We don't need to be taught to do it.
This is the LifeSpring One Year Bible Rewind,
and coming to you from Riverside, California,
I'm Steve Webb, your OG Godcaster.
This is the podcast that comes to you every single day,
and we're reading the entire Bible together in a year.
I'm so glad you're here.
Welcome.
The website is lifespringmedia.com.
Hey, if you're new to the show, I'm very glad you're here.
I hope you like what you hear,
and will join us on our journey through the Word of God.
And don't worry about joining us late.
If you'd like, you can go back anytime to listen to the earlier episodes and get caught up.
And our way of reading through the Bible probably needs a little explanation.
For our purposes, I've divided the Bible into seven sections.
And we read from each section on specific days of the week.
On Mondays, we read from the law.
That's Genesis through Deuteronomy.
On Tuesdays, we read from history.
That's Joshua through Esther.
And then on Wednesday, we read through Psalms.
On Thursdays, we read through the books of poetry.
That's Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs.
On Friday, we read from books of prophecy, Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc., down to Revelation
at the end of the year.
On Saturdays, we read from the Gospels.
And on Sundays, we read from the Epistles.
And one more thing.
We don't have listeners here.
We have family.
If you are here, you're part of the LifeSpring family.
And if you've been with me for a while, make the newcomers feel welcome.
Introduce yourself.
Show them around.
it. It's National Milk Day. Could there possibly be a better friend to chocolate chip cookies? I
don't think so. And since it's Sunday, I call it Epistle Sunday. We'll read from the epistle of
Paul to the Corinthians. We'll read 1 Corinthians 9 and 10. Plus, we'll have an On This Date in
Church History segment and a time of prayer. Let's begin. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you so much
for our time together. We thank you for your word, and we pray, God, that you would teach us today.
We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
1 Corinthians chapter 9
Am I not a free man?
Am I not an apostle?
Haven't I seen Jesus our Lord?
And aren't you the result of my work for the Lord?
Even if others do not accept me as an apostle, surely you do.
Because of your life in union with the Lord, you yourselves are proof of the fact that
I am an apostle.
When people criticize me, this is how I defend myself.
Don't I have the right to be given food and drink for my work?
Don't I have the right to follow the example of the other apostles and the Lord's brothers in Peter
by taking a Christian wife with me on my trips?
Or are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to work for our living?
What soldiers ever have to pay their own expenses in the army?
What farmers do not eat the grapes from their own vineyard?
What shepherds do not use the milk from their own sheep?
I don't have to limit myself to these everyday examples,
because the law says the same thing. We read in the Law of Moses,
Do not muzzle an ox when you are using it to thresh grain.
Now, is God concerned about oxen? Didn't He really mean us when He said that?
Of course that was written for us. Anyone who plows and anyone who reaps should do their work
in the hope of getting a share of the crop. We have sown spiritual seed among you. Is it too
much if we reap material benefits from you? If others have the right to expect this from you,
don't we have an even greater right? But we haven't made use of this right. Instead,
we have endured everything in order not to put any obstacle in the way of the good news about Christ.
Surely you know that the men who work in the temple get their food from the temple,
and that those who offer the sacrifices on the altar get a share of the sacrifices.
In the same way, the Lord has ordered that those who preach the gospel should get their living from
But I haven't made use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this now in order to claim such rights for myself.
I would rather die first.
Nobody is going to turn my rightful boast into empty words.
I have no right to boast just because I preach the gospel.
After all, I am under orders to do so.
And how terrible it would be for me if I did not preach the gospel.
If I did my work as a matter of free choice, then I could expect to be paid.
but I do it as a matter of duty because God has entrusted me with this task.
What pay do I get then?
It is the privilege of preaching the good news without charging for it,
without claiming my rights in my work for the gospel.
I am a free man, nobody's slave,
but I make myself everybody's slave in order to win as many people as possible.
While working with the Jews, I live like a Jew in order to win them,
and even though I myself am not subject to the law of Moses,
I live as though I were when working with those who are in order to win them. In the same way,
when working with Gentiles, I live like a Gentile, outside the Jewish law, in order to win Gentiles.
This does not mean that I don't obey God's law. I am really under Christ's law.
Among the weak in faith, I become weak like one of them in order to win them.
So I become all things to all people, that I may save some of them by whatever means are possible.
All this I do for the gospel's sake in order to share in its blessings.
Surely you know that many runners take part in a race, but only one of them wins the prize.
Run, then, in such a way as to win the prize.
Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline in order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last,
but we do it for one that will last forever.
That is why I run straight for the finish line.
