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What are you putting off? Today’s verse is Ecclesiastes 9:10. Episode Summary Ecclesiastes 9:10 is often quoted as a motivational verse: “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” But Solomon does not stop there. The second half of the verse gives the command its weight: our earthly opportunities are limited. In this episode, Steve Webb reflects on a personal moment during a trip to Arches National Park that brought the reality of mortality close to home. That experience became a doorway into Solomon’s reminder that life is brief, today is a gift, and tomorrow is not guaranteed. This is not a call to frantic busyness or workaholism. It is a call to faithful obedience. The question is not, “Am I doing enough?” The better question is, “Am I faithfully doing what God has placed before me today?” Entities: Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Sheol, Jesus Christ, Paul, Colossians, 1 Corinthians, Arches National Park Why this episode matters: Many of us delay obedience, reconciliation, service, generosity, or simple faithfulness because we assume there will always be more time. Ecclesiastes 9:10 reminds us that today’s opportunities belong to today. Commentary Highlights Solomon writes from the perspective of life “under the sun,” observing the realities of earthly life. Wealth, pleasure, work, wisdom, and achievement all have limits. Death eventually comes to everyone. That truth is not meant to create despair. It is meant to wake us up. “Whatever your hand finds to do” points to the ordinary responsibilities already in front of us: family, neighbors, work, ministry, encouragement, repentance, forgiveness, and daily obedience. The call to do it “with all your might” is not about spinning our wheels. It is about wholehearted faithfulness. Because Christ is risen, our labor in Him is not wasted. Verse of the Day Ecclesiastes 9:10 (NASB1995) — “Whatever your hand finds to do, verily, do it with all your might; for there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.” Read it in context here: Ecclesiastes 9 (BibleGateway, NASB1995) Episode Chapters 00:00 – What Are You Putting Off? 04:20 – Ecclesiastes 9:10 04:57 – Welcome to Verses We Missed 05:23 – Life Under the Sun 06:37 – The Verse Everyone Stops Reading 07:37 – Whatever Your Hand Finds to Do 10:09 – Sheol and Today’s Opportunities 11:01 – Intentional, Not Anxious 12:18 – Prayer 13:00 – Value for Value 15:52 – Closing Value for Value This show exists because of the Lifespring family. Listeners like you pray, share episodes, send encouragement, and support the work financially. If this episode helped you see today as a gift and encouraged you to faithfully do what God has placed before you, you can return value in whatever way fits you best. You can learn more or support this work at lifespringmedia.com/support. Join the Conversation Leave a comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com. You can also email st***@*************ia.com or call the Lifespring Family Hotline at 951-732-8511. Also from Lifespring! We’re reading through the Bible on Lifespring! One Year Bible Rewind. Join us! Visit Lifespring! One Year Bible Rewind. The Promised Photos From Our Arches Trip

Transcript Podcast Introduction Today is HISTORY Tuesday, and we will finish 1 Chronicles with the reading of chapters 25-29. And of course I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. I’m calling today’s episode “The Man After God’s Own Heart.”   J. & R. Lamb Studios, Designer. Design drawing for stained glass memorial window “King David” with Jerusalem and Mt. Zion. [Between 1950 and 1980] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress. Comments on 1 Chronicles 28-29 These chapters are the finale of David’s life.  David wanted to build the Temple, but God told him that since he had been a man of war and had spilled blood, he would not be the one to build it. That would be for his son, Solomon. Instead of allowing David to build the Temple, God told David that He (God) would build an everlasting house for David. There would be a descendant of David on the throne forever. But God did allow David to make the preparations to build it, and this David did with all of his heart. He gathered gold, silver, bronze, wood, onyx and a variety of other stones, and marble. And he arranged for all the craftsmen that would do the work In addition, David gave the plans for building the Temple to Solomon. So in today’s parlance, you might say that David was a sort of General Contractor. Not exactly, but you get the idea. The point is, God allowed David to do everything but actually be involved in the actual construction. And David put his all into the preparation. In these final two chapters, David called together all of Israel’s leaders and told them that they should be careful to seek out all the commandments of the Lord their God so that they would possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance for their children and children’s children forever. And he had words of advice for Solomon, his son. He said, “…know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.” And he said, ““Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you.” This is good advice for any parent to pass to their children, don’t you think? And then David offered praise to God in the manner that you would expect the one who wrote most of the Psalms would do.  Then Solomon took the throne, and he was anointed king. And the Lord exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. So the shepherd boy, in the eyes of men the least of the sons of Jesse, but the one chosen by God to become the king of Israel, reigned for forty years. To be sure, David’s life was not without great failures, but he was called “a man after God’s own heart”. (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22). Quite a legacy, indeed. William Hobart Hare Apostle to the Sioux Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 25-26 NKJV; Ch. 27-28 GWT; Ch. 29 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 – 0:00David’s life was not without great failures. INTRO S12E258 – 0:10This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California. Podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster Steve Webb. Welcome. It’s really great to see you today. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And if you’re new to the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, welcome. I’m glad you stopped by and I sure hope you like what you hear. One thing I need to say right off. We don’t have listeners here. We are family, the Lifespring family, and family participates. I welcome your emails, your comments. And if you find value in the show, I welcome your support. It’s kind of like a family potluck dinner. When everybody brings something the dinner is better. So stick around for a while and see if the show adds to your day and your life. My prayer is that you’ll be back many, many times. Today is HISTORY Tuesday, and today we’re going to finish one of the books of history, the book of I Chronicles. We’ll read chapters 25 through 29. After the reading I’ll have some comments and after that I’ll have an On This Date in Church History segment for you. I’m calling today’s episode, “The Man After God’s Own Heart”. The show notes page for today’s episode is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e258. My email address is st***@*************ia.com. And with that, let’s get started. I CHRONICLES (NKJV) – 1:25I Chronicles, chapter 25. (1) Moreover, David and the captains of the army separated for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, stringed instruments, and cymbals. And the number of the skilled men performing their service was: (2) Of the sons of Asaph: Zaccur, Joseph, Nethaniah, and Asharelah; the sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph, who prophesied according to the order of the king. (3) Of Jeduthun, the sons of Jeduthun: Gedaliah, Zeri, Jeshaiah, Shimei, Hashabiah, and Mattithiah, six, under the direction of their father Jeduthun, who prophesied with a harp to give thanks and to praise the Lord. (4) Of Heman, the sons of Heman: Bukkiah, Mattaniah, Uzziel, Shebuel, Jerimoth, Hananiah, Hanani, Eliathah, Giddalti, Romamti-Ezer, Joshbekashah, Mallothi, Hothir, and Mahazioth. (5) All these were the sons of Heman the king’s seer in the words of God, to exalt his horn. For God gave Heman fourteen sons and three daughters. (6) All these were under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the Lord, with cymbals, stringed instruments, and harps, for the service of the house of God. Asaph, Jeduthun, and Heman were under the authority of the king. (7) So the number of them, with their brethren who were instructed in the songs of the Lord, all who were skillful, was two hundred and eighty-eight. (8) And they cast lots for their duty, the small as well as the great, the teacher with the student. (9) Now the first lot for Asaph came out for Joseph; the second for Gedaliah, him with his brethren and sons, twelve; (10) the third for Zaccur, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (11) the fourth for Jizri, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (12) the fifth for Nethaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (13) the sixth for Bukkiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (14) the seventh for Jesharelah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (15) the eighth for Jeshaiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (16) the ninth for Mattaniah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (17) the tenth for Shimei, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (18) the eleventh for Azarel, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (19) the twelfth for Hashabiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (20) the thirteenth for Shubael, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (21) the fourteenth for Mattithiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (22) the fifteenth for Jeremoth, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (23) the sixteenth for Hananiah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (24) the seventeenth for Joshbekashah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (25) the eighteenth for Hanani, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (26) the nineteenth for Mallothi, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (27) the twentieth for Eliathah, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (28) the twenty-first for Hothir, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (29) the twenty-second for Giddalti, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (30) the twenty-third for Mahazioth, his sons and his brethren, twelve; (31) the twenty-fourth for Romamti-Ezer, his sons and his brethren, twelve. I CHRONICLES (NKJV) – 4:42I Chronicles, chapter 26. (1) Concerning the divisions of the gatekeepers: of the Korahites, Meshelemiah the son of Kore, of the sons of Asaph. (2) And the sons of Meshelemiah were Zechariah the firstborn, Jediael the second, Zebadiah the third, Jathniel the fourth, (3) Elam the fifth, Jehohanan the sixth, Eliehoenai the seventh. (4) Moreover the sons of Obed-Edom were Shemaiah the firstborn, Jehozabad the second, Joah the third, Sacar the fourth, Nethanel the fifth, (5) Ammiel the sixth, Issachar the seventh, Peulthai the eighth; for God blessed him. (6) Also to Shemaiah his son were sons born who governed their fathers’ houses, because they were men of great ability. (7) The sons of Shemaiah were Othni, Rephael, Obed, and Elzabad, whose brothers Elihu and Semachiah were able men. (8) All these were of the sons of Obed-Edom, they and their sons and their brethren, able men with strength for the work: sixty-two of Obed-Edom. (9) And Meshelemiah had sons and brethren, eighteen able men. (10) Also Hosah, of the children of Merari, had sons: Shimri the first (for though he was not the firstborn, his father made him the first), (11) Hilkiah the second, Tebaliah the third, Zechariah the fourth; all the sons and brethren of Hosah were thirteen. (12) Among these were the divisions of the gatekeepers, among the chief men, having duties just like their brethren, to serve in the house of the Lord. (13) And they cast lots for each gate, the small as well as the great, according to their father’s house. (14) The lot for the East Gate fell to Shelemiah. Then they cast lots for his son Zechariah, a wise counselor, and his lot came out for the North Gate; (15) to Obed-Edom the South Gate, and to his sons the storehouse. (16) To Shuppim and Hosah the lot came out for the West Gate, with the Shallecheth Gate on the ascending highway—watchman opposite watchman. (17) On the east were six Levites, on the north four each day, on the south four each day, and for the storehouse two by two. (18) As for the Parbar on the west, there were four on the highway and two at the Parbar. (19) These were the divisions of the gatekeepers among the sons of Korah and among the sons of Merari. (20) Of the Levites, Ahijah was over the treasuries of the house of God and over the treasuries of the dedicated things. (21) The sons of Laadan, the descendants of the Gershonites of Laadan, heads of their fathers’ houses, of Laadan the Gershonite: Jehieli. (22) The sons of Jehieli, Zetham and Joel his brother, were over the treasuries of the house of the Lord. (23) Of the Amramites, the Izharites, the Hebronites, and the Uzzielites: (24) Shebuel the son of Gershom, the son of Moses, was overseer of the treasuries. (25) And his brethren by Eliezer were Rehabiah his son, Jeshaiah his son, Joram his son, Zichri his son, and Shelomith his son. (26) This Shelomith and his brethren were over all the treasuries of the dedicated things which King David and the heads of fathers’ houses, the captains over thousands and hundreds, and the captains of the army, had dedicated. (27) Some of the spoils won in battles they dedicated to maintain the house of the Lord. (28) And all that Samuel the seer, Saul the son of Kish, Abner the son of Ner, and Joab the son of Zeruiah had dedicated, every dedicated thing, was under the hand of Shelomith and his brethren. (29) Of the Izharites, Chenaniah and his sons performed duties as officials and judges over Israel outside Jerusalem. (30) Of the Hebronites, Hashabiah and his brethren, one thousand seven hundred able men, had the oversight of Israel on the west side of the Jordan for all the business of the Lord, and in the service of the king. (31) Among the Hebronites, Jerijah was head of the Hebronites according to his genealogy of the fathers. In the fortieth year of the reign of David they were sought, and there were found among them capable men at Jazer of Gilead. (32) And his brethren were two thousand seven hundred able men, heads of fathers’ houses, whom King David made officials over the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for every matter pertaining to God and the affairs of the king. I CHRONICLES (GWT) – 9:12I Chronicles, chapter 27. (1) This is a list of Israelite family heads, regiment and battalion commanders, and officers who were serving the king in all the army’s units. Throughout each year they came for a month at a time and then left. Each unit consisted of 24,000 men. (2) Jashobeam, son of Zabdiel, was in charge of the first unit, the one during the first month. In his unit there were 24,000. (3) He was a descendant of Perez, and he was head of all of the army’s officers for the first month. (4) Dodai, Ahoh’s descendant, was in charge of the unit during the second month. It was his unit. (Mikloth was one of its leaders.) In Dodai’s unit there were 24,000. (5) The third commander of the army during the third month was Benaiah, son of the priest Jehoiada. He was the head, and in his unit there were 24,000. (6) This Benaiah was one of the thirty fighting men and commander of the thirty as well as his own unit. His son was Ammizabad. (7) Asahel, Joab’s brother, was in charge of the fourth unit during the fourth month, and after him was his son Zebadiah. In his unit there were 24,000. (8) Shamhuth, Izrah’s descendant, was commander of the fifth unit during the fifth month. In his unit there were 24,000. (9) Ira, the son of Ikkesh from Tekoa, was in charge of the sixth unit during the sixth month. In his unit there were 24,000. (10) Helez, a Pelonite from the descendants of Ephraim, was in charge of the seventh unit during the seventh month. In his unit there were 24,000. (11) Sibbecai, a descendant of Zerah from Hushah, was in charge of the eighth unit during the eighth month. In his unit there were 24,000. (12) Abiezer, a member of the tribe of Benjamin from Anathoth, was in charge of the ninth unit during the ninth month. In his unit there were 24,000. (13) Mahrai, a descendant of Zerah from Netophah, was in charge of the tenth unit during the tenth month. In his unit there were 24,000. (14) Benaiah, a member of the tribe of Ephraim from Pirathon, was in charge of the eleventh unit during the eleventh month. In his unit there were 24,000. (15) During the twelfth month, the twelfth unit was commanded by Heldai from Netophah. He was Othniel’s descendant. In his unit there were 24,000. (16) The following officers were in charge of the tribes of Israel:for the tribe of Reuben. Eliezer, son of Zichri,for the tribe of Simeon, Shephatiah, son of Maacah, (17) for the tribe of Levi, Hashabiah, son of Kemuel,for the family of Aaron, Zadok, (18) for the tribe of Judah, Elihu, one of David’s brothers,for the tribe of Issachar, Omri, son of Michael, (19) for the tribe of Zebulun, Ishmaiah, son of Obadiah,for the tribe of Naphtali, Jerimoth, son of Azriel, (20) for the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea, son of Azaziah,for half of the tribe of Manasseh, Joel, son of Pedaiah, (21) for the half of Manasseh in Gilead, Iddo, son of Zechariah,for the tribe of Benjamin, Jaasiel, son of Abner, (22) for the tribe of Dan, Azarel, son of Jeroham. These were the commanders of Israel’s tribes. (23) David didn’t count those under 20 years old, because the Lord had promised that the people of Israel would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. (24) Joab, son of Zeruiah, started to count them but didn’t finish. God was angry with Israel because of this, and the report from it was never included in the official records of King David. (25) These were all the commanders in charge of King David’s property:for the royal treasuries, Azmaveth, son of Adiel,for the goods in the fields, cities, villages, and watchtowers, Jonathan, son of Uzziah, (26) for the farm workers in the fields, Ezri, son of Chelub, (27) for the vineyards, Shimei from Ramah,for storing wine that came from the vineyards, Zabdi from Shepham, (28) for the olive and fig trees in the foothills, Baal Hanan from Gedor,for storing olive oil, Joash, (29) for the herds grazing in Sharon, Shitrai from Sharon,for the herds in the valleys, Shaphat, son of Adlai, (30) for the camels, Obil, a descendant of Ishmael,for the donkeys, Jehdeiah from Meronoth, (31) for the flocks, Jaziz from Hagar. (32) David’s uncle Jonathan, an educated man who possessed insight, was David’s adviser. Jonathan and Jehiel, son of Hachmoni, were in charge of the king’s sons. (33) Ahithophel was the king’s adviser. Hushai, a descendant of Archi, was the king’s friend. (34) Jehoiada (son of Benaiah) and Abiathar succeeded Ahithophel. Joab was the commander of the royal army. I CHRONICLES (GWT) – 14:24I Chronicles chapter 28. (1) David held a meeting in Jerusalem for all the leaders of Israel—the leaders of the tribes, the leaders of the army units that served the king, the commanders of regiments and battalions, the officials in charge of all the property and livestock belonging to the king and his sons, the palace officials, the soldiers, and the fighting men. (2) David stood in front of them and said, “Listen to me, my relatives and subjects. I had my heart set on building the temple where the ark of the Lord’s promise could be placed. This temple would be a stool for our God’s feet, and I have made preparations to build it. (3) But God told me, ‘You must not build the temple for my name. You have fought wars and caused bloodshed.’ (4) Yet, from my entire family the Lord God of Israel chose me to be king of Israel permanently. He had chosen the tribe of Judah to lead Israel. From the families of Judah he chose my father’s family. From among my father’s sons he was pleased to make me king of all Israel. (5) And of all my sons (the Lord has given me many sons) he chose my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the Lord’s kingdom to rule Israel. (6) “He told me, ‘Your son Solomon will build my temple and my courtyards because I have chosen him to be my son. I will be his father. (7) I will establish his kingdom forever if he will remain determined to obey my commands and laws, as he is doing today.’ (8) Now, leaders, I order you in the sight of Israel (the Lord’s congregation) and as our God listens to dedicate your lives to doing everything the Lord your God has commanded. Then you will be able to possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance to your descendants. (9) “And you, my son Solomon, learn to know your father’s God. Serve the Lord wholeheartedly and willingly because he searches every heart and understands every thought we have. If you dedicate your life to serving him, he will accept you. But if you abandon him, he will reject you from then on. (10) So be careful, because the Lord has chosen you to build the temple as his holy place. Be strong, and do it.” (11) Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the entrance hall and the temple, its storerooms, upper rooms, inner rooms, and the room for the throne of mercy. (12) He gave him plans for the courtyards of the Lord’s temple and for all the rooms around it. (These rooms served as treasuries for God’s temple and the gifts dedicated to God.) (13) He determined the divisions of priests and Levites. He planned all the work done for worship in the Lord’s temple. He designed all the utensils for worship in the Lord’s temple. (14) David specified the weight of gold to be used for each of the utensils for worship, (15) the weight of the gold lamp stands and their gold lamps (that is, the weight of gold for each lamp stand and its lamps), the weight of silver for each silver lamp stand and its lamps (according to the use of each lamp stand for worship), (16) the weight of gold for each table with the rows of bread, and the silver for the silver tables, (17) the pure gold for the forks, bowls, and pitchers, the weight of each gold bowl, the weight of each silver bowl, (18) and the refined gold for the altar of incense. He also gave Solomon the plans for the chariot, that is, the gold angels with their wings spread to cover the ark of the Lord’s promise. (19) David said, “All this was written for me by the Lord’s hand. He made all the details of the plan clear to me.” (20) David also told his son Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or terrified. The Lord God, my God, will be with you. He will not abandon you before all the work on the Lord’s temple is finished. (21) Here are also the divisions of the priests and Levites for every type of worship in God’s temple. You have with you every skilled worker to do all the work. In addition, all the leaders and people are at your command.” I CHRONICLES (HCSB) – 18:25I Chronicles, chapter 29. (1) Then King David said to all the assembly, “My son Solomon — God has chosen him alone — is young and inexperienced. The task is great because the temple will not be for man but for the Lord God. (2) So to the best of my ability I’ve made provision for the house of my God: gold for the gold articles, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron, and wood for the wood, as well as onyx, stones for mounting, antimony, stones of various colors, all kinds of precious stones, and a great quantity of marble. (3) Moreover, because of my delight in the house of my God, I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the house of my God over and above all that I’ve provided for the holy house: (4) 100 tons of gold (gold of Ophir) and 250 tons of refined silver for overlaying the walls of the buildings, (5) the gold for the gold work and the silver for the silver, for all the work to be done by the craftsmen. Now who will volunteer to consecrate himself to the Lord today?” (6) Then the leaders of the households, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and the officials in charge of the king’s work gave willingly. (7) For the service of God’s house they gave 185 tons of gold and 10,000 gold coins, 375 tons of silver, 675 tons of bronze, and 4,000 tons of iron. (8) Whoever had precious stones gave them to the treasury of the Lord’s house under the care of Jehiel the Gershonite. (9) Then the people rejoiced because of their leaders’ willingness to give, for they had given to the Lord with a whole heart. King David also rejoiced greatly. (10) Then David praised the Lord in the sight of all the assembly. David said,May You be praised, Lord God of our father Israel, from eternity to eternity. (11) Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to You. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom, and You are exalted as head over all. (12) Riches and honor come from You, and You are the ruler of everything. Power and might are in Your hand, and it is in Your hand to make great and to give strength to all. (13) Now therefore, our God, we give You thanks and praise Your glorious name. (14) But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? For everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your own hand. (15) For we live before You as foreigners and temporary residents in Your presence as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. (16) Yahweh our God, all this wealth that we’ve provided for building You a house for Your holy name comes from Your hand; everything belongs to You. (17) I know, my God, that You test the heart and that You are pleased with what is right. I have willingly given all these things with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are present here giving joyfully and willingly to You. (18) Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our ancestors, keep this desire forever in the thoughts of the hearts of Your people, and confirm their hearts toward You. (19) Give my son Solomon a whole heart to keep and to carry out all Your commands, Your decrees, and Your statutes, and to build the temple for which I have made provision. (20) Then David said to the whole assembly, “Praise the Lord your God.” So the whole assembly praised the Lord God of their ancestors. They bowed down and paid homage to the Lord and the king. (21) The following day they offered sacrifices to the Lord and burnt offerings to the Lord: 1,000 bulls, 1,000 rams, and 1,000 lambs, along with their drink offerings, and sacrifices in abundance for all Israel. (22) They ate and drank with great joy in the Lord’s presence that day. Then, for a second time, they made David’s son Solomon king; they anointed him as the Lord’s ruler, and Zadok as the priest. (23) Solomon sat on the Lord’s throne as king in place of his father David. He prospered, and all Israel obeyed him. (24) All the leaders and the mighty men, and all of King David’s sons as well, pledged their allegiance to King Solomon. (25) The Lord highly exalted Solomon in the sight of all Israel and bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been bestowed on any king over Israel before him. (26) David son of Jesse was king over all Israel. (27) The length of his reign over Israel was 40 years; he reigned in Hebron for seven years and in Jerusalem for 33. (28) He died at a ripe old age, full of days, riches, and honor, and his son Solomon became king in his place. (29) As for the events of King David’s reign, from beginning to end, note that they are written in the Events of Samuel the Seer, the Events of Nathan the Prophet, and the Events of Gad the Seer, (30) along with all his reign, his might, and the incidents that affected him and Israel and all the kingdoms of the surrounding lands. COMMENTS – 23:41Well, beloved, these chapters are the finale of David’s life, one of David’s great desires was to build the temple. But God told him that since he had been a man of war and had spilled blood, he would not be the one to build it. That would be for his son Solomon to do. But instead of allowing David to build the temple, God told David that he God would build an everlasting house for David, that would be a descendant of David on the throne forever. But God did allow David to make the preparations to build it, and this David did with all of his heart. He gathered gold, silver, bronze, wood, onyx, and a variety of other stones and marble. And he arranged for all the craftsmen that would do the work. And David gave the plans for building the temple to Solomon. So in today’s language, we might say that David was sort of a general contractor. Not exactly, but you get the idea. The point is, God allowed David to do everything but actually be involved in the construction itself. And David put his all into the preparation. In the final two chapters, David called together all of Israel’s leaders and told them that they should be careful to seek out all the commandments of the Lord their God so that they would possess this good land and leave it as an inheritance for their children and their children’s children, forever. And David had words of advice for Solomon, his son. He said, “…know the God of your father and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts.” And he said, “Be strong and of good courage and do it. Do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God, my God, will be with you.” Beloved, this is really good advice for any parent to pass on to their children, don’t you think? And then David offered praise to God in the manner that you would expect of the one who wrote most of the Psalms. And then after Solomon took the throne, he was anointed king. And the Lord exalted Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and God bestowed on him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel. So David, the shepherd boy, in the eyes of men, the least of the sons of Jesse, but the one chosen by God to become king of Israel reigned for 40 years. David’s life was not without great failures, but he was called “a man after God’s own heart”. Quite a legacy, I’d say. What do you think? Do you have a comment? Let me know. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e258. Scroll to the bottom of the page and leave a comment there. Tomorrow is PSALMS Wednesday we’ll read chapters 111 through 113. ALERT!- 26:39Okay, before I go any further, I want to comment on something I said in yesterday’s commentary. After I played Adam Curry’s reading of Romans 10:9, I said, “I’m still rejoicing in the fact that that came out of the mouth of Adam Curry.” Now the Lovely Lady LeeAnn told me that it sort of sounded like I was implying something like, “I can’t believe that somebody like Adam Curry could be saved.” Well, of course, that is not at all what I meant to imply. What I meant was that I love Adam, and I’m so glad that he accepted the Lord. Like I said, the other day, I’ve been praying for him really since before we met in Ontario, California, when he was launching Podshow, and I interviewed him for the Lifespring podcast. Before we met that day, I prayed that God would give me an opportunity to share Jesus with him. And he did. So I’ve literally been praying for Adam for, I don’t know, 16 or 17 years. And it’s wonderful to know that he has opened his heart to the Lord. That’s why I’m rejoicing. I’ve always thought that Adam had a good heart and that he’s a good guy. And now he’s a brother in the Lord. Hallelujah! Boost! FEEDBACK – 27:50Kirsty left a comment on the show notes page for the John 16 through 18 Episode “Jesus Prayer For You”. Kirsty said, “That thought about God turning His face from Jesus and Jesus being alone… Just… WOW! And He did that for little old me? Definitely going to have to meditate on that a bit more!” Yeah, it’s an amazing thing, don’t you think, Kirsty, and I really believe that aloneness was worse than the physical pain that Jesus went through for us. And then a few days ago, Meredith commented on my Statement of Faith at lifespringmedia.com. This isn’t directly show related, but it sort of is, and you’ll find out why in a minute. But on my Statement of Faith Meredith commented, “This is lovely. Is it based on some other published statement of faith, confession, or creed? Just curious about any lineage, association, or inspiration. Thanks!” And then here’s the clue. And she said, “Also, thank you for your courage.” So she’s a No Agenda Producer, which makes me think that she’s probably listening to the show. So here’s my response to Meredith, in the morning. Thank you! I certainly can’t take credit for my statement of faith. It’s actually fairly common to post a statement of faith on Christian websites. It sort of gives the visitor to the website some context as to the beliefs of the person or organization whose website they’re on. Since practically all of the content here at Lifespring Media is written or spoken by me. I wanted to make it clear what beliefs I hold. As I was writing my Statement of Faith, I researched a lot of other statements of faith and confessions of creeds. And Meredith, thank you for your courage and God bless you. ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY – 29:42On this date in church history, May 17, 1838, William Hobart Hare was born. He was an American Episcopal bishop and “The Apostle of the Sioux” as in Sioux Indians. He served as missionary Bishop of Niobrara in the Nebraska and Dakotas area for 37 years until his death. William Hare is actually a pretty fascinating person. I’ll have a link on the show notes page if you’d like to find out more about him. And on May 17, 1881, the New Testament of the English Revised Version was published in England. And it was the first modern English translation of the Scriptures published since 1611. That’s 270 years. The English Revised Version was the product of 10 years of work by 54 biblical scholars on both sides of the Atlantic, and it provided the scholarly foundation for the publication of the American Standard Version of the Bible in 1901, and 1905. WEBB’S EASY BIBLE NAMES PRONUNCIATION GUIDE – 30:47Today, you heard me read some of those unusual Old Testament names. If you’d like to know how to have those names roll easily off your tongue, all you need is my book “Webb’s Easy Bible Names Pronunciation Guide”. I spent over two years compiling the book, and pastors, students and teachers and lots of others have given it an average of four and a half stars on Amazon. 79% of the reviews are five-star ratings. Listen to this review from Jay, he said, “Get it, you need it. This is a must!! As a preaching student, I find some names a bit challenging, but this book breaks them down into easy to pronounce sections. It’s not a bunch of accent marks and stuff most people can’t remember, this puts the names into plain English.” Obviously, you can buy “Webb’s Easy Bible Names Pronunciation Guide” on Amazon, which is faster. But when you buy the book on my website at biblenames.link, you will get three things that you don’t get on Amazon. Number one is my personal guarantee. If you don’t love the book, I’ll send you back your money. Number two, when you buy the book from my website, you’re helping to support this show. And because you’re helping, I’ll give you a discount, since you’re part of the Lifespring family. When you check out, use discount code PODCAST and I’ll give you a 25% discount. Number three, when you buy my book from biblenames.link, you can get it in PDF or mp3 as well as softcover. You can’t get the PDF or mp3 at Amazon. And one last thing, when you buy the softcover version of the book from my website, I’ll sign it for you if you want me to. Just drop me an email to let me know, st***@*************ia.com. And thank you! CLOSING PRAYER – 32:34Let’s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for giving us the account of David’s life. Thank you for showing us his character, warts and all. You called him a man after your own heart because he truly wanted to do whatever you asked, and he loved your word. Help us to be people after your own heart, too. Help us to have faith like David had, and a desire to do your will. We thank you, Lord, and we pray this in Jesus name, amen. If you’ve got a prayer request or a praise that you’d like to share with the Lifespring family, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com and fill out the form there. I’ll pray for you in my private prayer time and we’ll pray together on the show. OUTRO S12E258 – 33:22If you’d like to comment on the show, go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e258. Email me at st***@*************ia.com. And thanks to the team: Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise. And, by the way, Denise has been around these parts for a long time. I’m pretty sure she goes all the way back to the Lifespring Podcast days. Am I right Denise? God bless you, team. Thank you guys for your generous donations of time and talent. Now if you’d like to help support the show, you can donate time, talent or treasure too. To donate treasure, go to lifespringmedia.com/support. If you’ve got time or talent you’d like to donate, send me an email. And now thank you for being here today. I know you’ve got a lot of choices to choose from in selecting a podcast to listen to and I’m honored that you give me your time. I thank you and I pray that God will bless you. Until tomorrow. My name is Steve Webb. Bye. Transcribed by https://otter.aiCorrected by Denise Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Distinguished Producer Paul of Seattle. Podcast Introduction It’s Epistle Sunday, and the epistle we’ll be from today is Paul’s epistle to  Titus. We’ll read all three chapters, after which I’ll have some comments for you. And of course I’ll have an “On This Date In Church History” segment for you, too. I’m calling today’s episode “Respect.” Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Jeremy Wong Weddings on Unsplash Comments on Titus After Paul’s salutation in the first chapter, he tells Titus what he should be looking for in men who would be leaders in the church there in Crete. It was important to get men of integrity who were above reproach because there were some in their midst who were causing trouble. Especially (in Paul’s words) “those of the circumcision”.  What he meant by that was old-school Jewish men. The reason that was a problem is that they were trying to teach that the people should follow the old Jewish laws of doing the various sacrifices and dietary restrictions and a host of other things that are no longer necessary, because the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus did away with those things.  The message of the Gospel, which means Good News, is that Jesus was the final and perfect sacrifice once and for all those who believe in Him. The Law put people under bondage, but Jesus brought grace, which makes us free.  In chapter two, Paul talked about how believers should behave so as to not bring dishonor to God. Some of the language sounds politically incorrect to our 21st century ears, especially in regards to how women should act, so I would like to briefly address those things. In regards to young women, Paul says that they should “love their husbands, love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.” There’s a lot there, but let me focus on the last part. “workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands,” What Paul was saying was that young wives who had children should not be going about, leaving their children at home, and partying. But they should nurture their children at home in a loving way, and they should be subject to *their own* (not others’) husbands.  Remember, the men had already been told to be sound in love, and when there is love on both side, the matter of being subject to one another is not a problem. In the book of Ephesians, chapter 5, Paul used similar language. He said that wives should be subject to their own husbands, as they would to the Lord. And he tells husbands to love their wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave His life for her. In my almost 33 year marriage to the lovely Lady LeeAnn, LeeAnn is subject to me, and I would do anything in the world for her. As Jesus does not rule over the church with an iron fist, I do not do that to LeeAnn. Jesus sacrificed his very life for the church, and I would do the same for my wife. We have respect and love for one another. She does everything possible to make me happy, and I do the same for her. She doesn’t gallivant around town causing embarrassment to me or God, and I don’t don’t go carousing around, either.  And while I’m on the subject, let me say that LeeAnn supports what I’m doing here one hundred percent. When you’re hearing my voice, in a way, you’re hearing her. I would not be able to do this show seven days a week without her support. She sacrifices a lot so that I can do this. It takes time away from the things she would like me to do for her, but because she loves God first and then me, she never complains. I just thought you should know. Back to Titus: This is what Paul was saying. When both husband and wife love God and then love each other, that home honors God. In verse 9 Paul talks about bondslaves. This is not the kind of slavery that we think of that happened here in the United States in our early history and happens even still in various other parts of the world. When people got into debt that they could not repay, they would sometimes volunteer to put themselves into bondslavery under the person to whom they owed the debt until they could work it off.  Chapter three is a thing of beauty. Verses 4 and 5 state beautifully the message of Jesus: But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy. In reality, the entire Bible is a love letter from God to you. It really is. As Paul said in verse 8 of this chapter, “This is a trustworthy statement.”  Mentioned On the Show Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-3 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 (Corrected by Denise) Download .txt file. Steve Webb 0:00The entire Bible is a love letter from God to you. Steve Webb 0:11Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And coming to you since 2004, I am your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. Welcome. I’m glad you’re here today. Thank you for letting me be a part of your day. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. It’s Epistle Sunday and the epistle we’ll be reading from today is Paul’s Epistle to Titus. I’ll give you a brief introduction to Titus before we begin the reading. We’ll read all three chapters after which I will have some comments for you. We’ll have an On This Date in Church History segment. And we’ve got prayer requests and a praise. I’m calling today’s episode, “Respect”. The shownotes page is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e256. Feel free to comment on the show. And also feel free to email me at st***@*************ia.com. Let’s get started. Steve Webb 1:03Titus was a man who traveled with Paul and helped him in his work. In other parts of Scripture, Paul calls him his brother, his partner, and his fellow helper. And in this book, you heard Paul refer to him as his true child. So we see that Paul really thought highly of him. Titus was a Greek and was with Paul in Rome when Paul was put on trial in front of Caesar. Before they were in Rome, however, the two of them had been in Crete, introducing the people there to the message of Jesus. But Paul was unable to stay there very long, and he left Titus there to continue the work. Now Titus had some difficulties in Crete and Paul sent this letter to encourage and help him and the new believers there. Steve Webb 1:46Titus, Chapter 1 (1) Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, (2) in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, (3) but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior, (4) To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. (5) For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, (6) namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. (7) For the overseer must be above reproach as God’s steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, (8) but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, (9) holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. (10) For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, (11) who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. (12) One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” (13) This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, (14) not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. (15) To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. (16) They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed. Steve Webb 3:57Titus, Chapter 2 (1) But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. (2) Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. (3) Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, (4) so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, (5) to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. (6) Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; (7) in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, (8) sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. (9) Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, (10) not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. (11) For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, (12) instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, (13) looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, (14) who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. (15) These things speak and exhort and reprove with all authority. Let no one disregard you. Steve Webb 5:37Titus, Chapter 3 (1) Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed, (2) to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men. (3) For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. (4) But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, (5) He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, (6) whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, (7) so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (8) This is a trustworthy statement; and concerning these things I want you to speak confidently, so that those who have believed God will be careful to engage in good deeds. These things are good and profitable for men. (9) But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. (10) Reject a factious man after a first and second warning, (11) knowing that such a man is perverted and is sinning, being self-condemned. (12) When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, make every effort to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there. (13) Diligently help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way so that nothing is lacking for them. (14) Our people must also learn to engage in good deeds to meet pressing needs, so that they will not be unfruitful. (15) All who are with me greet you. Greet those who love us in the faith. Grace be with you all. Steve Webb 7:26After Paul’s salutation in the first chapter, he tells Titus, what he should be looking for in men who would be the leaders in the church there. It was important to get men of integrity who were above reproach, because there were some in their midst who were causing trouble, especially, in Paul’s words, those of the circumcision. Well, of course, what he meant by that was the old school Jews. The reason that was the problem is that they were trying to teach the people that they should follow the old Jewish laws of doing the various sacrifices and dietary restrictions, and a host of other things, including circumcision that were no longer necessary, because the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus did away with those things. After all, the message of the Gospel is that Jesus was the first and perfect sacrifice, once and for all, for those who believe in Him. And the law put people back into bondage. But Jesus brought grace which makes us free. In chapter two, Paul talked about how believers ought to behave so as not to bring dishonor to God, some of the language in chapter two sounds politically incorrect to our 21st century ears, especially in regards to how women should act. So let’s talk a little bit about that. In regards to young women, Paul says that they should quote “love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored”, unquote. Well, there’s a lot there, but let me focus on the last part, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands. What Paul was saying was that young wives who had children should not be going about leaving their children at home and partying. They should nurture their children at home in a loving way, and they should be subject to their own, not others, to their own husbands. Remember, the men had already been told to be sound in love. And when there is love on both sides, the matter of being subject to one another is not a problem. In the book of Ephesians, chapter five, Paul used similar language he said that wives should be subject to their own husbands as they would to the Lord. And he tells husbands to love their wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave his life for her. The Lovely Lady LeeAnn and I are coming up on 33 years of marriage this year, and LeeAnn is subject to me and I would do anything in the world for her. Jesus doesn’t lord it over the church with an iron fist. And I don’t do that to LeeAnn either. Jesus sacrificed his very life for the church and I would do the exact same thing for her. We have respect and love for one another. She does everything possible to make me happy. And I do the same for her. She doesn’t galavant around town causing embarrassment to me or God. And I don’t go carousing around either. And while I’m on the subject, let me say that LeeAnn supports the Lifespring Family Audio Bible 100%. When you’re hearing my voice, in a way, you’re hearing hers as well, I wouldn’t be able to do this show seven days a week without her support. She sacrifices a lot so that I can do this. It takes time away from the things she’d like me to do for her. But because she loves God first, and then me, she doesn’t complain. I just thought you should know that. And by the way, if you’d like to email her, you can do so it la**@*************ia.com. Since there are so many ways to spell LeeAnn, I thought it would be easier to use “lady” in her email address. So that’s why it’s la**@*************ia.com. Drop her a line. Now back to Titus. This is what Paul was saying, when both husband and wife love God and then love each other, that home honors God. And then in verse nine, Paul talks about bond slaves. This is not the kind of slavery that we think of that happened here in the United States in our early history, and happens even still in various other parts of the world. Yes, there are slaves today. In biblical times, when people got into debt that they couldn’t repay, they would sometimes volunteer to put themselves into bond slavery under the person to whom they owed the debt until they could work it off. Now, chapter three is beautiful. verses four and five state so well, the message of Jesus, quote, “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy”, unquote. When you really look at it, in reality, the entire Bible is a love letter from God to you. It is. And as Paul said in verse eight of chapter three, this is a trustworthy statement. Do you have a comment? Would you like to react? Please do so at Lifespringmedia.com/s12e256. Scroll all the way to the bottom of the page where you’ll find a box that you can put your comments in. Tomorrow is Lawful Monday and we’re reading from Numbers, one of the books of the Law. Next up are chapters 17 through 20. Boost! Steve Webb 12:52Paul of Seattle is our newest Distinguished Producer. He added a weekly $22.22 donation to his existing monthly $20 donation. And that puts him in as our newest Distinguished Producer. Paul, thank you so much, brother. God bless you. And Denise has volunteered to donate time to the show. She emailed me this morning to say that she’d be willing to edit the transcripts. Yay! Denise, thank you, my sister, and God bless you. The Lifespring family has really stepped up this season in donations of time, talent or treasure, and I couldn’t be more pleased. It’s a great encouragement to me. And I thank God for everyone who’s been a part of the show in donations of time, talent or treasure. It takes every one of those to make this thing happen. So I’m so thankful to you guys. God bless you. If the Lifespring Family Audio Bible is an important part of your day. If you believe in what’s happening here, donating time, talent or treasure is how you can help keep it going. Is the show helping you to read more of the Bible? Are you growing in the Lord? Are you challenged, understanding more? Support the show at lifespringmedia.com/support. I’ll thank you and I truly believe God will bless you. Steve Webb 14:16On this date in church history, May 15, 1889, the Epworth League of the Methodist Episcopal Church the forerunner of youth ministry programs found in the United Methodist Church today was organized during a two day conference in Cleveland, Ohio. And on this date in church history, May 15, 1948, Father Edward J. Flanagan died he was the Irish born parish priest who founded the Boys Town orphanage near Omaha, Nebraska, in 1917. Did you ever see the movie Boys Town with Spencer Tracy and Mickey Rooney? It’s a really good movie from 1938. I’ve seen it two or three times. Tracy’s role in Boys Town is that of Father Flanagan and Mickey Rooney plays a troubled teen boy. I’ll have the official trailer to Boys Town on the show notes page if you’d like to see it. Steve Webb 15:15But first off, I have a praise to share. My primary care physician doesn’t seem to be too concerned about the abnormalities that showed up on my CT scan. But he does want me to have another one in three months. So praise the Lord for that. Another praise is that Kathi’s doing better. Her appetite is still not back to normal, but it’s better and she’s eating more. So that certainly is a praise. Maybe now she’ll get some of her strength back. And my brother in law, Mike is still having those intermittent sharp pains under his armpit. So let’s keep him in prayer. So let’s pray. Our heavenly Father, Lord, help us to be careful to bring honor to you as we live our lives. As I’ve prayed before, we want to be ambassadors for you. We want to live in such a way that people see Jesus and not us. Thank you, Lord, that my primary care physician isn’t too concerned about the abnormalities on my CT scan. And I pray God that when we do it again in three months, that the spots will not have grown, and that it’ll end up being what I said before, probably just something from when I breathed that nasty dust when I was a kid. I thank You, Lord, that at this point, it looks like it’s nothing to be too concerned about. I thank you that Kathi is doing better. I pray God that you would continue to bring healing to her and that you would restore her strength. I pray for my brother in law Mike, help the doctors Lord to figure out what’s going on with him. Father, I pray that You would bless the Lifespring family today. Lord, I thank you for those that this season have been so supportive in so many different ways. I pray God that you would bless them and that you would bless everybody in the Lifespring family, draw us all closer to you and grow our faith. We thank you and I pray this in Jesus name, amen. Steve Webb 17:06Comment on the show at lifespringmedia.com/s12e256. Email me at st***@*************ia.com. Share the show. And thanks to Kirsty and Sean of San Pedro. And now thanks to Denise for all of their generous donations of time, talent and treasure. And thank you for sharing your time with me today. Support the show at lifespringmedia.com/support. 