He hasn't been in his own mind.
This is the LifeSpring One-Year Bible Rewind, and coming to you from Riverside, California,
podcasting since 2004, I am your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb.
This is the podcast that comes to you every day, and we're reading the entire Bible together
in a year.
I'm so glad you're here.
Welcome.
Today is National Disc Jockey Day.
Hey, everybody.
With my background in radio, I had to share this one with you, of course.
Radio DJs are sort of a dying breed today, but DJs do still exist.
There's the club and festival DJs, the mobile and event DJs, and the turntablists.
This is mainly History Tuesday.
We'll read 1 Samuel 16-20.
After my comments, we'll have an On This Date in Church History.
And remember, Wednesday is one of the days we have praises and prayer requests, so that's tomorrow.
If God has done something really great in your life, let us know.
We want to rejoice with you.
And if there's something you'd like us to take to the Lord in prayer, we want to pray for you.
Prayer.lifespringmedia.com, Steve at lifespringmedia.com,
or leave a text or voicemail on the Lifespring Family Hotline at 951-732-8511.
Do it now before you forget.
One last thing before we get started.
I'll have a musical bonus at the end of today's show that will relate to today's reading in some way.
Hang around for that.
Let's begin.
Our Heavenly Father, Lord, we love you.
We thank you for your word and we thank you for loving us.
We thank you, Lord, that you made the sacrifice that enabled us to be able to spend eternity with you.
We will be literally forever, eternally grateful for that.
As we open your word now, speak to us, we pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
1 Samuel 16
The Lord said to Samuel,
How long do you intend to mourn for Saul?
I have rejected him as king over Israel.
Fill your horn with olive oil and go.
I am sending you to Jesse in Bethlehem,
for I have selected a king for myself from among his sons.
Samuel said, How can I go?
Saul will hear about it and kill me.
But the Lord said, Take a heifer with you and say,
I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.
Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice,
and I will show you what you should do.
You will anoint for me the one I point out to you.
Samuel did what the Lord told him.
When he arrived in Bethlehem, the elders of the city were afraid to meet him.
They said, Do you come in peace?
He replied, Yes, in peace.
I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.
Consecrate yourselves and come with me to the sacrifice.
So he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
When they arrived, Samuel noticed Eliab and said to himself,
Surely here before the Lord stands his chosen king.
But the Lord said to Samuel, Don't be impressed by his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.
God does not view things the way men do.
People look on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Then Jesse called Abinadab and presented him to Samuel.
But Samuel said, The Lord has not chosen this one either.
Then Jesse presented Shammah, but Samuel said, The Lord has not chosen this one either.
Jesse presented seven of his sons to Samuel, but Samuel said to Jesse,
The Lord has not chosen any of these.
Then Samuel said to Jesse, Is that all of the young men?
Jesse replied, There is still the youngest one, but he is taking care of the flock.
Samuel said to Jesse, Send and get him, for we cannot turn our attention to other things until he comes here.
So Jesse had him brought in.
Now he was ready with attractive eyes and a handsome appearance.
The Lord said, Go and anoint him, this is the one. So Samuel took the hornful of olive oil and
anointed him in the presence of his brothers. The Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that
day onward. Then Samuel got up and went to Ramah. Now the Spirit of the Lord had turned away from
Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Then Saul's servants said to him, Look,
an evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Let our Lord instruct his servants who are here before you
to look for a man who knows how to play the lyre. Then, whenever the evil spirit from God comes upon
you, he can play the lyre, and you will feel better. So Saul said to his servants, Find me a man who
plays well, and bring him to me. One of his attendants replied, I have seen a son of Jesse
in Bethlehem who knows how to play the lyre. He is a brave warrior, and is articulate and handsome,
for the Lord is with him. So Saul sent messengers to Jesse and said, Send me your son David,
who was out with the sheep. So Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a container of wine,
and a young goat, and sent them to Saul with his son David. David came to Saul and stood before him.
Saul liked him a great deal, and he became his armor-bearer. Then Saul sent word to Jesse,
saying, Let David be my servant, for I really like him. So whenever the Spirit from God would come
upon Saul, David would take his lyre and play it. This would bring relief to Saul and make him feel
better. Then the evil spirit would leave him alone. 1 Samuel 17. The Philistines gathered
their troops for battle. They assembled at Soco in Judah. They camped in Ephizdanim between Soco
and Ezekiah. Saul and the Israelite army assembled and camped in the valley of Elah,
where they arranged their battle lines to fight against the Philistines.