That is why I am like a boxer who does not waste his punches.
I harden my body with blows and bring it under complete control to keep myself from being disqualified after having called others to the contest.
1 Corinthians chapter 10
Brothers and sisters, I want you to be sure of the fact that our ancestors were all under the cloud, and they all went through the sea.
All were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink.
They drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.
However, God was unhappy with most of them, and they were struck down in the wilderness.
These things were examples for us, so we don't crave evil things like they did.
Don't worship false gods like some of them did.
As it is written, the people sat down to eat and drink, and they got up to play.
Let's not practice sexual immorality like some of them did, and 23,000 died in one day.
Let's not test Christ like some of them did and were killed by the snakes.
Let's not grumble like some of them did and were killed by the destroyer.
These things happened to them as an example and were written as a warning for us to whom the end of time has come.
So those who think they are standing need to watch out or else they may fall.
No temptation has seized you that isn't common for people.
But God is faithful. He won't allow you to be tempted beyond your abilities.
Instead, with the temptation, God will also supply a way out so that you will be able to endure it.
So then, my dear friends, run away from the worship of false gods.
I'm talking to you like you are sensible people.
Think about what I'm saying.
Isn't the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ?
Isn't the loaf of bread that we break a sharing of the body of Christ?
Since there is one loaf of bread, we who are many are one body,
because we all share the one loaf of bread. Look at the people of Israel. Don't those who eat the
sacrifices share from the altar? What am I saying then? That food sacrificed to a false god is
anything, or that a false god is anything? No, but this kind of sacrifice is sacrificed to demons
and not to God. I don't want you to be sharing in demons. You can't drink the cup of the Lord and
the cup of demons. You can't participate in the table of the Lord and the table of demons.
Or should we make the Lord jealous? We aren't stronger than He is, are we? Everything is
permitted, but everything isn't beneficial. Everything is permitted, but everything doesn't
build others up. No one should look out for their own advantage, but they should look out for each
other. Eat everything that is sold in the marketplace without asking questions about it
because of your conscience. The earth and all that is in it belong to the Lord. If an unbeliever
invites you to eat with them and you want to go, eat whatever is served without asking questions
because of your conscience. But if someone says to you, this meat was sacrificed in a temple,
then don't eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for the sake of conscience.
Now when I say conscience, I don't mean yours, but the other person's.
Why should my freedom be judged by someone else's conscience? If I participate with gratitude,
why should I be blamed for food I thank God for? So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do,
you should do it all for God's glory. Don't offend either Jews or Greeks or God's church.
This is the same thing that I do. I please everyone in everything I do. I don't look
out for my own advantage, but I look out for many people so that they can be saved.
I've got thoughts today on chapters 9 and 10. In chapter 9, the Apostle Paul wrote
that those who preach the gospel should get their living from it. In other words, those who are
ministered to should support the one who ministers to them. He spent nearly the entire chapter on this
point, making it in different ways because some in the church in Corinth were unwilling to support
him. Paul did not insist on claiming the right to be supported by them, but he gave them several
reasons that he could insist. After all, as he wrote in verse 14, the Lord has ordered that those
who preach the gospel should get their living from it. Well, what do you think about that?
Does that make sense? Does that seem right? What are you going to do about it?
Chapter 10. You know, we humans have an astonishing ability to rationalize. You know what rationalization
is, right? I like the definition at yourdictionary.com. It is to justify an immoral act or
illogical behavior, the process of thought by which one justifies a discreditable act,
and by which one offers to oneself and the world a better motive for one's actions than the true
motive. You know, it's a skill that we come by naturally, too. We don't need to be taught to do
it. After a sandwich and a cookie, Johnny's mom tells the three-year-old,
don't eat that other cookie. I'm going to give that to Daddy when he comes home.
Well, then there's a knock at the door, so Johnny's mom leaves the kitchen for a moment
to see who's at the door. While she's gone, Johnny does indeed eat the cookie,
and Mom comes back just in time to see Johnny finish the last bite.
I told you not to eat that cookie, she says. Three-year-old Johnny says,
But I was hungry.
Well, listen, Johnny wasn't hungry.
He just had a sandwich and a cookie.
He just wanted the second cookie.
So his three-year-old mentality rationalized to his mom that he was hungry.
Beloved, we do that too, don't we?
We tell ourselves, well, it's okay to have an affair because my spouse doesn't appreciate me,
doesn't understand me, doesn't give me enough attention.
Or it's okay to steal this because the store owner has insurance.
Or, it's okay to look at this website, no one will know.
