In Leviticus chapter 2, God gives instructions on how to perform grain offerings. In Matthew 14, Jesus performs several miracles, including feeding well over five thousand people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. We are reading today from the English Standard Version.
READING
May God bless the reading of His Word.
Did you notice that the Lord told the people to always include salt in the grain offerings? Why do you suppose that is?
And why do you suppose Jesus went to be alone when he heard of the death of John the Baptist?
Since it is the weekend, I just want to remind you how to get in touch with me. You can email me at steve@lifespringmedia.com. On twitter I am _SteveWebb_, on Facebook, I’m steve.webb. Our FB group is at LifespringMedia.com/facebook. The shownotes are at LifespringAudioBible.com.
Tomorrow is Sunday, so I’ll be taking the day off from recording. Be sure you get to church if at all possible. Gathering with other believers is crucial to your spiritual health and welfare. I’ll talk to you Monday. May God bless you richly. I’m Steve Webb.
In Levitiucus chapter 1, God gives instructions on how to perform burnt offerings. In Matthew 13, Jesus tells several parables and then explains them to his disciples. We are reading today from the English Standard Version.
READING
May God bless the reading of His Word.
So now that the tabernacle and its contents are built, God tells Moses and the people how He wants the sacrifices performed. Again, he is very specific about every aspect. Did you notice that God is as pleased with the offering of a dove as he is with a bull? Any idea on that?
And I really love Jesus’ explanations of his parables, because I have seen each one in action many times since becoming a believer myself. Have you? And how true is it that a prophet (or one who speaks for God) is not recognized in his own home town? Have you seen that happen? I certainly have. I have known many men who faithfully served the Lord with good results for the Kingdom, but had little respect from the people who knew them before God got hold of them. It comes with the territory.
It’s Friday. Make this day one where God will be pleased with you.
I’ll talk to you tomorrow. May God bless you richly. I’m Steve Webb.
Today in Exodus 40 we see the Tabernacle finally put into service for the Lord. And in Matthew 12, Jesus continues to heal people, but refuses to do a miracle for the religious leaders. Again, we are reading from the New Century Version.
READING
May God bless the reading of His Word.
Can you imagine how Moses and the people must have reacted when God’s presence decended on the Tabernacle once it was completed? It must have been a time of joy and awe.
And isn’t it just like God for Jesus to refuse to jump through the Pharisees’ hoops to prove who He was? God is God. He has nothing to prove. Sometimes, in His mercy, He shows Himself as trustworthy and real, but He seldom does it just because He is being challenged.
Well, I hope your week is going well so far. Today, we had an appointment with my son Steven’s surgeon. His next surgery is scheduled for June 10th. Please pray that everything goes well.
After the doctors’ appointment, the Lovely Lady LeeAnn and I drove along the southern California coast all the way down to San Diego, before heading back home. We had a great day together, away from computers and the inland heat. It was a good day. I posted a few pictures on my FB timeline if you care to take a look.
Tomorrow we begin the book of Leviticus, and in Matthew, Jesus explains why he taught with parables, or stories.
I’ll talk to then. May God bless you richly. I’m Steve Webb.
Exodus 39 and Matthew 11 are up today. In Exodus, Moses inspects the work that was done in building the tabernacle and its furnishings. In Matthew, John the Baptist, who is in prison, sends word to Jesus, asking if He is the One.
Today, we’ll read Exodus 38, and find out just how much gold, silver and bronze it took to build the tabernacle and its furnishings, and in Matthew chapter 10, Jesus helps clarify where one’s allegiances should be. Our text today is again from the World English Bible.
READING
May God bless the reading of His Word.
I did a fun little exercise today. Using the numbers given us in Exodus 38 regarding the amount of gold used in the tabernacle, I looked up the value of that gold using gold prices as of today’s date. Would you like to know the number? It’s $43,814,608.04. The silver at today’s value was $2,446,060.00. Bronze is an alloy of different metals, so I couldn’t find a value for that.
In Matthew, Jesus had some hard teachings, didn’t he? Especially the part about coming not to bring peace, but to divide families. What do you think about that? Is Jesus bad for families? Couldn’t be. Could he?