The Philistines were standing on one hill, and the Israelites on another hill, with the valley
between them. Then a champion came out from the camp of the Philistines. His name was Goliath.
He was from Gath. He was close to seven feet tall. He had a bronze helmet on his head,
and was wearing scaled body armor. The weight of his bronze body armor was five thousand shekels.
He had bronze shin guards on his legs, and a bronze javelin was slung over his shoulders.
The shaft of his spear was like a weaver's beam, and the iron point of his spear weighed six hundred
shekels. His shield-bearer was walking before him. Goliath stood and called to Israelites' troops,
Why do you come out to prepare for battle? Am I not the Philistine, and are you not the servants
of Saul? Choose for yourselves a man so he may come down to me. If he is able to fight with me
and strike me down, we will become your servants. But if I prevail against him and strike him down,
you will become our servants and will serve us. Then the Philistine said,
I defy Israel's troops this day. Give me a man so we can fight each other.
When Saul and all the Israelites heard these words of the Philistine, they were upset and very afraid.
Now David was the son of this Ephrathite named Jesse from Bethlehem in Judah.
He had eight sons, and in Saul's days he was old and well advanced in years.
Jesse's three oldest sons had followed Saul to war.
The names of the three sons who went to war were Eliab, his firstborn, Abinadab, the second oldest,
and Shammah, the third oldest. Now David was the youngest. While the three oldest sons followed
Saul, David was going back and forth from Saul in order to care for his father's sheep in Bethlehem.
Meanwhile, for forty days, the Philistine approached every morning and evening and took
his position. Jesse said to his son David, Take your brothers this ephah of roasted grain and
these ten loaves of bread. Go quickly to the camp to your brothers. Also take these ten portions of
cheese to their commanding officer. Find out how your brothers are doing, and bring back their
pledge that they receive the goods. They are with Saul and the whole Israelite army in the valley of
Elah fighting with the Philistines. So David got up early in the morning and entrusted the flock
to someone else who would watch over it. After loading up, he went just as Jesse had instructed
him. He arrived at the camp as the army was going out to the battle lines, shouting its battle cry.
Israel and the Philistines drew up their battle lines opposite one another.
After David had entrusted his cargo to the care of the supply officer, he ran to the battle front.
When he arrived, he asked his brothers how they were doing. As he was speaking with them,
the champion named Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, was coming up from the battle lines of the
Philistines. He spoke the way he usually did, and David heard it. When all the men of Israel saw this
man, they retreated from his presence and were very afraid. The men of Israel said, Have you seen
this man who is coming up? He does so to defy Israel. But the king will make the man who can
strike him down very wealthy. He will give him his daughter in marriage, and he will make his
father's house exempt from tax obligations in Israel. David asked the men who were standing
near him, What will be done for the man who strikes down this Philistine and frees Israel
from this humiliation? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that defies the armies of the living
God? The soldiers told him what had been promised, saying, This is what will be done for the man who
can strike him down. When David's oldest brother Eliab heard him speaking to the men, he became
angry with David and said, Why have you come down here? To whom did you entrust those few sheep in
the desert? I am familiar with your pride and deceit. You have come down here to watch the battle.
David replied, What have I done now? Can't I say anything? Then he turned from those who were
nearby to someone else and asked the same question, but they gave him the same answer as before.
When David's words were overheard and reported to Saul, he called for him.
David said to Saul, Don't let anyone be discouraged. Your servant will go and fight this Philistine.
But Saul replied to David, You aren't able to go against this Philistine and fight him.
You're just a boy. He has been a warrior from his youth. David replied to Saul, Your servant has
been a shepherd for his father's flock. Whenever a lion or bear would come and carry off a sheep
from the flock, I would go out after it, strike it down, and rescue the sheep from its mouth.
If it rose up against me, I would grab it by its jaw, strike it, and kill it.
Your servant has struck down both the lion and the bear.
This uncircumcised Philistine will be just like one of them,
for he has defied the armies of the living God.
David went on to say,
The Lord who delivered me from the lion and the bear
will also deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.
Then Saul said to David,
Go, the Lord will be with you.
Then Saul clothed David with his own fighting attire and put a bronze helmet on his head.
He also put body armor on him.
David strapped on his sword over his fighting attire and tried to walk around, but he was
not used to them.
David said to Saul, I can't walk in these things, for I'm not used to them.