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 Associate Producer Paul of Seattle. God bless you! Podcast Introduction Our reading today Joel. After the reading, I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode “Is There A Joel Out There.”   Design: Steve Webb | Photo: vonMitzscha on Unsplash Comments on Joel In studying this book, I came upon a commentary by the 19th century English preacher, Joseph Parker. This man was known as a great orator, so I know I won’t do him justice in quoting him, but these are his words in regards to the prophet Joel:  “We need a Joel today. For his wages we would award him starvation. He would not live in king’s houses. There is nothing today in Church or state that does not need pulling to pieces, cross examination, analysis, that all that is good therein…and there is much good…may be brought into new cohesion, and set to new and fuller uses. Men are bribing men, and then going to the Sunday school; many are saying, “If you will get this property on these terms through my hands it will be on the understanding that…” and the all but silent reply is…”That will, of course, be understood.” And then they go to church! If some Joel were to come he would be starved, he must be starved. No one ever came to do Messianic work who was not nailed and pierced and crucified. It is in vain to preach peace until we have first preached repentance; it is mischievous to say, peace, peace, where there is no peace; It is iniquity in the sight of God to daub the wall with untempered mortar. Nothing is settled until it is settled at the foundations.” We don’t speak like that today, do we? Let me try to paraphrase Rev. Parker: We need someone like Joel today. The church and the culture needs to be completely re-examined to find what is good so that there can be a new and unified partnership with them in order for them to be effective. There is corruption and deal making, even among so called believers. It is foolish to call for peace until we first call for repentance, a turning from our sins and to Almighty God. It is wrong in the sight of God to try to bring repairs with corrupt methods and people. Nothing will stand unless the foundation is strong. As we look at our world today, I think we would have to agree with Rev. Parker’s message. The world is in turmoil. People call for peace and unity, but there is neither peace nor unity. Why? Because God has been expunged from our governments, our schools, our society. We will never have peace until the people turn back to him.  Several shows back I asked you to pray with me for a world wide revival. I believe that is the only way we’ll see sanity return to the world. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” Like God promised through Joel to heal Israel, I believe he can do the same now. We don’t know God’s plan for us now, but I do believe it is our responsibility to pray, to confess our sins and to ask God to move on people’s hearts.  Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-3 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 0:00It’s our responsibility to pray. Steve Webb 0:10This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God caster Steve Webb, I’m so glad to see you today. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And today we’re going to read the book of Joel. After the reading. I’ll have some comments for you and I’m calling today’s episode. Is there a Joel out there? The shownotes page for today’s episode? Is it Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 247. You can always email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. And I always read them and I always respond. Let’s begin. Steve Webb 0:48I’ve got a short introduction here for you before we begin the reading. The name Joel means Jehovah is God. And we don’t know the exact time that Joel wrote this book, but many scholars believe that it was about 835 BCE, if that’s accurate than his time was before the exile to Babylon. Joel wrote to Israel and his message can be summed up as the day of the Lord is coming to bring judgment for God’s enemies in restoration for God’s people. That summation is from Charles Savelle, currently adjunct professor of Bible exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary. Steve Webb 1:25Joel chapter one. The word of the Lord that came to Joel son of pith you’ll hear this you elders. Listen oh you inhabitants of the land. Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? Tell your children about it and let your children tell their children and their children the next generation. What the devouring locust has left. This warming locust has eaten. What the swarming locust has left. The young locust has eaten and what the young locust is left, the destroying locust has eaten. Wake up you drunkards and weep. Whale all you wine drinkers because of the sweet wine for it has been taken from your mouth. For a nation is divided my land, powerful and without number. Its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness. It has devastated my great fine and splintered my fig tree. It is stripped off its bark and thrown it away. Its branches have turned white. grieve like a young woman dressed in sackcloth, morning for the husband of her youth, grain and drink offerings have been cut off from the house of the Lord. The priests who are ministers of the Lord mourn. The fields are destroyed, the land grieves, indeed the grain is destroyed. The new wine has dried up and the olive oil fails, be ashamed you farmers well you vinedressers over the wheat and the barley because the harvest of the field is perished. The grape vine is dried up and the fig tree is withered, the pomegranate, the date palm in the apple. All of the trees of the orchard have weathered indeed, human joy has dried up, dress in sackcloth and lament you priests. Well you ministers of the altar. come and spend the night in sackcloth you ministers of my god because grain and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your god announced the sacred fast proclaim and assembly. Gather the elders and all the residents of the land at the house of the LORD your God and cry out to the Lord. Whoa because of that day, for the day of the Lord is near and will come as devastation from the Almighty has it the food been cut off before our eyes joy and gladness from the house of our God. The seeds lie shriveled in their casings. The store houses are in ruin and the greeneries are broken down because the grain has withered away. How the animals grown the herds of cattle wandering confusion since they have no pasture. Even the flocks of sheep suffer punishment. I call to you Lord for fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness and flames have devoured all the trees of the countryside. Even the wild animals cry out to you for the riverbeds are dried up and fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness. Joel chapter two. Steve Webb 4:18Blow the horn in Zion sound the alarm on my holy mountain led all the residents of the land tremble for the day of the Lord is coming. In fact, it is near a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds in dense overcast like the dawn spreading over the mountains. A great and strong people appears such as never existed in ages past and never will again in all the generations to come. A fire destroys in front of them and behind them a flame devours. The land in front of them is like the Garden of Eden. But behind them it is like a desert wasteland. There is no escape from them. Their appearance is like that of horses and they gallop like war horses. They bound on the tops of the mountains. Their sound is like the sound of chariots, like the sound of fiery flames consuming stubble, like a mighty army deployed for war. nations rise in horror before them, all faces turn pale. They attack is warriors attack. They scale walls as men of war do. Each goes on his own path, and they do not change their course. They do not push each other. Each man proceeds on his own path. They dodge the arrows never stopping. They stormed the city, they run on the wall, they climb into the houses, they enter through the windows like thieves, the earthquakes before them, the sky shakes, the sun and moon grow dark and the stars cease their shining. The Lord raises his voice in the presence of his army. His camp is very large. Those who carry out his command are powerful. Indeed, the day of the Lord is terrible and dreadful, who can endure it? Even now, this is the Lord’s declaration turned to Me with all your heart with fasting, weeping and mourning. Tear your hearts not just your clothes and return to the Lord your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger rich in faithful love, and he relents from sending disaster who knows he may turn and relent and leave a blessing behind him so you can offer grain and wine to the Lord your God. Blow the horn in Zion announced the sacred fast proclaiming assembly. Gather the people sanctify the congregation, assemble the aged gather the children, even those nursing at the breast. Let the groom leave his bedroom and the bride her honeymoon chamber. Let the priests the Lord’s ministers weep between the portico and the altar. Let them say, have pity on your people, Lord, and do not make your inheritance a disgrace and object of scorn among the nations. Why should it be said among the peoples where is their God? Then the Lord became jealous for his land in spared his people. The Lord answered his people. Look, I am about to send you grain, new wine and olive oil. You will be satiated with him and I will no longer make you a disgrace among the nations. I will drive the northerner far from you and banish him to a dry and desolate land. His front ranks into the Dead Sea and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea. His stench will rise Yes, his rotten smell will rise for he has done catastrophic things. Don’t be afraid land. Rejoice and be glad for the Lord has done great things. Don’t be afraid wild animals for the wilderness pastures have turned green. The trees bear their fruit and the fig tree and the grape vine yield their riches. children of Zion rejoice and be glad in the Lord your God because he gives you the autumn rain for your vindication. He sends showers for you both autumn and spring rain is before the threshing floors will be full of grain and the vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil. I will repay you for the years that the swarming locusts ate the young locust, the destroying locust and the devouring locust, my great army that I sent against you, you will have plenty to eat and be satisfied. You will praise the name of Yahweh your God who has dealt wondrously with you. My people will never again be put to shame. You will know that I am present in Israel and that I am Yahweh your God and there is no other My people will never again be put to shame. After this, I will pour out my spirit on all humanity. Then your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will have dreams and your young men will see visions. I will even pour out my spirit on the male and female slaves in those days. I will display wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and on inspiring day of the Lord comes. Then everyone who calls on the name of Yahweh will be saved for there will be an escape for those on Mount Zion it in Jerusalem is the Lord promised among the survivors the Lord calls. Steve Webb 9:20Joel chapter three. Yes, in those days and at that time when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and take them to the valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment with him there because of my people my inheritance Israel. The nations have scattered the Israelites in foreign countries and divided up my land. They cast lots for my people. They bartered a boy for a prostitute and sold a girl for wine to drink and also tyre Sidon and all the territories of Philistia What are you to me? Are you paying me back or trying to get even with me? I will quickly bring retribution on your head adds, For you took my silver and gold and carried my finest treasures to your temples. You sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks to remove them far from their own territory. Look, I’m about to rouse them up from the place where you sold them. I will bring retribution on your heads. I will sell your sons and daughters into the hands of the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the Serbians to a distant nation for the Lord has spoken. Proclaim this among the nations prepare for Holy War rouse the Warriors let all the men of war advance that attack. Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning knives into Spears lead even the weakling say I am a warrior. Come quickly all US surrounding nations gather yourselves bring down your warriors their Lord, let the nations be roused in come to the valley of Jehoshaphat for their I will sit down to judge all the surrounding nations swing the sickle because the harvest is ripe. Come and trample the grapes because the wine presses full. The wine vats overflow because the wickedness of the nations is great. Multitudes, multitudes and the valley of decision for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. The Sun and Moon will grow dark and the stars will cease their shining. The Lord will roar from Zion and raise his voice from Jerusalem. Heaven and earth will shake but the Lord will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the Israelites. Then you will know that I am Yahweh your God who dwells in Zion, my holy mountain, Jerusalem will be holy, and foreigners will never overrun it again. In that day, the mountains will drip with sweet wine and the hills will flow with milk. All the streams of Judah will flow with water and a spring will issue from the Lord’s house watering the Valley of acacias. Egypt will become desolate and Edom, a desert wasteland because of the violence done to the people of Judah in whose land they shed innocent blood. But Judah will be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. I will pardon their blood guilt which I have not pardoned for the Lord dwells in Zion. Steve Webb 12:12In studying this book, beloved, I came upon a commentary by the 19th century English preacher Joseph Parker. The good Reverend Parker was known as a great orator. So I know I won’t do him justice in quoting him, but these are his words in regards to the prophet Joel. He said, “We need a Joel today for his wages, we would award him starvation, he would not live in Kings houses. There is nothing today in church or state that does not need pulling to pieces, cross examination analysis, that all that is good they’re in and there is much good, may be brought into new cohesion and set to new and fuller uses. Man are bribing men and then going to the Sunday school. Men are saying, if you will get this property on these terms through my hands, it will be on the understanding that and the all but silent reply is, that will of course be understood. And then they go to church. If some Joel were to come, he will be starved he must be starved. No one ever came to do messianic work who was not nailed and pierced and crucified. It is in vain to preach peace until we have first preached repentance. It is mischievous to say peace, peace where there is no peace. It is iniquity in the sight of God to dab the wall with untempered mortar. Nothing is settled until it is settled at the foundations.” Well, we don’t speak like that today. Do we? Let me try to paraphrase Reverend Parker. We need someone like Joel today, the church and the culture needs to be completely re examined to find what is good so that there can be a new and unified partnership with them in order for them to be effective. There is corruption and dealmaking even among so called believers, it’s foolish to call for peace until we first call for repentance, a turning from our sins and to Almighty God. It is wrong in the sight of God to try to bring repairs with corrupt methods and people. Nothing will stand unless the foundation is strong. Well as we look at the world today, I think we’d have to agree with Reverend Parker’s message. The world is in turmoil. People call for peace and unity but there’s neither peace nor unity because God has been expunged from our governments, our schools and our society. We will never have peace until the people turned back to him. Several shows back I asked you to pray with me for a worldwide revival. Do you remember that? I believe that this is the only way we’ll see Saturday returned to the world. Second Chronicles 714 says if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked Ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Like God promised through Joel to heal Israel, I believe that he can do the same thing. Now, beloved, we don’t know God’s plan for us right now. But I do believe that it’s our responsibility to pray to confess our sins, and to ask God to move on people’s hearts. I would love to hear from you comment on the show notes page at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 247. Tomorrow, we’re going to read John 13 through 15. Boost. Steve Webb 15:41Paul of Seattle signed up for a $20 donation yesterday, that makes him today’s associate producer. Thank you, brother, very much appreciated. Here’s part of what Paul of Seattle wrote. He said, I want you to know that I very much appreciate the time and effort you put into the podcast, it is a lot more than a lot. I would not have the time to dedicate to doing this on a daily basis. Because I know it takes hours not only to study, but to just record and produce. Well, Paul of Seattle, thank you very much for that. God bless you. I noticed today that this is episode 247 of season 12 of the Lifespring family Audio Bible. And you know what that means? Right? That means that episode 250 is just three days away. Next Monday, May 9 2022. Seems to me like that sounds like perhaps an opportunity for a special donation. How about it? lately? A few people in writing their notes with their donations have mentioned that they’ve meant to make a donation, but they just now got around to it. Well, maybe you too have been meaning to donate, but haven’t done it yet. How about letting this be the time, make a special episode 250 donation with $2.50 or $25, or $250, or even $2,500, or an equivalent amount of sets. Normally, a one time donation of $100 earns an associate producer credit. But if your donation of just $25 comes in by 6pm Pacific Daylight Time, this Sunday, May 8, you’ll be given an associate producer credit on the show. And usually a one time donation of $300 or more earns an executive producer credit. What if I told you that a one time donation of $250 would do it? If the donation comes in by 6pm? Pacific Daylight Time this coming Sunday, May 8? Well, I’m not going to tell you that. How about this. Normally a one time gift of $500 or more earns the highly honored distinguished producer credit. But for Episode 250, your gift of $250 We’ll learn to distinguish producer credit. Yeah. And with that you choose any upcoming Lifespring family Audio Bible episode that you’d like your credit to apply to? Do you have a favorite scripture that we haven’t read yet on the show? Well, that can be the episode you use your distinguished producer ship on. That’s just one idea. The point is you choose the episode. And as high an honor as distinguished producer is there is an even higher honor that can be earned within the halls of the Lifespring media compound. Am I laying it on thick enough here? Well, what could that be you ask? We read of the Bereans and X 1710 through 15. You can look that up. But the key verse For our purposes here is verse 11. B which says the Bereans were eager to hear what Paul and Silas said. And they studied the scriptures every day to find out if these things were true. So in my mind, the highest title I can imagine is that of Berean. So for our episode 250 donation, a $2,500 donation would be most appreciated for sure. But since a one time donation of just $1,000 $1,000 earned to the brewery and title, how about this, with your $2,500 donation, I will produce in your name, a special episode of any of these Lifespring media podcasts you choose. I’ll do an episode of the original Lifespring podcast. Or I’ll do an episode of in touch with God’s character or an episode of Lifespring him stories, or the Lifespring weekend music show or how to pronounce Bible names. You choose one of those and I will produce a very special episode of that show in your name. The show will go out on the podcast feed for that show, of course, but it’ll also be on the Lifespring all shows feed and I’ll even put it in the feed for this show. As a special episode Bereans will also earn the title of brother or sister as in brother Mark or sister Martha and you’ll get a signed copy of my book webs easy Bible names Pronunciation Guide. I don’t know I think that would be pretty special. Now I’m talking about the whole package, not just the book. Now listen All episode 250 donations will have to be in by 6pm Pacific Daylight Time, this coming Sunday, May 8 2022. That gives me time to produce Monday show which has to go out at 10 o’clock on that day. So if you’ve been meaning to donate, and you haven’t yet now it’d be a great time to do it. The reason this show exists is to help you read through the entire Bible in a year, and to present the good news of a risen Christ without compromise. To take some of the scriptures we read and comment on them and make you think, to perhaps even help you grow closer to the God who loves you and who gave his life for you. If the show is succeeding in this for you, please go to Lifespring media.com/support and donate. All thank you and I think God bless you. Steve Webb 20:58On this date in church history, May 6 1809 William Walker was born he was a Southern American music teacher and inventor of the seven shaped note musical system. He spent much of his life collecting traditional tunes of the southern Appalachians or Appalachians, depending on where you’re from. I had never heard of the seven shaped note musical system. And so I looked it up. It’s really interesting if you are at all a lover or a student of music, seven shaped note musical system. Happy birthday, William Walker. Steve Webb 21:41Let’s pray. Our gracious heavenly father once more, we plead with you to bring a global revival. nations everywhere have turned from you and it seems like judgment is coming or even starting. But Lord, we know that there are millions billions who don’t know you. You’ve told us that you take no pleasure in the destruction of people. So we ask that you use us and that you raise up your people around the world who will bring the message of salvation to those who don’t know you. Soften hearts, Lord, bring more people to yourself, turn people to you. In Jesus name. Lord, please bring a revival. And I thank You, Lord for the Lifespring family. You have specifically called each one here. No one is here by accident. And Lord, I’m so thankful. I pray that you would bring each of us to a greater understanding of who you are. As we read your word together, and that our love for you would be stronger. Bless each one today I pray in Jesus name, amen. Send your prayer requests and your praises to prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 22:53Comment on the show and Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 247. Or email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com Thanks to Paul of Seattle for supporting the show at the associate producer level today. God bless you brother. And thanks to Kirsty for publishing the newsletter. Perhaps by the time you hear this episode, the new newsletter is out. And thanks to Sean of San Pedro for making sure the chapters get done every day and for consistently streaming those SATs and boosting. God bless Paul of Seattle. God bless Kirstie and God bless Sean of San Pedro and God bless you. Until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. 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 Our reading today Psalms 105-107. After the reading, I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode “They Forgot His Mighty Deeds.”   Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Allef Vinicius on Unsplash Comments on Psalms 106 and 107 Thoughts on Psalm 106 Chapter 106 opens with a call to praise the Lord and give thanks because He is good and His loyal love endures. In fact, the first five verses are a joy to read. We’re sort of saying, “Yes! Amen!” along with the author. And then at verse seven things take a darker tone. The author confesses that we have sinned like our ancestors. There is talk of sin and judgement, betrayal and anger. Deliverance and forgetfulness.  And then, in the second to the last verse, the writer pleads for God to deliver us. He promises to give thanks and tell of God’s marvelous deeds. And the last verse proclaims that the Lord God of Israel deserves praise forever, and urges everyone to say, “We agree! Praise the Lord!”. What I make of this is that even in the midst of judgement and pain, God is worthy of praise. Why? Because, as it says in the very first verse, “His loyal love endures forever.” Judgement and anger don’t come because God no longer loves us. On the contrary. If God didn’t love us, he would be indifferent to us. He would turn us over to our own wicked ways, which we know from scripture that He does do to those who have hardened their hearts to him. But if we seek him, if we turn from our rebellion, His love for us is shown by forgiveness and redemption.  As a matter of fact, God already proved that over 2,000 years ago with the death and resurrection of Jesus, His son. We have only to accept that fact and believe that He died for our sins, and then allow Him to guide our actions and decisions, to experience that loyal and enduring love. I’m so glad I don’t have to depend on my own effort or my own faithfulness. I fail more often than I care to admit. But he sees it all, and he offers forgiveness.  The Lord God of Israel deserves praise, in the future and forevermore. Say with me, “We agree! Praise the Lord!” Thoughts on Psalm 107 In this Psalm there are several calls to give thanks to the Lord, for he is good and his loyal love endures.  