They were on trial, not him.
Happy Christmas Eve! Welcome! This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, and I'm coming to you from Riverside, California, podcasting since 2004.
I'm your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily podcast where we're reading through the entire Bible in a year.
You've probably heard words to the effect, you don't know what you don't know.
On yesterday's show, you probably remember that I mentioned to Sean of San Pedro that
I wasn't getting his email, which he told me in a boostergram that he would send.
And I gave him an alternate email address to use, steve.lifespring at gmail.com.
Well, today he sent an email to that address, which also contained the contents of several
other emails he sent over the past few months, which I never received.
I'm telling you this to say, if you have sent any emails to me and didn't receive a reply from me, it's not because I didn't care enough to respond.
I respond to Lifespring family emails.
I didn't respond to you because I didn't know you emailed me.
So, now that I know that there's definitely a problem with my email server,
until I get to the bottom of it, please use steve.lifespring at gmail.com to email me.
And please resend any email you may have sent before.
All right, with that out of the way, today our reading is Jeremiah 22 through 26,
and I'm calling the episode, Courage. You can comment on this episode on the show notes page
for this episode, which is lifespringmedia.com slash S12E116. So, let's get to the reading.
Jeremiah chapter 22. The Lord says, Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak this
word there. Say, Hear the word of the Lord, O King of Judah, who sits on David's throne,
you and your servants and your people who come through these gates. The Lord says, Do what is
right and fair and good, and take the one who has been robbed away from the power of the one who
has made it hard for him. Do not hurt or do wrong to the stranger, the one whose parents have died,
or the woman whose husband has died, and do not kill those who are not guilty in this place.
For if you will obey this word, then kings will come through the gates of this house and sit on
the throne of David. They will be in war wagons and on horses, together with their servants and
their people. But if you will not obey these words, I promise by myself, says the Lord,
that this house will be destroyed. For the Lord says about the house of the king of Judah,
You are like Gilead to me, or like the top of Lebanon. Yet I will be sure to make you like a
desert, like cities without people. I will send destroyers against you, each with his things for
fighting. And they will cut down your best cedar trees and throw them on the fire. Many nations
will pass by this city, and they will say to one another, Why has the Lord done such a thing to
this great city? And they will answer, Because they did not keep the agreement of the Lord their God.
They worshipped other gods and served them. Do not cry for the one who is dead or have sorrow for him,
but cry all the time for the one who goes away, for he will never return or see the land of his
birth again. For the Lord says about Shalom the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who ruled in the
place of Josiah his father, and who left this place, he will never return. He will die in the
place where they took him, and he will not see this land again. It is bad for him who builds this
house by wrongdoing, and his upper rooms by not being fair, who has his neighbors serve him for
nothing, and does not pay him, who says, I will build myself a big house with large upper rooms,
I will cut out its windows, cover it with cedar, and color it bright red.
Do you become a king by trying to build better houses of cedar? Did not your father eat and drink?
He did what was right and fair and good, so all went well with him. He spoke strong words in the
cause of the poor in those in need, and so all went well. Is not that what it means to know me,
says the Lord? But your eyes and heart are set only on what you can get by wrongdoing,
and on killing those who are not guilty, and on making it hard for people, and on hurting others.
So the Lord says about Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah,
They will not cry in sorrow for him, saying, It is bad, my brother, or it is bad, my sister.
They will not cry in sorrow for him, saying, O Lord, or, O how great he was!
He will be buried like they bury a donkey, pulled away and thrown out on the other side of the gates of Jerusalem.
Go up to Lebanon and cry out, and let your voice be heard in Bashan.
Cry out from Abram also, for all your lovers have been destroyed.
I spoke to you when things were going well for you, but you said, I will not listen.
This has been your way since you were young. You have not obeyed my voice.
The wind will take away all your shepherds, and your lovers will be taken away in chains.
Then you will be ashamed and troubled because of all your sin.
O you people of Lebanon, who make your nest among the cedars,
how you will cry inside yourselves when pain comes upon you!
It will be pain like a woman giving birth.
As I live, says the Lord, even if Coniah, the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
were marking a ring on my right hand, I would still pull you off.
I will give you over to those who want to kill you, to those whom you fear.
I will give you to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and to the Babylonians.
I will throw you and your mother who gave birth to you into another country where you were not born,
and there you will die.