So David removed them.
He took his staff in his hand, picked out five smooth stones from the stream, placed
them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag, took his sling in hand, and approached the Philistine.
The Philistine kept coming closer to David with a shield-bearer walking in front of him.
When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and
handsome boy. The Philistine said to David, Am I a dog that you're coming after me with sticks?
Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David,
Come here to me so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field.
But David said to the Philistine,
You were coming against me with sword and spear and javelin,
but I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts,
the God of Israel's armies, whom you have defied.
This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand.
I will strike you down and cut off your head.
This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army,
to the birds of the sky in the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel
has a God, and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves.
For the battle is the Lord's, and he will deliver you into our hand. The Philistine drew steadily
closer to David to attack him, while David quickly ran toward the battle line to attack the Philistine.
David reached his hand into the bag and took out a stone.
He slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead.
The stone sank deeply into his forehead, and he fell down with his face to the ground.
David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone.
He struck down the Philistine and killed him.
David did not even have a sword in his hand.
David ran and stood over the Philistine.
He grabbed Goliath's sword, drew it from its sheath, killed him, and cut off his head with it.
When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away.
Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward, shouting a battle cry.
They chased the Philistines to the valley and to the very gates of Ekron.
The Philistine corpses lay fallen along the Shearim road to Gath and Ekron.
When the Israelites returned from their hot pursuit of the Philistines, they looted their camp.
David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath's weapons in
his tent. Now as Saul watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the general
in command of the army, Whose son is this young man, Abner? Abner replied, As surely as you live,
O king, I don't know. The king said, Find out whose son this boy is.
So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before
Saul. He still had the head of the Philistine in his hand. Saul said to him, Whose son are you,
young man? David replied, I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem. 1 Samuel 18.
Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David,
and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Saul took him that day and would not let him go home to his
father's house any more. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own
soul. And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor,
even to his sword and his bow at his belt. So David went out whenever Saul sent him,
and behaved wisely. Then Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all
the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants. Now it had happened as they were
coming home, when David was returning from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women had
come out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet King Saul with tambourines,
with joy, and with musical instruments. So the women sang as they danced, and said,
Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.
Then Saul was very angry, and the saying displeased him, and he said,
They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed only thousands.
Now what more can he have but the kingdom?
So Saul eyed David from that day forward.
And it happened on the next day that the distressing spirit from God came upon Saul,
and he prophesied inside the house.
So David played music with his hand, as at other times, but there was a spear in Saul's hand.
And Saul cast the spear, for he said, I will pin David to the wall.
But David escaped his presence twice.
Now Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with him, but had departed from Saul.
Therefore Saul removed him from his presence, and made him his captain over a thousand,
and he went out and came in before the people.
And David behaved wisely in all his ways.
and the Lord was with him. Therefore, when Saul saw that he behaved very wisely, he was afraid of him.
But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.
Then Saul said to David, Here is my older daughter Merab. I will give her to you as a wife.
Only be valiant for me, and fight the Lord's battles. For Saul thought, Let my hand not be
against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him. So David said to Saul,
Who am I, and what is my life or my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law
to the king?
But it happened at the time when Merab, Saul's daughter, should have been given to David,
that she was given to Adriel the Mahalothite as a wife.
Now Michael, Saul's daughter, loved David, and they told Saul, and the thing pleased him.
So Saul said, I will give her to him, that she may be a snare to him, and that the hand
of the Philistines may be against him.
Therefore Saul said to David a second time, You shall be my son-in-law today.
And Saul commanded his servants, Communicate with David secretly, and say, Look, the king
has delight in you, and all his servants love you.
Now therefore become the king's son-in-law.
So Saul's servants spoke those words in the hearing of David.
And David said, Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, seeing I
am a poor and lightly esteemed man?
And the servants of Saul told him, saying, In this manner David spoke.
Then Saul said, Thus you shall say to David, The king does not desire any dowry but one hundred
foreskins of the Philistines to take vengeance on the king's enemies. But Saul thought to make
David fall by the hand of the Philistines. So when his servants told David these words,
it pleased David well to become the king's son-in-law. Now the days had not expired,
Therefore David arose and went, he and his men, and killed two hundred men of the Philistines.
And David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full count to the king,
that he might become the king's son-in-law. Then Saul gave him Michael, his daughter, as a wife.
Thus Saul saw and knew that the Lord was with David, and that Michael, Saul's daughter,
loved him, and Saul was still more afraid of David. So Saul became David's enemy continually.
