Transcript

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 4-5 GNT

Associate Producer

Lifespring! Family Berean Sister Ann, Anonymous

Podcast Introduction

Today is Epistles Sunday. We’ll complete 1 Thessalonians with the reading of chapters 4-5. I’m calling the episode “Coming Events.” And because I was unable to do an essentials segment last Wednesday, we’ll do one today. On our last Essentials, we talked about the fact that Jesus is the Living Word. Today we’ll discuss His miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and His virgin birth.

Comments on 1 Thessalonians 4-5

Thoughts on 1 Thessalonians 4

Today in my comments, I’m going to explain a bit of how I do my Bible studies, and how you can enrich your reading of the Bible, and I’ll do it in the context of today’s reading. Sound good?

Most of us who are serious about Bible study know that reading from more that one translation is a good thing, especially if we’re going to be teaching or preaching. Today’s reading is an excellent example of why this is a good idea.

The translation we read from today is the Good News Translation. Chapter 4, verses 4 and 5 in the GNT reads like this: “Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way, 5not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God.”

As I read that, it seemed just a little “off” to me. Not that there’s anything wrong with living “with your wife in a holy and honorable way”, but tying this thought with “not with a lustful desire, like the heathen” just didn’t sit right with me, because sexual desire between a husband and wife is a gift from God.  I decided that I should look at how other translations rendered this passage.

Here are some examples of verse 4:

The English Standard Version says: that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor,

The NIV says: that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable,

And for good measure, the KJV says: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

So the ESV and the NIV agree on the translation the “body”. But as you heard, the KJV said “possess his vessel”. None of the three referred to the “wife”.

So I read this verse in several other translations: the NASB, Young’s Literal Translation, the Holman Christian Standard Bible, New Living Translation. All of them agreed on the “body”. 

The God’s Word translation, and Contemporary English Version used “wife” in one way or another.

So what to do? How should this verse be properly translated? We need to go to the original language. Thankfully, we don’t need to take a complete course in Greek, which is the language used in the New Testament. The first thing I do is consult what is called an Interlinear New Testament. 

An interlinear NT has the complete text of the NT, with the Greek words appearing either directly above or below the English words, so you can see which exact Greek word is used. That’s the first step.

The next step, if you don’t know Greek, is to use either a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance or Young’s Analytical Concordance. Today, I used Young’s. Both Young’s and Strong’s use the KJV, so I looked up the word “vessel”. 

I found that there are two Greek words used in the NT that are translated into the English word “vessel”. One of them is used only twice, in the book of Matthew. In this case, the word means “vessel, or utensil”. The other Greek word is used eighteen times and it means “vessel, utensil or instrument”, and this is the word in our reading today. 

In my opinion, the thought that Paul wanted to convey to us is this: our bodies are the vessel or instrument that contains our souls, and we should not allow our vessels to be controlled by lust, as do those who do not know God.

There is no mention of husbands or wives in the original language, and I therefor do not think that it should be included in the text of the verse. Now, in the defense of the translations that do include it, the argument can be made that Paul implied the thought of husbands and or wives, because sexual desire is only proper in the context of marriage. Since he was teaching against what the KJV refers to as fornication, or what we would today call sexual immorality, he would be saying that sexual desire should only be for your husband or your wife. 

