Transcript

Today’s Bible Translation

Bible translation used in today’s episode: Ch. 25 NIV

Associate Producer

Timothy La Fontaine

Podcast Introduction

It’s  Poetry Thursday, and we’ll read Proverbs 25. I’m calling this episode “Love Your Enemies?“

Summary

Proverbs 25, along with the following chapters, contains a collection of proverbs attributed to King Solomon. These proverbs were compiled by King Hezekiah of Judah, approximately 270 years after Solomon’s death. One of the verses in Proverbs 25, verse 21, encourages kindness towards enemies by providing food and water to those in need. The subsequent verse, verse 22, has been subject to various interpretations. Some suggest that it refers to a burning conviction experienced by the enemy when they receive kindness, while others propose the idea of lending a burning coal to help them start a fire. Regardless of how the enemy perceives this act, the focus of the proverb is on the responsibility of being kind to enemies. This aligns with the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5:43-47, where he encourages love and prayers for enemies. Although it may not be easy, believers are called to love their enemies and can rely on the Holy Spirit for the ability to do so. Love is not solely based on emotions but is demonstrated through actions. By choosing to act in loving ways, bridges can be built even in difficult relationships.

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The Team

Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Denise: Transcript Correction
Michael Haner: Podcasting 2.0 Chapters
Scott Snider: Show Art
Jason Paschall: Show Art
Lifespring Family Berean, Sister Brittaney: Newsletter Publisher

Transcript

Download .txt file.

Transcript corrected by Sister Denise

Steve Webb 0:00
Love is an action.

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 Poetry Thursday, and we’ll read Proverbs chapter 25. The website is lifespringmedia.com, and I’ll have contact information for you at the end of the show. And I’m sure you noticed that yesterday’s episode was an encore edition from last year. I had told you that I was going to try to get a new episode out for you after my cataract surgery yesterday, but by the time I got home, there just wasn’t enough time to get it done. I’ll tell you more about my surgery a bit later in the show. Plus I got some information. I’ve got an ept… I’ve got an update on Cassie’s surgery as well. Before we read, let’s pray. Our heavenly Father, we love you and we thank you for your Word. We thank you, Lord, for telling us about yourself in the Word. As we read today, I pray that you would bless us I pray that you would teach us and touch our hearts. I pray this in Jesus’ precious name. Amen. All right, are you ready? Let’s begin.

Steve Webb 1:16
Proverbs, chapter 25. These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah: It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. As the heavens are high and the earth is deep, so the hearts of kings are unsearchable. Remove the dross from the silver, and a silversmith can produce a vessel; remove wicked officials from the king’s presence, and his throne will be established through righteousness. Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence, and do not claim a place among his great men; it is better for him to say to you, “Come up here,” than for him to humiliate you before his nobles. What you have seen with your eyes do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame? If you take your neighbor to court, do not betray another’s confidence, or the one who hears it may shame you and the charge against you will stand. Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a ruling rightly given. Like an earring of gold or an ornament of fine gold is the rebuke of a wise judge to a listening ear. Like a snow-cooled drink at harvest time is a trustworthy messenger to the one who sends him; he refreshes the spirit of his master. Like clouds and wind without rain is one who boasts of gifts never given. Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. If you find honey, eat just enough— too much of it, and you will vomit. Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house— too much of you, and they will hate you. Like a club or a sword or a sharp arrow is one who gives false testimony against a neighbor. Like a broken tooth or a lame foot is reliance on the unfaithful in a time of trouble. Like one who takes away a garment on a cold day, or like vinegar poured on a wound, is one who sings songs to a heavy heart. If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you. Like a north wind that brings unexpected rain is a sly tongue—which provokes a horrified look. Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife. Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land. Like a muddied spring or a polluted well are the righteous who give way to the wicked. It is not good to eat too much honey, nor is it honorable to search out matters that are too deep. Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.