We hear this refrain four times: “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love, and for the amazing things he has done for people! ”  The Psalm ends with this: Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love! Have you been delivered from an enemy? Give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love, and for the amazing things he has done for you! Have you been delivered from hunger or thirst? Give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love, and for the amazing things he has done for you! Have you been a prisoner or a captive? God was and is there to bring freedom. Give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love, and for the amazing things he has done for you! Have you been sick? God is the creator of our bodies. He is the Master Physician. Give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love, and for the amazing things he has done for you! Have you experienced a raging storm and known the calm brought by the Word of God? Give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love, and for the amazing things he has done for you! Have you experienced loss, but seen God miraculously provide? Give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love, and for the amazing things he has done for you! God’s loyal love. It never fails. It never wavers. God is love. Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 105 CEV; Ch. 106-107 NET 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 to the rescue Steve Webb 1:30Psalms chapter 105. Praise the Lord in pray in His name. Tell everyone what he has done. Sing praises to the Lord, tell about his miracles, celebrate in worship His holy name with all your heart. Trust the Lord and His mighty power, remember His miracles and all his wonders in his fair decisions. You belong to the family of Abraham, his servant, you are his chosen ones, the descendants of Jacob, the Lord is our God bringing justice everywhere on earth. He will never forget his agreement or his promises. Not in 1000s of years, God made an eternal promise to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when he said, I’ll give you the land of Canaan. At the time, there were only a few of us and we were homeless. We wandered from nation to nation from one country to another. God did not let anyone mistreat our people. Instead, he protected us by punishing rulers and telling them Don’t touch my chosen leaders are harmed by prophets. God kept crops from growing until food was scarce everywhere in the land. But he had already sent Joseph sold as a slave into Egypt, with chains of iron around his legs and neck. Joseph remained a slave until his own words had come true. And the Lord had finished testing him. Then the king of Egypt set Joseph free and put him in charge of everything he owned. Joseph was in command of the officials and he taught the leaders how to use wisdom. Jacob and his family came and settled in Egypt as foreigners. They were the Lord’s people so he let them grow stronger than their enemies. They served the Lord and He made the Egyptians plan hateful things against them. God sent his servant Moses. He also chose and said Aaron to his people in Egypt, and they worked miracles and wonders there. Moses and Aaron obeyed God and he sent darkness to cover Egypt. God turned their rivers into streams of blood and the fish all died. frogs were everywhere, even in the royal palace. When God gave the command, flies and nets swarmed all around. In place of rain, God sent hailstones and flashes of lightning. He destroyed their grapevines and their fig trees, and he made splitters of all the other trees. God gave the command and more grasshoppers came than could be counted. They ate every green plant and all the crops that grew in the land of Egypt. Then God took the life of every firstborn son. When God led Israel from Egypt, they took silver and gold and no one was left behind. The Egyptians were afraid and gladly let them go. God hid them under a cloud and guided them by fire during the night. When they asked for food, he sent more birds than they could eat. God even split open a rock and streams of water gushed into the desert. God never forgot his sacred promise to His servant Abraham. When the Lord rescued his chosen people from Egypt, they celebrated with songs. The Lord gave them the land and everything else the nations had worked for. He did this so that his people would obey all his laws. Shout praises to the Lord. Steve Webb 4:44Of Psalm 106 Derek Kidner wrote, this psalm is the dark counterpart of its predecessor, a shadow cast by human self will in its long struggle against the light. And this is what Charles Spurgeon had to say, “Israel’s history is here written with a view of showing human sin, even as the preceding Psalm was composed to magnify divine goodness. It is, in fact, a national confession.” And Alexander McClaren added, “The keynote of Psalm 105 is remember his mighty deeds, that of Psalm 106 is, they forgot his mighty deeds.” Steve Webb 9:44Psalm 107 begins the last of the five books of the Psalms. Though it does not have a title given in the text, Derek Kidner called it God to the rescue. In this song God’s deliverance is shown in four vignettes and were shown that even though we all have different events in our lives. There are remarkable similarities in that God’s love takes us through the most difficult circumstances. Steve Webb 10:10Psalms 107. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good and his loyal love endures. Let those delivered by the Lord speak out, those whom he delivered from the power of the enemy and gathered from foreign lands from east and west from north and south. They wandered through the wilderness on a desert road, they found no city in which to live. They were hungry and thirsty, they fainted from exhaustion, they cried out to the Lord in their distress, he delivered them from their troubles, he led them on a level road that they might find a city in which to live. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love and for the amazing things he has done for people. For he has satisfied those who thirst and those who hunger he has filled with food. They sat in utter darkness bound in painful iron chains because they had rebelled against God’s commands and rejected the instructions of the Sovereign King. So he used suffering to humble them. They stumbled and no one helped them up. They cried out to the Lord in their distress, he delivered them from their troubles. He brought them out of the utter darkness and tore off their shackles. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love and for the amazing things he has done for people. For he shattered the bronze gates and hacked through the iron bars. They acted like fools in their rebellious ways and suffered because of their sins. They lost their appetite for all food, and they drew near the gates of death. They cried out to the Lord in their distress. He delivered them from their troubles, he sent them and assuring word and healed them. He rescued them from the pits where they were trapped. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love for the amazing things he has done for people. Let them present thank offerings and loudly proclaim what he has done. Some traveled on the sea and ships and carried cargo over the vast waters. They witnessed the acts of the Lord his amazing feats on the deep water. He gave the order for a wind storm and it stirred up the waves of the sea. They reached up to the sky then dropped into the depths. The sailors strength left them because the danger was so great. They swayed and staggered like a drunk and all their skill proved ineffective. They cried out to the Lord and their distress, he delivered them from their troubles, he calmed the storm and the waves grew silent. The sailors rejoiced because the waves grew quiet and he led them to the harbor they desired. Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love and for the amazing things he has done for people. Let them exalt Him in the assembly of the people. Let them praise him in the place where the leaders preside. He turned streams into a Desert Springs of water into arid land, and a fruitful land into a barren place because of the sin of its inhabitants. As for his people, he turned a desert into a pool of water and a dry land into springs of water. He allowed the hungry to settle there, and they established a city in which to live. They cultivated fields and planted vineyards which yielded a harvest of fruit. He blessed them so that they became very numerous, he would not allow their cattle to decrease in number. As for their enemies, they decreased in number and were beaten down because of painful distress and suffering. He would pour contempt upon princes and made them wander in a wasteland with no road. Yet he protected the needy from oppression and cared for his families like a flock of sheep. When the godly see this, they rejoice and every sinner shuts his mouth. Whoever is wise, let him take note of these things. Let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love. Steve Webb 14:08Chapter 106 opens with a call to praise the Lord and to give thanks because he is good, and his loyal love endures. In fact, the first five verses are a joy to read. We find ourselves saying Yes, amen. Along with the author. And then at verse seven things take a darker tone. The author confesses that we have sinned like our ancestors. There is talk of sin and judgment, betrayal and anger, deliverance and forgetfulness. And then in the second to the last verse, the writer pleads for God to deliver us. He promises to give thanks and tell of God’s marvelous deeds. In the last verse proclaims that the Lord God of Israel deserves praise forever, and urges everyone to say we agree praise the Lord. What I make of this is that even in the midst of judgment in pain, God is worthy of praise. Why? Because as it says in the very first verse, he is loyal. love endures forever. Judgment and anger don’t come because God no longer loves us. On the contrary, if God didn’t love us, he would be indifferent to us, he would turn us over to our own wicked ways, which we know from Scripture that he does do to those who have hardened their hearts to Him. But if we seek Him, if we turn from our rebellion, His love for us is shown by forgiveness and redemption. As a matter of fact, didn’t God already proved that over 2000 years ago with a death and resurrection of Jesus, we have only to accept that fact and believe that He died for our sins, and then allow Him to guide our actions and our decisions to experience that loyal and enduring love. I’m so glad I don’t have to depend on my own effort or my own faithfulness. I fail more often than I care to admit. But he sees it all, and he offers forgiveness. The Lord God of Israel deserves praise in the future and forevermore. Say with me, we agree, praise the Lord. Steve Webb 16:10And in Psalm 107, there are several calls to give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and his loyal love endures. We hear this refrain four times, let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love, and for the amazing things he has done for people. The psalm ends with this, let them consider the Lord’s acts of loyal love. Have you ever been delivered from an enemy? Give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love, and for the amazing things he has done for you. Have you been delivered from hunger or from thirst? Give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love and for the amazing things he has done for you. Have you been a prisoner or a captive? God was it is there to bring freedom. Give thanks to the Lord and for his loyal love and for the amazing things he has done for you. Have you been sick? God is the creator of our bodies. He is the master physician. Give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love and for the amazing things he has done for you. Have you experienced a raging storm and known the calm brought by the word of God? Give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love and for the amazing things he has done for you. Have you experienced loss but seen God miraculously provide Give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love and for the amazing things he has done for you. God’s loyal love. It never fails. It never wavers. God is love. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 245. Our reading tomorrow will be Proverbs chapter 22. Steve Webb 18:01Well, we heard the other day that Kirsty has been diligently trying to get caught up and I got this comment this morning from her. She said I love the commentary on numbers 12 Three that made me laugh. And in case you don’t remember that’s where I talked about Moses calling himself the most humble man in the world. Although not really but if you didn’t hear the episode that included numbers 12 go back and listen to it. Anyway, Kirsty continue. She said that was a great mini sermon on numbers. 12. Being a loving parent, and having been a child of loving parents, I feel I have the tiniest glimpse into how God feels about us as His children, that innate desire to do good things for your kids, even when they frustrate you to bits, or consistently whinge and do the wrong thing. I have to stop right there. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen that word whinge. Is that a word you say a lot in Australia. I’ve never heard it here in America had to look it up anyway, or consistently whinge and do the wrong thing. I’m so thankful that God feels that way about me, because I am sure not the perfect daughter of Christ. PS, I’m finally caught up on the episodes. Well, Christy, thank you for that. And I’m so glad you’re caught up. And I’m glad that the commentary on numbers 12 helped me to see God as a loving parent. That’s a good thing. Steve Webb 19:21Well, hey, if you believe that God’s word is needed today, if the Lifespring family Audio Bible has helped you to stay in the Word, and if you’ve been encouraged in your faith, then maybe it’s time to support the show. That’s how value for value works. The shows only support is from you, the Lifespring family. I don’t make you listen to advertisers. And I wouldn’t have advertisers because as you know, advertising is censorship. I don’t take advertisers because that’s one way the enemy gets in there and tries to shut us down. If I’m not beholden to advertisers. I’m only beholden to the Lord. Then the only way I can pay the bills around here is if you help you know that I won’t compromise the message of the Gospel. And if you believe that’s important, then please go to Lifespring media.com/support and see how easy it is to donate, pray about what God would have you send in, be obedient to His leading. If you do that, then I’ll be able to pay the bills and keep doing the show. If you believe in what the Lifespring family Audio Bible is all about, if you’re receiving value from the show, then you know what to do. Steve Webb 21:21All right. Well, today I have a couple of personal prayer requests. Depending on when you’re hearing this, I might be in the midst of a CT scan, even as you’re listening. If you’re listening on Wednesday, May 4, I’m scheduled to check in this morning at 845. What’s the CT scan for? Well, they’ll be sort of getting a map of my heart for the cardiac ablation procedure that I’m going to be having this month on the 27th. Yep, I’m gonna have it done. In case you didn’t hear, I’ve been having periods of atrial fibrillation or AFib for a few years, and I had a recent period where it was happening fairly often. The doc says that if we don’t do something about it, it could get progressively worse. And I could end up having to have a pacemaker installed in my chest. That’s not something that I really want to have done if I can avoid it. Obviously, none of us know how long the Lord will keep us here. But it is possible that I’ll be around for maybe a couple of more decades at my age. So I’m thinking that having this procedure is the right idea. On the 27th, the lovely lady Liana and I will check into the hospital in Los Angeles at 630 in the morning, which means that we’ll probably leave home here in Riverside between 430 and five o’clock in the morning. Yeah, the procedure is supposed to take between four and six hours. And then I’ll be in recovery for at least another six hours. And this is the worst part of the whole thing. I’ll have to be flat on my back that entire six hours, I’ve got a bad back in laying flat on my back for that length of time is going to be agony. So I’m dreading that, but after that, I should be able to go back home that day. Now before I go in, I will get a few episodes recorded in advance just in case I don’t feel up to recording after the procedure. So please, if you would keep me in your prayers, I would appreciate it. And then tomorrow night, Thursday night, Leanne is going to be flying out to Florida so that she can go to our daughter in law’s baby shower. She’ll be gone for four days. Let’s pray for a safe and enjoyable trip. Leanne gets pretty nervous when she travels alone. She worries about making her connecting flights. We haven’t done a lot of air travel in our marriage. So she’s not used to navigating in the airports. So please do remember her in your prayers. So let’s pray. Our heavenly Father, Lord, we are so thankful that you’re loyal. love endures forever. No matter what’s going on in our lives, whether difficult or joyful. You’re loyal. love endures forever, how good you are to us. You love us far more than we deserve. But your loyal love endures forever. Thank you, Lord, we love you. We praise you, we worship you. Father, I asked you to keep me safe as I go through this episode with my heart. You gave this heart to me. And I’m so thankful that you’ve been with me through the various problems that have happened over the past several years. And I know that I am in your loving capable care. So I’m not really worried about what’s coming up. If you’d heal my heart, that would be awesome. But if not, that’s okay too. I just pray that you would be with me and guide my decisions about the care and that you would guide the doctors hands as she does the procedure. And, Lord as I’m laying there in the bed in the recovery room, I pray that the time would go quickly and that the discomfort would be bearable. I pray that your presence would be there with me in a powerful way. And I pray for Leanne’s trip to Florida Lord calmer heart and guide her through the airports. I pray that her time with Valerie and Tim is sweet as they celebrate the soon birth of this precious little girl that will be here the first part of June. I put Leann and Valerie and Tim and this newest little web in your care. And I pray that this little girl would be healthy. But even more than that, that she would be a blessing to Tim and Val, and that she would grow to be a faithful woman of God. We can’t wait to meet her Lord, and we thank you for this little life that you’re bringing to us. I thank You, Lord, so much for the Lifespring family. You’ve brought each person here and I’m so happy to share time around your word with them. Bless each one, and may they be encouraged by the songs we’ve read today. Me there walk with you grow closer, I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Sharing prayer requests is something that we’re told to do in the Word. And if you have a prayer request, or if God is doing something great in your life, please go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com. And let me know about it there. I’ll pray for you. And I’ll rejoice with you in my private prayer time, and we’ll share on the show. Steve Webb 26:08Speaking of sharing on the show, please share the show with the people around you with the people at work with your family, with your neighbors, with the friends at church, with your boss, with your postman. Whoever you think would enjoy the show, or whoever you think needs the show, let them know about the Lifespring family Audio Bible. Some of you seem to be doing that I see the download numbers are increasing. So that’s a good thing. And I praise God for that. If you’re new here, welcome. I’m glad you’re here. Drop me a line. Let me hear from you. Tell me where you heard about the show, you can put a comment on the show notes page at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 245. Or you can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. If you’re new, and you want to tell me how you found out about the show in the subject line of your email. But here’s how I found you. That way, your email will be sure to jump out at me when I’m looking at my inbox. Please do support the show Lifespring media.com/support. Or if you’ve got one of those cool new podcast apps from new podcast apps.com. And if you don’t have one of those, why are you hanging on to that old dusty legacy app? Get a new podcast app because then you can stream SATs to me. If you need help with that. Let me know I’ll walk you through it. And you can send boosts and booster grants. It’s all part of the new podcasting 2.0 thing that when you do that it does help support the show. If you don’t want to do that and you rather send dollars you can do that right there on the website at Lifespring media.com/support. Well, it’s been fun today. I’ve enjoyed our time together and until tomorrow may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye Steve Webb 0:09Well howdy Hi there. This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible and I’m coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG God caster Steve Webb, welcome. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Our reading today is Psalms 105 through 107. You know the routine before I read each chapter, I’ll give you a brief introduction. And then when I’m done reading all the chapters, I’ll have some comments for you. The show notes page for today’s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 245. My email address, as always is Steve at Lifespring media.com. I’d love to hear from you. Are you ready? Though not attributed to David the first 15 chapters of Psalm 105 are the same as First Chronicles 16 A through 22, where David gave him to ASAP and his relatives to sing so it’s quite possible that David wrote them quite probable that he wrote them of Psalm 105. G. Campbell Morgan wrote this and the following Psalm our companions, they reveal the two sides of the relation between God and His people during a long period. This one sings the song of his faithfulness and power, while the next tells the sad story of repeated failure and rebellion on the part of his people. Steve Webb 5:24Psalm chapter 106. Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. It is loyal love endures. Who can adequately recount the Lord’s mighty acts are relate all his praiseworthy deeds? How blessed are those who promote justice and do what is right all the time. Remember me, oh Lord, when you show favor to your people. Pay attention to me when you deliver so I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones. Rejoice along with your nation, and boast along with the people who belong to you. We have sinned like our ancestors we have done wrong. We have done evil. Our ancestors in Egypt failed to appreciate your miraculous deeds. They failed to remember your many acts of loyal love, and they rebelled at the sea by the Red Sea. Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation that he might reveal His power. He shouted at the Red Sea and dried it up. He led them through the deep water as if it were a desert. He delivered them from the power of the one who hated them and rescued them from the power of the enemy. The water covered their enemies, not even one of them survived. They believed his promises. They sang praises to Him. They quickly forgot what he had done. They did not wait for his instructions. In the wilderness. They had an insatiable craving for meat. They challenged God in the desert. He granted their request then struck them with a disease. In the camp they resented Moses and Aaron the Lord’s holy priest. The earth opened up and swallowed Nathan. It engulfed the group led by a Byram fire burned their group. The flames scorched the wicked. They made an image of a calf at horrid and worshipped a metal idol. They traded their majestic God for the image of an ox that eats grass. They rejected the God who delivered them. The one who performed great deeds in Egypt amazing feats in the land of Han, mighty acts by the Red Sea. He threatened to destroy them, but Moses His Chosen One interceded with him and turned back his destructive anger. They rejected the fruitful land, they did not believe his promise. they grumbled in their tents, they did not obey the Lord. So he made a solemn vow that he would make them die in the desert, make their descendants die among the nations and scattered them among foreign lands. They worshiped Baal of Peor and ate sacrifices offered to the dead. They made the Lord angry by their actions, and a plague broke out among them. Phineas took a stand and intervened in the plagues subsided. This brought him a reward, an eternal gift. They made him angry by the waters of Meribah had Moses suffered because of them, for they aroused his temper and he spoke rashly. They did not destroy the nations as the Lord had commanded them to do. They mixed in with the nations and learned their ways. They worshipped their idols which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan. The land was polluted by bloodshed. They were defiled by their deeds and unfaithful in their actions. So the Lord was angry with his people and despise the people who belong to him. He handed them over to the nations and those who hated them ruled over them. Their enemies oppressed them, they were subject to their authority. Many times he delivered them, but they had a rebellious attitude, and he graded themselves by their sin. He took notice of their distress when he heard their cry for help. He remembered his covenant with them and relented because of his great loyal love. He caused all their conquerors to have pity on them. Deliver us, O Lord our God, gather us from among the nations. Then we will give thanks to your holy name, and boast about your praise worthy deeds. The Lord God of Israel deserves praise in the future and forevermore. Let all the people say we agree, praise the Lord. Steve Webb 20:34On this date in church history, May 4 1923, William Robertson nickeled passed away, he was a British religious journalist and editor, the son of a Scottish Free Church minister, he edited the British Journal, the expositor, in the 50, volume, get that 50 Volume expositors Bible, that’s a project that took from 1888 to 1905. It just dawned on me, it took him 17 years to do that. I’ve been behind this microphone doing a podcast for the same amount of time. I wonder if there’s a message there, huh? 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Transcript Podcast Introduction Since today is Tuesday, we’ll be reading from one of the books of History. We’re currently working our way through  1 Chronicles, and today we’ll read chapters 20-24. After the reading, I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode “A Special Spot.”   Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Ilanit Ohana on Unsplash Comments on 1 Chronicles 21 1 Chronicles 21:18 Then the angel of the Lord spoke to Gad. He said, “Tell David to build an altar to worship the Lord. David must build that altar near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” David went against the word of the Lord and ordered a census of the Israelites, which angered the Lord, and He punished Israel. David repented, and asked God to forgive him. God told David’s seer, Gad, that David must choose between three punishments, and David chose to put himself in God’s hands, instead of man’s. In the midst of the punishment, which brought a sickness on the people of Israel in which 70,000 died, God stayed the hand of the angel which He had sent to destroy Jerusalem. At this point, the angel of the Lord was standing at the threshing floor of Araunah (Ornan in other translations) the Jebusite. David saw the angel, and he asked God to punish him and his family and not the people, because it was he (David) who had sinned. And the angel of the Lord spoke to Gad. He said, “Tell David to build an altar to worship the Lord. David must build that altar near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.” There are some interesting facts concerning this event and this place.  