So now you know a bit of how I study the Bible. Having several translations of the Bible is a good thing, but as you read them, it is important to take into consideration that some are more faithful to the original language, and others are less concerned with word-for-word accuracy, and emphasize more of an idea-for-idea approach to Bible translation. When we compare different translations to each other, and then use tools like the Strong’s or Young’s concordances and an interlinear Bible, combined with prayer and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I believe we can reach a more complete understanding of the Scripture. 

~~~~~~~

Verses 13-18 deal with the return of Jesus. These verses tell us that at His return, the believers who have died will be resurrected. And then those who are believers and are alive will be gathered up, or caught up along with the ones who have just been resurrected to meet the Lord in the air. This event is often called “the rapture.” Where do we get that term? The Latin Vulgate translated the phrase “caught up” as rapturus, from which we get the word rapture.

This event will happen. Paul said, “What we are teaching you now is the Lord’s teaching…” In saying this, Paul was emphasizing that this is not his idea, but it came directly from Jesus. Bible commentator Adam Clarke wrote: “In no place does the apostle speak more confidently and positively of his inspiration than here; and we should prepare ourselves to receive some momentous and interesting truth.”

So there really should be no doubt on the part of the believer that this is something that will happen at some time in the future. 

Thoughts on 1 Thessalonians 5

I believe that it is important to reiterate what Jesus said in Matthew 24:36: “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself.  Only the Father knows.” NLT

Paul told the Thessalonians that “…the Day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night.” in verse 2. 

A thief does not make an announcement letting his victims know when he will arrive. In the same way, we do not know when Jesus will return. But like the prudent home owner who prepares for the thief, we must also be prepared.

Paul continued in verse 3: “When people say, ‘Everything is quiet and safe,’ then suddenly destruction will hit them!”

For those who are unprepared, for the unbeliever, this day will be a sad one, indeed. 

There was also a clue in this statement as to the conditions in the world when Jesus returns. “When people say, ‘Everything is quiet and safe,’ then suddenly destruction will hit them!” 

So when the rapture happens, it will come when there is quiet and safety in the world. 

But in Matthew 24, Jesus tells the disciples what signs to look for before His return. He talks about the “abomination of desolation” from the book of Daniel…the destruction of the Temple. Some people believe this happened in AD 70, others believe the Temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem, and that is where the abomination of desolation will take place. We do not have time on the show to get into the debate, and as I have said I’m pretty dogmatic about not being dogmatic when it comes to end times prophecy. What we can know for sure is that Jesus talked about a terrible time coming prior to His return.

So what do we do with “quiet and safe”, with the turmoil Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24? 

It seems to me that the rapture will occur before the Tribulation begins. But others believe it will happen halfway through the Tribulation. Still others think it will be at the end of the Tribulation. There are lots of plausible arguments for each theory, and many books have been written by people who have spent lots of time poring over the scriptures. I read several of them back in the 80s, but since then I have not read any others. I think that it is more important just to know that Jesus will return, and that we must be ready. How do we get ready? We have to know that we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ. That’s it. Jesus has to be our Lord and Savior. 

So really, preparing for His return is no different than preparing for eternity. Each of us, if He does not come back first, will die. Nobody gets outta here alive. So what happens when we die? If we have placed our faith in Jesus, we will go to Heaven. 

Preparing for His return is no more than living our lives in such a way that pleases God. We are here on planet Earth to glorify Him. We are to share the Good News of a Risen Savior. We are to be salt and light. We are to make disciples. 

We are not, in anticipation of His coming, to withdraw from the world and just wait. That would be a terrible waste of time, talent and treasure, as in Jesus’ parable in Luke 19:11-27. And the Lord would not be pleased.

Del and Kathi’s New Stairs

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The Team

Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Denise: Transcript Correction
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Transcript

Download .txt file.

Transcript corrected by Sister Denise

Steve Webb 0:00
This event is often called the Rapture.

Steve Webb 0:09
This is the Lifespring! One Year Bible coming to you from Riverside, California, and podcasting since 2004, I’m your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. It’s Epistle Sunday and we’ll complete 1 Thessalonians with a reading of chapters 4 and 5. I’m calling the episode “Coming Events.” And because I was unable to do an Essentials segment this last Wednesday, we’ll do one today. On our last Essentials, we talked about the fact that Jesus is the Living Word. Today we’ll discuss his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and his virgin birth. But before we get started, let’s have a word of prayer. Our heavenly Father again, we thank you for your Word. And we thank you for our time together. I pray, God, that you would bless us as we study. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen. Okay, let’s begin.