You will want to return to this land again, but you will not return.
Is this man Caniah a hated, broken jar?
Is he a pot that no one cares for?
Why have he and his children been thrown out into a land that they had not known?
O land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord.
The Lord says, Write this man down as one who has no children, a man who will not do
well in his days.
For none of his children or children's children will do well sitting on the throne of David
or ruling again in Judah.
Jeremiah chapter 23
It is bad for the shepherds who are destroying and dividing the sheep of my field, says the Lord.
The Lord God of Israel says this about the shepherds who are caring for my people.
You have made my flock go everywhere, and have driven them away, and have not cared for them.
See, I am about to punish you for your sinful things you have done, says the Lord.
Then I myself will gather those who are left of my flock out of the countries where I have driven
them, and will bring them back to their field, and they will have many children.
I will have shepherds over them who will care for them, and they will not be afraid any longer,
or filled with fear, and none of them will be missing, says the Lord.
See, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will raise up for David a right and good branch.
He will rule as king, and be wise, and do what is right and fair and good in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will be safe. And this is the name he will be called by,
the Lord who makes us right and good. So see, the days are coming, says the Lord,
when they will no longer say, as the Lord lives, who brought the sons of Israel up from the land
of Egypt. But they will say, as the Lord lives, who brought up and led the children of the people
of Israel back from the north country and from all the countries where he had driven them.
Then they will live in their own land. As for the men who speak for God,
my heart is broken within me. All my bones shake. I have become like a drunk man, like a man who has
had too much wine, because of the Lord and because of His holy words. For the land is full of people
who are not faithful. Because of the bad things that have come upon it, the land is filled with
sorrow, and the fields of the desert have dried up. Their way is sinful, and they use their power
in a wrong way. For both the men of God and the religious leaders are sinful. I have found their
sin even in my house, says the Lord. So their way will be a danger to them. They will be driven away
into the darkness and fall down in it. For I will bring much trouble upon them in the year of their
punishment, says the Lord. In Samaria I have seen a very bad thing among the men of Samaria who tell
what is going to happen in the future. They speak for the false god Baal and have led my people
into sin. In Jerusalem I have seen a very sinful thing among the men of Jerusalem who tell what is
going to happen in the future. They do sex sins and tell lies, and give help to those who do sinful
things, so that no one turns from his sin. All of them have become like Sodom to me. The people of
Jerusalem have become like Gomorrah. So the Lord of all says about the men who tell what is going
to happen in the future, See, I will make them eat bitter food and drink water with poison.
For from these men of Jerusalem sin is gone out into all the land.
The Lord of all says, Do not listen to the words of those who are telling you what will
happen in the future.
They are filling you with empty hopes.
They tell of dreams from their own thoughts, not from the mouth of the Lord.
They keep saying to those who hate me, The Lord has said, Ye will have peace.
To everyone who walks in the strong will of his own heart they say, Trouble will not come
to you.
But who among them has listened to the Lord, that he should see and hear his word?
Who has given thought to his word and listened?
See, the strong windstorm of the Lord is gone out in anger.
It will come down upon the head of the sinful.
The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has done all that he has planned in his heart.
In the last days you will understand.
I did not send these men who say they speak for God, yet they ran to tell their news.
I did not speak to them, yet they spoke in my name.
But if they had listened to me, then they would have made my words known to my people,
and they would have turned them back from their sinful way and from the sinful things they did.
Am I a God who is near, says the Lord, and not a God who is far away?
Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him, says the Lord?
Do I not fill heaven and earth, says the Lord?
I have heard what the men say who speak false words in my name.
They say, I had a dream, I had a dream.
How long will there be lies in the hearts of those who speak false words in my name,
who speak the lies of their own heart?
They plan to make my people forget my name by their dreams which they tell one another,
just as their fathers forgot my name because of Baal.
The one who has a dream may tell about his dream,
but let him who has my word speak my word in truth.
How can straw be compared with grain, says the Lord?
Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, and like iron that breaks a rock in pieces?
So I am against those who tell what is going to happen in the future, says the Lord,
who steal my words from each other.
See, I am against these men, says the Lord, who use their tongues and say,
This is what the Lord says.
I am against those who have told false dreams, says the Lord,
and have led my people the wrong way by their lies and foolish words of pride.