Then the princes of the Philistines went out to war, and so it was, whenever they went out,
that David behaved more wisely than all the servants of Saul, so that his name became highly esteemed.
1 Samuel chapter 19
Now Saul spoke to Jonathan his son and to all his servants, that they should kill David.
But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted greatly in David.
So Jonathan told David, saying, My father Saul seeks to kill you.
Therefore, please be on your guard until morning, and stay in a secret place and hide, and I will
go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak with my father
about you. Then what I observe I will tell you. Thus Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his
father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant, against David, because he
has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you. For he took his
life in his hands and killed the Philistine, and the Lord brought about a great deliverance for
all Israel. You sought and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood to kill David
without a cause? So Saul heeded the voice of Jonathan, and Saul swore, As the Lord lives,
he shall not be killed. Then Jonathan called David, and Jonathan told him all these things.
So Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as in times past.
And there was war again, and David went out and fought with the Philistines,
and struck them with a mighty blow, and they fled from him.
Now the distressing spirit from the Lord came upon Saul as he sat in his house with his spear in his
hand, and David was playing music with his hand. Then Saul sought to pin David to the wall with
the spear, but he slipped away from Saul's presence, and he drove the spear into the wall.
So David fled and escaped that night.
Saul also sent messengers to David's house to watch him and to kill him in the morning.
And Michael, David's wife, told him, saying, If you do not save your life tonight,
tomorrow you will be killed. So Michael let David down through a window, and he went and fled and
escaped. And Michael took an image and laid it in the bed, put a cover of goat's hair for his head,
and covered it with clothes. So when Saul sent messengers to take David, she said, He is sick.
Then Saul sent the messengers back to see David, saying, Bring him up to me in the bed,
that I may kill him. When the messengers had come in, there was the image in the bed,
with the cover of goat's hair for his head. Then Saul said to Michael, Why have you deceived me
like this, and sent my enemy away, so that he has escaped? And Michael answered Saul,
He said to me, Let me go, why should I kill you? So David fled and escaped, and went to Samuel at
Ramah, and told him all that Saul had done to him. And he and Samuel went and stayed in Naoth.
Now it was told Saul, saying, Take note, David is at Naoth and Ramah. Then Saul sent messengers to
take David. And when they saw the group of prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as leader over
them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied. And when Saul
was told, he sent other messengers, and they prophesied likewise. Then Saul sent messengers
again the third time, and they prophesied also. Then he also went to Ramah, and came to the great
well that is at CQ. So he asked and said, Where are Samuel and David? And someone said, Indeed,
they are at Naoth and Ramah. So he went there to Naoth and Ramah. Then the Spirit of God was upon
him also, and he went on and prophesied until he came to Naoth and Ramah. And he also stripped
off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and
all that night. Therefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets? 1 Samuel 20.
Then David fled from Naoth and Ramah, and went and said to Jonathan, What have I done? What is
my iniquity, and what is my sin before your father, that he seeks my life? So Jonathan said to him,
By no means, you shall not die. Indeed, my father will do nothing, either great or small,
without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so.
Then David took an oath again and said, Your father certainly knows that I have found favor
in your eyes. And he has said, Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly, as the
Lord lives, and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death. So Jonathan said to
David, Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you. And David said to Jonathan, Indeed,
tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go that I
may hide in the field until the third day at evening. If your father misses me at all, then say,
David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city,
for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If he says thus, it is well, your servant
will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure that evil is determined by him. Therefore you
shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord
with you. Nevertheless, if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to
your father? But Jonathan said, Far be it from you, for if I knew certainly that evil was determined
by my father to come upon you, then why would I not tell you? Then David said to Jonathan,
Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly? And Jonathan said to David,
Come, let us go out into the field. So both of them went out into the field.
Then Jonathan said to David, The Lord God of Israel is witness, when I have sounded out my
father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not
send to you and tell you, May the Lord do so, and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father
to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety.
And the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. And you shall not only show me the
kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die. But you shall not cut off your
kindness from my house forever. No, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David
from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying,
Let the Lord require it at the hand of David's enemies. Now Jonathan again caused David to vow,
because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. Then Jonathan said to David,
Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty.
And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on
the day of the deed, and remain by the stone of Ezel. Then I will shoot three arrows to the side,
as though I shot at a target. And there I will send a lad, saying, Go find the arrows.