Steve Webb 0:58
1 Thessalonians, chapter 4. Finally, our friends, you learned from us how you should live in order to please God. This is, of course, the way you have been living. And now we beg and urge you in the name of the Lord Jesus to do even more. For you know the instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. God wants you to be holy and completely free from sexual immorality. Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way, not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God. In this matter, then, none of you should do wrong to other Christians or take advantage of them. We have told you this before, and we strongly warned you that the Lord will punish those who do that. God did not call us to live in immorality, but in holiness. So then, whoever rejects this teaching is not rejecting a human being, but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. There is no need to write you about love for each other. You yourselves have been taught by God how you should love one another. And you have, in fact, behaved like this toward all the believers in all of Macedonia. So we beg you, our friends, to do even more. Make it your aim to live a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to earn your own living, just as we told you before. In this way you will win the respect of those who are not believers, and you will not have to depend on anyone for what you need. Our friends, we want you to know the truth about those who have died, so that you will not be sad, as are those who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will take back with Jesus those who have died believing in him. What we are teaching you now is the Lord’s teaching: we who are alive on the day the Lord comes will not go ahead of those who have died. There will be the shout of command, the archangel’s voice, the sound of God’s trumpet, and the Lord himself will come down from heaven. Those who have died believing in Christ will rise to life first; then we who are living at that time will be gathered up along with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord. So then, encourage one another with these words.

Steve Webb 3:14
1 Thessalonians, chapter 5. There is no need to write you, friends, about the times and occasions when these things will happen. For you yourselves know very well that the Day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night. When people say, “Everything is quiet and safe,” then suddenly destruction will hit them! It will come as suddenly as the pains that come upon a woman in labor, and people will not escape. But you, friends, are not in the darkness, and the Day should not take you by surprise like a thief. All of you are people who belong to the light, who belong to the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, we should not be sleeping like the others; we should be awake and sober. It is at night when people sleep; it is at night when they get drunk. But we belong to the day, and we should be sober. We must wear faith and love as a breastplate, and our hope of salvation as a helmet. God did not choose us to suffer his anger, but to possess salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us in order that we might live together with him, whether we are alive or dead when he comes. And so encourage one another and help one another, just as you are now doing. We beg you, our friends, to pay proper respect to those who work among you, who guide and instruct you in the Christian life. Treat them with the greatest respect and love because of the work they do. Be at peace among yourselves. We urge you, our friends, to warn the idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one pays back wrong for wrong, but at all times make it your aim to do good to one another and to all people. Be joyful always, pray at all times, be thankful in all circumstances. This is what God wants from you in your life in union with Christ Jesus. Do not restrain the Holy Spirit; do not despise inspired messages. Put all things to the test: keep what is good and avoid every kind of evil. May the God who gives us peace make you holy in every way and keep your whole being—spirit, soul, and body—free from every fault at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you will do it, because he is faithful. Pray also for us, friends. Greet all the believers with the kiss of peace. I urge you by the authority of the Lord to read this letter to all the believers. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Steve Webb 5:51
All right, well, today in this first section of my comments, I’m going to explain a little bit about how I do my Bible study. We’re talking about chapter 4 here. And in doing this, I hope I can help you enrich your reading of the Bible. And so let’s get started. Now, most of us who are serious about Bible study, know that reading from more than one translation is a good thing, especially if you’re going to be teaching or preaching. Well, today’s reading is an excellent example of why it’s a good idea to have more than one translation. The translation we read from today is the Good News Translation. And in that, chapter 4, verses 4 and 5 says, “Each of you should know how to live with your wife in a holy and honorable way, not with a lustful desire, like the heathen who do not know God.” Well, as I read that, it seemed just kind of “off” to me. Not that there’s anything wrong with living “with your wife in a holy and honorable way,” but tying this thought to “not with a lustful desire, like the heathen” just really didn’t sit right with me because sexual desire between a husband and a wife is a gift from God. So I decided that I should look at how other translations rendered this passage. And here are some examples of verse 4. The English