I did not send them or tell them what to say,
so they do not help these people at all, says the Lord.
When these people, or the one who speaks in my name,
or a religious leader asks you,
What heavy load has the Lord placed on us?
Then you say to them,
You are the heavy load, and I will throw you off, says the Lord.
As for the man who speaks in my name, or the religious leader,
or any one of the people who say, The heavy load of the Lord, I will punish that man and those of
his house. Each of you say to his neighbor and to his brother, What has the Lord answered? or,
What has the Lord said? But you must not say, The heavy load of the Lord, any more. For every man's
own word will be the weight upon himself, and you have made sinful the words of the living God,
the Lord of all, our God. This is what you should say to the man who speaks in my name.
What answer has the Lord given you, and what has the Lord said?
But if you say, The heavy load of the Lord, then the Lord says,
You have said, The heavy load of the Lord, when I told you not to say it.
So I will pick you up and throw you away from me,
together with the city which I gave to you and your fathers.
I will put you to shame forever.
You will always be ashamed, and it will not be forgotten.
Jeremiah chapter 24
After King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took away Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
and the leaders of Judah, together with the able workmen from Jerusalem, and brought them to Babylon,
the Lord showed me two baskets of figs set in front of the house of the Lord.
One basket had very good figs, like figs just ready to eat, and the other basket had very bad
figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. Then the Lord said to me, What do you see, Jeremiah?
And I said, Figs, the good figs, very good, and the bad figs, very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.
Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, This is what the Lord God of Israel says.
Like those good figs, so will I think of the people of Judah as being good, whom I have sent
away from this place into the land of the Babylonians, for I will keep my eyes on them for
their good, and I will return them to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down.
I will plant them and not pull them up by the roots.
And I will give them a heart to know me, for I am the Lord.
They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with their
whole heart.
But the Lord says, Like the bad figs which are so bad they cannot be eaten, so I will
give up Zedekiah king of Judah and his captains, and I will give up those left of Jerusalem
who stay in this land, and those who live in the land of Egypt.
I will make them a cause of fear and trouble for the nations of the earth.
They will be a shame and a curse and spoken against in all the places where I will make them go.
And I will send the sword and hunger and disease upon them
until they are destroyed from the land which I gave to them and their fathers.
Jeremiah chapter 25
The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah
in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah,
that was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,
which Jeremiah the prophet spoke to all the people of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
For twenty-three years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah the son of Ammon, king of Judah,
to this day, the word of the Lord has come to me, and I have spoken persistently to you,
but you have not listened. You have neither listened nor inclined your ears to hear,
although the Lord persistently sent to you all his servants the prophets, saying,
Turn now every one of you from his evil way and evil deeds, and dwell upon the land that the Lord
has given to you and your fathers from of old and forever. Do not go after other gods, or serve and
worship them, or provoke me to anger with the work of your hands. Then I will do you no harm. Yet you
have not listened to me, declares the Lord, that you might provoke me to anger with the work of your
hands to your own harm. Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, Because you have not obeyed my
words, behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar,
the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants,
and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror,
a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. Moreover, I will banish them from the voice
of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride,
the grinding of the millstones, and the light of the lamp. This whole land shall become a ruin and
a waste, and these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then, after seventy years
are completed, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans,
for their iniquity, declares the Lord, making the land an everlasting waste. I will bring upon that
land all the words that I have uttered against it, everything written in this book, which Jeremiah
prophesied against all the nations. For many nations and great kings shall make slaves even
of them, and I will recompense them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.
Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me, Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath,
and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed
because of the sword that I am sending among them. So I took the cup from the Lord's hand and made all
the nations to whom the Lord sent me drink it, Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and
officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse as at this day, Pharaoh king
of Egypt, his servants, his officials, all his people, and all the mixed tribes among them.
All the kings of the land of Uz and all the kings of the land of the Philistines, Ashkelon, Gaza,
Ekron, and the remnant of Ashdod, Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon, all the kings of Tyre,
all the kings of Sidon, and all the kings of the coastland across the sea, Dedan, Tema,
Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair, all the kings of Arabia, and all the kings of
the mixed tribes who dwell in the desert, all the kings of Zimri, all the kings of Elam,
and all the kings of Media, all the kings of the north, far and near, one after another,
and all the kingdoms of the world that are on the face of the earth, and after them the king of
Babylon shall drink. Then you shall say to them, Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
Drink, be drunk, and vomit. Fall and rise no more, because of the sword that I am sending among you.