If I expressly say to the lad, Look, the arrows are on this side of you, get them and come.
Then as the Lord lives, there is safety for you and no harm. But if I say thus to the young man,
Look, the arrows are beyond you, go your way, for the Lord has sent you away.
And as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed, the Lord be between you and me forever.
Then David hid in the field, and when the new moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast.
Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall.
And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, but David's place was empty.
Nevertheless, Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought,
something has happened to him. He is unclean. Surely he is unclean. And it happened the next
day, the second day of the month, that David's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son,
Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today? So Jonathan answered Saul,
David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem. And he said, Please let me go,
for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there.
And now, if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers.
Therefore he has not come to the king's table.
Then Saul's anger was aroused against Jonathan, and he said to him,
You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse
to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? For as long as the son of
Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore,
send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die. And Jonathan answered Saul his father,
and said to him, Why should he be killed? What has he done? Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him,
by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David. So Jonathan arose from
the table in fierce anger, and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for
David, because his father had treated him shamefully. And so it was in the morning that Jonathan went
out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him. Then he said to the
lad, Now run, find the arrows which I shoot. As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the
lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the
lad and said, Is not the arrow beyond you? And Jonathan cried out after the lad, Make haste,
hurry, do not delay. So Jonathan's lad carried up the arrows and came back to his master.
But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter.
Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the lad and said to him, Go, carry them to the city.
As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south,
fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times.
And they kissed one another, and they wept together, but David more so.
Then Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord,
saying, May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.
So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city.
Okay, in chapter 17, right out of the gate, let me say that the translation we used today there,
the net translation, disagrees with most other translations in regards to Goliath's height.
In the translation we read today, the number given was close to 7 feet tall.
Most other translations say it was 6 cubits and a span.
So what's a cubit and what's a span?
Well, before measurements were standardized, they often used body parts to measure distances.
Today, for instance, a foot is a standardized 12 inches.
Back then, a foot was however long the measurer's foot was.
A cubit was the length of the forearm, from the elbow to the tips of the fingers.
The average there is about 18 inches, but it could be a little longer, could be a little shorter.
The span was the width from the end of the thumb to the end of the little finger,
when the fingers are extended or widened apart.
That's about 9 inches.
So a span is about a half a cubit.
So in doing the math, let me see here, get out the old calculator,
Goliath was about 117 inches in height, or 9 feet 9 inches.
Now, something that might make you sit back and say, wait a minute, what?
At the end of the chapter here, we're told that Saul asked his general Abner who this boy is.
At first blush, if you isolate the story, that seems like a reasonable question.
But if we take it in the context of what we've already read in previous chapters,
Saul has already met David.
Remember, David was the musician whose playing had calmed Saul when he was being tormented
after God withdrew his spirit from him and afflicted him with an evil spirit or some sort
of mental disease. And that's the key as to why Saul didn't recognize David here on the battlefield
in chapter 17. He's not been mentally and or spiritually healthy. He hasn't been in his own
mind. He's been confused. And the last thing he expects is the young shepherd boy who is a
skillful and talented musician to turn up on the battlefield with more courage than he and his
entire army. But David's courage, of course, was not based on his own strength or skill. It was
based on the assurance and knowledge that God had already delivered him from both a lion and a bear
when he was tending his father's sheep. He knew that the taunting that Goliath had been doing was
directed even more at God than at the Israelite army, and that God would give David the victory,
if only to show that the God of Israel is alive and real.
I would love to hear your comments or questions.
Go to comment.lifespringmedia.com, email me at steve at lifespringmedia.com,
or call the Lifespring Family Hotline at
Lifespring Family Hotline 951-732-8511.
Here's the verse of the day.
The verse of the day is 1 Samuel 1747.
All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves,
for the battle is the Lord's, and He will give all of you into our hands.
That's 1 Samuel 17.47.
And by the way, Joy Kurtz is the one who suggested the Verse of the Day feature here on the show,
and today is Joy's birthday.
So I just wanted to say, Happy Birthday, Joy!
Fountain user Minion sent his usual boost of the day, this time 227 sats, but he also sent two 100-sat boostograms in response to the Good Memory segment on yesterday's show.
Remember I asked you if you had any good memories to share?
Well, Minion responded.
In the first one, he said, good memory, returning home from a three-month deployment and watching my dog go nuts in the base parking lot.
Oh, yeah.
Reuniting with our canine buddies after a long separation is the best, isn't it?