Standard Version says “that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor.” The NIV says, “that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable.” And then for good measure, the King James says, “that every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor.” So the English Standard and the NIV agree on the translation of “body.” But as you heard, the King James said, “possess his vessel.” And none of these three referred to the “wife.” So I read this verse in several other translations, the New American Standard, Young’s Literal Translation, the Holman Christian Standard Bible, the New Living Translation, and all of them agreed on the “body.” And the God’s Word Translation and Contemporary English Version used “wife” in one way or another. So what do we do? How should this verse properly be translated? Well, we need to go to the original language, and thankfully, we don’t need to take a complete course in Greek, which is the language used in the New Testament, to find out. The first thing I do is consult what is called an interlinear New Testament. An interlinear New Testament has the complete text of the New Testament with the Greek words appearing either directly above or directly below the English words, so you can see which exact Greek word is used. That’s the first step. The next step, if you don’t know Greek, is to use either a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance or a Young’s Analytical Concordance. When I did this study, I used the Young’s. Both Young’s and Strong’s use the King James, so I looked up the word “vessel.” I didn’t look up “body.” I looked up “vessel” because that’s the word that we want to look at. And I found out that there are two Greek words used in the New Testament that are translated into the English word “vessel.” One of these words is used only twice in the book of Matthew. And in this case, the word means “vessel” or “utensil.” The other Greek word is used eighteen times in the New Testament, and it means “vessel,” “utensil,” or “instrument.” And this is the word in our reading today. Now, in my opinion, the thought that Paul wanted to convey to us is this: Our bodies are the vessel or instrument that contains our souls. And we should not allow our vessels to be controlled by lust as do those who don’t know God. There is no mention of husbands or wives in the original language, and I, therefore, don’t think that it should be included in the text of the verse. Now, in the defense of the translations that do include it, the argument can be made that Paul implied the thought of husbands and/or wives because sexual desire is only proper in the context of marriage. And since he was teaching against what the King James refers to as “fornication” in this section of the Bible, or what we today would call “sexual immorality,” he would be saying that sexual desire should only be for your husband or your wife. And so now you know a little bit about how I study the Bible. Having several translations of the Bible is a good thing, but as you read them, it’s important to take into consideration that some are more faithful to the original language, and others are less concerned with word-for-word accuracy, and they emphasize more of an idea-for-idea approach to Bible translation. When we compare different translations to each other, and then use tools like the Strong’s or the Young’s Concordances, and an interlinear Bible combined with prayer and the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I believe that we can reach a more complete understanding of the Scripture. And it really does add a whole lot to your understanding and your enjoyment of Bible study. Now, let’s take a look at verses 13 through 18 here in chapter 4. These verses deal with the return of Jesus. These verses tell us that at his return, the believers who have died will be resurrected. And then those who are believers and are alive will be gathered up or caught up along with the ones who have just been resurrected to meet the Lord in the air. This event is often called the Rapture. Well, where do we get that term? We didn’t see the word “rapture” in that chapter, right? Well, the Latin Vulgate, translated the phrase “caught up” as “rapturus” which is where we get the word “rapture.” Now, I know it sounds like a fantastic event. It sounds like it could be a fairy tale. But listen, this event will happen. Paul said, “What we are teaching you now is the Lord’s teaching…” So in saying this, Paul was emphasizing that this is not his idea, but it came directly from Jesus. Bible commentator Adam Clarke wrote this, “In no place does the apostle speak more confidently and positively of his inspiration than here; and we should prepare ourselves to receive some momentous and interesting truth.” So there really should be no doubt on the part of the believer that this is something – this Rapture, this catching up – is something that will happen at some time in the future. Well, that brings us to chapter 5. And I believe that it’s important to reiterate what Jesus said in Matthew 24:36. He said, “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows.” I think whenever we study end-times prophecy that we need to remember that. I’ve talked a lot about that recently, so I won’t expand on that thought anymore at this point. So here in verse 2, in chapter 5, Paul told the Thessalonians, “…the Day of the Lord will come as a thief comes at night.” Now a thief does not make an announcement letting his victims know when he’ll arrive right? In the same way, we don’t know when Jesus will return. But like the prudent homeowner who prepares for the thief, we must also be prepared. And then Paul continued in verse 3, “When people say, ‘Everything is quiet and safe,’ then suddenly destruction will hit them!” So for those who are unprepared, for the unbeliever, this day will be a sad one, indeed. Destruction will hit them. Yeah, it’ll