he has been a man of integrity. It's the Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind, and coming to you from
Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004, I'm Steve Webb, your OG Godcaster. This is the podcast
that comes to you every day, and we're reading the entire Bible in a year. I'm so glad you're here.
Welcome. The website is LifespringMedia.com. I usually have some lighthearted or silly observance
for you right here in the opening seconds of the show, but this one is life or death important.
It's National Sanctity of Human Life Day. We'll talk more about it a little bit later in the show.
Today is Poetry Thursday, so we'll read Job 27 and 28. I'll have some comments and we'll learn
what happened on this date in church history. Let's begin. Our Heavenly Father, Lord, as we open your
word, we pray, God, that you would go before us, that you would prepare our hearts and that we
would understand what you want us to learn. We thank you for your word in Jesus' name. Amen.
Job chapter 27
And Job took up his discourse again.
As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,
the Almighty, who has made my life bitter,
for while my spirit is still in me,
and the breath from God is in my nostrils,
my lips will not speak wickedness,
and my tongue will whisper no deceit.
I will never declare that you three are in the right.
Until I die, I will not set aside my integrity.
I will maintain my righteousness and never let it go. My conscience will not reproach me for as long
as I live. May my enemy be like the wicked, my adversary like the unrighteous. For what hope does
the godless have when he is cut off, when God takes away his life? Does God listen to his cry
when distress overtakes him? Will he find delight in the Almighty? Will he call out to God at all
times. I will teach you about the power of God. What is on the Almighty's mind I will not conceal.
If you yourselves have seen all this, why in the world do you continue this meaningless talk?
This is the portion of the wicked man allotted by God, the inheritance that evildoers receive
from the Almighty. If his children increase, it is for the sword. His offspring never have enough
to eat. Those who survive him are buried by the plague, and their widows do not mourn for them.
If he piles up silver like dust, and stores up clothing like mounds of clay, what he stores up
a righteous man will wear, and an innocent man will inherit his silver. The house he builds is
as fragile as a moth's cocoon, like a hut that a watchman has made. He goes to bed wealthy,
but will do so no more. When he opens his eyes, it is all gone. Terrors overwhelm him like a flood.
At night a whirlwind carries him off. The east wind carries him away, and he is gone.
It sweeps him out of his place. It hurls itself against him without pity, as he flees headlong
from its power. It claps its hands at him in derision, and hisses him away from his place.
Job chapter 28. Surely there is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined.
Iron is taken from the ground, and rock is poured out as copper. Man puts an end to the darkness.
He searches the farthest recesses for the ore in the deepest darkness. Far from where people live
he sinks a shaft, in places travelers have long forgotten. Far from other people he dangles and
sways. The earth from which food comes is overturned below as though by fire, a place whose stones are
sapphires and which contains dust of gold, a hidden path no bird of prey knows, no falcon's eyes has
spotted it. Proud beasts have not set foot on it, and no lion has passed along it. On the flinty rock
man has set to work with his hand. He has overturned mountains at their bases. He has cut
out channels through the rocks. His eyes have spotted every precious thing. He has searched
the sources of the rivers, and what was hidden he has brought into the light. But wisdom,
where can it be found? Where is the place of understanding? Mankind does not know its place.
it cannot be found in the land of the living. The deep says, It is not with me, and the sea says,
It is not with me. Fine gold cannot be given in exchange for it, nor can its price be weighed out
in silver. It cannot be measured out for purchase with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or
sapphires. Neither gold nor crystals can be compared with it, nor can a vase of gold match its worth.
Of coral and jasper no mention will be made. The price of wisdom is more than pearls.
The topaz of cush cannot be compared with it. It cannot be purchased with pure gold.
But wisdom, where does it come from? Where is the place of understanding? For it has been hidden
from the eyes of every living creature, and from the birds of the sky it has been concealed.
Destruction and death say, With our ears we have heard a rumor about where it can be found.
God understands the way to it, and He alone knows its place. For He looks to the ends of the earth
and observes everything under the heavens. When He made the force of the wind and measured the
waters with a gauge. When He imposed a limit for the rain and a path for the thunderstorm,
then He looked at wisdom and assessed its value. He established it and examined it closely.
And he said to mankind, The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil
is understanding.
Well, beloved, in these two chapters, Job begins quite a long soliloquy in response to
what he's heard from his friends.
It continues for five chapters, and he makes some excellent points.
As Job began today, in essence, he said that no matter what, his friends' accusations against
him will not wear him down.
As long as he lives, he will maintain that he has been a man of integrity.
Have you ever been in an argument or a debate with someone who just won't give it up,
and you finally just say, OK, fine, have it your way, just to get them to let it go?
Well, Job is not prepared to do that in this case, because the argument is over his integrity.