Or, it's okay to have someone else clock me in at work, I can be late because they don't pay me enough anyway.
Or there's this famous one, how could it be wrong if it feels so right?
And so it goes.
Oh, and there's one more, I knew it was wrong, but I just couldn't help myself, I just had to.
And then you fill it in.
Okay, every rationalization is nothing but an excuse to sin.
You know it.
I know it.
God knows it.
Paul wrote in verse 13 of our chapter here,
No temptation has seized you that is in common for people.
But God is faithful.
He won't allow you to be tempted beyond your abilities.
Instead, with temptation, God will also supply a way out so that you will be able to endure it.
Beloved, your situation is not unique.
You might tell yourself it is, but as the writer of Ecclesiastes said in chapter 1, verse 9,
there is nothing new under the sun. God knows that we in ourselves are weak,
and He will not allow temptation into our lives that will be too much to bear. We have that
promise. So the excuse that we just had to give into the temptation just doesn't hold water.
He always gives us a way of escape from temptation.
As we recently read, Joseph fled the temptations of Potiphar's wife.
He didn't hang around long enough to weigh the pros and cons of succumbing to her advances.
He skedaddled.
Sometimes the way of escape comes with a cost, as it did for Joseph.
But we can't use the cost as yet another reason to rationalize the sinful behavior.
And by the way, the temptation itself is not a sin.
Jesus was tempted in the desert, right? And he was without sin. So temptation is not the problem.
The problem comes when we entertain temptation, when we fantasize about it. That's the wrong way
to deal with it because that feeds the temptation. How did Jesus deal with the temptation? He used
the word of God. Every answer he gave to the enemy began with, it is written, and then he quoted the
scripture. Three temptations, three scriptures, and then what happened? Satan left him.
We live in a fallen world, beloved. All of us are faced with temptation from time to time.
There isn't enough time here to deal with every situation, but you need to know that God will
never allow more than you can bear, and He will always make a way of escape. And take it from me,
making the escape is far, far, far better than giving in to the temptation.
What are your thoughts?
Tomorrow we'll complete the book of Genesis.
We'll read chapters 48 through 50.
Here's the verse of the day.
1 Corinthians 10.13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.
God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.
But with the temptation, He will also provide the way of escape,
that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10.13
Beloved, if you find that the Lifespring One-Year Bible Rewind is an important part of your day,
if it's helping you to read through the Bible,
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On this date in church history, January 11th is observed in much of the Christian calendar
as the baptism of the Lord, marking the moment when Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist in
the Jordan River. This event stands at the very beginning of Jesus' public ministry, of course.
As He came up out of the water, the Gospels tells us that the heavens opened,
the Spirit descended like a dove, and the Father's voice declared,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. It was a moment of public identification,
not repentance, but obedience. Before Jesus preached, taught, or performed miracle,
he was baptized. He stepped forward in obedience to the Father's will,
openly committing himself to the mission he had been given.
Praises and prayer requests. We don't have any praises or prayer requests from the LifeSpring
family today, but if you have a prayer request or praise that you'd like to share,
go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, what a joy it is to be yours.
Thank you for being our shield, our provider, our teacher.
Thank you for making a way for us to spend eternity with you when we accepted Jesus as
our Savior.
Lord, we thank you for all the beauty that you've created.
Yes, the world is groaning from the effects of sin, but still, there is much beauty around
us, and we thank you for that, Lord.
We also thank you that you always make a way out of tempting situations.
We pray for strength.
We pray for the voice of the Holy Spirit to speak to us in those times, and we pray for
clarity of thought, that we would see that rationalization is a fool's errand.
And I pray now for the Lifespring family, Lord.
I thank you for each one, and I ask that you would encourage them to hang in there for
the duration of this season.
I pray that you would use your word to reveal more of you to us, and that you would use
us to bring people into the kingdom.
Meet our needs today, Lord, in your perfect way, and we will thank you.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Beloved, our next time of prayer will be Wednesday.
If you have a praise or prayer request that you'd like to share, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com
or email me at steve at lifespringmedia.com or send a text or voice message to the Lifespring
Family Hotline.
What is that?
Well, here it is.
Lifespring Family Hotline, 951-732-8511.
If you enjoy the show, tell someone.
Beloved, God is faithful.
Temptation is common.
Escape is promised.
And obedience is always worth it.
Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly.
Thank you so much for being here.
I'm Steve Webb.
Bye.
All the programs in the Lifespring Media family are made possible by your value-for-value support.
Thank you.
The Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind is a Lifespring Media production hosted by Steve Webb, the OG Godcaster since 2004.