And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them,
Thus says the Lord of hosts, You must drink. For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that
is called by my name, and you shall go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a
sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the Lord of hosts. You therefore shall
Prophesy against them all these words, and say to them, The Lord will roar from on high,
and from His holy habitation utter His voice. He will roar mightily against His fold, and shout,
like those who tread grapes against all the inhabitants of the earth. The clamor will resound
to the ends of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against the nations. He is entering
into judgment with all flesh, and the wicked He will put to the sword, declares the Lord.
Thus says the Lord of hosts, Behold, disaster is going forth from nation to nation, and a great
tempest is stirring from the farthest parts of the earth, and those pierced by the Lord on that day
shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered,
or buried. They shall be dung on the surface of the ground. Wail, you shepherds, and cry out,
and roll in ashes, you lords of the flock. For the days of your slaughter and dispersion have come,
and you shall fall like a choice vessel. No refuge will remain for the shepherds,
nor escape for the lords of the flock. A voice, the cry of the shepherds, and the wail of the
lords of the flock. For the Lord is laying waste their pasture, and the peaceful folds are
devastated because of the fierce anger of the Lord. Like a lion he has left his lair,
for their land is become a waste because of the sword of the oppressor, and because of his fierce
anger. Jeremiah chapter 26. In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah,
king of Judah, this word came from the Lord. Thus says the Lord, Stand in the court of the Lord's
house, and speak to all the nations of Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord,
all the words that I command you to speak to them. Do not hold back a word. It may be they will
listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do
to them because of their evil deeds. You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, If you will not
listen to me, to walk in my law that I have set before you, and to listen to the words of my
servants the prophets whom I send to you urgently, though you have not listened, then I will make
this house like Shiloh, and I will make this city a curse for all the nations of the earth.
The priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house
of the Lord. And when Jeremiah had finished speaking all that the Lord had commanded him
to speak to all the people, then the priests and the prophets and all the people laid hold of him,
saying, You shall die. Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be
like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without inhabitant? And all the people gathered
around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord. When the officials of Judah heard these things,
they came up from the king's house to the house of the Lord, and took their seat in the
of the new gate of the house of the Lord. Then the priests and the prophets said to the officials
and to all the people, This man deserves the sentence of death, because he has prophesied
against this city, as you have heard with your own ears. Then Jeremiah spoke to all the officials
and all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this city all the
words you have heard. Now therefore, mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice of the Lord
your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that he has pronounced against you.
But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and right to you.
Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood upon yourselves and
upon this city and its inhabitants. For in truth, the Lord sent me to you to speak all these words
in your ears. Then the officials and all the people said to the priests and the prophets,
This man does not deserve the sentence of death, for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord
our God. And certain of the elders of the land arose and spoke to all the assembled people,
saying, Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and said to all the
people of Judah, Thus says the Lord of hosts, Zion shall be plowed as a field, Jerusalem shall
become a heap of ruins, and the mountain of the house a wooded height. Did Hezekiah king of Judah
all Judah put him to death? Did he not fear the Lord and entreat the favor of the Lord?
And did not the Lord relent of the disaster that he had pronounced against them? But we are about
to bring great disaster upon ourselves. There was another man who prophesied in the name of the Lord,
Uriah the son of Shemaah from Kiriath-Jerim. He prophesied against this city and against this
land in words like those of Jeremiah. And when King Jehoiakim with all his warriors and all the
officials heard his words, the king sought to put him to death. But when Uriah heard of it,
he was afraid and fled and escaped to Egypt. Then King Jehoiakim sent to Egypt certain men,
Elnathan the son of Achbor and others with him. And they took Uriah from Egypt and brought him
to King Jehoiakim, who struck him down with the sword and dumped his body into the burial place
of the common people. But the hand of Ahicham the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, so that he was
not given over to the people to be put to death. I'm going to talk today about Jeremiah 26,
but before I do, I'm just going to reread the first six verses to you.
In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came from
the Lord. Thus says the Lord, Stand in the court of the Lord's house and speak to all the cities of
Judah that come to worship in the house of the Lord all the words that I command you to speak
to them, do not hold back a word. It may be they will listen, and every one will turn from his
evil way, that I may relent of the disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds.