Steve Webb 4:17
Proverbs 25 is a set of proverbs from 25 to 29 that were collected under the supervision of King Hezekiah of Judah about 270 years after Solomon died. Let me read for you verses 21 and 22 again. “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” The first part of that verse 21 is self-explanatory. Give your enemy food and give him water. But 22, what does that mean? “In doing this, you’ll heap burning coals on his head and the Lord will reward you.” Well, commentators over the years have not agreed whether heaping coals on the head is a good thing or a bad thing from the viewpoint of the enemy. And it could be referring to a burning conviction that happens in the heart of the enemy when we do something good for them. Or maybe the thought is of lending a burning coal to him to help him light a fire for himself. The motivation nonetheless is that we make a friend of an enemy and we will receive a reward from the Lord. Adam Clarke wrote in one of his commentaries, quote, “Not to consume, but to melt him into kindness,” unquote. Bruce Waltke, a respected Old Testament scholar who’s written an excellent two-volume set of commentaries on the book of Proverbs said, quote, “Most commentators agree with Augustine and Jerome that the ‘coals of fire’ refers to ‘burning pangs of shame’ which a man will feel when good is returned for evil, his shame producing remorse and contrition.” Well, I don’t know, but whether the coals on his head is positive or negative, from the viewpoint of your enemy, really isn’t the point. His attitude is not your concern. It doesn’t change your responsibility. In this proverb, God is telling us that we should be kind to our enemy. And isn’t that really what Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-47? Here it is: “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that.” Well, this is, of course, not an easy thing to do. At least not for me. Maybe you’re different. But it is what we are called to do. And that’s why we have the Holy Spirit. Because through him, we have the ability to love our enemies. The question is, will we? Do you remember yesterday’s episode, “I Will”? Loving our enemies is an act of will. It isn’t based on our emotions. It certainly is not as easy as deciding to praise the Lord as yesterday’s episode was about, but it can be done. Remember, love is an action. It’s things that we do. Obviously, it helps if we feel good about the person, but even when we don’t, we can do loving actions. And who knows when we do those things, maybe we’ll build some bridges. What are your thoughts? Do you have comments or questions? Contact information is at the end of today’s show. I do read every comment and I just might play your audio comment or read your comment on the show. So please don’t be shy. Let me hear from you. Tomorrow will be Prophecy Friday and we’ll complete the book of Amos by reading chapters 5 through 9.

Steve Webb 8:13
Timothy LaFontaine came in with his monthly $20 donation making him today’s Associate Producer. Timothy thank you so very much and God bless you. Boost. And we got a couple of boostagrams. @smarroquin sent in 1000 sats on the Philemon: Slavery in Biblical Times. He didn’t leave a message he just sent the boost. So thank you so much @smarroquin3. God bless you. And Fountain user number 9190 – I think that’s Brother Howie in Phoenix – and he sent in 500 sats. If you’d like to donate time, talent, or treasure or find out more about what that’s all about, go here: lifespringmedia.com/support. I will thank you and I believe that God’ll bless you.

Steve Webb 9:00
I’d usually save this for our next prayer request and praises day which will be this coming Sunday, by the way, but in case you were wondering about yesterday’s cataract surgery, I wanted to tell you a little bit about it. Very quickly, let me thank you for your prayers, first of all. The surgery went well with no complications and I was sent home with a clear plastic shield taped over the eye, which stayed on until today’s post-op checkup with the surgeon. The checkup was fast and easy. And the doctor said, and I quote, “You’re perfect!” Who knew that a simple cataract surgery would remove all my defects? I am perfect. The Lovely Lady LeeAnn was there when the doctor said it so now when she says that I’ve made some sort of mistake at any time in the future, I’ll just tell her, “That’s impossible! I’m perfect.” Please leave a message. And speaking of the Lovely Lady LeeAnn. She called the Lifespring Family Hotline and left this message.

LeeAnn Webb 9:54
Hello, my love. I just wanted to say hi to all the Lifespring family and thank them so much for their prayers during your surgery. And that helped to calm the nerves a bit for you. And it also helped the doctors to do well in the surgery. So we’re just really grateful for their love and their participation in our life. We would love to hear from you guys. Tell us maybe what you’re doing for summer, and how God’s blessing. Take care, and hopefully, you’ll give us a call. Bye-bye.

Steve Webb 10:20
Thank you, Sweetheart, for that message, and I echo what she said. So anyway, praise the Lord that the surgery did go well. It’ll be several days before the vision clears up because things are still a bit fuzzy looking, but I’m not worried about that. And also a praise is due for Cassie’s surgery. They took her into the operating room at about 11 am and in the recovery room at about 1:30 pm. And then at about 3:45, Brian said this, he said, “Cass is awake and crying tears of joy. She said ‘I’m gonna get my life back.'” And then today, Wednesday, while I was putting this episode together, it occurred to me that it would be great to play for you a song that Brian wrote just a few days ago. It’s called “Wonderful Things.” I think it goes very well with his great news about Cassie. So I texted him to see if it’d be okay with him if I would share it with you and also how Cassie’s doing and he sent this.

Bryan Duncan 11:12
Yeah, sure. You know what, there’s never a problem with you using anything from my podcast. I wouldn’t have a podcast if it wasn’t for you. Cassie, they’re gonna move her out of ICU later today. They’re filling out the paperwork now because she’s doing that well. They had her out walking up and down the halls, you know, ’cause that’s the first thing they do is try to get you to start eating and swallowing and, you know, walking. And then they had her doing exercises from her lounge chair. You know, lift your legs, bend your feet. Occupational therapist came by to test her reflexes and stuff ’cause they’re watching her brain basically, just make sure that nothing got tweaked. The only thing is, man, when she stands up, she… They had her walk over to the sink to brush her teeth this morning. Man, she… That’s as shaky as I’ve ever seen her. She just… just tremors almost. But they said it’s common because, you know, you’ve just got a hole in your head and the anesthesia hasn’t completely worn off and they don’t really know why anesthesia doesn’t wear off the same for everybody. But it may be a couple of days before she’s not loopy. And of course, I’ll blame that on how… I’ll blame that on everything she does from here on out. But they’re gonna move her sometime this afternoon. Right now she’s taking a nap because they were waking her up every… now it’s only every four hours. And now they’re… they’ve cut her medication, the oxycarbamazepine. At least for now, they’ve cut it in half. She went from 600 milligram to 300 milligrams in just literally overnight. So, you know, we’re well on the road, but they said four to eight weeks for her head to heal. And that’s what she says hurts the most right now, is right at the incision.