1) This is the only altar before any of Israel’s exiles that God had commanded to be built  2) This threshing floor was on Mount Moriah, which is where Abraham offered Isaac and is in the same hills where Jesus was crucified. 3) Mount Moriah is inside what was to become the city of Jerusalem, and is where Solomon built the Temple, and where it will someday be rebuilt. So during the Millennial reign of Jesus, He will again stand on this land.  I think it’s safe to say that this is one of the most significant places on earth! Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 20 NCV; Ch. 21-22 ERV; Ch. 23-24 NET 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 is one of the most significant places on the entire face of the earth. Steve Webb 0:11Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible and podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG God cast your Steve Webb, welcome. It’s really great to see you today. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. And since today is Tuesday, we’ll be reading from one of the books of history. We’re currently working our way through First Chronicles and today we’re going to read chapters 20 through 24. I’ve got an idea after today’s reading, I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode, a special spot. The show notes page for today’s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12. E 251. My email address is Steve at life’s free media.com. And if you checked out all the content at Lifespring media.com. Almost every podcast episode I’ve done since 2004 is still there. There’s interviews there’s music, there’s even wedding advice, not marriage advice, but wedding advice. LeeAnn used to do a show called your wedding your way that shows even still there. What is there is a bunch take a look at Lifespring media.com. Well, what do you say we get started? Steve Webb 1:21First Chronicles chapter 20. In the spring, the time of year when kings normally went out to battle Joab bled out the army of Israel let David stayed in Jerusalem. The army of Israel destroyed the land of Amman and went to the city of Rabbah and attacked it. David took the crown off the head of their King and had it placed on his own head. That gold crown weighed about 75 pounds and it had valuable gems in it. And David took many valuable things from the city. He also brought out the people of the city and forced them to work with saws, iron picks and axes. David did this to all the Ammonites cities. Then David and all his army returned to Jerusalem. Later it geezer war broke out with the Philistines Sybil chi the use of ICT killed sippy who was one of the descendants of the Rafale knights, so those Philistines were defeated. Later there was another battle with the Philistines. l Hainan son of Jair killed Lumie the brother of Goliath, who was from the town of gaff, his spear was as large as a weaver’s rod. At Gath. Another battle took place, a huge man was there, he had six fingers on each hand, and six toes on each foot 24 fingers and toes and all. This man also was one of the sons of refa when he spoke against Israel, Jonathan, son of Shamia, David’s brother killed him. These descendants at refa from gaff were killed by David and his men. Steve Webb 2:48First Chronicles chapter 21. Satan was against the Israelites, he encouraged David to count the Israelites. So David said to Joab and the leaders of the people go and count all the Israelites count everyone in the country, from the town of Beersheba all the way to the town of Dan, then tell me so I will know how many people there are. But Joab answered, may the Lord make his nation 100 times as large, sir, all the Israelites are Your servants. Why do you want to do this thing, my lord and king, you will make all the Israelites guilty of sin. But King David was stubborn. Joab had to do what the king said. So Joab left and went through all the country of Israel, counting the people. Then he came back to Jerusalem and told David how many people there were. In Israel, there were 1,100,000 men who could use a sword. And there were 470,000 men and Judah who could use a sword Joab did not count the tribes of Levi and Benjamin because he did not like King David’s order. David had done a bad thing in God’s sight. So God punished Israel. Then David said to God, I have done something very foolish. I have committed a terrible sin by counting the Israelites. Now I beg you to take the sin away from me your servant. Gad was David seer. The Lord said to Gad, go and tell David. This is what the Lord says. I’m going to give you three choices. You must choose one of them, then I will punish you the way you choose. Then gad went to David. He said to David, the Lord says, David, choose which punishment you want. Three years without enough food, or three months of running away from your enemies while they use their swords to chase you. Or three days of punishment from the Lord. Terrible sicknesses will spread to the country and the Lord’s angel will go through Israel destroying the people. David, God sent me now you must decide which answer I will give to him. David said to God, I’m in trouble. I don’t want some man to decide my punishment. The Lord is very merciful. So let him decide how to punish me. So the Lord sent terrible sin In essence to Israel and 70,000 people died, God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem. But when the angel started to destroy Jerusalem, the Lord sought and felt sorry for all the suffering. So he said to the angel who was destroying the people stop, that is enough. This happened when the angel of the Lord was standing at the threshing floor of Araunah, the Jebusite David looked up and saw the Lord’s angel in the sky. The angel was holding his sword over the city of Jerusalem. Then David and the elders bowed with their faces touching the ground. They were wearing the special clothes to show their sadness. David said to God, I am the one who sinned, I gave the order for the people to be counted. I was wrong. The Israelites did not do anything wrong. Lord, my God, punish me and my family, but stop the terrible sicknesses that are killing your people. Then the angel of the Lord spoke to gad. He said, tell David to build an altar to worship the Lord. David must build that altar near the threshing floor of a Rana the Jebusite. God told David this and David went to a rawness threshing floor. A Rana was threshing the wheat. He turned around and saw the angel. His four sons ran away to hide. David walked up the hill to a Rana Rana saw him and left the threshing floor. He walked to David and bowed with his face to the ground in front of him. David said to a Rana, sell me your threshing floor, I will pay you the full price, then I can use the area to build an altar to worship the Lord, then the terrible sicknesses will be stopped. Iran has said to David, take this threshing floor, you are my Lord and King. So do whatever you want. Look, I will also give you cattle for the burnt offering. You can have the wooden threshing tools to burn for the fire on the altar. And I will give the wheat for the grain offering. I will give all of this to you. But King David answered Irana No, I will pay you the full price. I will not take anything that is yours and give it to the Lord. I will not give offerings that cost me nothing. So David gave a Ronna about 15 pounds of gold for the place. David built an altar for worshiping the Lord there. David offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he prayed to the Lord. The Lord answered David by sending fire down from heaven. The fire came down on the altar of burnt offering. Then the Lord commanded the angel to put his sword back into his sheath. David saw that the Lord had answered him on the threshing floor of Aruna, so David offered sacrifices there. The Lord’s holy tent, and the altar of burnt offerings were at the high place in the town of Gideon. Moses had made the holy tent while the Israelites were in the desert. David could not go to the holy tent to speak with God because he was afraid. He was afraid of the angel of the Lord and his sword. Steve Webb 7:53First Chronicles chapter 22. David said, the temple of the Lord God in the altar for burnt offerings for the Israelites will be built here. David gave in order for all foreigners living in Israel to be gathered together. He chose stone cutters from that group of foreigners. Their job was to cut stones ready to be used for building God’s temple. David got iron for making nails and hinges for the gate doors. He also got more bronze than could be weighed and more cedar logs than could be counted. The people from the cities of Sidon and tyre brought mini cedar logs to David. David said, we should build a very great temple for the Lord. But my son Solomon is young does not yet have enough experience to know how to do it well, it should be so great and beautiful that it will be famous among all the nations. So I will prepare what is needed to build it. So before David died, he prepared everything needed to build a great temple. Then David called for his son Solomon and told him to build the temple for the Lord, the God of Israel. David said to Solomon, my son, I wanted to build a temple for the name of the Lord, my God. But the Lord said to me, David, you have fought many wars, and you have killed many people. So you cannot build a temple for my name. But you have a son who was a man of peace, I will give your son a time of peace. His enemies around him will not bother him. His name is Solomon, and I will give Israel peace and quiet during the time that he is King. Solomon will build a temple for my name, he will be my son, and I will be his father. I will make his kingdom strong and someone from his family will rule Israel forever. They’ve also said, Now son, may the Lord be with you. May you be successful and build the temple for the Lord your God as He said you would. He will make you the king of Israel. May the Lord give you wisdom and understanding so that you can lead the people and obey the law of the Lord your God. And you will have success if you are careful to obey the rules and laws that the Lord gave Moses for Israel, be strong and brave. Don’t be afraid. Solomon I have worked hard making plans for the Lord’s temple. I have given 3750 tonnes of gold and about 37,500 tons of silver. I have given so much bronze and iron that it cannot be weighed. And I have given wood and stone, Solomon, you can add to them. You have many stone cutters and carpenters. You have men skilled in every kind of work. They are skilled and working with gold, silver, bronze and iron. You have more skilled workers than can be counted. Now begin the work and may the Lord be with you. Then David ordered all the leaders of Israel to help his son Solomon, David said to these leaders, the Lord your God is with you. He has given you a time of peace. He helped me defeat the people living around us, the Lord in His people are now in control of this land. Now give your heart and soul to the Lord your God and do what he says, Build the holy place of the Lord God, then bring the box of the Lord’s agreement and all the other holy things into the temple built for the Lord’s name. Steve Webb 11:10First Chronicles chapter 23. When David was old and approaching the end of his life, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. David assembled all the leaders of Israel along with the priests and the Levites. The Levites, who are 30 years old and up were counted. There were 38,000 men, David said, of these 24,000 are to direct the work of the Lord’s temple 6000 are to be officials and judges. 4000 are to be gatekeepers, and 4000 are to praise the Lord with the instruments I supplied for worship. David divided them into groups corresponding to the sons of Levi, Gershon, Kohath, and Moray, the Gershonites included laden and shimmy AI, the sons of laden Jihyo, the oldest, Zi thumb and Joel three and all the sons of shimmy AI, shallow moth, hazy yo and heron, three and all. These were the leaders of the family of Laden, the sons of shimmy AI, J half, Xena, G ash and Mariah, these were shimmy II sons for in all. J half was the oldest incisa the second oldest, G ash and Mariah did not have many sons, so they were considered one family with one responsibility. The sons of Kohath Amram izhar, Hebron, and Ezio for in all the sons of Amram, Aaron and Moses, Aaron and his descendants were chosen on a permanent basis to consecrate the Most Holy items to offer sacrifices before the Lord, to serve Him, and to praise his name. The descendants of Moses, the man of God were considered Levites the sons of Moses, Gershom and Eliezer, the son of Gershom should Buell the oldest, the son of Eleazer, was re Habiba the oldest Eloisa had no other sons, but Rhea baya had many descendants, the son of his har Shalom if the oldest, the sons of Hebron DARIAH, the oldest Amariah, the second to Hazel The third jakka Miam, the fourth, the sons of Asiel mica, the oldest and his Shaya, the second, the sons of Moray, malai and mu Shai, the sons of malai Eliezer and Kish Eliezer, died without having sons he had only daughters, the sense of Kesh their cousins married them, the sons of mu Shai malai, eater, and Jeremiah three and all. These were the descendants of Levi according to their families. That is the leaders of families as counted and individually listed, who carried out assigned tasks in the Lord’s temple, and were 20 years old and up. For David said, The Lord God of Israel has given his people rest in his permanently settled in Jerusalem, so the Levites no longer need to carry the tabernacle or any of the items used in its service. According to David’s final instructions, the Levites 20 years old and up were counted. Their job was to help Aaron’s descendants in the service of the Lord’s temple. They were to take care of the courtyards, the rooms, ceremonial purification of all holy items, and other jobs related to the service of God’s temple. They also took care of the bread that is displayed the flour for offerings, the unleavened wafers, the round cakes, the mixing, and all the measuring. They also stood in a designated place every morning and offered thanks and praise to the Lord. They also did this in the evening. And whenever burnt sacrifices were offered to the Lord on the Sabbath, and it New Moon festivals that assemblies, a designated number were to serve before the Lord regularly in accordance with regulations. They were in charge of the meeting tent and the holy place and helped their relatives the descendants of Aaron in the service of the Lord’s temple. Steve Webb 15:11First Chronicles chapter 24. The divisions of Aaron’s descendants were as follows The sons of Aaron Nadab, a by Hugh Eliezer and Ithamar may daban. Obi who died before their father did, they had no sons, Eliezer and Ithamar served as priests, David Ze, Doc, a descendant of Eliezer, and Ahimelech, a descendant of Ithamar divided them into groups to carry out their assigned responsibilities. The descendants of Le aser had more leaders than the descendants of Ithamar. So they divided them up accordingly, the descendants of Le A’s are had 16 leaders, while the descendants of Ithamar had eight. They divided them by lots for there were officials of the holy place and officials designated by God among the descendants of both Eliezer and Ithamar. The scribe Shemaiah, son of Nathanael, a Levite wrote down their names before the king, the officials, ze doc the priest, Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, and the leaders of the priestly and Levite families. One family was drawn by lot from a laser and then the next from Ithamar. The first lot went to Jehovah rib, the second to Judea, the third to harem, the fourth to see Yoram the fifth to Mao Kaija, the sixth to menjamin. The seventh to hackers, the eighth to Obeida, the knights to Joshua, the 10th, to second nya the 11th to Eliashib. The 12th to Jake him, the 13th to Hapa the 14th to just Shibby ab the 15th to Bilger the 16th to imer the 17th to hazer the 18th to happen says the 19th to Petha HYAH the 20th to Jahaz Cal, the 21st to Jaken the 22nd to gamble, the 23rd to delay the 24th to may Uzziah. This was the order in which they carried out their assigned responsibilities when they entered the Lord’s temple, according to the regulations given them by their ancestor Aaron, just as the Lord God of Israel had instructed him. The rest of the Levites included shoe bale from the sons of Amram. Judea from the sons of shoe bale. The firstborn is Shi’a from rehab via and the sons of rehab via Shalom off from the Israelites. J hath from the sons of shalom off the sons of Hebron DARIAH and Mariah, the second J zo the third and jeca miam the fourth, the son of Osito. Mica shamer from the sons of mica, the brother of mica, the Shi’a, Zechariah from the sons of a Shi’a, the sons of Moray malai and mu Shai, the son of J. Uzziah. Beano, the sense of Moray from J. Uzziah. Beano, shoham Zacher. And in Bri from Mali, le aser, who had no sons, from Kish, Jeremy to the sons of new Shai, my ally, eater, and Jeremiah. These were the Levites listed by their families, just like their relatives, the descendants of Aaron. They also cast lots before King David ze doc Ahimelech, the leaders of families, the priests and the Levites, the families of the oldest son cast lots along with those of the youngest. Steve Webb 18:35In chapter 21, verse 18, we read tell David to build an altar to worship the Lord David must build that altar near the threshing floor of Aruna, the Jebusite. All right, beloved, so what’s going on here? As you heard, David went against the word of the Lord and ordered a census of the Israelites which angered God, and He punished Israel. Well, that caused David to repent, and he asked God to forgive him. And God told David seer or prophet, a guy by the name of Gad, the David must choose between three punishments, and David chose to put himself in God’s hands instead of man’s. I think that was a wise decision, don’t you? Well, in the midst of the punishment, which brought a sickness on the people of Israel in which 70,000 died, God stayed the hand of the angel which he had sent to destroy Jerusalem. At this point, the angel of the Lord was standing at the threshing floor of Aruna, or Ornan, in other translations of David saw the angel and he asked God to punish him and his family and not the people because it was he David who had sinned. And the angel of the Lord spoke to GATT. He said, tell David to build an altar to worship the Lord and he must build that altar near the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite Well, the reason I bring this up to you is that there are some interesting facts concerning this event in this place. Number one is, this is the only altar before any of Israel’s exiles that God had commanded to be built? Isn’t that interesting. And number two, this threshing floor was on Mount Moriah, which is where Abraham offered Isaac, and it’s also in the same hills where Jesus was crucified. Number three, Mount Moriah is inside what was to become the city of Jerusalem, and is where Solomon built the temple and where it will someday be rebuilt. So during the millennial reign of Jesus here on earth, He will again stand on this very land. Isn’t that cool? Well, I think it’s safe to say that this is one of the most significant places on the entire face of the earth. You agree? Never comment. Have you ever been to Jerusalem? Let me know. Go to the shownotes page at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 251. Tomorrow is Wednesday. So we’ll read Psalms 108 through 110. Here’s your cue to boost. Steve Webb 21:08Roderick came in with his monthly $50 donation making him today’s executive producer Roderick, thank you very much my brother. God bless you. Beloved, as you know, the Lifespring family Audio Bible is here for you every day to help keep you on track to read through the Bible. There are no advertisers. But expenses do need to be paid. That’s where you come in. If you value the show, because it is helping you stay on the word every day or because of the comments I bring to you on every show and the fact that I don’t compromise God’s word, then please support the show, 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 do as the Lord leads Lifespring media.com/support. Steve Webb 22:04On this date in church history, May 10 1886 Karl Barth was born. He was a Swiss reformed theologian, when he was asked to summarize the essence of his theology. He once replied, Jesus loves me. This I know for the Bible tells me so. Karl Barth was an important figure and while I don’t agree with him on every point, I do agree with that. Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so. By the way, I did an episode of Lifespring him stories about that song Jesus loves me. If you’d like to listen to it, I’ll have a link on the show notes page. Steve Webb 22:48Prayer requests. Well praise the Lord, the lovely lady LeeAnn got home safe and sound. I thank you for your prayers. And my brother in law, Mike was taken to the ER today with chest pains. I don’t have any other information yet. I texted Lee and Sister Lisa, Micah’s her husband, and asked for an update, but the text won’t go through. So she’s probably she’s probably in the hospital with her phone turned off, which I totally understand. So let’s pray together. Our Heavenly Father, I thank you for bringing LeeAnn home safely. And I pray that you’ll give her good rest to recharge on her days off today and tomorrow. And I pray for Mike, you know what’s wrong with him and I pray that you’d be with him and bring him healing and give wisdom to the doctors and the staff as they treat him. And me come out of this just fine. Lord, I thank you for the Lifespring family. I asked God that you would bless them and bring them back here tomorrow. Guide our steps today, Lord and give us opportunities to share the good news with those who need to know about Jesus. Help us to build relationships, and help us to love others as you love us. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you’ve got a prayer request or praise, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 24:08Well, here’s some trivia for you. Every week I get a report from otter.ai. The service I used to generate the show transcripts. The email I get every week gives me the stats for the past week in in the last seven days. They’ve transcribed 163 minutes of content that’s this show, and 28,000 words. No wonder I’m usually the quiet one when I’m not behind them. Like I use up my allotted words with you. All I can say is thank you for listening. 28,000 words Oh my goodness. This is the part of the show where I thank Kirsty and Sean of San Pedro for all their help with the show. And by the way with the chapters and podcasting 2.0 podcast apps, chapters are not published at the same time as the show is that usually happens several hours after I publish the episodes at 10pm Pacific Time. Without going into the details, just know that that’s the way it has to happen. Even the Podfather Adam Curry shows have their chapters added much later. So I just thought I’d let you know in case you were wondering. but back to Kirsty and Sean of San Pedro, you guys, I love you. Bye Thank you for what you do. Support the show with your time talent or treasure at Lifespring media.com/support. And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb and I’m gonna stop talking now. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai Please rate or review the show by clicking the heart!