You shall say to them, Thus says the Lord, if you will not listen to me, to walk in my law that I
have set before you, and to listen to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I send to you
urgently, though you have not listened, then I will make this house like Shiloh, and I will make
this city a curse for all the nations of the earth. All right. A prophet of God is one who
speaks what God has told him to say. Prophecy is not only telling what will happen. Prophecy
is delivering God's message. And here in chapter 26, God gave a very specific message to Jeremiah,
and he told Jeremiah to speak all the words that I command you to speak to them,
do not hold back a word. Well, given the message that Jeremiah was to deliver, it took quite a bit
of courage to do this. He was to go to the temple court. Now, this was a large area where a lot of
people gathered. And, by all accounts, Jeremiah seems to have been a quiet man, a retiring man,
not a man who relished the limelight. And in his instructions, God told Jeremiah,
it may be they will listen, and every one turn from his evil way, that I may relent of the
disaster that I intend to do to them because of their evil deeds. It's important to know that when
God said, it may be that they'll listen, He knew, of course, how this message would be received.
But He wanted Jeremiah to deliver the message with a hopeful heart. He wanted Jeremiah to
communicate to the people in a way that told them that their future was in their hands,
not as if the decision to bring judgment was a foregone conclusion.
So Jeremiah obediently followed the Lord's instructions to the letter. And when the people
heard the message, they laid hold of him, saying, You shall die. And the text says,
And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
This beloved was an angry mob. They were bent on killing him because they didn't like his message.
And even the priests and prophets said, This man deserves the sentence of death because he has
prophesied against this city. So they seemed to have thought that Jeremiah was a traitor.
They thought he was against Jerusalem. And then what happened? Jeremiah made his case to the
officials and all the people. He said, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and this
city all the words you have heard. Now therefore, mend your ways and your deeds, and obey the voice
of the Lord your God, and the Lord will relent of the disaster that He has pronounced against you.
So Jeremiah restated exactly what the Lord had told him to say. He didn't soften his words. He
didn't try to make it any easier to hear. He faithfully delivered the message. Do you think
that was an easy thing to do, in the face of an angry mob who had just threatened his life?
And then he went on to say, But as for me, behold, I am in your hands. Do with me as seems good and
write to you. Only know for certain that if you put me to death, you will bring innocent blood
upon yourselves and upon this city and its inhabitants. For in truth, the Lord sent me to
you to speak all these words in your ears. I don't think Jeremiah spoke defiantly in his defense.
I don't think he mirrored the anger that the people had. I think he spoke matter-of-factly.
He was at the mercy of the crowd and the priests and the prophets of the temple.
He just pointed out to them that his message was from God, and that if they killed him,
they would be shedding innocent blood. In reality, they were on trial, not him.
17th century English Bible commentator John Trapp wrote,
See here how God gave His holy prophet a mouth and wisdom, such as His adversaries were not
able to resist. In the first chapter of Jeremiah, verse 19, God told Jeremiah,
They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you,
for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.
And here in chapter 26, after hearing Jeremiah's words,
the officials and all the people said,
This man does not deserve the sentence of death,
for he has spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God, and Jeremiah was spared.
Beloved, like Jeremiah, we live in a time where speaking God's truth can be frightening.
cancel culture is alive and well. There can be very real consequences for speaking against the
ungodly, sinful things we see happening around us. And in some countries, even this very day,
Christians are being killed simply for being Christians. And I hate to say it, but as quickly
as we're seeing societal changes take place in the world, it is entirely conceivable that these
murders will spread. Will we have the courage of Jeremiah? Will we speak the undiluted truth of God?
Beloved, now is the time to decide. Now is the time. Will you stand up to the angry mob,
or will you kneel to them? What do you say? Comment at Lifespringmedia.com slash S12E116.
Tomorrow we'll read Mark 13 and 14, plus I'll have a special encore presentation of the
Christmas story that James Cooper of whychristmas.com and I did way back in 2010 with several of our
friends for the Lifespring Why Christmas podcast. I don't think you'll want to miss that. I think
you'll enjoy it. Boost! There's still time to make a Christmas donation to the show.
You can do that at lifespringmedia.com support.
