and wonderful God. You keep your agreement of love.Do not let all our trouble seem unimportant to you.This trouble has come to us, to our kings and our leaders,to our priests and prophets,to our ancestors and all your peoplefrom the days of the kings of Assyria until today.(33) You have been fair in everything that has happened to us;you have been loyal, but we have been wicked.(34) Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your teachings;they did not pay attention to the commands and warnings you gave them.(35) Even when our ancestors were living in their kingdom,enjoying all the good things you had given them,enjoying the land that was fertile and full of room,they did not stop their evil ways.(36) “Look, we are slaves todayin the land you gave our ancestors.They were to enjoy its fruit and its good things,but look, we are slaves here.(37) The land’s great harvest belongs to the kings you have put over usbecause of our sins.Those kings rule over us and our cattle as they please,so we are in much trouble. (38) “Because of all this, we are making an agreement in writing, and our leaders, Levites, and priests are putting their seals on it.” COMMENTS &#8211; 25:31In Nehemiah chapter 5 in the New Living Translation, this is how verse 19 reads, “Remember, O God, all that I have done for these people, and bless me for it.” When I read “…and bless me for it”, I kind of raised my eyebrows just a bit. Seems a bit presumptuous, don&#8217;t you think? Is this okay? But then I remembered the prayer of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:10, which reads, “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.” So God granted Jabez’ request, which tells us that God didn&#8217;t think that Jabez’ prayer was out of line. Jabez asked God to give him more and God did it. Why do you suppose that is? Well, we don&#8217;t have a lot to go on except for the verse previous to what we just read. We read verse 10. Here&#8217;s verse 9. “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 at least know that Jabez was an honorable man. And so getting back to Nehemiah here, we know that Nehemiah was an honorable man. We know this 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. Beloved, God knows our heart. 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. What do you think about that? Let me know. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e342 and leave a comment. Tomorrow is Psalms Wednesday, and our reading will be chapters 143 through 145. Boost. ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY &#8211; 27:38On this date in church history, August 9, 1788, Adoniram Judson was born. He was the pioneer American Baptist missionary to Burma. He translated the Bible into Burmese and he also penned the hymn, “Come Holy Spirit Dove Divine”. And on this date in church history, August 9, 1973. In Asheville, North Carolina delegates from 200 congregations voted to sever ties with the Southern Presbyterian Church, believing it had become too liberal. The new denomination, the National Presbyterian Church was formed and became the Presbyterian Church in America in 1974. PRAYER REQUESTS &#8211; 28:26Prayer requests. As I record this, it&#8217;s a little past noon on Monday. And there&#8217;s no news yet on Steve O&#8217;Brien. He&#8217;s supposed to be transported to the other hospital where the angiogram and any subsequent procedures will take place. But he&#8217;s not been moved yet. And it&#8217;s been a few days since Kathi had her first dose of the new cancer drug, and so far, she&#8217;s only had flu like symptoms for side effects. But I guess the nurses said that, to use their words, “It will take several infusions before the storm hits.” So our prayer will be that if and when the storm hits, it&#8217;ll just be a light drizzle. CLOSING PRAYER – 29:01Let&#8217;s pray. Our heavenly Father, we again thank you for your word and the way that you teach us about yourself through it. And we ask that you would use us to bring people to you and to bring honor to your name. I pray now for a Steve O&#8217;Brien that as the doctors and the rest of the medical team work on him today that everything would go well and that there would be no problems. And we continue to pray for Kathi. I ask Lord that you bring healing to her body. I thank you, Lord, that the storm has not hit. And I pray, Lord, that you keep the storm from hitting. Help the drug to do what it&#8217;s supposed to do. Bring healing to her body. Lord, I ask in Jesus’ name. And Lord, I ask that you bless the Lifespring family and help each of us to please you today. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. Go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com, if you&#8217;ve got a prayer request or a praise that you&#8217;d like to share with the Lifespring family. OUTRO S12E342 &#8211; 29:58Just a reminder that I need to get plenty more emails from those of you who have not yet written in a Next Step email to me, I really do need to hear from you. I&#8217;m not joshin’. Please do write to me at <span data-original-string='l5wU4F03CKPr6iD74BAwjA==8b0vMmw8/brCG1NBe+HLyQoMVTBP0YXkduOn9jggKPw9MQ=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. Give some thought and prayer to the question of what you&#8217;d like to see me do once the season is over, and then put in that subject line “THE NEXT STEP”. I appreciate it. And I thank those of you who have already sent emails in. The last couple of days I&#8217;ve heard from some people that I&#8217;ve never heard from before, and I thank you for writing. It was great to hear from you. Comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e342. Thanks to the team Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise. And thank you for sharing your time with me today. Are you glad the show is here? If so, support it go to lifespringmedia.com/support. And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye. Free delivery. Transcribed by https://otter.aiCorrected by Denise Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will begin the book of&#160; Numbers by reading chapters 1-4. I’m calling today’s episode “In the Wilderness” because that is the Hebrew title for the book of Numbers.&#160; The previous book, Leviticus, told the story of the Hebrew people in the year after God, through Moses, led them out of Egyptian bondage. It covered just a year. Numbers covers the more than thirty-eight years they were in the wilderness. Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Eelco Böhtlingk on Unsplash Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 1 CEB; Ch. 2 NIRV; Ch. 3 CEV; Ch. 4 NCV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:07This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California. And podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God casters, Steve Webb, welcome. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year and the show&#8217;s about 11 hours later. Sorry about that. We&#8217;re going to begin the Book of Numbers by reading chapters one through four today. I hope your Resurrection Sunday was a good one. The lovely lady Liana and I spent the day with family at her mom&#8217;s house, which is why the episode is so late. It was a great day. But I was just completely wiped out when we got home. And it was probably 1030 or so before I was even able to think about getting into the studio, which would have made the show late to begin with, because I normally put the show out at 10pm, the day before. So for Monday show I should be getting things out and published at 10 o&#8217;clock Sunday. Like I said, I didn&#8217;t get in the studio till 1030 or so. Also, I was exhausted. We had been up very late the night before preparing some of the food for the dinner, Resurrection Sunday dinner. And we got up early the next day to continue their preparation. So yeah, I was not able to do anything. So I just came to bed. And right now as I&#8217;m recording this, it&#8217;s 8:32am Monday morning, and hopefully this will get pushed out by nine o&#8217;clock. So that&#8217;s what&#8217;s going on. I&#8217;m sorry, it&#8217;s late. But my guess is you probably didn&#8217;t even listen to the show on Resurrection Sunday, because you were involved yourself with your own family or your church or whatever. So this is late, but we&#8217;re still on time. As far as the the schedule for getting through the Bible in a year. The title for today&#8217;s show is in the wilderness, because that is the Hebrew title for the book of Numbers. The previous book, Leviticus told the story of the Hebrew people in the year after God through Moses led them out of Egyptian bondage. And that book, Leviticus covered just a year, this book numbers covers the more than 38 years that they were in the wilderness. So that&#8217;s all the commentary that we&#8217;re going to have today. We&#8217;ll just have the reading. And we&#8217;ll get out of here. As a matter of fact, I&#8217;ll say goodbye right now and get directly into the reading. So until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Oh, by the way, in case you&#8217;d like to come in on today&#8217;s show the shownotes pages at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 228. And my email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. So, with that said, may God bless you richly. I&#8217;ll see you tomorrow with a normal show. My name is Steve Webb, By Steve Webb 2:57Numbers chapter one. The Lord spoke to Moses in the Sinai desert in the meeting tent on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they left the land of Egypt. Take a census of the entire Israelite community by their clans and their households recording the name of every male 20 years old and above who was eligible for military service in Israel. These you and Aaron will enlist in their military units. Take with you one man from each tribe who was the head of his household. These are the names of the men who will assist you from Reuben Eliza chettiars son from Simeon Shelumiel Zahra shadows son from Judah Nahshon emitted dad&#8217;s son from his car Nathanael Zoomers son from Zebulon Eliab. Whelan&#8217;s son, from Joseph sons from efirium Ally Shema, Umayyad son from Manasa, Gmail Leo Pedraza his son from Benjamin Abidan Gideons son from Dan a high user Emma shadows son from Asher pigpio Aucklands son from gad ally Assaf duels son from nafed Ally a Hira, Ian&#8217;s son. These are the ones appointed from the community chiefs of their ancestral tribes and leaders of the divisions of Israel. Moses and Aaron took these men who were selected by name, and they assembled the entire community on the first day of the second month. They registered them by their clans and their households recording the name of each male 20 years old and above. Moses enlisted them in the Sinai desert just as the Lord commanded him. There were the descendants of Reuben, Israel&#8217;s oldest registered by their clans in their households. Every man 20 years old and above eligible for military service was individually recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of Reuben were 46,500. There were the descendants of Simeon registered by their clans and their house. Steve Webb 5:00holds every male 20 years old and above eligible for military service was individually recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of Simeon were 59,300. There were the descendants of Gad, registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of Gad were 45,650 Steve Webb 5:28there were the descendants of Judah registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of Judah were 74,600. They were the descendants of vissa car registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of VISTA car were 54,400. There were the descendants of Zebulun registered by their clans in their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of Zebulun were 57,400. From Joseph descendants, there were the descendants of African registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of Ephram were 40,500. There were the descendants of Manasa registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of Manasseh were 32,200. Steve Webb 6:46There were the descendants of Benjamin registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of Benjamin were 35,400. There were the descendants of Dan registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of Dan were 62,700. Steve Webb 7:17They were the descendants of Asher registered by their clans in their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of Asher were 41,500. They were the descendants of NAFTA ally registered by their clans and their households. The men 20 years old and above eligible for military service were recorded by name. Those enlisted from the tribe of NAFTA ally were 53,400. These are the ones who were enlisted by Moses, Aaron and the 12 chiefs of Israel, each from his own household. All the Israelites 20 years old and above eligible for military service in Israel were enlisted by their households. All those enlisted were 603,550. But the Levites belonging to their own ancestral tribe weren&#8217;t enlisted along with them. Steve Webb 8:14The Lord spoke to Moses, you must not enlist the tribe of Levi, nor should you take their census along with the Israelites rather assign the Levites to the covenant dwelling to all its equipment and to everything that belongs to it. They will carry the dwelling and all its equipment perform its religious ceremonies and camp around the dwelling. When it&#8217;s time to break camp, the Levites will take down the dwelling and when it&#8217;s time to make camp, the Levites will set up the dwelling. Any other person who approaches will be put to death, the Israelites will camp each in their own place under the banner of their own military unit. But the Levites will camp around the covenant dwelling so that God&#8217;s anger will not strike the Israelite community. The Levites will guard the covenant dwelling, the Israelites did everything exactly as the Lord commanded Moses. Steve Webb 9:05Numbers chapter two. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, he said, the people of Israel must camp around the tent of meeting, but they must not camp too close to it. All of them must camp under their flags and under the banners of their families. The companies of the camp of Judah must be on the east side. They must set up camp toward the sunrise. They must camp under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Judah is not even the Son of emitted dab. There are 74,600 men in his company. The tribe of vissa car will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of VISTA car is Nathanael the son of xuer. There are 54,400 men in his company, the tribal Zebulon will be next. The leader of the tribal Zebulon is Eliab, the son of Heelan. There are 57,400 men in his company. So a total of 186,400 men Steve Webb 9:59We&#8217;ll be set apart for the camp of Judah. They will be arranged company by company. They will start out first. The companies of the camp of Reuben will be on the south side. They will be under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Reuben is Eliza, the son of shittier. There are 46,500 men in his company, the tribe of Simeon will cap next to them. The leader of the tribe of Simeon is Shelumiel. The son of Zahra Shaddai. There are 59,300 men in his company. Steve Webb 10:31The tribe of Gad will be next. The leader of the tribe of Gad is Ally Assaf, the son of duel. There are 45,650 men in his company. So a total of 151,450 men will be set apart for the camp of Reuben, they will be arranged company by company. They will start out second then the camp of the Levites will start out. The Tent of Meeting will go with them. They will march in the middle of the other camps. They will start out in the same order as they do when they set up camp. Each one will be in his own place under his flag. Steve Webb 11:09The companies of the camp of Ephram will be on the west side, they will be under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Ephram is Alicia the son of a MyoD. There are 40,500 men in his company, the tribe of Manasseh will be next to them. The leader of the tribe of Manasseh is Gamaliel. The son of Pedraza, there are 32,200 men in his company, the tribe of Benjamin will be next. The leader of the tribe of Benjamin is a Biden the son of giddy oni, there are 35,400 men in his company. So a total of 108,100 men will be set apart for the camp of Ephram, they will be arranged company by company. They will start out third. The companies of the camp of Dan will be on the north side. They will be under their flag. The leader of the tribe of Dan is AI easer, the son of ama Shana. There are 62,700 men in his company. The tribe of Asha will camp next to them. The leader of the tribe of Asher is Peggy Hill, the son of Oghren. There are 41,500 men in his company, the tribe of naff July will be next. The leader of the tribe of Neff July is a Hira, the son of iman. There are 53,400 men in his company. So a total of 157,600 men will be set apart for the camp of Dan, they will start out last they will march under their flags. Those are the men of Israel. They were counted in keeping with their families. The total number of all the men who were in the camps is 603,550. company by company. But the Levites weren&#8217;t counted along with the other man of Israel. That&#8217;s what the Lord had commanded Moses. So the people of Israel did everything the Lord had commanded Moses. That&#8217;s the way they set up camp under their flags. And that&#8217;s the way they started out. Each man marched out with his own tribe and family. Steve Webb 13:06Numbers chapter three. When the Lord talked with Moses on Mount Sinai errands for sons, Nadab, a by you, Lea Azar and Ithamar were the ones to be ordained as priests. But the Lord killed may dabinett by you in the Sinai desert when they used fire that was unacceptable in their offering to the Lord. And because they happen to by you had no sons, only Eliezer and Ithamar served his priests with their father Aaron, The Lord said to Moses, assigned the Levi tribe to Aaron the priest, they will be his assistance in work at the sacred tent for him and for all the Israelites. The Levites will serve the community by being responsible for the furnishings of the tent, they are assigned to help Aaron and his sons who have been appointed to be priests. Anyone else who tries to perform the duties of a priest must be put to death. Moses, I have chosen these Levites from all Israel, and they will belong to me in a special way. When I killed the firstborn sons of the Egyptians, I decided that the firstborn sons in every Israelite family and the firstborn males of their flocks and herds would be mine. But now I accept these Levites in place of the firstborn sons of the Israelites in the Sinai desert The Lord said to Moses, now I want you to count the men and boys in the Levi tribe, by families and by clans include everyone at least a month old. So Moses obeyed encountered them Levis, three sons, Gershon, Kohath, and Moray had become the heads of their own clans. gursha and sons were Limni and shimmy AI Kohath sons were Amram izhar Hebron and oziel and Moray sons were Molloy and mu shy. These were the sons and grandsons of Levi and they had become the leaders of the Levite clans. The two Gershon clans were the lib knights and the shimmy heights and Steve Webb 15:00They had 7500 men and boys at least one month old. But Gershonites under the leadership of Alas, AF son of Lail were to camp on the west side of the sacred tent. Their duties at the tent included taking care of the tent itself, along with its outer covering the curtain for the entrance, the curtains hanging inside the courtyard around the tent, as well as the curtain and ropes for the entrance to the courtyard and its altar. The Gershonites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down. The four Cohab clans were the Amorites is her rights Ebro knights and the Israelites and they had 8600 men and boys at least one month old. The Kohath heights under the leadership of LSA fan, son of a zeal were to camp on the south side of the sacred tent. Their duties at the TED included taking care of the sacred chest, the table for the sacred bread, the lampstand, the altars, the objects used for worship, and the curtain in front of the Most Holy Place. The Kohathites were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down. LEA is our son of Aaron was the head of the Levite leaders, and he made sure that the work at the sacred tent was done. The two marayke lands where the Mali lights and the new shites and they had 6200 men and boys at least one month old. The marae writes under the leadership of Zuriel, son of Abba Hale were to camp on the north side of the sacred tent. Their duties included taking care of the tent frames in the pieces that held the tent up, the bars, the posts, the stands and its other equipment. They were also in charge of the posts that supported the courtyard, as well as their stands, tent pegs and ropes. The Moray clans were responsible for setting these things up and taking them down. Moses, Aaron and his sons were to camp in front of the sacred tent on the east side, and to make sure that the Israelites worshiped in the proper way. Anyone else who tried to do the work of Moses and Aaron was to be put to death. So Moses and Aaron obeyed the Lord and counted the Levites by their clans. The total number of Levites, at least one month old, was 22,000. The Lord said to Moses, make a list and count the firstborn sons at least one month old and each of the Israelite families. They belong to me, but I will accept the Levites as substitutes for them. And I will accept the Levites livestock as substitutes for the Israelites firstborn livestock. Moses obeyed the Lord encountered the firstborn sons, there were 22,273 of them. Then the Lord said, the Levites will belong to me and will take the place of the firstborn sons, their livestock will take the place of the Israelites firstborn livestock. But since there are more firstborn sons than Levites, the extra 273 men and boys must be bought back from me. For each one, you are to collect five pieces of silver weighed according to the official standards. This money must then be given to Aaron and his sons. Moses collected the silver from the extra 273 firstborn men and boys, and it amounted to 1365 pieces of silver weighed according to the official standards. Then he gave it to Aaron and his sons just as the Lord had commanded Steve Webb 18:21Numbers chapter four. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, count the CO Hittites among the Levites by family groups and families count the men from 30 to 50 years old, all who come to serve in the meeting tent, the Kohathites are responsible for the most holy things in the meeting tent. When the Israelites are ready to move, Aaron and his sons must go into the holy tent, take down the curtain and cover the Ark of the agreement with it. Over this, they must put a covering made from fine leather, then spread the solid blue cloth over that and put the poles in place, then they must spread a blue cloth over the table for the bread that shows the person is in God&#8217;s presence. They must put the plates, pans bowls and the jars for drink offerings on the table. They must leave the bread that is always there on the table. Steve Webb 19:11Then they must put a red cloth over all these things, Cover everything with fine leather and put the poles in place. With a blue cloth, they must cover the lampstand it&#8217;s lamps. It&#8217;s wick trimmers, it&#8217;s trays and all the jars for the oil used in the lamps. Then they must wrap everything and find leather and put all these things on a frame for carrying them. They must spread a blue cloth over the gold altar, cover it with fine leather and put the poles in place. They must gather all the things used for serving in the holy place and wrap them in a blue cloth. Then they must cover that with fine leather and put these things on a frame for carrying them. They must clean the ashes of the bronze altar and spread a purple cloth over it. They must gather all the things used for serving at the altar. The pans for carrying the fire the meat Steve Webb 20:00forks, the shovels in the balls and put them on the bronze altar. Then they must spread a covering of fine leather over it and put the poles in place. When the Israelites are ready to move in when Aaron and his sons have covered the holy furniture and all the holy things, the call heights may go in and carry them away. In this way, they won&#8217;t touch the holy things in die. It is the Kohathites job to carry the things that are in the meeting tent. LEA is our son of Aaron the priest will be responsible for the Holy tent and for everything in it for all the holy things. It has the oil for the lamp, the sweet smelling incense, the continual grain offering, and the oil used to appoint priests and things to the Lord service. The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, don&#8217;t let the Kohathites be cut off from the Levites do this for the CO Hittites so that they may go near the Most Holy Place and not die. Aaron and his sons must go in and show each Kohathites what to do and what to carry. The Kohathites must not enter in look at the holy things even for a second or they will die. The Lord said to Moses, count the Gershonites by families and by family groups, count the men from 30 to 50 years old, all who have a job to do in the meeting Tet. This is what the Gershonites family groups must do and what they must carry. They must carry the curtains of the holy tent, the meeting tent it&#8217;s covering and its outer covering made from fine leather. They must also carry the curtains for the entrance to the meeting tent, the curtains of the courtyard that go around the holy tent in the altar. The curtain for the entry to the courtyard, the ropes, and all the things used with the curtains. They must do everything connected with these things. Aaron and his sons are in charge of what the Gershonites do or carry. You tell them what they are responsible for carrying. This is the work of the Gershonites family group at the meeting tent Ithamar son of Aaron the priest will direct their work. Count the marae right families and family groups count the man from 30 to 50 years old, all who work at the meeting tent it is their job to carry the following is they serve in the meeting tent, the frames of the holy tent, the cross bars, the posts and bases in addition to the posts that go around the courtyard, their bases, tent pegs, ropes, and everything that is used with the poles around the courtyard. Tell each man exactly what to carry. This is the work that Moray right family group will do for the meeting tent. FMR, son of Aaron the priest will direct their work. Steve Webb 22:34Moses, Aaron and the leaders of Israel countered the CO Hittites by families and family groups, the men from 30 to 50 years old who were to work at the meeting tent. There were 2750 men in the family groups. This was the total of the Kohath family groups who worked at the meeting tent who Moses and Aaron counted as the Lord had commanded Moses. Also, the Gershonites were counted by families and family groups, the men from 30 to 50 years old who were given work at the meeting tent. The families and family groups had 2630 men. This was the total of the Gershon family groups who worked at the meeting tent, who Moses and Aaron counted as the Lord had commanded. Also, the men in the families and family groups of the Moray family were counted. The men from 30 to 50 years old who were to work at the meeting tent, the family groups had 3200 men. This was the total of the Moray family groups who Moses and Aaron counted as the Lord had commanded Moses. So Moses, Aaron, and the leaders of Israel counted all the Levites by families and family groups. They counted the men from 30 to 50, who were given work at the meeting tent and who carried the tent. The total number of these men was 8580. Each man was counted as the Lord had commanded Moses. Each man was given his work and told what to carry as the Lord had commanded Moses. Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will begin the book of&#160;1 Timothy 1-3.&#160; I’m calling today’s episode “Words of Advice.&#8221; This is going to be a short one today. I know I said that yesterday, and it ended up being a normal length show, but today I’m just going to give you a brief introduction to 1 Timothy, then there will be the reading, and that’s it.&#160; Steve and Timothy Webb on Timothy&#8217;s Wedding Day &#124; Photo: Tyler Ljunghammar Keith Green &#8220;Easter Song&#8221; Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 1-2 NIRV; Ch. 3 GWT Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00He is risen. He is risen indeed hallelujah and Amen. Steve Webb 0:12This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God castors. Steve Webb, happy Resurrection Sunday. Welcome. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And this is my favorite holy day, because without the resurrection, we&#8217;re just spinning our wheels. Today, we will begin the book of First Timothy by reading chapters one through three. Today&#8217;s title is words of advice, and this is going to be a short one today. I know I said that yesterday, and it ended up being just a normal link show. But today, I&#8217;m going to give you just a brief introduction to First Timothy, then there&#8217;ll be the reading. And that&#8217;s it. But I do have a special video for you on the show notes page. You know, I love Keith Greene&#8217;s music and over there I&#8217;ve got a video of him singing the Easter song live in 1982. So this would have been very shortly before he went to be with the Lord. To see that you&#8217;ll want to go to the show notes page at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 228. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. So let&#8217;s get started. Steve Webb 1:21Well, up to this point in the Epistles Paul&#8217;s letters have been directed at specific churches, beginning now with First Timothy. Paul&#8217;s letters are now directed at individuals. There are two letters to Timothy, a letter to Titus and one to phi Lehmann. Now like Paul, Timothy and Titus were evangelists. They went from place to place preaching the good news. Timothy received the message of the gospel from Paul when he was about 15 years old, which is why Paul refers to him as his son in the faith. At the time of this writing, it&#8217;s thought that Timothy was about 35 years old. Timothy is pastoring the church at Ephesus, and Paul is offering some words of advice on how he should conduct himself and lead his congregation. Steve Webb 2:08First Timothy chapter one, I Paul am writing this letter. I am an apostle of Christ Jesus just as God our Savior commanded Christ Jesus also commanded, we have put our hope in Him. Timothy, I&#8217;m sending you this letter, you are my true son in the faith. May God the Father in Christ Jesus, our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace. Stay there in Ephesus. This is what I told you to do when I went into Macedonia. I want you to command certain people not to teach things that aren&#8217;t true. Command them not to spend their time on stories that aren&#8217;t completely true. They must not waste time on family histories that never end. Things like that cause people to argue instead of doing God&#8217;s work, his work is done by faith. Love is the purpose of my command. Love comes from a pure heart. It comes from a good sense of what is right and wrong. It comes from faith that is honest and true. Some have wandered away from those teachings. They would rather talk about things that have no meaning. They want to be teachers of the law. And they are very sure about that law, but they don&#8217;t know what they&#8217;re talking about. We know that the law is good if it is used properly. We also know that the law is it made for godly people. It is made for those who break the law. It is for those who refuse to obey. It is for ungodly and sinful people. It is for those who aren&#8217;t holy and who don&#8217;t believe it is for those who killed their fathers or mothers. It is for murderers. It is for those who commit adultery. It is for those who have a twisted view of sex. It is for people who buy and sell slaves. It is for liars. It is for those who give witness to things that aren&#8217;t true. And it is for anything else that is the opposite of true teaching. True teaching agrees with a glorious good news of the blessed God. He trusted me with that good news. I am thankful to Christ Jesus our Lord. He has given me strength. I thank him that he considered me faithful. And I thank him for appointing me to serve him. I used to speak evil things against Jesus. I tried to hurt his followers. I really pushed them around. But God showed me mercy anyway, I did those things without knowing any better. I wasn&#8217;t a believer. Our Lord poured out more and more of his grace on me. Along with it came faith and love from Christ Jesus. Here&#8217;s the saying that you can trust it should be accepted completely. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst sinner of all. But for that very reason God showed me mercy and I am the worst of sinners. He showed me mercy so that Christ Jesus could show that he is very patient. I was an example for those who would come to believe in Him than they would receive eternal life. The eternal King will never die. He can&#8217;t be seen. He is the only God give him honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. My son, Timothy, I give you these teachings, they&#8217;re in keeping with the prophecies that were once made about you. By following them, you can fight the good fight, then you will hold on to faith, you will hold on to a good sense of what is right and wrong. Some have not accepted these teachings. By doing that they have destroyed their faith. They&#8217;re like a ship that is sunk. Hymenaeus and Alexander are among them. I&#8217;ve handed them over to Satan, that will teach them not to speak evil things against God. Steve Webb 5:42First Timothy chapter two. First, I want all of you to pray for everyone. Ask God to bless them, give thanks for them. Pray for kings, pray for all who are in authority. I pray that we will live peaceful and quiet lives and pray that we will be godly and holy. That is good. It pleases God our Savior, He wants everyone to be saved. He wants them to come to know the truth. There is only one God. And there is only one go between for God and human beings. He is the man Christ Jesus. He gave himself to pay for the sins of everyone. That was a witness given by God at just the right time. I was appointed to be a messenger and an apostle to preach the good news. I am telling the truth. I am not lying. God appointed me to be a teacher of the true faith to those who aren&#8217;t Jews. I want men everywhere to pray. I want them to lift up holy hands. I don&#8217;t want them to be angry when they pray. I don&#8217;t want them to argue. I also want women to dress simply, they should wear clothes that are right and proper. They shouldn&#8217;t braid their hair. They shouldn&#8217;t wear gold or pearls. They shouldn&#8217;t spend too much on clothes. Instead, they should put on good works as if they were clothes that is proper for women who claim to worship God. When a woman is learning, she should be quiet. She should follow the leaders in every way. I do not let women teach. I do not let them have authority over men. They must be quiet. Adam was made first then II was made. Adam was not the one who was tricked. The woman was tricked and became a sinner. Will women be saved by having children only if they keep on believing, loving and leading a holy life in a proper way. Steve Webb 7:33First Timothy chapter three. This is a statement that can be trusted. If any one sets his heart on being a bishop, he desires something excellent. A bishop must have a good reputation. He must have only one wife, be sober, use good judgment, be respectable, be hospitable and be able to teach. He must not drink excessively or be a violent person. But he must be gentle. He must not be quarrelsome or love money. He must manage his own family well, his children should respectfully obey Him. If a man doesn&#8217;t know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God&#8217;s church, he must not be a new Christian or he might become arrogant like the devil and be condemned. People who are not Christians must speak well of him or he might become the victim of disgraceful insults that the devil sets as traps for him. deacons must also be of good character, they must not be too faced or addicted to alcohol. They must not use shameful ways to make money. They must have clear consciences about possessing the mystery of the Christian faith. First, a person must be evaluated. Then if he has a good reputation, he may become a deacon. Their wives must also be of good character. They must not be gossips, but they must control their tempers and be trustworthy in every way. A Deacon must have only one wife, deacons must manage their children and their families. Well. Those deacons who serve well gain an excellent reputation and will have confidence as a result of their faith in Christ Jesus. I hope to visit you soon. However, I&#8217;m writing this to you in case I&#8217;m delayed. I want you to know how people who are members of God&#8217;s family must live. God&#8217;s family is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. The mystery that gives us our reverence for God is acknowledged to be great. He appeared in his human nature was approved by the Spirit was seen by angels was announced throughout the nations was believed in the world and was taken to heaven in glory. Steve Webb 9:43Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thank you for inviting me to be with you today. Remember to go to the show notes page to see Keith green sing the Easter song because it truly is a blessing. Enjoy your Resurrection Sunday. My name is Steve Webb. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction This is history Tuesday, and we will finish the book of Esther by reading chapters 6-10, which will also complete our reading of the entire Bible for season 12 of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, the last “live” season of the show. I’m calling today’s show, “Coincidence? I Think Not.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Tim Webb Comments on Esther 6 Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish His plans? There are some people who believe that once God finished His work of creation, He stepped away and let events on earth happen on their own. Seems like a foolish notion to me. Here in Esther 6, we have an example of how God orchestrates the events of man for His purposes. The king is unable to sleep on the very night that Haman is plotting to kill Mordecai, so he does what many of us do. He decides to read a book, hoping that will make him sleepy. Think of it. Ahasuerus is the king of the most powerful kingdom on earth, so he could have done almost anything for a diversion, but he chooses to read a book. He orders that a book of remembrances be brought to him. He had a kingdom of 127 provinces, so I can imagine that this book of remembrances had several volumes, can&#8217;t you? But the person who was tasked with bringing the book brought the volume that included the account of how Mordecai saved the king from assassination. And the servant opened the book to the very page with that record. What are the odds? Well, with God, the odds are 100%. Without God, who knows? There had to have been many remembrances in the book, but on this specific night, this specific page was opened.&#160; Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish His plans? Of course He does. Has God ever intervened in your life like this? Can you remember a time where the course of your life was changed by a seemingly random event? Let me tell you about a time this happened to me. It happened in 2004. It was a Saturday in September, I think. I turned on the radio to listen to a talk show about technology. It was normally a call-in type show where people would ask the host for help with their tech devices. But when I turned on the radio, the host was interviewing a guy, and the guy was telling the host about new thing he had invented where radio-type shows could be automatically downloaded to people&#8217;s computers. And better still, every time a new show was created, the new episodes would just show up on their computers. And then, they could transfer the new shows to their portable mp3 player and listened to whenever they wanted. This idea sounded pretty interesting to me, having been in radio in the late 70s and early 80s.&#160; Of course, this new invention was podcasting. The interviewer was Leo Laporte and the interviewee was Adam Curry, whom I am now happy to not only call my friend, but ecstatic to call my brother in the Lord, but that&#8217;s a different story. Or is it?&#160; Just a week or so before I heard this interview, I had asked God what more I could do to serve Him. I was already the tech guy at my church and putting a lot of time into that, but I wanted to do more for God since He had been so very good to me and had blessed me with a wonderful wife, great kids, a business that paid the bills and a home. I just wanted to be available to do whatever God had for me. I prayed and asked God what more I could do, and His answer was a very clear, almost audible, &#8220;Proclaim my name.&#8221; So, was it just a random event when I heard Adam Curry telling Leo Laporte about podcasting? I don&#8217;t think so. God prompted me to turn on the radio at just the right time, and on November 13, 2004 I uploaded the world&#8217;s first Christian podcast to my church&#8217;s website. Within days I received emails from around the world telling me stories of how God was using my podcast to bring them to Jesus. God was using my little podcast in miraculous ways.&#160; But the story doesn&#8217;t end there. From the first podcast, that I called &#8220;Lifespring!&#8221;, I created several other podcasts, one of which was the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Because of that show, a person asked me to record the entire Douay Rheims Bible, and because of that project, I wrote Webb&#8217;s Easy Bible Names Pronunciation Guide, which was published in 2012 and has helped many, many people as they study and teach and preach God&#8217;s Word. Also, because of podcasting, I have a career doing voice overs for radio and TV commercials, videos for companies around the world, church videos, and so much more, something I never dreamed could happen. My life was changed when God orchestrated events on that September Saturday in 2004. Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish His plans? I most certainly do. Podcast Expo 2006 Greg (Cohost of the Rosary Army podcast), Steve Webb (Lifespring Family of Podcasts), Fr. Roderick (Catholic Insider, Daily Breakfast), LeeAnn Webb (Lifespring!&#8217;s Your Wedding, Your Way), Jennifer (Cohost of the Rosary Army podcast) Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 6-7 ESV; Ch. 8 NLT; Ch. 9 NIV; Ch. 10 NKJV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. STEVE WEBB &#8211; 0:00Do you believe that God orders the events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans? INTRO S12E363 &#8211; 0:13One more time! Coming to you from Riverside, California. This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And podcasting since 2004, I am your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. This is History Tuesday, and we&#8217;ll finish the book of Esther by reading chapters 6 through 10 which will also complete our reading of the entire Bible for season 12 of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, the last live season of the show. More about that a bit later. I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode &#8220;Coincidence? I Think Not.&#8221; As promised on yesterday&#8217;s show. I&#8217;ll be talking about my plans for the future after my comments on Esther today. I&#8217;ll be sharing some of the ideas that came in from the “The Next Step” emails you sent in. And of course, we&#8217;ll have a time of prayer. Today&#8217;s show notes page is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e363. Let&#8217;s begin. ESTHER 6 (ESV) &#8211; 1:12Esther, chapter 6. (1) On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. (2) And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. (3) And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” (4) And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. (5) And the king’s young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” (6) So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” (7) And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, (8) let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. (9) And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” (10) Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” (11) So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.” (12) Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. (13) And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.” (14) While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared. ESTHER 7 (ESV) &#8211; 3:35Esther, chapter 7. (1) So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. (2) And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” (3) Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. (4) For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” (5) Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” (6) And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. (7) And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. (8) And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face. (9) Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” (10) So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated. ESTHER 8 (NLT) &#8211; 5:24Esther, chapter 8. (1) On that same day King Xerxes gave the property of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Then Mordecai was brought before the king, for Esther had told the king how they were related. (2) The king took off his signet ring—which he had taken back from Haman—and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s property. (3) Then Esther went again before the king, falling down at his feet and begging him with tears to stop the evil plot devised by Haman the Agagite against the Jews. (4) Again the king held out the gold scepter to Esther. So she rose and stood before him. (5) Esther said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor with him, and if he thinks it is right, and if I am pleasing to him, let there be a decree that reverses the orders of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, who ordered that Jews throughout all the king’s provinces should be destroyed. (6) For how can I endure to see my people and my family slaughtered and destroyed?” (7) Then King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “I have given Esther the property of Haman, and he has been impaled on a pole because he tried to destroy the Jews. (8) Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews in the king’s name, telling them whatever you want, and seal it with the king’s signet ring. But remember that whatever has already been written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring can never be revoked.” (9) So on June 25 the king’s secretaries were summoned, and a decree was written exactly as Mordecai dictated. It was sent to the Jews and to the highest officers, the governors, and the nobles of all the 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. The decree was written in the scripts and languages of all the peoples of the empire, including that of the Jews. (10) The decree was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the king’s signet ring. Mordecai sent the dispatches by swift messengers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king’s service. (11) The king’s decree gave the Jews in every city authority to unite to defend their lives. They were allowed to kill, slaughter, and annihilate anyone of any nationality or province who might attack them or their children and wives, and to take the property of their enemies. (12) The day chosen for this event throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was March 7 of the next year. (13) A copy of this decree was to be issued as law in every province and proclaimed to all peoples, so that the Jews would be ready to take revenge on their enemies on the appointed day. (14) So urged on by the king’s command, the messengers rode out swiftly on fast horses bred for the king’s service. The same decree was also proclaimed in the fortress of Susa. (15) Then Mordecai left the king’s presence, wearing the royal robe of blue and white, the great crown of gold, and an outer cloak of fine linen and purple. And the people of Susa celebrated the new decree. (16) The Jews were filled with joy and gladness and were honored everywhere. (17) In every province and city, wherever the king’s decree arrived, the Jews rejoiced and had a great celebration and declared a public festival and holiday. And many of the people of the land became Jews themselves, for they feared what the Jews might do to them. ESTHER 9 (NIV) &#8211; 8:46Esther, chapter 9. (1) On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. (2) The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. (3) And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. (4) Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful. (5) The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. (6) In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. (7) They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, (8) Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, (9) Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, (10) the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder. (11) The number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day. (12) The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted.” (13) “If it pleases the king,” Esther answered, “give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day’s edict tomorrow also, and let Haman’s ten sons be impaled on poles.” (14) So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they impaled the ten sons of Haman. (15) The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. (16) Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. (17) This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy. (18) The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy. (19) That is why rural Jews—those living in villages—observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other. (20) Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, (21) to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar (22) as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. (23) So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. (24) For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. (25) But when the plot came to the king’s attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. (26) (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, (27) the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. (28) These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants. (29) So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. (30) And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom—words of goodwill and assurance— (31) to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. (32) Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records. ESTHER 10 (NKJV) &#8211; 13:44Esther, chapter 10. (1) And King imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. (2) Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? (3) For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen. COMMENTS &#8211; 14:17Beloved, I have a question for you. Do you believe that God orders the events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans? There are some people who believe that once God finished His work of creation, he stepped away, took his hands off, and let events on earth happen on their own. To me, that seems sort of foolish, but that&#8217;s what some people think. Well, here in Esther, we have an example of how God does orchestrate the events of man for his purposes. The king was unable to sleep on the very night that Haman was plotting to kill Mordecai. So the king does what many of us do, he decided to read a book hoping that that&#8217;ll make him sleepy. Think of it. Ahasuerus is the king of the most powerful kingdom on earth, so he could have done almost anything for a diversion, but he chose to read a book. He orders that a book of remembrances be brought to him. Now he had a kingdom of 127 provinces, so I can imagine that this book of remembrances probably had several volumes, can&#8217;t you? But the person who was tasked with bringing the book brought the volume that included the account of how Mordecai saved the king from assassination. And the servant opened the book to the very page with that record. What are the odds? Well, with God, the odds are 100%. Without God, who knows? There had been many remembrances in that book. But on this specific night, this specific page was opened. Coincidence? I think not. Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans? Of course he does. Has God ever intervened in your life like this? Can you remember a time where the course of your life was changed by a seemingly random event? Let me tell you about a time this happened to me. And some of you know this story. But it happened in 2004. It was a Saturday in September, I think it was. And I turned on the radio to listen to a talk show about technology. This was normally a call-in type show where people would ask the host for help with their tech devices. But when I turned on the radio, the host was interviewing a guy, and the guy was telling the host about this new thing he invented where radio-type shows would be automatically downloaded to people&#8217;s computers. And better still, every time a new show was created. The new episodes would just show up on their computers, and then they could transfer the new shows onto their portable mp3 player, and they could listen to them whenever they wanted. Well, this idea sounded pretty interesting to me having been in radio in the late 1970s and early 1980s. And, of course, this new invention was podcasting. The interviewer was Leo Laporte, and the interviewee was Adam Curry, whom I am now happy to not only call my friend, but ecstatic to call my brother in the Lord. But that&#8217;s a different story. Well, just a week before I heard this interview, I had asked God, what more I could do to serve him. I was already the tech guy at my church and putting in a lot of time in that. But I wanted to do more for God since he had been so very good to me and had blessed me with a wonderful wife, great kids, a business that paid the bills and a home. I just wanted to be available to do whatever God had for me. I prayed and I asked God, what more I could do. And his answer was a very clear almost audible, “Proclaim my name.” So was it just a random event when I heard Adam Curry telling Leo Laporte about podcasting? I don&#8217;t think so. God prompted me to turn on that radio at just the right time. And on November 13, 2004, I uploaded the world&#8217;s first Christian podcast to my church&#8217;s website. And within days, I received emails from around the world telling me stories of how God was using my podcast to bring them to Jesus. God was using my little podcast in miraculous ways. But the story doesn&#8217;t end there. From that first podcast that I called Lifespring. I created several other podcasts, one of which was the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And because of that show, a person asked me to record the entire Douay-Rheims Bible. And because of that project, I wrote Webb&#8217;s Easy Bible Names Pronunciation Guide, which was published in 2012, and has helped many, many people as they study and teach and preach God&#8217;s word. And also because of podcasting, I&#8217;ve got a career doing voiceovers for radio and TV commercials and videos for companies around the world and church videos and so much more. Something I never would have dreamed would happen. My life was changed when God orchestrated events on that September Saturday in 2004. Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans? I sure do. You have a comment? Let me know. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e363. I&#8217;d love to hear from you. Boost. THE NEXT STEP &#8211; 19:27Normally, this is the time where we do the donation segment, but I want to talk to you first about what my plans are. So here we are at the last episode of the final fully live season of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. I guess there should probably be an asterisk there on “fully live” since by definition a podcast isn&#8217;t really live, but now with a brand new lit tag in the Podcasting 2.0 namespace. That&#8217;s even no longer true, but let&#8217;s not get too geeky here. You know what I mean. I will no longer be producing episodes of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible with new content every day. It isn&#8217;t that I&#8217;ve lost interest. It isn&#8217;t that I don&#8217;t want to. It&#8217;s just that I have to step back because I have to take care of myself. I have a wonderfully understanding and patient and supportive wife who deserves much, much more of my attention, and for whom I would love to do some projects that have been simmering on the back burner for literally years. And I&#8217;ve got grandchildren and sons and daughters-in-law with whom I would love to spend time, and I&#8217;ve got hobbies that I&#8217;d like to get back to. But at the same time, I am a firm believer that there really is no retirement plan for Christians. As long as God continues to give me breath, he&#8217;s got a job for me to do for His kingdom. And I believe that&#8217;s true for every believer. Like Paul said, I want to finish the race. I don&#8217;t plan on dropping out of the race. I want to finish strong, stretching for the finish line. So what I did, as you know, is I asked you to send me emails for what my next step should be. And many of you did, for which I am grateful. I tried, and I think I succeeded in responding to each email, and if I missed responding to yours, believe me it was not intentional. And I&#8217;m sorry, if I did miss you. What I want to do right now is share some of these emails with you. I&#8217;m doing this because there are some ideas that came through in here, and some reasons for the decision that I have made going forward. So the first one, I think appropriately is from Brother Paul of Seattle. He says, “Hi, Steve, I think you&#8217;re recording the last episode of the Family Audio Bible tomorrow or Monday. So I just wanted to say a huge thank you for putting out the daily Family Audio Bible. It&#8217;s interesting to see how God led me to the podcast through TWiT, Leo Laporte saying he was totally opposite politically of No Agenda in some sidebar, and I thought, hey, I should check that out. So from TWiT I went to No Agenda, and then from No Agenda to the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. It only took 16 years. I am very happy as listening to the Family Audio Bible rekindled my relationship with God. And I believe God has brought me back to his path. I still struggle as I know everyone does. But my prayer is for God to continue to work in my life, grow my faith in Him, learn to listen to him, and look for how I can serve God with my life, not just continue doing the job every day. So thank you for listening to God&#8217;s calling 17 plus years ago, I don&#8217;t know how many lives God has changed through you. But I know that there is at least one. I&#8217;m looking forward to seeing what podcasts you&#8217;re going to do. And I already subscribe to the all media feed. And by the way, it was for me a little hard to find the all media feed.” I&#8217;m gonna stop right there for just a second, if you were searching for the Lifespring all media feed, that might be one of the problems that you had. It&#8217;s the Lifespring Media All Shows Feed. I tried this out just a little while ago, and I went to my different podcast apps that I have on my phone, and I did a search for Lifespring Media All Shows Feed, and it shows up every time. So if you look for Lifespring all media feed, that might be why it was difficult. That&#8217;s my guess. Continuing the email here. “I know I mentioned this in a previous email, but I&#8217;m serious about wanting to help in some way with Lifespring Media. I don&#8217;t know what that would be or what I could do. But if you need help with something, let me know. Signed, Paul” Brother Paul, thank you so much for that. I don&#8217;t know what your skills are. But keep listening because there&#8217;s something that&#8217;s going to come up a little bit later that if you have skills in this area, for sure I would want your help. So keep listening. And again, thank you so much for your email and for all the support and encouragement you&#8217;ve given me this year. So thank you, Paul. And then here&#8217;s another one. “Hi, Steve, Sir Snide here. ITM.” In The Morning to you Sir Snide. He says, “I want to thank you for what you&#8217;ve done, and let you know that it has enriched my life and walk with God. Being an engineer, I have had many thoughts about possible next steps a lot over the past several days. From a personally selfish perspective, I would like things to continue as is. But this is neither respectful nor feasible. So the engineer in me kicks in and my mind ran through many possible outcomes. Number one, do nothing and let people access the archives to read the Bible again on their schedule, very manual and high friction for the user, but easiest to accomplish. Number two, automate and rebroadcast the last season with pre-canned intro about it being a rebroadcast and the donor segment is from last year and please support the rebroadcast cost by donating again on the value-for-value model as servers, storage and bandwidth cost. May be simple to accomplish. Has the advantage that podcast apps can pick them up on a published schedule, which makes it easier for the user. Number three, if you still have the raw files and if you recorded things in segments, you could create an evergreen version that has the scripture reading, your best or favorite commentary from the past seasons, this day in history, and a canned value-for-value donation request for the servers, storage and bandwidth as in point two. This has the advantage to be able to be replayed year after year with minimal effort after the evergreen episodes are created. Still benefits users with a scheduled release for their podcast apps to handle, but I fear some of the personality and special extras from time-to-time would disappear. But also at the same time, it would not grow stale due to old prayer requests and other time-anchored elements. Number four, find a successor and mentor them and allow them to become the host for this podcast adding a second personality to your Lifespring Media setup. So turning off my engineering mode, I will support your future choices and treasure the blessings of this podcast that I have received over the past year. I leave it in your capable hands and I&#8217;m sure God will make his will clear to you. Best regards, Sir Snide.” Thank you, Sir Snide, for all of those suggestions. They were all good. I agree with you on your evaluation of each option, but they were some very good suggestions there. Thank you, Sir Snide. I appreciate it very much. And now I have a short one from Denise; yes, Denise who helps with the transcriptions. She said some very nice things. And then, she says, “I love history. So I&#8217;d vote for a weekly church history podcast, 20 minutes on an historical figure or event in church history. Or do a daily reading from someone&#8217;s journal, like John Wesley&#8217;s, for instance, and do, like, a year-in-the-life of John Wesley, but I don&#8217;t know how that would work with a weekly podcast.” She said, “I liked Susan from Oregon&#8217;s idea of doing a weekly podcast on current social issues. And I also liked Jane&#8217;s idea of keeping the daily Bible readings going but doing a weekly commentary.” I could make a hybrid of Sir Snide’s suggestion of reassembling the shows. That&#8217;s… that would be a possibility. And then she volunteered this last wonderful little bit. She said, “If you need any help with transcripts or research in the next season, if there is a next season, I&#8217;d be glad to help with that.” She said, “God bless you and LeeAnn and enjoy your visit with little Penelope this coming week.” Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Denise. Those are great ideas. And yeah, stay tuned. And now from John Taves from Candanavia. He&#8217;s been around these parts for many, many years now. He wrote some very nice things as well. And then he said, “Ideas could include reading a smaller part of the Bible, just the New Testament or a few books, or a topical study, like endtimes, living in Christian life or foundations of the faith, etc. Number two, reading from other Christian material: books, studies, topics, etc. Next suggestion is updates and prayer time. Another idea is more HymnStories or other shows with music.” Problem with music shows is the copyright issue, that… it&#8217;s getting harder all the time. “Next, repost the Bible, you&#8217;ve already recorded with some of the commentary relating to the world at that time trimmed out. Shorter shows rebroadcasted.” This is a theme that came up with a lot of them. “Something shorter, like a devotional and commentary on a less frequent schedule, or something more like the original Lifespring show, sporadic shows discussing a topic or interviewing someone, etc.” And that one came up quite a bit, too, redoing the Lifespring show. New episodes of a Lifespring-type show. So that came up quite a bit. This one is from a brand new listener, Jason Morgan. He said, “I started listening to your show a month ago, and I just wanted to thank you for all your good works. I have needed this, my brother. It helps me understand the message more than reading alone. I&#8217;m thankful you share your knowledge in the Holy Spirit daily. God bless you, Steve. PS, I hope to hear more from you. I&#8217;m listening.” He put a smiley face. So Jason, thank you very much for that. And I&#8217;m so glad you found us even though it is sort of late in the year. And I got quite a few of this type of thing. “I just found your show. And I&#8217;m so glad that I did find it.” This email and the others like it are one of the reasons why I have made the decision to, at least, keep going in some manner. Keep listening here on this, this episode. And then Sir Kevin said, “What I&#8217;d really like to hear are your insights, your stories. What&#8217;s on Steve&#8217;s mind? What have you been up to? What have you been thinking about? Is there a particular Bible verse you&#8217;ve read that has stuck out to you or that you&#8217;ve learned something new from? Is there a story from your life that applies to something happening today? Or that might be just what someone in the family needs to hear? How&#8217;s the Lovely Lady LeeAnn? How are the grandkids? How are Del and Kathi holding up? Maybe we could spend some time praying together.” I like that. “Maybe 30 minute episode per week, longer if you&#8217;ve got more to say, or more often, if you have the time. I think a lot of what that will be will be up to you. But those are my thoughts. I hope that&#8217;s the kind of feedback you&#8217;re looking for.” And Sir Kevin that&#8217;s exactly what I was looking for. And thank you for those suggestions. So really what Sir Kevin is referring to is something like the old Lifespring show used to be. So put another hash on the scoreboard for that one. And then here&#8217;s another one from a longtime listener. This is Matt Bogart. “How about a scaled down weekly version of the current show? Maybe just one or two verses, along with some commentary, then prayer requests. One caveat on prayer…,” And this is why I&#8217;m reading this particular email. “One caveat on prayer requests is that they work best whenever they&#8217;re closer to real time. So not sure a once per week prayer show would work well.” You know, Matt, I&#8217;ve thought a lot about that. And here&#8217;s my thinking &#8211; and this just me. You might very well be right about it being important to be near real time. But here&#8217;s my thought. God is outside of time. Think of it a little bit like we live in a fishbowl. We are inside of time. Fish… the fishbowl is time and we live in there. And God is outside of that, as if he&#8217;s looking into the fishbowl. He&#8217;s not in time. So when we have a prayer request, and when we pray, for God, it&#8217;s not really real time. In other words, being outside of time, he knows about the, the need. He knows about the prayer request, even before we pray it. So, if we had a show that was just once a week, as an example, and I took prayer requests, we could pray for something, and it could be as far as a week out before you hear the prayer or before we pray the prayer. But to God, it doesn&#8217;t matter. I know that can be kind of a weird concept. But the fact that we pray isn&#8217;t really to cause God to change His mind. It&#8217;s more to change our heart to conform to God&#8217;s will. It&#8217;s like when I pray for Kathi Brixey, I don&#8217;t really expect that I&#8217;m going to change God&#8217;s will for Kathi&#8217;s life. It would be wonderful if because of my prayers, God says, “Okay, Steve talked me into it. I&#8217;m going to heal her.” I don&#8217;t expect that to happen. God&#8217;s plan for Kathi is God&#8217;s plan for Kathi. As I pray, I try to align my heart to God&#8217;s will. I think it&#8217;s okay. I think God wants us to submit our petitions to him. But as we do that, as we live our lives, the Holy Spirit does His work in us to conform us to him. Now, all that being said, what you say might very well be true. I don&#8217;t know how receptive people would be to having prayer requests that aren&#8217;t, like, you know, the next day… they are going to show up on the next day. I could explain this idea of God being outside of time. And I think some people would say, “That makes sense”. But other people might say, “I don&#8217;t know.” So I don&#8217;t know. Something to think about. If you, Beloved, as you&#8217;re listening to this have any comments on what I just said, feel free to send them to me, <span data-original-string='J9Gntpfaoq7lNCwtAf1FwA==8b0Nqr9wh3gQLXad9U9mclCQ+JHK48YeWqvP1+h2MQhi/s=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. And then here in the email, Matt had some other suggestions for Lifespring-type shows, for interview-type things. Oh, here&#8217;s one that kind of grabbed my, my attention. Matt said, “Lastly, if you recall from our conversation over lunch a few years back, I also mentioned I thought a podcast interview that covers a show guests’ conversion story or testimony would be super interesting.” So yeah, I like that idea. That might have legs. So put that on the scorecard here. He closed by saying, “However it shakes out, you definitely should take a break to clear your mind and rest those vocal cords before you do the next thing. You&#8217;ve earned it.” Thank you, Matt. And then this one from York Campbell, who, who does the Poetic Earthlings podcast. And if you like storytelling podcasts, look up Poetic Earthlings. York said, “I&#8217;m a faithful listener to your show. God has used you in profound ways to speak to my heart. You have strengthened my understanding of the love of God and His Word. Thank you. What about if you do a weekly show and you tackle the difficult parts in the Bible?” First off, York, thank you so much for those very kind words. I appreciate it. And I do like that idea about doing a weekly show that tackles the difficult parts of the Bible. That&#8217;s definitely something that&#8217;s in the mix. And then Roderick sent an email &#8211; and by the way, for those of you who&#8217;ve been around podcasting since the early days, no, this is not Father Roderick, the Dutch Catholic priest that had a very successful podcast, back in the day. And, you know what, I&#8217;ve even got a picture of myself and LeeAnn and Father Roderick together along with Greg and Jennifer, co-hosts of the Rosary Army Podcast, back in the day. I&#8217;ll put that picture up on the show notes page if you&#8217;d like to see who we all look like back in 2006. But, our Roderick said, New believers need to hear every single word you read. Old Believers, like me, need to hear every single word you read.” And he&#8217;s talking about, obviously, the Bible, not my own comments. But he says, “I can&#8217;t tell you how many conversations I&#8217;ve had with my family after listening to you reading the Word of God. So for me, I wouldn&#8217;t want you to change a thing. I find enormous value in your teaching. And…” Well, thank you. “And hope to hear you continue reading every word of the Bible, until I get to be with you and yours in heaven.” Well, Roderick, thank you so very much for that. And your comment there about the importance of getting the Word out, along with the comments from new believers about how this show has really helped them in their walk with God has had a really big influence on my decision to keep the Lifespring Family Audio Bible alive in one way or another. I&#8217;ve got just two more emails to share with you. One of the emails is from Ann whom we&#8217;ve heard from before in donation segments, and Ann is the wife of Howie who we prayed for. Howie is the father-in-law of Sean of San Pedro. So Ann is Sean of San Pedro&#8217;s mother-in-law. She said, “Another podcast topic could be about family and being Christian grandparents and the impact grandparents have in the lives of their grandchildren, or the knowledge they can share with the third generation. I know as grandparents Howie and I see things differently, now. However, as a Christian scholar…” She&#8217;s talking about me. Are you talking about me? Who me? “…as a Christian scholar, you have an abundant knowledge and insights to share and teach young families. I keep ‘hearing’…” &#8211; and she puts that in quotes – “I keep ‘hearing’ that your next ministry needs to bring joy to your heart. And it needs to make you smile every time you think about it. This is very important. I&#8217;m also ‘hearing’, quote, “Teach them about me, and what a wonderful Father I am,” unquote. Share stories from your experiences as a grandfather and connected to Scripture. The joy you felt in your heart the first time you held your grandchild, and how that&#8217;s how God feels about us.” Ann, thank you for that. I very, very much appreciate your thoughts. And yes, I do want whatever I do to bring joy to my heart. I think that when we are working for God, when we&#8217;re doing what he calls us to do, that&#8217;s one of the benefits. God puts joy in our hearts. Not that it&#8217;s always easy. God does not always call us to things that are easy. But in following him, it does bring joy. And then the last email this one is from Howie. He wrote, “One idea we thought of is a Q &#38; A podcast where listeners can send in biblical questions they may have wanted to ask their pastor, but never had the opportunity since pastors are so busy these days. That&#8217;s why we really enjoy your summaries at the end of the Bible readings.” Thank you for that, Howie. And then, lastly, there are a couple of people who suggested I do a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly show with another well-known podcaster, who will remain unnamed right now. Well, to those of you who suggested this idea, I want you to know that I did mention it to this person. But they have not, as yet, responded, probably because they&#8217;ve been out of town. But if this show is to happen, I want it to be of God. So I&#8217;m not going to push it with this other person. If the Lord wants it to happen, I want him to lay it on this other person&#8217;s heart. So I want you to know that I did not just put that suggestion off to the side. So there you go. These are just a few of the emails that y&#8217;all sent me. There&#8217;s some great ideas there, I think you&#8217;ll agree and each has got merit. What I&#8217;m gonna do is rest and recharge, and I&#8217;m going to continue to seek God&#8217;s will. And I think after I&#8217;ve had time to rest and just really make this a matter of prayer. I&#8217;ll know what to do. One thing I will say is that it is clear that the Lifespring Family Audio Bible has to continue in some form or fashion. I&#8217;ve learned never to say never, but I don&#8217;t anticipate the show coming back in its present form. But I&#8217;m going to take the ideas that you sent in and I&#8217;ll bring it back in some way. Now to do some of the automated things that were suggested. I would need some fairly sophisticated help. I am in no way a coder. I know just enough PHP and CSS to get me into trouble. But I don&#8217;t know anything beyond that, certainly nowhere near enough to do the things that were suggested in some of these emails, like especially from Sir Snide. But I would love it if someone would be willing to donate their time, talent or treasure toward that end, if they would step forward. I need someone who could write some code to add a pre-roll and/or a post-roll value-for-value message to the nearly 3000 episodes that are already atlifespringmedia.com. Or a pre-roll that talks about what&#8217;s new with Lifespring Media, and somebody who could write something to automate the scheduling of posting new episodes, stuff like that. If that&#8217;s you, or if you know somebody who could do this stuff, let me know. Write to me at <span data-original-string='834olRBnExzYnm6CQV19rw==8b0l/Qv0JjASoZ8Iz81ynSqrzKPdoa3vqscLbKhnN4AKaI=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. And before we go to the next segment, please know how very, very thankful I am for each one of you. You have made this the best year I have ever had in podcasting. The interaction we&#8217;ve had this year has been leaps and bounds ahead of any other of my nearly 18 years in podcasting. You&#8217;ve been generous with your time, with your talent, with your treasure in the form of emails, your prayers, figuring out the new Podcasting 2.0 toys, and your donations. Listen, podcasting can sometimes be a very lonely thing. You speak into a microphone. You edit the show. You post it. And most of the time you wonder if what you&#8217;re doing matters to anybody. But this year has been different. You&#8217;ve been with me and you&#8217;ve let me know that I&#8217;m not here by myself. And it&#8217;s because of that interaction that I&#8217;m coming back. Do me a favor, if you have other podcasts that matter to you. Be sure to let those podcasters know. Give them some love, too, because, unless it&#8217;s a really huge show, they wonder if what they&#8217;re doing is worthwhile, too. Now you&#8217;ve heard me call you “Beloved” many times on the show. And each time I use that word, it was intentional. I love you. And I&#8217;ll be back, Lord willing. But give me at least two weeks, perhaps a month. But do know that the Lifespring Family Audio Bible will be back in its new form. soon. Stay subscribed, and subscribe to the Lifespring Media All Shows Feed in your chosen podcast app, or you can subscribe right there at lifespringmedia.com. And one last thing all the episodes atLifespring Media are value-for-value enabled so you can boost and stream even on the old episodes. DISTINGUISHED PRODUCER SHOUT-OUTS &#8211; 42:21And now today we have three Distinguished Producers. These three people have distinguished themselves by their generous and selfless value-for-value gifts of time, talent and treasure. Kirsty has been creating the Lifespring Media newsletter for much of this season. And she&#8217;s done it with only occasional input from Yours Truly. And without Sean of San Pedro, the chapters for the show would not exist. For those of you that have been brave enough to switch to a modern Podcasting 2.0 podcast app and have enjoyed the chapters function, you have Sean to thank. He even wrote a custom web-based chapter-generating app to speed the process up. And one of the first things I&#8217;m going to do with my newly found free time is show this app to Adam Curry and Dave Jones. And Denise has been correcting the artificial-intelligence- (or I should say not-so-intelligence)generated transcripts for several months now, which is certainly not a glamorous task, but is highly appreciated by me as one who can be a bit of a stickler for spelling and punctuation. And if you want confirmation on that, just ask the Lovely Lady LeeAnn. It drives me crazy to see bad punctuation and spelling…, and so thank you Denise. So because of their sacrifice of their time, talent and treasure, I hereby name Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise Distinguished Producers of this, the final episode of season 12 of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, episode s12e363. LIFESPRING FAMILY BEREANS &#8211; 43:52And I furthermore bestow the title of Lifespring Family Berean on the henceforth to be known as Sister Kirsty, Brother Sean of San Pedro and Sister Denise, with my heartfelt gratitude. Your service to the Lifespring family will forever be remembered. ASSOCIATE PRODUCER SHOUT-OUT &#8211; 44:08And I want to thank Kevin Schneider in Candanavia who sent in $123.45, 1-2-3-4-5, via Pay Pal and just said, “For the Daily Audio Bible,” making him our Associate Producer today. Kevin, thank you so very much. You&#8217;ve been a Lifespring family member for quite some time, and I appreciate you. God bless you, Brother. And speaking of Brother Sean of San Pedro, he sent in a $50 donation via Zelle with this note: “For the last episode of the year. What a year!” Yes, Sean, it has been quite a year. Thank you. MORE SUPPORTER SHOUT-OUTS &#8211; 44:42And Matthew Thomas sent in a row-o-ducks, $22.22 and he did that over at lifespringmedia.com/support. He said, “First time making it through the Bible in a year. Thank you for your courage and passion. ITM.” Well, he obviously came over from No Agenda. I should have one of those jingles like Adam has for Joe Rogan when one of the Joe Rogan listeners comes over to No Agenda. Well Matthew, thank you for your gift. Thank you for your courage and may God bless you richly. Thank you. Boostagram. And there&#8217;s a boostagram. Sean of San Pedro sent an another 1-2-3-4-5 sat boost, 12,345 sats. Thank you. And last, but not least, Wayne Henderson sent in yet another Stryper boostagram of 777 sats using the Fountain app. [Stryper sings.] And by the way, if you&#8217;re a Green Bay Packers fan, you really need to check out Wayne’s show, the Packers Fan Podcast at, strangely enough, packersfanpodcast.com. He&#8217;s been doing this show since June of 2011. Congrats on that Wayne and thank you for the boostagram, buddy. God bless you. And while I&#8217;m on the subject of boostagrams, which is a subset of streaming sats, which is something that every podcaster who is participating in this Podcasting 2.0 technology is thrilled to receive. I want to acknowledge and thank each and every one of you who have streamed sats while listening to the show over this year. I can&#8217;t thank you by name because I don&#8217;t get that information. I only get your name if and when you send a boostagram and you choose to share your name in the boostagram. But there are some of you who have been extremely generous in your streaming. Don&#8217;t think that I haven&#8217;t noticed, I have and I&#8217;m thankful. God bless all of you who have taken this admittedly geeky and not always easy step. So I very much appreciate each of you. ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY &#8211; 46:51On this date in church history, August 30, 1856, the Methodist Episcopal Church established Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio, and ownership of the school was transferred to the African Methodist Episcopal Church or AME Church in 1863. PRAYER REQUESTS &#8211; 47:17Prayer requests. Del said that Kathi had a rough night. She kept waking up. Overall, she&#8217;s feeling about the same. She&#8217;s probably going to start her oral nausea medications today, since the ones given to the IV are losing their effectiveness and the pain in her mouth and throat, much like a sunburn, you&#8217;ll remember, is still there. Del says he asked her to message her doctor to see how to relieve that pain, but she&#8217;s always iffy about contacting the doctor. I told Del to slap her upside the head and say, “That&#8217;s what the doctor is there for!” No, I didn&#8217;t say that, but I said, “That&#8217;s what the doctor is for.” And then this came in from Sean this morning. He said, “Thank you and the Lifespring family for all of the prayers for Brittaney, for me and our extended family.” That would be Howie, of course, and his friend that was anonymous on the show. Sean wanted me to pass that along to you the Lifespring family. CLOSING PRAYER – 48:08So let&#8217;s pray. Our heavenly Father, Lord, I thank you for calling me to this microphone, despite my many faults. Who am I, Lord, that you would allow me to have a part in your work? Oh, Lord, You are so merciful. I worship you. And I offer myself to you once more to do with me as you see fit. Lord, I ask you to be with Kathi. Help her through this time. Bring healing to her body. Ease the pain. Ease the nausea and the vertigo. And I know, Lord, that Dell is afraid. He&#8217;s afraid. And I pray God that you would be with him and comfort his heart. I thank you, Lord, for each person that you brought to the show over the years and right up to today. Thank you for touching their hearts and for the work you&#8217;ve done and continue to do in their lives through the hearing of your Word. We know, Lord, that your word never returns void. And it is a joy to be involved in anything having to do with your word. I thank You, Lord. I pray, Lord, that you&#8217;ll bless these brothers and sisters, these Lifespring family members according to your mercy, and your grace and your love. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen. This is the place where I always say: “If you have a prayer request or a praise that you&#8217;d like to share with the family, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com and let me know about it.” Well, obviously there&#8217;s not going to be another one of these shows for a while. But that doesn&#8217;t mean I don&#8217;t care about what&#8217;s happening in your life. If you have a prayer request or if God is doing something marvelous in your life, I do want to hear about it. And prayer.lifespringmedia.com is an easy way for you to make that happen. Or, like I said before, you can always email me at <span data-original-string='QkOkiH7TRNNvo4q+/Nk86w==8b0YVquj6mFMb+eGIBr7bqBIKFpqj9zHou6wX8MNj/VUDA=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com OUTRO S12E363 &#8211; 49:55If you have a comment on this show, please do leave it at lifespringmedia.com/s12e363. As I&#8217;ve said many times, scroll all the way to the bottom of that page where you&#8217;ll find a box where you can put your comments. There won&#8217;t be another show necessarily to share your comments with, but I’ll see the comments and I&#8217;ll respond. Thank you to Sister Kirsty, Brother Sean of San Pedro and Sister Denise. I love each of you. Thank you to Kevin. Thank you to Brother Sean. And thank you to Matthew for your gifts today. And thanks to Sean of San Pedro and Wayne for the boostagrams. And thank you for allowing me to be in your life yet once more today. Please stick around. Stay subscribed. And if you haven&#8217;t yet, subscribe now to the Lifespring Media All Shows Feed. I love you and until next time, may God bless you richly. My name as always is Steve Webb. See you soon. Fun for the whole family. You won&#8217;t want to miss it. Transcribed by https://otter.aiCorrected by Denise Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will complete the book of&#160; Daniel 1-6. I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “An Astonishing About Face.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Kees Streefkerk on Unsplash Comments on Daniel 4 Going back to chapter 4, where King Nebuchadnezzar gave praise to God. Remember who this is. He is the proud and haughty king of Babylon who boasted about how great and mighty he was, how he could do anything because of his great power. He was the evil king who God used to bring his chosen people into captivity. And here, near the end of his life, he has come to know who the one true God is, and he publicly, before the whole world, gives God praise. Is there someone in your life, perhaps a loved one, whom you think is beyond God’s reach? Someone who sees no need for God or for forgiveness or redemption? Remember Nebuchadnezzar. God can reach anyone.&#160; I’ve told the story before, but I’ll repeat a condensed version of it here for those who might be new. I was not brought up in a Christian home. When I became a believer in Jesus at the age of sixteen, my dad told me I was a fool. Over the years I tried several times to share the reality of Jesus with him, and what he did in my life. Nearly every time, I ended up in tears because of the hardness of my dad’s heart and mind. I finally gave up, and I prayed that God would bring someone into his life that he would listen to. Finally, when my dad was very old, just about a year before he died, a neighbor was able to bring my dad to the Lord. And today, I know that someday I’ll see him again. If God can save Nebuchadnezzar, if God can save my dad, He can bring your loved one into a relationship with Himself, too. Don’t give up. Don’t stop praying. Be faithful. Hang in there. God loves that person infinitely more than you do. Videos Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 1-6 ESV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. TobyMac 0:00Hey, what&#8217;s up? I&#8217;m Toby Mac, and you&#8217;re listening to my man Steve Webb on…That&#8217;s a great name for a podcast, man…on Lifespring Podcast. Steve Webb 0:17Hi, come on in. This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible. There&#8217;s a reason I played that for today&#8217;s intro, and I&#8217;ll tell you more later. My name is Steve Webb and I&#8217;m coming to you from Riverside, California. And I&#8217;m your OG God caster. I&#8217;m so glad you&#8217;re with me today. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. The show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is that Lifespring media.com/s 12 e to 19. You might want to remember that I think you want to go check it out after the show. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Today we&#8217;re going to begin the book of Daniel will read the first six chapters. Of course, I&#8217;ll have some comments after the reading, but I&#8217;ll give you an introduction to the book before I begin reading as well. The title of today&#8217;s show is an astonishing about face. Let&#8217;s get started. Steve Webb 1:06All right, how about a brief introduction to the book of Daniel. The Book of Ezekiel, which we completed last week showed us prophecies of the beginning of Israel&#8217;s captivity. Daniel&#8217;s book is of the latter years of their captivity. The visions God gave his zekiel were meant to be a comfort to the Jews in the midst of their captivity. And the same is true of Daniel&#8217;s vision as their captivity dragged on. Knowing that God was still speaking to them and had plans for them was surely something that helped them make it through. Now Daniel is considered to be one of the most prominent prophets. He lived in the courts of some of the greatest kings, Nebuchadnezzar, Cyrus and Darius. The first six chapters of the book are historical and pretty easy to understand. The last six chapters are of a prophetic nature and not so easy to understand, but they do speak clearly of the coming Greek and Roman kingdoms and of the coming Messiah. So with that introduction, let&#8217;s begin. Steve Webb 2:10Daniel chapter one. In the third year of the reign of Jehovah, Kim, king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand with some of the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to the land of shiner to the house of his God, and place the vessels in the treasury of his God. Then the king commanded ashpan as his chief unic to bring some of the people of Israel both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish of good appearance and skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding, learning, and competent to stand in the king&#8217;s palace, and to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the food that the king ate and of the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time, they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hannah, nyah, Michelle and Azariah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the Unix gave them names Daniel, he called belta Shahzad, Hannah Nya, he called Shadrach. Michelle, he called me Shaq, and as Araya he called Abednego. But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king&#8217;s food, or with the wine that he drank. Therefore, he asked the chief of the Unix to allow him not to defile himself. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the Unix and the chief of the Unix said to Daniel, I fear my lord and king who assigned your food and your drink. For why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youth who are of your own age, so you would endanger my head with the king. Then Daniel said to the steward, whom the chief of the Unix had assigned over Daniel Han, Anya, Michel and Azariah Test Your servants for 10 days. Let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the Kings food be observed by you and deal with your servants according to what you see. So he listened to them in this manner and tested them for 10 days. At the end of 10 days, it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youth who ate the Kings food. So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill and all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had understanding and all visions and dreams. At the end of the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in. The chief of the units brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. And the king spoke with them, and among all of them, none was found like Daniel and Anya, Michelle and Azariah. Therefore they stood before the king, and in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king and Steve Webb 4:59choir of them. He found them 10 times better than all the magicians and enchanters that were in all his kingdom. And Daniel was there until the first year of King Cyrus. Steve Webb 5:10Daniel chapter two. In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams, his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. Then the king commanded that the magician&#8217;s, the enchanters, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. And the king said to them, I had a dream and my spirit is troubled to know the dream. Then the Chaldeans said to the king, and aromatic, oh king, live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, the word from me is firm. If you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards in great honor. Therefore, show me the dream and its interpretation. They answered a second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream and we will show its interpretation. The king answered and said, I know a certainty that you are trying to gain time because you see that the word for me is firm. If you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me tell the times change. Therefore, tell me the dream and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation. The Chaldeans answered the king and said, there is not a man on earth who could meet the Kings demand for no great and powerful king is asked such a thing. If any magician or Enchanter or Kaldi in the thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh. Steve Webb 6:56Because of this, the king was angry and very furious and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed, and they saw Daniel and his companions to kill them. Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king&#8217;s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. He declared to Arioch, the king&#8217;s captain, why is the decree of the king so urgent, Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel and Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time that he might show the interpretation to the king. Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hannah Nya, Michelle and Azariah his companions and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel and a vision of the night. Then Daniel, bless the God of heaven. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons, he removes kings and sets up kings, he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and hidden things, he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. To you, oh god of my father&#8217;s, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you or you have made known to us that kings matter. Therefore, Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him, do not destroy the wise men of Babylon, bring me in before the king and I will show the king the interpretation. Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him, I have found among the exiles from Judah, a man who will make known to the king the interpretation, the king declare to Daniel whose name was belta Shas are, are you able to make known to me the dream that I&#8217;ve seen and its interpretation? Daniel answered the king and said, No, Wiseman and chanters magicians or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days, your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these to you, oh king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be but as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. You saw King and behold a great image. This image mighty end of exceeding brightness stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. The head of this image was of fine gold. It&#8217;s Steve Webb 9:59chest and arms of silver. It&#8217;s middle in the eyes of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold, all together were broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. You owe King, the King of kings to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power and the mind and the glory and into whose hand he has given wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all. You are the head of gold, another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze which shall rule over all the earth. And there shall be a fourth kingdom strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes it shall break and crush all these. And as you saw the feet and toes partly of potter&#8217;s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay. So the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay. So they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together just as iron is not mixed with clay. And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever. Just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand. And then it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this? The dream is certain and its interpretation. Sure. Steve Webb 12:19Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. The king answered and said to Daniel, truly your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery. Then the king gave Daniel High honors in many great gifts and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. Daniel made a request of the king and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the Kings court. Steve Webb 12:58Daniel chapter three. King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold whose height was 60 cubits and its breath six cubits. He set it up on the plane of dura in the province of Babylon. Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent together the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurer&#8217;s, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then the satraps, the prefects and the governors, the counselors, the treasurer&#8217;s, the justices, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, gathered for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. And the Herald&#8217;s proclaimed aloud, you are commanded old peoples nations and languages, that when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, liar, try Gon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you are to fall down and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up, and whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. Therefore, as soon as all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, pipe, liar, try gone harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music. All the peoples nations and languages fell down and worshipped the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Therefore, at that time certain Chaldeans came forward and maliciously accused the Jews. They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, Oh, King Live Forever You, O King, have made a decree that every man who hears the sound of the horn pipe liar, Trigun, harp bagpipe, and every kind of music shall fall down and worship the golden image, and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into a burning fiery furnace. There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. These men Oh King pay no attention to you. They do not Steve Webb 15:00serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar in furious rage commanded that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego be brought. So they brought these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, is it true Oh Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the golden image that I&#8217;ve set up. Now if you are ready when you hear the sound of the horn, pipe, liar, Trigun, harp bagpipe, and every kind of music to fall down and worship the image that I&#8217;ve made well and good. But if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace, and who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand oh king, but if not the unknown to you, oh king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up. Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. He ordered the furnace heated seven times more than it was usually heated, and he ordered some of the mighty men of his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. Then these men were bound in their cloaks, their tunics, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the burning fiery furnace. Because the Kings order was urgent and the furnace overheated. The flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. And these three men Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning fiery furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste. He declared to his councillors, did we not cast three men bound into the fire? They announced instead of the King Truffaut king, he answered and said, but I see four men, unbound, walking in the midst of the fire, and they&#8217;re not hurt, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods. Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the door of the burning fiery furnace, he declared Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego servants of the Most High God, come out and come here. Then Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out from the fire and the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the kings counselors gathered together and saw that the fire had not had any power over the bodies of those men. The hair of their heads was not singed, their cloaks were not harmed, and no smell of fire had come upon them. And be kanessa answered and said, bless it be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who has sent his angel and delivered his servants who trusted in him and set aside the king&#8217;s command and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore, I make a decree any people, nation or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other God who was able to rescue in this way. Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon. Steve Webb 18:26Daniel chapter four. King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations and languages that dwell in all the earth, peace be multiplied to you. It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the most high God has done for me. How great are His signs, how mighty His wonders, his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation. I Nebuchadnezzar was at ease in my house and prospering in my palace, I saw a dream that made me afraid. As I lay in bed, the fancies in the visions of my head alarmed me. So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream. Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told him the dream, but they could not make known to me it&#8217;s interpretation. At last Daniel came in before me, he who was named belta, Shahzad after the name of my God, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. And I told him the dream saying all belta Shas, our chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and that no mystery is too difficult for you. Tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation. The visions of my head as I lay in bed were these I saw and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth at its height was great. The tree grew and became strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the Steve Webb 20:00Whole Earth. Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant. And in it was food for all the beasts of the field found shade under it, and the birds of the heavens lived in its branches and all flesh was fed from it. I saw in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and behold a watcher, a holy one came down from heaven, He proclaimed, allowed and said, Thus, chop down the tree and lop off its branches, strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But leave the stump of its roots in the earth bound with a band of iron and bronze, amid the tender grass of the field. Let him be wet with the dew of heaven. let his portion be with a beasts in the grass of the earth. Let his mind be changed from a man&#8217;s and let a beasts mind be given to him, and let seven periods of time pass over him. The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, the decision by the word of the holy ones, to the end, that the living may know that the most high rules the kingdom of men, and gives it to whom He will insets over it, the lowliest of men. This dream i King Nebuchadnezzar saw, and you will belta shares are telling me the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation, but you are able for the spirit of the holy gods is in you. Then Daniel, whose name was belta, Shahzad was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, belta shares are, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you belta shares are answered and said, My Lord, may the dream be for those who hate you, and its interpretation for your enemies, the tree you saw, which grew and became strong, so that it&#8217;s top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the whole earth, whose leaves were beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in which was food for all under which beasts of the field found shade, and in whose branches the birds of the heavens lived, it is you, oh king, who have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown and reaches to heaven, and your dominion to the ends of the earth. And because the king saw a watcher, a holy one coming down from heaven, and saying, chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump of its roots in the earth, bound with a band of iron and bronze, in the tender grass of the field, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven periods of time Passover him. This is the interpretation oh king. It is a decree of the Most High which has come upon my lord the king, that you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with a beast of the field, you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and you shall be wet with the dew of heaven, and seven periods of time shall pass over you tell you know that the most high rules the kingdom of man and gives it to whom He will. And as it was commanded to leave the stuff of the roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be confirmed for you from the time that you know that heaven rules. Therefore, oh king, let my counsel be acceptable to you. Break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed, that there may perhaps be a lengthening of your prosperity. Steve Webb 23:18All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar, at the end of 12 months, he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon. And the king answered and said, Is not this great Babylon which I have built by my mighty power is a royal residence and for the glory of my majesty, while the words were still in the king&#8217;s mouth, their fellow voice from heaven, Oh, King Nebuchadnezzar, to you, it is spoken, the Kingdom has departed from you, and you shall be driven from among men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field, and you shall be made to eat grass like an ox, and seven periods of time shall pass over you, until you know that the most high rules the kingdom of men, and gives it to whom He will. Steve Webb 24:02Immediately the word was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from among men and ate grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven tell his hair grew as long as Eagles feathers, and his nails were like birds claws. At the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted my eyes to heaven. And my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever. For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation, all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted is nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand or say to him, What have you done? At the same time, my reason returned to me and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me. My counselors and my Lords sought me and I was established in my kingdom and Steve Webb 25:00Till more greatness was added to me. Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, for all his works are right and His ways are just and those who walk in pride, he is able to humble. Steve Webb 25:14Daniel chapter five. King Belshazzar made a great feast for 1000s of his lords and drank wine in front of the 1000. Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. Then they brought in the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king had his lords his wives and his concubines drank from them. They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood and stone. Immediately the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king&#8217;s palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw the hand as it wrote. Then the king&#8217;s color changed, and his thoughts alarmed him. His limbs gave way and his knees knocked together. The king called loudly to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans and the astrologers, the king declared to the wise men of Babylon. Whoever reads this writing and shows me its interpretation shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then all the king&#8217;s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation, then King Belshazzar was greatly alarmed at his color changed, and his lords were perplexed. The Queen because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banqueting hall and the Queen declared, old king live forever. Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change. There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, your father, the king, made him chief of the magicians and chanters, Chaldeans and astrologers. Because an excellent spirit knowledge and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel, whom the king named Belshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation. Then Daniel was brought in before the king, the king answered and said to Daniel, you are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah, I have heard of you that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. Now, the wise man, the enchanters, had been brought in before me to read this writing, and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not show the interpretation of the matter. But I have heard that you can give interpretations and solve problems. Now, if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then Daniel answered and said before the king, let your gifts be for yourself and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. Oh King, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples nations and languages trembled and feared before him, whom he would he killed, and whom he would he kept alive, whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he humbled. But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened, so that he dealt proudly, he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the most high God rules the kingdom of mankind, and sets over it whom He will, and you his son Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart though you knew all this, but you have lifted up yourself against the Lord of heaven. And the vessels of this house had been brought in before you and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold of bronze iron, wood and stone which do not see or hear or know, but the God in whose hand is your breath, and whose are all your ways you have not honored. Then from his presence, the hand was sent in this writing was inscribed and this is the writing that was inscribed. Many, many Tekle Parson This is the interpretation of the matter, meaning Steve Webb 30:00If God has numbered the days of your kingdom and his brought it to an end tackle, you have been weighed in the balances and found wanting periods. Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians. Then Belshazzar gave the command and Daniel was clothed with purple. A chain of gold was put around his neck and a proclamation was made about him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. That very night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was killed, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom being about 62 years old. Steve Webb 30:36Daniel chapter six. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom 120 satraps to be throughout the whole kingdom, and over them three high officials of whom Daniel was one, to whom the satraps should give account so that the king might suffer no loss. Then this Daniel became distinguished above all the other high officials and satraps because an excellent spirit was in him and the king plant to set him over the whole kingdom. Then the high officials in the satraps sought to find a ground for complaining against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no grounds for complaint or any fault because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him. Then these men said, We shall not find any ground for complaint against this Daniel unless we can find it in connection with the law of his God. Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, Oh, King Darius live forever, all the high officials of the kingdom, the prefects, and the satraps, the counselors and the governors are agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an injunction that whoever makes petition to any god or man for 30 days, except to you, oh, God, shall be cast into the den of lions. Now, oh king, establish the injunction and sign the document so that it cannot be changed according to the law of the Medes and the Persians which cannot be revoked. Therefore, King Darius signed the document and injunction. When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously. Then these men came by agreement and found Daniel making petition and plead before his God. Then they came near and said before the king concerning the injunction, oh king, did you not sign an injunction that anyone who makes a petition to any god or man within 30 days except to you, Oh, King, shall be cast into the den of lions. The king answered and said, the things dance fast according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be revoked. Then they answered and said before the king Daniel, who was one of the exiles from Judah pays no attention to you, oh king, or the injunction you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day. Then the King when he heard these words, was much distressed, and set his mind to deliver Daniel, and he labored till the sun went down to rescue him. Then these men came by agreement to the king and said to the king, no, oh king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or ordinance that the king establishes can be changed. Then the king commanded Daniel was brought and cast into the den of lions. The king declared to Daniel, may your god whom you serve continually deliver you, and a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own Signet, and with the Signet of his lords, that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting, no diversions were brought to him, and sleep fled from him. Then, at break of day, the king arose and went in haste to the den of lions. As he came near to the den where Daniel was, he cried out in a tone of anguish, the king declared to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, as your god whom you serve continually been able to deliver you from the lions. Then Daniel said to the king, Oh, King live forever. My God said his angel and shut the lions mouths, and they have not harmed me because I was found blameless before him. And also before you, Oh, King, I have done no harm. Then the king was exceedingly glad and commanded that Daniel be taken up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him because he had trusted in his God, and the king commanded and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought in cast into the den of lions, they their children and their wives, and before they reached the bottom of the den, the lions overpowered them and broke all their bones in pieces. Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples nations and languages that dwell in all the earth, please be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in all my royal dominion, people are to turn Steve Webb 35:00Rambo and fear before the God of Daniel, for He is the Living God enduring forever. His kingdom shall never be destroyed and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers in rescues, he works, signs and wonders in heaven and on earth. He who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions. So this Daniel prospered during the reign of Darius and the reign of Cyrus the Persian. Steve Webb 35:26Alright, going back to chapter four, where King Nebuchadnezzar gave praise to God, remember who this is, this is the proud and haughty king of Babylon, who boasted about how great and mighty he was, and how he could do anything because of his great power. He was the Evil King who God used to bring his chosen people into captivity. And here near the end of his life, in chapter four, he has come to know who the one true God is, and he publicly before the whole world gives God praise. Is there somebody in your life, perhaps a loved one, whom you think is beyond God&#8217;s reach? Someone who sees no need for God or forgiveness or redemption? Remember, Nebuchadnezzar, God can reach anyone. I&#8217;ve told the story before on the show here, but I&#8217;ll repeat a condensed version of it here for those who might be new. I was not brought up in a Christian home. And when I became a believer in Jesus at the age of 16, my dad told me I was a fool. Over the years, I tried several times to share the reality of Jesus with him, and what he did in my life, and nearly every time I ended up in tears because of the hardness of my dad&#8217;s heart in mind, I finally gave up and I prayed that God would bring someone into his life that he would listen to. Well, finally, when my dad was very old, just about a year before he died, a neighbor was able to bring my dad to the Lord. And today I know that someday I&#8217;ll see him again. Steve Webb 36:54Well, if God can save Nebuchadnezzar, if God can save my dad, he can bring your loved one into a relationship with Himself too. Don&#8217;t give up. Don&#8217;t stop praying. Be faithful. Hang in there. God loves that person infinitely more than you do. Steve Webb 37:12I&#8217;d love to hear your comments. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 219. Scroll to the bottom of the page and leave your comment there. Our reading tomorrow will be John three and four loose. Steve Webb 37:29And remember that this coming Monday&#8217;s episode will be number 222. It&#8217;s a perfect time for a row of ducks donations like 22 dot 22 or 222 dot 22 or even 2222 dot 22. We&#8217;ll have a row of duck segment on Monday show make your donation at Lifespring media.com/support. Or do a special Rob Dux. Those two grants. Also distinguished producer executive producer and associate producer ships are always available. Get the details at Lifespring media.com/support. If you enjoy the Lifespring family Audio Bible and if you&#8217;re glad when you see it in your podcast app, return some of that value to me and a value for value donation. Lifespring media.com/support. Thank you and God bless you. Steve Webb 38:26On this date in church history, April 8 1947, Larry Norman was born he was a Christian singer and songwriter known as the father of Christian rock. As a part of the Jesus movement in the late 1960s. He was known for raising his index finger and the signature one way gesture. I did it many times myself. One of my favorite Larry Norman songs is called I wish we&#8217;d all been ready, and it&#8217;s found its way into several church hymnals. I&#8217;ll have the song I wish we&#8217;d all been ready at the end of today&#8217;s show. Plus, I&#8217;ll have a video of Larry doing this song with DC talk on the show notes page. And speaking of Larry Norman, have you seen the new documentary called The Jesus music? It tells the story of how Jesus music began in the late 1960s and 70s. And how it morphed into what was called contemporary Christian music. And the stories of the founders and some who came later, you&#8217;ll see and hear some of the people in groups I&#8217;ve talked about on the show here and even some of the people I&#8217;ve interviewed. Larry Norman has gone to be with the Lord but he&#8217;s featured in the movie along with Chuck Girard of Love Song whom I&#8217;ve interviewed my pastor Greg Laurie of harvest ministries, who incidentally wrote all the notes in the new believers Bible that I offer as a gift when someone accepts the Lord here when listening to the show. And Amy Grant is interviewed. I never got to meet her but I was this close back in the 80s at a Christian Booksellers Association convention when she was at a meet and greet that ran out of time just before I got to meet her, or people ushered her out and I was like, whoa, wait a minute. Unknown Speaker 40:00Michael W. Smith is on the movie, Kirk Franklin TobyMac, who I interviewed for the 2005 harvest crusade podcast at Anaheim stadium. And that&#8217;s why I used Toby&#8217;s introduction to the show today. And Steven Curtis Chapman, Andre crouch, striper, Billy Graham, Chris Tomlin, Michael Tait, and so many others. And if you look really close, pay attention here. If you look really close when you&#8217;re watching the Jesus music documentary, there&#8217;s even a quick shot of an MTV VJ that some of us are familiar with. You got to watch closely but he&#8217;s there. Here&#8217;s the audio of the official trailer for the Jesus movie see the richness of Hope land upon someone&#8217;s spirit via rhythm Brian finality, sound, I don&#8217;t understand it. Unknown Speaker 40:50Thanks a lot of hymns or close your eyes singing to God. I wanted to sing with my eyes wide open and singing to each other. Unknown Speaker 40:59This thing Jesus music ballot play in my hometown and changed my life. Unknown Speaker 41:06When it comes to music, and how we can express ourselves, we don&#8217;t have to do it the way it was done before. Unknown Speaker 41:14One time in loving wave to have these conversations. Unknown Speaker 41:20My generation had seen all of the civil unrest most of us were trying to escape the pain and the misery. Unknown Speaker 41:28Where do we go from here? Unknown Speaker 41:31You feel like something&#8217;s in the wind whose soundtrack emerges? Or I Unknown Speaker 41:36had no idea they were helping to create an entire industry. I saw contemporary Christian music born right before my very eyes. You don&#8217;t know you&#8217;re a pioneer or something. When you&#8217;re doing it. We were just doing what we love. You had grunge and you had pop and you had rock new and hip hop. There was so much great music going on everything felt so fresh and knew Unknown Speaker 42:00what we were doing said so much across the world. It was so much drama in the church, every setback, Unknown Speaker 42:08there will be a glimmer of hope, Unknown Speaker 42:12money, cultural influence off the chart that&#8217;s bigger than any one person or one artist. Unknown Speaker 42:22offers people a sense of hope. Yeah, that was DC talks. Here&#8217;s the deal. Unknown Speaker 42:30I&#8217;ve never shared this with anybody, would you change anything? Unknown Speaker 42:35Let&#8217;s not forget music is God&#8217;s idea. Unknown Speaker 42:38I think music is the most powerful, universal language in the world. Music was a lifeline. It became part of the fabric of who I was, but pushed me to do some courageous things to touch the soul like somebody&#8217;s talking to you, you can. Unknown Speaker 42:54And you can do all that in three and a half minutes. Steve Webb 42:59If you&#8217;d like to see the video was on the show notes page as well. Lifespring media.com/s 12 e to 19. I saw the documentary in Hulu, but it&#8217;s also on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and I&#8217;m sure you can look around and find it. Steve Webb 43:23Let&#8217;s pray. Steve Webb 43:25Our Heavenly Father we learned today that even the most unlikely people are not beyond your reach. So for those of us who have loved ones who seem hopelessly lost, I pray that will not grow weary of praying for them. Help us to continue to do spiritual battle for them. We know that it&#8217;s not your will that any should perish. So we humbly ask you to keep knocking on the doors of our loved ones hearts. We pray that you would do whatever necessary to bring them to you. turn their hearts of stone to hearts of flesh. We pray that you do not let them rest until they realize that the only lasting and true rest is found in You. Lord, I pray today for Jim, the husband of Leanne&#8217;s cousin candy. He&#8217;s having breathing and heart issues and he&#8217;s in the hospital and they don&#8217;t know what the problem is. I pray, Lord, that You would give the doctors wisdom and that you would guide their decisions. I pray, Lord, that You would touch Jim and that you&#8217;d heal him. Lord, we know that there&#8217;s no one better to care for Jim than you and we put him in your hands right now. I ask Lord that you bless each one of the Lifespring family today. I thank you for every individual who&#8217;s listening now and I ask that you encourage them. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you have a prayer request or a praise let me know at prayer dot Lifespring media.com. I&#8217;ll pray for you in my private prayer time and we&#8217;ll pray together on the show. Unknown Speaker 44:57I&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts on today&#8217;s show. Comment at Steve Webb 45:00Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 219 Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com support the show please don&#8217;t forget the roadex donations go to Lifespring media.com/support Up next is a song that deeply touches my heart over 50 years after its writing this is Larry Norman with his song I wish we&#8217;d all been ready and remember to go to the show notes page to see a video of Larry with DC talk doing the song until tomorrow may God bless you richly thank you for being with me today. My name is Steve Webb be sure you&#8217;re ready Write me if you&#8217;re not sure bye Unknown Speaker 46:03life was filled with guns and war and everyone got trampled on the floor Unknown Speaker 46:12I wish Unknown Speaker 46:16children died The days grew cold a piece of bread goodbye I Unknown Speaker 46:25wish we&#8217;d all Unknown Speaker 46:29there is no time change your mind the sun has come Unknown Speaker 46:35in love me Unknown Speaker 46:42oh man wife was sleeping bed she hears a noise and turns her head is Unknown Speaker 46:51a wish meter Unknown Speaker 46:55to men walking up the hill disappears and one&#8217;s left standing still a wish Unknown Speaker 47:09time to change your mind the sun has come in you Unknown Speaker 47:41was filled with guns warned everyone got trampled on Unknown Speaker 47:49sweet Unknown Speaker 47:53children died or days cold peace bread goodbye Unknown Speaker 48:02wish Unknown Speaker 48:06is no time to change your mind How could you have been so Unknown Speaker 48:13love father&#8217;s the demon Stein The sun has Unknown Speaker 48:20been left behind Unknown Speaker 48:26left behind Unknown Speaker 48:32left behind Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Distinguished Producer Lifespring Family Berean, Brother Paul of Seattle. Podcast Introduction Today is&#160; Epistles Sunday James 4-5. I’m calling today’s episode “Golden Nuggets.”&#160; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash Comments on James 4 Some have said that James is a bit like the book of Proverbs because of the way nuggets of truth are presented. Let&#8217;s look at a few of them. James 4:2b &#8211; You do not have, because you do not ask. Prayer is a necessary part of the Christian&#8217;s life. If we want God to bless us, we must ask. Listen to Charles Spurgeon: “Remember this text: Jehovah says to his own Son, ‘Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.’ If the royal and divine Son of God cannot be exempted from the rule of asking that he may have, you and I cannot expect the rule to be relaxed in our favor. Why should it be?” Also from Spurgeon: “If you may have everything by asking, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is, and I beseech you to abound in it… Do you know, brothers, what great things are to be had for the asking? Have you ever thought of it? Does it not stimulate you to pray fervently? All heaven lies before the grasp of the asking man; all the promises of God are rich and inexhaustible, and their fulfillment is to be had by prayer.” James 4:3 &#8211; You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.&#160; Contrast this with 1 John 5:14 &#8211; And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. James 4:4b &#8211; Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.&#160; Beloved, we cannot have one foot in the world and one foot in God&#8217;s kingdom. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, &#8220;“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.&#8221; James 4:6b-7a &#8211; “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God.” Pride is at the center of sin. Pride caused the fall of Lucifer. Pride caused the fall of Adam and Eve, and thus our sinful nature. Is it any wonder that God opposes the proud? But when we humble ourselves before God, when we confess our sin, God pours out His grace. It isn&#8217;t as though our humility *earns* God&#8217;s grace, but when we are humble, we are acknowledging that we are in need of the grace that He so freely gives. Spurgeon: “Do you suffer from spiritual poverty? It is your own fault, for he giveth more grace. If you have not got it, it is not because it is not to be had, but because you have not gone for it.”&#160; James 4:7b &#8211; Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Notice the text does not say, &#8220;&#8230;and he may flee from you.&#8221; or &#8220;&#8230;sometimes he will flee from you.&#8221; When we actively resist the enemy&#8217;s lies and temptations, we are *promised* that he will flee, though he will return to test our resolve. We can and we must resist him, in the name of Jesus,&#160; as the already defeated foe he is. The Greek word translated as &#8220;resist&#8221; is a combination of two words: stand against. We are never conquered as long as we do not consent.&#160; James 4:8 &#8211; Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. This is both an invitation and a promise. And it comes directly after the &#8220;resist and he will flee&#8221; promise. When we resist the devil, we can and we *should* draw near to God. It is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted in the desert, but He did not sin. When we have had an encounter with temptation, the best thing we can do is draw near to God for shelter and for strength. How do we draw near to God? In prayer, in worship and in praise. We learn to walk with God in our daily lives. We respond to His invitation to have an ongoing, daily, hour by our and minute by minute relationship with Him. We ask Him to guide our decisions and help us with our struggles. We thank Him for His blessings. In short, we live our lives with the awareness that He is always with us, and He delights in us. And we delight in Him. Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 4-5 ESV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. STEVE WEBB &#8211; 0:00We can&#8217;t have one foot in the world and one foot in God&#8217;s kingdom. INTRO S12E305 &#8211; 0:11Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Podcasting since 2004, I&#8217;m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. I&#8217;m so glad you&#8217;re here today. Thanks for joining me. Today is Epistle Sunday. We&#8217;re going to read James 4 and 5. I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, “Golden Nuggets”. The show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e305. I&#8217;d love it if you go by and leave a comment. My email address is <span data-original-string='054DIT81An/FI+V7eyOFwg==8b0CUm8JhYdkcij3AywJlBLUncnhDu+YaANCuE89AOrV6A=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. Let&#8217;s begin. JAMES 4 (ESV) &#8211; 0:45James, chapter 4. (1) What causes quarrels and fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? (2) You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. (3) You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. (4) You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (5) Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us”? (6) But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (8) Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (9) Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. (10) Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. (11) Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. (12) There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor? (13) Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— (14) yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (15) Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” (16) As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (17) So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin. JAMES 5 (ESV) &#8211; 2:52James, chapter 5. (1) Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. (2) Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. (3) Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. (4) Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. (5) You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (6) You have condemned and murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you. (7) Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. (8) You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. (9) Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. (10) As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. (11) Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful. (12) But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. (13) Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. (14) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. (15) And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. (16) Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. (17) Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. (18) Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit. (19) My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, (20) let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins. COMMENTS &#8211; 5:31Let&#8217;s talk a bit about James 4. Some have said that James is a bit like the book of Proverbs because of the way nuggets of truth are presented. Let&#8217;s take a look at just a few of them. In verse 2b it says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” Beloved, prayer is a necessary part of the Christian life. If we want God to bless us, we have to ask. Listen to what Charles Spurgeon said, “Remember this text: Jehovah says to his own Son, ‘Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.’” Spurgeon continues, “If the royal and divine Son of God cannot be exempted from the rule of asking that he may have, you and I cannot expect the rule to be relaxed in our favor. Why should it be?” Good question. He also said, “If you may have everything by asking, and nothing without asking, I beg you to see how absolutely vital prayer is, and I beseech you to abound in it… Do you know, brothers, what great things are to be had for the asking? Have you ever thought of it? Does it not stimulate you to pray fervently? All heaven lies before the grasp of the asking man; all the promises of God are rich and inexhaustible, and their fulfillment is to be had by prayer.” Is prayer important? I&#8217;d say it is. And then in verse 3, we read, “You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly.” To spend it on your passions. Well, let&#8217;s contrast this with 1 John 5:14, which says, “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.” So if we ask for the wrong motivation, our prayers are not answered. But if we ask according to his will, he does hear us. And verse 4b, “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” Beloved, we can&#8217;t have one foot in the world and one foot in God&#8217;s kingdom. Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” Beloved, we have to ask ourselves, Where is my focus? Is my focus on the things of God or on the things of the world? And verses 6b and 7a, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God.” God opposes the proud. Pride is the center of sin. Pride caused the fall of Lucifer. Pride caused the fall of Adam and Eve, and thus our sinful nature. Is it any wonder that God opposes the proud? But when we humble ourselves before God, when we confess our sin, God pours out His grace. It isn&#8217;t as though our humility earns God&#8217;s grace. But when we are humble, we&#8217;re acknowledging that we&#8217;re in need of the grace that he so freely gives. Charles Spurgeon said this, “Do you suffer from spiritual poverty? It is your own fault, for he giveth more grace, if you have not got it, it is not because it is not to be had but because you have not gone for it.” Verse 7b, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Beloved, notice that the text does not say “and he may flee from you” or “sometimes he will flee from you.” When we actively resist the enemy&#8217;s lies and temptations we are promised that he will flee, though he will return to test our resolve. We can and we must resist him in the name of Jesus as the already defeated foe that he is. The Greek word translated as “resist” is a combination of two words, “stand against”. Beloved, we are never conquered, as long as we do not consent. Then verse 8 says, “Draw nearer to God and he will draw near to you.” This is both an invitation and a promise, “Draw near to God” is the invitation and “He will draw near to you” is the promise. And this promise comes directly after the “resist and he will flee” promise. When we resist the devil we can and we should draw near to God. We have to understand it is not a sin to be tempted. Jesus was tempted after all in the desert, but he did not sin. When we have had an encounter with temptation, the best thing that we can do is draw near to God for shelter and for strength. Well, how do we draw near to God? We do it in prayer, in worship, and in praise. We learn to walk with God in our daily lives, we respond to His invitation to have an ongoing daily, hour-by-hour and minute-by-minute relationship with him. We ask him to guide our decisions and help us with our struggles. We thank him for his blessings. In short, we live our lives with the awareness that he is always with us, and he delights in us, and we should delight in him. What do you think? Let me know. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e305 and let me know. Tomorrow&#8217;s Monday, so we&#8217;ll read from the Law. We&#8217;ll read Deuteronomy 7 through 9. Boost. DISTINGUISHED PRODUCER SHOUT-OUT &#8211; 11:05I want to thank Lifespring Family Berean Brother Paul of Seattle who came in with his weekly $22.22 donation. He&#8217;s our Distinguished Producer today. And thank you, Brother Paul of Seattle for helping to produce episode s12e305. Beloved, if you believe in what the Lifespring Family Audio Bible is all about, if the show has helped you in any way, whether in helping you to read the Bible on a more consistent basis, or helping you to understand Scripture a little better or in challenging you to walk closer to God, then please consider supporting the show with your time, talent or treasure. Go to lifespringmedia.com/support and see if what you find there makes sense to you, lifespringmedia.com/support. And whether you support the show with time, talent or treasure, I thank you and I think God will bless you. ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY &#8211; 12:01On this date in church history, July 3, 1756, John Wesley, the founder of English Methodism, wrote in a letter, “One who lives and dies in error or is in dissent from our church may yet be saved, but one who lives and dies in their sin must perish.” And on this date in church history, July 3, 1878, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod missionaries J. Friedrich Doescher and Frederick Berg established the Negro Lutheran Church in Little Rock, Arkansas, the first formal outreach to African-Americans made by Lutherans in the United States. CLOSING PRAYER &#8211; 12:44Let&#8217;s pray. Our heavenly Father, you have given us everything we need. You have given us our life, you have given us your word, and you have given us the way to spend eternity with you. Thank you for those and countless other blessings. Your love for us is just immeasurable, and we praise you. We ask the Lord that you work closely with us today and we ask for your blessing. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Do you have a prayer request? Do you have a praise? Would you like to share it with the Lifespring family? Go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com? OUTRO S12E305 &#8211; 13:27Comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e305. Email me at <span data-original-string='DaxAm7Xw2b5PjThD9IdHPg==8b0mUqCCRWHI6ymLqXDqDhHOnTRojeC2/pDlBU2odueZH8=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. Thanks to Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise for everything you guys do for us. Thanks to Lifespring Family Berean Brother Paul of Seattle for his support of this show today. Thanks to those of you who faithfully stream sats and send boosts every single day. And thank you, Beloved, for inviting me into your day today support the show at lifespringmedia.com/support. And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye. Transcribed by https://otter.aiCorrected by Denise Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will complete the book of&#160;Psalms 93-95.&#160;I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “Surf’s Up Part 2.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Cristian Palmer on Unsplash Comments on Psalms 93-95 Psalm 93 I don&#8217;t know about you, but I can&#8217;t help but get excited when I read chapters like these. Psalm 93 declares that God is king, then proceeds to illustrate in great, majestic language how this is true. But mightier than the violent raging of the seas,mightier than the breakers on the shore—the Lord above is mightier than these! Psalm 93:4 NLT When I read this verse, I am immediately taken back to a morning when I was about seventeen or eighteen years old. It was a beautiful, sunny, southern California day. I was at a spot right on the border of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. My friends and I called it &#8220;the jetty&#8221;. And the waves were pumping that day. The sets were coming in at about twelve feet. And they were perfectly shaped for surfing. Nice tubes. The biggest waves I had ever been in. It was truly a rare day. And I was terrified. Sure, they were great waves, and guys were getting spectacular rides, but I had never ridden waves this big. I was used to the average waves that come through&#8230;two to four feet. I had ridden hundreds, if not thousands of those waves. But these 12 footers were a completely new experience. Just paddling out was a challenge. Even though I was in great shape, having been a competitive swimmer for about ten years, with a lot of first place finishes, I was having a hard time making progress as I tried to paddle out. These waves were stronger than anything I had ever experienced. I felt completely helpless. But finally there was a lull between the sets, and I was able to paddle out to where the other guys were waiting to grab a ride when the next set came through. As we waited, I was able to rest and regain my strength. The fatigue in my shoulders faded, my breathing relaxed, and I watched the horizon, waiting for signs of the next set. I didn&#8217;t have to wait very long. Pretty soon I could see the color of the horizon get darker and rise as the swell rushed in toward the shore. I turned my board around to face the beach and began to paddle as hard as I could. And before I knew it, the swell began to lift me up and push me faster and faster. And the wave began to break. The tube was just beginning to form as I stood up, and I looked down the face of the biggest wave I had ever been on. In that moment, it felt like I was on the top of a careening freight train. But I was in the wrong spot on the wave, and all of a sudden I found myself being thrown from my board like a rag doll. The next thing I knew I was under water, being pushed down and tumbling helplessly, holding my breath and waiting for the force of the wave to release me. And then I felt a sharp pain on my left arm, just below the shoulder as the rail, or edge of my board struck me as the turbulence of the wave had control of both of us. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, it released me and I was able to make it to the surface. I was about 75 yards from the beach, where I could see my board already on the shore. I swam in, humbled, still feeling the pain in my arm, and found that my board had also suffered an injury. There was a brand new ding on rail, about an inch deep and four inches long. The bruise on my arm healed, but even after repairing the ding, my surfboard carried a scar that always reminded me of the power of that wave. But mightier than the violent raging of the seas,mightier than the breakers on the shore—the Lord above is mightier than these! Psalms 94 Psalm 94 opens by referring to Him as the God of vengeance. This is an interesting word. I think that, to many people, vengeance has a negative connotation. And in the hands of man, vengeance can be an ugly and negative thing, but that&#8217;s because man&#8217;s vengeance is often not based on perfect justice. But listen to the definition of the word as the Oxford Dictionary has it: Punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong. Now, who better than the author of all that is right and good, to be the One to exact vengeance? Who better to judge those who injure or wrong the innocent? Psalm 94 implores God to let His glorious justice shine forth, to give the proud what they deserve, to punish the evil who kill widows and murder orphans.&#160; Our culture often doesn&#8217;t like to hear that there truly is evil in the world. Or if they do, many do not think that the ultimate punishment (death) should be meted out. &#8220;We don&#8217;t have the right to kill another human being, no matter how bad they are or what they have done,&#8221; they say. Perhaps. But God does have that right, and that is what the author of this Psalm is calling for. We certainly do not have the right to play God, but God does. Psalm 95 This psalm is a call for us to sing and shout joyfully to the Lord, the Rock of our salvation. It shows Him as our shepherd, and us as the flock under his care. This is a call to us to kneel before Him, trusting that we will be safe as He watches over us. I for one am amazed and humbled that this Holy and Righteous God, creator of everything that is, takes note of me at all. I am nothing in the grand scheme of things. When I ponder the vastness of the universe, when I think of my failures, when I look at His infinite greatness, I have to ask myself why this God would care about me. But then I am reminded of the scripture that says simply, &#8220;God is love.&#8221; 1 John 4:8. And John 3:15-18, &#8220;16“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.18“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him.&#8221; How wonderful is His name!&#160; Your thoughts? Scroll to the bottom of the page and let me know. Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 93-95 NLT Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00In that moment, it felt like I was on top of a careening freight train Steve Webb 0:12This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God. castors. Steve Webb, welcome. I&#8217;m so glad you&#8217;re with me today. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year and today we&#8217;re gonna read the book of Psalms, chapters 93 through 95. I&#8217;ll have some comments on the chapters after the reading and I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode. Surf&#8217;s up part two. The show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 217. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. I always like to get your emails. And with that let&#8217;s get started. Steve Webb 0:55Introduction to Psalm 93 This Psalm has no title but of Psalm 93 James Montgomery boys wrote, Psalm 93 describes a theocracy as do the seven psalms that follow it. The words Yahweh Mielec, or Jehovah reigns or Jehovah is King are the watchwords of these theocratic songs. Now, as we know most if not all, theocracies that have existed or exist today become miserable failures because they&#8217;re instituted and enforced by man, flawed human beings. Only a theocracy with the perfect just loving and merciful God will ever be successful. Steve Webb 1:38Psalms 93 The Lord is King. He is robed in majesty. Indeed, the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. Your throne oh lord has stood from time immemorial. You yourself are from the everlasting past. The floods have risen up Oh, Lord, the floods have roared like thunder. The floods have lifted their pounding waves, but mightier than the violent raging Of The Seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore. The Lord above is mightier than these. Your royal laws cannot be changed your reign oh Lord is holy, forever and ever. Steve Webb 2:22Psalm 94 has no title either, but commentator G. Campbell, Morgan wrote, In this song, we see how these very things which assault faith and threatened to produce despair may be the opportunity for praise in the place and act of worship. Steve Webb 2:41Psalms chapter 94 Oh Lord, the God of vengeance. Oh God a vengeance. Let your glorious justice shine forth. Arise, oh, Judge of the earth. Give the crowd what they deserve. How long? Oh, Lord, how long will the wicked be allowed to gloat? How long will they speak with arrogance? How long will these evil people boast? They crush your people, Lord, hurting those who claim as your own. They kill widows and foreigners and murder orphans. The Lord isn&#8217;t looking they say, and besides, the God of Israel doesn&#8217;t care. Think again. You fools. When will you finally catch on? Is he deaf? The one who made your ears? Is he blind, the one who formed your eyes. He punishes the nation&#8217;s Won&#8217;t he also punish you. He knows everything. Doesn&#8217;t he also know what you&#8217;re doing? The Lord knows people&#8217;s thoughts. He knows they are worthless. Joyful are those who discipline Lord, those who teach with your instructions. You give them relief from troubled times until a pit is dug to capture the wicked. The Lord will not reject His people, He will not abandon his special possession. Judgment will again be founded on justice and those with virtuous hearts will pursue it. Who will protect me from the wicked who will stand up for me against evil doers. Unless the Lord had helped me I would soon have settled in the silence of the grave. I cried out I&#8217;m slipping, but your unfailing love Oh Lord supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer. Can unjust leaders claim that God is on their side leaders whose decrees permit injustice. they gang up against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord is my fortress. My God is the mighty rock where I hide. God will turn the sins of evil people back on them. He will destroy them for their sins, the Lord our God will destroy them. Steve Webb 4:51Psalm 95 is also untitled. The author of the New Testament book of Hebrews, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, quoted and wrote about Psalm 95 In chapters three and four of that book, again, let&#8217;s hear what James Montgomery boy said about this psalm. He said, this is probably the most thorough sighting of an Old Testament passage in the New Testament. Steve Webb 5:15Psalms chapter 95. Come let us sing to the Lord. Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come to him with thanksgiving. Let us sing psalms of praise to Him. For the Lord is a great God, a great King above all gods. He holds in his hands the depths of the earth and the mightiest mountains. The sea belongs to him, for he made it his hands formed the dry land to come, let us worship and bow down. Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker for He is our God. We are the people he watches over the flock under his care. If only you would listen to his voice today, the Lord says don&#8217;t harden your hearts is Israel did it mera BA, as they did it Massa in the wilderness for their your ancestors tested and tried my patients, even though they saw everything I did. For 40 years, I was angry with them. And I said, they are a people whose hearts turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them. So in my anger, I took an oath, they will never enter my place of rest. Steve Webb 6:26Beloved, I don&#8217;t know about you, but I can&#8217;t help but get excited when I read chapters like the ones we read today. Psalm 93 declares that God is King then proceeds to illustrate in great majestic language how this is true. Verse four says, But mightier than the violent raging in the seas, mightier than the breakers on the shore, the Lord above is mightier than these. Now when I read that verse, I am immediately taken back to a morning when I was about 17 or 18 years old. It was a beautiful, sunny Southern California day. And I was at a spot right on the border of Huntington Beach in Newport Beach. My friends, and I called it the jetty. And the waves were pumping that day. The sets were coming in at about 12 feet, and they were perfectly shaped for surfing. They had the kind of beautiful round tubes that surf photographers just love. And they were the biggest waves that I&#8217;d ever personally seen in person. That was a truly rare day. And I was terrified. Sure, they were great waves and the guys that were out there were getting spectacular rides, but I had never ridden waves this big. I was used to the average waves that come through two to four feet in that area, and I had ridden hundreds, if not 1000s of those waves. But these 12 footers were a completely new experience. Just paddling out was a challenge. Even though I was in great shape at that time, having been a competitive swimmer for probably 10 years. With a lot of first place finishes, I was having a hard time making progress as I tried to paddle out. These waves were stronger than anything I had ever experienced. I felt completely helpless. But finally there was a low between the sets and I was able to paddle out to where the other guys were waiting to grab a ride when the next set came through. And as we waited, I was able to rest in regain my strength, the fatigue and my shoulders faded, my breathing relaxed, and I watched the horizon waiting for signs of the next set. I didn&#8217;t have to wait very long. Pretty soon I could see the color of the horizon get darker and rise as the swell rushed in toward the shore. I turned my board around to face the beach and began to paddle as hard as I could. And before I knew it, the swell began to lift me up and push me faster and faster, and the wave began to break. The tube was just beginning to form as I stood up and I looked down the face of the biggest wave I had ever been on. In that moment. It felt like I was on top of a careening freight train. But I was in the wrong spot on the wave. And all of a sudden I found myself being thrown from my board like a rag doll. The next thing I knew I was underwater being pushed down as I tumbled helplessly holding my breath and waiting for the force of the wave to release me. And then I felt a sharp pain on my left arm just below the shoulder is the rail or the edge of my board struck me as the turbulence of the wave had control of both of us. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, it released me and I was able to make it to the surface. As I looked around, I could see I was about 75 yards from the beach where I could see my board already on the shore. I swam in humbled, still feeling the pain in my arm and found that my board had also suffered an injury. There was a brand new ding on the rail about an inch deep and four inches long. Well the bruise on my arm healed but even after repairing the ding my surfboard carried a scar that always reminded me of the power of that wave. But mightier than the violent raging of the sea, mightier than the breakers on the shore, the Lord above is mightier than these. Steve Webb 10:16Psalm 94 opens by referring to God is the God of vengeance. This is an interesting word. I think that too many people Vengeance has a negative connotation. In the hands of man, vengeance can be an ugly and negative thing. But that&#8217;s because man&#8217;s vengeance is often not based on perfect justice. But listen to the Oxford dictionary definition of the word, Vengeance is punishment, inflicted, or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong now, who better than the author of all that is right in good to be the one to exact vengeance? Who better to judge those who injure or wrong, the innocent? Psalm 94, implores God to let his glorious justice shine forth, to give the proud what they deserve to punish the evil who killed widows and murder orphans. Our culture often doesn&#8217;t like to hear that there truly is evil in the world, or if they do, many don&#8217;t think that the ultimate punishment, death should be meted out. They say, We don&#8217;t have the right to kill another human being no matter how bad they are, or what they have done. Maybe that&#8217;s true. But God does have the right and that is what the author of this psalm is calling for. We certainly don&#8217;t have the right to play God, but God does. And then Psalm 95 is a call for us to sing and shout joyfully to the Lord, the rock of our salvation, it shows him as our shepherd and us as the flock under his care. This is a call to us to kneel before him, trusting that we will be safe as he watches over us. I&#8217;m amazed and humbled that this holy and righteous God, Creator of everything that is takes note of me at all, and nothing in the grand scheme of things. And when I ponder the vastness of the universe, when I think of my failures, when I look at his Infinite greatness, I have to ask myself, why this God would care about me. But then I&#8217;m reminded of the scripture that simply says, God is love. And then John 315, through 18 says, For this is how God loved the world. He gave His one and only Son so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in Him. How wonderful is his name? What are your thoughts? I&#8217;d love to hear. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 217. Scroll to the bottom of the page and tell me what you think about what we&#8217;ve read today. Reading tomorrow is Proverbs 16. Boost. Steve Webb 13:09Kirsty went to the show notes page for the Leviticus 22 through 24 and I for an AI episode, she said, since I listened to episodes while I&#8217;m driving, I don&#8217;t often comment, but I want to say I get a lot out of your commentary. Stephen, I thank you for sharing it with us. I really liked your explanation of an eye for an eye today. It was really helpful to understand this tricky verse. Well, thank you, Kirsty for taking the time to write. I know life gets busy and it&#8217;s sometimes hard to remember to comment, when we have a moment happens to me too. I&#8217;ll be listening to a podcast and here&#8217;s something really good. And I&#8217;ll say to myself, I need to remember to tell that guy how much I liked what he just said. And then I forget to do it. So thank you, Kirsty. I appreciate your comment. It really is a privilege to do this show. And I don&#8217;t know why the Lord chose me to do it. But I&#8217;m glad he did and I can&#8217;t help but be humbled. God bless you, Kirsty. Thank you. And I do have to mention here that booster grams are a really convenient and quick way to send comments to your favorite podcasters while you&#8217;re listening, the apps I&#8217;ve been telling you about it new podcast apps.com really do make it easy. There&#8217;s a button right there on the podcast player that you tap. Then you put in your comment, tap the button again and within seconds the podcaster receives your comment. It&#8217;s one of the best features of a podcasting 2.0 app go get one at newpodcastapps.com. Steve Webb 14:44Let&#8217;s pray. Our Heavenly Father the Psalms we read today so eloquently describe you in comparison my words seem like those of a three year old child. Thank you Lord for giving the authors of those psalms the words to write you are an awesome God your words worthy of our praise and our worship and our devotion. You&#8217;re infinitely above us and we are so grateful to you for even noticing us, let alone the love you have for us. Hallelujah. Lord, thank you. I asked God today that you would bless the Lifespring family. As you hold us in your strong right hand we are secure and safe. We owe you everything. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you&#8217;ve got a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com and fill out that form there. My website will send your prayer request or your praise right to me, and I&#8217;ll pray for you in my private prayer time and on the show. And this just now occurred to me you can send your prayer requests and praises to me via a booster gram as well. Whether you use the website at prayer dot Lifespring media.com or booster gram will get your prayer request or praise either way. Steve Webb 15:59Please do share the show. Help the people you care about get into the word every day. Comment on the show and Lifespring media.com/s 12 V 217 Or email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com support the show please at Lifespring media.com/support. And until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thank you for being here. I have enjoyed our time together today. I hope it&#8217;s a great one for you. I&#8217;m Steve Webb. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will complete the book of&#160;1 Chronicles 1-4. I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “It Would Have Been Enough.&#8221; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Jametlene Reskp on Unsplash Comments on 1 Chronicles 1-4 Thoughts on 1 Chronicles 1 Chapter 1 begins appropriately with Adam. All of humanity, all our history, begins with him. Adam is the father of all flesh. From Adam we are taken through the generations to Noah. From Noah came all the different nations and races. One of Noah’s sons was Shem, and from Shem’s line came Abraham. Abraham became the father of the faithful; by blood, the Jewish people. By adoption, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ (See Romans 4:11 and 12). It’s important to note that the Old Testament is primarily focused on Abraham’s line, the Jewish people, God&#8217;s chosen people. (More about that in a moment.) Some of the names listed in this chapter don’t play a part in the history of this line and are listed only as a matter of record.&#160; Now, a word about God&#8217;s chosen people. For what purpose did God choose Israel? He chose them so He could teach them how to truly worship Him, and then show all the nations what true worship was, and how to live lives pleasing to Him.&#160; So it makes sense that the Old Testament would focus its attention on the history of Abraham&#8217;s line, doesn&#8217;t it? As we continue the genealogies in the coming chapters, we’ll read more of the Abrahamic line, from his son Judah to his grandson Israel, all the way to David and his son Solomon, through all the kings up until Jerusalem was destroyed. There is a lot of history there, and I’ll try to make it as interesting as I can. &#160; Thoughts on 1 Chronicles 2&#160; There were some very interesting and important men and women listed in this chapter. Judah, Israel, Boaz, Jesse, David…just to name a few. Some are remembered as the first to settle certain towns and regions.&#160; But two are going to be remembered throughout time for their sins. We read that “the Lord considered Er, Judah’s firstborn, evil, so the Lord killed Er.” And “Carmi’s son was Achar, who caused trouble for Israel by taking goods that were claimed by God.” Do you suppose that these men were one hundred percent evil? We don’t know. All we know from this chapter is that they had evil natures.&#160; How do you suppose that when God someday opens the book on your life, He will summarize you? For what will you be remembered?&#160; In a sermon, my pastor once mentioned a church member who had passed away several years earlier, and to sum him up, the pastor said, “Louis was a sweet man. He always had time for you. When you talked to him, he would look you in the eyes and smile.” How will you be remembered?&#160; Thoughts on 1 Chronicles 4&#160; In chapter 4, verses 9 and 10 we read about a fellow named Jabez. Let’s take another look. “Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez [Painful], because she said that his birth was painful. 10 Jabez prayed to the God of Israel, “Please bless me and give me more territory. May your power be with me and free me from evil so that I will not be in pain.” God gave him what he prayed for.” All we know about Jabez is contained in these two verses, but the fact that this prayer of his is recorded here in 1 Chronicles tells me something. It tells me that it is okay to ask God for things. I don’t know about you, but I was brought up to put other people before me. I learned very early on that the world does not revolve around me, and it is wrong to be selfish or self-centered. Not that I am never self-centered. I can be as selfish as the next guy, but I do know that it’s wrong to be selfish.&#160; So for much of my life, it was hard for me to ask God to bless me, to give me things. I’m just happy that he’s forgiven my sins. If that was all God ever did for me, that would have been enough. I don’t need to be rich or live in a big fancy house. After all, Jesus didn’t even have a place to lay his head. Who am I to ask for more than He had?&#160; Thats was my approach to prayer for most of my life, and it is the primary way I pray now. I’ll pray for you, that God will bless you, but I never felt right about praying that kind of prayer for myself. And then several years ago a little book called “The Prayer of Jabez” was published. It’s less than 100 pages. The author’s name is Bruce Wilkinson. The book became a best seller and I read it because it came highly recommended by a friend of mine. It really made me consider whether my attitude regarding asking God to bless me was right.&#160; Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think God wants us to ask Him to make us win the lottery, or ask Him to put us on the list of the top three richest people in the world, but that wasn’t Jabez’s prayer either.&#160; Listen, you can read the book for yourself. I’m not going to discuss all the points, because we don’t have the time here. Just know that when you ask God to give you more, and you ask out of a pure heart, and your request is pleasing to Him, that is a good thing.&#160; I began to pray that prayer after reading the book. One of the results of the prayer is that when I asked him to enlarge my territory, God did it. How? Well, the book was published in 2000. I probably read it in about 2002. In 2004 I heard about this crazy thing called podcasting, and all of a sudden this guy who was in love with God, recording from his church in Riverside, CA, is talking to the world. Podcasting is old hat now. But back then, we were still figuring it all out. This was a big deal. Never before was it relatively easy and affordable to speak to the world. And guess what. After my very first episode, I got an email from a guy in Sweden, asking me how he could know that God was real. Long story short, he became a follower of Jesus. And there have been many other emails from people all over the world since then. I asked God to enlarge my territory. Not for me, but for His glory. And He did it. Am I blessed? Of course, but in a much different way than I could have ever imagined. Certainly finances are still sometimes a challenge, but the fact that God would use a guy like me to carry His message to nearly every nation on Earth is a concept I would have never in my wildest dreams imagined. I would encourage you to look closely at Jabez’s prayer here in 1 Chronicles and see if it’s something you would pray. Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 1 CEB; Ch. 2-4 GW Today&#8217;s Music Michelle Gold &#8220;Dayenu&#8221; Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00God gave him what he prayed for. Unknown Speaker 0:10This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God cast your Steve Webb, welcome. I&#8217;m so glad you&#8217;re here today. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year and today we&#8217;re going to begin to book a First Chronicles. We&#8217;ll read chapters one through four. I&#8217;ll have comments on some of the chapters after the reading and I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, it would have been enough. The show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 223. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com And I think it&#8217;s time to get started. Let&#8217;s go. Unknown Speaker 0:51First Chronicles chapter one, Adam Seth Enosh, Kenan Mahalalel, Jared, Enoch, Methuselah, les mech, Noah, Unknown Speaker 1:03Noah&#8217;s family Shem, Ham and J. Fef. J FETs. Family. Gomer, Magog may die jayven, Tubal, Meshech and thairis Unknown Speaker 1:16Gomez family, Ashkan as Rifat and two Garma. Jameson&#8217;s family, the Alicia Tarshish get him and Rodon him. hams family, Kush, Egypt, hoot and Canaan pushes them family Seba. Havilah, Sabka, Rama and sab Tikka RAM his family Sheba and D. Dan Cush was the father of Nimrod, the first warrior in the land. Egypt was the father of Ludum anonym Labem NAFTA him path gruesome, Kasler him from whom the Philistines came and CAFTA rim. Canaan was the father of seitan, his oldest son, half the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Gurkha Shi&#8217;ites, the Hivites the archivists, the sights, the ARVA dites, the zemer writes, and the hammer fights Shems family, Elam, Ashur, our pack shed Lud and Aram. Aramis family. US whole Gaither at me check. Our Pack shed was Sheila&#8217;s father and Sheila was Hebrews father, two sons were born to Eber One was named Peleg because in his days the land was divided. And his brother&#8217;s name was Jack 10. Jack 10 was the father of our Mo dad. She left hazer may Beth Jira, a doram usal decla evil Abend al Sheba ofor have Allah and Joe Babb. All these were Jacque 10s family Shem our pack shad Sheila Eber P leg. Ryu Serug ne hor, Tara, and Abram, that is Abraham, Abraham&#8217;s family, Isaac and Ishmael. These were their descendants. Ishmael is oldest son was the bay off then keytar abdiel MyB Sam misma Duma Massa. Hey dad, tema, Jeter, nefesh and Kinema. This was Ishmael is family. Unknown Speaker 3:24Abraham&#8217;s secondary wife Couture&#8217;s family. She gave birth to Zim ran. Jacque Shan, me dan Midian is back and shuaa Jacque Schanz family Sheba and DT N Midians family. Eva, Eva. Hey knock, a bida and El Dia. These were members of criterias family. Unknown Speaker 3:48Abraham was Isaac&#8217;s father, Isaac&#8217;s family he saw and Israel. He saw his family LFS rule geohash Jaylen and Cora LFS his family Tieman Omar z phi gitam key NAS Timnah and emelec rules family may have Zerah Shammah and miza Unknown Speaker 4:14Sears family lo 10 Schauble, Zyban, Aina di Shan, easer and di Shan Unknown Speaker 4:23low 10s family Hora and home mam low 10s sister was Timnah show balls family Allien mana half evil she fi and Onam xebialabs family Aya and aina anus family di Shan di Sean&#8217;s family hamrun Ash ban ith ran and Kieran Caesar&#8217;s family, Bill Han Zaytoven and Jaya can die Shannon&#8217;s family, US and Ayran Unknown Speaker 4:55these were the kings who ruled in the land of Edom before any king ruled over the Israel Unknown Speaker 5:00Lights. Billa be your son who said he was called den hubba. When Biela died, Joe Bab zero his son from Bosnia succeeded him. When Joe Bab died huge them from the land of the team and it succeeded him. When Hashem died, hey dad be dead son who defeated Midian in the Moabite countryside succeeded him. His city was called a vith. When he dad died Samla from Mazda succeeded him when Samla died shawl from Rehoboth on the river succeeded him. When shawl died, Ben Hainan Akbar son succeeded him. When Baal Hanan died, he dead succeeded him. His city was called PI. His wife&#8217;s name was my head Abell matrons daughter in MISA Habs granddaughter. When he dad died itams tribal chiefs were Chief Timnah chief Allia chief g thefe. Chief or holy Bama chief ILA Chief pyin Chief keen as chief Tieman chief MyB czar, Chief Magneto and chief Irem these were itams tribal chiefs. Unknown Speaker 6:14First Chronicles chapter two. These were Israel sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, is a car Zombieland, Dan, Joseph, Benjamin, Naphtali, Gad and Asher Judas sons were Onan and Sheila, these three were born to him by Bathsheba a Canaanite woman. The Lord considered her Judah&#8217;s firstborn evil so the Lord killed her. Tamar Judas daughter in law gave birth to Judas sons P res. And Zerah. Judah had five sons and all the rest his sons were husband and haimo. Zero his sons were Zimride Ethan HeMan cow Cole and Dara five and all. Karma his son was a car who caused trouble for Israel by taking goods that were claimed by God. Ethan&#8217;s son was as Araya the sons born to hezron were geranyl Ram and Kullu by Ram was the father of a minute dab a minute dad was the father of nosh on leader of Judas people. Now Shawn was the father of Salma, and Salma was the father of Boaz. Boaz was the father of Obed. And Obed was the father of Jesse. Unknown Speaker 7:33Jesse was the father of Eliab, his firstborn, emitted DAB his second son Shamia his third son, Nathanael, his fourth son, read I his fifth son owsm is sixth son, and David his seventh son. Their sisters were the ruya and Abigail Zuru Yes, three sons were a by Shai Joab. At Sol Abigail was the mother of a mesa whose father was Geeta a descendant of Ishmael has RINs son was Caleb. Caleb and his wife zuba had a son named Jerry off. Her other sons were Jishu show Bab and Ardon. After a zuba died, Caleb married F RAF. She gave birth to her. Her was the father of your eye, and your eye was the father of bezel. afterwards. Ezrin slept with a daughter of maker the man who first settled Gilead. Ezrin had married her when he was 60 years old. She gave birth to see Gob See, gubb was the father of Jair, who had 23 towns in Gilead. Gesher and Aram captured have off chair with ki Nath and its villages 60 cities and all. All of these people were descendants of maker the man who first settled Gilead after Hestrin died in Caleb Africa, husband&#8217;s wife, Elijah gave birth to Asher who first settled to Cola, Jeronimo the firstborn of husband fathered RAM, his firstborn, then buna, Oren owsm, and a hijab. Jeremy Oh, had another wife. Her name was Adhara and she was the mother of Onam. Unknown Speaker 9:13The sons of ram the firstborn son of Jeremy l were may as Jamin and Eaker Onam sons were Shamaya and Jada. Share my sons were named AB and a biker. The name of a biker his wife was Abba Hale. She gave birth to Alban and Molad native sons were C lead and Appian but C lead died without children. Abby and son was Ishai and Ishai son was Shi Shan and Shi Shan son was ally. The sons of Jada Shama his brother, were Jeter and Jonathan G. Third died without children. Jonathan sons were pilaf and Ziza. These were the descendants of Jerome el Shi Shan had no sons but he had Unknown Speaker 10:00daughters. He had an Egyptian slaved named Jara Shi Shan let Jarrah marry one of his daughters. She gave birth to add I add I was the father of Nathan. Nathan was the father of a bad ze bad was the father of F Lau. F Lau was the father of Obed Obed was the father of G Qg, who was the father of Azariah. As Araya was the father of he less he less was the father of Lea ASA Lea Asa was the father of sis my sis my was the father of Shallum. Shallum was the father of Jeremiah. Jeremiah was the father of Elishama. The descendants of Caleb Jerome ials brother were his firstborn son Misha who first settled Ziff and the sons of Maria who first settled Hebron, he brings sons were Cora Tapiwa, recomb and Shima. Unknown Speaker 10:54Shima was the father of rayon, who first settled jerky him recomb was the father of Shamai sham eyes son was Mayon who first settled Beth zur ephah Caleb&#8217;s concubine was the mother of Heron Moza and gazes Heron was the father of gays is John eyes sons were regum Joe thumb giesen Pilet ephah and che f may occur Caleb&#8217;s concubine was the mother of Schieber and her Hanaa. Also, she was the mother of che AFF who first settled Matt mana and of Shiva who first settled to Mack Bina and Gebbia Caleb&#8217;s daughter was AXA. These people were the descendants of Caleb. The sons of her the firstborn son of F RAF were show ball who first settled carry f g or M. Salma, who first settled Bethlehem and Harris, who first settled Beth Gator show ball who first settled carry F j. RIM had these descendants heroic half of the man who fights the families of carry F jrM, the birthright, the Pew fights, the Schumer fights and the Mishri heights. From these people came the Zora heights and ash tailights. The descendants of Salma, who first settled Bethlehem were the Nephites at Roff, who first settled Beth Joab, half of the Mannahatta heights, the Tsar heights and the families of scribes who lived at Jay bez. These families were the people of Tyra Shinya and suka. These people are the Kenites who came from hammock they first settled Beth recab. Unknown Speaker 12:33First Chronicles chapter three. These were David&#8217;s sons who were born to him while he was in Hebron. His first son was Amnon born to a him from Israel. The second was Daniel born to Abigail from Carmel. The third was Absalom born to Mecca, the daughter of King Tomei from Gesher. The fourth was at or Nyjah, whose mother was haggis. The fifth was chef at Taya born to Abidal. The sex was Etherium born to David&#8217;s wife, Agla. six sons were born to him and Hebron where he ruled for seven years and six months. He ruled for 33 years in Jerusalem. These children were born to David in Jerusalem Shamia show Bab Nathan and Solomon the mother of these four was Samuels daughter Bathsheba, and iPAR Alicia Iliff, alette, Noga, me FG, Jeremiah, Alicia, Elia, and Alyssa let nine by other wives. All of these were David&#8217;s sons. Besides these, they were the sons of the concubines. Tamar was their sister. Solomon&#8217;s son was Rehoboam Rehoboam son was a biojet a Bhaiji. His son was ASA aces son was Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat son was Joram Joram son was a Uzziah a desire His son was Joash Joash his son was Amaziah Amaziah his son was as Araya as arraez. Son was Jonathan. Jonathan&#8217;s son was a has a has his son was Hezekiah Hezekiah his son was Manasseh Manasseh his son was Amman, Emmons son was Josiah. Josiah. his firstborn son was Joe Hainan. The second was Jehovah come, the third was Zedekiah and the fourth was Shallum. Jehovah comes son was Jack Enya, whose son was Zedekiah the descendants of the prisoner Jack and I were his son she LTL then Mel Kiram padega, Shin Azur, jakka, Maya, Hiroshima and Netta baya. Today&#8217;s sons were Zerubbabel and shimmy AI. The rubber balls sons were Miss Shulam and Hannah Nyah and shalom with was their sister. There were also five other sons has shuba Unknown Speaker 15:00Oh hell, Dara, Kaya has a Daya and Zhu Shab he said, and an AI his sons were Pelotonia into Shaya to shake his son was refer refer his son was Arnon Arnold&#8217;s son was Obadiah Obadiah his son was check Enya. Check an eyes son was Shania Shimei is six sons were Haddish I gal Berea, NIA Raya, and che fat. The arraez Three sons were Elio Eni, his kya and Astra comme le OE nice seven sons were Hoda via Eliashib Polonia Aqib Joe Hainan delea and an AI Unknown Speaker 15:42First Chronicles chapter four. Unknown Speaker 15:45Judas descendants were P res Ezrin. Carmine her and show ba RIA son of show ball was the father of J half. J hath was the father of a humanoid inlay had. These were the families of the Zora knights. These were the first settlers in ITAM, jazz real Ishmael and in bash. Their sister&#8217;s name was as allow poan I Penuel was the father of Gweedore and easer was the father of fuchsia. These were the sons of her the firstborn of Africa who first settled Bethlehem. Unknown Speaker 16:19Asher who first settled to cola had two wives he ILA and naira. Naira gave birth to a Hussam, he for Gemini and hay a hashed array. These were Nayar his sons. He lives sons were Xerath zohore and Ethan, cause was the father of Ayub and Zoeva and he was the ancestor of the families of a harthill son of harem. Jay bez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jay bez painful, because she said that His birth was painful. Jay bez prayed to the God of Israel. Please bless me and give me more territory. May your power be with me and free me from evil so that I will not be in pain. God gave him what he prayed for. Unknown Speaker 17:08Caleb shoe his brother was the father of me her who was the father of Ashton Ashton was the first just settled Beth RIFA. Unknown Speaker 17:17He was the father of Persia and to Hannah who first settled the city of NE hash. These were the men from Rica, Kenya as his sons were off Niall and Surya. The sons of Othniel were heighth AF and Miana thigh Miyano thigh was the father of opera. Surya was the father of Joab, who first settled the city of craftsman. It was named this because they were craftsmen, the sons of Caleb son of Jephunneh. Were I rue Isla and name ILAs son was key NAS GIA Hala ll sons were Ziff zifa Tyria. And as well as his sons were Jaipur, me read ephah and Jalen, his wife gave birth to Miriam Shama and ich BA, who first settled ash Samoa. His Judean wife was the mother of G red who first settled Gweedore Heber who first settled SOCO and GQ Theo who first settled Zenoah the sons of Dias wife, the sister of mayhem first settled ki Isla of the gar mites and ash Tomoko of the macrophytes shamans sons were Amnon Rinna, Ben Hanan and teilen is sheis sons were Zoho death and benzo hath. Unknown Speaker 18:35The descendants of Sheila son of Judah were who first settled Lika lay into who first settled Maria, families of The Guild of linen workers at Beth ash via Jochem Joash saref And the men of CO Zeba. Sarah ruled Moab and Joshua by Liam according to ancient records. They were the potter&#8217;s who lived in the TAM and ghedira. They lived there with a king and did his work. simians sons were at manual Jamin Jared Zira and Shaw shawls son was Shalem Shallum son was MyB Sam MyB Sam&#8217;s son was Mishima Mishmar. His son was Haneul annual son was Zacher. Zachary&#8217;s son was shimmy. Shimmy I had 16 sons and six daughters. But his brothers didn&#8217;t have many children, so their entire family didn&#8217;t become as large as the people of Judah. Unknown Speaker 19:35simians descendants lived in Beersheba Melinda hazer, shul Bill ha ism toll add Beth you&#8217;ll hormone Ziklag Beth Mark leboff hazer suschem Beth beer I and che Ihram these were their cities until David became king. Their five cities were eaten by in Rehman Tolkien and Asian they also had all Unknown Speaker 20:00The villages around the cities as far as the city of Baal. These places were where they lived in they had their own genealogical records. Michelle Bab jam lek Josha son of Amaziah Joel G you son of Joshua bya, grandson of Surya and great grandson of Asiel Elio si G Jaya Koba. Jeshua Hanaa Hosea Anteil just lineal, Binya and Zaza son of Shai Fie, grandson of Allah John, great grandson of Judea, a descendant of Shem, right and Shemaiah these who are mentioned by name were leaders in their families, and the number of people in their households increased. They moved to the outskirts of Ghidorah on the east side of the valley to find pasture for their flocks. They found pasture that was rich and good. The land was vast, peaceful and quiet because the Hamlet&#8217;s used to live there. In the days of King Hezekiah of Judah. The men listed here knocked down tents and killed the May unites, they claimed them a unites for God and destroyed them. Even today, Noma unites live there. They lived in that place in place of the Unites in order to have pasture for their flocks. Ishai Sions Pelotonia Nia Raya, raffia and used to lead 500 of Simeons male descendants to Mount Seir they killed the Amalekites who were left simians descendants still live there today. Unknown Speaker 21:28I&#8217;ve got comments today on the first, second and fourth chapters. Chapter one begins appropriately with Adam. All of humanity, all of our history begins with him. Adam is the father of all flesh. In chapter one, we&#8217;re taken from Adam all the way through the generations to Noah, from Noah came all the different nations and races, and one of Noah&#8217;s sons was Shem. And from Shams line came Abraham, Abraham became the father of the faithful by blood, the Jewish people, by adoption, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. It&#8217;s important to note that the Old Testament is primarily focused on Abraham&#8217;s line, the Jewish people, God&#8217;s chosen people. More about that in a moment. Some of the names listed in this chapter don&#8217;t play a part in the history of this line and are listed only as a matter of record. Now, a word about God&#8217;s chosen people. For what purpose did God choose Israel, he chose them so that he could teach them how to truly worship Him, and then show all the nations what true worship was and how to live lives that are pleasing to Him. So it makes sense that the Old Testament would focus its attention on the history of Abraham&#8217;s line, doesn&#8217;t it? Well, as we continue through the genealogies in the coming chapters will read more from the Abrahamic line from his son, Judah to his grandson Israel all the way to David in his son Solomon through all the kings up until Jerusalem was destroyed. There&#8217;s a lot of history there. And I&#8217;ll try to make it as interesting as I can. Now on chapter two, there were some very interesting and important men and women listed in this chapter, Judah, Israel, Boaz, Jesse David, just to name a few. Some are remembered as the first to settle certain towns and regions, but there are two that are going to be remembered throughout time for their sins. We read that quote, The Lord considered or Judah&#8217;s firstborn evil, so the Lord killed her. Unquote. And, quote, karma his son was a car who&#8217;d cause trouble for Israel by taking goods that were claimed by God, unquote. Well, do you suppose that these men were 100% evil? Well, we don&#8217;t know. All we know from this chapter is that they had evil natures. How do you suppose that when God someday opens the book on your life, he&#8217;ll summarize you for what will you be remembered? In a sermon? My pastor once mentioned a church member who had passed away several years earlier. And to sum him up, the pastor said, Lewis was a sweet man. He always had time for you. When you talk to him, he would look you in the eyes and smile. So how will you be remembered? In chapter four, verses nine and 10, we read about a fellow named Jabez, here&#8217;s what it said about Jabez. Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, which means painful, because she said that His birth was painful. Jabez prayed to the God of Israel. Please bless me and give me more territory. May your power be with me and free me from evil so that I will not be in pain. And then the verse ends with God gave him what he prayed for. Unknown Speaker 24:47All we know about Jabez is contained in these two verses. But the fact that this prayer of his is recorded here in First Chronicles tells me something. It tells me that it&#8217;s okay to ask God for things Unknown Speaker 25:00All right, well, I don&#8217;t know about you, but I was brought up to put other people before me. I learned very early on that the world does not revolve around me and that it is wrong to be selfish or self centered. Not that I&#8217;m never self centered, I can be as selfish as the next guy. But I do know that it&#8217;s wrong to be selfish. So for much of my life, it was hard for me to ask God to bless me to give me things. I&#8217;m just happy that he&#8217;s forgiven my sins. If that&#8217;s all God ever did for me, that would have been enough. I don&#8217;t need to be rich or live in a big fancy house. I mean, after all, Jesus didn&#8217;t even have a place to lay his head. Who am I to ask for more than he had? Well, that was my approach to prayer for most of my life. And it is the primary way I pray now, I&#8217;ll pray for you that God will bless you. But I never really felt right about praying that kind of prayer for myself. And then several years ago, a little book called The prayer of Jay bez was published. It&#8217;s less than 100 pages. The author&#8217;s name is Bruce Wilkinson. The book became a best seller. And I read it because it came highly recommended by a friend of mine. And it really made me consider whether my attitude regarding asking God to bless me was right. And don&#8217;t get me wrong, I don&#8217;t think God wants us to ask him to make us win the lottery or ask him to put us on the list of the top three richest people in the world. But that wasn&#8217;t Jay bez his prayer either. So you can read the book for yourself. I&#8217;m not going to discuss all the points because we don&#8217;t have time here. But just know that when you ask God to give you more, and you ask that have a pure heart, like Jay bez did, and you request is pleasing to God. That&#8217;s a good thing. Unknown Speaker 26:44Well, I began to pray that prayer after reading the book, one of the results of that prayer is that when I asked him to enlarge my territory, God did it. How? Well the book was published in about the year 2000. I probably read it in about the year 2002. And in 2004, I heard about this crazy thing called podcasting. And all of a sudden, this guy here who was in love with God, recording from his church in Riverside, California, was talking to the world. Podcasting is old hat now, but back then we were still figuring it all out. This was a big deal. Never before was it relatively easy and affordable to speak to the world. And guess what? After my very first episode, I got an email from a guy in Sweden, asking me how he could know that God was real. Long story short, he became a follower of Jesus. And there have been many, many other emails from people all over the world since then, I asked God to enlarge my territory, not for me, but for His glory. And he did it. Am I blessed? Yes, of course, but in a much different way than I could have ever imagined. Certainly, finances are still sometimes a challenge. But the fact that God would use a guy like me to carry his message to nearly every nation on the planet, is a concept I would have never in my wildest dreams imagined. Unknown Speaker 28:09I would encourage you to look closely at Jay bez, his prayer here in First Chronicles and see if it&#8217;s something you would pray. And by the way, speaking of it would have been enough, there&#8217;s a Hebrew word for that. Dayenu one of the artists that I&#8217;ve met through podcasting is named Michelle gold. Michelle is a Jewish singer songwriter who became a follower of Yeshua. That&#8217;s the Hebrew name for Jesus when she was a teenager, and she and her husband Joe become friends of mine and one of her songs is called Dayenu. It would have been enough. I&#8217;ll play it for you at the end of today&#8217;s show. It has a very Hebrew sound and feel and the lyrics really express how good God has been. It always will be. Unknown Speaker 28:51Love to hear your comments go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 223. And let me know what you&#8217;re thinking. Our reading tomorrow will be Psalms 96 through 98. Here&#8217;s your cue to boost Unknown Speaker 29:09Well, Paul Erskine came in today with his monthly $5 donation. Paul, thank you so much for your faithful and consistent support. God bless you, brother. And then this morning I got this from Sean of San Pedro. Unknown Speaker 29:23He said in a row a duck&#8217;s 2222 sats from the fountain app. He said a slow row of ducks coming in late. Something tells me that advertisers might have complained about your commentary on Second Thessalonians regarding Islam. Yeah, maybe that was it. Thank you, Sean. God bless you. If you would like to make a weekly, monthly or quarterly donation for any amount, it&#8217;s easy to sign up at Lifespring media.com/support. It&#8217;s called value for value. If you find value in the Lifespring family Audio Bible then it is a biblical principle to return some of the value to the one who provides it to you Lifespring media dot Unknown Speaker 30:00com slash support, however you decide to support the show, I thank you and I think God bless you. Unknown Speaker 30:17On this date in church history April 12 1867, Samuel M Zwemmer was born he was an American missionary to the Arab world. In 1890. He went to Arabia under sponsorship of the Syrian mission of the Presbyterian Church in the USA. He later returned to the United States and taught at Princeton seminary. And on this date in church history, April 12 1882, the evangelical Reformed Church in Northwest Germany was created by royal decree when the King of Prussia ordered the 124 reformed congregations scattered throughout the area, then known as the province of Hanover, to become incorporated as an independent territorial church. Unknown Speaker 31:09Let&#8217;s pray our Heavenly Father Dayenu. If all that you had ever done for us is to give us Jesus, that would have been enough, but you&#8217;ve given us so much more. You&#8217;ve blessed us so much that it&#8217;s impossible to mention everything. Even in the midst of hardship. There&#8217;s always something to rejoice in. But if it was only Jesus Dayenu Lord, like Jay bez, I asked you to enlarge our territory. For those of us who are willing, I asked that you would give us more so that we can bring glory to you. We don&#8217;t ask with a selfish heart, but with a heart that is thankful for the opportunity to do something, anything for your kingdom. And thank you, Lord for the Lifespring family. Bless them today. I ask in Jesus name, amen. Unknown Speaker 31:55If you&#8217;ve got a prayer request or praise, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com Fill out the form there. I&#8217;ll be notified and I&#8217;ll pray for you my private prayer time and we&#8217;ll pray together on the show. Unknown Speaker 32:13Share the show and then come comment on this episode at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 223. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com If you&#8217;ve got anything to say to me, and support the show at Lifespring media.com/support. Next up is Michelle gold with Dayenu. I&#8217;ll have a link to her website and I&#8217;ll put a video on the show notes page as well. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly thank you for being with me today. My name is Steve Webb. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will complete the book of&#160; Leviticus 25-27.&#160;I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “Try Me.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Rhett Noonan on Unsplash Comments on Leviticus 27 If you’ve been listening very long to the show, you have probably noticed that I’m willing to talk about subjects that might make people uncomfortable. Subjects that others might prefer to avoid. My attitude is that those are the subjects that *need* to be talked about. God put them in His Word because He considers them important. So let’s talk about money. Verses 30-33&#160; about tithes. The translation we used for chapter 27 today used the term “tenth-part gifts.” Verse 34, the closing verse of Leviticus, says, &#8220;These are the commands that the LORD gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites.&#8221; So giving tithes was a command. It was not optional. The question is, are we as believers in Jesus obligated to tithe? Let&#8217;s do a little digging. First, what is a tithe? A tithe is an offering of 10%. And it did not originate with the Mosaic Law. There are references to tithes being given in Genesis 14 and 28, before Moses was born. The New Testament does not give a requirement to tithe, but it does mention the tithe with favor. One example is Hebrews 7:4-10, when Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek.&#160; Giving however, is commanded in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. Paul even said that not only should giving should be done, but that it should be planned for and done regularly. &#8220;Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God’s people in Jerusalem. You should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia. 2On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don’t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once.&#8221; NLT And if that wasn’t enough, In 2 Corinthians 8:8, Paul says that giving is a test of our love for God, and those who do His work. And in 2 Corinthians 9:6, Paul compares giving to a farmer. The farmer who plants sparingly will reap sparingly. The one who plants generously will reap generously.&#160; And then he goes on in the very next verse and says that each person must decide in his or her own heart how much to give, and don&#8217;t give reluctantly or because of pressure. Why? Paul said, &#8220;For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.&#8221; And, he says, God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.&#160; And in 1 Corinthians 9:7-14, Paul says that we should give to those who feed us spiritually. Verses 11-14, “11If we sowed spiritual things in you, is it so much to ask to harvest some material things from you? 12If others have these rights over you, don’t we deserve them all the more? However, we haven’t made use of this right, but we put up with everything so we don’t put any obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.&#160;13Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get to eat food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share part of what is sacrificed on the altar?&#160;14In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who preach the gospel should get their living from the gospel.” This is Paul speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, beloved. If we accept the Bible as true, then we need to accept these verses as true. Now, let me tell you my experience in giving. First, I was not brought up in a believing home. My parents did not go to church, though my mom did in at least her teen years. I wasn&#8217;t even aware of that fact until after she passed away, when I was going through some of her papers and found that she was a leader in her youth group. But since my dad was very much anti-church and anti-God, going to church was a non-starter when I was a boy. I tell you that to say that I did not have any training from home on giving to God&#8217;s work. When I got saved as a teenager, I have to admit that I was a stingy giver. I didn&#8217;t mind putting a dollar or maybe a five into my offering envelope, but I never gave anything approaching a tithe. I never even considered giving a tithe. It never entered my mind. Once I became an adult and was aware of tithing, I rationalized that Christians are under the New Covenant, and were therefore not obligated to tithe, so I didn&#8217;t need to give ten percent. By then I had graduated to regularly dropping a $20 bill into the offering plate. I figured God loves a cheerful giver, and I didn&#8217;t feel too badly about putting a twenty in. Much more than that and, I reasoned, it would be more difficult to be cheerful. And then, probably sometime in my 40s, after I had been faithfully serving God in my church for several years, my wife, the Lovely Lady LeeAnn suggested that we start tithing. I told her that we were under the New Covenant, yada yada yada.&#160; Unlike me, however, LeeAnn had literally grown up in church. Her parents were faithful believers, who were at church whenever the doors were open. And that&#8217;s not an exaggeration. They were a military family, and wherever they were stationed, the first they would do when they got to a new town was find the Assemblies of God church and immediately get plugged in. So LeeAnn had an excellent example on faithful giving, and specifically, tithing. At a minimum.&#160; So when I gave LeeAnn my reasoning for not tithing, she did what every good Christian wife should do. She argued with me. No. She didn&#8217;t. She accepted my answer, but then she began to pray for me. She didn&#8217;t tell me that she was praying specifically for this, but I know now that she was.&#160; And then, over time, I began to question myself. I don&#8217;t remember if this process took several months or even a year or more, but one day in a time of prayer, I remembered the verse in Malachi, &#8220;Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,&#8221; says the LORD Almighty, &#8220;and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.&#8221; And I said, &#8220;Ok, God. I&#8217;ll try it. I&#8217;ll give tithes and see if I can still pay the bills.&#8221; Or words to that effect. Of course, LeeAnn was thrilled. I can&#8217;t say that I was thrilled, but God had shown me in other ways that He is faithful, so I was willing to make the step of faith. And it was a step of faith. We had a mortgage, three sons, and only my business to pay the bills. LeeAnn was a stay-at-home mom, so all we had was my income.&#160; How did the test turn out? Let me answer this way: I have never, we have never gone back to stingy giving. That doesn&#8217;t mean that God has made us financially rich. Over the years we have had some lean years and some fat years. There have been times where we literally had zero in the bank account and we had nothing to give. But as soon as there was something from which to give, we tithed. And sometimes we have given above and beyond the tithe, when we saw someone in need, or for special projects. And it was after we began to tithe that God called me to begin the world&#8217;s first Christian podcast. I won&#8217;t tell the whole story here, but in a nutshell, I was praying one day, thanking God for all the blessings He had brought into our lives, and I asked Him if there was anything more that *I* could do for Him. And that&#8217;s when He spoke to me and said, &#8220;Proclaim My Name.&#8221; There&#8217;s much more to the story, which you can read at steve.lifespringmedia.com.&#160; Financially I am not a wealthy man…far from it. But God has blessed my life and my family so much. Sure, we have struggles like everyone else, but LeeAnn and I have a wonderful marriage and we have a faith in God that is deep and abiding.&#160; God has shown me that trusting Him in all things, even in giving, is something that He does bless. Are we required to tithe? No. But it is my firm conviction that *at least* a tithe is an appropriate amount to return to the God who gave His one and only Son so that I might live in eternity with Him.&#160; I recommend it. As the scripture says in Malachi 3:10, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the&#160;Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.&#8221; Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 25 CEV; Ch. 26 NIV; Ch. 27 CEB Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00yada yada yada Steve Webb 0:09Hi there. This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California. My name is Steve Webb podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God caster Steve Webb, welcome. I&#8217;m so glad you&#8217;re here today. Thanks for showing up. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year and today we&#8217;re going to complete the Book of Leviticus by reading chapters 25 through 27. I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, Try me. The shownotes page for today&#8217;s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 222. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. Let&#8217;s get started. Steve Webb 0:48Leviticus chapter 25. When Moses was on Mount Sinai, the Lord told him to say to the community of Israel. After you enter the land that I&#8217;m giving you, it must be allowed to rest one year out of every seven, you may raise grain and grapes for six years. But the seven year you must let your fields and vineyards rest in honor of me your Lord. This is to be a time of complete rest for your fields and vineyards. So don&#8217;t harvest anything they produce. However, you would your slaves and your hired workers, as well as any domestic or wild animals may eat whatever grows on its own once every 49 years on the 10th day of the seventh month, which is also the great day of forgiveness. trumpets are to be blown everywhere in the land. This 50th year is sacred. It is a time of freedom and of celebration when everyone will receive back their original property, and slaves will return home to their families. This is a year of complete celebration. So don&#8217;t plant any seed or harvest what your fields or vineyards produce. In this time of sacred celebration, you may eat only what grows on its own. During this year, all property must go back to its original owner. So when you buy or sell farmland, the price is to be determined by the number of crops it can produce before the next year of celebration. Don&#8217;t try to cheat. If it is a long time before the next year of celebration, the price will be higher. Because what is really being sold are the crops that the land can produce. I am the Lord your God, so obey me and don&#8217;t cheat anyone. If you obey my laws and teachings, you will live safely in the land and enjoy its abundant crops. Don&#8217;t ever worry about what you will eat during the seventh year when you are forbidden to plant or harvest. I will see to it that you harvest enough in the sixth year to last for three years. In the eighth year, you will live on what you harvested in the sixth year. But in the ninth year, you will eat what you plant and harvest in the eighth year. No land may be permanently bought or sold. It all belongs to me it is your land and you only live there for a little while. When property is being sold, the original owner must be given the first chance to buy it. If any of you Israelites become so poor that you&#8217;re forced to sell your property, your closest relative must buy it back if that relative has the money. Later if you can afford to buy it, you must pay enough to make up for what the present owner will lose on it before the next year of celebration when the property would become yours again. But if you don&#8217;t have the money to pay the present owner a fair price, you will have to wait until the year of celebration when the property will once again become yours. If you sell a house in a walled city, you have only one year in which to buy it back. If you don&#8217;t buy it back before that year is up, it becomes the permanent property of the one who bought it and it will not be returned to you in the year of celebration. But a house out in a village may be bought back at any time just like a field and it must be returned to its original owner in the year of celebration. If any Levites own houses inside a walled city, they will always have the right to buy them back. And any houses that they do not buy back will be returned to them in the year of celebration because these homes are their permanent property among the people of Israel. No pasture land owned by the Levi tribe can ever be sold. It is their permanent possession. If any of your people become poor and unable to support themselves, you must help them just as you&#8217;re supposed to help foreigners who live among you. Don&#8217;t take advantage of them by charging any kind of interest or selling them food for profit. Instead, honor me by letting them stay where they now live. Remember, I am the Lord your God. I rescued you from Egypt and gave you the land of Canaan so that I would be your God. Suppose some of your people become so poor that they have to sell themselves and become your slaves. Then you must treat them as servants rather Steve Webb 5:00than his slaves in the year of celebration, they&#8217;re to be set free, so they and their children may return home to their families and property. I brought them out of Egypt to be my servants not to be sold as slaves. So obey me. And don&#8217;t be cruel to the poor. If you want slaves, buy them from other nations, or from the foreigners who live in your own country and make them your property. You can own them and even leave them to your children when you die. But do not make slaves of your own people or be cruel to them. Even if some of you Israelites become so much in debt that you must sell yourselves to foreigners in your country, you still have the right to be set free by a relative such as a brother or uncle or cousin, or some other family member. In fact, if you ever get enough money, you may buy your own freedom. By paying your owner for the number of years you would still be a slave before the next year of celebration. The longer the time until then, the more you&#8217;ll have to pay. And even while you&#8217;re the slaves of foreigners in your own country, your people must make sure that you are not mistreated. If you cannot gain your freedom in any of these ways. Both you and your children will still be set free in the year of celebration, people of Israel, I am the Lord your God, and I brought you out of Egypt to be my own servants. Steve Webb 6:19Leviticus 26. Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves. Do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God. Observe my Sabbath&#8217;s and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord. If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting and you will eat all the food you want in live and safety in your land. I will grant peace in the land and you will lie down and no one will make you afraid. I will remove wild beasts from the land and the sword will not pass through your country. You will pursue your enemies and they will fall by the sword before you. Five of you will chase 100 and 100 of you will chase 10,000 and your enemies will fall by the sword before you I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers. And I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last year&#8217;s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. But if you will not listen to me and carry out all these commands. And if you reject my decrees and abhor my laws and failed to carry out all my commands and soul violate my covenant, then I will do this to you. I will bring on you sudden terror, wasting diseases and fever that will destroy your sight and sap your strength. You will plant seed in vain because your enemies will eat it. I will set my face against you so that you will be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you will rule over you and you will flee even when no one is pursuing you. If after all this you will not listen to me. I will punish you for your sins seven times over. I will break down your stubborn pride and make the sky above you like iron and the ground beneath you like stone. Your strength will be spent in vain because your soil will not yield its crops, nor will the trees of your land yield their fruit. If you remain hostile toward me and refuse to listen to me, I will multiply your afflictions seven times over as your sins deserve. I will send wild animals against you and they will rob you of your children, destroy your cattle and make you so few a number that your roads will be deserted. Steve Webb 9:16If in spite of these things, you do not accept My correction, but continue to be hostile towards me. I myself will be hostile toward you and will afflict you for your sins seven times over and I will bring the sword on you to avenge the breaking of the covenant. When you withdraw into your cities, I will send a plague among you and you will be given into enemy hands. When I cut off your supply of bread 10 women will be able to bake your bread in one oven and they will dole out the bread by weight you will eat but you will not be satisfied. If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me. Then in my anger I Steve Webb 10:00They will be hostile toward you. And I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over. You will eat the flesh of your sons in the flesh of your daughters. I will destroy your high places, cut down your incense altars, and pile your dead bodies on the lifeless forms of your idols. And I will abhor you. I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries. And I will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings. I myself will lay waste the land so that your enemies who live there will be appalled. I will scatter you among the nations and will dry out my sword and pursue you, your land will be laid waste and your cities will lie in ruins. Then the land will enjoy it Sabbath yours all the time that it lies desolate, and you are in the country of your enemies, then the land will rest and enjoy it Sabbath all the time that it lies desolate, the land will have the rest it did not have during the Sabbath you lived in it. As for those of you who are left, I will make their hearts so fearful in the lands of their enemies, that the sound of a wind blown leaf will put them to flight. They will run as though fleeing from the sword, and they will fall even though no one is pursuing them. They will stumble over one another as though fleeing from the sword, even though no one is pursuing them. So you will not be able to stand before Your enemies, you will perish among the nations the land of your enemies will devour you. Those of you who are left will waste away in the land of their enemies because of their sins. Also, because of their ancestors sins they will waste away. But if they will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors, their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, which made me hostile towards them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies. Then when their uncircumcised hearts are humbled, and they pay for their sin, I will remember my covenant with Jacob, and my covenant with Isaac, and my covenant with Abraham. And I will remember the land for the land will be deserted by them that will enjoy its Sabbath while it lies desolate without them. They will pay for their sins because they rejected my laws and aboard my decrees. Yet in spite of this, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or a poor them so as to destroy them completely breaking my covenant with them. I am the LORD their God, but for their sake, I will remember the covenant with our ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God, I am the Lord. These are the decrees the laws and the regulations that the Lord established in Mount Sinai between himself and the Israelites through Moses. Steve Webb 12:52Leviticus chapter 27. The Lord said to Moses, speak to the Israelites and say to them, when a person makes a solemn promise to the Lord involving the value of a person, if it is the value for a male between 20 and 60 years old, his value is 50 Silver shekels according to the sanctuary shekel, if the person is a female, her value is 30 shekels. If the age of the person is between five and 20 years, the value for a male is 20. shackles for a female 10 shekels. If the age of the person is between one month and five years, the value for a male is five silver shekels for a female three silver shackles. If the age of the person is 60 years or more, the value is 15 shekels if the person is male, 10 shekels for a female. But if financial difficulty prevents the promise maker from giving the full value, they must set the person before the priest, the priest will assign the person a value according to what the promise maker can afford. If a solemn promise involves livestock that can be offered to the Lord, any such animal given to the Lord will be considered holy. The promise maker cannot replace or substitute for it either good for bad or bad for good. But if one should substitute one animal for another, both it and the substitute will be holy. If the solemn promise involves any kind of unclean animal that cannot be offered to the Lord, the promise maker must set the animal before the priest, the priest will assign it a value whether high to low, its value will be what the priest says. If the promise maker wishes to buy it back, they must add 1/5 to its value. When someone dedicates their house to the Lord is holy, the priests will assign a value to it, whether high or low, the value is fixed whatever value the priest assigns to it. If the one who dedicates the house wishes to buy it back, they must add 1/5 to its valued price, and it will be there as again. If a person dedicates part of the land from their family property to the Lord, the value will be set according to the seed needed to Planet 50 Silver&#8217;s Steve Webb 15:00shekels per Homer of barley seed. If the person dedicates the piece of land during the Jubilee Year, its value will stay fixed. But if the person dedicates the piece after the Jubilee Year, the priest will calculate the price according to the years that are left until the next Jubilee Year, and the value will be reduced. If the one who dedicates the land wishes to buy it back, they must add 1/5 to its valued price and it will be there as again. But if they do not buy it back, or if it was sold to someone else, it is no longer able to be bought back. With the piece of land is released in the Jubilee year, it will be holy to the Lord like a piece of devoted land, it will be the priests property. If the person dedicates land they purchased to the Lord land that is not part of their family property, the priest will calculate the amount of its value until the Jubilee Year, the person must pay the value on that day is the holy donation to the Lord. In the Jubilee Year, the piece of land will return to the seller to the one who is the original owner of the family property. Every value will be according to the sanctuary shekel, the shackle will be 20 Garis. But note that a person cannot dedicate any oldest offspring from livestock which already belongs to the Lord because it is the oldest, whether ox or sheep, it belongs to the Lord. If it is an unclean animal, it may be bought back at its value plus 20%. If it is not bought back, it will be sold at its set value. Also note that everything someone devotes to the Lord from their possessions whether humans, animals or pieces of land from their family property, cannot be sold or bought back. Every devoted thing is most holy to the Lord. No human beings that have been devoted can be bought back, they must be executed. All 10th part gifts from the land whether of seed from the ground or fruit from the trees belong to the Lord, they are holy to the Lord. If someone wishes to buy back part of their 10th part gift, they must add 1/5 to it all 10th part gifts from a herd or flock, every 10th animal that passes under the shepherd staff will be holy to the Lord. The one bringing the 10th part gift must not pick out the good from the bad and cannot substitute any animal. But if one should substitute an animal, both it and the substitute will be holy and cannot be bought back. These are the commands that the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites. Steve Webb 17:31Today we&#8217;re going to talk about Leviticus 27. If you&#8217;ve been listening very long to the show, you&#8217;ve probably noticed that I am willing to talk about subjects that might make some people uncomfortable subjects that others might prefer to avoid. Well, my attitude is that those are the subjects that need to be talked about. God put them in his word because he considers them important. So let&#8217;s talk about money. Verses 30 through 33 of chapter 27 is about tithes. The translation we use for chapter 27 today use the term 10th part gifts. And verse 34. The closing verse of Leviticus says, These are the commands that the Lord gave Moses on Mount Sinai for the Israelites. So giving tithes was a command, it was an optional. The question is, are we as believers in Jesus obligated to tithe? So let&#8217;s do a little digging. First, what is a tithe? A tie there&#8217;s an offering of 10% and it did not originate with the Mosaic law. There are references to tithes being given all the way back in Genesis 14 And Genesis 28 before Moses was ever born. The New Testament does not give a requirement to tithe but it does mention the tithe with favor. One example is Hebrews seven four through 10 When Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek. Giving, however, is commanded in First Corinthians 16. One and two, Paul even said that not only should giving be done, but that it should be planned for and done regularly. He said, Now regarding your question about the money being collected for God&#8217;s people in Jerusalem, you should follow the same procedure I gave to the churches in Galatia. On the first day of each week, you should each put aside a portion of the money you&#8217;ve earned. Don&#8217;t wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once. Steve Webb 19:26And if that wasn&#8217;t enough, in Second Corinthians eight eight Paul says that giving is a test of our love for God and those who do his work. And in Second Corinthians nine six Paul compares giving to a farmer, the farmer who plants sparingly will reap sparingly, the one who plants generously will reap generously. And then he goes on in the very next verse and says that each person must decide in his or her own heart, how much to give, and don&#8217;t give reluctantly or because of pressure, why Paul said Steve Webb 20:00Time for God loves a person who gives cheerfully and he says God will generously provide all you need, then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. And in First Corinthians nine seven through 14, Paul says that we should give to those who feed us spiritually. Verses 11 through 14 say if we sowed spiritual things in you, is it so much to ask to harvest some material things from you? If others have these rights over you? Don&#8217;t we deserve them all, the more. However, we haven&#8217;t made use of this right, but we put up with everything. So we don&#8217;t put any obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Don&#8217;t you know that those who serve in the temple get to eat food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share part of what is sacrificed on the altar. In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who preach the gospel should get their living from the gospel. And remember, this is Paul&#8217;s speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Beloved, if we accept the Bible is true, then we need to accept these verses is true. Now, let me tell you my experience in giving. First, I was not brought up in a believing home. My parents didn&#8217;t go to church, though my mom did, at least in her teen years. And I wasn&#8217;t even aware of that fact, until after she passed away when I was going through some of her papers, and found that she was a leader in our youth group. But since my dad was very much anti church and anti God, going to church was a non starter when I was a boy. I tell you that to say that I did not have any training from home on giving to God&#8217;s work. Now when I got saved as a teenager, I&#8217;ve got to admit that I was a stingy giver. I didn&#8217;t mind putting $1 Or maybe a five into my offering envelope, but I never gave anything approaching a tithe. I never even considered giving a tie that never entered my mind. Man. Once I became an adult and was aware of tithing, I rationalized that Christians are under the new covenant and were therefore not obligated to tithe, so I didn&#8217;t need to give 10% By the end, I&#8217;d graduated to regularly dropping a $20 bill into the offering plate. I figured that God loves a cheerful giver, and I didn&#8217;t feel too badly about putting a 20 in, but much more than that it would be more difficult to be cheerful. Steve Webb 22:18And then sometime in my 40s, I think it was after I&#8217;d been faithfully serving God in my church for many years. My wife, the lovely lady, Leanne suggested that we start typing. I told her that we were under the new covenant and yada yada yada. Well, unlike me, Leanne had literally grown up in church. Her parents were faithful believers who were at church whenever the doors were opened, and that is not an exaggeration. They were a military family and wherever they were stationed, the first thing they do when they got into a new town was to find the local Assemblies of God church, and immediately get plugged in. So Leanne had an excellent example of faithful giving, and specifically tithing at a minimum. So when I gave Leann My reasoning for not tithing, she did what every good Christian wife should do. She threw a fit, she argued with me. She said, we have to, no she didn&#8217;t. She accepted my answer. But then she began to pray for me. She didn&#8217;t tell me that she was praying specifically for this, but I know now that that&#8217;s what she was doing. And then over time, I began to question myself. I don&#8217;t remember if this process took several months, or even a year or more, but one day in a time of prayer, I remembered the verse and Malikai, bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, test me in this says the Lord Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. Steve Webb 23:51So I said, Okay, God, I&#8217;ll try it. I&#8217;ll give tithes and I&#8217;ll see if I can still pay the bills, or words to that effect. Steve Webb 24:00Well, of course, Leanne was thrilled. I can&#8217;t say that I was thrilled. But God had shown me in other ways that he&#8217;s faithful. So I was willing to take the step of faith. And it was a step of faith. We had a mortgage, we had three sons. We only had my business to pay the bills. Leanne was a stay at home mom. So all we had was my income. Well, how did the test turn out? Let me answer it this way. I have never, we have never gone back to stingy giving. That doesn&#8217;t mean that God has made us financially rich. Over the years, we&#8217;ve had some lean years and some fat years, there have been times where we literally had zero in the bank account, and we had nothing to give. But as soon as there was something from which to give, we typed and sometimes we&#8217;ve given above and beyond the tithe when we saw someone in need or for a special project. And it was after we began to tithe that God called me to begin the world&#8217;s first Christian podcast. I won&#8217;t tell the whole story here Steve Webb 25:00because most of you have heard it, but for new people, I&#8217;ll just say it a nutshell. I was praying one day thanking God for all the blessings he brought into our lives. And I asked him if there was anything more that I could do for him. And that&#8217;s when he spoke to me and said, proclaim My name. There&#8217;s a lot more to the story, and you can read it it Steve dot Lifespring media.com. If you&#8217;re interested, I&#8217;ll just say this financially. I am not a wealthy man, far from it. But God has blessed my life and my family so very much. Sure we have struggles like everybody else. But Leanne and I have a wonderful marriage. And we have a faith in God that is deep and abiding. Steve Webb 25:40God has shown me that trusting Him in all things, even in giving is something that he does bless. Are we required to tithe? No, but it&#8217;s my firm conviction that at least a tithe is an appropriate amount to return to the God who gave His one and only Son so that I might live in eternity with Him. I recommend it. As the Scripture says in Malikai 310, bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this says the Lord God Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. So yeah, take him up on his offer. Test him. What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Do you have a story about giving to share? Do so at Lifespring media.com/s 12, e 222. Scroll to the bottom of the page and tell me all about it. In our reading tomorrow, we&#8217;ll begin the book of First Chronicles, we&#8217;ll read the first four chapters. Boost. Steve Webb 26:48Well, this must be duck hunting season because no duck showed up, let alone a row of ducks. So let&#8217;s move on. But remember, there are still about five months left to season 12 of the Lifespring family Audio Bible. I&#8217;m going to continue to need your support if we&#8217;re going to make it to the end. I&#8217;m willing to put the time in every day to study write, record, edit, create new show art, upload the mp3 right show notes and still attempt to be there for the lovely lady Leanne, but I have to know you&#8217;re with me, are you? If you are then I need to hear from you. Lifespring media.com/support You decide how much or how little the show means to you. That&#8217;s between you and God. Thank you, and God bless you. Steve Webb 27:41On this date in church history, April 11 1836, George Mueller, a leader of the Plymouth Brethren opened his famous orphanage on Wilson Street in Bristol, England. By 1875. His ministry provided care for more than 2000 children. Steve Webb 28:07Let&#8217;s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank You for Your word because it&#8217;s in the pages of the Bible that we learn about you and we learn what kind of people you want us to be. Help us to know you better, Lord, and help us to follow you better. I thank you for the Lifespring family Lord and ask that you bless each one who&#8217;s listening right now in a very special way. I pray this in Jesus name, amen. If you&#8217;ve got a prayer request or praise, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 28:42Comment on the show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 222. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com support the show please at Lifespring media.com/support. Until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thank you for being here today. My name is Steve Webb. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Executive Producer Roderick Podcast Introduction Today we will complete the book of&#160; 2 Thessalonians.&#160;I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “Keep Your Eye On the Ball.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: The Lovely Lady LeeAnn Comments on 2 Thessalonians Paul was telling the church at Thessalonica that they shouldn’t panic when people come around saying that Jesus had already returned. Yes, Jesus is coming back, to be sure. And it will be a very good thing when He does, but there are some things that must happen before that takes place. And then Paul tells them a few things to look for. We’ll look at them again, but it’s important to know that these are not the only things that must happen before the Lord returns. Some people have made a career trying to decipher all of the prophecies given in the Bible about the “end times”, and while it is interesting to study this subject, it’s more important to live our lives in such a way that we fulfill our part of the Great Commission, the last thing Jesus said before he was taken up to Heaven. In Matthew 28:19-20 He said: “…go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Some people have gotten off the track. They’ve forgotten about those parting instructions of Jesus and focused on watching for His return, and in the process have gotten so off the mark that they have ruined lives&#8230;their own and their followers. Don’t do that. Be aware of the signs, but stay focused on doing the business that Jesus gave us to do. And with that, let’s look at the signs Paul pointed out here in 2 Thessalonians. In the second chapter, verses 3 and 4 Paul said: &#8220;Don&#8217;t let anyone trick you in any way. That day will not come until people rise up against God. It will not come until the man of sin appears. He is a marked man. He is sentenced to be destroyed. 4He will oppose everything that is called God. He will oppose everything that is worshiped. He will give himself power over everything. He will set himself up in God&#8217;s temple. He will announce that he himself is God.&#8221; From that description, it sounds like this could happen any day, doesn&#8217;t it? People are turning against God all around the world. Church attendance has been trending down here in America for some time, and of course the pandemic made it worse.&#160; But this is not just an American phenomenon. Much of Europe has already turned its back on God. The same is true of Asia.&#160; Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world right now. And make no mistake, the god of Islam is not the God of the Bible. I could spend hours comparing and contrasting Allah with the true and loving and holy God of the Bible.&#160; It seems as if the world is ready for the one Paul calls the man of sin. It’s my personal opinion that this man could very well be alive today. Yes, I believe that the time is very short before these things happen.&#160; But… My job is not to stop everything and wait for that day to arrive. Nor is that your job. Our job is to keep our eye on the ball…do what Jesus told us to do. Make disciples. Live in such a manner that others will see a difference, a *good* difference in you. Let them see that even though the world may be falling apart, you have the peace that passes all understanding because you know the One who holds the future. Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 1-3 NIRV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00Don&#8217;t do that. Steve Webb 0:08This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God caster Steve Webb, welcome. I&#8217;m glad you&#8217;re here. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year and today we&#8217;re going to read the entire book of Second Thessalonians. It&#8217;s only three short chapters. I&#8217;ll have some comments when we&#8217;re done with the reading and I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode. Keep your eye on the ball. The show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 v 221. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Let&#8217;s begin. Steve Webb 0:48Second Thessalonians chapter one. I Paul and writing this letter, Silas and Timothy, join me in writing. We are sending this letter to you the members of the church in Thessalonica. You belong to God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May God the father in the LORD Jesus Christ give you grace in peace. Brothers and sisters, we should always thank God for you. That is only right, because your faith is growing more and more. The Love you all have for each other is increasing. So among God&#8217;s churches, we brag about the fact that you don&#8217;t give up easily. We brag about your faith and all the suffering and testing you&#8217;re going through. All of this proves that when God judges he is fair. So you will be considered worthy to enter God&#8217;s kingdom. You are suffering for His Kingdom. God is fair, he will pay back trouble to those who give you trouble. He will help you who are troubled and he will also help us. All of those things will happen when the Lord Jesus appears from heaven. He will come and blazing fire, he will come with the angels who are given the power to do what God wants. He will punish those who don&#8217;t know God, He will punish those who don&#8217;t obey the good news about our Lord Jesus. They will be destroyed forever. They will be shut out of heaven. They will never see the glory of the Lord&#8217;s power. All of those things will happen when he comes on that day his glory will be seen in his holy temple. Everyone who is believed will be amazed when they see him. That includes you, because you believed the witness we gave you. Keeping this in mind, we never stopped praying for you. Our God has chosen you. We pray that he will consider you worthy of his choice. We pray that by His power, he will make every good thing you have planned come true. We pray that he will make perfect all that you have done by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus will receive glory through what you have done. We also pray that you will receive glory through what he has done. We pray all these things in keeping with the grace of our God in the Lord Jesus Christ. Steve Webb 2:59Second Thessalonians chapter two. Steve Webb 3:03Brothers and sisters, we want to ask you something. It has to do with the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. It concerns the time when we will go to be with him. What if you receive a prophecy report or letter that is supposed to have come from us? What if it says that the day of the Lord has already come? If it does, we ask you not to become easily upset or alarmed. Don&#8217;t let anyone trick you in any way. That day will not come until people rise up against God. It will not come until the man of sin appears. He is a marked man. He is sentenced to be destroyed. He will oppose everything that is called God. He will oppose everything that is worshipped. He will give himself power over everything. He will set himself up in God&#8217;s temple, he will announce that he himself is God. Don&#8217;t you remember, when I was with you? I used to tell you those things. Now you know what is holding the man of sin back. He has held back so that he can make his appearance at the right time. The secret power of sin is already at work. But the one who now holds that power back will keep doing it until he is taken out of the way. Then the man of sin will appear. The Lord Jesus will overthrow him with a breath of his mouth. The glorious brightness of Jesus coming will destroy the man of sin. The coming of the man of sin will be Satan&#8217;s work. His work will be seen in all kinds of fake miracles, signs and wonders. It will be seen in every kind of evil that fools people who are dying. They are dying because they refuse to love the truth. The truth would save them. So God will fool them completely. Then they will believe the lie. Many will not believe the truth. They will take pleasure and evil. They will be judged. Brothers and sisters, we should always thank God for you. The Lord loves you. God chose you from the beginning. He wanted you to be saved salvation comes through the Holy Spirit&#8217;s work. He makes people holy. It also comes through believing the truth. He chose you to be saved by accepting the good news that we preach, and you will share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Brothers and sisters stand firm. Hold on to what we taught you. We passed our teachings on to you by what we preached and wrote, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and God our Father loved us. By His grace, God gave us comfort that will last forever. The hope he gave us is good. May our Lord Jesus Christ in God, our Father, comfort your hearts. May they make you strong in every good thing you do and say. Steve Webb 5:44Second Thessalonians chapter three. Finally, brothers and sisters, pray for us. Pray that the Lord&#8217;s message will spread quickly. Pray that others will honor it just as you did. And pray that we will be saved from sinful and evil people. Not everyone is a believer. But the Lord is faithful, He will strengthen you, he will guard you from the evil one. We trust in the Lord. So we&#8217;re sure that you are doing the things we tell you to do. And we&#8217;re sure that you will keep on doing them. May the Lord fill your hearts with God&#8217;s love. May Christ give you the strength to go on. Brothers and sisters, here&#8217;s a command we give you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Keep away from every believer who doesn&#8217;t want to work. Keep away from anyone who doesn&#8217;t live up to the teaching you received from us. You know how you should follow our example. We worked when we were with you. We didn&#8217;t need anyone&#8217;s food without paying for it. In fact, it was just the opposite. We worked night and day, we worked very hard, so that we wouldn&#8217;t cause any expense to any of you. We worked even though we have the right to receive help from you. We did it in order to be a model for you to follow. Even when we were with you, we gave you a rule. We said anyone who will not work will not eat. We hear that some people among you don&#8217;t want to work. They aren&#8217;t really busy. Instead, they are bothering others. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. So we strongly command people like that to settle down, they have to earn the food they eat. Brothers and sisters, don&#8217;t ever get tired of doing the right thing. Keep an eye on anyone who doesn&#8217;t obey the directions in our letter. Watch that person closely. Have nothing to do with him, then he will feel ashamed. But don&#8217;t think of him as an enemy. Instead, warn him as the brother or sister. May the Lord who gives peace give you peace at all times. And in every way. May the Lord be with all of you. I Paul write this greeting in my own handwriting. That&#8217;s how I prove that I am the author of all my letters, I always do it that way. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Steve Webb 7:57In chapter two, Paul was telling the church at Thessalonica that they shouldn&#8217;t panic when people come around saying that Jesus had already returned. Yes, Jesus is coming back to be sure. And it will be a very good thing when he does. But there are some things that have to happen before His return. And Paul tells them a few things to look out for. We&#8217;ll talk about that. But first, it&#8217;s important to know that these are not the only things that must happen before the Lord returns. Now, some people have made a career of trying to decipher all the prophecies given in the Bible about the end times. And while it is an interesting thing to study, it&#8217;s more important to live our lives in such a way that we fulfill our part of the Great Commission. The last thing Jesus said before he was taken up to heaven was Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I&#8217;ve commanded you. Well, some people have gotten off that track. They&#8217;ve forgotten about those parting instructions of Jesus, and they focused on watching for His return. And in the process, they&#8217;ve gotten so off the mark, that they have ruined lives, their own and their followers. Don&#8217;t do that. Be aware of the signs but stay focused on doing the business that Jesus gave us to do. So having said that, let&#8217;s look at the signs that Paul pointed out here in Second Thessalonians chapter two. In verses three and four, Paul said, Don&#8217;t let anyone trick you in any way, that day will not come until people rise up against God. It will not come until the man of sin appears. He is a marked man. He is sentenced to be destroyed. He will oppose everything that is called God. He will oppose everything that is worshipped. He will give himself power over everything. He will set himself up in God&#8217;s temple and He will announce that he himself is God. Well, I have to say that from that description, it says As like this could happen almost any day, doesn&#8217;t it? People are turning against God all around the world. Church attendance has been trending down here in America for some time. And of course, the pandemic made it worse. But this is not just an American phenomenon. Much of Europe has already turned its back on God and the same is true of Asia, then make no mistake, Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world right now. I&#8217;ve made a study of it. And I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the God of Islam is not the God of the Bible. I could spend hours comparing and contrasting Allah with the true and loving and holy God of the Bible. But that&#8217;s not what we&#8217;re here for. But with the growth of Islam, it is obvious that people are turning away from the one true God. Now it seems as if the world is ready for the one Paul called the man of sin. And it is my personal opinion that this man could very well be alive today. I&#8217;ve already said on the show here, I believe that the time is short before these things happen. But my job is not to stop everything and wait for that day to arrive. Nor is that your job. Our job is to keep our eye on the ball to do what Jesus told us to do, to make disciples to live in such a manner that others will see a difference, a good difference in us. Let people see that even though the world may be falling apart. We have the peace that passes all understanding, because we know the One who holds the future. What do you have to say? What do you think? Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 221. Scroll to the bottom of the page and tell me your thoughts are reading tomorrow will be Leviticus 25 through 27 Boost boost boost boost boost boost. Steve Webb 11:57We have an executive producer today. Roderick came in with his monthly $50 donation Roderick. God bless you, my brother. I appreciate it. Thank you for your support. And remember that tomorrow&#8217;s episode will be number 222 the perfect time for a row of ducks donation, make your donation today at Lifespring media.com/support. Or do a special row of ducks booster gram. If you&#8217;d like to know how to become an executive producer or an associate producer or a distinguished producer. You can find the details at Lifespring media.com/support. Hey also, I added a way to send sets from the show notes page if you&#8217;ve got a Bitcoin or lightning Wallet. So even if you don&#8217;t have a podcasting 2.0 podcast app, you can still send Satoshi to support the show. That form will be on every show notes page going forward. Steve Webb 12:59On this date in church history, April 10 1827, Lewis Wallace was born. He was an American Civil War soldier, lawyer, diplomat and the author of Ben Hur A Tale of the Christ. He wrote that in 1880 Amazingly, that book sold more than 300,000 copies in its first decade. He was the best selling religious author of his day, but he never officially joined a church. Steve Webb 13:35Let&#8217;s pray. Our gracious and loving Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for telling us what to watch for his signs of the last days. But Lord, keep us focused on the important work of sharing the good news with a lost and dying world. Lord, give us opportunities to give the life saving message of the risen Christ to the people in our paths so that they will be ready when Jesus does return. Lord, I asked you that you bless the Lifespring family today. And if there&#8217;s anyone listening now who&#8217;s hurting, I pray that you would hold them in your arms and comfort them. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you&#8217;ve got a prayer request or a praise, please go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com And tell me about it. Their information will be emailed to me and I&#8217;ll pray for you and my private prayer time and we&#8217;ll pray together here on the show. Steve Webb 14:31I&#8217;d love to hear what you think about today&#8217;s show. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 221. And let me know if you&#8217;d rather you can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And please do help support the show and send in your row ducks donations at Lifespring media.com/support Until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thank you for being here. I always love to see your smiling face. My name is Steve Webb. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction This is history Tuesday, and we will finish the book of Esther by reading chapters 6-10, which will also complete our reading of the entire Bible for season 12 of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, the last “live” season of the show. I’m calling today’s show, “Coincidence? I Think Not.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Tim Webb Comments on Esther 6 Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish His plans? There are some people who believe that once God finished His work of creation, He stepped away and let events on earth happen on their own. Seems like a foolish notion to me. Here in Esther 6, we have an example of how God orchestrates the events of man for His purposes. The king is unable to sleep on the very night that Haman is plotting to kill Mordecai, so he does what many of us do. He decides to read a book, hoping that will make him sleepy. Think of it. Ahasuerus is the king of the most powerful kingdom on earth, so he could have done almost anything for a diversion, but he chooses to read a book. He orders that a book of remembrances be brought to him. He had a kingdom of 127 provinces, so I can imagine that this book of remembrances had several volumes, can&#8217;t you? But the person who was tasked with bringing the book brought the volume that included the account of how Mordecai saved the king from assassination. And the servant opened the book to the very page with that record. What are the odds? Well, with God, the odds are 100%. Without God, who knows? There had to have been many remembrances in the book, but on this specific night, this specific page was opened.&#160; Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish His plans? Of course He does. Has God ever intervened in your life like this? Can you remember a time where the course of your life was changed by a seemingly random event? Let me tell you about a time this happened to me. It happened in 2004. It was a Saturday in September, I think. I turned on the radio to listen to a talk show about technology. It was normally a call-in type show where people would ask the host for help with their tech devices. But when I turned on the radio, the host was interviewing a guy, and the guy was telling the host about new thing he had invented where radio-type shows could be automatically downloaded to people&#8217;s computers. And better still, every time a new show was created, the new episodes would just show up on their computers. And then, they could transfer the new shows to their portable mp3 player and listened to whenever they wanted. This idea sounded pretty interesting to me, having been in radio in the late 70s and early 80s.&#160; Of course, this new invention was podcasting. The interviewer was Leo Laporte and the interviewee was Adam Curry, whom I am now happy to not only call my friend, but ecstatic to call my brother in the Lord, but that&#8217;s a different story. Or is it?&#160; Just a week or so before I heard this interview, I had asked God what more I could do to serve Him. I was already the tech guy at my church and putting a lot of time into that, but I wanted to do more for God since He had been so very good to me and had blessed me with a wonderful wife, great kids, a business that paid the bills and a home. I just wanted to be available to do whatever God had for me. I prayed and asked God what more I could do, and His answer was a very clear, almost audible, &#8220;Proclaim my name.&#8221; So, was it just a random event when I heard Adam Curry telling Leo Laporte about podcasting? I don&#8217;t think so. God prompted me to turn on the radio at just the right time, and on November 13, 2004 I uploaded the world&#8217;s first Christian podcast to my church&#8217;s website. Within days I received emails from around the world telling me stories of how God was using my podcast to bring them to Jesus. God was using my little podcast in miraculous ways.&#160; But the story doesn&#8217;t end there. From the first podcast, that I called &#8220;Lifespring!&#8221;, I created several other podcasts, one of which was the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Because of that show, a person asked me to record the entire Douay Rheims Bible, and because of that project, I wrote Webb&#8217;s Easy Bible Names Pronunciation Guide, which was published in 2012 and has helped many, many people as they study and teach and preach God&#8217;s Word. Also, because of podcasting, I have a career doing voice overs for radio and TV commercials, videos for companies around the world, church videos, and so much more, something I never dreamed could happen. My life was changed when God orchestrated events on that September Saturday in 2004. Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish His plans? I most certainly do. Podcast Expo 2006 Greg (Cohost of the Rosary Army podcast), Steve Webb (Lifespring Family of Podcasts), Fr. Roderick (Catholic Insider, Daily Breakfast), LeeAnn Webb (Lifespring!&#8217;s Your Wedding, Your Way), Jennifer (Cohost of the Rosary Army podcast) Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 6-7 ESV; Ch. 8 NLT; Ch. 9 NIV; Ch. 10 NKJV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. STEVE WEBB &#8211; 0:00Do you believe that God orders the events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans? INTRO S12E363 &#8211; 0:13One more time! Coming to you from Riverside, California. This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And podcasting since 2004, I am your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. This is History Tuesday, and we&#8217;ll finish the book of Esther by reading chapters 6 through 10 which will also complete our reading of the entire Bible for season 12 of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, the last live season of the show. More about that a bit later. I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode &#8220;Coincidence? I Think Not.&#8221; As promised on yesterday&#8217;s show. I&#8217;ll be talking about my plans for the future after my comments on Esther today. I&#8217;ll be sharing some of the ideas that came in from the “The Next Step” emails you sent in. And of course, we&#8217;ll have a time of prayer. Today&#8217;s show notes page is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e363. Let&#8217;s begin. ESTHER 6 (ESV) &#8211; 1:12Esther, chapter 6. (1) On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. (2) And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. (3) And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” (4) And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. (5) And the king’s young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” (6) So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” (7) And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, (8) let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. (9) And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” (10) Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” (11) So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.” (12) Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. (13) And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.” (14) While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared. ESTHER 7 (ESV) &#8211; 3:35Esther, chapter 7. (1) So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. (2) And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” (3) Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. (4) For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” (5) Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” (6) And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen. (7) And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. (8) And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face. (9) Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” (10) So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated. ESTHER 8 (NLT) &#8211; 5:24Esther, chapter 8. (1) On that same day King Xerxes gave the property of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Then Mordecai was brought before the king, for Esther had told the king how they were related. (2) The king took off his signet ring—which he had taken back from Haman—and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s property. (3) Then Esther went again before the king, falling down at his feet and begging him with tears to stop the evil plot devised by Haman the Agagite against the Jews. (4) Again the king held out the gold scepter to Esther. So she rose and stood before him. (5) Esther said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor with him, and if he thinks it is right, and if I am pleasing to him, let there be a decree that reverses the orders of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, who ordered that Jews throughout all the king’s provinces should be destroyed. (6) For how can I endure to see my people and my family slaughtered and destroyed?” (7) Then King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “I have given Esther the property of Haman, and he has been impaled on a pole because he tried to destroy the Jews. (8) Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews in the king’s name, telling them whatever you want, and seal it with the king’s signet ring. But remember that whatever has already been written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring can never be revoked.” (9) So on June 25 the king’s secretaries were summoned, and a decree was written exactly as Mordecai dictated. It was sent to the Jews and to the highest officers, the governors, and the nobles of all the 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. The decree was written in the scripts and languages of all the peoples of the empire, including that of the Jews. (10) The decree was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the king’s signet ring. Mordecai sent the dispatches by swift messengers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king’s service. (11) The king’s decree gave the Jews in every city authority to unite to defend their lives. They were allowed to kill, slaughter, and annihilate anyone of any nationality or province who might attack them or their children and wives, and to take the property of their enemies. (12) The day chosen for this event throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was March 7 of the next year. (13) A copy of this decree was to be issued as law in every province and proclaimed to all peoples, so that the Jews would be ready to take revenge on their enemies on the appointed day. (14) So urged on by the king’s command, the messengers rode out swiftly on fast horses bred for the king’s service. The same decree was also proclaimed in the fortress of Susa. (15) Then Mordecai left the king’s presence, wearing the royal robe of blue and white, the great crown of gold, and an outer cloak of fine linen and purple. And the people of Susa celebrated the new decree. (16) The Jews were filled with joy and gladness and were honored everywhere. (17) In every province and city, wherever the king’s decree arrived, the Jews rejoiced and had a great celebration and declared a public festival and holiday. And many of the people of the land became Jews themselves, for they feared what the Jews might do to them. ESTHER 9 (NIV) &#8211; 8:46Esther, chapter 9. (1) On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. (2) The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. (3) And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. (4) Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful. (5) The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. (6) In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. (7) They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, (8) Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, (9) Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, (10) the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder. (11) The number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day. (12) The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted.” (13) “If it pleases the king,” Esther answered, “give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day’s edict tomorrow also, and let Haman’s ten sons be impaled on poles.” (14) So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they impaled the ten sons of Haman. (15) The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder. (16) Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. (17) This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy. (18) The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy. (19) That is why rural Jews—those living in villages—observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other. (20) Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, (21) to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar (22) as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor. (23) So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. (24) For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. (25) But when the plot came to the king’s attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. (26) (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, (27) the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. (28) These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants. (29) So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. (30) And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom—words of goodwill and assurance— (31) to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. (32) Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records. ESTHER 10 (NKJV) &#8211; 13:44Esther, chapter 10. (1) And King imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. (2) Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? (3) For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen. COMMENTS &#8211; 14:17Beloved, I have a question for you. Do you believe that God orders the events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans? There are some people who believe that once God finished His work of creation, he stepped away, took his hands off, and let events on earth happen on their own. To me, that seems sort of foolish, but that&#8217;s what some people think. Well, here in Esther, we have an example of how God does orchestrate the events of man for his purposes. The king was unable to sleep on the very night that Haman was plotting to kill Mordecai. So the king does what many of us do, he decided to read a book hoping that that&#8217;ll make him sleepy. Think of it. Ahasuerus is the king of the most powerful kingdom on earth, so he could have done almost anything for a diversion, but he chose to read a book. He orders that a book of remembrances be brought to him. Now he had a kingdom of 127 provinces, so I can imagine that this book of remembrances probably had several volumes, can&#8217;t you? But the person who was tasked with bringing the book brought the volume that included the account of how Mordecai saved the king from assassination. And the servant opened the book to the very page with that record. What are the odds? Well, with God, the odds are 100%. Without God, who knows? There had been many remembrances in that book. But on this specific night, this specific page was opened. Coincidence? I think not. Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans? Of course he does. Has God ever intervened in your life like this? Can you remember a time where the course of your life was changed by a seemingly random event? Let me tell you about a time this happened to me. And some of you know this story. But it happened in 2004. It was a Saturday in September, I think it was. And I turned on the radio to listen to a talk show about technology. This was normally a call-in type show where people would ask the host for help with their tech devices. But when I turned on the radio, the host was interviewing a guy, and the guy was telling the host about this new thing he invented where radio-type shows would be automatically downloaded to people&#8217;s computers. And better still, every time a new show was created. The new episodes would just show up on their computers, and then they could transfer the new shows onto their portable mp3 player, and they could listen to them whenever they wanted. Well, this idea sounded pretty interesting to me having been in radio in the late 1970s and early 1980s. And, of course, this new invention was podcasting. The interviewer was Leo Laporte, and the interviewee was Adam Curry, whom I am now happy to not only call my friend, but ecstatic to call my brother in the Lord. But that&#8217;s a different story. Well, just a week before I heard this interview, I had asked God, what more I could do to serve him. I was already the tech guy at my church and putting in a lot of time in that. But I wanted to do more for God since he had been so very good to me and had blessed me with a wonderful wife, great kids, a business that paid the bills and a home. I just wanted to be available to do whatever God had for me. I prayed and I asked God, what more I could do. And his answer was a very clear almost audible, “Proclaim my name.” So was it just a random event when I heard Adam Curry telling Leo Laporte about podcasting? I don&#8217;t think so. God prompted me to turn on that radio at just the right time. And on November 13, 2004, I uploaded the world&#8217;s first Christian podcast to my church&#8217;s website. And within days, I received emails from around the world telling me stories of how God was using my podcast to bring them to Jesus. God was using my little podcast in miraculous ways. But the story doesn&#8217;t end there. From that first podcast that I called Lifespring. I created several other podcasts, one of which was the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And because of that show, a person asked me to record the entire Douay-Rheims Bible. And because of that project, I wrote Webb&#8217;s Easy Bible Names Pronunciation Guide, which was published in 2012, and has helped many, many people as they study and teach and preach God&#8217;s word. And also because of podcasting, I&#8217;ve got a career doing voiceovers for radio and TV commercials and videos for companies around the world and church videos and so much more. Something I never would have dreamed would happen. My life was changed when God orchestrated events on that September Saturday in 2004. Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans? I sure do. You have a comment? Let me know. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e363. I&#8217;d love to hear from you. Boost. THE NEXT STEP &#8211; 19:27Normally, this is the time where we do the donation segment, but I want to talk to you first about what my plans are. So here we are at the last episode of the final fully live season of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. I guess there should probably be an asterisk there on “fully live” since by definition a podcast isn&#8217;t really live, but now with a brand new lit tag in the Podcasting 2.0 namespace. That&#8217;s even no longer true, but let&#8217;s not get too geeky here. You know what I mean. I will no longer be producing episodes of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible with new content every day. It isn&#8217;t that I&#8217;ve lost interest. It isn&#8217;t that I don&#8217;t want to. It&#8217;s just that I have to step back because I have to take care of myself. I have a wonderfully understanding and patient and supportive wife who deserves much, much more of my attention, and for whom I would love to do some projects that have been simmering on the back burner for literally years. And I&#8217;ve got grandchildren and sons and daughters-in-law with whom I would love to spend time, and I&#8217;ve got hobbies that I&#8217;d like to get back to. But at the same time, I am a firm believer that there really is no retirement plan for Christians. As long as God continues to give me breath, he&#8217;s got a job for me to do for His kingdom. And I believe that&#8217;s true for every believer. Like Paul said, I want to finish the race. I don&#8217;t plan on dropping out of the race. I want to finish strong, stretching for the finish line. So what I did, as you know, is I asked you to send me emails for what my next step should be. And many of you did, for which I am grateful. I tried, and I think I succeeded in responding to each email, and if I missed responding to yours, believe me it was not intentional. And I&#8217;m sorry, if I did miss you. What I want to do right now is share some of these emails with you. I&#8217;m doing this because there are some ideas that came through in here, and some reasons for the decision that I have made going forward. So the first one, I think appropriately is from Brother Paul of Seattle. He says, “Hi, Steve, I think you&#8217;re recording the last episode of the Family Audio Bible tomorrow or Monday. So I just wanted to say a huge thank you for putting out the daily Family Audio Bible. It&#8217;s interesting to see how God led me to the podcast through TWiT, Leo Laporte saying he was totally opposite politically of No Agenda in some sidebar, and I thought, hey, I should check that out. So from TWiT I went to No Agenda, and then from No Agenda to the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. It only took 16 years. I am very happy as listening to the Family Audio Bible rekindled my relationship with God. And I believe God has brought me back to his path. I still struggle as I know everyone does. But my prayer is for God to continue to work in my life, grow my faith in Him, learn to listen to him, and look for how I can serve God with my life, not just continue doing the job every day. So thank you for listening to God&#8217;s calling 17 plus years ago, I don&#8217;t know how many lives God has changed through you. But I know that there is at least one. I&#8217;m looking forward to seeing what podcasts you&#8217;re going to do. And I already subscribe to the all media feed. And by the way, it was for me a little hard to find the all media feed.” I&#8217;m gonna stop right there for just a second, if you were searching for the Lifespring all media feed, that might be one of the problems that you had. It&#8217;s the Lifespring Media All Shows Feed. I tried this out just a little while ago, and I went to my different podcast apps that I have on my phone, and I did a search for Lifespring Media All Shows Feed, and it shows up every time. So if you look for Lifespring all media feed, that might be why it was difficult. That&#8217;s my guess. Continuing the email here. “I know I mentioned this in a previous email, but I&#8217;m serious about wanting to help in some way with Lifespring Media. I don&#8217;t know what that would be or what I could do. But if you need help with something, let me know. Signed, Paul” Brother Paul, thank you so much for that. I don&#8217;t know what your skills are. But keep listening because there&#8217;s something that&#8217;s going to come up a little bit later that if you have skills in this area, for sure I would want your help. So keep listening. And again, thank you so much for your email and for all the support and encouragement you&#8217;ve given me this year. So thank you, Paul. And then here&#8217;s another one. “Hi, Steve, Sir Snide here. ITM.” In The Morning to you Sir Snide. He says, “I want to thank you for what you&#8217;ve done, and let you know that it has enriched my life and walk with God. Being an engineer, I have had many thoughts about possible next steps a lot over the past several days. From a personally selfish perspective, I would like things to continue as is. But this is neither respectful nor feasible. So the engineer in me kicks in and my mind ran through many possible outcomes. Number one, do nothing and let people access the archives to read the Bible again on their schedule, very manual and high friction for the user, but easiest to accomplish. Number two, automate and rebroadcast the last season with pre-canned intro about it being a rebroadcast and the donor segment is from last year and please support the rebroadcast cost by donating again on the value-for-value model as servers, storage and bandwidth cost. May be simple to accomplish. Has the advantage that podcast apps can pick them up on a published schedule, which makes it easier for the user. Number three, if you still have the raw files and if you recorded things in segments, you could create an evergreen version that has the scripture reading, your best or favorite commentary from the past seasons, this day in history, and a canned value-for-value donation request for the servers, storage and bandwidth as in point two. This has the advantage to be able to be replayed year after year with minimal effort after the evergreen episodes are created. Still benefits users with a scheduled release for their podcast apps to handle, but I fear some of the personality and special extras from time-to-time would disappear. But also at the same time, it would not grow stale due to old prayer requests and other time-anchored elements. Number four, find a successor and mentor them and allow them to become the host for this podcast adding a second personality to your Lifespring Media setup. So turning off my engineering mode, I will support your future choices and treasure the blessings of this podcast that I have received over the past year. I leave it in your capable hands and I&#8217;m sure God will make his will clear to you. Best regards, Sir Snide.” Thank you, Sir Snide, for all of those suggestions. They were all good. I agree with you on your evaluation of each option, but they were some very good suggestions there. Thank you, Sir Snide. I appreciate it very much. And now I have a short one from Denise; yes, Denise who helps with the transcriptions. She said some very nice things. And then, she says, “I love history. So I&#8217;d vote for a weekly church history podcast, 20 minutes on an historical figure or event in church history. Or do a daily reading from someone&#8217;s journal, like John Wesley&#8217;s, for instance, and do, like, a year-in-the-life of John Wesley, but I don&#8217;t know how that would work with a weekly podcast.” She said, “I liked Susan from Oregon&#8217;s idea of doing a weekly podcast on current social issues. And I also liked Jane&#8217;s idea of keeping the daily Bible readings going but doing a weekly commentary.” I could make a hybrid of Sir Snide’s suggestion of reassembling the shows. That&#8217;s… that would be a possibility. And then she volunteered this last wonderful little bit. She said, “If you need any help with transcripts or research in the next season, if there is a next season, I&#8217;d be glad to help with that.” She said, “God bless you and LeeAnn and enjoy your visit with little Penelope this coming week.” Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Denise. Those are great ideas. And yeah, stay tuned. And now from John Taves from Candanavia. He&#8217;s been around these parts for many, many years now. He wrote some very nice things as well. And then he said, “Ideas could include reading a smaller part of the Bible, just the New Testament or a few books, or a topical study, like endtimes, living in Christian life or foundations of the faith, etc. Number two, reading from other Christian material: books, studies, topics, etc. Next suggestion is updates and prayer time. Another idea is more HymnStories or other shows with music.” Problem with music shows is the copyright issue, that… it&#8217;s getting harder all the time. “Next, repost the Bible, you&#8217;ve already recorded with some of the commentary relating to the world at that time trimmed out. Shorter shows rebroadcasted.” This is a theme that came up with a lot of them. “Something shorter, like a devotional and commentary on a less frequent schedule, or something more like the original Lifespring show, sporadic shows discussing a topic or interviewing someone, etc.” And that one came up quite a bit, too, redoing the Lifespring show. New episodes of a Lifespring-type show. So that came up quite a bit. This one is from a brand new listener, Jason Morgan. He said, “I started listening to your show a month ago, and I just wanted to thank you for all your good works. I have needed this, my brother. It helps me understand the message more than reading alone. I&#8217;m thankful you share your knowledge in the Holy Spirit daily. God bless you, Steve. PS, I hope to hear more from you. I&#8217;m listening.” He put a smiley face. So Jason, thank you very much for that. And I&#8217;m so glad you found us even though it is sort of late in the year. And I got quite a few of this type of thing. “I just found your show. And I&#8217;m so glad that I did find it.” This email and the others like it are one of the reasons why I have made the decision to, at least, keep going in some manner. Keep listening here on this, this episode. And then Sir Kevin said, “What I&#8217;d really like to hear are your insights, your stories. What&#8217;s on Steve&#8217;s mind? What have you been up to? What have you been thinking about? Is there a particular Bible verse you&#8217;ve read that has stuck out to you or that you&#8217;ve learned something new from? Is there a story from your life that applies to something happening today? Or that might be just what someone in the family needs to hear? How&#8217;s the Lovely Lady LeeAnn? How are the grandkids? How are Del and Kathi holding up? Maybe we could spend some time praying together.” I like that. “Maybe 30 minute episode per week, longer if you&#8217;ve got more to say, or more often, if you have the time. I think a lot of what that will be will be up to you. But those are my thoughts. I hope that&#8217;s the kind of feedback you&#8217;re looking for.” And Sir Kevin that&#8217;s exactly what I was looking for. And thank you for those suggestions. So really what Sir Kevin is referring to is something like the old Lifespring show used to be. So put another hash on the scoreboard for that one. And then here&#8217;s another one from a longtime listener. This is Matt Bogart. “How about a scaled down weekly version of the current show? Maybe just one or two verses, along with some commentary, then prayer requests. One caveat on prayer…,” And this is why I&#8217;m reading this particular email. “One caveat on prayer requests is that they work best whenever they&#8217;re closer to real time. So not sure a once per week prayer show would work well.” You know, Matt, I&#8217;ve thought a lot about that. And here&#8217;s my thinking &#8211; and this just me. You might very well be right about it being important to be near real time. But here&#8217;s my thought. God is outside of time. Think of it a little bit like we live in a fishbowl. We are inside of time. Fish… the fishbowl is time and we live in there. And God is outside of that, as if he&#8217;s looking into the fishbowl. He&#8217;s not in time. So when we have a prayer request, and when we pray, for God, it&#8217;s not really real time. In other words, being outside of time, he knows about the, the need. He knows about the prayer request, even before we pray it. So, if we had a show that was just once a week, as an example, and I took prayer requests, we could pray for something, and it could be as far as a week out before you hear the prayer or before we pray the prayer. But to God, it doesn&#8217;t matter. I know that can be kind of a weird concept. But the fact that we pray isn&#8217;t really to cause God to change His mind. It&#8217;s more to change our heart to conform to God&#8217;s will. It&#8217;s like when I pray for Kathi Brixey, I don&#8217;t really expect that I&#8217;m going to change God&#8217;s will for Kathi&#8217;s life. It would be wonderful if because of my prayers, God says, “Okay, Steve talked me into it. I&#8217;m going to heal her.” I don&#8217;t expect that to happen. God&#8217;s plan for Kathi is God&#8217;s plan for Kathi. As I pray, I try to align my heart to God&#8217;s will. I think it&#8217;s okay. I think God wants us to submit our petitions to him. But as we do that, as we live our lives, the Holy Spirit does His work in us to conform us to him. Now, all that being said, what you say might very well be true. I don&#8217;t know how receptive people would be to having prayer requests that aren&#8217;t, like, you know, the next day… they are going to show up on the next day. I could explain this idea of God being outside of time. And I think some people would say, “That makes sense”. But other people might say, “I don&#8217;t know.” So I don&#8217;t know. Something to think about. If you, Beloved, as you&#8217;re listening to this have any comments on what I just said, feel free to send them to me, <span data-original-string='mX/nquw5n39gNHvC724RRg==8b0YgF7nNqZSU1upnuSKzq7X6wQ9lrJNYyKvOdrWe6YRWY=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. And then here in the email, Matt had some other suggestions for Lifespring-type shows, for interview-type things. Oh, here&#8217;s one that kind of grabbed my, my attention. Matt said, “Lastly, if you recall from our conversation over lunch a few years back, I also mentioned I thought a podcast interview that covers a show guests’ conversion story or testimony would be super interesting.” So yeah, I like that idea. That might have legs. So put that on the scorecard here. He closed by saying, “However it shakes out, you definitely should take a break to clear your mind and rest those vocal cords before you do the next thing. You&#8217;ve earned it.” Thank you, Matt. And then this one from York Campbell, who, who does the Poetic Earthlings podcast. And if you like storytelling podcasts, look up Poetic Earthlings. York said, “I&#8217;m a faithful listener to your show. God has used you in profound ways to speak to my heart. You have strengthened my understanding of the love of God and His Word. Thank you. What about if you do a weekly show and you tackle the difficult parts in the Bible?” First off, York, thank you so much for those very kind words. I appreciate it. And I do like that idea about doing a weekly show that tackles the difficult parts of the Bible. That&#8217;s definitely something that&#8217;s in the mix. And then Roderick sent an email &#8211; and by the way, for those of you who&#8217;ve been around podcasting since the early days, no, this is not Father Roderick, the Dutch Catholic priest that had a very successful podcast, back in the day. And, you know what, I&#8217;ve even got a picture of myself and LeeAnn and Father Roderick together along with Greg and Jennifer, co-hosts of the Rosary Army Podcast, back in the day. I&#8217;ll put that picture up on the show notes page if you&#8217;d like to see who we all look like back in 2006. But, our Roderick said, New believers need to hear every single word you read. Old Believers, like me, need to hear every single word you read.” And he&#8217;s talking about, obviously, the Bible, not my own comments. But he says, “I can&#8217;t tell you how many conversations I&#8217;ve had with my family after listening to you reading the Word of God. So for me, I wouldn&#8217;t want you to change a thing. I find enormous value in your teaching. And…” Well, thank you. “And hope to hear you continue reading every word of the Bible, until I get to be with you and yours in heaven.” Well, Roderick, thank you so very much for that. And your comment there about the importance of getting the Word out, along with the comments from new believers about how this show has really helped them in their walk with God has had a really big influence on my decision to keep the Lifespring Family Audio Bible alive in one way or another. I&#8217;ve got just two more emails to share with you. One of the emails is from Ann whom we&#8217;ve heard from before in donation segments, and Ann is the wife of Howie who we prayed for. Howie is the father-in-law of Sean of San Pedro. So Ann is Sean of San Pedro&#8217;s mother-in-law. She said, “Another podcast topic could be about family and being Christian grandparents and the impact grandparents have in the lives of their grandchildren, or the knowledge they can share with the third generation. I know as grandparents Howie and I see things differently, now. However, as a Christian scholar…” She&#8217;s talking about me. Are you talking about me? Who me? “…as a Christian scholar, you have an abundant knowledge and insights to share and teach young families. I keep ‘hearing’…” &#8211; and she puts that in quotes – “I keep ‘hearing’ that your next ministry needs to bring joy to your heart. And it needs to make you smile every time you think about it. This is very important. I&#8217;m also ‘hearing’, quote, “Teach them about me, and what a wonderful Father I am,” unquote. Share stories from your experiences as a grandfather and connected to Scripture. The joy you felt in your heart the first time you held your grandchild, and how that&#8217;s how God feels about us.” Ann, thank you for that. I very, very much appreciate your thoughts. And yes, I do want whatever I do to bring joy to my heart. I think that when we are working for God, when we&#8217;re doing what he calls us to do, that&#8217;s one of the benefits. God puts joy in our hearts. Not that it&#8217;s always easy. God does not always call us to things that are easy. But in following him, it does bring joy. And then the last email this one is from Howie. He wrote, “One idea we thought of is a Q &#38; A podcast where listeners can send in biblical questions they may have wanted to ask their pastor, but never had the opportunity since pastors are so busy these days. That&#8217;s why we really enjoy your summaries at the end of the Bible readings.” Thank you for that, Howie. And then, lastly, there are a couple of people who suggested I do a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly show with another well-known podcaster, who will remain unnamed right now. Well, to those of you who suggested this idea, I want you to know that I did mention it to this person. But they have not, as yet, responded, probably because they&#8217;ve been out of town. But if this show is to happen, I want it to be of God. So I&#8217;m not going to push it with this other person. If the Lord wants it to happen, I want him to lay it on this other person&#8217;s heart. So I want you to know that I did not just put that suggestion off to the side. So there you go. These are just a few of the emails that y&#8217;all sent me. There&#8217;s some great ideas there, I think you&#8217;ll agree and each has got merit. What I&#8217;m gonna do is rest and recharge, and I&#8217;m going to continue to seek God&#8217;s will. And I think after I&#8217;ve had time to rest and just really make this a matter of prayer. I&#8217;ll know what to do. One thing I will say is that it is clear that the Lifespring Family Audio Bible has to continue in some form or fashion. I&#8217;ve learned never to say never, but I don&#8217;t anticipate the show coming back in its present form. But I&#8217;m going to take the ideas that you sent in and I&#8217;ll bring it back in some way. Now to do some of the automated things that were suggested. I would need some fairly sophisticated help. I am in no way a coder. I know just enough PHP and CSS to get me into trouble. But I don&#8217;t know anything beyond that, certainly nowhere near enough to do the things that were suggested in some of these emails, like especially from Sir Snide. But I would love it if someone would be willing to donate their time, talent or treasure toward that end, if they would step forward. I need someone who could write some code to add a pre-roll and/or a post-roll value-for-value message to the nearly 3000 episodes that are already atlifespringmedia.com. Or a pre-roll that talks about what&#8217;s new with Lifespring Media, and somebody who could write something to automate the scheduling of posting new episodes, stuff like that. If that&#8217;s you, or if you know somebody who could do this stuff, let me know. Write to me at <span data-original-string='skJgdGFJbXSFI+SFOOyRMw==8b0ckchd62kevz6eINgUJ8dKABV5fHLxhAW3MDSMivdjEg=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. And before we go to the next segment, please know how very, very thankful I am for each one of you. You have made this the best year I have ever had in podcasting. The interaction we&#8217;ve had this year has been leaps and bounds ahead of any other of my nearly 18 years in podcasting. You&#8217;ve been generous with your time, with your talent, with your treasure in the form of emails, your prayers, figuring out the new Podcasting 2.0 toys, and your donations. Listen, podcasting can sometimes be a very lonely thing. You speak into a microphone. You edit the show. You post it. And most of the time you wonder if what you&#8217;re doing matters to anybody. But this year has been different. You&#8217;ve been with me and you&#8217;ve let me know that I&#8217;m not here by myself. And it&#8217;s because of that interaction that I&#8217;m coming back. Do me a favor, if you have other podcasts that matter to you. Be sure to let those podcasters know. Give them some love, too, because, unless it&#8217;s a really huge show, they wonder if what they&#8217;re doing is worthwhile, too. Now you&#8217;ve heard me call you “Beloved” many times on the show. And each time I use that word, it was intentional. I love you. And I&#8217;ll be back, Lord willing. But give me at least two weeks, perhaps a month. But do know that the Lifespring Family Audio Bible will be back in its new form. soon. Stay subscribed, and subscribe to the Lifespring Media All Shows Feed in your chosen podcast app, or you can subscribe right there at lifespringmedia.com. And one last thing all the episodes atLifespring Media are value-for-value enabled so you can boost and stream even on the old episodes. DISTINGUISHED PRODUCER SHOUT-OUTS &#8211; 42:21And now today we have three Distinguished Producers. These three people have distinguished themselves by their generous and selfless value-for-value gifts of time, talent and treasure. Kirsty has been creating the Lifespring Media newsletter for much of this season. And she&#8217;s done it with only occasional input from Yours Truly. And without Sean of San Pedro, the chapters for the show would not exist. For those of you that have been brave enough to switch to a modern Podcasting 2.0 podcast app and have enjoyed the chapters function, you have Sean to thank. He even wrote a custom web-based chapter-generating app to speed the process up. And one of the first things I&#8217;m going to do with my newly found free time is show this app to Adam Curry and Dave Jones. And Denise has been correcting the artificial-intelligence- (or I should say not-so-intelligence)generated transcripts for several months now, which is certainly not a glamorous task, but is highly appreciated by me as one who can be a bit of a stickler for spelling and punctuation. And if you want confirmation on that, just ask the Lovely Lady LeeAnn. It drives me crazy to see bad punctuation and spelling…, and so thank you Denise. So because of their sacrifice of their time, talent and treasure, I hereby name Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise Distinguished Producers of this, the final episode of season 12 of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, episode s12e363. LIFESPRING FAMILY BEREANS &#8211; 43:52And I furthermore bestow the title of Lifespring Family Berean on the henceforth to be known as Sister Kirsty, Brother Sean of San Pedro and Sister Denise, with my heartfelt gratitude. Your service to the Lifespring family will forever be remembered. ASSOCIATE PRODUCER SHOUT-OUT &#8211; 44:08And I want to thank Kevin Schneider in Candanavia who sent in $123.45, 1-2-3-4-5, via Pay Pal and just said, “For the Daily Audio Bible,” making him our Associate Producer today. Kevin, thank you so very much. You&#8217;ve been a Lifespring family member for quite some time, and I appreciate you. God bless you, Brother. And speaking of Brother Sean of San Pedro, he sent in a $50 donation via Zelle with this note: “For the last episode of the year. What a year!” Yes, Sean, it has been quite a year. Thank you. MORE SUPPORTER SHOUT-OUTS &#8211; 44:42And Matthew Thomas sent in a row-o-ducks, $22.22 and he did that over at lifespringmedia.com/support. He said, “First time making it through the Bible in a year. Thank you for your courage and passion. ITM.” Well, he obviously came over from No Agenda. I should have one of those jingles like Adam has for Joe Rogan when one of the Joe Rogan listeners comes over to No Agenda. Well Matthew, thank you for your gift. Thank you for your courage and may God bless you richly. Thank you. Boostagram. And there&#8217;s a boostagram. Sean of San Pedro sent an another 1-2-3-4-5 sat boost, 12,345 sats. Thank you. And last, but not least, Wayne Henderson sent in yet another Stryper boostagram of 777 sats using the Fountain app. [Stryper sings.] And by the way, if you&#8217;re a Green Bay Packers fan, you really need to check out Wayne’s show, the Packers Fan Podcast at, strangely enough, packersfanpodcast.com. He&#8217;s been doing this show since June of 2011. Congrats on that Wayne and thank you for the boostagram, buddy. God bless you. And while I&#8217;m on the subject of boostagrams, which is a subset of streaming sats, which is something that every podcaster who is participating in this Podcasting 2.0 technology is thrilled to receive. I want to acknowledge and thank each and every one of you who have streamed sats while listening to the show over this year. I can&#8217;t thank you by name because I don&#8217;t get that information. I only get your name if and when you send a boostagram and you choose to share your name in the boostagram. But there are some of you who have been extremely generous in your streaming. Don&#8217;t think that I haven&#8217;t noticed, I have and I&#8217;m thankful. God bless all of you who have taken this admittedly geeky and not always easy step. So I very much appreciate each of you. ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY &#8211; 46:51On this date in church history, August 30, 1856, the Methodist Episcopal Church established Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio, and ownership of the school was transferred to the African Methodist Episcopal Church or AME Church in 1863. PRAYER REQUESTS &#8211; 47:17Prayer requests. Del said that Kathi had a rough night. She kept waking up. Overall, she&#8217;s feeling about the same. She&#8217;s probably going to start her oral nausea medications today, since the ones given to the IV are losing their effectiveness and the pain in her mouth and throat, much like a sunburn, you&#8217;ll remember, is still there. Del says he asked her to message her doctor to see how to relieve that pain, but she&#8217;s always iffy about contacting the doctor. I told Del to slap her upside the head and say, “That&#8217;s what the doctor is there for!” No, I didn&#8217;t say that, but I said, “That&#8217;s what the doctor is for.” And then this came in from Sean this morning. He said, “Thank you and the Lifespring family for all of the prayers for Brittaney, for me and our extended family.” That would be Howie, of course, and his friend that was anonymous on the show. Sean wanted me to pass that along to you the Lifespring family. CLOSING PRAYER – 48:08So let&#8217;s pray. Our heavenly Father, Lord, I thank you for calling me to this microphone, despite my many faults. Who am I, Lord, that you would allow me to have a part in your work? Oh, Lord, You are so merciful. I worship you. And I offer myself to you once more to do with me as you see fit. Lord, I ask you to be with Kathi. Help her through this time. Bring healing to her body. Ease the pain. Ease the nausea and the vertigo. And I know, Lord, that Dell is afraid. He&#8217;s afraid. And I pray God that you would be with him and comfort his heart. I thank you, Lord, for each person that you brought to the show over the years and right up to today. Thank you for touching their hearts and for the work you&#8217;ve done and continue to do in their lives through the hearing of your Word. We know, Lord, that your word never returns void. And it is a joy to be involved in anything having to do with your word. I thank You, Lord. I pray, Lord, that you&#8217;ll bless these brothers and sisters, these Lifespring family members according to your mercy, and your grace and your love. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen. This is the place where I always say: “If you have a prayer request or a praise that you&#8217;d like to share with the family, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com and let me know about it.” Well, obviously there&#8217;s not going to be another one of these shows for a while. But that doesn&#8217;t mean I don&#8217;t care about what&#8217;s happening in your life. If you have a prayer request or if God is doing something marvelous in your life, I do want to hear about it. And prayer.lifespringmedia.com is an easy way for you to make that happen. Or, like I said before, you can always email me at <span data-original-string='oCQ1RgjCTbIbaWXHv4Bv7Q==8b0mMEKs04qDkop+KRc6bB9rEDFRC2Jf8T07X1xBirZYyM=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com OUTRO S12E363 &#8211; 49:55If you have a comment on this show, please do leave it at lifespringmedia.com/s12e363. As I&#8217;ve said many times, scroll all the way to the bottom of that page where you&#8217;ll find a box where you can put your comments. There won&#8217;t be another show necessarily to share your comments with, but I’ll see the comments and I&#8217;ll respond. Thank you to Sister Kirsty, Brother Sean of San Pedro and Sister Denise. I love each of you. Thank you to Kevin. Thank you to Brother Sean. And thank you to Matthew for your gifts today. And thanks to Sean of San Pedro and Wayne for the boostagrams. And thank you for allowing me to be in your life yet once more today. Please stick around. Stay subscribed. And if you haven&#8217;t yet, subscribe now to the Lifespring Media All Shows Feed. I love you and until next time, may God bless you richly. My name as always is Steve Webb. See you soon. Fun for the whole family. You won&#8217;t want to miss it. Transcribed by https://otter.aiCorrected by Denise Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will complete the book of Ezekiel 43-48.&#160; And I’m going to have to beg your indulgence for just one more day. Tomorrow I will have comments after the reading, but today will be just the reading. &#160;Title: “The Lord Is There.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Jared Erondu on Unsplash Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 43-48 NKJV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:08This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God caster Steve Webb, welcome. How are you today? This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And today we&#8217;ll complete the book of Ezekiel by reading chapters 43 through 48. And I&#8217;m afraid I&#8217;m going to have to beg your indulgence just one more day tomorrow, I will have comments after the reading, but today will just be the reading. The title of today&#8217;s show is the Lord is there and tomorrow we&#8217;ll begin the book of John with chapters one and two. The shownotes page for today&#8217;s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e to 12. And my email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. I do appreciate your patience, and I will be back with a normal show tomorrow. Steve Webb 1:00Ezekiel chapter 43. Afterward, he brought me to the gate, the gate that faces toward the east, and behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the East. His voice was like the sound of many waters in the earth shown with his glory. It was like the appearance of the vision which I saw, like the vision which I saw when I came to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw by the river key bar, and I fell on my face, and the glory of the Lord came into the temple by the way of the gate, which faces toward the east. The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. Then I heard him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me. And he said to me, Son of man, this is the place of my throne in the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defiled My Holy Name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry, or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places. When they set their threshold by my threshold, and their doorposts, by my door post, with a wall between them and me, they defiled My Holy Name by the abominations which they committed, therefore, I have consumed them in my anger. Now, let them put their harlotry in the carcasses of their kings far away from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever, Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities, and let them measure the pattern. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design in all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws, write it down in their site, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances and perform them. This is the law of the temple, the whole area surrounding the mountaintop is most holy, behold, this is the law of the temple. These are the measurements of the altar in cubits, the qubit is one qubit and a handbreadth. The base one qubit high and one qubit wide with a rim all around its edge of one span. This is the height of the altar. From the base on the ground to the lower ledge two qubits, the width of the ledge, one qubit, from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits and the width of the ledge one qubit. The altar hearth is for qubit tie with four horns extending upward from the hearth. The altar hearth is 12 qubits long, 12 wide square at its four corners, the ledge, 14 cubits long in 14 wide on its four sides, with a ram of half a qubit around it. Its base one qubit all around, and it steps face toward the east. And he said to me, Son of man, Thus says the Lord God, these are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made for sacrificing burnt offerings on it, and for sprinkling blood on it. You shall give a young bowl for a sin offering to the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of say, Doc who approached me to minister to me, says the Lord God, You shall take some of its blind and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge and on the rim around it. Thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it. Then you shall also take the bull of the sin offering and burn it in the appointed place at the temple outside the sanctuary. On the second day, you shall offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering, and they shall cleanse the altar as they cleansed it with the bowl. When you have finished cleansing it you shall offer a young bowl without blemish and a ram from the flock without blemish. When you offer them before the Lord, the priests shall throw salt on them, and they will offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. Every day for seven days you shall prepare a goat for a sin offering. They shall also prepare a young boy And around from the flock, both without blemish. Seven days they shall make atonement for the altar in purified and so consecrated. When these days are over, it shall be on the eighth day and thereafter that the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar. And I will accept you says the Lord God. Steve Webb 5:20Ezekiel chapter 44. Then he brought me back to the aggregate of the sanctuary, which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the Lord said to me, this gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it, therefore it shall be shot. As for the prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord, he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway and go out the same way. Steve Webb 5:51Also, he brought me by way of the North Gate to the front of the temple. So I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord, and I fell on my face. And the Lord said to me, Son of man, Mark, well see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all its laws. Mark Well, who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary. Now say to the rebellious to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God, oh, House of Israel, let us have no more of your abominations. When you brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary to defile it, my house, and when you offered my food, the fat and the blood, then they broke my covenant because of all your abominations, and you have not kept charge of my holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of my sanctuary for you. Thus says the Lord God, no foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh shall enter my sanctuary, including any foreigner who was among the children of Israel, and the Levites, who went far from me when Israel went astray, who strayed away from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity, yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house, they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them, because they ministered to them before their idols and caused the house of Israel to fall into iniquity. Therefore I have raised my hand in an oath against them, says the Lord God, that they shall bear their iniquity, And they shall not come near me to minister to me as priest, nor come near any of my holy things, nor into the most holy place, but they shall bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. Nevertheless, I will make them keep charge of the temple for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it. But the priests, the Levites, the sons of say, Doc, who kept charge of my sanctuary, when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near me to minister to me, and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat in the blood, says the Lord God, they shall enter my sanctuary, and they shall come near my table to minister to me, and they shall keep my charge. And it shall be whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that they shall put on linen garments, no wolf shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court, or within the house. They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies. They shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat. When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court, to the people, they shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments, and in their holy garments, they shall not sanctify the people, they shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed. No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. They shall not take his wife, a widow or a divorced woman, but take versions of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests, and they shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean. In controversy, they shall stand as judges and judges according to my judgments. They shall keep my laws and my statutes and all my appointed meetings, and they show Hello my Sabbath. They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person, only for father or mother for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves after he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him. And on the day that he goes into the sanctuary to minister in the sanctuary, he must offer his sin offering in the inner court, says the Lord God, it shall be in regard to their inheritance that I am their inheritance. You shall give them no possession in Israel for I am their possession. They shall eat the grain offering the sin offering and the trespass offering, every dedicated thing in Israel shall be there&#8217;s the best of all first fruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices shall be the priests. Also you shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal to cause the blessing to rest on your house. The priest shall not eat anything bird or beast that died naturally or was torn by wild beasts. Steve Webb 10:27Ezekiel chapter 45. Steve Webb 10:30Moreover, when you divide the land by lot into inheritance, you shall set apart a district for the Lord, a holy section of the land, its length shall be 25,000 cubits in the width 10,000 It shall be holy throughout its territory all around. Of this there shall be a square plot for the sanctuary 500 by 500 rods, with 50 cubits around it for an open space. So this is the district you shall measure 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 wide in it shall be my sanctuary, the most holy place. It shall be a holy section of the land belonging to the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the Lord, it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary, an area 25,000 cubits long and 10,000 wide shall belong to the Levites the ministers of the temple, they shall have 20 Chambers as a possession, you shall appoint is the property of the city and area 5000 cubits wide and 25,000 long, adjacent to the district of the holy section. It shall belong to the whole house of Israel. The prince shall have a section on one side and the other of the holy district and the city&#8217;s property, and bordering on the holy district and the city&#8217;s property extending westward on the west side, and eastward on the east side, the length shall be side by side with one of the tribal portions from the west border to the east border. The land shall be his possession in Israel, and my princes shall no more oppress my people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel, according to their tribes. Thus says the Lord God, enough, oh princes of Israel, remove violence and plundering execute justice and righteousness, and stop dispossessing my people says the Lord God, You shall have honest scales, and honest etha and an honest bath, the ether and the bath shall be of the same measure, so that the bath contains 1/10 of a homer and the etha 1/10 of a homer. There measures shall be according to the Homer, the shekel shall be 20 girIs 20 shekels 25 shekels and 15 shekels shall be your minor. This is the offering which you shall offer, you shall give 1/6 of an etha from a homer of wheat, and 1/6 of an EVA from a homer of barley. The ordinance concerning oil the bath of oil is 1/10 of a bath from a core. A core is a homer or 10 baths for 10 baths are a homer and one lamb shall be given from a flock of 200 from the rich pastures of Israel. These shall be for grain offerings, burnt offerings and peace offerings to make atonement for them, says the Lord God, all the people of the land shall give this offering for the prince in Israel, then it shall be the princes part to give burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings at the feasts, the new moons, the Sabbath, and at all the appointed seasons of the house of Israel, He shall prepare the sin offering the grain offering the burnt offering and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord God, in the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and cleanse the sanctuary. The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the gate of the inner court. And so you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who has sinned unintentionally or in ignorance. Thus you shall make atonement for the temple. In the first month on the 14th day of the month, you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days, unleavened bread shall be eaten. On that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land, a bowl for a sin offering. On the seven days of the feast, he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bowls and seven rams without blemish daily for seven days, and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering, and he shall prepare a grain offering of one etha for each bull and one Eva for each RAM, together with a hint of oil for each etha in the seventh month, on the 15th day of the month,at the feast he shall do likewise for seven days according to the sin offering the burnt offering the grain offering and the oil. Steve Webb 15:02Ezekiel chapter 46 Thus says the Lord God, the gateway of the inner court that faces toward the east shall be shut the six working days, but on the Sabbath it shall be opened and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. The prince shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway from the outside in stand by the gate post, the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, he shall worship at the threshold of the gate, then he shall go out but the gate shall not be shot until evening. Likewise, the people of the land shall worship at the entrance to this gateway before the Lord on the Sabbath and the new moons. The burnt offering that the prince offers to the Lord on the Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and to ram without blemish. And the grain offering shall be one Eva for a ram and the grain offering for the lambs as much as he wants to give, as well as a hint of oil with every etha. On the day of the new moon, it shall be a young bull without blemish, six lambs and a ram, they shall be without blemish. He shall prepare a grain offering of an EVA for a bull and Eva for a ram, as much as he wants to give for the lambs and a hint of oil with every etha. When the prince enters, he shall go in by way of the vestibule of the gateway and go out the same way. But when the people of the land come before the Lord on the appointed feast days, whoever enters by way of the North Gate to worship shall go out by way of the South Gate. And whoever enters by way of the South Gate shall go out by way of the North Gate, he shall not return by way of the gate through which he came, but shall go out through the opposite gate. The prince shall then be in their midst, when they go in, he shall go in and when they go out, he shall go out at the festivals and the appointed feast days, the grain offering shall be and etha for a bull and etha for a ram, as much as he wants to give for the lambs and a hint of oil with every etha. Now, when the prince makes a voluntary bird offering or voluntary peace offering to the Lord, the gate that faces toward the east shall be opened for him, and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he did on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out and after he goes out, the gate shall be shut. You shall daily make a burnt offering to the Lord have a lamb of the first year without blemish. You shall prepare it every morning, and you shall prepare a grain offering with it every morning, a six, seven etha and a third of a hint of oil to moisten the fine flour. This grain offering is a perpetual ordinance to be made regularly to the Lord. Thus they shall prepare the lamb, the grain offering and the oil as a regular burnt offering every morning. Steve Webb 17:47Thus says the Lord God, if the prince gives a gift of some of his inheritance to any of his sons, it shall belong to his sons, it is their possession by inheritance. But if he gives a gift of some of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his until the year of liberty, after which it shall return to the prince, but his inheritance shall belong to his sons, it shall become theirs. Moreover, the prince shall not take any of the people&#8217;s inheritance by evicting them from their property, he shall provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of my people may be scattered from his property. Now he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side gate into the holy chambers of the priests, which face toward the north, and their place was situated at their extreme western end. And he said to me, this is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering and where they shall bake the grain offering so that they do not bring them out into the outer court to sanctify the people. Then he brought me out to the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court. And in fact, in every corner of the court, there was another quart. In the four corners of the court were enclosed courts 40 cubits long and 30 wide. All four corners were the same size. There was a row of building stones all around in them all around the four of them, and cooking hearts were made under the rows of stones all around. And he said to me, these are the kitchens where the ministers of the temple shall boil the sacrifices of the people. Steve Webb 19:21Ezekiel chapter 47. Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and there was water flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east for the front of the temple faced east. The water was flowing from under the right side of the temple south of the altar. He brought me out by way of the North Gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east and there was water running out on the right side. And when the man went out to the east with a lion in his hand, he measured 1000 cubits and he brought me through the waters, the water came up to my ankles. Again, he measured 1000 And then brought me through the waters, the water came up to my knees. Again he measured 1000 and brought me through the water came up to my waist. Again he measured 1000. And it was a river that I could not cross, for the water was too deep water in which one must swim a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, Son of man, have you seen this? Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river. When I returned there along the bank of the river were very many trees on one side and the other. The end he said to me, this water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. And it shall be that every living thing that moves wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish because these waters go there for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes, it shall be that fishermen will stand by it from in getting to an egg lamb, they will be places for spreading their nets, their fish will be the same kinds as the fish of the great sea exceedingly many, but it swamps and marshes will not be healed, they will be given over to salt along the bank of the river on this side, and that will grow all kinds of trees used for food, their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food and their leaves for medicine. Thus says the Lord God. These are the borders by which you shall divide the land is an inheritance among the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions, you shall inherited equally with one another, for I raised my hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land shall fall to you as your inheritance. This shall be the border of the land on the north, from the great sea by the road to half lawn as one goes to the dad. Hey Math, Bertha cyprium, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Kamath to haze our hat icon which is on the border of Horan. Thus the boundary shall be from the sea to hazer Enon, the border of Damascus and as for the North northward, it is the border of Emeth. This is the north side. On the east side, you shall mark out the border from between Horan in Damascus and between Gilead in the land of Israel along the Jordan and along the eastern side of the sea. This is the east side. The south side toward the south shall be from Tamar to the waters of merubah by Kadish along the brook to the great sea. This is the south side toward the south. Steve Webb 22:46The west side shall be the great sea from the southern boundary until one comes to a point opposite Emeth This is the west side. Thus you shall divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel, it shall be that you will divided by lot is an inheritance for yourselves and for the strangers who dwell among you and who bear children among you. They shall be to you as native born among the children of Israel, they shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. And it shall be that in whatever tribe the stranger dwells there you shall give him his inheritance, says the Lord God. Steve Webb 23:22Ezekiel chapter 48. Now these are the names of the tribes from the northern border along the road to heathland at the entrance of Emeth to hazer Enon the border of Damascus northward in the direction of Emeth. There shall be one section for Dan from its east to its west side, by the border of Dan from the east side to the west, one section for Asher by the border of Asher from the east side to the west, one section for NAFTA lie by the border of NAFTA lie from the east side to the west, one section for Manasseh by the border of Manasseh. From the east side to the west, one section for Ephram by the border of efirium. From the east side to the west, one section for Reuben, by the border of Reuben from the east side to the west, one section for Judah, by the border of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the district which you shall set apart 25,000 cubits in width, and in length, the same as one of the other portions from the east side to the west with a sanctuary in the center. The district that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 10,000 in width. To these two, the priests, the holy district shall belong on the north, 25,000 cubits in length, on the west, 10,000 in width, on the east, 10,000 in width, and on the South 25,000 in length, the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the center. It shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadar who were sanctified who have kept my charge who did not go with pray when the children of Israel went astray as the Levites went astray, and this destructive land that is set apart shall be to them, I think most holy by the border of the Levites opposite the border of the priests, the Levites shall have an area 25,000 cubits in length, and 10,000 in width, its entire length shall be 25,000 and its width 10,000. And they shall not sell or exchange any of it, they may not alienate the best part of the land, for it is holy to the Lord. Steve Webb 25:34The 5000 cubits in width that remain along the edge of the 25,000 shall be for general used by the city for dwellings and common land, and the city shall be in the center, these shall be its measurements, the north side, 4500 cubits, the south side, 4500, the East Side 4500 and the West side 4500 The common land of the city shall be to the north 250 cubits to the south 250 to the east, 250 and to the west 250. The rest of the length alongside the district of the holy section, shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, it shall be adjacent to the district of the holy section, and its produce shall be food for the workers of the city, the workers of the city from all the tribes of Israel shall cultivated the entire district shall be 25,000 cubits by 25,000 cubits, for square, you shall set apart the holy district with the property of the city. The rest shall belong to the prince on one side and on the other of the holy district, and of the city&#8217;s property, next to the 25,000 cubits of the holy district, as far as the eastern border, and westward next to the 25,000 as far as the western border, adjacent to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince, it shall be the holy district, and the sanctuary of the temple shall be in the center. Moreover, apart from the possession of the Levites, in the possession of the city, which are in the midst of what belongs to the prince, the area between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin shall belong to the prince. As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side to the west, Benjamin shall have one section by the border of Benjamin from the east side to the west, Simeon shall have one section, by the border of Simeon from the east side to the west, is the car shall have one section, by the border of his car from the east to the west Zeppelin shall have one section, by the border of Zeppelin from the east side to the west, Gad shall have one section, by the border of Gad on the south side toward the south, the border shall be from Tamar to the waters of merubah by Kadish along the brook to the great sea. This is the land which you shall divide by lot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. And these are their portions, says the Lord God. These are the exits of the city. On the north side measuring 4500 cubits the gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel, the three gates northward, one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, and one gate for Levi, on the east side, 4500 cubits three gates, one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, and one gate for Dan. On the south side, measuring 4500 qubits, three gates, one gate for Simeon, one gate for a car, and one gate for Zeppelin. On the west side, 4500 qubits with their three gates, one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for NAFTA lie. All the way around shall be 18,000 cubits and the name of the city from that day shall be the Lord is there. Steve Webb 29:04Thanks for hanging in there with me, beloved. I will be back tomorrow with a normal show when we begin the book of John. Until then, may God bless you richly. I&#8217;m Steve Webb Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today our reading is Proverbs 14-15.&#160;Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you, and I’m calling today’s episode “Shelter From the Storm.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Dorin Vancea on Unsplash Comments on In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence and his children have a refuge. Proverbs 14:26 &#160;HCSB In doing background study on these chapters that are so full of wisdom, I came upon some notes by Joseph Parker in “The People’s Bible” about this verse. The Fear of the Lord “In no book probably is the fear of the Lord so elaborately described as to its nature and its application as the book of Proverbs. Throughout the whole of the Bible the fear of the Lord is declared to be the beginning of wisdom. It is not a servile fear; the worshiper here is not a croucher, waiting in an abject position in order to be noticed by a tyrannical despot: fear means reference, veneration, awe, a sense of the grandeur and majesty of the Lord, not only as that term stands for infinity, brilliance, and attributes of an intellectual kind, but as it stands for holiness, truth, purity, justice, and every expression that indicates moral supremacy.&#160; Not Afraid He who fears the Lord is strong in the confidence of ultimate justice; he is confident also in the final exposition of Providence, being assured that the way of God to man will be so revealed at last that it will be seen to have been the right way, the only true way, notwithstanding the varieties of the road, the steep hills, the bleak deserts, the stony paths, the cold rivers that had to be crossed in the dark night, the afflictions that had to be endured when the heart and flesh had failed and strength had been exhausted —at the last it will be seen that God has not given one stroke too much, taken away one treasure too many, or dug one grave too deep; the righteous will be the first to confess that God has done all things wisely, well, and lovingly. A Loving Father A beautiful expression is “his children.” Here in the very midst of the Proverbs we find the sublime doctrine of the fatherhood of God. Here too we find that God&#8217;s children need a place of refuge; they have often to flee from the storm, from the wrath of man, and from an apparently angry nature, for every law seems to fight against them; blessed be God, when all outward things are marked by an excitement of an apparently uncontrollable kind, are heaving and tossing as if shaken by an earthquake, the children of God can go not to law but to the lawmaker himself, yea, to the very heart of God, and there can rest in hope and confidence, and while the storm howls without around the rock of the sanctuary, that holy place can be filled with sacred and triumphant song. Have we really endeavored to find a refuge in God?” There are many places where the fear of the Lord is spoken of. Remember Joseph Parker’s beautiful words the next time you read the phrase “the fear of the Lord.” Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 14-15 HCSB Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00God has done all things wisely well and lovingly. Steve Webb 0:12Hello, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God Gaster Steve Webb, welcome what&#8217;s new. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today&#8217;s show will be longer than yesterday&#8217;s, but still somewhat abbreviated, I hope to have a complete show for you tomorrow. Today our reading is Proverbs 14 and 15. And I will have some thoughts to share with you afterward. I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode shelter from the storm. Let&#8217;s get started. Steve Webb 0:45Proverbs chapter 14. Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands. Whoever lives with integrity fears the Lord, but the one who is devious in his ways despises him. The proud speech of a fool brings a rod of discipline, but the lips of the wise protect them. Where there are no oxen the feeding trough is empty, but an abundant harvest comes through the strength of an ox. An honest witness does not deceive but a dishonest witness others lies. a mocker seeks wisdom and doesn&#8217;t find it. But knowledge comes easily to the perceptive. Stay away from a foolish man, you will gain no knowledge from his speech. The sensible man&#8217;s wisdom is to consider his way but the stupidity of fools to seize them. Fools mock it making restitution, but there is goodwill among the upright. The heart knows its own bitterness, and no outsider shares in its joy. The house of the wicked will be destroyed, but the tent of the upright will stand. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Even in laughter a heart may be sad, and joy may end in grief. The disloyal one will get what his conduct deserves, and a good man what his deeds deserve. The inexperienced one believes anything, but the sensible one watches his steps. A wise man is cautious and turns away from evil. But a fool is easily angered and is careless. A quick tempered man acts foolishly, and a man who schemes is hated. The inexperienced inherit foolishness, but the sensible are crowned with knowledge, the evil bow before those who were good, the wicked at the gates of the righteous. A poor man is hated even by his neighbor. But there are many who love the rich, the one who despises his neighbor sins, but whoever shows kindness to the poor will be happy. Don&#8217;t those who plan evil go astray? But those who plan good find loyalty and faithfulness. There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads only to poverty. The crown of the wise is their wealth, but the foolishness of fools produces foolishness. The truthful witness rescues lives but one who utters lies is deceitful. In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence and his children have a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death. A large population is a king&#8217;s splendor, but a shortage of people is a rulers devastation. A patient person shows great understanding, but a quick tempered one promotes foolishness. A tranquil heart is life to the body. But jealousy is rottenness to the bones. The one who oppresses the poor person insults his maker, but one who was kind to the needy honors him. The wicked one is thrown down by his own sin, but the righteous one has a refuge in his death. Wisdom resides in the heart of the discerning she is known even among fools. Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people. A king favors a wise servant, but his anger falls on a disgraceful one. Steve Webb 4:23Proverbs chapter 15. A gentle answer turns away anger, but a harsh word stirs up rap. The tongue of the wise makes knowledge attractive, but the mouth of fools blurts out foolishness. The eyes of the Lord are everywhere observing the wicked and the good. The tongue that heals is a tree of life, but a devious tongue breaks the spirit. A fool despises his father&#8217;s discipline, but a person who accepts correction is sensible. The House of the righteous has great wealth, but trouble Companies the income of the wicked, the lips of the wise broadcast knowledge, but not so the heart of fools. Steve Webb 5:09The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is his delight. The Lord detests the way of the wicked, but he loves the one who pursues righteousness. Discipline is harsh for the one who leaves the path. The one who hates correction will die. She olan a baton ly opened before the Lord, how much more human hearts. a mocker doesn&#8217;t love one who corrects him, he will not consult the wise. A joyful heart makes a face cheerful, but a sad heart produces a broken spirit. A discerning mind seeks knowledge, but the mouth of fools feeds on foolishness. All the days of the oppressed are miserable. But a cheerful heart has a continual feast. Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil. Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fat and docks with hatred. A hot tempered men stirs up conflict, but a man slow to anger calms strife. A slackers way is like a thorny hedge of the path of the upright is a highway. A wise son brings joy to his father, but a foolish man despises his mother. Foolishness brings joy to one without sense but a man with understanding walks a straight path. plans fail when there is no counsel, but with many advisors they succeed. A man takes joy in giving an answer and a timely word, how good that is. for the discerning the path of life leads upward so that he may avoid going down to she&#8217;ll the Lord destroys the house of the proud, but he protects the widows territory. The Lord detests the plans of an evil man. But Pleasant words are pure. The one who prophets dishonestly troubles his household, but the one who hates bribes will live. The mind of the righteous person thinks before answering, but the mouth of the wicked blurts out evil things. The Lord is far from the wicked, but he hears the prayer of the righteous, Bright Eyes cheer the heart. Good news strengthens the bones. One who listens to life giving rebukes will be at home among the wise. Anyone who ignore His discipline despises himself, but whoever listens to correction acquires good sense. The fear of the Lord is what wisdom teaches and humility comes before honor. Steve Webb 7:53Today, I&#8217;m just going to focus on one verse, Proverbs 14:26, which says, in the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence and his children have a refuge. In doing background studies on these chapters that we read today that are so full of wisdom, I came upon some notes by Joseph Parker in the people&#8217;s Bible on just this verse. Here are some excerpts of his comments. In no book probably is the fear of the Lord so elaborately described as to its nature and its application as the book of Proverbs. Throughout the whole of the Bible, the fear of the Lord is declared to be the beginning of wisdom. It&#8217;s not a servile fear. The worship or here is not a croucher waiting in abject position in order to be noticed by a tyrannical desperate fear means reverence, veneration, or a sense of the Grandeur and Majesty of the Lord. Not only as that term stands for infinity, brilliance and attributes of an intellectual kind, but as it stands for holiness, truth, purity, justice, and every expression that indicates moral supremacy. He who fears the Lord is strong in the confidence of ultimate justice. He is confident also in the final exposition of Providence, being assured that the way of God to man will be so revealed at last, that it will be seen to have been the right way, the only true way not withstanding the varieties of the road, the steep hills, the bleak deserts, the stony paths, the cold rivers that had to be crossed in the dark night, the afflictions that had to be endured when the heart and flesh had failed, and strength had been exhausted. At the last it will be seen that God has not given one stroke too much. Taken away one treasure too many, or dug one grave too deep. The righteous will be the first to confess that God has done all things wisely. Well, and loving A beautiful expression is his children in this verse. Here, in the very midst of the proverbs, we find the sublime doctrine of the Fatherhood of God. Here too, we find that God&#8217;s children need a place of refuge. They have often to flee from the storm, from the wrath of man, and from an apparently angry nature for every law seems to fight against them. Bless it be God. When all outward things are marked by an excitement of an apparently uncontrollable kind. As heaving and tossing is if shaken by an earthquake, the children of God can go not to law, but to the lawmaker himself, yay, to the very heart of God, and there can rest in hope and confidence. And while the storm howls without around the rock of the sanctuary, that holy place can be filled with sacred and triumphant Psalm have we really endeavored to find a refuge in God. Beloved, there are many places where the fear of the Lord is spoken of. Remember these words by Joseph Parker the next time you hear the phrase, the fear of the Lord? Steve Webb 11:21I&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts. Leave me a comment at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 211. Our reading tomorrow will be Ezekiel 43 through 48. As I said at the top of the show, I hope that tomorrow I&#8217;ll be able to bring you a complete normal episode. It&#8217;s just the right now life has gotten just a bit too busy when you hang in there with me. I hope so. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. Thank you for being here. My name is Steve Webb. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Over the next few days, I’m only going to be able to have the reading for you. There are some things going on here at Lifespring Central that are requiring a lot of time and attention. Nothing bad, but I just am not going to have time for doing complete shows for you.&#160; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Sergey Pesterev on Unsplash Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 90-92 NLT Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:08This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God Gaster. Steve Webb, welcome. I hope you&#8217;re having a great day. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Over the next few days, I&#8217;m only going to be able to have the reading for you. There are some things going on here at Lifespring central that are requiring a lot of my time and attention. Nothing bad, but I&#8217;m just not going to be able to have time to do complete shows for you. I hope that&#8217;s okay with you. I&#8217;m really sorry about that. I hate to do that to you. But as you know, sometimes life just happens. Oh, one more thing. I got a call today to schedule a phone consult with a cardiologist to discuss the procedure that&#8217;s supposed to take care of the episodes of a fib that I&#8217;ve been having. So the call is scheduled for April 11. And I&#8217;ll let you know how that goes. And with that, we&#8217;ll get right to today&#8217;s reading. Tomorrow&#8217;s reading, by the way will be proverbs 14 and 15. I&#8217;ll see you then, until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. I&#8217;m Steve Webb, here are Psalms 90 through 92. Steve Webb 1:21Psalms chapter 90. Lord, through all the generations you&#8217;ve been our home, Before the mountains were born before you gave birth to the earth and the world from beginning to end. You are God. You turn people back to dust saying returned to dust you mortals for you. 1000 years are as a passing day. as brief as a few night hours. You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They&#8217;re like grass that springs up in the morning. In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and weathered. We wither beneath your anger. We are overwhelmed by your fury. You spread out our sins before you our secret sins, and you see them all. We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a grown 70 years are given to us. Some even live to 80. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble. Soon they disappear and we fly away. Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve. Teach us to realize the brevity of life so that we may grow in wisdom. Oh Lord, come back to us. How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants. satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love. So we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery. Replace the evil yours with good. Let us Your servants see you work again. Let our children see your glory. And may the Lord our God, show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful. Steve Webb 3:10Psalms chapter 91. Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord. He alone is my refuge, my place of safety. He is my God and I trust him for he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease. He will cover you with his feathers, he will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor in protection. Do not be afraid of the terrorists of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes it mid day, though 1000 fall at your side, though 10,000 are dying around you. Those evils will not touch you. Just open your eyes and see how the wicked are punished. If you make the Lord your refuge if you make the Most High your shelter, No evil will conquer you know plague will come near your home for he will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won&#8217;t even hurt your foot on a stone. You will trample upon lions and cobras you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet. The Lord says I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in My Name. When they call on me I will answer I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation. Steve Webb 4:42Psalms chapter 92. It is good to give thanks to the Lord to sing praises to the Most High. It is good to proclaim Your unfailing love in the morning. Your faithfulness in the evening, accompanied by a 10 stringed instrument, a harp and the melody of a liar You thrill me, Lord with all you&#8217;ve done for me, I sing for joy because of what you have done. Oh, Lord, what great works you do, and how deep are your thoughts? Only a simpleton would not know and only a fool would not understand this. Though the wicked sprout like weeds and evildoers flourish, they will be destroyed forever. But You oh Lord will be exalted forever. Your enemies Lord will surely perish. All evil doers will be scattered, but you have made me as strong as a wild ox. You have anointed me with the finest oil. My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies. My ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents, but the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon, for they are transplanted to the Lord&#8217;s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age, they will still produce fruit, they will remain vital in green, they will declare the Lord is just he is my rock. There is no evil in him. Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will complete the book of&#160; 2 Kings 21-25.&#160;I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “A Treasure For Future Generations.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Steve Webb Comments on 2 Kings 22, 23, 25 Thoughts on 2 Kings 22&#160; In chapter 22, we see that Hilkiah the high priest found the Book of the Law in the Temple. Let’s look at the context of this discovery. The last righteous king before Josiah, who was the king that ordered Hilkiah to begin repairing the now dilapidated Temple, was Hezekiah. Fifty-seven years passed between the end of Hezekiah’s reign and the beginning of Josiah’s reign. It was in the eighteenth year of Josiah’s reign that he began the repairs. That means that the Temple had been neglected for seventy-five years. It’s no wonder that the Book of the Law had been lost. It was probably even forgotten, and it is quite probable that it was the only existing written copy of&#160; God’s Law! Think of it. At this point there were hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years of Jewish history, from the time that God gave Moses the tablets after miraculously delivering them from Egypt’s Pharaoh, to King David, to Solomon’s building of the Temple, and on&#160; and on up until this King Josiah decides that the Temple must be repaired.&#160; How gracious God is that He preserved this document! And now, realize that every copy since then came from that long lost book. The Bible that you hold in your hand is a treasure. It is life. It is the Word of the Living God. And if it had not been for Josiah’s decision to repair the Temple, who knows where we would be today. But of course, God was and is always faithful. I am a tech guy. I love that we have access to just about every version and every translation of the Bible because of the internet. They’re available on our desktop computers, our notebook computers, our tablets and our handheld devices. I love it!&#160; But I deeply believe that everyone who calls him/herself a believer should own at least one hard copy of the Bible. Because, what happens if we no longer have access to these electronic copies? Don’t laugh. It could happen. Internet censorship is real in some areas of the world, and it could spread. As a matter of fact, I believe that when the antichrist takes over, he will make it a worldwide thing, and Bibles will disappear from the ‘net.&#160; Where will we be then? We will only have the printed Word.&#160; Even if that doesn’t happen in our lifetime, we should still have at least one printed Bible. There is something special about holding the book in your hands. It is a truly awesome experience to leaf through the pages of a well-worn Bible and discover God’s truths. I have shelves full of Bibles sitting within easy reach right now. Each one is special, but I have a couple of Bibles that I dearly love. One of them belonged to my great grandmother. She wrote notes in it as she read, and she has the dates of the three times she read through from Genesis to Revelation. I’ll bet she had no idea that one day her great grandson would own her Bible. Will your descendants have a treasure like that? Not if your only Bible is an app on your phone. Have a printed Bible. Write in it. Make notes. Keep a sort of spiritual diary in it. Talk to generations yet unborn. Thoughts on 2 Kings 23&#160; In chapter 23 we see that the good and righteous king Josiah did everything possible to thoroughly remove every unclean and unholy and idolatrous item from the land. He went to great lengths to be sure there was nothing left or that could ever be recovered that was against the Law of God.&#160; Note that Josiah did this after God had declared through the prophetess Huldah that He would bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants because they had forsaken Him and had made offerings to other gods. And God said, “…therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched.” It is to Josiah’s credit that he still went forth with his reforms. He could have given up, and just waited for God to bring His judgment. But he didn’t. And sure enough, disaster did come upon them, but only after Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt killed him in battle. So let’s look at this. Josiah cleaned the place up, and he brought God’s Law back to Judah. Why didn’t God turn from His wrath? I believe that it is because God looks at the heart, not just the actions. Remember the Sermon on the Mount? Jesus said that if you have thought of doing an unrighteous act, you have done the act. (Rough paraphrase.) God looked at the hearts of the people of Judah. Even though Josiah (whose heart was right) made the people follow the Law through his authority as king, they still longed after those ungodly and idolatrous things they used to do. Outwardly, they did right. But inwardly, they had not changed. One more thing. Did you know that death is not the worst thing that can happen to you? With the death of Josiah by Pharaoh Neco, God spared Josiah from seeing what was coming down on Judah. It was a merciful act on God’s part. It was not a judgment against him. Thoughts on 2 Kings 25&#160; Eight hundred sixty years after Joshua led them into the Promised Land, the Jews lost it because of their failure to follow God’s Law. How many times had He told them, “If you will but turn from your wicked ways, I will restore you.” But time and time again they went back to their sinful ways like a dog returns to his vomit. It is sad, but it is a sobering reminder that even though God is love, He is a righteous and holy God.&#160; Patience does not imply weakness or the condoning of evil. It does not indicate forgetfulness. When warning after warning is given and ignored, it should not be a surprise when patience ends and judgment falls.&#160; Some Christians have a casual attitude regarding grace. They think that because God doesn’t send fire from Heaven or the ground to open up and swallow sinners, that He does not take sin seriously. They think that since “Jesus paid it all”, then sin is no big deal.&#160; Nothing could be further from the truth.&#160; Sin…my sin…your sin…is the reason Jesus was beaten beyond recognition and then brutally nailed to a rough hewn, splinter filled wooden cross in the most brutal execution method ever devised by man.&#160; Do you honestly think God is soft on sin?&#160; The only reason you and I do not have to face the consequences of our sin is because of the infinitely selfless sacrifice made by the sinless Lamb of God, Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter, the son of Mary, the Son of the Living God. Yes, He was (and is) God, but He was also human. The prospect of making that sacrifice was terrifying. Reread His prayer at Gethsemane if you doubt it. As He hung on the cross, He felt excruciating pain.&#160; Is God soft on sin? No. He. Is. Not. God’s judgment, ALL of it, fell on Jesus. So the grace that brings forgiveness to me and to you (if you are a follower of Jesus) was not, and is not cheap. Never forget it, and always be thankful for it. If you have not given your life to Jesus, don’t be like the Jews and think that God’s patience with you means He doesn’t care, isn’t paying attention, or worse yet…isn’t there. The Jews were His chosen people. He loved them. But He brought severe judgment on them. The time eventually came when time was up, and they were taken into captivity. Your time will come, too. It might come today, tomorrow, next year or 50 years from now. Each of us is working on finite time. Don’t let time run out before you accept the gift of grace offered by Jesus that He paid so dearly for. Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 21-24 ESV; Ch. 25 CEB Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00I&#8217;ll bet that she had no idea that one day her great grandson would own her Bible. Steve Webb 0:13Back together again, Hi, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God caster Steve Webb, welcome. You&#8217;re looking good today. Thank you for joining me. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year and today we&#8217;re gonna read Second Kings 21 through 25, which will complete the book. After we read, I&#8217;ll have some comments, and I&#8217;m calling this episode a treasure for future generations. Today&#8217;s Show Notes Pages at Lifespring media.com/s 12. E 216. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. I&#8217;d love to hear from you. Let&#8217;s get started. Steve Webb 0:54Second Kings chapter 21. Steve Webb 0:57Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to reign and he reigned 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother&#8217;s name was Hephzibah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. He rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for bail and made an Astra as Ahab, king of Israel had done and worshipped all the hosts of heaven and serve them. And he built altars in the house of the Lord of which the Lord had said, in Jerusalem, we&#8217;ll I put my name. And he built altars for all the hosts of heaven in the two courts of the house of the Lord. And he burned his son as an offering and used fortune telling and omens and dealt with mediums. And with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger, and the carved image of Asher that he had made. He said, In the house of which the Lord said to David into Solomon, his son, in this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them. And according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded them, but they did not listen. And Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done, whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel. And the Lord said, by His servants, the prophets, because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations, and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols. Therefore, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle, and I will stretch over Jerusalem, the measuring line of Sumeria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage, and give them into the hands of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, because they have done what is evil in my sight, and have provoked me to anger since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day. Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he had made Judah to sin, so that they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord. Steve Webb 3:37Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh in all that he did in the sin that he committed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah, and Manasseh slept with his fathers, and was buried in the garden of his house in the garden of Uzza. And Amman, his son reigned in his place. Amman was 22 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother&#8217;s name was Miss Shula with the daughter of Harrah&#8217;s of jock bot. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord as Manasseh his father had done, he walked in all the way in which his father walked and served the idols that his father served and worshipped them. He abandoned the Lord the God of his father&#8217;s and did not walk in the way of the Lord. And the servants of Amman conspired against him and put the king to death in his house. But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amman and the people of the land may Josiah his son king in his place. Now the rest of the acts of Amman that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah, and he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza. And Josiah his son reigned in his place. Steve Webb 4:51Second Kings chapter 22. Steve Webb 4:55Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign and he reigned 31 years in Jerusalem. Steve Webb 5:00him. His mother&#8217;s name was Jetta Daya, the daughter of a Daya of Basquiat. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord and walked in all the way of David his father. And he did not turn aside to the right or to the left. In the 18th year of King Josiah, the king sent shaven, the son of as Elia, son of my Shulam, the secretary to the house of the Lord, saying, Go up to Hilkiah, the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people, and let it be given into the hands of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and let them give it to the workmen who were at the house of the Lord repairing the house, that is to the carpenters into the builders into the Masons, and let them use it for buying timber in quarried stone to repair the house. But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand for a deal honestly. And Hilkiah, the high priest said to shake in the Secretary, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And he&#8217;ll Kaia gave the book to shaven, and he read it, and shape and the secretary came to the king and reported to the king, your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hands of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, then shape and the secretary told the king Hilkiah the priest has given me a book, and shape and read it before the king. When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest and a hike him the son of Shaphan, and Akbar the son of mkhaya, and chief and the Secretary and Isaiah The King servant, saying, Go inquire of the Lord for me and for the people. And for all Judah concerning the words of this book that has been found for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book to do according to all that is written concerning us. So Hilkiah, the priest at a high Kim and Akbar and shaven, and Isaiah went to hold, the prophet is the wife of Shallum, the son of Tikvah, son of har has keeper of the wardrobe. Now she lived in Jerusalem in the second quarter, and they talked with her. And she said to them, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, tell the man who sent you to me, Thus says the Lord, behold, I will bring disaster upon this place, and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read, because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands. Therefore, my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, regarding the words that you have heard, because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the Lord, when you heard how I spoke against this place, and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and occurs, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you declares the Lord. Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your father&#8217;s, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place. And they brought back word to the king. Steve Webb 8:21Second Kings chapter 23. Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to Him. And the king went up to the house of the Lord, and with him, all the men of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in there hearing all the words of the book of the covenant that had been found in the house of the Lord. And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to walk after the Lord, and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart, and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book, and all the people joined in the covenant. And the king commanded Hilkiah, the high priest, and the priests of the second order, and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the Lord, all the vessels made for bail for Ashura, and for all the hosts of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah, and around Jerusalem, those also who burned incense to Baal to the sun and the moon and the constellations, and all the hosts of the heavens. And he brought out the Asher from the house of the Lord outside Jerusalem to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of a common people. And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the Lord, where the woman wove hangings for the Ashura and he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah. Steve Webb 10:00defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings from Geebo to Beersheba, and he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua, the governor of the city, which were on ones left at the gate of the city. However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the Lord in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. And he defiled to fifth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter is an offering to Molek. And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun at the entrance to the house of the Lord, by the Chamber of Nathan Mielec, the chamberlain, which was in the precincts, and he burned all the chariots of the sun with fire, and the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the Lord. He pulled it down in broken pieces, and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth, the abomination of the Cydonia ins and for key Mosh, the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites, and he broke in pieces, the pillars and cut down the ashram and filled their places with the bones of men. Moreover, the altered Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam, the son of knee bat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with a high place, he pulled down and burned, reducing it to dust. He also burned the Ashura and as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the Mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the Word of the Lord, that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. Then he said, What is that monument that I see, and the men of the city told him? It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel, and he said, let him be let no man move his bones. So they let his bones alone with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. And Josiah removed all the shrines, also the high places that were in the cities of scenario which kings of Israel had made, provoking the Lord to anger, he did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel, and he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there on the altars, and burned human bones on them, then he returned to Jerusalem. And the king commanded all the people keep the Passover to the Lord your God as it is written in the book of the covenant. For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel, or the kings of Judah. But in the 18th, year of King Josiah, this Passover was kept to the Lord in Jerusalem. Moreover, Josiah put away all the mediums and the necromancers, and the household gods, and the idols and all the abominations that we&#8217;re seeing in the land of Judah, and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the Lord. Before him, there was no king like him, who turned to the Lord, with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might, according to the law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him. Still, the Lord did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because all of the provocations which Manasseh had provoked him. And the Lord said, I will remove Judah also from my site, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, my name shall be there. Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah. Steve Webb 14:01In his days, Pharaoh, Nico, king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Nico killed him at Megiddo as soon as he saw him, and his servants carried him dead in the chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem, and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah and anointed him and made him king in his father&#8217;s place. Jehovah has was 23 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother&#8217;s name was mutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father&#8217;s had done. And Pharaoh Nico put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hey myth that he might not rain in Jerusalem, and laid on the land attribute of 100 talents of silver and a talent of gold. And Pharaoh Nikko made eliaquim The son of Josiah King Steve Webb 15:00In the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. And Jehovah can gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give them money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exactly the silver and the gold of the people of the land from everyone according to his assessment to give it to Pharaoh Nico Steve Webb 15:24Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he began to reign, and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother&#8217;s name was Zubaida, the daughter of padega of rumah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that his fathers had done. Steve Webb 15:40Second Kings chapter 24. In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up and Jehovah Kim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against Him. And the Lord said against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Assyrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the Word of the Lord that He spoke by his servants the prophets. Steve Webb 16:08Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove him out of his sight for the sins of Manasseh according to all that he had done, and also for the innocent blood that he had shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord would not pardon. Steve Webb 16:24Now the rest of the deeds of joy Kim, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah, so Jehovah can slept with his fathers and Jehovah kin, his son reigned in his place, and the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt, from the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates. Jehovah Qin was 18 years old when he became king and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother&#8217;s name was Natasha, the daughter of L Nathan of Jerusalem, and he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord according to all that his father had done. Steve Webb 17:05At that time, the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged, and Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it. And Jehovah can the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself, and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign, and carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the kings house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the Lord had foretold. He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the Smiths. None remained except the poorest people of the land. And he carried away Jehovah akin to Babylon, the king&#8217;s mother, the king&#8217;s wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon, and the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon, all the men of valor 7000 and the craftsmen and the metal workers 1000 All of them strong and fit for war. And the king of Babylon made metanoia Jehovah kings uncle king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah. Steve Webb 18:28Zedekiah was 21 years old when he became king and he reigned 11 years in Jerusalem. His mother&#8217;s name was mutal, the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all the Jehovah Kim had done, for because of the anger of the Lord. It came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence, and Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. Steve Webb 18:55Second Kings chapter 25. Steve Webb 18:58Now is that a Kaia rebelled against the Babylonian king. So when the ninth year of Zedekiah as rule on the 10th day of the 10th month, Babylons, King Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem with his entire army. He camped beside the city and built a siege wall all around it. The city was under attack until King Zedekiah his 11th year on the ninth day of the month, the famine in the city got so bad that no food remained for the common people. Then the enemy broke into the city. All the soldiers fled by night using the gate between the two walls near the king&#8217;s garden. The Chaldeans were surrounding the city so the soldiers ran toward the desert plain, but the Kaldi and army chased King Zedekiah and caught up with him in the Jericho plains. His entire army deserted him. So the Calvin&#8217;s captured the king and brought him back to the Babylonian king who was at Riblah. There his punishment was determined Zedekiah sons were slaughtered right before his eyes. Then he was blinded, put in bronze chains and taken off to Babylon. Steve Webb 20:00On the seventh day in the fifth month in the 19th, year of Babylons, King Nebuchadnezzar Nebuzaradan arrived at Jerusalem. He was the commander of the guard and an official of the Babylonian king. He burned down the Lord&#8217;s temple, the Royal Palace and all of Jerusalem&#8217;s houses. He burned down every important building. The whole Kaldi in army out of the commander of the guard tore down the walls surrounding Jerusalem. Then Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard exile the people who were left in the city, those who had already surrendered to Babylons King and the rest of the population. The commander of the guard left some of the lands poor people behind to work the vineyards and bee farmers. The Chaldeans shattered the bronze columns, the stands and the bronze see that were in the Lord&#8217;s temple. They carried the bronze off to Babylon. They also took the pots, the shovels, the wick trimmers, the dishes, and all the bronze items that had been used in the temple. The commander of the guard took the fire pans and the sprinkling bowls which were made of pure gold in pure silver, the bronze and all these objects the two pillars the sea and the stands that Solomon had made for the Lord&#8217;s temple was too heavy to weigh. Each pillar was 27 feet high. The bronze capital on top of the first pillar was four and a half feet high. Decorative lattices and pomegranates, all made from bronze were around the Capitol. And the second pillar was decorated with lattices just like the first the commander of the guard also took away so Raya, the chief priest, Zephaniah, the priest, next in rank, and the three doorkeepers. Of those still left in the city. Nebuzaradan took away an officer who was in charge of the army and five royal advisors who were discovered in the city. He also took away the secretary of the officer responsible for drafting the lands people to fight, as well as 60 people who were discovered in the city Nebuzaradan, the commander of the guard took all of these people and brought them to the Babylonian king at Riblah. The king of Babylon struck them down, killing them in Riblah in the land of Emeth. So Judah was exiled from its land Steve Webb 22:07Babylons King Nebuchadnezzar put get Elia, a hykeham son and shamans grandson in charge of the people he had left behind in the land of Judah. All the army officers and their soldiers heard that the Babylonian king had appointed get Elia as governor so they came with their men to get Leia it Misbah. The officers were Ishmael Nathan I his son, Joe Hainan, Korea&#8217;s son, Surya. 10 Humans son who was in a tougher fight and jazz Anya macrophytes son, get Elia made a solemn pledge to them and their soldiers telling them Don&#8217;t be afraid of the Cambodian officials stay in the land and serve the Babylonian king, and things will go well for you. But in the seventh month, Ishmael, Nathanael, his son, and Alicia, his grandson, who was from the royal family, came with 10 soldiers, and they struck dead Elia and he died. They also killed a Jew, Dan&#8217;s and the Chaldeans who are with him in Misbah. Then all the people young and old, along with the army officers departed for Egypt because they were afraid of the Chaldeans. In the year that Abel meritech became king of Babylon, he released Judas King Joe Hagen from prison. This happened in the 37th year of the exile of King Jehoiachin. On the 27th day of the 12th month. Abel mera Adak spoke kindly to Jehovah akin and seated him above the other kings who are with him in Babylon. So Jehovah can took off his prisoner clothes and ate regularly in the king&#8217;s presence for the rest of his life. At the king&#8217;s command, a regular food allowance was given to him every day for the rest of his life. Steve Webb 23:46Today, I&#8217;ve got comments on chapters 22, 23 and 25. In chapter 22, we see that Hilkiah, the high priest found the book of the law of the temple. Well, let&#8217;s take a look at the context of this discovery. The last righteous king before Josiah who was the king that ordered Hilkiah to begin repairing the now dilapidated Temple was Hezekiah 57 years passed between the end of Hezekiah his reign and the beginning of Josiah his reign, and it was in the 18th year of Josias rain that he began the repairs. Well, that means that the temple had been neglected for 75 years, it&#8217;s no wonder that the book of the law had been lost, right? It was probably even forgotten, and it&#8217;s quite probable that it was the only existing copy of God&#8217;s law. Think of it. At this point. There were hundreds of years of Jewish history from the time that God gave Moses the Tablets, after miraculously delivering them from Egypt, Pharaoh to King David to Solomon&#8217;s building of the temple, and on and on, up until this King Josiah decides that the temple must be repaired. God was certainly gracious that he preserved this document. And now think about this every copy since then came from that long last book, the Bible that you hold in your hand is a treasure. It&#8217;s life. It is the Word of the living God. And if it had not been for Josiah his decision to repair the temple, who knows where we&#8217;d be today, but of course, God was, and he always is faithful. Now, I&#8217;m a guy that likes technology. I love that we have access to just about every version and every translation of the Bible because of the internet. They&#8217;re available on our desktop computers, our notebook computers, our phones, our tablets, and most of them are free. I love it. But I deeply believe that everyone who calls him or herself a believer should own at least one hardcopy of the Bible. Because what happens if we no longer have access to those electronic copies that could happen? Internet censorship, Israel in some areas of the world, and it could spread. As a matter of fact, I believe that when the Antichrist takes over, he&#8217;s going to make it so that Bibles will disappear from whatever the internet is at that time. So then where would we be, we&#8217;ll only have the printed word. Even if that doesn&#8217;t happen in our lifetime, we should still have at least one printed Bible. There&#8217;s something special about holding the book in your hands. It is truly an awesome experience to leap through the pages of a well worn Bible and discover God&#8217;s truths. I&#8217;ve got shelves full of Bibles sitting within easy reach of me right now, just four and a half feet away. Each copy is special, but I&#8217;ve got a couple of Bibles that I dearly love. And one of them belonged to my great grandmother. She wrote notes in it as she read, and she has the dates of the three times that she read through from Genesis to Revelation. And I&#8217;ll bet that she had no idea that one day her great grandson would own her Bible, and all pass that Bible along to generations following me Who knows how many generations will have had her Bible to look at to read to see what her notes are? It&#8217;s amazing. It&#8217;s a did makes me want to cry right now. So the question is, will your descendants have a treasure like that? They could if you have a hard copy of the Bible, and you make notes and you pass it along to your descendants, what a treasure. So my recommendation for you is to have a printed Bible. Write in it, make notes, keep a sort of spiritual diary in it, talk to generations yet unborn. Now in chapter 23, we see that the good and righteous King Josiah did everything possible to thoroughly remove every unclean and unholy and idolatrous item from the land. He went to great lengths to be sure that there was nothing left or that could ever be recovered. That was against the law of God. Take note that Josiah did this after God had declared through the prophet as holder, that he would bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, because they&#8217;d forsaken him and had made offerings to other gods. And God said, Therefore, my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. It is to Josiah his credit that he still went forward with his reforms. He could have given up and just waited for God to bring his judgment, but he didn&#8217;t ensure enough disaster did come upon them. But only after Pharaoh Nico, king of Egypt killed Josiah in battle. So let&#8217;s look at this. Josiah cleaned the place up, and he brought God&#8217;s law back to Judah. So why didn&#8217;t God turn from his wrath? Well, in my opinion, it&#8217;s because God looks at the heart, not just the actions. Remember the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus said that if you&#8217;ve thought of doing an unrighteous act, you have done the act. That&#8217;s a rough paraphrase, of course. And God looked at the hearts of the people of Judah. And even though Josiah whose heart was right, made the people follow the law through his authority is king. They still longed after those ungodly and idolatrous things that they used to do. Outwardly they did right but inwardly they had not changed. One more thing, did you know that death is not the worst thing that can happen to you? With the death of Josiah by Pharaoh Nico God spare Josiah from seeing what was coming down on Judah. It was a merciful act on God&#8217;s part that didn&#8217;t wasn&#8217;t judgment against him. So now let&#8217;s go to chapter 25 860 years after Joshua led them into the Promised Land, the Jews lost it because of their failure to follow God&#8217;s law. How many times had God told him if you will, but turn from your wicked ways I will restore you, but time and again, they went back to their sinful ways, like a dog returns to his vomit. That is sad, but it&#8217;s a sobering reminder that even though God is love, He is a righteous and holy God. Patience doesn&#8217;t imply weakness or the condoning of evil. It doesn&#8217;t indicate forgetfulness. When warning after warning is given and then ignored. It should not be a surprise when patience ends in judgment false. Some Christians have a casual attitude regarding grace. They think that because God doesn&#8217;t send fire from heaven or he doesn&#8217;t cause the ground to open up and swallow sinners, that he doesn&#8217;t take sin seriously. They think that since Jesus paid it all, quote, unquote, then sin is no big deal. Well, nothing could be further from the truth, sin, my sin, your sin, all sin is the reason that Jesus was beaten beyond recognition, and then brutally nailed to a rough hewn split, her field wouldn&#8217;t cross in the most brutal execution method ever designed by man? Do you honestly think that God is soft on sin? The only reason you and I don&#8217;t have to face the consequences of our sin is because of the infinitely selfless sacrifice made by the sinless Lamb of God, Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter, the son of Mary, the Son of the living God. Yes, he was and is God, but he was also human. The prospect of making that sacrifice was terrifying to him. Reread the prayer at guest 70. If you doubt that, and as He hung on the cross, he felt excruciating pain. Is God&#8217;s soft on sin? No, he&#8217;s not God&#8217;s judgment. All of it fell on Jesus that day. So the grace that brings forgiveness to me and to you, if you&#8217;re a follower of Jesus was not, and is not cheap. Don&#8217;t forget that. And always be thankful for it. If you&#8217;ve not yet given your life to Jesus, don&#8217;t be like the Jews and think that God&#8217;s patience with you means that he doesn&#8217;t care. He&#8217;s not paying attention. Or worse yet, that he isn&#8217;t there. Think about it. The Jews were his chosen people. He loved them, but he brought severe judgment on them. The time eventually came when time was up, and they were taken into captivity. Each of us will face the time where our time is up. It might come today, or tomorrow, next year, or 50 years from now, each of us is working on finite time. Don&#8217;t let that time run out before you accept the gift of grace offered by Jesus, that He paid so dearly for. What are your thoughts? Leave a comment at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e to 16. A write me an email at Steve at Lifespring media.com. If you&#8217;d like to know more about how to accept Jesus into your life, let me know. Reading tomorrow will be Psalms 93 through 95. Here&#8217;s your cue to boost. Steve Webb 32:46Well this morning, some boost came in from people that I haven&#8217;t seen before. That&#8217;s awesome. Thank you. And God bless you. The boost didn&#8217;t come with names on them. So I don&#8217;t know who you are. But I&#8217;m glad that you&#8217;re here. So I&#8217;m thinking they probably heard me mentioned that maybe it&#8217;s time to try out a new and better podcast app. Sure, you can still keep that quaint old legacy app that&#8217;s been around forever. I get it. I&#8217;ve got some antiques in my home too. And I&#8217;ve got some obsolete technology here in the Lifespring media central studio. I&#8217;m looking at an old camcorder sitting on a shelf just three feet away. I keep it because it&#8217;s the only way to play the videos. We took our kids when they were little. Do I use it to create videos now? Of course not. I could but why would I? My phone takes better quality video now than the old camcorder ever could. And I can do so much more with it. Same with a new podcast apps over a new podcast. apps.com. What will they do that your old legacy podcast app can&#8217;t do? Well, you can see the new episode art I create for each new episode. You can stream and boost SATs to your favorite podcasters which is a way to participate in value for value of course. And you can see transcripts as podcasts play kinda like closed captioning. I publish transcripts for the episodes of this show, but they&#8217;re not showing up right now. For some reason I&#8217;m working on that and I&#8217;ll get them working one way or another. And the new podcast apps can do more. So get a better podcast app at new podcast apps.com chapters, transcripts, images, links stream micro payments to the podcast and sensitive issues in real time over the Lightning Network using a compatible podcasting 2.0 app, just go to new podcast apps.com That&#8217;s new podcast apps.com And for more info go to podcast index.org. Steve Webb 34:38On this date in church history, April 5 1922 Pandita Sarasvati Rama by an Indian Christian educator and reformer passed away during a severe famine in 1896 Sarasvati established an orphanage called mukti Sudan which means house of salvation for more than 300 women and children Steve Webb 35:00She also supervised a Marathi translation of the Bible from Sanskrit. And hello to the Lifespring family members in India. I&#8217;m sure I probably really did not pronounce those names properly. And for that, I apologize. But I&#8217;m so glad you&#8217;re here. And on this date in church history, April 5 1953. In Washington, DC President Dwight D. Eisenhower inaugurated the Presidential prayer breakfast later called the National Prayer Breakfast. And in 1956, he signed an act making In God we trust the national motto, well, i Good on you. Steve Webb 35:46Let&#8217;s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we worship you, Lord, we praise you for who you are and for what you&#8217;ve done for us. Forgive us, Lord for the times that we take your grace for granted. It was far too costly for us to do that. And we are sorry for the times we have. Give us a new appreciation and a reverence for this most precious gift of your grace. I pray this in Jesus name, amen. If you&#8217;ve got a prayer request or a praise that you&#8217;d like to share with the Lifespring family, you can do that at prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 36:26Comment on the show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 216. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. And please support the show at Lifespring media.com/support or stream and boost those sets using one of those new podcast apps. For those of you that already are i Thank you. God bless you until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. Thank you for being here. My name is Steve Webb. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will read Leviticus 22-24.&#160;I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “An Eye For An Eye?” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Nick Fewings on Unsplash Comments on Leviticus 24 If a man hurts his neighbor, it will be done to him just as he has done, broken bone for broken bone, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. Just as he has hurt a man, so he will be hurt. Leviticus 24:19-20 NLV Most people have heard the phrase, &#8220;An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.&#8221; Let&#8217;s talk about this for a few minutes. Some have used this as an excuse to take revenge. After all, if someone harms us, the natural response is to want to get them back&#8230;with interest.&#160; Others have taken &#8220;An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth&#8221; to mean that it is an obligation to repay injury for injury. But the truth is that God was setting limits for meting out justice. The punishment cannot be worse than the offense.&#160; In addition, the phrase was not to be taken literally. The Law of Moses actually set a standard of repayment in situations like this. Exodus 21:26 says, &#8220;If a man strikes the eye of his male or female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye.&#8221;&#160; Also, keep in mind that focus here in Leviticus is on establishing community standards. What the legal structure was to be. Yes, it was legal to seek restitution for injuries inflicted. But in Matthew 5:38-42, Jesus addressed how individuals should react to such circumstances. “You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.&#8221; In this teaching, Jesus was telling us that when we are insulted or offended, we should not respond in kind. The phrase &#8220;to be slapped on the right cheek&#8221; was understood to be deeply insulted, not an actual physical attack. Jesus was not saying that we should not defend ourself if we are being physically attacked.&#160; Bible commentator William Barclay wrote, “Jesus is here saying that the true Christian has learned to resent no insult and to seek retaliation for no slight.” Jesus was called a glutton, a blasphemer, crazy, a drunk and an illegitimate child, yet He did not strike back. He responded with love. Remember, these examples are referring to when we are insulted or otherwise “put upon”.&#160; Jesus was not saying that evil itself should not be resisted. He resisted evil, as when he overturned the tables in the Temple. Also, when he verbally shut down the religious hypocrites, which he called a “brood of snakes.”&#160; So &#8220;an eye for an eye&#8221; is not a requirement, but a limit. And it is for the civil authorities to enforce. We are to respond to slights and insults and impositions by showing love, not by seeking revenge or trying to get even.&#160; What is love? 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 sums it up nicely: 4Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. (NLT) So what do you think?&#160;Comment at the bottom of this page. Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 22 NLV; Ch. 23 WEB; Ch. 24 NLV Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00The natural response is to want to get them back with interest. Steve Webb 0:12It&#8217;s that time again for the Lifespring family Audio Bible. I&#8217;m coming to you from Riverside, California. And podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God casters. Steve Webb. Welcome. What&#8217;s shakin? Thank you for joining me. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And today we&#8217;re going to read Leviticus 22 through 24. Afterwards, I&#8217;ll have some comments, and I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, an eye for an eye. The show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e to 15. Want to send me an email. Great, I look forward to it. The address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. Are you ready? Let&#8217;s go. Steve Webb 0:50Leviticus 22 The Lord said to Moses, tell Aaron and his sons to be careful with the holy gifts that the people of Israel set apart for me so they will not sin against My Holy Name. I am the Lord. Say to them, If anyone of all your children comes near the holy gift that the people of Israel set apart for the Lord, while he is unclean, he will be cut off from my holy place. I am the Lord. None of the children of Aaron who has a bad skin disease or something flowing from his body may eat of the holy gifts until he is clean. If one touches anything that is unclean because of a dead body, or has had his seed come from his sex part or touches anything that is unclean that moves on the ground, or touches any man who makes him unclean for whatever reason, the man who touches any such thing will be unclean until evening. He must not eat any of the holy gifts unless he is washed his body and water. When the sun is gone down he will be clean. After that he may eat of the holy gifts for their his food. He should not eat an animal that dies of itself or is killed by wild animals. He will be unclean if he does. I am the Lord. The religious leaders must obey my law so they will not be sinful because of it and die because they sinned against my law. I am the Lord who makes them holy. But no one who is not a religious leader may eat the holy gift. One who is visiting the religious leader or working for him must not eat of the holy gift. But a person whom the religious leader buys to work for him with his own money may eat of it, and those who are born in his house may eat of his food. If a religious leaders daughter is married to a man who is not a religious leader, she must not eat of the holy gifts. But if a religious leaders daughter loses her husband by death or divorce, and has no child and returns to her father&#8217;s house as when she was young, she may eat for father&#8217;s food, but no stranger may eat of it. If a man eats a holy gift by mistake, he must add a fifth of its worth to it and give the Holy gift to the religious leader. That religious leaders must not make the holy gifts unclean that the people of Israel give to the Lord. This would bring sin upon them when they eat their holy gifts. For I am the Lord who makes them holy. Then the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron and his sons and to all the people of Israel, when any man of the house of Israel or of the strangers in Israel gives this gift for a burnt gift to the Lord, to pay a promise or as a freewill gift to please the Lord. It must be a male that is perfect from the cattle, sheep or goats. Do not give anything that is not perfect for you will not please the Lord. When a man gives a piece gift to the Lord to keep a special promise or for a free will gift from the cattle or the flock. It must be perfect to be received. It must have nothing wrong with it. You must not give to the Lord or make a gift by fire on the altar to the Lord. Any animals that are blind or broken or hurt, or have a flowing sore or a skin disease. You may give for a freewill gift a bowl or a lamb which has some part too long or too short, but it will not be received if it is to pay a promise. Do not give to the Lord any animal with its ex parte hurt or crushed or torn or cut. Do not give such animals on the altar in your land, and do not receive such animals from a man from another land to give as the food of your God for they are unclean. They are not perfect. They will not be received from you. The Lord said to Moses, when a bull or sheep or goat is born, it must stay seven days with its mother. After that it will be received as a gift by fire to the Lord. But do not kill a cow or a female sheep and her young on the same day. When you give thanks to the Lord by giving a gift in worship, give it the right way so that you will be received. It must be eaten on the same day. Do not leave any of it until morning. I am the Lord. So keep my laws and obey them. I am the Lord. Do not sin against my holy name. I will be honored among the people of Israel. I am the Lord who makes you holy. I brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord. Steve Webb 5:21Leviticus 23. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the Children of Israel and tell them the set feasts of Yahweh which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations even these are my set feasts. Six days shall work be done. But on the seventh day is the Sabbath, a solemn rest, a holy convocation, you shall do no kind of work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh you know your dwellings. These are the set feasts of your way, even holy convocations which you shall proclaim and they&#8217;re appointed season. In the first month on the 14th day of the month, in the evening, is you always Passover, on the 15th day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to your way, seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. In the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work, but you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh seven days. In the seventh day is a holy convocation. You shall do no regular work. Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the Children of Israel and tell them when you have come into the land which I give to you, and shall reap its harvest. Then you shall bring the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest, and he shall wave the sheaf before your way to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath, the priest shall waive it. On the Day when you wave the sheaf. You shall offer a male lamb without blemish a year old for a burnt offering to Yawei. The meal offering with it shall be too tense parts of any font of fine flour mingled with oil and offering made by fire to Yawei for a pleasant aroma, and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, the fourth part of a hin. You shall eat neither bread, nor roasted grain nor fresh grain until this same day until you have brought the offering of your God. This is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, seven Sabbath shall be completed, even to the next day after the seventh Sabbath, you shall number 50 days and you shall offer a new meal offering to your way. You shall bring out of your habitations two loaves of bread for a wave offering made of two tents parts of an ephah of fine flour. They shall be baked with yeast for first fruits to Yawei you shall present with the bread seven lambs without blemish a year old, one young bull and two RAMs, they shall be a bird offering to yell away with their meal offering and Their drink offerings, even an offering made by fire, have a sweet aroma to Yahweh. You shall offer one male goat for a sin offering and two male lambs a year old for a sacrifice of peace offerings. The priest shall waive them with the bread of the first fruits for a wave offering before you go away with the two lambs. They shall be holy to Yawei for the priest, you shall make proclamation on the same day, there shall be a holy convocation to you, you shall do no regular work. This is a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap into the corners of your field, neither shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest, you shall leave them for the poor and for the foreigner, I am Yahweh your God. Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the Children of Israel sang in the seventh month on the first day of the month shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation, you shall do no regular work, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, however, on the 10th day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall afflict yourselves, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, you shall do no kind of work in that same day for it as a day of atonement to make atonement for you before Yahweh your God. For whoever it is, Who shall not deny himself in that same day shall be cut off from his people, whoever it is, who does any kind of work in that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people, you shall do no kind of work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves in the ninth day of the month at evening from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath. Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, Speak to the Children of Israel and say, on the 15th day of the seventh month is the feast of tents for seven days to Yahweh. On the first day shall be a holy convocation you shall do no regular work. Seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day shall be a holy convocation to you, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh. It is a solemn assembly, you shall do no regular work. These are the appointed feasts of Yahweh which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations to offer an offering made by fire to Yahweh, a burnt offering and a meal offering a sacrifice and drink offerings, each on its own day, besides the Sabbath of Yahweh, and besides your gifts, and besides all your vows, and besides all your free will offerings which you give to your way. So on the 15th day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruits of the land, you shall keep the Feast of Yawei seven days on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. You shall take on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees and willows of the brook. And you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God seven days. You shall keep it a feast to Yahweh seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations. You shall keep it in the seventh month. You shall dwell in booths seven days. All who are native born in Israel shall dwell in booths, that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am Yahweh your God. Moses declared to the children of Israel the appointed feasts of Yahweh. Steve Webb 11:58Leviticus 24. The Lord said to Moses, tell the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the light to keep a lamp burning all the time. Outside the curtain of the law in the meeting tent, Aaron will keep it burning from evening to morning before the Lord always it will be a law forever for all your people. He will take care of the lamps on the pure gold lamp stand before the Lord all the time. Then take find flour and bake 12 loaves of bread. Use two jars of flour for each leaf. Set them side by side in two rows six in each row. On the pure gold table before the Lord put pure sweet spelling spices on each row to go with the bread as something to be remembered. It is a gift by fire to the Lord. Every day of rest he will set it before the Lord all the time. It is a law forever for the people of Israel. The bread is for Aaron and his sons who will eat it in a holy place. It is the most holy part for him out of the gifts by fire to the Lord. It is his share forever. Now the son of an Israelite woman whose father was an Egyptian wit among the people of Israel, and the Israelite woman&#8217;s son, and a man of Israel fought with each other among the tents. The son of the Israelites woman swore against the name of the Lord. So they brought him to Moses. His mother&#8217;s name was Shalom with the daughter of Deborah of the family of Dan, and they kept him shut up until the will of the Lord might be made known to them. Then the Lord said to Moses, take the one who has sworn against me away from the tents. Let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, then let all the people kill him by throwing stones, say to the people of Israel, if anyone swears against his God, he will suffer for his own sin. The one who speaks against the name of the Lord will be put to death for sure all the people will kill him with stones. Both the stranger and those born in the land will be put to death when he speaks against the name of the Lord. If a man takes the life of any human being, he will be put to death for sure. The one who takes the life of an animal will pay for it a life for a life. If a man hurts his neighbor, it will be done to him just as he is done. Broken Bone for broken bone, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, just as he has hurt a man, so will he be hurt. So the one who kills an animal will pay for it with an animal but the one who kills a man will be put to death. You will have the same law for the stranger and for the one born among you, for I am the Lord your God. Then Moses spoke to the people of Israel, and they took the one who swore against God and brought him away from the tents and killed him with stones. So the people of Israel did as the Lord told Moses. Steve Webb 14:55Let&#8217;s talk a little bit about Leviticus chapter 24 verses 19 through 20. Say, If a man hurts his neighbor, it will be done to him just as he has done broken bone for broken bone, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, just as he has hurt a man, so he will be hurt. Alright, well, most people have heard the phrase An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, right? Let&#8217;s talk about that. Some have used this as an excuse to take revenge. After all, if somebody harms us, the natural response is to want to get them back with interest. Others have taken an eye for an eye tooth for tooth to mean that it is an obligation to repay injury for injury. But the truth is that God was setting limits for meeting out justice, the punishment cannot be worse than the offense. And also, the phrase was not to be taken literally, the law of Moses actually set a standard of repayment in situations like this. Exodus 21, for example, verse 26, says, If a man strikes the eye of his male or a female servant, and destroys it, he shall let him go free for the sake of his eye. So the law doesn&#8217;t say, Take That man&#8217;s eye it says to make up for it, set the servant free. Also, keep in mind that focus here in Leviticus is on establishing community standards, what the legal structure was to be, yes, it was part of the legal system to seek restitution for injuries that were inflicted. But in Matthew five, verses 38 through 42, Jesus addressed how individuals should react to such circumstances. He said, You have heard that it was said An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, but I say to you, do not resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him. Also, if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat. Also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him to give to him who asks of you and do not turn away from Him who wants to borrow from you. So what&#8217;s going on here? In this teaching, Jesus was telling us that when we are insulted or offended, we should not respond in kind. The phrase that he used there having to do with being slapped on the right cheek was understood by their culture, to have the meaning that you&#8217;re being deeply insulted. He wasn&#8217;t talking about an actual physical attack. He wasn&#8217;t saying that we should not defend ourselves if we are being physically attacked. He was talking about insults or being slided Bible commentator William Barclay wrote, Jesus is here saying that the true Christian has learned to resent no insult and to seek retaliation for no slight. Think about it. Jesus was called a glutton. He was called a blasphemer. He was called crazy, a drunk and even an illegitimate child. But what did he do? Did he strike back? No, he responded in love. Again, these examples are referring to when we are insulted or otherwise put upon. Jesus was not saying that evil itself should not be resisted. He resisted evil as when He overturned the tables in the temple. And when he verbally shut down the religious hypocrites, which he called a brute of snakes, so in that case, he was resisting evil as well. So an eye for an AI is not a requirement. It&#8217;s a limit. And it&#8217;s for the civil authorities to enforce. We are to respond to slights and insults and impositions by showing love, not by seeking revenge or trying to get even. So that begs the question, what is it to show love? What is love? Well, as it just so happens, the Bible addresses that as well as you might expect. First Corinthians 13, four through eight sums it up nicely. Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice, but rejoices whenever the Truth Wins Out. Love never gives up. Love never loses faith is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance. So what do you think? Let me know. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 215. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and let me know your thoughts are reading tomorrow is Second Kings 21 through 25. Unknown Speaker 19:50And now, as the French say it is time for le boost. Steve Webb 20:06On this date in church history, April 4 1507, Martin Luther was ordained as a priest in Erfurt, Germany one year after being consecrated as a monk in the Augustinian order. And just 10 years later, on October 31 1517, he nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, which began the Protestant Reformation. Steve Webb 20:42Let&#8217;s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your word today. Help us Lord to respond in love when we&#8217;re insulted. But give us courage, Lord, to resist evil. I ask Lord that you bless the Lifespring family today. I thank you for each one who&#8217;s here today. And I asked you to give each of us a deep thirst to know you better. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you got a prayer request or a praise, please let me know at prayer dot Lifespring media.com Fill out the form. They&#8217;re all get a notification. I&#8217;ll read it. And then I&#8217;ll pray with you and for you in my private prayer time. And we&#8217;ll pray together on the show. Prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 21:32Please tell other people about the show. If you like the show, and if you don&#8217;t, why are you listening? But if you like it, don&#8217;t you think some of your friends and family would like it as well? Share the show? Comment at Lifespring media.com/s 12 v 215. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. And please support the show at Lifespring media.com/support. You can also stream SATs and send booster grams if you&#8217;ve got one of these brand new podcasting 2.0 enabled podcast apps get rid of that dusty old legacy podcast app that&#8217;s been around for 20 years. Yeah, I know you&#8217;re familiar with it. You know how it works. But you are so limiting yourself as to the enjoyment you can have with one of the new podcast apps. Every new episode of The Lifespring family Audio Bible has new artwork to it. Are you seeing that in your app? If you&#8217;re not getting a new one, get a better one. Get one at new podcast apps.com Once you get it set it up so that you can stream SATs and send booster grams to me. It&#8217;s getting easier every day. You don&#8217;t have to be such an extreme geek to make them work. But until tomorrow may God bless you richly. It&#8217;s been good seeing you today. Thank you for being here. My name is Steve Webb. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we will read 1 Thessalonians 4-5.&#160;I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “How To Prepare.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash Comments on 1 Thessalonians 4-5 Some Tools For Bible Study Today in my comments, I’m going to explain a bit of how I do my Bible studies, and how you can enrich your reading of the Bible, and I’ll do it in the context of today’s reading. Sound good? Most of us who are serious about Bible study know that reading from more that one translation is a good thing, especially if we’re going to be teaching or preaching. Today’s reading is an excellent example of why this is a good idea. Chapter 4 The translation we read from today is the Good News Translation. Chapter 4, verses 4 and 5 in the GNT reads like this: “Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way, 5not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God.” As I read that, it seemed just a little “off” to me. Not that there’s anything wrong with living “with your wife in a holy and honorable way”, but tying this thought with “not with a lustful desire, like the heathen” just didn’t sit right with me, because sexual desire between a husband and wife is a gift from God.&#160; I decided that I should look at how other translations rendered this passage. Here are some examples of verse 4: The English Standard Version says: that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, The NIV says: that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, And for good measure, the KJV says: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; So the ESV and the NIV agree on the translation the “body”. But as you heard, the KJV said “possess his vessel”. None of the three referred to the “wife”. So I read this verse in several other translations: the NASB, Young’s Literal Translation, the Holman Christian Standard Bible, New Living Translation. All of them agreed on the “body”.&#160; The God’s Word translation, and Contemporary English Version used “wife” in one way or another. So what to do? How should this verse be properly translated? We need to go to the original language. Thankfully, we don’t need to take a complete course in Greek, which is the language used in the New Testament. The first thing I do is consult what is called an Interlinear New Testament.&#160; An interlinear NT has the complete text of the NT, with the Greek words appearing either directly above or below the English words, so you can see which exact Greek word is used. That’s the first step. The next step, if you don’t know Greek, is to use either a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance or Young’s Analytical Concordance. Today, I used Young’s. Both Young’s and Strong’s use the KJV, so I looked up the word “vessel”.&#160; I found that there are two Greek words used in the NT that are translated into the English word “vessel”. One of them is used only twice, in the book of Matthew. In this case, the word means “vessel, or utensil”. The other Greek word is used eighteen times and it means “vessel, utensil or instrument”, and this is the word in our reading today.&#160; In my opinion, the thought that Paul wanted to convey to us is this: our bodies are the vessel or instrument that contains our souls, and we should not allow our vessels to be controlled by lust, as do those who do not know God. There is no mention of husbands or wives in the original language, and I therefor do not think that it should be included in the text of the verse. Now, in the defense of the translations that do include it, the argument can be made that Paul implied the thought of husbands and or wives, because sexual desire is only proper in the context of marriage. Since he was teaching against what the KJV refers to as fornication, or what we would today call sexual immorality, he would be saying that sexual desire should only be for your husband or your wife.&#160; So now you know a bit of how I study the Bible. Having several translations of the Bible is a good thing, but as you read them, it is important to take into consideration that some are more faithful to the original language, and others are less concerned with word-for-word accuracy, and emphasize more of an idea-for-idea approach to Bible translation. When we compare different translations to each other, and then use tools like the Strong’s or Young’s concordances and an interlinear Bible, combined with prayer and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I believe we can reach a more complete understanding of the Scripture.&#160; The Rapture Verses 13-18 deal with the return of Jesus. These verses tell us that at His return, the believers who have died will be resurrected. And then those who are believers and are alive will be gathered up, or caught up along with the ones who have just been resurrected to meet the Lord in the air. This event is often called &#8220;the rapture.&#8221; Where do we get that term? The Latin Vulgate translated the phrase &#8220;caught up&#8221; as rapturus, from which we get the word rapture. This event will happen. Paul said, &#8220;What we are teaching you now is the Lord&#8217;s teaching&#8230;&#8221; In saying this, Paul was emphasizing that this is not his idea, but it came directly from Jesus. Bible commentator Adam Clarke wrote: “In no place does the apostle speak more confidently and positively of his inspiration than here; and we should prepare ourselves to receive some momentous and interesting truth.” So there really should be no doubt on the part of the believer that this is something that will happen at some time in the future.&#160; Chapter 5 &#8211; As A Thief In the Night I believe that it is important to reiterate what Jesus said in Matthew 24:36: “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself.&#160; Only the Father knows.&#8221; NLT Paul told the Thessalonians that &#8220;&#8230;the Day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night.&#8221; in verse 2.&#160; A thief does not make an announcement letting his victims know when he will arrive. In the same way, we do not know when Jesus will return. But like the prudent home owner who prepares for the thief, we must also be prepared. Paul continued in verse 3: &#8220;When people say, &#8216;Everything is quiet and safe,&#8217; then suddenly destruction will hit them!&#8221; For those who are unprepared, for the unbeliever, this day will be a sad one, indeed.&#160; There was also a clue in this statement as to the conditions in the world when Jesus returns. &#8220;When people say, &#8216;Everything is quiet and safe,&#8217; then suddenly destruction will hit them!&#8221;&#160; So when the rapture happens, it will come when there is quiet and safety in the world.&#160; But in Matthew 24, Jesus tells the disciples what signs to look for before His return. He talks about the &#8220;abomination of desolation&#8221; from the book of Daniel&#8230;the destruction of the Temple. Some people believe this happened in AD 70, others believe the Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem, and that is where the abomination of desolation will take place. We do not have time on the show to get into the debate, and as I have said I&#8217;m pretty dogmatic about not being dogmatic when it comes to end times prophecy. What we can know for sure is that Jesus talked about a terrible time coming prior to His return. So what do we do with &#8220;quiet and safe&#8221;, with the turmoil Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24?&#160; It seems to me that the rapture will occur before the Tribulation begins. But others believe it will happen halfway through the Tribulation. Still others think it will be at the end of the Tribulation. There are lots of plausible arguments for each theory, and many books have been written by people who have spent lots of time poring over the scriptures. I read several of them back in the 80s, but since then I have not read any others. I think that it is more important just to know that Jesus will return, and that we must be ready. How do we get ready? We have to know that we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ. That&#8217;s it. Jesus has to be our Lord and Savior.&#160; Are You Prepared? So really, preparing for His return is no different than preparing for eternity. Each of us, if He does not come back first, will die. Nobody gets outta here alive. So what happens when we die? If we have placed our faith in Jesus, we will go to Heaven.&#160; Preparing for His return is no more than living our lives in such a way that pleases God. We are here on planet Earth to glorify Him. We are to share the Good News of a Risen Savior. We are to be salt and light. We are to make disciples.&#160; We are not, in anticipation of His coming, to withdraw from the world and just wait. That would be a terrible waste of time, talent and treasure, as in Jesus&#8217; parable in Luke 19:11-27. And the Lord would not be pleased. Are you prepared? Have you placed your faith in Jesus? Do you know that you will go to Heaven when you die, or that you will meet Jesus in the air if the rapture happens? You don&#8217;t have to wonder if you&#8217;ll make it. It isn&#8217;t about being good enough. There&#8217;s no such thing. All of us have sinned. We need the forgiveness that only Jesus can provide. He died on a cross, taking my sins and yours on Himself. And then on the third day, he rose from the grave, proving that He is God. And over the next 50 days, before He ascended into Heaven, He was seen by more than 500 people. (1 Corinthians 15:6)&#160; Do you want to be sure that you&#8217;re ready? Let Him know. Invite Him in. Pray with me. &#8220;Lord Jesus. I know that I am a sinner, and I am sorry. Please forgive me. I turn from my sins now, and I ask that from this point on, you be my Lord. Help me to live for you. Amen.&#8221; Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 4-5 GNT Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00This event is often called the rapture Steve Webb 0:09Hello there, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God Gaster. Steve Webb, welcome. What&#8217;s new? How are ya? This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today, we&#8217;re gonna read First Thessalonians, four and five. I&#8217;ll have comments on both chapters, actually quite a few comments, and I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, How To prepare the shownotes page for today&#8217;s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12. E to 14, you can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Well, you ready? Let&#8217;s go. Steve Webb 0:48First Thessalonians chapter four. Finally, our friends, you learn from us how you should live in order to please God. This is of course the way you have been living. And now we beg and urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to do even more. For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. God wants you to be wholly and completely free from sexual immorality. Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way. Not with a lustful desire like the heathen who do not know God in this manner, then none of you should do wrong to other Christians or take advantage of them. We have told you this before. And we strongly warned you that the Lord will punish those who do that. God did not call us to live in a morality but in holiness. So then whoever rejects this teaching is not rejecting a human being but God who gives you His Holy Spirit. There is no need to write you about love for each other, you yourselves have been taught by God, how you should love one another. And you have in fact behaved like this toward all the believers in all of Macedonia. So we beg you, our friends, to do even more, make it your aim to live a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to earn your own living just as we told you before. In this way, you will win the respect of those who are not believers. And you will not have to depend on anyone for what you need. Our friends, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again. And so we believe that God will take back with Jesus, those who have died believing in Him. What we are teaching you now is the Lord&#8217;s teaching. we who are alive on the day of the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died, there will be the shout of command, the archangels voice, the sound of God&#8217;s trumpet, and the Lord Himself who will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first, then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. So then encourage one another with these words. Steve Webb 3:04First Thessalonians chapter five. There is no need to write you friends about the times and occasions when these things will happen. For you, yourself know very well that the day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night. When people say everything is quiet and safe, then suddenly destruction will hit them. It will come as suddenly as the pains that come upon a woman in labor and people will not escape. But you friends are not in the darkness and the day should not take you by surprise like a thief. All of your people who belong to the light, who belong to the day, we do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then we should not be sleeping like the others. We should be awake and sober. It is at night when people sleep. It is at night when they get drunk. But we belong to the day and we should be sober. We must wear faith in love as a breastplate and our hope of salvation as a helmet. God did not choose us to suffer his anger, but to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us in order that we might live together with him whether we are alive or dead when he comes. And so encourage one another and help one another just as you are now doing. We beg you our friends to pay proper respect to those who work among you who guide and instruct you in the Christian life. Treat them with the greatest respect and love because of the work they do. Be at peace among yourselves. We urge you, our friends to warn the idol encourage the timid, help the weak. Be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but at all times. Make it your aim to do good to one another and to all people. Be joyful always pray at all Steve Webb 4:51times. Be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus. Do not respect Train the Holy Spirit. Do not despise inspired messages. Put all things to the test, keep what is good, and avoid every kind of evil. May the God who gives us peace make you holy in every way, and keep your whole being spirit, soul and body, free from every fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you will do it because he is faithful. Pray also for us friends, greet all the believers with a kiss of peace. I urge you by the authority of the Lord, to read this letter to all the believers, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Steve Webb 5:40All right, well, today in this first section of my comments, I&#8217;m going to explain a little bit about how I do my Bible study. We&#8217;re talking about chapter four here. And in doing this, I hope I can help you enrich your reading of the Bible. And so let&#8217;s get started. Now, most of us who are serious about Bible study, know that reading for more than one translation is a good thing, especially if you&#8217;re going to be teaching or preaching. Well, today&#8217;s reading is an excellent example of why it&#8217;s a good idea to have more than one translation. The translation we read from today is the Good News Translation. And in that chapter four, verses four and five says, Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way, not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God. Well, as I read that, it seemed just kind of off to me. Not that there&#8217;s anything wrong with living with your wife in a holy and honorable way. But tying this thought to, not with a lustful desire, like the heathen just really didn&#8217;t sit right with me because sexual desire between a husband and a wife is a gift from God. So I decided that I should look at how other translations rendered this passage. And here are some examples of verse for the English Standard Version says that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor. The NIV says that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable. And then for good measure, the King James says that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification, and honor. So the English Standard and the NIV agree on the translation of body, but as you heard, the King James said, possess his vessel. And none of these three referred to the wife. So I read this verse in several other translations, the New American Standard Young&#8217;s Literal translation, the Holman, Christian Standard Bible, the New Living Translation, and all of them agreed on the body, and the God&#8217;s word translation and contemporary English version used wife in one way or another. So what do we do? How should this verse properly be translated, we need to go to the original language. And thankfully, we don&#8217;t need to take a complete course in Greek, which is the language used in the New Testament. To find out, the first thing I do is consult what is called an interlinear New Testament, an interlinear New Testament has the complete text of the New Testament, with the Greek words appearing either directly above or directly below the English words, so you can see which exact Greek word is used. That&#8217;s the first step. The next step, if you don&#8217;t know Greek, is to use either a Strong&#8217;s exhaustive concordance or a Young&#8217;s analytical concordance. When I did this study, I used the Young&#8217;s both Young&#8217;s and Strong&#8217;s use the King James. So I looked up the word vessel, I didn&#8217;t look up body, I looked up vessel because that&#8217;s the word that we want to look at. And I found out that there are two Greek words used in the New Testament that are translated into the English word vessel. One of these words is used only twice in the book of Matthew. And in this case, the word means vessel or utensil. The other Greek word is used 18 times in the New Testament, and it means vessel utensil or instrument, and this is the word in our reading today. Now, in my opinion, the thought that Paul wanted to convey to us is this. Our bodies are the vessel or instrument that contains our souls. And we should not allow our vessels to be controlled by lust, as do those who don&#8217;t know God. There is no mention of husbands or wives in the original language, and I therefore don&#8217;t think that it should be included in the text of the verse. Now, in the defense of the translations that do include it. The argument can be made that Paul implied the thought of husbands and or wives because sexual desire is only proper in the context of marriage. And since he was teaching against what the King James refers to as fornication, In this section of the Bible, or what we today would call sexual immorality, he would be saying that sexual desire should only be for your husband or your wife. And so now you know a little bit about how I study the Bible. Having several translations of the Bible is a good thing. But as you read them, it&#8217;s important to take into consideration that some are more faithful to the original language, and others are less concerned with word for word accuracy, and they emphasize more of an idea for IDEA approach to Bible translation. When we compare different translations to each other, and then use tools like the Strong&#8217;s, or the Young&#8217;s concordances, and an interlinear Bible combined with prayer and the Holy Spirit&#8217;s guidance, I believe that we can reach a more complete understanding of the Scripture. And it really does add a whole lot to your understanding and your enjoyment of Bible study. Now, let&#8217;s take a look at verses 13 through 18. Here in chapter four, these verses deal with the return of Jesus. These verses tell us that at His return, the believers who have died will be resurrected. And then those who are believers and are alive will be gathered up or caught up along with the ones who have just been resurrected to meet the Lord in the air. This event is often called the rapture. Well, where do we get that term? We didn&#8217;t see the word rapture in that chapter, right? Well, the Latin Vulgate, translated the phrase caught up as Rapp tourists, which is where we get the word rapture. Now, I know it sounds like a fantastic event. It sounds like it could be a fairy tale. But listen, this event will happen. Paul said, what we are teaching you now is the Lord&#8217;s teaching. So in saying this, Paul was emphasizing that this is not his idea, but it came directly from Jesus. Bible commentator Adam Clarke wrote this. In no place does the apostle speak more confidently and positively of his inspiration than here in we should prepare ourselves to receive some momentous and interesting truth. So there really should be no doubt on the part of the believer that this is something this rapture, this catching up, is something that will happen at some time in the future. Well, that brings us to chapter five. And I believe that it&#8217;s important to reiterate what Jesus said in Matthew 2436. He said, however, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen. Not even the angels in heaven, or the sun himself, only the Father knows. I think whenever we study in Times prophecy that we need to remember that I&#8217;ve talked a lot about that recently. So I won&#8217;t expand on that thought anymore at this point. So here in verse two, in chapter five, Paul told the Thessalonians, that the day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night. Now a thief does not make an announcement letting his victims know when he&#8217;ll arrive, right? In the same way, we don&#8217;t know when Jesus will return. But like the prudent homeowner who prepares for the thief, we must also be prepared. And then Paul continued at verse three. When people say everything is quiet and safe, then suddenly destruction will hit them. So for those who are unprepared for the unbeliever, this day will be a sad one. Indeed, destruction will hit them. Yeah, it&#8217;ll be too late at that point for them. Now, listen, there was also a clue in this statement as to the conditions in the world when Jesus returns. Again, Paul said, when people say everything is quiet and safe, then suddenly destruction will hit them. So when the rapture happens, it&#8217;ll come when there is quiet in safety in the world. But in Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus when they&#8217;ll know that his return is coming. And he told the disciples what signs to look for. He talks about the abomination of desolation from the book of Daniel, the destruction of the temple. Now, some people believe that this happened in AD 70. Others believe the temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem at some time in the future, and that this is where the abomination of desolation will take place. Now, we don&#8217;t have time on the show to get into that debate. And as I&#8217;ve said, I&#8217;m pretty dogmatic about not being dogmatic when it comes to end times prophecy. But what we can know for sure, is that Jesus talked about a terrible time coming prior to his return. So then what do we do with the quiet and safe that Paul talked about here before the rapture, and with the turmoil that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24? Well, it seems to me that the rapture is going to occur before the tribulation begins. Steve Webb 14:51But let me hurry to say that others believe it&#8217;ll happen halfway through the tribulation, and still others think that it&#8217;ll be at the end of the tribulation. There are lots of plausible arguments for each theory. And many books have been written by people who have spent lots of time poring over the scriptures. I read several of them back in the 80s. But since then I&#8217;ve not read any others, I think it&#8217;s more important, just to know that Jesus will return and it we must be ready. Well, how do we get ready? Good question. It&#8217;s an important question. Here&#8217;s the answer. We have to know that we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ. That&#8217;s it. Jesus has to be our Lord and Savior. Really, preparing for his return is no different than preparing for eternity. Each of us if Jesus doesn&#8217;t come back first, we&#8217;ll die. No, but he gets out of here alive. So what happens when we die? Well, if we&#8217;ve placed our faith in Jesus will go to heaven. So preparing for his return is no more than living our lives in such a way that pleases God. First, we accept Jesus as our Savior. And then we want to live in such a way that we glorify God. We&#8217;re here on planet Earth, to do just that, to glorify God, we&#8217;re to share the good news of a risen Savior. We&#8217;re to be salt and light, as Jesus said, we are to make disciples, as he said, In the Great Commission, just before He ascended into heaven, we are not in anticipation of is coming to withdraw from the world and just wait, that would be a terrible waste of time, talent and treasure, as in Jesus parable in Luke 19, verses 11 through 27. In the Lord would not be pleased. If you don&#8217;t know what that parable is. Look it up Luke 19, verses 11 through 27. So my question is this. Are you prepared? Have you placed your faith in Jesus? Do you know that you&#8217;ll go to heaven when you die? Or that you&#8217;ll meet Jesus in the air if the rapture happens? Listen, this is important. You don&#8217;t have to wonder if you&#8217;ll make it. It isn&#8217;t about being good enough. You can&#8217;t get good enough. There&#8217;s no such thing. All of us have sinned. We need the forgiveness that only Jesus can provide. He died on a cross taking my sins, and yours on himself. And then on the third day, he rose from the grave proving that He is God. And then over the next 50 days before He ascended into heaven, he was seen by more than 500 people. Don&#8217;t believe me, check first Corinthians 1516. Do you want to be sure that you&#8217;re ready? Let him know. Invite him in. Pray this prayer. Lord Jesus, I know that I&#8217;m a sinner. And I&#8217;m sorry. Please forgive me. I turn from my sins now. And I ask that from this point on, you would be my Lord. Help me, Lord, to live for you. Amen. If you prayed that prayer, and you meant those words, you have begun a brand new life. Congratulations. Second Corinthians 517 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone, the new has come. And whether you felt anything or not, you have God&#8217;s promise. We don&#8217;t live by emotions, but by the word of God. And His Word says that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive. Now, if you prayed that prayer, I would love to send you a special edition of the New Testament called the new believers Bible. It has hundreds of notes written in it to help new believers get a good foundation, and it&#8217;s free. I&#8217;m not charging you for it. I just want to send it to you. Send me an email to let me know you&#8217;ve prayed that prayer, and then let me know where to mail it. And it&#8217;s yours. My email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. It&#8217;s my gift to you. I won&#8217;t put you on a list. I won&#8217;t sell or share your info. I just want to send you this gift. And God bless you. Welcome to the family of God. You have comments on what I said today. I&#8217;d love to hear him. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 v 214. Scroll to the bottom of the page and let me know. And tomorrow we&#8217;re going to read Leviticus 22 through 24 Boost. Lester Graber doubled his monthly donation he sent in $20 via Zell Thank you very much, Lester. God bless you, my Steve Webb 19:23brother. Thank you for your consistent monthly support. I appreciate you so much. And then yesterday I mentioned a comment that I got from John front using the the fountain comments application in that John mentioned the iron sharpens iron radio podcast with Chris ARNs in the March 18 episode with guest Gary Damar. While I&#8217;ve listened to that episode, John and I agree it is a good discussion. On the podcast they talked about Gog and Magog and whether biblical prophecy is referring to Russia as being a player in the in times and then they also had a more general discussion of How through the centuries people have read prophetical scriptures from the perspective of their own times. And that is something that yes, people do. And that&#8217;s why I&#8217;ve taken the stance that I don&#8217;t get dogmatic on any of this stuff. But if you do have two hours, it is a worthwhile listen in. John, thanks again for the recommendation. Steve Webb 20:25Are you on the mailing list for the newsletter? If you are you saw me as a hippie. Yeah, a real hippie. If you&#8217;re not on the mailing list, then there are more pictures to come in newsletters to COMM And all you have to do is go over to news dot Lifespring media.com. And sign up. I&#8217;m not going to sell your information, I don&#8217;t share the email, your email address with anybody is just something that is kind of fun. And on the newsletter, also, we have the reading schedule for the upcoming week. So what you can do is you can read ahead, and if there are questions that you have on anything that you&#8217;ve read, email them to me and I&#8217;ll see if I can answer your questions on the show when I get to that day&#8217;s reading news dot Lifespring media.com. And Kirsty thank you so much for keeping up with that. God bless you, my sister, I appreciate you. Steve Webb 21:26prayer requests. Referring back to yesterday&#8217;s show again, on yesterday&#8217;s show, Sean of San Pedro made the announcement with his associate producer donation that he and his wife Brittany are expecting their first child, and I forgot to pray for them on the show. So today, we have to rectify my absent mindedness. Let&#8217;s pray. Our heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for Your Word. We thank you most of all, for your Holy Spirit who opens our eyes. But we also thank you for the tools that you&#8217;ve given us to help us understand. We do want to know you better. And we do look forward to seeing you face to face. And thank you so much for blessing Shawn and Brittany with this new little life that you&#8217;re forming even now, we pray, Lord, that the pregnancy will be trouble free and that this baby will be healthy and strong. And most of all that he or she will grow to love you and that they will live for you and bring glory to your name. Lord, we ask that you protect this little one, and helps Shawn and Brittany to treasure every moment as he or she grows, give them wisdom in May their household be a place of love and joy, where you are at the center of their family. I asked God today that you would bless the Lifespring family. As we think about the things we read today. Help us to live in such a way that you will be pleased with us. And that we will be salt and light. Help us to reflect you and may others see you in us. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you&#8217;ve got a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com and fill out that quick little form there. It&#8217;ll be sent to me. I&#8217;ll pray for you in my own private prayer time and we&#8217;ll pray together on the show prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 23:19Please do share the show. If you believe that what we&#8217;re doing here is important then let people know about it. Comment on the show at Lifespring media comm slash s 12 e 214. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. And please help to support the show at Lifespring media.com/support. If you&#8217;re happy to see a new episode in your podcast app every day, then don&#8217;t you think it&#8217;s time to help support it? The amount is up to you. I don&#8217;t know how much value you get from the show. But go to Lifespring media.com/support. Take a look at it and then pray about it and then do as the Lord leads. That&#8217;s all I asked. And until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thank you so much for being here. My name is Steve Webb. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today our reading is Luke 23-24. Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you, and I’m calling today’s episode “Open My Eyes.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: alex starnes on Unsplash Comments on Luke 23-24 As we close the book of Luke, a couple of passages stood out to me. Historically, most Christians have believed that Scripture is literally God&#8217;s Word. Orthodox, traditional&#160; Christians believe that the Scriptures are, and I use this word with its literal meaning, God-breathed, as 2 Timothy 3:16 says. &#8220;All Scripture is given by inspiration of God (lit. &#8216;breathed out by God&#8217;), and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, 1thoroughly equipped for every good work.&#8221; And so it stands to reason that unless God opens the Scripture to us, the natural, human, secular mind is not going to grasp its meaning.&#160; But don&#8217;t take my word for it. Here in chapter 24, we read in verse 45, &#8220;And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.&#8221; We have another example in Acts 16:14. &#8220;Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of&#160; Thyatira, who worshiped God.&#160; The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.&#8221; So that&#8217;s why I sometimes ask God to give us understanding in our prayer time together. Sure, each of us has some level of intelligence, and we have some understanding of the English language. But Scripture is more than words. It is of the Spirit, and unless the Spirit opens it to us, we will not comprehend its greatest meanings. I believe that is why some people can read the Bible and not be moved. Unless God has quickened their heart, it&#8217;s just words on a page. Beloved, those of us who have a relationship with the Author of the Bible, are in a very real sense, reading a completely different Book than is the non-believer. But just as Jesus had to open the eyes of His disciples that had been with Him for those three years of His ministry, I believe He must open our eyes each time we open the Bible. We can&#8217;t rely on yesterday&#8217;s supply. We should ask for a fresh and new portion of the Holy Spirit every day. Living Water is moving water, rushing water. It is not stagnant. And neither is the Holy Spirit. The second thing that I&#8217;d like to comment on is the closing three verses of Luke. Luke 24:50 And He led them out as far as Bethany, and He lifted up His hands and blessed them. 51 Now it came to pass, while He blessed them, that He was parted from them and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. Why do you suppose Jesus chose this as His way to leave them for the last time?&#160; Luke does not make it plain here, but Acts 1:3 tells us that Jesus left them 40 days after His resurrection. What do you suppose He was doing during those 40 days? I think He was reinforcing the truth of the resurrection, and getting them ready for this moment.&#160; And at the end of those 40 days, when the time was right, He led His disciples out of Jerusalem as far as Bethany, which was a little less than two miles. (Aside: what was that last walk like? They might not have even known that this would be their last moments with Jesus. But He certainly did. What did He think about? What was his mood? Did He take time with each one of them as they walked? Curious minds want to know.) &#160; And He ascended into Heaven. Had He merely disappeared, as He had done at other times (think of His time with the disciples when He broke bread with them, opened their eyes as to who He was, and then vanished), they might have thought that He would be back in the same manner. But this unforgettable event, His ascension, was for them to see that He was indeed leaving. Here in Luke&#8217;s gospel, Jesus had just told them of the Father&#8217;s promise, that they would be given &#8220;power from on high.&#8221; He wanted them looking for the fulfillment of that Promise, not looking for Him to appear again to them right away. In addition, it truly showed that He was God. Who else could defy the laws of nature like this, but God Himself? This exit was literally &#8220;one for the Book&#8221;. You can feel their excitement with the final words of the book, &#8220;And they worshiped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, 53and were continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen&#8221; And amen. He ascended into Heaven that day, and now we look into the heavens with oh so much anticipation of His return. Hallelujah! Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 23 GWT; Ch. 24 NKJV Support Please remember that this is a listener supported show. Your support of any amount is needed and very much appreciated. Find out how by clicking here. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission, and you will earn our gratitude. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00What do you think that last walk was like? Steve Webb 0:10Here we are, again, it&#8217;s the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God caster Steve Webb, how are you today? It&#8217;s great to see you. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Yesterday was a long show today to balance that out, it&#8217;ll be much shorter today. Our reading is Luke 23, and 24, which will close the Gospel of Luke, I&#8217;ve got some thoughts to share with you after the reading, and I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, open my eyes. If you&#8217;d like to come in on today&#8217;s show, you can do that at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 206. You can email me also at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Let&#8217;s begin. Steve Webb 0:55Luke chapter 23. Then the entire assembly stood up and took Him to Pilate. They began to accuse Jesus by saying, we found that he stirs up trouble among our people. He keeps them from paying taxes to the emperor. And he says that He is Christ, a king. Pilate asked him, Are you the king of the Jews? Yes, I am. Jesus answered. Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, I can&#8217;t find this man guilty of any crime. The priests and the crowd became more forceful. They said, He stirs up the people throughout Judea with his teachings. He started in Galilee and is come here. When Pilate heard that he asked if the man was from Galilee. When Pilate found out that he was He sent Jesus to Herot, Herod ruled Galilee and was in Jerusalem at that time. Herod was very pleased to see Jesus. For a long time he had wanted to see him. He had heard about Jesus and hoped to see him perform some kind of miracle. Herod asked Jesus many questions, but Jesus would Natsu him. Meanwhile, the chief priests and the experts in Moses teachings, stood there and shouted their accusations against Jesus. Herod and his soldiers treated Jesus with contempt and made fun of him. They put a colorful robe on him and sent Him back to Pilate. So Herod and Pilate became friends that day, they had been enemies before this. Then Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people. He told them, You brought me this man, as someone who turns the people against the government. I&#8217;ve questioned him in front of you, and haven&#8217;t found this man guilty of the crimes of which you accuse him. Neither could hear it. So he sent this man back to us. This man hasn&#8217;t done anything to deserve the death penalty. So I&#8217;m going to have him wept and set free. The whole crowd then shouted, take him away, Free Barabbas forests Barabbas had been thrown into prison for his involvement in a riot that had taken place in the city and for murder. But because Pilate wanted to free Jesus, he spoke to the people again, they began yelling, Crucify Him, Crucify Him. A third time pilots spoke to them. He asked why, what is he done wrong? I haven&#8217;t found this man deserving of the death penalty. So I&#8217;m going to have Him whipped and set free. But the crowd pressured pilot, they shouted that Jesus had to be crucified. And they finally one pilot decided to give into their demand. He freed Barabbas, who had been put in prison for rioting and murdering, because that&#8217;s what they wanted, but he let them do what they wanted to Jesus. As the soldiers led Jesus away, they grabbed a man named Simon who was from the city of Sai Rini. Simon was coming into Jerusalem, they laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large crowd followed Jesus, the women in the crowd cried and sang funeral songs for him. Jesus turned to them and said, You Women of Jerusalem, don&#8217;t cry for me. Rather cry for yourselves and your children. The time is coming when people will say bless it are the women who couldn&#8217;t get pregnant, who couldn&#8217;t give birth, and who couldn&#8217;t nurse a child, then people will say to the mountains fall on us into the hills cover us. If people do this to a green tree, what will happen to a dry when two others who were criminals were led away to be executed with him. When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified Him. The criminals were also crucified, one on his right and the other on his left. Then Jesus said, Father forgive them. They don&#8217;t know what they&#8217;re doing. Meanwhile, the soldiers divided his clothes among themselves by throwing dice. The people stood there watching, but the rulers were making sarcastic remarks. They said, He saved others. If he&#8217;s the Messiah that God has chosen, let Him save Himself. The soldiers also made fun of him. They would go up to him, offer him some vinegar and say, if you&#8217;re the king of the Jews save yourself. A written notice was placed above him. It said, this is the king of the Jews. One of the criminals hanging there insulted Jesus by saying, so you&#8217;re really the Messiah Are you will save yourself and us, but the other criminals scolded him. Don&#8217;t you fear God at all? Can&#8217;t you see that you&#8217;re condemned in the same way that he is. Our punishment is fair. We&#8217;re getting what we deserve. But this man hasn&#8217;t done anything wrong. Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you enter your kingdom. Jesus said to him, I can guarantee this truth. Today you will be with Me in Paradise. Around noon, darkness came over the entire land and lasted until three in the afternoon. The sun had stopped shining, the curtain in the temple was split into Jesus cried out in a loud voice, Father, into your hands, I entrust my spirit. After he said this, he died. Steve Webb 6:02When an army officer saw what had happened, he praised God and said, Certainly this man was innocent. Crowds had gathered to see the site. But when all of them saw what had happened, they cried and returned to the city. All his friends, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance and watched everything. There was a good man who had God&#8217;s approval. His name was Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish Council, but he had not agreed with what they had done. He was from the Jewish city of Arab mithya. And he was waiting for the kingdom of God. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. After he took it down from the cross, he wrapped it in linen. Then he laid the body in a tomb cut in rock, a tomb in which no one had ever been buried. It was Friday, and the day of worship was just beginning. The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed closely behind Joseph, they observe the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went back to the city and prepared spices and perfumes. But on the day of worship, they rested according to the commandment. Steve Webb 7:12Luke chapter 24. Now, on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared, but they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in, it did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. And it happened as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, Why do you seek the living among the dead, He is not here, but is risen. Remember how we spoke to you when he was still in Galilee, saying, The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and the third day rise again. And they remembered his words. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the 11. And to all the rest. It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles, and their words seemed to them like idol tales, and they did not believe them. But Peter arose and ran to the tomb, and stooping down, he saw the linen cloth lying by themselves, and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened. Now, behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was while They conversed and reasoned that Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. And He said to them, what kind of conversation is this that you have with one another, as you walk and her sad? Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to him, Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem? And have you not known the things which happened there in these days? And he said to them, what things? So they said to him, the things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed, and word before God, and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was he who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened. Yes. And certain women of our company who arrived at the tomb early astonished us. When they did not find his body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said he was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see. Then he said to them, all foolish ones in slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken, but not the Christ who have suffered these things and to enter into his glory. And beginning at Moses had all the prophets he expounded to them in all the Scriptures, the things concerning himself. Then they drew near to the village where they were going. And he indicated that he would have gone farther. But they constrained him saying, abide with us, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent. And he went in to stay with him. Now it came to pass, as he sat at the table with him that he took bread, blessed it and broke it and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they knew him. And he vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, did not our heart burn within us while he talked with us on the road, and while he opened the Scriptures to us, so they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the 11, and those who were with him gathered together, saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon. And they told about all the things that had happened on the road, and how he was known to them, and the breaking of bread. Now, as they said, these things, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them and said to them, Peace to you, but they were terrified and frightened. And suppose they had seen a spirit. And he said to them, Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? Behold, my hands and feet, that it is I myself, handle me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have, when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, he said to them, have you any food here, so they gave him a piece of broiled fish and some Honeycomb, and he took it and ate in their presence. Then he said to them, these other words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me. And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the scriptures. Then he said to them, thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you, but tarry in the city of Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from on high, and he led them out as far as Bethany and He lifted up his hands and bless them. Now it came to pass while he blessed them, that he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and we&#8217;re continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Amen. Steve Webb 12:36Well, as we close the book of Luke, beloved, a couple of passages stood out to me. Historically, most Christians have believed that Scripture is literally God&#8217;s word. Orthodox, traditional Christians believe that the scriptures are and I use the word in its literal sense. God breathed, as Second Timothy 316 says, All scripture is given by inspiration of God. And in the original Greek, that literally means breathed out by God. And since scripture is literally God breathed, it stands to reason that unless God opens the scripture to us, the natural human secular mind is not going to grasp its meaning. But don&#8217;t take my word for it. Here in chapter 24, we read in verse 45. And he opened their understanding that they might comprehend the Scriptures. And there&#8217;s another example in Acts 1614. Now a certain woman named Lydia Huertas. She was a seller of purple from the city of via Tyra who worshipped God, the Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. So that&#8217;s why I sometimes ask God to give us understanding and our prayer time together. Sure, each of us has some level of intelligence, and we have some understanding of the English language. But Scripture is more than words, scripture is of the Spirit. And unless the Spirit opens it to us will not comprehend its greatest meanings. I believe that&#8217;s why some people can read the Bible and not be moved. Unless God is quick in their heart. It&#8217;s just words on a page. Beloved, those of us who have a relationship with the author of the Bible are in a very real sense, reading a completely different book than is the non believer. But just as Jesus had to open the eyes of his disciples that had been with him for those three years of his ministry, I believe he must open our eyes each time we open the Bible. We can&#8217;t rely on yesterday&#8217;s supply. We should ask for a fresh and new portion of the Holy Spirit every day. Living water is moving water, rushing water, it isn&#8217;t stagnant, and neither is the Holy Spirit. A second thing that I like to comment on is the closing three verses of Luke. Let&#8217;s listen to him. And he led them out as far as Bethany and He lifted up his hands and bless them. Now it came to pass while he blessed them that he was parted from them and carried up into heaven. and they worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And we&#8217;re continually in the temple praising and blessing God. Now let&#8217;s just think for a moment. Why do you suppose Jesus chose this as his way to leave them for the last time? X one three tells us that Jesus left them 40 days after His resurrection. What do you suppose he was doing during those 40 days? I think he was reinforcing the truth of the resurrection and getting them ready for this moment. He was being seen by people. And at the end of those 40 days, when the time was right, He led His disciples out of Jerusalem as far as Bethany, which was a little less than two miles. Now, let&#8217;s take an aside here. What do you think that last walk was like? The disciples might not have even known that this would be their last moments with Jesus. But he knew. What do you think he thought about? What do you suppose his mood was? Did he take time with each one of them as they walked? curious minds want to know? Now back to the narrative. And then once they got there, he ascended into heaven. Now had he merely disappeared, as he had done it other times, think of his time with a disciples when he broke bread with him. And he opened their eyes as to who he was, and then he just vanished. Well, if he did that, this time, they might have just thought that he&#8217;d be back in the same manner. But this unforgettable event, His ascension was for them to see that he was indeed leaving. In here in Luke&#8217;s Gospel, Jesus had told them of the father&#8217;s promise that they would be given power from on high, he wanted them to be looking for the fulfillment of that promise, not looking for him to appear again to them right away. And then in addition, it truly showed that he was God. I mean, who else could defy the laws of nature like this, but God Himself, this exit was literally one for the book. You can feel their excitement with the final words of the book, and they worshipped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy and we&#8217;re continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen. Wow. Amen to that. He ascended into heaven that day. And now we look into the heavens with Oh, so much anticipation of His return. Hallelujah. So what do you think I&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts, comment at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 206. Scroll down there all the way to the bottom of the page. Tomorrow, we&#8217;ll begin the book of First Thessalonians we&#8217;ll read the first three chapters boost. Steve Webb 17:44On this date in church history, march 26 1775, American born evangelist in him writer Henry ally in underwent a profound spiritual conversion. He later became a leader of the new light movement in the Presbyterian Church, and he was an evangelist to the people of Nova Scotia. Steve Webb 18:15Prayer requests. I have a friend by the name of Robbie, he&#8217;s a very talented guy with an amazing baritone voice. And he&#8217;s had a singing ministry for many, many years. And he truly has a desire to do whatever God calls him to do. And right now he feels that God is calling him to step out in faith in a very big way. I can&#8217;t share the details. But he asked for prayer that he would maintain a firm faith and that his faith would not fail. You know, sometimes when God calls us to do something where we can&#8217;t see beyond the first step, that can be a scary thing. We may be sure that we&#8217;re following the Lord&#8217;s leading but the human part of us wants to know how it&#8217;s all going to work out. Well, of course, if we had that knowledge, it wouldn&#8217;t be faith, would it? So let&#8217;s pray for my friend, Robbie, our Heavenly Father, we are so very thankful for your word and all the things you show us about yourself, and about us. Help us to learn. We ask that you open our understanding. As Robbie steps out in faith, Lord, I pray that you would make every step very clear to him. Not that you would reveal everything at once. But give him confidence, Lord, that it&#8217;s your voice that he&#8217;s hearing. Give him a steadfast faith and help him to lean on you and not on his own understanding. Lord, I believe you&#8217;ve got something very special in mind for him and it&#8217;s gonna be fun to see what it is. I just pray God that you would bless Robbie. And Lord bless the Lifespring family. Each of us wants to know you better. That&#8217;s why we&#8217;re here. reveal yourself to us, Lord in draws ever closer as you make us into the people you want us to be. I pray this in Jesus name, amen. If you have a prayer request or a praise, just go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com And you&#8217;ll find a form there. Fill that out and open pray for you in my private prayer time and we&#8217;ll pray together on the show, prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 20:14Support the show and Lifespring media.com/support However you support the show I thank you and I know God bless you. Comment on the show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 206. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thank you for being here. My name is Steve Webb. I hope you have a stupendous day. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart! Experiencing God (2021 Edition): Knowing and Doing the Will of God By Henry &#38; Richard Blackaby, Claude V. King / B&#38;H Books Experience the book that has restored, reoriented, and renewed millions of people&#8212;now thoroughly updated with seven new chapters and dozens of additional stories! Whether you&#8217;re reading it for the first time or eager to encounter a fresh edition of the classic text you already love, you&#8217;ll not be the same when you finish it. 368 pages, hardcover from B&#38;H.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today our reading is Ezekiel 37-42.&#160;Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you, and I’m calling today’s episode “Gog and Magog.” Comments on Ezekiel 38-39 As I write this, Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin is very much in the news because of Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine. I will not comment on this action because it is outside the scope of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Today I will talk about Ezekiel 38 and 39, its possible meaning and possible references to modern nations and the end times. Let me start by reading the first six verses of chapter 38: 1And the word of the Lord&#160;came to me saying,&#160;2“Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him&#160;3and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal.&#160;4I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company&#160;with&#160;buckler and shield, all of them wielding swords;&#160;5Persia, Ethiopia and Put with them, all of them&#160;with&#160;shield and helmet;&#160;6Gomer with all its troops; Beth-togarmah&#160;from&#160;the remote parts of the north with all its troops—many peoples with you. Ezekiel 1-6 NASB &#160;But before I talk about the things we can know from these chapters, I’d like to share something written by Bible commentator Warren Wiersbe: “It’s tempting to identify Rosh with Russia and therefore Meschech with Moscow and Tubal with Tobolsk, both cities in Russia; but we would have a hard time defending this on linguistic grounds. This doesn’t rule out the participation of modern Russia, since it is located in the north (vv. 6, 15; 39:2), but neither does it demand it.”&#160; So from the scriptures, we cannot know for sure that modern Russia is the land spoken of in these scriptures.&#160; Let’s look at what we can know. 14“Therefore prophesy, son of man, and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God, “On that day when My people Israel are living securely, will you not know it? 15You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army; 16and you will come up against My people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me when I am sanctified through you before their eyes, O Gog.” 17‘Thus says the Lord God, “Are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them? 18It will come about on that day, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” declares the Lord God, “that My fury will mount up in My anger. Ezekiel 14-18 NASB From verse 16, we know that this will happen in the last days. I have said many times on the show that I believe we are in the last days. I have also said that I am not dogmatic about that, but so many things have happened in the world since Israel again became a nation in 1948 that it is hard to avoid the thought that we are living in the closing days of history. We don&#8217;t have time here to list all of the events. Entire books have been written on the subject. This is an area that has a myriad of rabbit holes into which one could invest a lot of time. I&#8217;ll just give you a list of what we can glean from chapters 38 and 39. 38:1-6: Gog, a leader from the north of Israel, will lead an alliance of nations to attack Israel. Those nations include Persia, Ethiopia, Put, Gomer, Beth-togarmah and many peoples. These lands encompass modern Iran, Turkey, Libya, Ethiopia, and possibly Armenia and Germany. 38:10: His motivation will be twofold &#8211; his own evil desires and God&#8217;s compulsion.&#160; 38:4-6: They will attack swiftly with a very powerful army. 38: 8, 12: The attack comes when Israel has become a nation and when they are experiencing security, safety and prosperity 38:12-13: Other nations, not involved in the attack will try to see how they might benefit from Gog&#8217;s victory over Israel 38:16: God will defeat Gog in a way that will bring glory to Himself. To be clear, we are not given enough information to have any certainty when this will happen. We cannot say that the present hostilities from Russia are the precursor to this battle. It is possible that the battle spoken of here in Ezekiel takes place before what is known as the Great Tribulation, the final literal seven year period before Jesus returns to Earth. It could take place in the middle of that seven year period, or it could take place at the end of the seven years. Interestingly, Revelation 19:17-18 and Ezekiel 39:17-20 are very similar. Revelation speaks of the time at the end of the seven years. 17Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice, saying to all the birds which fly in midheaven, “Come, assemble for the great supper of God, 18so that you may eat the flesh of kings and the flesh of commanders and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves, and small and great.” Revelation 19:17-18 NASB 17“As for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ‘Speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field, “Assemble and come, gather from every side to My sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you, as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. 18You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, as though they were rams, lambs, goats and bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan. 19So you will eat fat until you are glutted, and drink blood until you are drunk, from My sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you. Ezekiel 39:17-19 &#8211; The battle might even happen after Jesus reigns on Earth for 1,000 years after His return in Revelation 19. The fact is we just do not know many of the details that God has in mind. For reasons known only to Him, He gave us a very rough sketch, with just enough details to know that these events will happen, and they will all be for His glory. We are told in the book of Revelation that at the end of it all, we will praise Him for all that is done. 9After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; 10and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” 11And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” 13Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” 14I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. 16They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; 17for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” Revelation 7:9-17 NASB Beloved, I do not know when these things will happen. No one knows but the Father. But whether it begins today or at some distant time in the future, they will happen as surely as you are hearing my voice right now. The question is, are you ready? Are you prepared? 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 tells us, &#8220;For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.&#8221; In other words, once it happens, it will be too late to make preparations. So how do you prepare? How will you escape destruction? How can you be sure that you will be one of those standing before the throne of the Lamb (Jesus)?&#160; If you have put your faith in Him, if you have asked Him to forgive your sins, if you have asked Him to be your Lord and your Savior, you have nothing to worry about. You have a place prepared for you in Heaven.&#160; Jesus said, “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.&#8221; John 14:1-3 NASB If you are not sure that you are prepared, if you don&#8217;t know that there is a place for you in Heaven, why not decide right now that you want to be sure? Why wait? What is there to gain by waiting? Or let&#8217;s turn the question around&#8230;what is there to lose by waiting? Everything. If you wait, there is everything to lose. When you decide now to follow Jesus, you have everything to gain.&#160; All you have to do is ask Him. Just a simple prayer. Are you ready? Right now? Then pray with me: Dear Jesus, I want to know that you are my Savior and my Lord. Please forgive me of all the sins I&#8217;ve done. I am sorry for them, and I turn from them now. I give my life to you, and I ask You to be my Savior and my Lord. Please take my life from this moment on, and help me to become the person you made me to be. Amen. If you prayed that prayer, and meant it, congratulations. You have begun a new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, &#8220;Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.&#8221; That&#8217;s a promise. Hang on to that promise. No matter if you felt anything or not, when you prayed that prayer just now, that promise applies to you. I have a New Testament that I would like to send to you. It&#8217;s my gift. It&#8217;s called the New Believer&#8217;s Bible, and it is filled with hundreds of notes that will help you get started in your new life. I want you to have it. It&#8217;s free. Just send me an email at <span data-original-string='cdod9GuPm7nHxozzktAheg==8b0PSrdLG0uOa2Ofz/x/s8N6CTT1XPWMmiK3sR7qrC6OcM=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com and tell me you just prayed that prayer. And tell me where to send it. I won&#8217;t use your email or your mailing address for anything else. I won&#8217;t spam you and I won&#8217;t give or sell anyone else your information. I only want you to have this New Believer&#8217;s Bible. No strings at all. I&#8217;m just so happy that you have made this, the best decision you&#8217;ll ever make in your life. So beloved, what do you think about what I&#8217;ve said today? Does it make sense to you? I invite your comments at the bottom of this page. Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Sam Moqadam on Unsplash Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 37-41 GNT; Ch. 42 NKJV Music From the Show Darrell Mansfield &#8220;Get Ready&#8221; Support Please remember that this is a listener supported show. Your support of any amount is needed and very much appreciated. Find out how by clicking here. When you buy through links on this site, we may earn an affiliate commission, and you will earn our gratitude. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00They will happen as surely as you&#8217;re hearing my voice right now. Steve Webb 0:12Here we are, again, it&#8217;s the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I&#8217;m your OG God caster Steve Webb, welcome. I&#8217;m happy to see you today. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Our reading today is Ezekiel 37 through 42. Afterwards, I&#8217;ll have well some kind of extensive thoughts to share with you and I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, Gog and Magog. If you&#8217;d like to make a comment on today&#8217;s show, please do so at Lifespring media.com/s 12 V. 205. Or you can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. This is gonna be kind of a long one today. So buckle in. Steve Webb 0:56Ezekiel, chapter 37. Steve Webb 0:58I felt the powerful presence of the Lord and His Spirit took me and set me down in a valley where the ground was covered with bones. He led me all around the valley, and I could see that there were very many bones and that they were very dry. He said to me, mortal man, can these bones come back to life? I replied, Sovereign Lord, only you can answer that. He said, prophesied to the bones, tell these dry bones to listen to the word of the Lord. Tell them that I the Sovereign Lord am saying to them, I&#8217;m going to put breath into you and bring you back to life. I will give you sinews and muscles and cover you with skin, I will put breath into you and bring you back to life, then you will know that I am the Lord. So I prophesied as I had been told, while I was speaking, I heard a rattling noise and the bones began to join together. While I watched, the bones were covered with sinews and muscles, and then was skin. But there was no breath in the bodies. God said to me, mortal man prophesied to the wind, tell the wind that the Sovereign Lord commands it to come from every direction, to breathe into these dead bodies, and to bring them back to life. So I prophesied as I had been told, breath entered the bodies and they came to life and stood up. They were enough of them to form an army. God said to me, mortal man, the people of Israel are like these bones. They say that they are dried up without any hope, and with no future, so prophesied to my people Israel and tell them that I, the Sovereign Lord, I&#8217;m going to open their graves, I&#8217;m going to take them out and bring them back to the land of Israel. When I open the graves, where my people are buried, and bring them out, they will know that I am the Lord, I will put my breath in them, bring them back to life, and let them live in their own land, then they will know that I am the Lord, I have promised that I would do this, and I will I the LORD have spoken. Steve Webb 2:56The Lord spoke to me again, mortal man, he said, Take a wooden stick and write on it the words the kingdom of Judah, then take another stick and write on it the words the kingdom of Israel, then hold the two sticks end to end in your hand so that they look like one stick. When your people ask you to tell them what this means, tell them that I the Sovereign Lord, I&#8217;m going to take the stick representing Israel, and put it with the one that represents Judah. Out of the two, I will make one stick and hold it in my hand, hold in your hand, the two sticks and let the people see them. Tell them that I the Sovereign Lord, I&#8217;m going to take all my people out of the nations where they have gone, gather them together and bring them back to their own land. I will unite them into one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, they will have one king to rule over them. And they will no longer be divided into two nations or split into two kingdoms. They will not defile themselves with disgusting idols anymore, are corrupt themselves with sin. I will free them from all the ways in which they sin and betray me. I will purify them, they will be my people, and I will be their God, a king like my servant, David will be their king. They will all be united under one ruler and will obey my laws faithfully. They will live on the land I gave to my servant Jacob, the land where their ancestors lived. They will live there forever, and so will their children and all their descendants. A king like my servant, David will rule them forever. I will make a covenant with him that guarantees their safety forever. I will establish them and increase their population. And we&#8217;ll see to it that my Temple stands forever in their land. I will live there with them. I will be their God and they will be my people. When I placed my temple there to be among them forever, then the nations will know that I the Lord have chosen Israel to be my own people. Steve Webb 4:51Ezekiel chapter 38. Steve Webb 4:54The Lord spoke to me. mortal man, he said denounce Gog chief ruler of the nations of Michigan back into ball in the land of Magog denounce him and tell them that I the Sovereign LORD and his enemy, I will turn them around, put hooks in his jaws and drag him and all his troops away. His army with its horses and uniformed riders is enormous and every soldier carries a shield and is armed with a sword. Troops from Persia, Ethiopia and Libya are with him at all have shields and helmets. All the fighting men in the lands of Goma and beffta Garma in the north are with him. And so our men from many other nations, tell him to get ready and have all his troops ready at his command. After many years, I will order him to invade a country where the people were brought back together from many nations and have lived without fear of war, he will invade the mountains of Israel, which were desolate and deserted so long, but where all the people now live and safety. He and his army and the many nations with him will attack like a storm and cover the land like a cloud. This is what the Sovereign Lord says to God. When that time comes, you will start thinking up an evil plan, you will decide to invade a helpless country where the people live in peace and security in unwalled towns that have no defenses. You will plunder and loot the people who live in cities that were once in ruins. They have been gathered from the nations and now they have livestock and property and live at the crossroads of the world. The people of Sheba in de Dan and the merchants from the towns of Spain will ask you, have you assembled your army and attacked in order to loot and plunder? Do you intend to get silver and gold, livestock and property and march off with all these spoils? So the Sovereign LORD sent me to tell God what he was saying to him. Now while my people Israel live in security, you will set out to come from your place in the far north, leading a large, powerful army of soldiers from many nations, all of them on horseback, you will attack my people Israel like a storm moving across the land. When the time comes, I will send you to invade my land in order to show the nation&#8217;s who I am to show my holiness by what I do through you. You are the one I was talking about long ago, when I announced through my servants the prophets of Israel, that in days to come I would bring someone to attack Israel, the Sovereign Lord has spoken. The Sovereign Lord says, on the day when God invades Israel, I will become furious. I declare in the heat of my anger that on that day there will be a severe earthquake in the land of Israel. Every fish and bird, every animal large and small, and every human being on the face of the earth will tremble for fear of me. Mountains will fall, cliffs will crumble and every wall will collapse. I will terrify God with all sorts of calamities. I, the Sovereign LORD have spoken. His men will turn their swords against one another, I will punish him with disease and bloodshed. torrents of rain and hail together with fire and sulfur will pour down on him in his army and on the many nations that are on his side. In this way, I will show all the nations that I am great and that I am holy. They will know then that I am the Lord. Steve Webb 8:12Ezekiel chapter 39. Steve Webb 8:15The Sovereign Lord said mortal man, denounce Gog, the chief ruler of the nations have me check in to ball and tell him that I am his enemy. I will turn him in a new direction and lead him out from the far north until he comes to the mountains of Israel. Then I will knock his bow out of his left hand and his arrows out of his right hand. Gagan his army and his allies will fall back on the mountains of Israel and I will let their bodies be food for all the birds and wild animals, they will fall dead in the open field. i The Sovereign Lord if spoken. I will start a fire in the land of Magog and along all the sea coasts where people live undisturbed, and everyone will know that I am the Lord. I will make sure that my people Israel know My Holy Name, and I will not let my name be disgraced anymore. Then the nations will know that I the LORD in the holy God of Israel. The Sovereign Lord said the day I spoke about is certain to come. The people who live in the cities of Israel will go out and collect the abandoned weapons for firewood. They will build fires with the shields, bows, arrows, spears and clubs and have enough to last for seven years. They will not have to gather firewood in the fields or cut down trees in the forest because they will have the abandoned weapons to burn. They will loot and plunder those who looted in plundered them. The Sovereign Lord is spoken. The Lord said, when all this happens, I will give Gog a burial ground there in Israel in travelers Valley East of the Dead Sea. Gog and all his army will be buried there in the valley will be called the Valley of God&#8217;s army. It will take the Israelites seven months to bury all the corpses and make the land clean again. Every one in the land will help bury them. And they will be honored for this on the day of my victory I, the Sovereign LORD have spoken. After the seven months are over, men will be chosen to travel through the land in order to find in bury those bodies remaining on the ground, so that they can make the land clean again. As they go up and down the country. Every time they find a human bone, they will put a marker beside it so that the grave diggers can come and bury it in the valley of God&#8217;s army. There will be a town nearby named after the army, and so the land will be made clean again. The Sovereign Lord said to me, mortal man, call all the birds and animals to come from all around to eat the sacrifice, I&#8217;m preparing for them. It will be a huge feast on the mountains of Israel, where they can eat meat and drink blood, there to eat the bodies of soldiers and drink the blood of the rulers of the earth, all of whom will be killed like rams or lambs or goats or fat bulls. When I kill these people like sacrifices, the birds and animals are to eat all the fat they can hold, and to drink blood until they are drunk. At my table, they will eat all they can hold them horses and their riders that have soldiers and fighting men. i The Sovereign LORD have spoken. The Lord said, I will let the nation see my glory and show them how I use my power to carry out my just decisions. The Israelites will know from then on that I am the LORD their God. And the nations will know that the Israelites went into exile because of the sins which they committed against me. I turned away from them and let their enemies defeat them and kill them in battle. I gave them what they deserved for their uncleanness and their wickedness. And I turned away from them. The Sovereign Lord said, but now I will be merciful to Jacob&#8217;s descendants, the people of Israel and make them prosperous again, I will protect my holy name. When they are once more living in safety in their own land with no one to threaten them, they will be able to forget how they were disgraced for having betrayed me, in order to show to the many nations that I am holy, I will bring them back from all the countries where their enemies live, then my people will know that I am the LORD their God. They will know this because I sent them into captivity, and now gather them and bring them back into their own land, not leaving even one of them behind. I will pour out my spirit on the people of Israel and never again turn away from them. i The Sovereign LORD have spoken. Steve Webb 12:28Ezekiel chapter 40. It was the 10th day of the new year, which was the 25th year after we had been taken into exile and the 14th year after Jerusalem was captured. On that day I felt the powerful presence of the Lord and he carried me away. In a vision God took me to the land of Israel and put me on a high mountain. I saw in front of me a group of buildings that looked like a city. He took me closer and I saw a man who shone like bronze. He was holding a linen tape measure and a measuring rod and was standing by a gateway. He said to me, watch mortal man. Listen carefully and pay close attention to everything I show you. Because this is why you were brought here. You&#8217;re to tell the people of Israel everything you see. What I saw was the temple and there was a wall around it. The man took his measuring rod which was 10 feet long in measured the wall. It was 10 feet high and 10 feet thick. Then he went to the gateway that faced East. He went up the steps and at the top he measured the entrance it was 10 feet deep. Beyond it there was a passageway which had three guard rooms on each side. Each of the rooms was square 10 feet on each side, and the walls between them were eight feet thick. Beyond the guard rooms there was a passageway 10 feet long that led to an entrance room which faced the temple. He measured this room and found it was 14 feet deep. It formed that end of the gateway which was nearest the temple, and at its far end, the walls were four feet thick. These guard rooms on each side of the passageway were all the same size and the walls between them were all of the same thickness. Next, the man measured the width of the passageway in the gateway. It was 22 feet all together, and the space between the open gates was 16 feet. In front of each of the guard rooms there was a low wall 20 inches high and 20 inches thick. The rooms were 10 feet square. Then he measured the distance from the back wall of one room to the back wall of the room across the passageway from it and it was 42 feet. The room at the far end led out to a courtyard. He measured that room and found it was 34 feet wide. The total length of the gateway from the outside wall of the gate to the far side of the last room was at four feet. There were small openings on the outside walls of all the rooms and also in the inner walls between the rooms. They were palm trees carved on the inner walls that face the back passageway. The man took me through the gateway into the courtyard. There were 30 rooms built against the outer wall, and in front of them there was an area paid with stones which extended around the courtyard. This outer courtyard was at a lower level than the inner courtyard. There was a gateway at a higher level that led to the inner courtyard. The man measured the distance between the two gateways and it was 168 feet. Then the man measured the gateway on the north side that led into the outer courtyard. The three guard rooms on each side of the passageway, the walls between them, and the entrance room all had the same measurements as those in the East gateway. The total length of the gateway was 84 feet, and the width 42 feet. The entrance room, the windows and the carved palm trees were like those in the east gate. Here, seven steps lead up to the gate, and the entrance room was at the end facing the courtyard. across the courtyard from this North gateway was another gateway leading to the inner courtyard, just as there was on the east gate. The man measured the distance between these two gateways and it was 168 feet. Next, the man took me to the south side, and there we saw another gateway. He measured its inner walls and its entrance room, and they were the same as the others. There were windows in the rooms of the gateway just as in the others, the total length of the gateway was 84 feet and the width 42 feet, seven steps led up to it, and its entrance room was also at the end facing the courtyard. There were palm trees carved on the inner walls that faced the passageway. Here too. There was a gateway leading to the inner courtyard. The man measured the distance to this second gateway, and it was 168 feet. The man took me through the south gateway into the inner courtyard. He measured the gateway and it was the same size as the gateways and the outer wall. Its guard rooms, its entrance room, and its inner walls were the same size as those in the other gateways. There were also windows in the rooms of this gateway. The total length was 84 feet and the width 42 feet. Its entrance room faced the other courtyard and palm trees were carved on the walls along the passageway. eight steps led up to this gate. The man took me through the East gateway into the inner courtyard. He measured the gateway and it was the same size as the others. It&#8217;s guard rooms, its entrance room, and its inner walls measured the same as those in the other gateways. There were windows all around and the entrance room also, the total length was 84 feet and the width 42 feet. The entrance room faced the outer courtyard, palm trees were carved on the walls along the passageway. eight steps led up to this gate. Then the man took me to the north gateway. He measured it and it was the same size as the others like them. It also had guard rooms, decorated the inner walls and entrance room and windows all around. Its total length was 84 feet and its width 42 feet. The entrance room faced the outer courtyard, palm trees were carved on the walls along the passageway. eight steps lead up to this gate. In the outer courtyard, there was an annex attached to the inner gateway on the north side. It opened into the entrance room that faced the courtyard, and there they washed the carcasses of the animals to be burned whole as sacrifices. In this entrance room, there were four tables two on each side of the room. It was on these tables that they killed the animals to be offered a sacrifices either to be burned hole or to be sacrifices for sin or as repayment offerings. outside the room. There were four similar tables, two on either side of the entrance of the North Gate. Altogether, there were eight tables on which the animals to be sacrificed were killed four inside the room and four out in the courtyard. The four tables in the annex used to prepare the offerings to be burned hole were of cut stone, they were 20 inches high, and their tops were 30 inches square. All the equipment used in killing the sacrificial animals was kept on these tables, ledges three inches wide ran around the edge of the tables. All the meat to be offered in sacrifice was placed on the tables. Then he brought me to the inner court. There were two rooms opening on the inner court, one facing south beside the North gateway, and the other facing north beside the south gateway. The man told me that the room which faced South was for the priests who served in the temple, and the room which faced North was for the priests who served at the altar. All the priests were descended from say doc, they were the only members of the tribe of Levi who were permitted to go into the Lord&#8217;s presence to serve him. The man measured the inner courtyard and it was 168 feet square The temple was on the west side, and in front of it was an altar. Then he took me into the entrance room of the temple. He measured the entrance way. It was nine feet deep and 24 feet wide, with walls five feet thick on either side. Steps led up to the entrance room, which was 34 feet wide and 20 feet deep. There were two columns, one on each side of the entrance. Steve Webb 20:26Ezekiel chapter 41. Steve Webb 20:28Next, the man took me into the central room, the holy place. He measured the passageway into it. It was 10 feet deep, at 18 feet wide, with walls eight feet thick on either side. He measured the room itself, it was 68 feet long and 34 feet wide. Then he went to the innermost room. He measured the passageway into it. It was three feet deep and 10 feet wide with walls on either side. 12 feet thick. He measured the room itself and it was 34 feet square. This room was beyond the central room. Then he said to me, this is the most holy place. The man measured the thickness of the inner wall of the temple building and it was 10 feet. against this wall all around the temple was a series of rooms seven feet wide. These rooms were in three stories with 30 rooms on each floor. The temples outer wall on each floor was thinner than on the floor below, so that the rooms could rest on the wall without being anchored into it. And so the temple walls when seen from the outside, seemed to have the same thickness all the way to the top. Against the temples, outer wall on the outside of the rooms, two wide stairways were built so that it was possible to go from the lower storey to the middle and the upper storeys. The outside wall of these rooms was eight feet thick. There was one door into the rooms on the north side of the temple, and one into those on the south side. I saw that there was a terrorist eight feet wide around the temple. It was 10 feet above the ground, and it was level with the foundation of the rooms by the temple walls. Between the terrorists and the buildings used by the priests. There was an open space 34 feet across along the sides of the temple. At the far end of the open space on the west side of the temple, there was a building 150 feet long and 116 feet wide. Its walls were nine feet thick all around. The man measured the outside of the temple and it was 168 feet long. And from the back of the temple across the open space to the far side of the building to the west, the distance was also 168 feet. The distance across the front of the temple, including the open space on either side was also 168 feet. He measured the length of the building to the west, including its galleries on both sides, and it also was 168 feet. The entrance room of the temple, the holy place and the most holy place. We&#8217;re all paneled with wood from the floor to the windows, these windows could be covered. The inside walls of the temple up as high as above the doors were completely covered with carvings of palm trees and winged creatures. Palm trees alternated with creatures, one following the other, all the way around the room. Each creature had two faces, a human face that was turned toward the palm tree on one side, and a Lions face that was turned toward the tree on the other side. It was like this all around the wall from the floor to above the doors. The doorposts of the holy place were square. In front of the entrance of the most holy place, there was something that looked like a wooden altar. It was five feet high and four feet wide. Its corner posts, its base and its sides were all made of wood. The man said to me, this is the table which stands in the presence of the Lord. There was a door at the end of the passageway to the holy place, and one also at the end of the passageway to the most holy place. They were double doors that swung open in the middle. They were palm trees and winged creatures carved on the doors of the holy place, just as there were on the walls, and there was a wooden covering over the outside of the doorway of the entrance room. At the sides of this room. There were windows and the walls were decorated with palm trees. Steve Webb 24:20Ezekiel chapter 42. Steve Webb 24:23Then he brought me out to the outer court by the way toward the north. And he brought me into the chamber which was opposite the separating courtyard in which was opposite the building toward the north. Facing the length, which was 100 cubits the width was 50 cubits was the north door. Opposite the inner court of 20 cubits and opposite that pavement of the outer court was gallery against gallery in three stories. In front of the chambers toward the inside, was a walk 10 cubits wide at a distance of one qubit and their doors faced north. Now the upper chambers were shorter Because the galleries took away space from them more than from the lower and middle stories of the building, for they were in three storeys and did not have pillars like the pillars of the courts. Therefore the upper level was shortened more than the lower and middle levels from the ground up. And a wall which was outside ran parallel to the chambers at the front of the chambers toward the outer court. Its length was 50 cubits. The length of the chambers toward the outer court was 50 cubits, whereas that facing the temple was 100 cubits at the lower chambers was the entrance on the east side as one goes into them from the outer court. Steve Webb 25:38And there were chambers in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, opposite the separating courtyard and opposite the building. There was a walk in front of them also, and their appearance was like the chambers which were toward the north. They were as long and wide as the others and all their exits and entrances were according to plan, and corresponding to the doors of the chambers that were facing south, as one enters them, there was a door in front of the walk the way directly in front of the wall toward the east. Then he said to me, the North chambers and the South chambers, which are opposite the separating courtyard, are the holy chambers where the priests who approached the Lord shall eat the most holy offerings, there they shall lay the Most Holy offerings, the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering, for the place is holy. When the priest center them, they shall not go out of the holy chamber into the outer court, but they are they shall leave their garments in which they minister or they are holy, they shall put on other garments, then they may approach that which is for the people. Now, when he had finished measuring the inner temple, he brought me out through the gateway that faces toward the east and measured it all around. He measured the east side with a measuring rod 500 rods by the measuring rod all around, he measured the north side 500 rods by the measuring rod all around, he measured the South Side 500 rods by the measuring rod, he came around to the west side and measured 500 rods by the measuring rod. He measured it on the four sides. It had a wall all around 500 cubits long in 500 wide to separate the holy areas from the common. Steve Webb 27:20Well, today is March 25 2022. And right now, Russia and its President Vladimir Putin is very much in the news because of Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine. I&#8217;m not going to comment on this action because it&#8217;s outside of the scope of the Lifespring family Audio Bible, but I am going to talk about Ezekiel 38 and 39. And its possible meaning and possible references to modern nations, and the End Times. Let me start by reading the first six verses of chapter 38. And the word of the Lord came to me saying, Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh Meshech, and two ball and prophesy against them and say, Thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am against you, oh Gog, Prince of rush me Shaq into ball, I will turn you about and put hooks into your jaws, and I will bring you out, and all of your army, horses and horsemen, all of them splendidly attired, a great company with Buckler in shield, all of them wielding swords, Persia, Ethiopia and put with them, all of them with shield and helmet, Gomer with all its troops best to Garma from all the remote parts of the north with all its troops, many people&#8217;s with you. Alright, before I talk about the things we can know from these chapters, I&#8217;d like to share something written by a Bible commentator. Warren Where&#8217;s B? He said, It&#8217;s tempting to identify rush with Russia, and therefore me check with Moscow and to ball with Tobolsk both cities in Russia. But we would have a hard time defending this on linguistic grounds. This doesn&#8217;t rule out the participation of modern Russia since it is located in the north, but neither does it demand it. So from the scriptures, we cannot know for sure that modern Russia is the land spoken of in the scriptures. So let&#8217;s look at what we can know. Let&#8217;s read verses 14 through 18 of chapter 38. Therefore prophesy Son of Man and say to God, Thus says the Lord God, on that day when my people Israel are living securely, will you not know it? You will come from your place out of the remote parts of the north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great assembly and a mighty army. And you will come up against my people Israel like a cloud to cover the land. It shall come about in the last days that I will bring you against my land, so that the nations may know me when I am sanctified through you before Their eyes, oh God, that says the Lord God, are you the one of whom I spoke in former days through my servants, the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them, it will come about on that day when God comes against the Land of Israel declares the Lord GOD, that my fury will mount up in my anger. Okay, so from verse 16, we know that this will happen in the last days. Now, I&#8217;ve said many times on the show that I believe that we are in the last days. But I&#8217;ve also said that I&#8217;m not dogmatic about that. But so many things have happened in the world since Israel again became a nation in 1948. That it is hard to avoid the thought that we&#8217;re living in the closing days of history. We don&#8217;t have time here to list all of the events that have happened since 1948. Entire books have been written on that subject. And this is an area that has a myriad of rabbit holes into which one could invest a whole lot of time. Let me today just give you a list of what we can glean from chapters 38 and 39. It is good to know the things that we can know right? We can speculate all we want on the things that we can&#8217;t know. But we should know the things that we can know from what Scripture tells us. Okay, so we learned from chapter 38, verses one through six that Gog, a leader from the north of Israel will lead an alliance of nations to attack Israel. Those nations include Persia, Ethiopia, put Gomer beffta Garma, in many people&#8217;s Well, today, we know these lands as modern Iran, Turkey, Libya, Ethiopia, and possibly Armenia and Germany. From verse 10. We know that God&#8217;s motivation will be twofold, his own evil desires and God&#8217;s compulsion, God will compel him to attack. And then verses four through six tell us that they will attack swiftly with a very powerful army. verses eight and 12 tell us that the attack comes when Israel has become a nation. And when they&#8217;re experiencing security, safety and prosperity. Verses 12 through 13, tell us other nations not involved in the attack, we&#8217;ll try to see how they might benefit from God&#8217;s victory over Israel. And then in chapter 16, we know that God will defeat God in a way that will bring glory to himself. Steve Webb 32:37Now, to be clear, we are not given enough information to have any certainty when this will happen. We can&#8217;t say that the President hostilities from Russia are the precursor to this battle. It is possible that the battle spoken of here in Ezekiel takes place before what is known as the Great Tribulation, the final literal seven year period before Jesus returns to Earth, it could take place in the middle of that seven year period, or it could take place at the end of the seven years. Interestingly, Revelation 1917 and 18 and Ezekiel 3917 through 20, are very similar. Those verses in Revelation 19 Speak of the time at the end of the seven years. Listen to Revelation 1917 and 18. Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice saying to all the birds which fly in mid heaven, calm assemble for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings in the flesh of commanders, in the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of those who sit on them and the flesh of all men, both free men and slaves and small and great. Okay, that&#8217;s revelation. Let&#8217;s listen to Ezekiel 3917 through 19 Again, as for you son of man, Thus says the Lord God, speak to every kind of bird and to every beast of the field. Say to them, assemble and come gather from every side to my sacrifice which I am going to sacrifice for you as a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood. You will eat the flesh of mighty men, and drink the blood of the princes of the Earth as though they were rams lambs goats in bowls, all of them fat Ling&#8217;s of Batian so you will eat fat until you are glutted and drink blood until you were drunk from my sacrifice, which I have sacrificed for you. Wouldn&#8217;t you agree that there are similarities there? And then lastly, some people believe that this battle might happen even after Jesus reigns on Earth for 1000 years after his return in Revelation 19. There are pros and cons for each one of these thoughts, man, I&#8217;m not going to be the guy that says this is what it is. The fact is that we just don&#8217;t know many of the details that go God has in mind. For reasons known only to him, he gave us only a very rough sketch with just enough details to know that these events will happen, and that they will be for His glory. We are told in the book of Revelation, but at the end of it all, we will praise him for all that he has done. Revelation seven, nine through 17 says, After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count from every nation and all tribes and peoples in tongues standing before the throne, and before the Lamb closed in white robes in palm branches were in their hands, and they cry out with a loud voice saying, Salvation to our God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God saying, Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power in might be to our God forever and ever, amen. And then one of the elders answered, saying to me, these who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from? I said to him, My Lord, you know, and he said to me, these are the ones who come out of the Great Tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. For this reason, they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple, and he who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them, they will hunger no longer nor thirst anymore, nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat, for the lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life. And God will wipe every tear from their eyes. Beloved, like I&#8217;ve said, I do not know when these things will happen. No one knows but the Father, but whether it begins today, or at some distant time in the future, they will happen. It surely is you&#8217;re hearing my voice right now. The question is, are you ready? Are you prepared? First, Thessalonians, five, two, and three tells us, For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they&#8217;re saying peace and safety, then destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains upon a woman with child and they will not escape. So in other words, once it happens, it&#8217;ll be too late to make preparations. So how do you prepare? How will you escape destruction? How can you be sure that you&#8217;ll be one of those standing before the throne of the Lamb, the lamb being Jesus, if you&#8217;ve put your faith in Him, if you have asked him to forgive your sins, if you&#8217;ve asked him to be your Lord and your Savior, you have nothing to worry about. You have a place prepared for you in Heaven. Jesus said, do not let your heart be troubled, believe in God, believe also in Me, In my Father&#8217;s house are many dwelling places. If it were not, so I would have told you for I go to prepare replace for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself that where I am. There you may be also Steve Webb 38:18if you&#8217;re not sure that you&#8217;re prepared, if you don&#8217;t know that there&#8217;s a place for you in heaven. Why not decide right now that you do want to be sure? Why wait? What is there to gain by waiting? Or let&#8217;s turn the question around? What is there to lose by waiting? Everything. If you wait, there&#8217;s everything to lose. And when you decide now to follow Jesus, you have everything to gain. All you have to do is ask him. Just a simple prayer. Are you ready? Are you ready right now? Then pray with me. Dear Jesus, I want to know that you&#8217;re my Savior and my Lord, please forgive me of all the sins I&#8217;ve done. I&#8217;m sorry for them, my turn from them now. I give my life to you. And I asked you to be my Savior and my Lord, Jesus, please take my life from this moment on and help me to become the person you made me to be. Amen. Well, if you prayed that prayer, and you meant it, congratulations, you&#8217;ve begun a new life. Second Corinthians 517 says, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature. The old things passed away, behold, new things have come. That&#8217;s a promise. Hang on to that promise. No matter if you felt anything or not. When you prayed that prayer just now, that promise applies to you. I have a New Testament that I&#8217;d like to send you. It&#8217;s my gift. It&#8217;s called the new believers Bible. And it&#8217;s filled with hundreds of notes that will help you get started in your new life. I want you to have it, it&#8217;s free. Just send me an email at Steve at Lifespring media.com and I mean, you just prayed that prayer and tell me where to send it. I promise I&#8217;m not going to use your email or your mailing address for anything else, I won&#8217;t spam you and I won&#8217;t give or sell anyone else your information. I just want you to have this new believers Bible, no strings at all. I&#8217;m just so very happy that you made this the best decision you&#8217;ll ever make in your life. So beloved, what do you think about what I&#8217;ve said today? Does it make sense to you? I want to hear from you. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 205. And write me a comment. Tomorrow we&#8217;re going to complete the book of Luke will read chapters 23 and 24. Steve Webb 40:46Well, Sean of San Pedro and his wife Brittany had been on vacation, but he made up for his absence when he got back with boosting 7223 sats. Thank you Sean for Monday&#8217;s the plumbline episode, he said Well said, Steve, thank you for the clear, concise and kind explanation. Shawn, thank you for that comment. I appreciate it. And I hope you had a fun vacation. Say hi to Britteny for me. And thank you for boosting the SATs when you got back. God bless you, brother. Well, beloved, as you know, the Lifespring family Audio Bible is here for you every day of the week to help you read through the Bible. And you know, there are no advertisers. And if you&#8217;ve been listening for a while, you know why. But there are expenses that need to be paid. So please help me to keep producing the show for you. Go to Lifespring media.com/support. and donate what you feel is equal to the value you receive from the show, pray about it, and then do as the Lord leads Lifespring media.com/support. Steve Webb 41:58Let&#8217;s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we know that you love us and we know that Your Word is true. And in your Word, you gave us exactly what you wanted us to know. We can&#8217;t help but wonder about the things we don&#8217;t know. But you reserve some things only for you. Well, we trust you. So we&#8217;re good with that. Help us, Lord, to make the best of what you have told us and to use it to bring glory to You. Lord, I thank you for the Lifespring family. Each person is here because you called them bless them for following your lead. And I pray that you use me to faithfully bring them what you lay on my heart. And I ask God that you forgive me where I fall short. And I pray that you&#8217;ll compensate for my weaknesses. When I do. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you&#8217;ve got a prayer request, or if God is doing something really great in your life, we want to hear about it. Go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com and fill that form out you find there. I&#8217;ll pray for you in my private prayer time. I&#8217;ll rejoice with you and we&#8217;ll pray together on the show. Prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 43:09At the last minute, I have decided I&#8217;m going to play a song for you from a guy that I met a long, long, long time ago. His name is Darrell Mansfield. He came in to the radio station KQLH when I was working there, he had just released this album that I&#8217;m going to play this track from and the name of the track is Get ready. I&#8217;ll have a link on the show notes page. But before the song Let me just say hey, share the show and comment on the show and Lifespring media.com/s 12 D 205. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And until tomorrow may God bless you richly thanks for being here. My name is Steve Webb. Are you ready to rock? Bye? Darrell Mansfield 44:10Take a look at the sky. Turn around When I says to let a spirit inside of you you gotta make a choice. Listen closely now, you can hear his voice Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart! Experiencing God (2021 Edition): Knowing and Doing the Will of God By Henry &#38; Richard Blackaby, Claude V. King / B&#38;H Books Experience the book that has restored, reoriented, and renewed millions of people&#8212;now thoroughly updated with seven new chapters and dozens of additional stories! Whether you&#8217;re reading it for the first time or eager to encounter a fresh edition of the classic text you already love, you&#8217;ll not be the same when you finish it. 368 pages, hardcover from B&#38;H.