Transcript Podcast Introduction Our reading today 2 Timothy 3-4. After the reading, I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode “Equipped.”   Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Hunter Haley on Unsplash Comments on 2 Timothy 3-4 In the beginning of chapter 3, Paul said that in the last days things would be difficult because of how evil people will be, and he listed some of the characteristics they would have. Here’s the list again: lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, 4treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. You know, one thing social media has done is allowed pretty much anybody with a computer or smart phone to put their life on display for all to see. And it used to surprise me what some people chose to post. It doesn’t surprise me any more, but we’ve all seen every one of the characteristics Paul listed shown on social media.  Now, let me hasten to say that there some wonderful people there as well who display the opposite traits, but I must admit that I had no idea how many of the other kind there were in the world. The final four verses of chapter three really encapsulate the reason I do the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. Here they are again: You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; 17so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. To continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, you need to be a continuing student of Scripture. Most believers agree with that but have a hard time doing it, me included. So this show helps me to stay in the Scriptures, and I hope that it helps you, too. Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 3 and 4 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 0:00Paul told Timothy to continue in the things you’ve learned to become convinced of. Steve Webb 0:12This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 2004. I am your OG God caster Steve Webb, Happy Mother’s Day to you moms out there. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today are reading a second Timothy three through four and after the reading I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode equipped. The shownotes page for today’s episode is at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 249. Want to send me an email, send it to Steve at Lifespring media.com. Let’s get started. Steve Webb 0:48Second Timothy chapter three. But realize this that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revisers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self control, brutal haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. AVOID SUCH MEN AS THESE four among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins lead on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Just as Janus and Jambres opposed Moses. So these men also oppose the truth, man of depraved mind, rejected in regard to the faith, but they will not make further progress for their folly will be obvious to all jest is Janice and Jabra is folly was also. Now you followed my teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance, persecutions and sufferings, such as happened to me at Antioch at Iconium and Atlas DRA what persecutions I endured and out of them all, the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, but evil men and imposters will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. You however, continue on the things you have learned and become convinced of knowing from whom you have learned them. And that from childhood, you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training and righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. Steve Webb 2:52Second Timothy chapter four. I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His Kingdom, preach the Word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction, for the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry, for I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come, I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course I have kept the faith in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. Make every effort to come to me soon for DMOZ having loved this present world has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica crescents has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me, pick up mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service, but tickets I have sent to Ephesus, when you come bring the cloak, which I left at Trofast with carpus and the books, especially the parchments, Alexander the Coppersmith did me much harm the Lord will repay him according to his deeds, be on guard against him yourself, for he vigorously opposed our teaching. At my first defense, no one supported me but all deserted me may have not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. So that threw me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear, and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet Prisca and Aquila and the household of on a syphilis. Erasmus remained in Corinth, but Trophimus I left sick in my Letus make every effort to come before winter. You beuliss greets you also Putin’s and Linus, and Claudia and all the brethren, The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Steve Webb 5:28In the beginning of chapter three, Paul said that in the last days, things would be difficult because of how evil people will be and he listed some of the characteristics that they’d have. Here’s the list again. lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revisers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self control, brutal haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power. You know, beloved, one thing social media has done is allowed pretty much anybody with a computer or a smartphone to put their life on display for all to see. And back in the early days of social media, it used to surprise me what some people chose to post. It doesn’t surprise me anymore, of course. But you know, we’ve all seen every one of those characteristics that Paul listed shown on social media. Let me quickly say that there are some wonderful people there as well who display the opposite traits. But I’ve got to admit that I really had no idea how many of the other kind there were in the world. And then the final four verses of chapter three really do encapsulate the reason I produced the Lifespring, family, Audio Bible. Here are those verses again, you however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of knowing from whom you’ve learned them. And that from childhood, you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training and righteousness, so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. Paul told Timothy to continue in the things you’ve learned and become convinced of. How do you do that? By continuing to be a student of Scripture, and most believers, I think, agree with that, but they have a hard time doing it. Me included. So this show helps me to stay in the scriptures and I hope that it helps you too. I’d love to hear from you. You have a comment? Let me know go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 249. Tomorrow our reading will be numbers 13 through 16 Boost. Steve Webb 7:56Someone donated 5555 sats anonymously yesterday at Lifespring media.com/support. Whoever you are, I thank you very much. God bless you. And I’ve gotten several anonymous 1000 sat boosts from someone using the pod friend app. So God bless you as well. And Sean of San Pedro was a consistent streamer and booster using the fountain app to everyone that supports the show from boosting and streaming SATs, I want you to know that I see them coming in. And I really appreciate your faithfulness. You’re awesome. Thank you. God bless you. Well, you know what tomorrow is tomorrow is episode 250 of season 12 of the Lifespring family Audio Bible. That means that tonight at six o’clock Pacific Daylight Time is the deadline for getting your episode 250s donations in if the Lifespring family Audio Bible is helping you to be in the word every day, and if the show is helping you to get through the Bible, maybe even for the first time in your life, then this would be a good time to donate make a special episode 250 donation with $2.50 $25 $250 or even $2,500 or the equivalent amount of Satoshi now normally a one time donation of $100 earns an associate producer credit but if your donation of $25 comes in by six o’clock tonight, Pacific Daylight Time, you’ll be given an associate producer credit on tomorrow’s show. And normally a one time gift of $500 or more earns the highly honored distinguished producer credit. But for Episode 250, your gift of just $250 We’ll learn to distinguish producer credit and then you can choose any upcoming Lifespring family Audio Bible episode that you’d like your credit to apply to. So if you’ve got a favorite scripture that we haven’t yet read on the show, if you want that can be the episode your distinguished producer ship will be on. That’s just one idea. You choose the episode and then there’s an even higher honor, we read of the Bereans and X 1710 through 15. In verse 11 It says the Bereans were eager to hear what Paul and Silas said and studied the scriptures every day to find out if these things is where true. So the highest title is that of Berean. And for our episode 250 donation, if you send in a $2,500 donation, I’ll produce in your name one of these Lifespring media podcasts you choose the original Lifespring podcast or in touch with God’s character or Lifespring hem stories or the Lifespring weekend music show or how to pronounce Bible names. The show will go out on the podcast feed for that show, of course, and it’ll be on the Lifespring all shows feed, and I’ll even put it in the feed for this show as a special episode. And when you become a brand you earn the title of brother or sister as in brother Mark or sister Martha and I’ll send you a signed copy of my book webs easy Bible names pronunciation guide, but remember all episode 250 donations have to be in bite tonight at 6pm. Pacific Standard Time, May 8 2022. That’ll give me time to produce Monday show which has to go out at about 10pm Pacific. Of course you can send any amount that you like, I just thought we could have some fun with the 250s The main thing is make the donation means something to you. And truly the size of the donation doesn’t matter no matter what you send. I’ll thank you and I really believe God bless you. Steve Webb 11:25On this date in church history may 8 1655 Edward Winslow passed away he was an English born Puritan separatist Mayflower pilgrim. He was a signer of the Mayflower Compact, and he later became governor of Plymouth colony. And on this date in church history, May 8 1816. In the Dutch Reformed Church in New York City, delegates from 35 Bible Societies met to establish the American Bible Society and the American Bible Society seeks to promote a wider circulation of the scriptures, and accompanied by notes or comments. So maybe they wouldn’t like this show since I always comment on the scriptures. Happy birthday to the American Bible Society. Steve Webb 12:17Prayer requests. Well, to the mothers out there listening again, Happy Mother’s Day to you. The lovely lady Leanne will be flying home from Florida tonight. So for the first time in our marriage, I haven’t been able to see her on Mother’s Day. I’ll be picking her up at about midnight. So Mother’s Day will have completely passed next time I see her. But I hope you had a great Mother’s Day. But let’s pray that Leanne has a safe, uneventful flight. Let’s pray. Our heavenly Father, you are holy and you’re merciful. You are the one true and only God, there is no other. Thank you for loving us, Lord, and because of your love, you’ve made it possible for us to have a relationship with you. And we praise you for that. And we thank you for your word and for equipping us to do the work you’ve called us to do. Thank you, Lord, for all the mothers that are out there. And I pray God that you bless them today in a very, very special way. And I ask Lord that you bring Leanne home safely tonight? May she have an easy flight and make her connections with no trouble? I pray God that you would bless the Lifespring family members today. I thank you for each one. And I pray this in Jesus name. Amen. If you’ve got a prayer request or a praise please do send it in at prayer dot Lifespring media.com Steve Webb 13:40If you have any comments on the show, please go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 249. And let me know email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And don’t forget the clock is ticking 6pm Pacific Daylight Time tonight is the deadline to get your episode 250 donation in $2.50 $25 $250 $2,500 or 2.5 mil. Any amount that’s significant to you and equal to the value you receive from the Lifespring family Audio Bible Lifespring media.com/support Thanks to Kirstie and Sean of San Pedro for helping me to get the show done. First he publishes the newsletter and Sean of San Pedro does the chapters I could still use some help on the on the chapter art but if you’ve got a podcasting 2.0 podcast app, you can see the art that I’m producing. If you think you could do a better job, let me know until tomorrow. May God bless you richly. 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 Our reading today Hosea 8-14. After the reading, I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode “Boundless Love.”  Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Ian Hutchinson on Unsplash Comments on In Matthew 22, Jesus was asked by a Pharisee what the greatest commandment is. His response was, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.”  In Hosea, God judged His people because they were not faithful to Him.  7For my people are determined to *desert* me.They call me the Most High,but they don’t truly honor me. (NLT) Hosea 11:7 NLT How many times had He told them that judgement was coming, but that He would forgive them if they would repent and come back to Him?  1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down. 2Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you our praises. 3Assyria cannot save us, nor can our warhorses. Never again will we say to the idols we have made, ‘You are our gods.’ No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy.” 4The Lord says, “Then I will heal you of your *faithlessness*; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever…” Hosea 14:1-4 NLT The same Hebrew word is used in 11:7 “for my people are determined to desert me” and in 14:4 “I will heal you of your faithlessness“. The word means “backsliding” or “apostasy”. To desert or to backslide or to be an apostate means that at one point they were *with* God, but then they turned away.  Notice what God said here in 14:4: I will heal you of your faithlessness, your backsliding, your apostasy. He didn’t say forgive. He said heal! Listen to what Spurgeon wrote about this: “as though he said, ‘My poor people, I do remember that they are but dust; they are liable to a thousand temptations through the fall, and they soon go astray; but I will not treat them as though they were rebels, I will look upon them as patients, and they shall look upon me as a physician.”  After telling them that He would heal them of their apostasy, He said, “…my love will know no bounds…”. And it is because of His boundless love that he looked at their backsliding as a disease instead of a willful crime.  Oh beloved, what a God we serve! Isaiah 53 speaks prophetically of the coming Messiah, Savior, Jesus. And in verse 5 it says, “5But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” That healed is the same Hebrew word as in Hosea. Jesus came to earth as a man so that He could be in the same “stuff” as us, the same flesh. But He never backslid, He never sinned. When He was tempted, He never gave in. And so He was the perfect, spotless sacrifice for our transgressions and our iniquities.  Beloved, the healing that God promised in Hosea was begun on the cross and completed with the empty tomb. And this work was all because of God’s boundless love. Hallelujah!  God loves you more than you could ever hope to comprehend, and He longs to have you respond to that love by accepting His gift of mercy and grace. I hope you’ve done that.  What a God! He is worthy of praise, don’t you think? I sure do. Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 8-14 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 0:00Why would God do that? Steve Webb 0:09There you are. I’ve been looking for you. This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG God castors. Steve Webb, welcome. Thanks for letting me share some time with you. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today our reading is Hosea eight through 14 and after the reading and I’ve got some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode, boundless love. The show notes page for today’s episode is in Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 240. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. I’m always happy to hear from you. Let’s get started. Steve Webb 0:48Hosea chapter eight. Sound the alarm the enemy descends like an eagle on the people of the Lord, for they have broken my covenant and revolted against my law. Now Israel please with me, help us for you are our God, but it is too late. The people of Israel have rejected what is good, and now their enemies will chase after them. The people have appointed kings without my consent and princes without my approval by making idols for themselves from their silver and gold they have brought about their own destruction. Oh, Samaria, I reject this calf this idol you have made. My fury burns against you. How long will you be incapable of innocence? This calf you worship oh Israel was crafted by our own hands. It is not God. Therefore it must be smashed to bits. They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind. The stalks of grain wither and produce nothing to eat. And even if there is any grain foreigners will eat it. The people of Israel had been swallowed up. They lie among the nations like an old discarded pot. Like a wild donkey looking for a mate. They have gone up to a Syria. The people of Israel have sold themselves sold themselves to many lovers. But though they have sold themselves to many allies, I will now gather them together for judgment, then they will arrive under the burden of the great king. Israel has built many altars to take away sin, but these very altars became places for sinning. Even though I gave them all my laws, they act as if those laws don’t apply to them. The people love to offer sacrifices to me feasting on the meat, but I do not accept their sacrifices. I will hold my people accountable for their sins and I will punish them, they will return to Egypt. Israel has forgotten its maker and built great palaces and Judah has fortified cities. Therefore I will send down fire on their cities and will burn up their fortresses. Steve Webb 2:49Hosea chapter nine old people of Israel do not rejoice as other nations do for you have been unfaithful to your god hiring yourselves out like prostitutes worshipping other gods on every threshing floor. So now your harvests will be too small to feed you. There will be no grapes for making new wine. You may no longer stay here in the Lord’s land. Instead, you will return to Egypt and in Assyria, you will eat food that is ceremonially unclean. There you will make no offerings of wine to the Lord. None of your sacrifices there will please him. They will be unclean like food touched by a person in mourning, all who present such sacrifices will be defiled. They may eat this food for themselves, but they may not offer it to the Lord. What then will you do on festival days? How will you observe the Lord’s festivals? Even if you escaped destruction from a Syria Egypt will conquer you and Memphis will bury you. Nettles will take over your treasures of silver. thistles will invade your ruined homes. The time of Israel’s punishment it’s come, the day of payment is here. Soon Israel will know this all too well. Because of your great sin and hostility. You say the prophets are crazy and the inspired men are fools. The prophet is a watchman over Israel for my God. Yet traps are laid for him wherever he goes. He faces hostility even in the house of God. The things my people do are as depraved as what they did in Gibby a long ago, God will not forget, he will surely punish them for their sins. The Lord says, oh Israel, when I first found you it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But then they deserted me for Baal peor giving themselves to that shameful idol. Soon they became vile, as vile as the God they worshipped. The glory of Israel will fly away like a bird for your children will not be born or grow in the womb or even be conceived. Even if you do have children who grow up. I will take them from you. It will be a terrible day when I turn away in Leave you alone. I have watched Israel become as beautiful as tyre. But now Israel will bring out her children for slaughter. Oh Lord, what should I request for your people? I will ask for wombs that don’t give birth and breasts that give no milk. The Lord says, all their wickedness began at Gilgal. There I began to hate them. I will drive them from my land because of their evil actions. I will love them no more because all their leaders are rebels. The people of Israel are struck down, their roots are dried up and they will bear no more fruit. And if they give birth by will slaughter their beloved children. My God will reject the people of Israel because they will not listen or obey. They will be wanderers, homeless among the nations. Steve Webb 5:48Hosea chapter 10. How prosperous Israel is a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. But the richer that people get, the more pagan altars they build, the more bountiful their harvests, the more beautiful their sacred pillars. The hearts of the people are fickle. They are guilty and must be punished. The Lord will break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars, then they will say, We have no king because we didn’t fear the Lord. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us anyway? They spout empty words and make covenants they don’t intend to keep. So injustice springs up among them like poisonous weeds in a farmer’s field. The people of Samaria tremble in fear for their calf idle at Beth Haven, and they mourn for it. Though it’s priests rejoice over it, its glory will be stripped away. This idol will be carted away to Assyria a gift to the great king there. Efrain will be ridiculed and Israel will be shamed because its people have trusted in this idol, Samaria and its king will be cut off, they will float away like driftwood on an ocean wave and the pagan shrines of Haven. The place of Israel sin will crumble. Thorns and thistles will grow up around their altars, they will beg the mountains bury us and plead with the hills fall on us. The Lord says oh Israel ever since Libya, there has been only sin and more sin. You have made no progress whatsoever. Was it not right that the wicked men of Gibby were attacked. Now whenever it fits my plan, I will attack you too. I will call out the armies of the nations to punish you for your multiplied sins. Israel is like a trained heifer treading out the grain and easy job she loves. But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck, I will force Judah to pull the plow and Israel to break up the hard ground. I said plant the good seeds of righteousness and you will harvest a crop of love. plow up the hard ground of your hearts. For now is the time to seek the Lord that He may come and shower righteousness upon you. But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies trusting in your military might believing that great armies could make your nation safe. Now the terrors of war will rise among your people. All your fortifications will fall just as when shaman destroyed Beth Arbol even mothers and children were dashed to death there. You will share that fate Bethel because of your great wickedness. When the day of judgment dawns, the king of Israel will be completely destroyed. Steve Webb 8:25Hosea chapter 11. When Israel was a child, I loved him and I called my Son out of Egypt. But the more I call to him, the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols. I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand, but he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him. I lead Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck and I myself stooped to feed him. But since my people refuse to return to me, they will return to Egypt and will be forced to service Syria. War will swirl through their cities, their enemies will crash through their gates. They will destroy them, trapping them and their own evil plans. For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the most high but they don’t truly honor me. Oh, how can I give you up Israel? How can I let you go? How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like so? Boyan My heart is torn within me and my compassion overflows. No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the holy one living among you and I will not come to destroy for someday that people will follow me. I the Lord will roar like a lion. And when I roar My people will return trembling from the west. Like a flock of birds. They will come from Egypt, trembling like doves they will return from Assyria and I will bring them home again says The Lord Israel surrounds me with lies and deceit, but Judah still obeys God and His faithful to the Holy One. Steve Webb 10:08Hosea chapter 12. The people of Israel feed on the wind. They chase after the east wind all day long. They pile up lies and violence. They’re making an alliance with a Syria while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt. Now the Lord is bringing charges against Judah. He is about to punish Jacob for all his deceitful ways, and pay him back for all he has done. Even in the womb, Jacob struggled with his brother, when he became a man he even fought with God. Yes, he wrestled with an angel and one. He wept and pleaded for a blessing from him. There at Bethel, he met God face to face. And God spoke to him, the Lord God of Heavens, armies, the Lord is his name. So now come back to your God, act with love and justice and always depend on him. But no, the people are like crafty merchants selling from dishonest scales. They love to cheat. Israel boasts I am rich, I’ve made a fortune all by myself. No one is caught me cheating. My record is spotless. But I am the Lord your God who rescued you from slavery in Egypt, and I will make you live in tents again, as you do each year at the festival of shelters. I set my prophets to warn you with many visions and parables. But the people of Gilead are worthless because of their idol worship. And in Gilgal, too, they sacrificed bulls. Their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone along the edges of a plowed field. Jacob fled to the land of Aram. In there he earned a wife by tending sheep, then by a prophet, the Lord brought Jacob’s descendants out of Egypt, and by that Prophet, they were protected. But the people of Israel have bitterly provoked the Lord, so their Lord will now sentence them to death in payment for their sins. Steve Webb 11:56Hosea chapter 13. When the tribe of Ephram spoke the people shook with fear for that tribe was important in Israel, but the people of Ephram sinned by worshipping bale and thus sealed their destruction. Now, they continue to sin by making silver idols, images shaped skillfully with human hands, sacrifice to these they cry and kiss the calf idols. Therefore, they will disappear like the morning mist, like do in the morning sun, like chaff blown by the wind, like smoke from a chimney. I have been the Lord your God, ever since I brought you out of Egypt, you must acknowledge no God but me for there is no other Savior. I took care of you in the wilderness in that dry and thirsty land. But when you hit eaten and we’re satisfied, you became proud and forgotten me. So now I will attack you like a lion. Like a leopard that lurks along the road, like a bear whose cubs have been taken away. I will tear out your heart. I will devour you like a hungry lioness and mangle you like a wild animal. You are about to be destroyed. Oh, Israel, yes, by me your only helper. Now where is your King? Let Him save you. Where are all the leaders of the land, the king and the officials you demanded of me? In my anger, I gave you kings and in my fury, I took them away. Everyone’s guilt has been collected and his sin has been stored up for punishment. Pain has come to the people like the pain of childbirth, but they are like a child who resists being born. The moment of birth has arrived. But they stay in the womb. Should I ransom them from the grave? Should I redeem them from death? Oh death bring on your terrors. Oh grave bring on your plagues, for I will not take pity on them. Efrain was the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind a blast from the Lord will arise in the desert. All their flowing, springs will run dry and all their wells will disappear. Every precious thing they own will be plundered and carried away. The people of Samaria must bear the consequences of their guilt because they rebelled against their God. They will be killed by an invading army. Their little ones dashed to death against the ground. There pregnant women ripped open by swords. Steve Webb 14:16Hosea chapter 14. Return oh Israel to the Lord your God for your sins have brought you down. Bring your confessions and return to the Lord. say to him, forgive all our sins and graciously receive us so that we may offer you our praises. A Syria cannot save us. Nor can our war horses. Never again will we say to the idols we have made you are our gods. No, in you alone to the orphans find mercy. The Lord says then I will heal you have your faithlessness My love will know no bounds for my anger will be gone forever. I will be to Israel like a refreshing do from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily It will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon. Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon. My people will again live under my shade, they will flourish like grain and blossom like grape vines. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon. oh Israel, stay away from idols. I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green. All your fruit comes from me. Let those who are wise understand these things, but those with discernment. Listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths, sinners stumble and fall. Steve Webb 15:47In Our reading today, Hosea 11 Seven said for my people are determined to desert me. They call me the most high but they don’t truly honor me. And then in chapter 14, verse four, the Lord says, Then I will heal you if you’re faithlessness My love will know no bounds for my anger will be gone forever. In Matthew 22, Jesus was asked by a Pharisee what the greatest commandment is. His response was, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. And then in Hosea, God judged his people because they were not faithful to him. How many times had he told them that judgment was coming, but that he would forgive them if they’d repent and come back to him? In chapter 14, verses one through four, God said, return to Israel to the Lord your God for your sins have brought you down. Bring your confessions and return to the Lord. say to him, forgive our sins and graciously receive us so that we may offer you our praises. A Syria cannot save us nor can our war horses, never again will we say to the idols we have made, you are our gods. No, in you alone, do the orphans find mercy. The Lord says, Then I will heal you of your faithlessness My love will know no bounds for my anger will be gone forever. Now it’s worth noticing that in Hebrew, the same word is used in chapter 11 Verse seven, where God said for my people are determined to desert me. And then here in chapter 14, verse four where he said, I will heal you of your faithlessness the word means backsliding, or apostasy. To desert or to backslide, or to be an apostate means that at one point, they were with God, but then they turned away. And then notice what God said here in chapter 14, verse four, I will heal you of your faithlessness, your backsliding, your apostasy. He didn’t say forgive. He said, he’ll listen to what Spurgeon wrote about this. As though he said, My poor people, I do remember that they are but dust. They’re liable to 1000 temptations through the fall, and they soon go astray. But I will not treat them as though they were rebels. I will look upon them as patients, and they shall look upon me as the physician. Why would God do that? He tells us, because after telling them that he had healed them of their apostasy, he said, My love will know no bounds. And it’s because of his boundless love that he looked at their backsliding as a disease instead of a willful crime. Oh, beloved, what a God we serve. Isaiah 53 speaks prophetically of the coming Messiah. And in verse five, it says, but he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. That healed is the same Hebrew word as what we talked about here and Hosea, Jesus came to earth as a man so that he could be in the same stuff as us the same flesh, but he never back slid. He never sinned, when he was tempted, He never gave in. And so he was the perfect, spotless sacrifice for our transgressions, and for our iniquities. Beloved, the healing that God promised in Hosea was begun on the cross and completed with the empty tomb. And this work was all because of God’s boundless love. Oh, hallelujah. God loves you, beloved more than you could ever hope to comprehend. And he longs to have you respond to that love by accepting his gift of mercy and grace. I sure hope you’ve done that. What a God. He is worthy of praise, don’t you think? I sure do. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e to 40 and leave a comment or reading Tomorrow was John 10 through 12. boost Steve Webb 20:10That music tells us that we have an associate producer today, Kirsty came in with her monthly $20 donation. Thank you, Kirsty. God bless you. Steve Webb 20:32On this date in church history, April 29 1834, Joseph H Gilmore was born he was an American Baptist clergyman and educator who taught Hebrew for 43 years at the University of Rochester. He’s best remember as the author of the hymn, He leadeth me Oh, bless it thought. And on this date in church history, April 29 1945, Dawson Trotman began teaching Bible memorization to American servicemen in of all places. San Pedro, California, marking the beginning of the navigators organization. The navigators formally incorporated in 1943, and they are now headquartered in Colorado Spring., San Pedro! Steve Webb 21:24I have an update for you on my friend Kathi. She went to City of Hope yesterday and had some tests run and for the second checkup in a row, her cancer numbers are up. Not a lot, but they are up which is the wrong direction. So let’s continue to keep Cathy in our prayers. Let’s pray. Our gracious heavenly Father, we are so thankful for your boundless love, for Your Mercy, for your grace, for your healing touch. We are your creation and you love us as a father loves His children. What a precious thought that is. Thank you, Lord for caring so deeply for us. I pray that You would help us to love you with a steadfast, faithful love. Hold us close to you, Lord, may we never waver in our faith. May we always look to you for our every need. Lord right now we lift up Kathi to your Lord and ask that you touch her body and bring healing to her. We thank You that her cancer numbers are not going up quickly are going up a lot. That’s an answer to prayer. But Lord, we’d like the numbers to go down. We’d like the numbers to disappear. We’d like your Lord to be completely cancer free. We know you can do it. And we just ask that it would be your will bless us today Lord bless each one and the Lifespring family in May Your Holy Spirit guide us I pray this in Jesus name, amen. If you have a prayer request or to praise let me know about it it prayer dot Lifespring media.com Steve Webb 23:02Remember to share the show I’ve got some easy to subscribe links over at Lifespring media.com comment on the show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 240. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com And thanks to Kirsty today’s associate producer and the amazing publisher of our newsletter. And also thanks to Sean of San Pedro for making sure the chapters get done every day. And for consistently streaming those SATs and boosting both Kirstie and Shawn get the whole value for value idea, and you can participate in it too by going to Lifespring media.com/support. Until tomorrow may God bless you richly My name is Steve Webb. See you tomorrow. 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Most of us know that God hears our prayers. We know He sees our worship and notices our acts of obedience. But what about the ordinary moments of faith? Does He pay attention to a conversation over coffee, a phone call with a struggling friend, or two believers encouraging one another after church? Malachi 3:16 gives a surprising answer. Today’s verse is Malachi 3:16. Episode Summary Malachi ministered during a spiritually difficult season. The Temple had been rebuilt, but many of God’s people had become cynical. They questioned whether serving the Lord was worthwhile because the arrogant seemed to prosper and the wicked appeared to flourish. Yet in the midst of that discouragement, there was a faithful remnant. Rather than joining the complaints around them, they feared the Lord and spoke with one another. They encouraged one another, reminded each other of God’s faithfulness, and continued trusting Him. Then something remarkable happened. The Lord paid attention. He listened. And a book of remembrance was written before Him. Malachi isn’t suggesting that God forgets things. Instead, the imagery communicates significance. In the ancient world, kings kept records of loyal service and memorable deeds. Likewise, God values the faithfulness of His people, including the conversations they have that honor Him. Entities: God, Malachi, Barnabas, Paul, Hebrews, Psalm 139, Revelation 20 Why this episode matters: We often measure significance by visibility, influence, or accomplishment. However, Malachi 3:16 reminds us that God treasures something much simpler: believers encouraging one another and speaking about His goodness. What feels ordinary to us may carry eternal significance to Him. Commentary Highlights The phrase “The LORD paid attention” may be one of the most comforting statements in Scripture. God is never distracted, indifferent, or too busy for His people. He hears their conversations, delights in their faithfulness, and remembers what others may never notice. The episode also highlights Barnabas, the “Son of Encouragement.” Although Barnabas is often overshadowed by Paul, his ministry demonstrates the lasting impact of strengthening fellow believers. A timely conversation, a word of counsel, or a reminder of God’s promises may accomplish far more than we ever realize. Malachi 3:16 reminds us that encouragement is not a small ministry. It is one of God’s chosen means of sustaining His people. Verse of the Day Malachi 3:16 (ESV) — “Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.” Read it in context here: Malachi 3 (BibleGateway, ESV) Episode Chapters 00:00 – Does God Notice? 01:00 – Welcome to Verses We Missed 01:30 – Reading Malachi 3:16 01:55 – The Context of Malachi 03:40 – Those Who Feared the Lord 05:15 – Speaking With One Another 06:45 – Barnabas the Encourager 09:10 – The Lord Paid Attention 11:00 – The Book of Remembrance 12:25 – Related Scriptures 17:05 – Three Applications 17:55 – A Conversation That Echoes 18:25 – Prayer 19:35 – Value for Value 20:30 – Personal Update and Benediction Value for Value Verses We Missed exists because of the Lifespring family. Listeners like you pray, share episodes, and support the work financially. If this episode encouraged you to notice the eternal significance of everyday conversations about God, you can return value in whatever way feels appropriate. You can learn more or support this work at lifespringmedia.com/support. Join the Conversation Leave a comment at comment.lifespringmedia.com. You can also email st***@*************ia.com or call the Lifespring Family Hotline at 951-732-8511. Also from Lifespring! For more Scripture and grace, visit Verses We Missed.

Transcript Podcast Introduction Our reading today 1 Chronicles 15-19. After the reading, I’ll have some comments for you. I’m calling today’s episode “What A Promise.”   Comments on 1 Chronicles 17 David looked at the palace he had built for himself and thought, “I should build an appropriate place for the ark of the covenant.” Seems like a good and noble thing to do, right? The prophet Nathan thought so, so he told David to go ahead with the project. But God spoke to Nathan that night, telling him that he had not asked for a house, and it was not David who would build one for him. I like what Charles Spurgeon said:  “Though the Lord refused to David the realization of his wish, he did it in a most gracious manner. He did not put the idea away from him in anger or disdain, as though David had cherished an unworthy desire; but he honored his servant even in the non-acceptance of his offer.”  Beloved, when we ask to do something for God from a pure and loving heart, I believe He is pleased. Even our best efforts and greatest gifts to Him are far short of what He has done for us, but a loving Father finds pleasure in His children’s gifts. When my oldest son was about five or six years old, he found a red brick at the beach that had obviously been tossed around by the waves for a very long time because all the corners and edges on it had been rounded and smoothed by the sand and water. He thought it was a wonderful and unique treasure. And he gave it to me as a gift. I still have that brick. And that little five or six year old boy will be 40 years old this year. I have moved homes many times since he gave it to me, but every time I look at it, it brings warm memories.  And God did something that David would never have anticipated. God told David that HE was going to build a house for David, one that would last forever. God promised David that he would have a descendant on the throne forever. David’s son, Solomon ruled after him, and Solomon built a magnificent Temple for God, and many generations after Solomon ruled over Israel, until they suffered God’s judgement for turning away from Him. But even then, God did not forget His promise to David, and Jesus came from David’s line. So God’s promise to David is even now being fulfilled. David’s response was thankfulness and humility. “Who am I, O Lord God? And what is my house, that you have brought me this far?” Indeed. Who am I God, that you would give Your Son’s life for me? Who am I? Thank you, Lord. I owe you everything, yet You have been so gracious to me. What may I do for You, Lord? I give you my life. I give you my all. Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 15 NIRV; Ch 16 NLT; Ch. 17-18; Ch. 19 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 Steve Webb 0:00Seems like a good and noble thing to do, right? Steve Webb 0:10Well, hey, how are you today? This is the Lifespring family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California podcasting since 2004. I’m your OG God Gaster. Steve Webb, welcome. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Our reading today is First Chronicles 15 through 19. And after the reading, of course, I will have some comments for yet. I’m calling today’s episode. What a promise. The show notes page for today’s episode is that Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 244. If you’d like to send me an email, I’d love to get it. The best way to get an email to me is to send it to the right address and that is Steven Lifespring media.com. All right, let’s get started. Steve Webb 0:52First Chronicles chapter 15. David constructed buildings for himself in the city of David. Then he prepared to place for the ark of God. He set up a tent for it. He said, Only Levites can carry the ark of God. That’s because the Lord chose them to carry his ark. He chose them to serve Him forever. In front of the place where his throne is. David gathered the whole community of Israel together in Jerusalem. He wanted to bring the ark of the Lord up to the place he had prepared for it. He called together the members of the family line of Aaron. He also called the Levites. Together. Here are the men who came from the families of the Levites from the families of Kohath Cane the leader Uriel and 120 relatives. From the families of Moray came the leader Isaiah and 220 relatives from the families of Gershon came the leader Joel, and 130 relatives from the families of Ella’s a fan came the leader Shemaiah and 200 relatives from the families of Hebron came the leader of Lyle and at relatives from the families of Osito. Came the leader omitted dab, and 112 relatives, David sent for the priests ze doc and Abiathar. He also sent for Uriel, Hosea, Joel Shamia, a Lyle and a min adab. They were Levites. He said to them, You are the leaders of the families of Levi, you and the other Levites must set yourself apart to serve the Lord and His people. You must pick up the ark of the Lord. He is the God of Israel, put the ark in the place I’ve prepared for it. Remember when the anger of the Lord our God broke out against us? It was because you Levites didn’t bring the ark up the first time. We didn’t ask the Lord how to do it in the way the law requires. So the priests and Levites set themselves apart, then they brought up the ark of the Lord. He is the God of Israel. This time the Levites use the poles to carry the ark of God on their shoulders. That’s what Moses had commanded in keeping with the word of the Lord. David told the Levite leaders to appoint their relatives as singers. He wanted them to sing joyful songs. He also wanted them to play liar’s harps in symbols along with their singing. So the Levites appointed Haman, the son of Joel from his relatives they chose asef, the son of Barra Kaya, other relatives were from the family of Moray right from them, they chose Ethan the son of kashaya. Along with them, they chose their relatives who were next in line. Their names were Zechariah J Asiel, shamira Moth Jaya Heil, and I Eliab Binya may Asiya Mata Theia Alyssa Lee hue MC Nia Obed Edom and J aisle. They guarded the gates HeMan ASAP and Ethan played the bronze cymbals. Zechariah ASIO shamira Moth GIA Heil, and I Eliab may Asiya and Binya played the high notes on the liars. Mata Theia Alyssa Lee who make Nia Obed Edom gyral and as Uzziah played the low notes on the harps can Anya was the leader of the Levites he was in charge of the singing because he was good at it. Berra Kaya and l Cana guarded the ark. Some of the priests blue trumpets in front of the ark of God. Their names were Jebediah Joshua fat Nathanael a Mae Sai, Zechariah Binya and Eliezer Obed Edom and Jehovah have also helped guard the ark, David in the elders of Israel, when to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. So did the commanders of companies of 1000 men with great joy they brought the Ark up from the house of Obed Edom, God had helped the Levites who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. So seven bulls and seven rams were sacrificed. David was wearing a robe that was made out of fine linen. So we’re all of the Levites who are carrying the ark. And so were the singers in the choir director Ken Inaya. David was also where wearing a sacred linen apron. So the whole community of Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord. They shouted, they blew ram’s horns and trumpets, they played symbols, liars and harps. The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord was brought into the city of David, Saul’s daughter Michael was watching from a window. She saw King David dancing and celebrating that made her hate him in her heart. Steve Webb 5:25First Chronicles chapter 16. They brought the ark of God and placed it inside this special tent David had prepared for it. And they presented burnt offerings and peace offerings to God. When he had finished his sacrifices, David blessed the people in the name of the Lord. Then he gave to every man and woman in all Israel, a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins. David appointed the following Levites to lead the people in worship before the ark of the Lord, to invoke his blessings to give thanks, and to praise the Lord, the God of Israel. asef the leader of this group sounded the symbols. Second to him was Zechariah followed by GIA I’ll shamira Moth Jihyo that a fire Eliab Binya Obed, Edom, and your aisle. They played the harps and liars. The priests Binya and J Zo, played the trumpets regularly before the Ark of God’s covenant. On that day, David gave to asef and his fellow Levites this song of thanksgiving to the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim His greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done. Sing to him Yes, sing his praises, tell everyone about his wonderful deeds. Exalt in His holy name, rejoice you who worship the Lord. Search for the Lord and for his strength continually seek Him. Remember the wonders he has performed His miracles and the rulings he has given you children of his servant Israel, you descendants of Jacob his chosen ones. He is the Lord our God. His justice is seen throughout the land. Remember his covenant forever, the commitment he made to 1000 generations. This is the covenant He made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree and to the people of Israel as a never ending covenant. I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession. He said this when you were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan. They wandered from nation to nation from one kingdom to another. Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf Do not touch my chosen people and do not hurt my profits. Let the whole earth sing to the Lord. Each day proclaim the good news that he saves, publishes glorious deeds among the nations tell everyone about the amazing things he has done. 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 joy fill his dwelling, 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 presence. Worship the Lord in all His holy splendor. Let all the earth tremble before him. The world stands firm and cannot be shaken. Let the heavens be glad in the earth. Rejoice. Tell all the nations The Lord reigns. 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 to judge the earth. Give thanks to the Lord for He is good. His faithful love endures forever. Cry out, save us, oh God of our salvation. Gather and rescue us from among the nations so we can thank your holy name and rejoice and praise you. Praise the Lord the God of Israel who lives from everlasting to everlasting and all the people shouted, amen. And praise the Lord. David arranged for asef and his fellow Levites to serve regularly before the Ark of the Lord’s covenant doing whatever needed to be done each day. This group included Obed Edom, son of Judah, luthan, HOSA, and 68 other Levites as gatekeepers. Meanwhile, David stations a dark the priest and his fellow priests of the tabernacle of the Lord at the place of worship and Gibson, where they continued to minister before the Lord. They sacrificed the regular bird offerings to the Lord each morning and evening on the altar set aside for that purpose, obeying everything written in the law of the Lord, as he had commanded Israel. David also appointed HeMan Jiufen and the others chosen by name to give thanks to the Lord for His faithful love endures. forever. They used their trumpets, symbols and other instruments to accompany their songs of praise to God. And the sons of Judah luthan were appointed as gatekeepers. Then all the people returned to their homes, and David turned and went home to bless his own family. Steve Webb 10:16First Chronicles chapter 17. David moved into his palace. Then he spoke to Nathan the prophet. He said, Here I am living in a house that has beautiful cedar walls, but the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord is under a tent. Nathan replied to David, do what you want to God is with you. But that night a message came to Nathan from God. He said, Go and speak to my servant David, tell him, the Lord says, You are not the one who will build me a house to live in. I have not lived in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt. Until now. I have moved my tent from one place to another. I have moved my home from one place to another. I have moved from place to place with all the Israelites. I commanded their leaders to be shepherds over my people. I have never asked any of those leaders. Why haven’t you built me a house that has beautiful cedar walls. So tell my servant David, the Lord who rules over all says, I took you away from the grasslands. That is where you were taking care of your father’s sheep and goats. I appointed you ruler over my people, Israel. I’ve been with you everywhere you have gone, I destroyed all your enemies when you were attacking them. Now I will make you famous. Your name will be just as respected as the names of the most important people on earth. I will provide a place where my people Israel can live, I will plant them in the land, then they will have a home of their own, they will not be bothered anymore. sinful people will no longer crush them as they did at first. That is what your enemies have done ever since I appointed leaders over my people Israel, but I will bring all your enemies under your control. I tell you that I the Lord will build a royal house for your family. Someday your life will come to an end, you will join the members of your family who have already died, then I will give you one of your own sons to become the next king after you. I will make his kingdom secure. He is the one who will build me a house, I will set up his throne, it will last forever. I will be his father and he will be my son. I took my love away from the man who ruled before you. But I will never take my love away from your son. I will place him over my house and my kingdom forever. His throne will last forever. Nathan reported to David all the words that the Lord had spoken to him. Then King David went into the holy tent. He sat down in front of the Lord. He said, Lord God, who am I? My family isn’t important. So why have you brought me this far, I would have thought that you had already done more than enough for me. But now my God, you have spoken about my royal house. You have said what will happen to it in days to come. Lord God, you have treated me as if I were the most honored man of all. What more can I say to you for honoring me? You know all about me. Lord, you have done a wonderful thing. You have given me many great promises. All of them are for my good. They are exactly what you wanted to give me. Lord, there isn’t anyone like you. There isn’t any God but you. We have heard about it with our own ears. Who was like your people Israel, God, we are the one nation on earth you have saved, you have set us free for yourself. Your name has become famous. You have done great and wonderful things. You have driven out nations to make room for your people. You saved us when you set us free from Egypt. You made Israel your very own people forever. Lord, you have become our God. And now Lord, let the promise you have made to me and my royal house stand forever. Do exactly as you promised. When your promise comes true, your name will be honored forever. People will say the Lord rules overall. He is the God over Israel. He is Israel’s God, my royal house will be made secure in your site. My God, you have shown me that you will build me a royal house so I can pray to you boldly. You Lord our God. You have promised many good things to me. You have been pleased to bless my royal house. Now it will continue forever in your sight. Lord, You have blessed it and it will be blessed forever. Steve Webb 14:40First Chronicles chapter 18. While David was king of Israel, he won many battles over the Philistines. He brought them under his control. He took Gath away from the Philistines. He also captured the villages around Gath. David also won the battle over the people of Moab. They were brought under his rule They gave him the gifts he required them to bring him. David fought against hate at easer in the area of Emeth. Hadad easer was king of Zobo. He had gone to set up his monument at the Euphrates River. David captured 1000 of eight advisors, chariots, 7000 chariot writers, and 20,000 soldiers on foot. He got the legs of all but 100 of the chariot horses. The Arameans of Damascus came to help Hey, daddies are the King of xoma. But David struck down 22,000 of them. David station some soldiers that they Aramean kingdom of Damascus. The people of Aram were brought under his rule. They gave him the gifts he required them to bring him. The Lord helped David win his battles wherever he went. David took the gold shields carried by the officers of aid advisor. He brought the shields to Jerusalem. He took a huge amount of bronze from Teva and Kuhn. Those towns belonged to hate at easer. Later, Solomon used the bronze to make the huge bronze bowl for washing. He also used it to make pillars in many other bronze objects for the temple to was king of Hayworth. He heard that David had won the battle over the entire army of hate at ease with a king of Zobo. So to sent his son had dorm to King David adore him greeted David. He praised him because David had won the battle over hate at ease or hate at ease or had been at war with too. So her dorm brought David all kinds of things made out of gold of silver and a bronze. King David set those things apart for the Lord. He had done the same thing with a silver and gold he had taken from other nations. The nations were Edom, Moab, Ammon, Philistia and emelec by Shai struck down 18,000 Men of Edom in the valley of assault by Shai was the son of the ruya, a by Shai station, some soldiers and eat him. The whole nation of Edom was brought under his rule. The Lord helped David win his battles wherever he went. David ruled over the whole nation of Israel. He did what was fair and right for all his people. Joab the son of Zeruiah was commander of the army Jehoshaphat, the son of allied kept the records. Ze doc, the son of a high tub was a priest Ahimelech the son of Abiathar was also a priest. shisha was the secretary. Binya the son of Jehoiada was commander over the Kara fights in Pella fights. And King David sons were the chief officials who served at his side. Steve Webb 17:35First Chronicles chapter 19. When they hash king of the Ammonites died, his son became king after him. David said they hash was loyal to me, so I will be loyal to his son Hainan. So David sent messengers to comfort Hainan about his father’s death. David’s officers went to the land of the Ammonites to comfort Hainan. But the Ammonite leaders said to Hainan, do you think David wants to honor your father by sending men to comfort you know, David sent them to study the land and capture it and spy it out. So Hainan arrested David’s officers. to shame them he shaved their beards and cut off their clothes that they hips, then he sent them away. When