On this date in Church history, December 24, 1818, the first singing of Silent Night, or
Stille Nacht, is heard. The original German verses of this timeless Christmas carol were
written by Joseph Moore, the parish priest of Oberndorf, Austria. Its music was composed by
church organist Franz Gruber. You already knew those things, but you didn't know that today
was the 203rd anniversary of the first singing of Silent Night.
And on December 24, 1912, Lottie Moon, or Charlotte Moon, American Baptist missionary to China, died.
After 40 years of service with the Southern Baptist Mission Board,
she suffered with the Chinese people in a terrible famine.
And slowly starving while sharing her food with others,
she later died aboard the ship that was taking her back to America.
In Sean's email to me today, he said how he continues to improve.
It seems like with so much continuous improvement, he'd be home by now.
But nope, he's still in the hospital.
Ann visits every morning on her way to work and again after work.
Family does their best to visit him during the workday.
It's a long, slow process of weaning him off the oxygen supply and restrengthening his lost muscles.
Sean says, my wife Brittany and I will be driving out there on Christmas Eve,
probably arriving a bit after 1.30 a.m. local time in Phoenix.
So we need to continue to pray for Howie, for the family, and for safe travels for Sean and Brittany.
Let's pray.
Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your assurance that you are always with us.
Jesus said, Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world, and we believe that promise.
I pray, Lord, that you would give us the kind of courage that Jeremiah had. Give us the words to
speak, Lord, and give us the courage to speak them, even in the face of the angry mob which
seems to be so prevalent today. It is good to know that you are with us, come what may.
And thank you so much for the healing that is taking place in Howie. I pray that you would
continue to strengthen him, and we pray that he'd be able to go home soon. And I pray that you'll
give Sean and Brittany a safe drive to visit the family in Phoenix. And Lord, I thank you for the
LifeSpring family. I pray that you would bless them today and tomorrow, and that this Christmas
would be a time of love and rejoicing with their family. And Lord, for those who will be missing
loved ones, be with them in a very special way, as only you can do, Lord. This can be a difficult
time for some, but you are our comforter. Even in the midst of loss, Lord, show them how they can
be truly joyful in you. Enfold them, Lord, in your arms of love. I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Please do send in your prayer requests at prayer.lifespringmedia.com and send in your praises.
It's really great to hear how God is working in your life.
prayer.lifespringmedia.com
As you know, I am committed to bringing this show to you every day, and tomorrow will be no different.
But I also know that you might have a thing or two to do tomorrow,
and you might not be listening to tomorrow's show until sometime later.
So, on this Christmas Eve, I just want to tell you how thankful I am for you,
and that I truly hope that this Christmas will be the best Christmas you've ever had.
Take time to say thank you to Jesus for giving up the glories of heaven to be born in that
Bethlehem manger so many years ago, so that he would ultimately be sacrificed on a cross
in your place and mine, and three days later be resurrected in victory over sin and death,
so that all who believe would have eternal life. That is the real Christmas story.
Since today is the 203rd anniversary of the first singing of Silent Night,
I think it's only appropriate to bring you one of my favorite versions of that song.
This is Brian Duncan and the Neo Soul Band.
Until tomorrow, may God bless you richly.
Thank you for being here.
I'm Steve Webb.
Have a Merry Christmas.
Bye.
Silent night
Holy night
All is calm, all is bright
Round yon virgin, mother and child
Holy infant so tender and mild
Sleep in heavenly peace
Silent night, holy night
Shepherds quail at the sight
A glorious dream from heaven afar
Heavenly hosts sing hallelujah
Christ the Lord, the Lord, the Lord
Christ the Savior is born
Born a Savior on a silent night
Sleep now in heavenly peace
Holy calm and bright silent night
Keep us in heavenly peace
Wanderers stall out on a silent night
Keep us in heavenly peace
Angels sing to a king's silent night
Keep us in heavenly peace
Peace on earth, good wills warning
All keep us safe
Heaven and peace
Holy calm and bright
Silent night
All keep us safe
Heaven and peace
Wonderous starlight
On a silent night
All keep us safe
Heaven and peace
Angels sing to a king's silent night
On a beautiful sea
Heaven and me
On a king's silent night
On a beautiful sea
Heaven and me
Calm and bright
On a silent night
Sleep now.
Heaven.
Hey.
One Restore Life