Transcript Introduction Today is Poetry Thursday, and we’ll finish the book of Ecclesiastes by reading chapters 11-12.&#160; And I hope you’ll forgive me, but today I am just going to run a repeat of last year’s episode for this reading. As I record this, it’s about 8:30 at night, which means there is only 90 minutes before the show is due to publish, and this is the first chance I’ve had to be in the studio all day, which is highly unusual. So there is no time to produce a new episode for you today. The first thing this morning, I got a call from Del that Kathi was on the way to the Emergency Room. I won’t go into all the details, but suffice to say that she has been checked into Loma Linda University Medical Center with internal bleeding. We’ll know tomorrow. And then the Lovely Lady LeeAnn and I had to go out today to do our weekly rounds for the family business. Long story short, this is one of just a very small number of episodes this season that will be a repeat.&#160; Pray for Kathi, and I’ll see you tomorrow. Thanks for your understanding.&#160; Wrapping Up Ecclesiastes Chapter 11 began with a message that would not come from an old, jaded, cynical Scrooge-type man. He started with the advice that you should be generous with those in need, because your giving is like a farmer sowing grain. It will yield a return. And if you have the ability now, you never know when your fortunes may change and you may need someone else’s generosity. And then Solomon advised that the young should enjoy their youth, keeping in mind that God will be the judge of all that we do. So we should avoid evil. Chapter 12 says the young should keep the Creator in mind, because in our old age life becomes difficult. Our senses dull and our bodies become weak. And ultimately, we die. And at the very end of the chapter and the book, Solomon refers to himself in the third person and calls himself the Preacher. And he says that after observing all that he could, he wrote down the best words that he could; words of truth. Words that could hold you steady in the storms of life. Words that were given by God.&#160; Solomon&#8217;s Conclusion And his conclusion was this: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Because God will judge every work, every act, whether good or evil. The Key to Lasting Happiness and Peace Beloved, the only true and lasting happiness and peace is found in knowing God and pleasing Him. Anything apart from that will only bring emptiness, heartbreak, spiritual bankruptcy and ultimately eternal separation from God. And as Christians, we know that the only way to truly know God is when we have a personal relationship with Jesus.&#160; Solomon didn’t know Jesus by name, but he came to know that God was his only hope, and I am sure that God credited his account in the same way as He did with Abraham because of that faith. My Discovery I’ll be 67 years old in a few weeks, and even though I have not lived my life with the same privileges as Solomon did, my experiences have taught me the same lessons. When I have gone my own way, veering from the path that I knew God would want me to travel, I have always found nothing but emptiness and sadness. It is only when I cling tightly to Him that I find that unshakeable peace, that joy which is independent of my circumstances, that *knowing* that everything will be alright. Abundant Life I hope you have found that marvelous truth in your own life. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” That is what God wants for you. And so do I. Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 11-12 NKJV Support Please remember that this is a listener supported show. Your support of any amount is needed and very much appreciated. Find out how by clicking here. Transcript Download .txt INTRO S12E330 &#8211; 0:00Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And podcasting since 2004, I&#8217;m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today is Poetry Thursday. And we&#8217;ll finish the book of Ecclesiastes by reading chapters 11 and 12. And I hope you&#8217;ll forgive me, but today I&#8217;m going to run a repeat of last year&#8217;s episode for this reading. As I record this, it&#8217;s about 8:30 at night, which means there&#8217;s only about 90 minutes before the show was due to publish, and this is the first chance I&#8217;ve had to be in the studio all day long, which is very unusual. So the bottom line is, there&#8217;s no time to produce a new episode for you today. You&#8217;re saying, Steve, why what happened? Well, the first thing this morning, I got a call from Del that Kathi was on the way to the emergency room. I&#8217;m not going to go into details. But suffice to say that she has been checked into Loma Linda University Medical Center, which is closer to their home than City of Hope is and she has internal bleeding. We&#8217;ll know tomorrow, what exactly is going on. And then the Lovely Lady LeeAnn and I had to go out today and do our weekly rounds for the family business. Long story short, this is just one of a very small number of episodes this season that will be a repeat. Pray for Kathi, and I&#8217;ll see you tomorrow. Thank you for your understanding. And now here&#8217;s the episode. God bless you. Thank you for being here. TEASER &#8211; 1:24Knowing that everything will be all right. INTRO S11E330 &#8211; 1:38Lifespring Family Audio Bible episode number 330. This is the daily podcast where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. I&#8217;m Steve Webb. I&#8217;m your host. How are you? Are you doing well today? I hope so. We&#8217;re going to finish the book of Ecclesiastes today by reading chapters 11 and 12. OPENING PRAYER &#8211; 1:58Let&#8217;s pray. Our Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for the senses you gave us to experience the world around us. We thank you for loving us and for giving us your word that we might know you. Above all, we thank you for your son, and the salvation he offers to all that will accept. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. All right, let&#8217;s go. ECCLESIASTER 11 (NKJV) &#8211; 2:23Ecclesiastes, chapter 11. (1) Cast your bread upon the waters,For you will find it after many days.(2) Give a serving to seven, and also to eight,For you do not know what evil will be on the earth. (3) If the clouds are full of rain,They empty themselves upon the earth;And if a tree falls to the south or the north,In the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie.(4) He who observes the wind will not sow,And he who regards the clouds will not reap. (5) As you do not know what is the way of the wind,Or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child,So you do not know the works of God who makes everything.(6) In the morning sow your seed,And in the evening do not withhold your hand;For you do not know which will prosper,Either this or that,Or whether both alike will be good. (7) Truly the light is sweet,And it is pleasant for the eyes to behold the sun;(8) But if a man lives many yearsAnd rejoices in them all,Yet let him remember the days of darkness,For they will be many.All that is coming is vanity. (9) Rejoice, O young man, in your youth,And let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth;Walk in the ways of your heart,And in the sight of your eyes;But know that for all theseGod will bring you into judgment.(10) Therefore remove sorrow from your heart,And put away evil from your flesh,For childhood and youth are vanity. ECCLESIASTES 12 (NKJV) &#8211; 3:54Ecclesiastes, chapter 12. (1) Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,Before the difficult days come,And the years draw near when you say,“I have no pleasure in them”:(2) While the sun and the light,The moon and the stars,Are not darkened,And the clouds do not return after the rain;(3) In the day when the keepers of the house tremble,And the strong men bow down;When the grinders cease because they are few,And those that look through the windows grow dim;(4) When the doors are shut in the streets,And the sound of grinding is low;When one rises up at the sound of a bird,And all the daughters of music are brought low.(5) Also they are afraid of height,And of terrors in the way;When the almond tree blossoms,The grasshopper is a burden,And desire fails.For man goes to his eternal home,And the mourners go about the streets. (6) Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed,Or the golden bowl is broken,Or the pitcher shattered at the fountain,Or the wheel broken at the well.(7) Then the dust will return to the earth as it was,And the spirit will return to God who gave it. (8) “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher,“All is vanity.” (9) And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs. (10) The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright—words of truth. (11) The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd. (12) And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh. (13) Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments,For this is man’s all.(14) For God will bring every work into judgment,Including every secret thing,Whether good or evil. COMMENTS &#8211; 6:04Chapter 11 began with a message that would not come from an old, jaded, cynical Scrooge-type fella that Solomon has sounded like during much of this book. He started chapter 11, with the advice that you should be generous with those in need, because you&#8217;re giving is like a farmer sowing grain, it will yield a return. And if you have the ability, now, you never know when your fortunes may change, and you may need someone else&#8217;s generosity. And then Solomon advised that the young should enjoy their youth, keeping in mind that God will be the judge of all that we do so we should avoid evil. Chapter 12 says that the young should keep the creator in mind, because in our old age, life becomes difficult. Our senses dull, and our bodies become weak. And ultimately, we die. And at the very end of the chapter in the book, Solomon refers to himself in the third person and calls himself The Preacher. And he says that after observing all that he could, he wrote down the best words that he could, words of truth, words that could hold you steady in the storms of life, words that were given by God. And his conclusion was this: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Because God will judge every work, every act, whether good or evil. Beloved, the only true and lasting happiness in peace is found in knowing God and pleasing Him. Anything apart from that will only bring emptiness, heartbreak, spiritual bankruptcy, and ultimately, eternal separation from God. And as Christians, we know that the only way to truly know God is when we have a personal relationship with Jesus. Solomon didn&#8217;t know Jesus by name, but he came to know that God was his only hope. And I&#8217;m sure that God credited his account in the same way as he did with Abraham because of that faith. In a few weeks, I&#8217;m going to be 67 years old. And even though I&#8217;ve not lived my life with the same privileges as Solomon did, my experiences have taught me the same lessons. When I&#8217;ve gone my own way, veering from the path that I knew God would want me to travel. I&#8217;ve always found nothing but emptiness and sadness. It&#8217;s only when I cling tightly to him, that I find that unshakable peace, that joy, which is independent of my circumstances, that knowing that everything will be alright. I hope you found that marvelous truth in your own life. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” That is what God wants for you, Beloved, and so do I. I invite your comments. Write to me at <span data-original-string='hEcsr6YffYbGz6Mf8jlPgw==8b0t8FCxUcMJYDyBm7w/sYs0PQXo0E+F8cHg34BjsoHWYQ=' class='apbct-email-encoder' title='This contact has been encoded by Anti-Spam by CleanTalk. Click to decode. To finish the decoding make sure that JavaScript is enabled in your browser.'>st***@*************ia.com. OUTRO S12E330 &#8211; 8:58Our reading tomorrow will be the book of Malachi. Until then, may God bless you richly. I&#8217;m Steve Webb. Bye. Transcribed by https://otter.aiCorrected by Denise Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Aaron Burden on Unsplash Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents By Rod Dreher / Sentinel Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn once noted that people often assume that their democratic government would never submit to totalitarianism&#8212;but Dreher says it&#8217;s happening. Sounding the alarm about the insidious effects of identity politics, surveillance technology, psychological manipulation, and more, he equips contemporary Christian dissidents to see, judge, and act as they fight to resist the erosion of our freedoms. 304 pages, hardcover from Sentinel.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today our reading is Leviticus 19-21. Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you, and I’m calling today’s episode “Be Different.” Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: Jan Huber on Unsplash Comments on Leviticus 19-20 The Lord spoke to Moses: “Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them: Be holy because I, Yahweh your God, am holy.&#160; Leviticus 19: 1-2 HCSB “You are to keep all My statutes and all My ordinances, and do them, so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out. 23You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you, for they did all these things, and I abhorred them. 24And I promised you: You will inherit their land, since I will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am Yahweh your God who set you apart from the peoples. 25Therefore you must distinguish the clean animal from the unclean one, and the unclean bird from the clean one. Do not become contaminated by any land animal, bird, or whatever crawls on the ground; I have set these apart as unclean for you. 26You are to be holy to Me because I, Yahweh, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be Mine.&#160; Leviticus 20:22-26 HCSB In chapter 19, verses 1 and 2, God called the Israelites to be holy, as He is holy. To be holy is to be separate, different, set apart. (Apart, not a part. When an orange is still hanging on the tree, it is a part of the tree. Once I pluck the orange, it is apart from the tree, no longer a part of the tree.) God is holy, in that He is different from everything else in all creation. Every aspect of who and what God is, is different than every other thing. Because He is God, He is greater, He is more righteous, He is more just, more pure, more loving, more MORE than can be expressed. So how can He call His people to be holy, because He is holy? We are not God. We are human. How can we be holy? Because we are made in His image. He is not calling us to be gods, because God is the only true God. So what is He calling us to do? He is calling us to be separate, different, set apart from the things in the world that are not pleasing to Him. Or put another way, set apart from the things that are not like Him. We are to be more like Him. We are to reflect Him as much as we can. The word &#8220;Christian&#8221; means, &#8220;like Christ&#8221;.&#160; So in chapter 19 and most of chapter 20, God, through Moses, talked about the punishment that was to be meted out for various sins, which had already been spoken of in previous chapters. And then in verses 22-26 of chapter 20, God gave His reason for calling Israel to be holy. God has called His chosen people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land. This is a land that had been inhabited by people who practiced many things that were evil in the sight of God, and He did not want any of that behavior to be brought into the Israelite culture. The fact that the previous inhabitants did such heinous things is why God had the Israelites expel and, in fact, why He commanded them to completely wipe them out in almost every case.&#160; And God told the Israelites to keep all of His statues and laws so that the land where He was bringing them would not vomit them out, as He was having them do to the Canaanites who were presently in that land. This is why He called them to be holy. And this idea of being different, of being separate, is the reason for many of the laws in these two chapters. Whenever there was a behavior that was practiced by the Canaanites, God said, &#8220;Do not do that.&#8221;&#160; Some of the seemingly random laws are examples of this. Like the shaving of the sides of the heads or the trimming of the beards. These were things done by the pagans in their worship of idols. The same for cutting the flesh or tattoos. God said do not do those things because you are to be holy, separate, different. Don&#8217;t do what they do. The mixing of textiles was forbidden because the pagans did that, thinking that there was some sort of magic associated with clothes made in this manner. Many of the laws concerning sexual activity have the same basis. The pagans had many perverse practices in their religions, so God was very explicit in what He had to say about what was not allowed. Today, as we read through these laws we say, &#8220;Of course you shouldn&#8217;t do that!&#8221; But remember, beloved, our culture has the benefit of being founded on Judeo-Christian principles. For now, as long as it lasts (and Judeo-Christian culture is under attack today), most of our way of life is defined, even in our legal system, by these principles.&#160; As God warned the Israelites to keep all His statutes and all His judgements so that the land would not vomit them out, I believe we have enjoyed God&#8217;s blessings here in America because we were founded on these ideals. And just as God allowed Israel to be judged when they forsook Him, I believe we are in danger of His judgement today.&#160; Beloved, again I say that we must return to God. He said, in 2 Chronicles 7:14, &#8220;Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.&#8221;&#160; Notice, beloved, who God is calling to humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from their wicked ways. It wasn&#8217;t the heathen. It wasn&#8217;t the sinner. God said, &#8220;If MY people who are called by MY name&#8230;&#8221; Beloved, WE must humble OURselves. WE must pray. WE must seek His face. WE must turn from OUR wicked ways. You say, &#8220;Steve, I&#8217;m not wicked.&#8221; I say, &#8220;Is that right?&#8221; Okay. Maybe it&#8217;s just me, but I know that I fail God every day. I am SO not like Jesus. I have SO far to go. I KNOW that I am not the man that God wants me to be. I know that the only way I&#8217;m getting into Heaven is because I am washed in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. But I still want to continue to strive to be more like Him. Beloved. ALL of us MUST seek His face. We MUST ask Him to reveal to us where we fail Him and humbly ask Him to forgive us. We MUST ask Him to heal our land. Will you join me in this? I made the same plea last year on the show when we read these chapters. But here in 2022, we are in worse shape, world wide, than we were in 2021. Will you commit to earnestly pray with me? Our nation&#8230;our WORLD will only find healing and peace through God. Political leaders or political systems won&#8217;t do it for us. That&#8217;s more clear today than it was even just last year. God is the ONLY answer.&#160; Pray with me: O God. We humbly come to you now in Jesus&#8217; precious name, and we plead with You to reveal to us those areas in our lives that are not pleasing to You. Show us, God, where we are falling short. We know that You are not happy with us. We know that we need the forgiveness that can only come because of your great mercy. Please God, forgive us. Forgive us for the things we do, and for the things we don&#8217;t do. Forgive us for our cowardice. Forgive us for not standing up for what we know is right, and for not fighting against what we know is wrong. Father, we ask You now to give us the courage that can only come from You. Give us courage to speak for the weak among us. Give us courage to fight for what is right. God, we ask that you heal our land. Not just here in America, Lord, but in our world. Oh God, we need You. Let this generation see a revival the likes of which have never been seen. Pour out Your Spirit on us, Lord. Make us a mighty army for You. We humbly ask that You make us worthy to be called by Your name. I pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen. Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 19-20 HCSB; Ch. 21 NAS Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00How can we be holy? Steve Webb 0:09Well, hello there welcome. This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God caster Steve Webb, how&#8217;s it going today? I&#8217;m so glad to see your smiling face. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And today&#8217;s reading is Leviticus 19 through 21. Of course, I&#8217;ll have some thoughts to share with you after the reading, and I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode be different. The show notes page for today&#8217;s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 v 208. And you can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. And I haven&#8217;t mentioned this a long time. But having been at this since 2004. There are a ton of episodes over at Lifespring media.com that I think you&#8217;d probably enjoy. I&#8217;ve got interview shows, I&#8217;ve got music shows I&#8217;ve got shows the talk about the background of some of Christianity&#8217;s greatest hymns, in almost every episode I&#8217;ve ever done has been what they call evergreen. In other words, they don&#8217;t they don&#8217;t expire. I don&#8217;t talk about current events. I don&#8217;t talk about what&#8217;s in the news so much. I talk about God&#8217;s truth. And as we know that doesn&#8217;t change. So check it out at Lifespring media.com. Now, are you ready? Let&#8217;s go. Steve Webb 1:22Leviticus 19 The Lord spoke to Moses. Speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them be holy because I the LORD your God and holy. Each of you is to respect his mother and father, you are to keep my Sabbath. I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make cast images of God&#8217;s for yourselves. I am the Lord your God. When you offer a fellowship, sacrifice to the Lord, sacrifice it so that you may be accepted. It is better to be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day. But what remains on the third day must be burned up. If any is eaten on the third day it is repulsive thing. It will not be accepted. Anyone who eats it will bear his punishment for he has profaned what is holy to the Lord. That person must be cut off from his people. When you reap the harvest of your land, you&#8217;re not to reap to the very edge of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You must not strip your vineyard bear or gather its fallen grapes. Leave them for the poor in the foreign resident. I am the Lord your God. You must not steal. You must not act deceptively or lie to one another. You must not swear falsely by my name profaning the name of the Lord your God, I am your way. You must not oppress your neighbor or robbed him. The wages do a hired hand must not remain with you until morning. You must not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind. But you are to fear your God, I am the Lord. You must not act unjustly when deciding a case. Do not be partial to the poor or give preference to the rich. Judge your neighbor fairly. You must not go about spreading slander among your people. You must not jeopardize your neighbor&#8217;s life, I am the Lord. You must not harbor hatred against your brother. rebuke your neighbor directly and you will not incur guilt because of him. Steve Webb 3:23Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community. But Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord. You are to keep my statutes. You must not crossbreed two different kinds of your livestock. So your fields with two kinds of seed or put on a garment made of two kinds of material. Steve Webb 3:44If a man has sexual intercourse with a woman who was a slave designated for another man, but she has not been redeemed or given her freedom, there must be punishment. They&#8217;re not to be put to death because she had not been freed. However, he must bring a ram as his restitution offering to the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. The priests will make atonement on his behalf before the Lord with the ram of the restitution offering for the sin he is committed and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed. When you come into the land and plant any kind of tree for food, you are to consider the fruit forbidden. It will be forbidden to you for three years. It is not to be eaten. In the fourth year all its fruit must be consecrated as a praise offering to the Lord. But in the fifth year, you may eat its fruit. In this way its yield will increase for you. I am the Lord your God. Steve Webb 4:40You are not to eat anything with blood in it. You are not to practice divination or sorcery. You are not to cut off the hair at the sides of your head or mar the edge of your beard. You are not to make gashes on your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the Lord. Do not debase yourself Steve Webb 5:00by making her a prostitute or the land will be prostituted and filled with depravity. You must keep my Sabbath and revere my sanctuary, I am the Lord. Do not turn to mediums or consult spiritists or you will be defiled by them, I am the Lord your God. You are to rise in the presence of the elderly and otter, the old, fear your God, I am the Lord. Steve Webb 5:24When a foreigner lives with you in your land, you must not oppress him. You must regard the foreigner who lives with you as the native born among you, you are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt, I am the Lord your God. You must not be unfair in measurements of length, weight or volume. You are to have honest balances, honest weights, and honest dry measure and an honest liquid measure. I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt. You must keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and do them. I am the Lord. Steve Webb 6:00Leviticus chapter 20. The Lord spoke to Moses, Say to the Israelites, any Israelite or foreigner living in Israel who gives any of his children to Molek must be put to death. The people of the country are to stone him, I will turn against that man and cut him off from his people, because he gave his offspring to Molek, defiling my sanctuary and profaning My Holy Name. But if the people of the country look the other way, when that man gives any of his children to Molek, and do not put Him to death, then I will turn against that man and his family and cut off from their people, both him and all who follow him in prostituting themselves with Molek whoever turns to mediums or spiritists, and prostitutes himself with them, I will turn against that person and cut him off from his people. consecrate yourselves and be holy, for I am Yahweh your God. keep my statutes and do them. I am Yahweh who sets you apart. Steve Webb 7:02If anyone curses his father or mother, he must be put to death. He has cursed his father or mother, his blood is on his own hands. If a man commits adultery with a married woman, if he commits adultery with his neighbor&#8217;s wife, both the adulterer and the adulterous must be put to death. If a man sleeps with his father&#8217;s wife, he has shamed his father. Both of them must be put to death, their blood is on their own hands. If a man sleeps with his daughter in law, both of them must be put to death. They have acted perversely, their blood is on their own hands. If a man sleeps with a man as with a woman, they have both committed a detestable thing. They must be put to death, their blood is on their own hands. If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is depraved. Both he and they must be burned with fire, so that there will be no depravity among you. Steve Webb 8:02If a man has sexual intercourse with an animal, he must be put to death, you are also to kill the animal. Steve Webb 8:10If a woman comes near any animal and mates with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal. They must be put to death, their own blood is on them. Steve Webb 8:20If a man marries his sister, whether his father&#8217;s daughter or his mother&#8217;s daughter, and they have sexual relations, it is a disgrace. They must be cut off publicly from their people. He has had sexual intercourse with a sister, he will bear his punishment. Steve Webb 8:36If a man sleeps with a menstruating woman that has sexual intercourse with her, he has exposed the source of her flow, and she has uncovered the source of her blood. Both of them must be cut off from their people. You must not have sexual intercourse with your mother&#8217;s sister or your father&#8217;s sister, for it is exposing one&#8217;s own blood relative, both people will bear their punishment. If a man sleeps with his aunt, he is shamed his uncle, they will bear their guilt and die childless. If a man marries his brother&#8217;s wife, it is impurity, he has shamed his brother, they will be childless. You are to keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and do them so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out. You must not follow the statutes of the nations I am driving out before you for they did all these things and I abhorred them. And I promised you, you will inherit their land since I will give it to you to possess a land flowing with milk and honey. I am Yahweh your God who set you apart from the peoples. Therefore, you must distinguish the clean animal from the unclean one and the unclean bird from the clean one. Do not become contaminated by any land animal bird or whatever crawls on the ground. I have set these apart is unclean for you. You Steve Webb 10:00You are to be holy to me because I Yawei am holy, and I have set you apart from the nation&#8217;s to be mine. A man or a woman who is a medium or a spiritist must be put to death. They are to be stoned, their blood is on their own hands. Steve Webb 10:17Leviticus chapter 21. Steve Webb 10:20Then the Lord said to Moses, speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron and say to them, no one shall defile himself for a dead person among his people, except for his relatives who are nearest to him, his mother and his father and his son and his daughter and his brother, also for his virgin sister, who was near to him because she has no husband. For her he may defile himself. He shall not defile himself as a relative by marriage among his people, and so profane himself. They shall not make any baldness on their heads, nor shave off the edges of their beards, nor make any cuts in their flesh. They shall be holy to their God, and not profane the name of their God, for they present the offerings by fire to the Lord, the food of their God, so they shall be holy. They shall not take a woman who was profaned by harlotry, nor shall they take a woman divorced from her husband, for He is holy to his God, You shall consecrate him therefore for he offers the food of your God, he shall be holy to you, For I the Lord who sanctifies you am holy, also the daughter of any priest, if she profanes herself by harlotry, she profanes her father, she shall be burned with fire. Steve Webb 11:36The priest who is the highest among his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil has been poured, and who has been consecrated to wear the garments shall not uncover his head, nor tear his clothes, nor shall he approach any dead person, nor defile himself even for his father or his mother, nor shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God, for the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him, I am the Lord. He shall take a wife in her virginity, a widow or a divorced woman, or one who is profaned by harlotry. These he may not take, but rather he is to marry a virgin of his own people, so that he will not profane his offspring among his people, for I am the Lord who sanctifies him. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to Aaron, saying, No man of your offspring throughout their generations who has a defect shall approach to offer the food of his God, for no one who has a defect shall approach a blind man or a lay man, or he who has a disfigured face, or any deformed limb, or a man who has a broken foot or a broken hand, or a hunchback, or a dwarf, or one who has a defect in his eye, or eczema or scabs, or crushed testicles. No man among the descendants of their and the priest who has a defect is to come near to offer the Lord&#8217;s offerings by fire, since he has a defect, he shall not come near to offer the food of his God, he may eat the food of his God, both of the most holy and of the Holy, only, he shall not go into the veil or come near the altar because he has a defect, so that he will not profane my sanctuaries, for I am the Lord who sanctifies them. So Moses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all the sons of Israel. Steve Webb 13:25Well, beloved, I&#8217;d like to focus for a little bit on some verses from Leviticus chapter 19. And chapter 20. The verses in chapter 19, are verses one and two, and I&#8217;d like to read them for you again, the Lord spoke to Moses, speak to the entire Israelite community and tell them be holy, because I, Yahweh your God, am holy. And then in chapter 20, verses 22 through 26, say, you are to keep all my statutes and all my ordinances and do them so that the land where I am bringing you to live will not vomit you out, you must not follow the statutes of the nations I&#8217;m driving out before you, for they did all these things and I abhorred them. And I promised you, you will inherit their land, since I will give it to you to possess a land flowing with milk and honey, I am Yahweh your God who set you apart from the peoples. Therefore, you must distinguish the clean animal from the unclean one, and the unclean bird from the clean one, you must not become contaminated by any land, animal, bird or whatever crawls on the ground. I have set these apart as unclean for you. You are to be holy to me because I Yahweh am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be mine. Okay, in chapter 19, verses one and two, God called the Israelites to be holy as He is holy. What does that mean? To be holy is to be separate, different set apart? Apart, not a part when an orange is still hanging on the tree? Steve Webb 15:00It is a part of the tree. Once I pluck the orange, it&#8217;s apart from the tree, no longer a part of the tree. So we are to be set apart. God is holy in that he is different from everything else in all creation. He is apart from creation, every aspect of who and what God is, is different than every other thing. Because he is God, he is greater, he is more righteous, He is more just more pure, more loving, more, more than can be expressed. So how can he call his people to be holy? Because he is holy? We&#8217;re not God, we&#8217;re human. How can we be holy, because we are made in His image. He is not calling us to be Gods small g, because God is the only true God. So what is he calling us to do? Well, he&#8217;s calling us to be separate, different set apart from the things in the world that are not pleasing to Him. Or put another way, set apart from the things that are not like him. We are to be more like him. We are to reflect Him as much as we can. The word Christian means like Christ. So in chapter 19, and most of chapter 20, God through Moses talked about the punishment that was to be meted out for various sins, which had already been spoken of in previous chapters. And then in verses 22 through 26, which I just read for you, God gave his reason for calling Israel to be holy. God has called his chosen people out of Egypt, and into the promised land. This is a land that had been inhabited by people who practice many things that were evil in the sight of God. And he did not want any of that behavior to be brought into the Israelite culture. The fact that the previous inhabitants did such heinous things, is why God had the Israelites expel. And, in fact, why he commanded them to completely wipe them out in almost every case. And God told the Israelites to keep all of his statutes and laws, so that the land where he was bringing them would not vomit them out, as he was having them do to the Canaanites, who were presently in that land. That is why he called them to be holy. And this idea of being different of being separate is the reason for many of the laws in these two chapters. Whenever there was a behavior that was practiced by the Canaanites, God said, Don&#8217;t do that. Steve Webb 17:34Some of the seemingly random laws are examples of this, like the shaving of the sides of the heads of the trimming of the beards. These were things done by the pagans in their worship of idols, the same thing for cutting the flesh or tattoos. God said, do not do those things, because you are to be wholly separate, different, don&#8217;t do what they do. Steve Webb 17:59The mixing of textiles was forbidden because the pagans did that, thinking that there was some sort of magic associated with clothes made in this manner. Many of the laws concerning sexual activity have the same basis, the pagans had many perverse practices in their religions. So God was very explicit in what he had to say about what was not allowed. Today, as we read through these laws, we say, well, of course, you shouldn&#8217;t do that. But remember, beloved, our culture has the benefit of being founded on Judeo Christian principles. For now, as long as it lasts, and Judeo Christian culture is under attack today. Most of our way of life is defined even in our legal system by these principles. Steve Webb 18:43As God warned the Israelites to keep all His statutes at all his judgments, so that the land would not vomit them out. I believe that we have enjoyed God&#8217;s blessing here in America, because we were founded on these ideals. And for those of you not here in America, what I&#8217;m talking about still applies to you too. And just as God allowed Israel to be judged when they first saw him, I believe we are in danger of his judgement. Today, we in America are in that danger, and so is the rest of the world as we well know from reading the Bible. Beloved, again, I say that we must return to God. He said in Second Chronicles 714. Then if my people who were called by my name will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land. Notice, beloved, who God is calling on to humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from their wicked ways. It wasn&#8217;t the heathen. It wasn&#8217;t the sinner. God said, If my people who were called by my name, beloved, we must humble ourselves. We must pray. We must seek His face. Steve Webb 20:00We must turn from our wicked ways. You say, Steve, I&#8217;m not wicked. I say, Are you sure? Okay? Maybe it&#8217;s just me. But I know that I failed God every day. And I am so not like Jesus, I have so far to go. I know that I&#8217;m not the man that God wants me to be. I know that the only way I&#8217;m getting into heaven is because I am washed in the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ. But I still want to continue to strive to be more like him. Beloved, all of us must seek His face, we must ask Him to reveal to us where we fail him, and humbly ask Him to forgive us. We must ask him to heal our land. Will you join me in this? I made this same plea last year on the show when we read these chapters. But here we are in 2022. And we&#8217;re in worse shape worldwide. And then we were in 2021. Will you commit to earnestly pray with me, our nation, our world will only find healing and peace through God, political leaders or political systems won&#8217;t do it for us. That&#8217;s more clear today than it was even just last year, God is the only answer. Would you pray with me? Oh, God, we humbly come to you now in Jesus precious name. And we plead with you to reveal to us those areas in our lives that are not pleasing to you. Show us God where we are falling short. We know that you&#8217;re not happy with us. We know that we need the forgiveness that can only come because of your great mercy. Please, God, forgive us. Forgive us for the things we do and for the things we don&#8217;t do. Forgive us, Lord for our cowardice. Forgive us for not standing up for what we know is right and for not fighting against what we know is wrong. Father, we ask you now to give us the courage that can only come from you. Give us courage to speak for the weak among us. Give us courage to fight for what is right, God, we ask that you heal our land, not just here in America, Lord, but in our world. Oh God, we need you. Let this generation see a revival the likes of which have never been seen. Pour out Your Spirit on us, Lord, make us a mighty army for you. We humbly ask that you make us worthy to be called by your name. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Steve Webb 22:35Will you commit to pray with me for a revival in the world every day? If you&#8217;ll do that, do me a favor and send me an email. It doesn&#8217;t have to be a long email. As a matter of fact, if all you want to do is put in the subject line, I&#8217;m with you, Steve. I&#8217;ll know that you&#8217;re praying with me. Steve at Lifespring media.com subject line. I&#8217;m with you, Steve, what are your thoughts? Leave a comment at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 208. Tomorrow we&#8217;ll read Second Kings 16 through 20. Boost boost boost. Steve Webb 23:11I got a comment the other day from Paul Erskine who came to the show a little bit late. So he&#8217;s behind. He sent a comment in on the second Corinthians four through five episode make a decision from January 2 of this year 2022. That was episode 125. And here we are on 208. So that gives you an idea. On that episode, I said, you know There comes a time in each person&#8217;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. And I mentioned a person I know who has a tremendous amount of knowledge about the Word of God. He&#8217;s well read, he listened to some of the world&#8217;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 just can&#8217;t understand. And I ended my comments by saying, decide to believe, and then rest in God&#8217;s peace and live as God guides you. So Paul&#8217;s comment was, oh, faith is a choice. I think I&#8217;ve heard a version of this for years, well, decades. But it never clicked until the way Steve put it by talking about the person he knows who still is or was questioning. Paul continues, but it&#8217;s as simple as that. Jesus died for me. God separated him from himself to pay for my sin. And there&#8217;s no way for me to empirically prove that. So I have to make a choice. Do I believe or do I wander off into the chaos of this world? Well as that one guy in the Bible says, As for me in my house, we will serve the Lord. Sheesh. 40 years of being dense, but let&#8217;s see where God leads now. Thank you, Paul. for that. I&#8217;m glad my words kind of helped that idea to click in your mind. Thank you, brother. Steve Webb 25:00For your comment, and God bless you. Beloved, has the show ever done that for you? Do you find that the show brings value to your life? Well, if it does, please help support it. Go to Lifespring media.com/support. Take a look at that page, pray about it, and then do as the Lord leads. Thank you and God bless you. Steve Webb 25:31On this date in church history, march 28 1646, Baptists held their first recorded meeting in Boston. And the meetings have been going on ever since. I can say that since I was saved at a Baptist church. Steve Webb 25:58Love it, let&#8217;s pray again, our heavenly Father, oh God, we do seek your face. And we ask your forgiveness. For the many times we&#8217;ve not been holy people set apart, different, striving to be the people you want us to be. We acknowledge that we&#8217;ve not done all we can to be salt and light. We&#8217;ve not spoken the name of Jesus when you&#8217;ve prompted us to do so. And now we&#8217;re reaping what we&#8217;ve sown. Lord God, let there be revival in the world and let it begin with us. Give us courage, Lord, to live our lives in such a way that people around us will know that we belong to you. Give us the determination to boldly speak the name of Jesus when your Holy Spirit tells us to help us to share the good news of a risen Christ, not just at Easter, but whenever we have an opportunity, and help us to make opportunities when none exist. We know that you are the answer for what is wrong in the world today. And please don&#8217;t let us rest unless we do all we can to help last in dying people find you. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Steve Webb 27:05If you&#8217;ve got a prayer request or a praise that you&#8217;d like to share with the Lifespring family, please do so at prayer dot Lifespring media.com Your prayer request will be sent to me I&#8217;ll pray for you in my private prayer time in will pray for you and rejoice with you on the show. Steve Webb 27:27You know one way you can be salt and light is to share the show. You know that I do everything I can to bring the uncompromised Word of God to the show. You might consider using this show to help introduce the people you know to Christ. Just an idea. If the Lifespring family Audio Bible is a blessing in your life, please help support it. Go to Lifespring media.com/support. You can comment on today&#8217;s show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 v 208. And you can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com Until tomorrow, may God bless you ritually thank you so much for being here. I enjoy spending time with you. My name is Steve Webb. Be bold. Be holy, and pray. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today our reading is 1 Thessalonians 1-3.&#160;Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you, and I’m calling today’s episode “A Pastor’s Heart.&#8221;&#160; Design: Steve Webb &#124; Photo: FOYN on Unsplash Comments on 1 Thessalonians 1-3 As we read these chapters, I hope you saw that Paul had the heart of a pastor. I guess before I continue, I should quickly define what a pastor is, for those who don’t know. Sure, you probably know that a pastor is one who leads a church, but where does that name come from…what does it mean? And why do we use the word? “Pastor” literally means “shepherd”. Of course, a shepherd cares for a flock of sheep. We’ll talk more about that in a minute, but why do we use this specific analogy for someone who leads a church? Because in John 21:15-17, Jesus said to Peter three times, “Feed my sheep.” Actually, Jesus said “feed” twice, and “tend” (as a shepherd tends his sheep) my sheep. This title of “pastor” was literally Jesus’ idea.&#160; So how does a shepherd tend his sheep? It’s more than just feeding them. He also makes sure they have water, and a shepherd watches over them to be sure they are safe from predators.. Sheep really have few defense mechanisms. They need the shepherd’s protection. Back to Paul. As we’ve been reading through his letters, it’s clear that he dearly loves the people who are part of the church. He prays for them, he worries about them, he looks for ways that he can be a blessing to them, and he admonishes them to live lives that will be pleasing to the Lord. I hope that sounds familiar to you. I hope this could be a description of your pastor. I’ve been blessed to have had some great pastors in my life. While each one has been very different in their personalities, they each loved God and the people God put in their care. And since I have usually been very involved in every church I have attended, and most of them have been on the small side, I’ve gotten to know most of my pastors on a personal basis. They have been my friend as well as my pastor. One of my pastors was one of my brothers-in-law, too. We had a very close relationship.&#160; Why am I telling you this? I learned from my close friendships with pastors that a pastor’s job is often lonely and difficult and thankless. Most pastors don’t have someone they can go to to unload their heart. They seldom have a peer to share their difficulties with. Your pastor prays for you and seeks God’s will for you. Verse 10 of chapter 3 could probably have been written by your pastor: “Day and night we ask him with all our heart to let us see you personally and supply what is needed in your faith.” Today, I’d like you to encourage your pastor. Let him know that you pray for him (You DO pray for your pastor, don’t you?). Let him know how you have been changed by a recent sermon. Be specific. Don’t just say, “Good sermon” as you leave on Sunday. Let him know which specific words really spoke to you, and what you are going to do to put them into practice. And don’t just do this in passing on Sunday morning. Write him a note. On paper. With your own hand. And drop it in the mail. Remember snail mail? Use it to deliver your note. And in the note, think about including a gift card to a really nice local restaurant. Many pastors can’t afford to go to really nice restaurants. Or maybe buy him tickets to a local sporting event if he likes that kind of thing. And then there’s always cash. &#160; Let your pastor know that the love he puts into your life means something. Let him see the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in your life.&#160; Do something so that your pastor can say, “Now we can give thanks to our God for you.” Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 1-3 GNT Support This 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. Transcript Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00Where does that name come from? What does it mean? And why do we use the word? Steve Webb 0:13This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God casters Steve Webb, I&#8217;m so glad you&#8217;re here today. And I&#8217;m glad we&#8217;re on time at least I think this is gonna be on time. This is the daily show where we&#8217;re reading through the entire Bible in a year. I&#8217;m sorry, yesterday&#8217;s episode was about 12 hours late. Just before posting the episode, the entire Lifespring Media website crashed. And so it took that long before I was able to fix it. I was able to get it working just enough so that it was not offline for very long, but it was really just barely working. It wasn&#8217;t until about 12 hours later that I think I have it fixed. But while I was limping along, there was just no way I could post the show. By the way, if you are a WordPress expert, and you&#8217;d like to contribute value for value in the way of time, and if you&#8217;d like to help maintain and or fix things when they break at Lifespring media, or if you&#8217;ve got ideas for improving Lifespring media.com as a website, contact me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. Alright, enough of that. Today I reading is First Thessalonians one through three afterward, I will of course have some comments for you. And I&#8217;m calling today&#8217;s episode, a pastor&#8217;s heart. The show notes page for today is at Lifespring media.com/s 12, e 207. Let&#8217;s get started. Steve Webb 1:41First Thessalonians chapter one. Steve Webb 1:45From Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the people of the church of Thessalonica, who belong to God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. May Grace and peace be yours. We always thank God for you all, and always mention you in our prayers. For We remember before our God and Father how you put your faith into practice, how your love made you work so hard, and how you&#8217;re hoping our Lord Jesus Christ is firm. Our friends, we know that God loves you and has chosen you to be His own. For we brought the good news to you not with words only, but also with power and the Holy Spirit. And with complete conviction of its truth. You know how we lived when we were with you? It was for your own good. You imitated us and the Lord. And even though you suffered much, you received the message with joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. So you became an example to all believers in Macedonia and aka for not only did the message about the Lord go off from you throughout Macedonia and AKA, but the news about your faith in God has gone everywhere. There is nothing then that we need to say. All those people speak about how you received us when we visited you, and how you turned away from idols to God, to serve the true and living God, and to wait for his Son to come from heaven, His Son Jesus, whom he raised from death, and who rescues us from God&#8217;s anger that is coming first. Steve Webb 3:08Thessalonians chapter two. Steve Webb 3:11Our friends, you yourselves know that our visit to you was not a failure. You know how we had already been mistreated and insulted in Philippi. Before we came to you in Thessalonica. And even though there was much opposition, our God gave us courage to tell you the good news that comes from Him. Our appeal to you is not based on error or impure motives, nor do we try to trick anyone. Instead, we always speak as God wants us to, because he has judged us worthy to be entrusted with the good news. We do not try to please people, but to please God who tests our motives. You know very well that we did not come to you with flattering talk. Nor did we use words to cover up greed. God is our witness. We did not try to get praise from anyone, either from you or from others, even though as apostles of Christ, we could have made demands on you. But we were gentle when we were with you, like a mother taking care of her children. Because of our love for you, we were ready to share with you not only the good news from God, but even our own lives. You are so dear to us. Surely you remember our friends, how we worked and toiled, we worked day and night so that we would not be any trouble to you as we preached to you the good news from God. You are our witnesses, and so is God, that our conduct toward you who believe was pure, right and without fault. You know that we treated each one of you just as parents treat their own children. We encouraged you, we comforted you. And we kept urging you to live the kind of life that pleases God who calls you to share in his own kingdom and glory. And there is another reason why we always give thanks to God. When we brought you God&#8217;s message you heard it and accepted it not as a message from human beings but as God&#8217;s message which Steve Webb 4:59Indeed it is, for God is at work and you who believe our friends, the same things happen to you that happen to the churches of God and Judea, to the people there who belong to Christ Jesus. You suffered the same persecutions, from your own people that they suffered from the Jews who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and persecuted us how displeasing they are to God, how hostile they are to everyone. They even tried to stop us from preaching to the Gentiles the message that would bring them salvation. In this way they have brought to completion, all the sins they have always committed. And now God&#8217;s anger has at last come down on them. As for us, friends, when we were separated from you for a little while, not in our thoughts, of course, but only in body, how we missed you, and how hard we tried to see you again, we wanted to return to you, I myself tried to go back more than once. But Satan would not let us after all, it is you, you know less than others, who are our hope, our joy and our reason for boasting of our victory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when He comes, indeed, you are our pride and our joy. Steve Webb 6:11First Thessalonians chapter three. Steve Webb 6:14Finally, we could not bear it any longer. So we decided to stay on alone in Athens while we sent Timothy, our brother who works with us for God in preaching the good news about Christ. We sent him to strengthen you and to help your faith so that none of you should turn back because of these persecutions. You, yourself know that such persecutions are part of God&#8217;s will for us. For while we were still with you, we told you ahead of time that we were going to be persecuted. And as you well know, that is exactly what happened. That is why I had to send Timothy, I could not bear it any longer. So I sent him to find out about your faith. Surely, it could not be that the devil had tempted you. And all our hard work had been for nothing. Now Timothy has come back. And he has brought us the welcome news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always think well of us, and that you want to see us just as much as we want to see you. So in all our trouble and suffering, we have been encouraged about you friends, it was your faith that encouraged us because now we really live if you stand firm in your life in union with the Lord. Now we can give thanks to our God for you. We thank him for the joy we have in his presence because of you. Day and night we asked Him with all our heart to let us see you personally, and supply what is needed in your faith. May our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus prepare the way for us to come to you. May the Lord make your love for one another, and for all people grow more and more and become as great as our love for you. In this way, he will strengthen you and you will be perfect and holy in the presence of our God and Father, when our Lord Jesus comes with all who belong to him. Steve Webb 8:00Well beloved, as we read these chapters, I hope you saw that Paul had the heart of a pastor. I guess maybe before I continue, I should quickly define what a pastor is. For those that don&#8217;t know. Sure you probably know that a pastor is one who leads a church. But where does that name come from? What does it mean? And why do we use the word? Well, Pastor literally means Shepherd. Of course, a shepherd cares for a flock of sheep. We&#8217;ll talk more about that in a minute. But why do we use this specific analogy for someone who leads a church? Because in John 2115, through 17, Jesus said to Peter, three times, Feed my sheep. Actually, Jesus said, Feed twice and tend once tend as in a shepherd, who tends his sheep. So the title of pastor was literally the idea of Jesus himself. So how does the shepherd tend to sheep, it&#8217;s more than just feeding them. He also makes sure they have water, and to shepherd watches over them to be sure that they&#8217;re safe from predators. Sheep really have very few defense mechanisms, they need the shepherds protection. So now let&#8217;s go back to Paul, as we&#8217;ve been reading through his letters, it&#8217;s clear that he dearly loves the people who are part of the church, he prays for them, he worries about them, he looks for ways that he can be a blessing to them and he admonishes them to live lives that will be pleasing to the Lord. I hope that sounds familiar to you. I hope this could be a description of your pastor. I&#8217;ve been blessed to have had some great pastors in my life. While each one has been very different in their personalities, they each loved God in the people God put in their care. And since I&#8217;ve usually been very involved in every church I&#8217;ve attended, and most of the churches have been on the small side. I&#8217;ve gotten to know most of my pastors on a personal basis. They&#8217;ve been my friend as well as my pastor and one of my pastors Steve Webb 10:00was one of my brothers in law two, we had a very close relationship. So why am I telling you this? Well, I learned from my close friendships with pastors that a pastor&#8217;s job is often lonely and difficult and thankless. Most pastors don&#8217;t have someone they can go to to unload their heart. They seldom have appeared to share their difficulties with your pastor prays for you and seeks God&#8217;s will for you. Verse 10, of Chapter Three today could probably have been written by your pastor it said, day and night, we asked Him with all our heart to let us see you personally in supply what is needed in your faith. Well, today, I&#8217;d like you to encourage your pastor, let him know that you pray for him. You do pray for your pastor, don&#8217;t you? Let him know how you&#8217;ve been changed by a recent sermon. Be specific, don&#8217;t just say, good sermon. As you leave on Sunday, let him know what specific words really spoke to you and what you&#8217;re going to do to put them into practice. And don&#8217;t just do this in passing on Sunday morning, sit down and write him a note on paper with your own hand and drop it in the mail. Yeah, put your note in an envelope and put a stamp on the envelope and take it to the mailbox. And if you can, in the note, think about including a gift card to a really nice local restaurant. Most pastors are not paid a tremendous amount of money and many times they can afford to go to really nice restaurants. Or maybe you could buy him tickets to a local sporting event if he likes that kind of thing. And then there&#8217;s always the good old cash that&#8217;s always appreciated. Let your pastor know that the love he puts into your life means something. Let him see the gifts of the Holy Spirit at work in your life. Do something so that your pastor can say like Paul, now we can give thanks to our God for you. So go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 207. And let me know what you&#8217;re going to do for your pastor. Our reading tomorrow will be Leviticus 19 through 21 Boost. Steve Webb 12:17On this date in church history, march 2716 67 Going way back, John Milton, the English Puritan poet published Paradise Lost on this date. Paradise Lost, of course, is an epic length poem about humanity&#8217;s creation and fall. It&#8217;s a classic obviously. Steve Webb 12:47Let&#8217;s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. We are safe in your care. And we pray for the pastors in our lives. Bless them, Lord, encourage them and give them someone that they can be free to be themselves with. Give them mentors and peers. It can be a lonely calling at times and I pray that You would help our pastors through those times. Use us to encourage them Lord and make us thankful and appreciative of the things they do for us. I pray this in Jesus name, amen. Steve Webb 13:29When was the last time you shared the show than a while well go out there and tell one or two or three or 10 people. Tell your friends tell your enemies tell your neighbors tell your boss tell the person at the checkout stand at the mark. Take out a billboard littered on your socials. Comment on the show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 207. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And until tomorrow may God bless you richly. Thank you for being here. Have a great Sunday. My name is Steve Webb, being encourager. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

transcript Podcast Introduction Can you feel the change? I can feel it. It’s a change in momentum. We’re over the top and headed downhill. The other day when I walked home after locking my keys in the truck, most of the first half of the way was uphill. And once I reached the top, and... The post S3E183 – Psalms 78-80: Onward! first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we’ll read 2 Kings 1-5.&#160;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 post S3E182 – 2 Kings 1-5: It Can’t Be That Easy first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we’ll read Leviticus 10-12.&#160;Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you. I’m calling today’s episode “What Were They Thinking?” Comments on Leviticus 10 Let&#8217;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... The post S3E181 – Leviticus 10-12: What Were They Thinking? first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we’re going to complete the book of&#160; Philippians 3-4. Afterwards, I’ll have some thoughts to share with you. I’m calling today’s episode “Peace.” Comments on Philippians 4 I’m going to make an assumption…something that I try not to do with any regularity. But I think this is probably a safe assumption.... The post S3E180 – Philippians 3-4: Peace first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction It’s Saturday. So this must be our day for reading from the Gospels. Today we’ll read &#160; Luke 15-16. &#160; After the reading I’ll have some comments. I’m calling today’s episode “What’s Your Plan?” Comments on Luke 16 I don&#8217;t remember ever hearing a sermon based on this parable. It requires some... The post S3E179 – Luke 15-16: What’s Your Plan? first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Being Friday,&#160; we’ll read from one of the books of Prophecy. Today we’ll read &#160; Ezekiel 13-18. &#160; After the reading I’ll have some comments. I’m calling today’s episode “Where Does the Buck Stop?” Comments on Ezekiel 18 Chapter 18 clarifies and even puts to rest the idea that there is such... The post S3E178 – Ezekiel 13-18: Where Does the Buck Stop? first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Episode transcript here. Podcast Introduction Comments on Proverbs 7 I 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... The post S3E177 – Proverbs 7: It’ll Put Your Eye Out first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Since today is Wednesday we’re going to read from the Psalms. Today we’ll read &#160; Psalms 75-77. I’m calling today’s episode “Words of Hope.” Comments on Psalm 77 I wrote these comments at the end of 2020, and I think they still apply. In most areas of the world, the pandemic seems... The post S3E176 – Psalms 75-77: Words of Hope first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch.19-20 NLV, Ch. 21-22 CEB Podcast Introduction It’s&#160; History Tuesday, and we’ll read 1 Kings 19-22. I’m calling this episode “Hearing From God.” Comments on 1 Kings 19 When we last saw Elijah, God had answered his prayers to rain down fire on the sacrifice... The post S3E175 – 1 Kings 19-22: Hearing From God first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today we’ll read Leviticus 7-9. After the reading I’ll have some comments. I’m calling today’s episode “Only the Best.” Comments on Leviticus 7 In this chapter we read the regulations for the guilt offering, the fellowship offering (also known as the peace offering in some Bible translations) and the priest&#8217;s share. And... The post S3E174 – Leviticus 7-9: Only the Best first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction It’s Saturday. So this must be our day for reading from the Gospels. Today we’ll read &#160; Philippians 1-2. After the reading I’ll have some comments. I’m calling today’s episode “Rough Edges.” Comments on Philippians 1 Chapter one, verse six is one of my favorite promises. It’s a promise I rely on... The post S3E173 – Philippians 1-2: Rough Edges first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Since today is Saturday we’re going to read from one of the Gospels. Right now we are in the book of Luke. We’ll read chapters 13-14. After the reading I’ll have some comments. Stick around, too for our prayer time. I’m calling today’s episode “Once and For All and Over and Over.&#8221;... The post S3E172 – Luke 13-14: Once and For All and Over and Over first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Since today is Friday we’re going to read from one of the prophetic books of the Bible, and we are currently in the book of&#160;Ezekiel. We’ll read chapters 7-12, and after the reading I’ll have some comments. I’m calling today’s episode “Don’t Push It.” Comments on Ezekiel 7-12 The message that God... The post S3E171 – Ezekiel 7-12: Don’t Push It first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Since today is Thursday we’ll read&#160; Proverbs 5-6. &#160; and after the reading I’ll have some comments. I’m calling today’s episode “No Longer A Slave.&#8221; Just a heads up if you are listening to this with children. Solomon&#8217;s teaching on adultery is very closely tied to the concept of pornography, and I... The post S3E170 – Proverbs 5-6: No Longer A Slave first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction In our reading today we’ll read&#160;Psalms 72-74,&#160;and after the reading I’ll have some comments. I’m calling today’s episode “Persist.” Comments on Psalms 72-74 Introduction to Psalm 72 This psalm is entitled &#8220;A Psalm of Solomon&#8221;, but translating from the Hebrew into English can be a bit inexact at times. This is one... The post S3E169 – Psalms 72-74: Persist first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Today&#8217;s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today&#8217;s episode: Ch. 14-15 NASB; Ch. 16-18 WEB Associate Producer Timothy LaFontaine Podcast Introduction It’s History Tuesday, and we’ll read 1 Kings 14-18. I’m calling this episode “Fire From Heaven.” Comments on 1 Kings 17 In chapter 17 we were introduced to Elijah, who as we will... The post S3E168 – 1 Kings 14-18: Fire From Heaven first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Since today is Monday we’re going to read from one of the books of the Law, otherwise known as the Pentateuch. Today we’ll read Leviticus 4-6. After the reading I’ll have some comments. I’m calling today’s episode “Tend the Flame.” Comments on Leviticus 4-6 In chapter 4, did you notice that the sins... The post S3E167 – Leviticus 4-6: Tend the Flame first appeared on Lifespring! Media.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Since today it is Sunday we read from one of the Epistles. Today we finish the book of Ephesians. We’ll read chapters 4-6. After the reading I’ll have some comments. I’m calling today’s episode “ Shields Up.” Comments on Ephesians 6 In chapter six, Paul mentioned that we are in a battle... The post S3E166 – Ephesians 4-6: Shields Up first appeared on Lifespring! Media.