the people told David what had happened to his officers, he sent messengers to meet them, because they were very ashamed. King David said, stay in Jericho until your beards have grown back then come home. The ammonites knew that they had insulted David. So Hainan and the Ammonites said about 24,000 pounds of silver to hire chariots and chariot drivers from Northwest Mesopotamia, era may occur and zuba the Ammonites hired 32,000 chariots in the king of Mecca and his army. So they came and set up camp near the town of Mehtab. The ammonites themselves came out of their towns and got ready for battle. When David heard about this, he sent Joab with the whole army, the Ammonites came out and prepared for battle at the city gate. The kings who had come to help were out in the field by themselves. Joab saw that they were enemies both in front of him and behind him. So he chose some of the best soldiers of Israel in sent them out to fight the Arameans Joab put the rest of the army under the command of a by Shai, his brother. Then they went out to fight the Ammonites. Joab said to Obi Shai. If the Arameans are too strong for me, you must help me or if the Ammonites are too strong for you, I will help you be strong. We must fight bravely for our people in the cities of our God. The Lord will do what he thinks is right, then Joab and the army with him went to attack the Arameans and the Arameans ran away. When the Ammonites saw that the Arameans were running away. They also ran away from Job’s brother Obi and went back to their city. So Joab went back to Jerusalem. When the Arameans saw that Israel had defeated them, they sent messengers to bring other Arameans from Easter the Euphrates River. Their leader was show fac the commander of hate at ECERS army. When David heard about this, he gathered all the Israelites and they crossed over the Jordan River. He prepared them for battle facing the Arameans. The Arameans fought with them, but they ran away from the Israelites. David killed 7000 Aramean chariot drivers in 40,000 Aramean foot soldiers, he also killed show fac the commander of the Aramean army. When those who served aid at ease or saw that the Israelites had defeated them, they made peace with David and served him. So the Arameans refused to help the Ammonites again. Steve Webb 20:41Well, in chapter 17, we’re told that David looked at the palace that he’d built for himself, and he thought I should build an appropriate place for the Ark of the Covenant seems like a good and noble thing to do, right? Well, the prophet Nathan agreed, so he told David to go ahead with a project. But God spoke to Nathan that night, telling him that he had not asked for a house and it was not David who would build one for him. I liked what Charles Spurgeon said, though, the Lord refused to David the realization of his wish, he did it in a most gracious manner. He did not put the idea away from him in anger or disdain, as though David had cherished an unworthy desire, but he honored his servant even in the non acceptance of his offer. Beloved, when we want to do something for God from a pure and loving heart, I believe he’s pleased. Of course, even our best efforts and greatest gifts to Him are far short of what he has done for us. But a loving father finds pleasure in his children’s gifts. When my oldest son was about five or six years old, he found a red brick at the beach that had obviously been tossed around by the waves for a very long time, because all the corners and edges on it had been rounded and smoothed by the sand and water. Well, he thought it was a wonderful and unique treasure, and he gave it to me as a gift. You know what, I still have that brick in that little five or six year old boy will be 40 years old this year. I have moved Holmes many times since he gave it to me, but every time I look at it, it brings warm memories. Well, even though God turned David’s offer down, God did something that David would never have anticipated. God told David that he was going to build a house for David, one that would last forever. God promised David that he would have a descendant on the throne forever. As you probably know, David’s son Solomon ruled after him. And Solomon built a magnificent temple for God. And many generations after Solomon ruled over Israel until they suffered God’s judgment for turning away from him. But even then, God did not forget his promise to David. And of course, Jesus came from David’s line. So God’s promise to David is even now being fulfilled. David’s response was thankfulness and humility. Who am I Oh, Lord God, in what is my house that you have brought me this far? Indeed, who am I God that you would give your son’s life for me? Who am I? Thank you, Lord. I owe you everything yet. You have been so gracious to me. Lord, what may I do for you? I give you my life. I give you my all. I’d love to hear your comments. Go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 244. Our reading tomorrow will be Psalms 105 through 107. Steve Webb 23:44Well, the other day I read to you a comment I got from Kirsty saying that she was on the road and hoping to get caught up on some of her shows how I got two comments from her today on two different shows. The first one was from our episode on First Timothy one and two before there was time, she said thanks, Paul and Steve for the commentary today. I know I’ve grown in my faith incrementally from age 16 to 40 Kirsti. Is that a hint on what your age is? And she continues and I have faith that it will keep growing as I spend more time with God in His Word. Incidentally, just this week, I was thinking about how I used to have a foul mouth to rival a sailor when I was a teen and one day I decided that I shouldn’t do that anymore. And I stopped. It just dawned on me this week that it wasn’t me who decided it was with the leading and help of the Holy Spirit. Don’t ask me why it took me 25 years to figure that out. That’s very good Kirsty. And then her other comment that came in this morning was on the numbers five through eight episode, God’s benediction. She said, I’ve always loved that benediction. We have a few preachers that in their sermons with it, but I’ve never really thought to read it in context or break it down. It’s even sweeter having looked into it thought by thought, curse. Yeah, I agree. It’s a beautiful benediction. And that’s often how scripture is, the more you dig into it, the more you learn to appreciate it, the more is revealed to you. I love studying the Bible, and it’s fun for me to share it with you. So I’m glad you got something out of it. Remember, beloved, anytime you want to anytime something kind of dawns on you, it’d be great if you’d go to the show notes page for that episode and share your thoughts. Thanks, Kirsty. Steve Webb 25:40On this date in church history, May 3 1850, John her or could be hair H E. R. R, who was the founder of the reformed Mennonite Church passed away he was from Pennsylvania and served primarily in Western New York and Ontario. And on this date in church history, May 3 1987, three Lutheran bodies, the Lutheran church, the American Lutheran Church and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran churches merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. The new denomination was officially formed on January 1 1988. Steve Webb 26:29We need to lift up Kathi in prayer again, she’s having some pain. Again, the pain is on her right side, and it radiates to her core. And she’s been having to go to bed between eight and nine because of the pain. She does have some pain medication, but evidently it is it doesn’t carry her through the day. So let’s pray for her. And most of you know that I also have a windshield repair business, and I was out today to do a repair for a fellow and this is the first time we had met, he found me on the internet gave me a call made an appointment. And as I was working on his car, I said something about the Lord. I forgot what it was, but he responded in, he’s a Christian. And it turns out that this guy is somewhere in his 50s. He looks to be maybe in his late 50s. But some time ago, he really went through some difficult health problems. He ended up being in the hospital if I remember our conversation, right? He was in the hospital for two years, he had some open heart surgery, he had a stroke, he had some other things, he got infections, and it took them that long before all the infection left his body. He he lost half of his I think his liver, his spleen ruptured, and on and on. He seems to still be struggling health wise, but his name is Tom. And he really is a dear brother in the Lord. We had a great time we had we practically had church as I was standing there working on his car. And afterward we had a wonderful conversation. His wife was there as well. And we just had a little prayer meeting. It was really great. But let’s lift up Tom and his wife and prayer as well. So let’s pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you so very much for everything you’ve done for us. Even though we owe you everything you have given us so much. You’ve given us a life. You’ve given us salvation. You’ve given us eternal life. If we’ve placed our faith in Jesus in Lord, we thank you for that. Let’s like I said, few shows back Dayenu just salvation would have been enough but you love to lavish gifts on your children. And we are so thankful to be recipients of your love. Lord, I pray for Kathi right now, Lord, that You would help with her pain, Lord, help the doctors to manage the pain. We ask You, Lord, for healing for Kathi, it’s been so very long. And I know that you have a plan for her. But it’s hard sometimes to watch people that you love hurt. And so again, Lord, I just asked you to heal her, helped Del Lord as he tries to take care of her. And one more time, Lord, I just put them in your hands and ask you have to bring healing. I thank you God for the work you’ve done in Tom’s life. I thank you for bringing us into a friendship today. And I pray, Lord, that You would minister to both him and his wife as they serve you in any way that they can. And it sounds Lord, like they’ve got a great prayer ministry. And so I pray God that you would bless them and help them as they serve you. They love you. It’s obvious. I thank You, Lord, that you brought healing to him. Lord, You are so good. And I thank You, Lord, for the Lifespring family, each one that’s listening now I pray God that you would bless them in a very special way may they feel your presence with them even now as they listen and as they participate in this prayer. We love you Lord, we pray, Lord, that you would use us in any way that you want. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen. Men. If you have a prayer request, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com Fill out the form there. The website will send your prayer request to me. I’ll pray for you in my private prayer time, and we’ll pray together on the show Steve Webb 30:19Well, until tomorrow may God bless you richly. I’ve enjoyed our time together today. I hope you can say the same. My name is Steve Webb. See you tomorrow. Bye bye. Transcribed by https://otter.ai Download .txt file. 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.”   Design: Steve Webb | 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’s Word Translation Paul was, as you remember, advising the younger Timothy, who was pastoring the church at Ephesus, which had  become infiltrated with many false teachings. In verse 8 Paul is addressing the idea that was held by many in the Greek and Roman culture that put a great deal of value in physical training. We know that taking care of our body is good, but let’s face it, the benefits are strictly temporary. They don’t last. Eventually, given enough time, we all grow old and our bodies deteriorate.  I started swimming competitively when I was about eight years old. By the time I graduated high school, I had swum the equivalent of nearly the distance from Los Angeles to New York. I was in great shape! A couple of years after graduating, I was a professional ski patrolman. After that I was an apprentice carpenter. All through these years, I maintained a very high level of fitness. But here in my late 60s, my body is definitely showing signs of age. Even if I had continued to exercise at the level I did in my youth, my body would not have been able to stop the aging process. Physical discipline can’t stop the march of time. And one day, my body will die. No one gets outta here alive. But on the spiritual level, I am in the best shape of my life. My walk with God has made me better able to deal with the challenges of life here and now, and the spiritual discipline I have practiced over the years also produces eternal benefits. When my body stops, I will enjoy the eternal benefit of my faith in Christ.  I assure you, and there are thousands of my brethren who can affirm the same, that after having tried the ways of sin, we infinitely prefer the ways of righteousness for their own pleasure’s sake even here, and we would not change with ungodly men even if we had to die like dogs. With all the sorrow and care which Christian life is supposed to bring, we would prefer it to any other form of life beneath the stars. Charles Spurgeon Verse 10: “Certainly, we work hard and struggle to live a godly life, because we place our confidence in the living God. He is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.” “He is the Savior of all people…” There is a belief among some people that everyone will ultimately be saved. But that is not what Paul was saying here. The second half of Paul’s sentence is “…especially of those who believe.”  What God intends for ALL, he actually gives to them that believe in Christ, who died for the sins of the world, and tasted death for every man. As all have been purchased by his blood so all may believe; and consequently all may be saved. Those that perish, perish through their own fault. Adam Clarke ALL are offered forgiveness if they place their faith in Jesus. No one who comes to Jesus will be rejected. God loved the world this way: He gave his only Son so that everyone who believes in him will not die but will have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world. Those who believe in him won’t be condemned. But those who don’t believe are already condemned because they don’t believe in God’s only Son. John 3:16-18 God’s Word Translation Paul was instructing Timothy to live a godly life and be an example to the Ephesian church, so that no one could fault him for his youth. Command and teach these things. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live. Also set an example in how you love and in what you believe. Show the believers how to be pure. 1 Timothy 4:11-12 God’s Word Translation Many Bible scholars believe that a better translation here is, “Be an example of the believers” as opposed to to or for the believers. I agree. Each of us should be an example of what it is to be a follower of Christ.  Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’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’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’m your OG God caster Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we’re reading through the entire Bible in a year and I’m really happy you’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’m calling today’s episode fitness. If you’d like to comment on today’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’d like I’d love to hear from you. And with all the preliminaries out of the way, let’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’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’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’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’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’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’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’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’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’t be too quick to appoint anyone as an elder, and don’t share in the sins of others. keep yourself pure. Don’t continue drinking only water, but use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses. Some people’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’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’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’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’s face it, the benefits are strictly temporary, they don’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’t stop the march of time, in one day, my body will just give up, I’ll die. No one gets out of here alive, right. But on the spiritual level, I’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’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’s go back here. What did Paul mean when he said, He’s the savior of all people, there is a belief among some people that everyone will ultimately be saved. But that isn’t what Paul was saying here. The second half of Paul’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’t be condemned. But those who don’t believe are already condemned, because they don’t believe in God’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’t let anyone look down on you because you’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’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’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’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’ll be numbers five through eight boost Steve Webb 15:10I want to take a moment to encourage you, especially if you’ve been with me since the beginning of season 12. You’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’ve made it this far. We can make it to the finish line. Are you with me? Come on, let’s go. Steve Webb 16:07Let’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’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’ve got a prayer request, please go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com. And let me know i’ll rejoice with you and I’ll pray for you in my private prayer time. And we’ll share here on the show prayer dot Lifespring media.com. Steve Webb 17:20I’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’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 Daniel 7-12. I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “What Time Is It?” Design: Steve Webb | 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.  What I’m going to do in the short time we have today is look at a couple verses from today’s reading.  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.” 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.” I disagree. I think he meant, “Safeguard the vision, put it someplace safe because it will be needed later.”  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.  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.” 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.  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?  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’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’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’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’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today we’re going to complete the book of Daniel will read chapters seven through 12. Of course, I’ll have some comments after the reading. The title of today’s show is what time is it? If you’d like to come in on today’s show, please do go to Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 226. You can email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com. I’d love to hear from you. Let’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’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’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’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’s nor his father’s father’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’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’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’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’t until the last couple of 100 years that the church spent much time studying the doctrine of the end days. Yes, it’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’t understand everything they wrote. But that’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’s going to be impossible for me to talk about all the possible interpretations or applications to the days in which we’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’m going to do in the short time we have today is look at a couple of verses from today’s reading. First, let’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’ll be needed later. It’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’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’ve locked it up. We’ve sealed it up in our safe. It’s an important documents, and we’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’s needed. And as we read this book, it really seems like we’re in the in times, doesn’t it? There are so many things prophesied here that sounds just like we’re reading it from today’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’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’ll understand the prophetic Scriptures more clearly. I think that’s partly right. But I think there’s more. Now we can’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’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. 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’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’s the specific gravity of water? What’s the atomic number of LED, 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 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’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’re not sure that you’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’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’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’m a sinner, and I’m sorry, I turned for my sins now. And I asked you to forgive me of my sins. I pray that you’ll come into my life, and that you’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’re now a believer in Christ. you’re a Christian, you’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’d like to help you get started in this new life. And I’ve got a Bible that I’d like to send you. It’s called the new believers Bible. And it’s a New Testament, and it’s got hundreds of notes in there written just for brand new believers. I’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’ll send it off to you again, no charge and I’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’d love to hear your comments on what I’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’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’s awesome that this ancient wisdom is still so applicable today. Well, Sean, you know what the writer of Ecclesiastes said he said there’s nothing new under the sun. People really are no different today than they were when Solomon wrote the Proverbs. I’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’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’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’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’d love it if you’d go by Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 226. And let me know what you thought about today’s show. If you’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’s get to work. 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  Psalms 96-98. I’ll have comments on both chapters after the reading, and I’m calling today’s episode “Praise and Worship.” Design: Steve Webb | Photo: Steve Webb Comments on Psalms 96-98 For the most part, these chapters were psalms of worship and celebration.  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’s had a syndicated newspaper column for even longer than his radio show, I think. He’s written several books, one of which is “Happiness Is A Serious Problem.” On his daily radio show, every week he devotes an hour to discussing happiness. He calls it “The Happiness Hour”. 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’ 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’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’s blessings, and you will actually feel like praising and worshipping. It’s happened this way for me many, many times.  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’t bring yourself to rejoice in the Lord, I hope you will remember to turn to David for inspiration. That’s why God included the Psalms in Scripture, beloved. Today’s Bible Translation Bible translation used in today’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’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’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’re reading through the entire Bible in a year. Our reading today is Psalms 96 through 98. I’ll have an introduction before I read each chapter and afterward, I’ll have some comments. The title for today’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’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’s people, then it speaks to the nation’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’s coming as the world’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’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’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’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’s a Jew. And of course, I disagree with him on that point. But he is right on so many other things. I’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’s had a syndicated newspaper column for even longer than that. I think. He’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’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’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’t feel like giving worship and praise to God, do it anyway. And guess what? When you do, I can almost guarantee that you’ll begin to feel God’s blessings. And you’ll actually feel like praising and worshiping. It’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’re feeling like you just can’t bring yourself to rejoice in the Lord. I hope you’ll remember to turn to some of these psalms for inspiration. After all, that’s why God included the Psalms in Scripture. I’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’ve ordered the book, from the reviews and on your recommendation, John, it sounds like an excellent read. I can’t wait for it to get here. Thanks again, John, for the boostagam and for the recommendation. Steve Webb 9:49Beloved, you’ll remember that I’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’s now volunteered to donate time by adding chapters to the episodes, beginning with yesterday’s show on First Chronicles, one through four, Sean brother, I thank you for that you’re really going above and beyond the call of duty. I appreciate it. Thank you, Sean. Steve Webb 10:17Now, if you’re using one of those awesome podcasting 2.0 compliant podcast apps, it should support chapters and you’ll see Sean’s contribution. Now right now, the art does not change for each chapter. But if someone steps up to help with artwork, I’d love to add that to email me at Steve at Lifespring media if you’d like to contribute your talent, and we’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’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’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’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’ve got a prayer request or praise, you know what to do, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com Steve Webb 12:44I’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!