One's integrity is worth defending, especially if the people attacking your integrity are people
who matter to you. The last thing Job wants is to be thought of as unrighteous. In this translation,
the word used is godless, but in the King James, it's hypocrite, and Job considers this to be the
worst condition a person could be in. And of course, it was the religious hypocrites that
Jesus spoke most loudly against. It should be said at this point, Job is seen as taking the
upper hand with his friends. He's now taking the role as an instructor, and he's telling them how
instead of defending himself. And so he tells them that he agrees with their point that the ungodly
will be judged by God, and all their supposed gains will evaporate, and their sins against
others will not stand. But he tells them that God's judgment is not always immediate, and that it can
take time for their consequences to come down on them. And so the time that we see between when the
unrighteous do their evil deeds, and when the consequences come, is really no time at all in
God's perspective. We don't perceive time like God does. God is outside of time. But one thing is
sure, sin always has consequences. God is just, and He will make things right. I'm so glad that
this is true, because the world has seen an awful lot of ugliness, hasn't it? But the victims of
that evil will be made whole. We're told in Revelation 21.4 that God will wipe away every
tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. That's a promise that
every believer can rely on. Throughout history, God has proven Himself faithful. He always delivers.
He never fails. And this promise is made to those who put their trust in Him. It's a part of the
gift that is offered to anyone who makes the choice to take a new direction in their life
instead of the direction that inevitably leads away from God and toward the consequences of
wrong choices in living for one's self instead of in the direction of the one who offers life.
We all make wrong choices, but we don't have to face the consequences if we decide to accept
God's gift that is made available through Jesus Christ, who lived his entire life without making
one wrong choice. He was sinless. When we accept that gift that God offers, the Bible says that
the perfection of Jesus is credited to us. It's a gift. We don't earn it. We can't earn it.
We can only just receive it. And it's offered to every person, not just the good person or the bad
person, not just the educated person or the uneducated person. It's not just for the rich
or just for the poor. It's offered to all, because every one of us needs it if we want to see God.
Jesus came that none would perish, but that all would have eternal life.
What do you think? Tomorrow we'll read Jeremiah 7-11.
Today's verse of the day is Job 27.4.
My lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit.
That's Job 27.4.
Beloved, if the Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind has become an important part of your day,
if you think this show has value, if you'd missed the show if it were no longer available,
I need your support in the form of time, talent, or treasure.
If you're praying for me, let me know.
If you're spreading the word about the show, tell me what you're doing.
If you'd like to create some art for the chapters that show up on your podcast player,
send them to me.
If you can support the show financially, that's most welcome too.
Assign a number to the value you receive from the show, and then go here.
Lifespringmedia.com slash support
Value for value means the Lifespring One Year Bible Rewind can continue because you choose
to participate.
I really can't do this without your help.
We're reading through the Word every day here on the LifeSpring One Year Bible Rewind,
but sometimes a single verse deserves a closer look.
In the final chapter of Romans, when the Apostle Paul is greeting some of the men who've helped him in his ministry,
there's a signature that seems out of place, almost like it shouldn't be there.
It's the voice of a man named Tertius, a man whose name simply meant number three.
Why did the Apostle Paul pause his masterpiece to let a scribe speak?
On the latest episode of Verses We Missed, we're looking at the man in the margins.
Join me for episode 13 of Verses We Missed, because in God's kingdom, no one is invisible.
Available now at verseswemissed.com.
I'll see you there.
On this date in church history, January 22nd.
Now, this is going to be a little bit different today.
While some secular calendars call today Celebration of Life Day,
for the church, this date carries a much deeper historical and theological weight.
On this date in 1525, Martin Luther married Catherine von Bora.
Their marriage solidified the Reformation's shift away from clerical celibacy
and established the model for the Protestant parsonage.
And in 1527, the Radical Reformation saw its first martyr as Felix Montz was executed for his faith.
The Radical Reformation was a 16th-century movement that sought a total return to the New Testament Church.
They emphasized the separation of church and state and the belief that baptism should be
reserved for adult believers only.
But today is most widely recognized in our churches as National Sanctity of Human Life
Day.
It was originally proclaimed by Ronald Reagan in 1984, and the tradition continues today.
In his 2026 proclamation, President Trump called on the nation to, quote,
recognize that every human life is a gift, and to protect the God-given dignity of the most
vulnerable among us. We're reminded of the ancient Christian conviction of the Imago Dei,
that every life bears the fingerprint of the Creator. From the martyrs of the 16th century
to the proclamation of 2026, today is a day to stand for the value of every soul.
Beloved, in a world that often devalues the individual, Job reminds us that our integrity
and our identity is found only in God. Today, this National Sanctity of Human Life Day,
let's celebrate the gift of life and the even greater gift of grace that is freely offered
to every person. Ephesians 2, 8-10 says, For it is by grace you have been saved through faith,
and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works so that no one can boast.
For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in
advance for us to do. Until tomorrow, beloved, may God bless you richly. Thank you so much for being
here and inviting me to be a part of your day. 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.