be too late at that point for them. Now, listen, there was also a clue in this statement as to the conditions in the world when Jesus returns. Again, Paul said, “When people say, ‘Everything is quiet and safe,’ then suddenly destruction will hit them!” So when the Rapture happens, it’ll come when there is quiet and safety in the world. But in Matthew 24, the disciples asked Jesus when they’ll know that his return is coming. And he told the disciples what signs to look for. He talks about the “abomination of desolation” from the book of Daniel, the destruction of the temple. Now, some people believe that this happened in AD 70. Others believe the temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem at some time in the future, and that this is where the abomination of desolation will take place. Now, we don’t have time on the show to get into that debate. And as I’ve said, I’m pretty dogmatic about not being dogmatic when it comes to end-times prophecy. But what we can know for sure, is that Jesus talked about a terrible time coming prior to his return. So then what do we do with the quiet and safe that Paul talked about here before the Rapture, and with the turmoil that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24? Well, it seems to me that the Rapture is going to occur before the Tribulation begins, but let me hurry to say that others believe it’ll happen halfway through the Tribulation. And still, others think that it’ll be at the end of the Tribulation. And there are lots of plausible arguments for each theory. And many books have been written by people who have spent lots of time poring over the scriptures. I read several of them back in the 80s. But since then I’ve not read any others. I think it’s more important just to know that Jesus will return and that we must be ready. Well, how do we get ready? Good question. It’s an important question. Here’s the answer. We have to know that we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ. That’s it. Jesus has to be our Lord and Savior. Really, preparing for his return is no different than preparing for eternity. Each of us – if Jesus doesn’t come back first – will die. Nobody gets out of here alive. So what happens when we die? Well, if we’ve placed our faith in Jesus we’ll go to heaven. So preparing for his return is no more than living our lives in such a way that pleases God. First, we accept Jesus as our Savior. And then we want to live in such a way that we glorify God. We’re here on planet Earth, to do just that, to glorify God. We’re to share the Good News of a Risen Savior. We’re to be salt and light as Jesus said. We are to make disciples, as he said in the Great Commission just before he ascended into heaven. We are not in anticipation of his coming to withdraw from the world and just wait. That would be a terrible waste of time, talent, and treasure, as in Jesus’ parable in Luke 19, verses 11 through 27, and the Lord would not be pleased. If you don’t know what that parable is, look it up. Luke 19, verses 11 through 27. Are you prepared? I hope so because if we never meet here on Earth, I sure do want to meet you there. What are your thoughts? Call the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511. You can also comment via boostagram or go to comment.lifespringmedia.com. Tomorrow will be The Law Monday and we’ll read Leviticus 22 through 24.

Steve Webb 17:24
I have two Associate Producers to thank today. Lifespring Family Berean Sister Ann sent in $100. And Anonymous sent in $33.33. I should have a bell. Ding! Thanks so much to both of you and may God bless you. Boostagram. And once again 500 sats came in from user 2558 over there at Fountain on the Luke 23 and 24, The Quickened Heart episode. 2558 said “Thank you.” and I say back to you, thank you and God bless you.

Jingle 17:56
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Steve Webb 18:09
This is number eight in our series on the Essentials of the Faith. Today we’re going to continue talking about what we believe about Jesus. To review, this is the statement that we’re looking at. “We believe that Jesus Christ is God, the Living Word who became flesh through his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and his virgin birth. Hence he is perfect deity and true humanity united in one person forever.” So today we’re going to talk about the third and fourth part of that. “…Jesus…who became flesh through his miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit and his virgin birth. He is perfect deity and true humanity united in one person forever.” Okay, enough preamble, huh? Let’s get to it. Jesus was not conceived in the same way that all other babies are conceived. We’re told in Luke chapter 1 that the angel Gabriel came to Jesus’ mother, Mary, before she was married to Joseph and told her in verses 28 through 33, “’ Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’” Well, in response, Mary said, “How can this happen since I have never known a man?” And Gabriel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.” And then in Matthew chapter 1, we’re told that when she became pregnant and Joseph found out about it, he put two and two together and decided that she had been unfaithful, and he was going to quietly break off the engagement not wanting to bring her shame. But verses 20 through 23 says, “But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’ All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ (which means, God with us).” And by the way, the prophet there was Isaiah and you can find that prophecy in Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. So the Bible tells us that Mary became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. And then Matthew 1:24 & 25 says, “When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.” Now, it’s important to remember that the Holy Spirit is Spirit, not flesh. Genesis 1:2 