Let’s talk about it on the Lifespring! FB group. LifespringMedia.com/facebook
I’ll talk to you tomorrow. May God bless you richly. I’m Steve Webb.
Today, we’ll read Exodus 37, where Bezalel expertly builds the ark and other items for the tabernacle, and Matthew chapter 9, where Jesus calls one of the lowliest of Jewish society to follow him. And our text today is from the World English Bible.
READING
May God bless the reading of His Word.
I wonder how long it took for Bezalel and his helpers to build these items. It had to have taken many hundreds of man-hours, right? Everything was done by hand, and the gold was not cast, but hand worked, so it was pounded into shape, I think. How beautiful it must’ve been. Think of all the detail and care, and yes, love that went into it. And as I sit here thinking about it, I’m reminded that believers are called the temple of the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 3. And we are not wrought by the hands of man, but of God. Psalm 139 says “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.” It goes on to say that we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Knowing that the tabernacle was the precursor of the temple, and the temple was the precursor to the believer, it makes sense that God would give instructions to build the tabernacle with such intricate details, doesn’t it?
And in Matthew, we see that the more Jesus connected with the people, the more the religious leaders found fault with Him. He was meeting them where they hurt. People of every walk of life, from the lowliest beggars to people of wealth and authority. He gave each of them the time that they needed, healing their bodies and forgiving their sins. Why do you suppose he told some of them to not tell anyone?
Let’s talk about it on the Lifespring! FB group. LifespringMedia.com/facebook
You may have noticed that I missed a couple days. Oh my gosh. I am just not as young as I used to be. I finished installing my mother-in-law’s hardwood floor, and it took a two days before I could move again. I decided to take the weekend off, plus Sunday was Mother’s Day, of course, so I wanted to spend time with the Lovely Lady LeeAnn, the mother of my boys.
I’m actually thinking about taking Sundays off anyway. That way, if you get behind a bit, you’ll have a chance to catch up, and it gives me a weekly break. Hmmm. That actually sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Let me know your thoughts. You can email me at steve@lifespringmedia.com, or comment on the FB group. LifespringMedia.com/facebook.
Don’t forget that you can listen to the show on Stitcher, and if you haven’t commented at the iTunes store, now’s a good time to do it.
So I’ll talk to you tomorrow. May God bless you richly. I’m Steve Webb.
Today, we’ll read Exodus 36, and Matthew chapter 8. Yesterday in Exodus, we saw the people bringing offerings and gifts to build the tabernacle. Today, you’re not going to believe what happens with the offerings. And in Matthew, Jesus heals many different kinds of people, and after he does so in one village, you’re not going to believe the reaction he gets from the residents. We’ll read again from the Easy-to-Read Version.
READING
May God bless the reading of His Word.
So in Exodus we heard something that is seldom said today: Don’t bring anymore gifts to the church. We have enough. Of course the difference is that the gifts here in Exodus were for a specific project. Once there were enough resources, it was reasonable to expect that they would be told the didn’t need to bring anything else.
So what did you think about the village asking Jesus to move along? Can you imagine? You know why they told him to leave, right? They made their living from the pigs. Since Jesus cause a herd of them to drown themselves, he disrupted their income stream.
So hey, Jesus is ok, as long as he doesn’t mess things up around here, you know? Hmm. Sound at all familiar today?
Well, in case you’re wondering. Yes I did work on my mother-in-law’s floor today. I got about half of the kitchen finished, so I’ll need to go back tomorrow to finish it up. I want to have everything put back together by Sunday, Mother’s Day. And yes, I’m tired and sore. I’m going to get this episode finished, and then I’m going to bed. I’m sure I’ll sleep well tonight.
So I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I May God bless you richly. I’m Steve Webb.
Today, we’ll read Exodus 35, and Matthew chapter 7. In Exodus, we see the people bring their offerings to build the tabernacle, and in Matthew, Jesus wraps up the sermon on the mount and the people are amazed at his teaching. We’ll read from the Easy-to-Read Version.
READING
May God bless the reading of His Word.
Hey, how are your toes feeling? Please don’t be offended if I step on them, ok? It’s not my intention, but I gotta calls ‘em as I see ‘em. Here goes. One of the biggest complaints people have about organized religion is that the preacher’s always asking for money. And another complaint is that we shouldn’t spend all that money on a building. Well, here in Exodus chapter 35 we see that God instructed Moses to ask the people for offerings to build the tabernacle. Folks, the preachers didn’t just decide out of their own greed to begin to ask the people to support the church. It’s from God himself. And before you bring it up, yes, there *are* some who overstep the bounds of decency on this matter. Yes, there are some greedy ones who try to fleece the sheep. But that is another show, and not a part of what this podcast is about. I just wanted to note that asking for offerings is not inherently wrong.
Are you toes ok? Maybe I should move on to commenting on the reading from Matthew.
I love Matthew 7. There is such good, simple teaching there. I guess one of the most important thoughts is found in verse 12. “Do for others what you would want them to do for you. This is the meaning of the Law of Moses and the teaching of the prophets.” If we as a species could just get that one right, we’d all be a lot happier, wouldn’t we.
Well, let’s keep working on that, shall we?
What do you think? Do you have a favorite verse from the sermon on the mount, or the Beattitudes? Comment on our FB group. LifespringMedia.com/facebook.
I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I’ll be a tired guy, because I will have spent the day installing a hardwood floor for my mother-in-law. But, God willing, I’ll have enough energy to get an episode done. Pray for me? I’ll talk to you then. May God bless you richly. I’m Steve Webb.
Today, we’ll read Exodus 34, and Matthew chapter 6. In Exodus, Moses’ face shines, and in Matthew, Jesus tells us how we should pray. We’ll read from the New International Readers Bible.
READING
May God bless the reading of His Word.
Wow. Forty days and nights on Mount Sinai with God. It really is no wonder that his face shone when he came down, is it? What an amazing experience that would be. We’re told that he ate no food and drank no water. Obviously, God was nourishing him. I wonder if he slept.
Now, to Matthew. As you may know, yesterday and today, and then tomorrow, we have been reading what is often called the Beatitudes. Yesterday Jesus established some pretty high standards. Today, he contrasted the behavior of the high and mighty religious people to the way God really wants us to act. I believe this is the first time we’re told that He began to make enemies of the religious establishment. I think the takeaway here is that God is not interested in religion. He is interested in the heart, the motive. Do the things you do for God, not for man.
What do you think? Comment on our FB group. LifespringMedia.com/facebook. It’d be great, too, if you would comment on the show in the iTunes store. Just saying’.
Listen to the show on Stitcher. Download it today from the iOS app store, the Android Play store, or Stitcher.com.
Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. I’m Steve Webb.
Today, we’ll read Exodus 33, and Matthew chapter 5. In Exodus, Moses actually sees God, and In Matthew, Jesus lays out some impossible standards. Or are they? We’ll read from the NET Bible.
READING
May God bless the reading of His Word.
So every day, Moses would meet with God in the tent of meeting. The people would see the pillar of fire and know that God was there. Wow. Can you imagine that? Moses got to meet and talk with God every day. Hey, wait a minute. We can do that, too! That’s what the torn curtain in the temple was all about the day Jesus was crucified. We can approach the throne of God every day. And He wants us to!
And then what’s with all the impossibly high standards that Jesus was laying down? If I just look with desire on a woman, it’s the same as committing adultery? If I call my brother a fool, it’s the same as murder? Come on! how can I then be worthy of entering the Kingdom? No one can! How can that possibly be fair? That’s the point Jesus was making. He wants us to see that we cannot live up to the perfect standards of God. He wants us to see that we are morally bankrupt and in need of Him. The only way I can ever hope to be accepted by the Father is if I first accept His Son. Once I acknowledge my need of Jesus and the sacrifice He made for me, and surrender my will to His, then the Father sees me in an entirely different light. He sees me as being under the umbrella of Jesus’ protective intervention. He accepts the sacrifice that Jesus made as payment in full for my sins. But to come to that realization, Jesus had to illustrate how miserably I fail at trying to be good on my own strength.
I’ll talk to you tomorrow.
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Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. I’m Steve Webb.
In Leviticus chapter 2, God gives instructions on how to perform grain offerings. In Matthew 14, Jesus performs several miracles, including feeding well over five thousand people with just five loaves of bread and two fish. We are reading today from the English Standard Version.