That's so cool.
And then the second, good memory, too.
First time bottle feeding a newborn.
Missed her mouth and touched her cheek with a nipple and she instinctively turned her head in that direction to help me out.
LOL.
Yeah, what a sweet memory.
And as the dad of three boys and a grandpa of four girls and three boys, some of my sweetest memories are with babies, too.
Thanks so much for sharing, Minion. God bless you.
And speaking of boosts and boostagrams, if you're finding value in the show, why not send some back?
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On this date in church history, January 20th.
Today we're taking a look back at three moments in history where faith met the edges of the known world.
From the frozen lakes of Scandinavia to the rough streets of the American Midwest.
We begin in the year 825 on the small, windswept island of Iona.
For centuries, Iona had been the beating heart of Gaelic monasticism,
serving as a lighthouse for learning and missions in Scotland.
But on this day, that peace was shattered.
Viking raiders landed on the shores of what is now called Martyr's Bay.
The monks were given a choice—reveal the location of the golden chest
containing the remains of St. Columba, or face the sword.
They chose silence and sacrifice. And while the monastery was devastated, their refusal to hand
over their sacred history became a symbol of courage that eventually helped lead to the
conversion of the very Vikings who attacked them. What do you think about that? And then three
centuries later, in 1156, we find another story on the ice. Bishop Henry of Finland is a figure
who blurs the line between history and legend. Traditionally known as the Apostle of Finland,
Henry was the Englishman who traveled north to bring the gospel to the Finnish people.
According to tradition, he was martyred on this date on the frozen surface of Lake Coilio.
Now, while the details of his life are debated by historians, his legacy is not. He is remembered
as the founder of the Finnish Church, proving that the roots of a nation's faith are often watered
by the persistence of outsiders. And then finally, we move to a much different setting in 1897.
Mel Trotter was a man who had lost everything to alcoholism, including his own child.
On a bitter January night in Chicago, he walked into the Pacific Garden Mission, contemplating suicide.
Instead, he heard a message of grace that changed his life instantly.
Trotter didn't just find sobriety, he found a calling.
He went on to found over 60 rescue missions across the United States.
His life stands as a testament to the idea that no one is too far gone and that a single moment of transformation can end up helping thousands of others find their way home.
So, from the monks of Iona to a rescued man in Chicago, we see that the history of the Church is a story of resilience and renewal.
In today's reading from 1 Samuel 16, we see a really powerful truth.
While man looks at the outward appearance, God looks at the heart.
It's a theme that my friend Brian Duncan captured perfectly in his song, A Heart Like Mine.
His lyrics ask a question that many of us feel.
How could my heart be worthy that you'd find a way to redeem this hardened clay?
It's the perfect musical companion to the story of David, the overlooked youngest brother out in the fields.
It reminds us that God isn't looking for the most impressive or kingly person in the room.
He's looking for someone who's willing to be real, even in their brokenness.
It's that same heart-first faith that turned a young shepherd from Bethlehem into a man after God's own heart.
I hope you enjoy the song.
And until tomorrow, may God bless you richly.
Thanks for being here.
I'm Steve Webb.
Bye.
Hang on for the song right now.
guitar solo
To give
So insecure
A desperate pulse
Racing to your embrace
That you could want me
And see me
Is more than words could ever say
That you would love me
And seeing me a pearl of brights thrown away
A heart like mine
How could it be worthy that you'd find
A way to redeem his heart in the clay
Twisted and broken, oh Father God above
The wonder that you love a heart like mine
Your holy hands hold me still
Shaping my heart
A new once vacant shell
Now reclaim
Offers its praise to you
The one who searched till you found me
A wounded lamb who's gone astray
You stopped the world to recover me
Oh, Lamb of God, the price you pay for a heart like mine.
How could it be worthy that you'd find a way to redeem his heart in the clay?
Twisted and broken, oh, Father God above.
The wonder that you love a heart like mine.
I'll make my promise to
Do the one thing I can do
With abandon I can
Give every heartbeat to you
With a heart like mine
How could it be worthy that you'd find
A way to redeem this heart and claim
Twisted and broken
Oh Father God above
The wonder that you love
A heart like mine
Oh, Father God above
So grateful that you love
A heart like mine
Oh, yeah
So thankful that you love a heart like mine.
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The Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind is a Lifespring Media production
hosted by Steve Webb, the OG Godcaster, since 2004.
4.