Transcript

Podcast Introduction

Today is Psalms Wednesday and we’ll read chapters 1 and 2. Before I read the chapters, I’ll give you brief introduction to the book of Psalms, and after the reading, I’ll share  some of my thoughts. 

I’m calling today’s show “How To Be Blessed”

Comments on Psalms 1-2

The first chapter of Psalms is really a great place to start reading the Bible. I read from the King James because it sounds so beautiful, but let’s break it down a little in the New Living Translation: “1Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.”

As we get into the Word of God together, beloved, as it becomes part of our daily lives, we *will* learn to find joy (or delight) in it. We will be instructed by it, we will be challenged by it, we will see ourselves in it, and we will learn more about who God is. Really, the Bible is a love letter to us. You see, Christianity is more than just a religion. It is a relationship with the One who created all that is. And how is a relationship built? By spending time together. We’ll be spending time with God by reading His Word. 

As an extra bonus, you and I will be spending time together. On the show, I’ll be sharing what’s happening in my life, and I hope you will do the same, by way of email comments and prayer requests.

Quickly, chapter two shows the futility of the world system thinking that they can ignore or scoff at God. It gives a warning to those who do that, and it gives a promise of joy to those who take refuge in Him. This is a theme that we will see all the way through the Bible. 

And as we look at the political landscape in the world today, it could be very easy to be discouraged. It seems as if everything is falling apart, doesn’t it. So how do we cope with all of this? 

We put our faith in the King of kings and the Lord of lords. If you’ve never read the Bible before, I have a spoiler for you. God wins. As a matter of fact, God has already won! He is on the throne, and nothing that is happening in the world today is a surprise to Him. 

Stick with me over the next weeks and months, and we will talk much more about how God is active in the world around us. He is not a God who created the universe and then walked away. He cares very deeply about you, and about me. He loves you. He wants to spend eternity with you, and He paid an enormous price to make that possible. He sent His son, Jesus, to live a perfect, sinless life so that He could take my sins and yours upon Himself. And He was sacrificed on a cross. He died, but was raised back to life three days later, proving that He truly was God and able to forgive our sins. And He offers that forgiveness if we will only believe, and follow Him. It’s a free gift for us, but it cost Him His life.

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 1-2 KJV

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Transcript

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LSFAB S13 E004

Steve Webb: The Bible is a love letter to us.

This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible coming to you from Riverside, California and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. Great to see you today. Thanks for joining me. This is The Daily Podcast where we’ll read through the entire Bible in a year. Today is Psalms Wednesday, and we’ll read chapters one and two.

But before I read the chapters, I’ll give you a brief introduction to the Book of Psalms. And then of course, after the reading I’ll share some of my thoughts with you. And since it’s Wednesday, we will be doing prayer requests today. My email address is steve Lifespring media.com, and the phone number to call and leave a comment is 9 5 1 7 3 2 85 11.

I’m calling today’s show How to Be Blessed. Are you ready? Let’s begin.

[00:00:54] Marker

Steve Webb: It might surprise you to know that King David did not write all of the Psalms. Of the 150 Psalms, David probably wrote half of them, 75. Perhaps more because 50 of the Psalms don’t tell us who the author was. In addition to David, there were at least five other authors. Moses wrote one of them, and King Solomon, David’s son, wrote at least two. Of course, King David is the guy that as a young shepherd boy, killed Goliath, and God chose him to be the second king of Israel after King Saul. And even though he had a major moral downfall with Bathsheba, David is called a man after God’s own heart twice in the Bible, which truly shows that God is a forgiving God.

And as the year goes on, we’ll see many, many times where God demonstrates a tremendous capacity for forgiveness. The Book of Psalms is a collection of song lyrics, and like many songs, a lot of them were inspired by events in the author’s life. And then they were later used as songs of worship by the community.

Now the Psalms are organized into five sections or books, and some believe that these five point to the first five books of the Bible, or the Torah, also known as the Penteteuch or the Law. There are several types of songs just as there are many types of other songs. There are songs of praise, songs of lament, songs of Thanksgiving, songs of wisdom and others.

[00:02:26] Marker

Steve Webb: Psalms chapter one. Blessed is the man that Walketh not in the council of the ungodly nor Standeth and the way of sinners nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the Law of the Lord and in his law does he meditate day and night, and he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.

His leaf also shall not wither and whatsoever he do with shall prosper. The ungodly or not so, but are like the chf, which the wind dth away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment nor sinners and the congregation of the righteous for the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous, but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

[00:03:11] Marker

Steve Webb: Psalms chapter two, Why do the heat even rage? And the people imagine a vain. The kings of the Earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying, Let us break their bans a under and cast away their chords from us. E it cth And the heavens shall laugh.

The Lord shall have them inion then shall he speak under them in his raft and ves them in his sore displeasure. Yet have I set my king upon my Holy hill of. I will declare the decree the Lord have said unto me, Thou art my son this day. Have I begotten the ask of me and I shall give the, the heathen for th inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for th possession.

Thou sht. Break them with a rod of iron. Thou sht dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Be wise. Now therefore, O ye kings be instructed ye judges of the. Serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the son less. He be angry and you perish from the way when his wrath is kindled. But a little blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

[00:04:26] Marker

Steve Webb: The first chapter of Psalms is really a great place to start reading the Bible, in my opinion. I read from the King James because it sounds so beautiful, but let’s break it down a little in the new living Transla. Verse one says, Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or stand around with sinners or join in with markers, but they delight in the Law of the Lord meditating on it day and night.

As we get into the word of God together, as it becomes part of our daily lives, we will learn to find joy or delight in it. We’ll be instructed by it. We’ll be challenged by it. We’ll see ourselves in it, and we’ll learn more about who God is. Really, the Bible is a love letter to us. You see, Christianity is more than just a.

It’s a relationship with the one who created all that is. It’s a relationship with the one who created you. And how is a relationship built by spending time together? We’ll be spending time with God by reading his word, and as an extra bonus, you and I will be spending time together on the show. I’ll be sharing what’s happening in my life, and I hope you’ll do the same by way of email comments and prayer requests.

Now, quickly, chapter two shows the futility of the world’s system, thinking that they can ignore or scoff at God. It gives a warning to those who do that, and it gives a promise of joy to those who take refuge. This is a theme that we’ll see all the way through the Bible, and as we look at the political landscape in the world today, it could be very easy to be discouraged.

It seems as if everything is falling apart, doesn’t it? So how do we cope with all of this? Well, we put our faith in the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. If you’ve never read the Bible before, I’ve got a spoiler for. God wins. And as a matter of fact, God has already won. He is on the throne and nothing that is happening in the world today is a surprise to him.

Stick with me over the next weeks and months and we’ll talk much more about how God is active in the world around us. He’s not a God who created the universe and then walked away. He cares very deeply about you and about me. He loves you. He wants to spend eternity with you, and he paid an enormous price to make that possible.

He sent his son Jesus to live a perfect sinless life so that he could take my sins and yours upon himself, and he was sacrificed on a cross. He died, but he was raised back to life three days later proving that he is truly God and able to forgive our sins, and he offers that forgiveness if we will only believe and follow him.

It’s a free gift for us, but it cost him his life. We’ll talk much more about that as the year goes by.

What do you think? Do you have a comment? Call the Lifespring family comment line at 9 5 1 7 3 2 85 11 or comment on the show notes page for this episode at Lifespring media.com/s 13 E 0 0 4, or you can email me. It’s steve at Lifespring media.com. And when you do that, please put show comment in the subject line.

Tomorrow is Poetry Thursday and we’ll begin the Book of Job. Remember that you can see the upcoming reading schedule at schedule dot Lifespring media.com.

[00:07:57] Marker

Steve Webb: Prior requests and praises. I do have a praise for those of you who were with me last season. You’ll probably remember that my mother-in-law, Joanne or Noni, as the family calls her, fell and broke some vertebrae in her back. When she was in the hospital, she developed a severe kidney problem, and for some time it looked like she just might not make it.

Well, she got well enough to be transferred to a convalescent hospital where she stayed for a month or so, and my praise is that she’s now able to live on her own in her own home. And a few days ago, she celebrated her 90th birthday . Her church had a big surprise party for her, and there were about a hundred people there, including about 25 family members.

She’s doing quite well now for a woman her age and the lovely lady LeeAnn said that mom will probably outlive all of us . So that’s a praise. Now, prayer requests. I have a nearly lifelong friend named Kathi. She’s been a part of my life since we were about 15 years old, and her husband Dell has been in my life since junior high school, or middle school, I guess they call it today.

Dell’s the one who invited me to the church where I asked Jesus to be my savior. We go back a long way. Kathi has had major health problems since her mid twenties when she was diagnosed with ms, and she said several bouts with cancers of various kinds over the years. She’s now in another tremendous fight with cancer, and according to the latest test results, the cancer appears to be winning.

She started a new type of chemo a few months back, and the numbers keep going the wrong way. Well, her doc said that it’s possible that the trend could turn around as this new drug has more time to work. So we need to pray for Kathi. Then not long after I started my break in September, I got this prayer request from Trisha Harris.

She says, I’m requesting prayer for me and my family. I’m also requesting prayer for reunification with my children. Please, and thank you. Well, Trisha, as you know, I’ve been praying for you. I told you that I would, and now here we are, back to the show and I’m sharing your request with the entire Lifespring.

And then new Lifespring family member Don Francis, uh, sent in this prayer request. He said, My father, George and his longtime companion Barbara, are in the process of transitioning into assisted living. He’s all for it, but Barbara, who is in the early to mid stages of dementia is having a very difficult time accepting this necessary change.

Without going into all the details, I’m requesting prayers for them, my wife, Stephanie, and I, and our families as we help them in this transition. And Don, I do know what a difficult time that is. Um, both my mother and my grandmother died from Alzheimer’s, and I know that, uh, a change in routine, a change in surrounding is very, very difficult for people that have dementia.

So yeah, we’ll be. Then Lifespring be Brother Paul of Seattle wrote. Hi Steve. Glad to hear you back. Well, thank you Paul. I’m glad to be back. Uh, Paul continues. My prayer request is around one particular friend at work that I feel God wants me to talk to. My prayer is that, God, when the opportunity arises, will talk through me.

I know it’s not up to me. It’s God’s thing to do. I just want to not clam up or something when the time comes. In my experience, if we ask God to give us opportunities to, uh, share Jesus, he does it every time. And yes, it is up to us then to go ahead and open our mouth when the, um, opportunity arises. So yeah, let’s pray.

Our Heavenly Father, Lord, we thank you so much for your goodness. We thank you for your love. I thank you Lord for bringing us together around you Word and for giving us this opportunity to lift up praises and prior requests to you. I thank you for each one listening right now, and I pray you bless each one.

And right now I lift up Kathi to you, Lord. You know the battle she’s in, Um, you’ve been with her all along. And I pray, God, that as the new drug has time to work in her body, Lord, that you will use it to bring healing to her. I pray God you would restore her strength. I thank you that the, uh, nausea has not been terrible this time, but I just pray that you would help her through.

And God be with Del. I know that this is a frightening time for him. I pray, Lord, that you would give him confidence and remind him, Lord, that you’re both in his loving hands and in his loving care. And Lord, I pray for Trisha now. I pray God that you would be with her and her family in that they would be reunification with the children.

I pray God, that your Holy Spirit would be in their midst and that you would bring healing to relationships. I pray for Dawn’s family. Lord, I pray for George and Barbara and Dawn’s wife, Stephanie, and, and the entire family’s. Lord, this is a difficult time for any family, Lord, when people are having to transition and, uh, win dementia or Alzheimer’s is a part of it.

Guide the decisions that are having to be made Lord, and, and help Barbara to cope with this new situ. Lord, as you give brother Paul the opportunity to talk to this friend of his at work, I pray that you would speak through Paul. I pray that you would prepare the heart of this one that Paul feels you are calling him to talk to.

And as Paul speaks, I pray that this friend, this one at work will know that Paul is genuinely interested in his welfare. May your Holy Spirit be in their midst as he speaks. And again, I thank you for the Lifespring family. Bless each one Lord, I pray in Jesus name. Amen.

[00:13:37] Marker

Steve Webb: I wanna say thank you to Howie for the $50 donation that came in today. God bless you. Thank you very much, Howie. Um, Howie is the father-in-law of Sean, of San Pedro, who does the chapters for the show. And last season Sean asked for prayer for Howie, who was hit very hard by Covid and he was in the hospital for several months.

It was really touching go for him for quite some time there. Well, we prayed for him several times here on the show, and of course I prayed for him in my own private prayer time and praise the Lord how he is now at home. He has been for a few months now, and as far as I know, he’s still doing physical therapy and regaining his strength.

He’s a fighter and God isn’t through with him yet. Praise the Lord. Thank you for your support, Howie. Well, you’ve probably heard the phrase, time, talent, or treasure. This show relies on the Lifespring family to make it all. Sean of San Pedro does the chapters for every episode. Denise does the transcripts, and Kirsty does the newsletter, and I’m looking for somebody right now to put our Bible reading schedule into a really nice looking PDF that can be downloaded from the Lifespring Media website.

That’s the time and talent part of the equation. Well, if you like the show, if it adds to your life, if you think what I’m doing here is worthwhile, please consider donating at Lifespring media.com/support donating treasure. Take a look at the website there and pray about it. Then do as the Lord leads.

You’ll never hear any advertisers on the show because advertisers are too concerned with being brand safe. There’s a lot of people these days who don’t like it when the Bible is taught with no compromise, which is something I try to do here. So it’s up to the Lifespring family to make it possible to keep the show going.

Again, that’s Lifespring media.com/support.

[00:15:23] Marker

Steve Webb: Be sure you’re subscribed to the show so you don’t miss an episode. Go to subscribe dot Lifespring media.com and tell somebody about the show. Encourage them to read the Bible in a year with you. I mean, after all, if you like the show, I’m sure your friends will. Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at 9 5 1 7 3 2 8 5 1 1.

You can make a comment there. You can leave your prayer request or appraise, and there’s a good chance I’ll play your call on the show or you can go to comment dot Lifespring media.com and you can go to comment dot Lifespring media.com or email me at steve Lifespring media.com or leave a comment on the show notes page at Lifespring media.com/s 12 E 0 0 4.

However you do it, I do want to hear. And now until tomorrow, make God bless you richly. Thank you for being here. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.