Steve Webb 13:00
Now before I play this, for those of you that might not know Brian was with the Sweet Comfort Band back in the 70s. And during his solo career, he won a couple of Dove Awards which is like the Christian Grammys. And instead of just playing the track, I’m going to play his podcast episode in which he introduced and played the song. His podcast is called “Nutshell Sermons,” and most of the episodes are about two minutes long. This one is just under four minutes.

Bryan Duncan 13:22
Bryan, your lunatic friend here. I was filling in for a worship service at Tim Storey’s church in Los Angeles. Turns out some of the players on his worship team were guys that used to back up R&B singers back in the day of Smokey Robinson and the Supremes. And after the service, I told him worship music would be a lot funner if it sounded like Motown. So the next day they sent me some standard Motown tracks. And just for fun, I decided I would write songs to ’em, at least a couple of ’em. We played the songs live next time I came down and they got a standing ovation. This is the live recording. I took that and added my own voices to fatten the background vocals. So here’s a rough idea of what I would do if I was in charge of the worship service.

Bryan Duncan 14:01
There wouldn’t be a heaven without you. Wouldn’t be a place to belong. No answer to prayer, no chance to be there. Be no hope for heaven at all. So I got to say thank you for the wonderful things that I forgot to thank you for. I got to say thank you for the wonderful things before I come knockin’ for more. There wouldn’t be a heaven without you. No hand to hold the world in place. The wonderful joy of forgiveness to us. Nothing like your mercy and grace. So I got to say thank you for the wonderful things that I forgot to thank you for. I got to say thank you for the wonderful things before I come knockin’ for more. So let me say just bein’ here and being on my side, walking with me every day. Your love for me I see is tried and true. So thank you for the wonderful things that I forgot to thank you for. I got to say thank you for the wonderful things before I come knockin’ for more. Thank you for this and thank you for that. Thank you for this and thank you for… Thank you for this and thank you for that. Thank you for this and thank you for… Just bein’ here and being on my side, walking with me every day. Your love for me I see is tried and true. So thank you for the wonderful things that I forgot to thank you for. I got to say thank you for the wonderful things before I come knockin’ for more. So I got to say thank you for the wonderful things that I forgot to thank you for. I got to say thank you for the wonderful things before I come… before I come knockin’ for more.

Bryan Duncan 17:00
I hope to do a better recording of this eventually ’cause who knows, maybe we could worship God without sounding like we’re on Prozac. Let me know what you think by leaving a comment under this post. If you’re on a podcast app, you might have to go to the URL. Just type in nutshellsermons.com and sign the comments under “Wonderful Things.”

Steve Webb 17:18
Yes, thank you, Lord, indeed. How’d you like that? Wouldn’t it be cool to have some of this kind of music in a worship service? I would love it. Check out Brian’s podcast at nutshellsermons.com or on your favorite podcast app. One of the things he’s been doing on the show is a series about the Jesus Revolution of the 70s from his perspective. It’s a fun listen. On the desktop version of his website, click on “Jesus N Music” and on a mobile device, click on the three horizontal lines at the top of the page and tap on “Jesus N Music.” Now my next step with Brian is to really get him squared away with value-for-value. His podcast is enabled for receiving sats right now, but he isn’t doing much with it. But if you’d like to send him some treasure, you can do that on a modern podcast app. Nutshell Sermons. Send him some love.

Steve Webb 18:17
I would love to hear from you. If you have a comment. If you have a question or a prayer request or a praise report, here’s how to reach me. To leave a voice message, call the Lifespring Family Hotline at
+1-951-732-8511. Or if you prefer to use your keyboard, for prayer requests and praise reports go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com. Or for comments or questions go to comment.lifespringmedia.com. Of course, boostagrams are always welcome. And lastly, my email address is st***@*************ia.com. Thanks to Sister Denise, Michael Haner, Scott Snider, Jason Paschall, and Sister Brittaney for their donations of time and talent. Today’s show art is by Jason Paschall. And also thanks to Associate Producer Timothy LaFontaine for his donation of treasure today to support the show. Thanks for the boostagrams. Thanks for the streaming sats and thanks to each one of you who have ever donated at any time in the past. You’re all a tremendous help and encouragement to me. You truly do help to keep the show going. God bless each one of you. Thank you for spending time with me today. Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly. My name is Steve Webb. Bye.

Announcer 19:28
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Transcribed by https://otter.ai