says, “The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Well, Mary’s womb at the time of Jesus’ conception was also void or empty when the Holy Spirit created life within her. So just as the Earth came into being by an act of God, so did the incarnation of Jesus. But as we’ve learned, Jesus, the Son of God has always existed. He is the second Person of the Trinity, right? And with his birth to this woman, he was also fully human, but without sin. Hebrews 7:26 says, “For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens.” So, Beloved, by being completely without sin, he was the perfect, spotless Lamb of God worthy to be the sacrifice for my sins and for yours. This Wednesday, Lord willing, we’ll talk about the fact that Jesus lived a sinless life and voluntarily atoned for the sins of men by dying on the cross as their substitute, thus satisfying divine justice at accomplishing salvation for all who trust in him alone. I hope you’ll be here Wednesday.

Steve Webb 22:36
Praises and prayer requests. I’ve got a praise report. Some men from Del and Kathi’s church completely rebuilt the stairs leading down to their house from their parking area this past week. You’ll remember that they took a big fall a couple of weeks ago, maybe more than two weeks, yeah, more than two weeks ago. But they… they took a fall because one of those stairs leading down to their landing from their parking area collapsed when they were standing on it, and they fell 12 to 15 feet down to the ground. Kathi had to be in the hospital for a few days. Del wasn’t badly hurt, he was bruised up. But the church heard about it, and they decided to take action. They didn’t just replace the stair treads though. They replaced the whole kit and caboodle. I’ll have a couple of pictures up at Lifespringmedia.com/s13e211. If you’d like to take a look. And they’ll be coming back this week to paint. So how cool is that? And they did it all at no charge to Del and Kathi. And that, Beloved, is how a church is meant to work. Praise the Lord for that. And Kathi had some tests run early this week at City of Hope. Her cancer markers are up 29 points which is not the direction we want to see. But the doctor said that it’s still too early to make any conclusions about the effectiveness of the medications that she’s taking for the cancer. They’ll be doing another PET scan in late May or early June to take a look at the cancer to see whether or not it is responding. And Bryan Duncan and I have a standing appointment to have breakfast together every Thursday morning. But this Thursday, we won’t be able to keep that date because that’s the day that he’s taking his wife, Cassie, to USC Medical Center to meet with a doctor who will see about doing her surgery for that very painful nerve in her face that has made life so miserable for the last few years. We’re praying that he’ll take her case. So let’s pray. Our heavenly Father, we thank you for who you are. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the creator of all that is. You are the God of heaven and earth, the Sovereign One, the Righteous One, the Merciful One, the Holy One. Oh God, we seek your face and we ask forgiveness for the many times that we have not been holy people, set apart, different, striving to be the people you want us to be. We acknowledge that we’ve not done all we can to be salt and light, Lord. We’ve not spoken the name of Jesus when you’ve prompted us to and now we’re reaping what we have sown. Lord God, let there be a revival in the world, and let it begin with us. Give us courage, Lord, to live our lives in such a way that people around us know that we belong to you. Give us the determination to boldly speak the name of Jesus when your Holy Spirit tells us to. Help us to share the good news of a Risen Christ whenever we have an opportunity. And Lord, help us to see the opportunities when you present them to us. We know that you are the answer for what is wrong in the world today. And we ask you to give us the courage to do all you call us to, to help lost and dying people find you. Father, we thank you for these good people at Del and Kathi’s church who have been so giving of their time and their finances and who have followed your leading to care for the needy and the aged. I pray that you would pour out your blessings on that church, and on the men who worked so hard to provide them with a safe and sturdy staircase. Bless them, Lord. And we pray that this cancer medication will really begin to kick in and put the cancer into remission, Lord. And when Kathi has that PET scan in a few weeks we pray that it shows that to be true. And now Lord, we pray that Cassie and Bryan will have good news this week when the doctor examines her, Lord. She’s become so weak, Father. Bring healing, either through your miraculous touch or through this doctor. And, Father, now, I thank you for the Lifespring family and I pray that you would bless them today. I know that there are needs of various kinds, Lord, but there is nothing that you cannot do. And you know each and every person and each and every need. I pray that you will be the supply to every need, Lord, and I ask that you would bless the Lifespring family. We pray these things in Jesus’ name. Amen. Beloved, our next time of prayer together here on the show, will be Wednesday. If there’s a praise that you’d like to share with us or if there’s something you’d like us to pray with you about, tell me about it on the Lifespring Family Hotline at +1-951-732-8511 or go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com.

Steve Webb 27:13
Jason Paschall did today’s show art. Thank you, Jason. And thanks to Sister Denise, and Michael Haner, Scott Snider, and Sister Brittaney. God bless you guys. And, Beloved, thank you for inviting me along with you today. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

Announcer 27:30
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai