Steve Webb  0:00  
There is no good way to answer fools when they say something stupid.

Steve Webb  0:12  
Coming to you from Riverside, California, this is the Lifespring family Audio Bible podcasting since 2004. I'm here oh gee God casters Steve Webb, welcome. I'm so glad to see you today. This is the daily show where we're reading through the entire Bible in a year. Today's poetry Thursday, and we'll read Proverbs 26 and 27. We'll have an on this date in church history segment. And I have a couple of prayer requests at the end of the show one of them personal. I'm calling today's episode, "Friends." You can find the show notes page if you'd like to make a comment on the show and Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 267. And as always, my email address is Steve at Lifespring media.com. Let's get started. 

Steve Webb  0:55  
Proverbs 26. Like snow in summer or rain in harvest. Honor is not fitting for a fool. Like a fluttering Sparrow where a darting swallow and undeserved curse does not come to rest. A whip for the horse a bridle for the donkey and a rod for the backs of fools. Do not Answer a fool according to his folly, or you yourself will be just like him, Answer a fool according to his folly or he will be wise in his own eyes. Sending a message by the hands of a fool is like cutting off one's feet or drinking poison. Like the useless legs of one who is lame is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. Like tying a stone in his sling is the giving of honor to a fool. Like a thorn bush and a drunkards hand is a proverb in the mouth of a fool. Like an archer who wounds at random is one who hires a fool or any passerby. As a dog returns to his vomit, so fools repeat their folly. Do you see a person wise in their own eyes, there is more hope for a fool than for them. Less sluggard says there's a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets as a door turns on its hinges so a sluggard turns on his bed. A sluggard buries his hand in the dish, he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answered discreetly like one who grabs a stray dog by the ears is someone who rushes into a quarrel not their own. Like a maniac shooting flaming arrows of death is one who deceives their neighbor in says I was only joking. Without wood a fire goes out. Without a gossip. A quarrel dies down as charcoal to embers and his wood to fire so as a quarrelsome person for kindling strife. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels, they go down to the inmost parts, like a coating of silver dross on Earth and where our fervent lips with an evil heart. Enemies disguise themselves with their lips, but in their hearts they harbor deceit. Though their speech is charming. Do not believe them for seven abominations fill their hearts. Their malice may be concealed by deception, but their wickedness will be exposed in the assembly. Whoever digs a pit will fall into it. If someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them. a lying tongue hates those it hurts and a flattering mouth works ruin. 

Steve Webb  3:41  
Proverbs chapter 27. Do not boast about tomorrow for you do not know what a day may bring. Let someone else praise you and not your own mouth and outsider and not your own lips. Stone is heavy and sand a burden. But a fool's provocation is heavier than both and anger is cruel and fury overwhelming. But who can stand before jealousy? Better is open rebuke than hidden love. wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. One who was full loads honey from the comb, but to the hungry even what is bitter tastes sweet. Like a bird that fleas its nest is anyone who flees from home. Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice. Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family and do not go to your relative's house when disaster strikes you better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away. Be wise my son and bring joy to my heart. Then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt. The prudent see danger and take refuge But the simple keep going and pay the penalty. Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider. If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning it will be taken as a curse. A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm. Restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand. As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit, and whoever protects their master will be honored. As water reflects the face so one's life reflects the heart. Death and destruction are never satisfied, and neither are human eyes. The Crucible for silver in the furnace for gold, but people are tested by their praise. Though you grind a fool in a mortar, grinding them like grain with a pestle, you will not remove their folly from them. Be sure you know the condition of your flocks give careful attention to your herds, for riches do not endure forever. And a crown is not secure for all generations. When the hay is removed and new growth appears, and the grass from the hills is gathered in the lambs will provide you with clothing and the goats with the price of a field. You will have plenty of goat's milk to feed your family and to nourish your female servants.

Steve Webb  6:34  
I've got comments on both Proverbs 26 and 27 today. Twenty-six. I used to listen to political talk radio and watch political TV talk shows but I got tired of the arguing back and forth. You see, I noticed that no matter how logical or well thought out an argument was on either side. seldom if ever was an opponent persuaded to listen objectively. And most of the time both sides ended up looking foolish. So when I read verses four and five in chapter 26, today I was reminded how silly it is to argue with a fool. Here are the verses again, do not Answer a fool according to his folly or you yourself will be just like him, Answer a fool according to his folly or he will be wise in his own eyes. Well, I like the way the easy to read version renders these two verses, there is no good way to answer fools when they say something stupid. If he answered them, then you too will look like a fool. If you don't answer them, they'll think they're smart. So what are we to do? I guess it partly depends on the situation, right? If possible, I think it's a good idea to avoid the fool altogether. But if that isn't possible, then don't engage them in conversation that brings out the foolish in them. There are people in my life whom I consider to be foolish. Come on, let's be honest here. Most of us have this type of person in our lives that we're forced to have contact with. My way of dealing with his people is to just be polite. We talk about the weather or rather mundane things that don't really matter. Because I know that if we get into the cheap water, nothing but trouble will ensue. And if they bring up a subject that I think will go the wrong way, I'll just smile politely and let them drone on until I can gracefully make an exit. I do the same thing online. By the way, I don't engage in debates there. Nobody ever has their mind changed by arguing online. It's a waste of time. As they say, Don't feed the trolls. 

Steve Webb  8:40  
All right on Proverbs 27, I liked that Solomon spent some time giving counsel to his son about the importance of good friends, like a rare jewel, truly good friends are hard to find. But when you do find them, they're much more valuable than even jewels. Because more than bringing fellowship in good times. They can help you through difficult times. They can help make a better person out of you. And sometimes God can use them to speak his words into your life. I consider myself truly blessed because I have three such friends in my life. One of them has been a part of my life since I was about 10 years old, probably even eight or nine. His name was Mark. The second I met when we were in junior high school. That's still the husband of Kathy whom we've prayed for many, many times on the show. And there's nobody alive today that I've known longer than these two. The third jewel of a friend of mine is a fellow podcaster. We met in 2005. And for a long time we were friends but not particularly close. But over the last couple of years we've had a standing date to talk via video at least two Saturdays a month. Sometimes we'll talk for an hour sometimes we'll talk three or four or five hours, and we've really developed a deep deep friendship. His name is Ron I treasure Are all three of these guys and I do anything for them. And I think they do the same for me. I consider myself a very blessed man to have each one of them in my life. So let's take a look at three of these verses that deal with friendship from chapter 27. Verse six says, wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses. What that means is a true friend is one who's willing to risk hurting us if it means that we'll be better for the correction. And enemies kisses are just lies. Remember, Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss. Verse nine says, perfume and incense bring joy to the heart and the pleasantness of a friend springs from their heartfelt advice. This verse is sort of a partner to the last verse. When a friend offers kind words of advice from a heart of love. It's as pleasant as a good perfume. Then dropping down to verse 17. That says, As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. This is sort of an opposite of the friendship coin. Verse nine talked about the kind words of advice being as pleasant as a good perfume. But when iron sharpens iron, there is grinding on the wheel, heavy hammers striking the iron and always sparks fly. The iron being prepared goes through a bit of stress, pounding and abrasion. If the iron could feel there would be pain involved. But the end product is better and more useful. When a friend sharpens a friend, it can be a difficult process for one or both of them. But in the end, both can be better off. What do you think you have a friend like that? I'd like to hear about it. Leave a comment at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 267. On tomorrow show we'll read the book of Obadiah Yep, the whole thing. I hope you'll be here boost.

Steve Webb  12:04  
I got a couple of boostagrams over the last few days. Yesterday Sean of San Pedro...Sean streams sats while he listens all the time, and he boosts an extra 1000 sats every day. But for yesterday, he did send a boostagram, which is a boost with text. This is what he said. I love knowing this tradition of singing this set of Psalms before and after the Passover meal, and that Jesus likely sang them. Of course, he was commenting on the Psalms 1/14 through 1/16 episode, and yeah, Shawn, I agree. I didn't know that before. And knowing that Jesus sang them the night before he was crucified. That adds a lot, doesn't it? And then I got a 1111 sat booster Graham from the mere mortals podcast a few days ago. He said a daily podcast of this length is rather impressive, Steve, keep up the great work. Well, thank you for that booster Graham. And I'm planning on it for a while anyway. Thank you very much. Well, beloved, you can send booster grams in stream SATs, if you have one of those brand new podcast apps that you can get at new podcast apps.com. It's all part of the podcasting 2.0 thing. And also included in the ability to stream and boost SATs, you can see the chapters that Sean of San Pedro makes is just another aspect of the value for value model. But whether you stream SATs or Sen boosts or send treasurer in the way of Pay Pal or Zell are one of the many other things I have available for you to be able to do it Lifespring media.com/support, please know that I'm so thankful when you do send support, it does help to pay the bills around here. It's getting more expensive all the time. And I really appreciate your support. If you find value in the show, if you're glad when you see a new episode in your podcast app, please do support it in the amount of value that you receive from the show. For some people that might be $5, maybe that's a lot for you. That's fine, that's great. I appreciate it. Somebody else can send 2050 or 100 or even more, whatever the value is for you. And whatever the Lord leads you to give. That's the value you send in no matter the amount. I'll thank you and I really truly do believe that God bless you for it.

Steve Webb  14:25  
On this date in church history, May 26 735 Anglo Saxon theologian Venerable Bede, a monk in a monastery in Gero, Northumberland, also known as "the Father of English History" passed away. He was the first great English scholar. He invented the BC and AD dating system, and his "Ecclesiastical History of the English People", written in 731 was crucial to England's conversion to Christianity. Man talk about an important person!

Steve Webb  15:07  
I've got a praise report and prayer requests today. The praise report came in just a little while ago from Sean of San Pedro. You may remember a couple of weeks ago, we prayed for this friend of Shawn, that he was in the ER and we didn't really have any information, but he was afraid that he was even going to be leaving his son behind that he was going to be passing away. Well, Shawn messaged me just a little while ago and he said my friend is out of the hospital and his employer has kept his job for him. Even the treatment at the hospital wasn't great. And he's not fully recovered, but he's home and he's employed. So that is a praise. Now for prayer requests. Sean of San Pedro's wife Brittany asked for prayer for her dad, Howie you remember what a struggle he had with COVID. He's been he was in the hospital for a long time. And he's been out of the hospital now for a few months and health wise, he's doing great. But while he was in the hospital, his employer replaced him. I'm leaving out some details. But the bottom line is that how he is looking for a job, how he and his wife live in the Phoenix area. So we need to pray that he finds a job there. And by the way, if you're in the Phoenix area and are looking for a good man, or if you know of employment opportunities, send me an email and I'll forward your info to Howie through Shawn. My email address, of course, is Steve at Lifespring media.com. So there's that prayer request, we need to pray for Howie. And then well, this is the last almost live show for a few days. I'm scheduled to have my cardiac ablation procedure tomorrow morning. I check in at the hospital in LA about 60 miles from my home here in Riverside at 6am. I think the procedure itself will begin at seven and it should last about four hours. After that I'll be in the recovery room for about six hours flat on my back, which we've talked about. I'm not looking forward to that with my bad back, that's probably going to be worse than the procedure itself. I'm told that they probably won't release me until about 730 tomorrow night. So please pray that all goes according to plan and pray for the lovely lady Leanne who has to wait outside the hospital because of the COVID rules still in effect. In this. I'll just say crazy state. I'll just say that. I'm very thankful that Shaun of San Pedro and his very sweet wife, Brittany have graciously volunteered to spend part of their day with Leanne. So that should help the time to go quicker for her. But let's pray for her as well. Now I do have Friday and Saturday shows already pre recorded for you as I record this now on Wednesday afternoon. And I plan to record Sundays and Mondays show for you today. If you're listening on Thursday, the 26th of May 2022. I probably don't really need to do so many shows in advance, but in the off chance that I'm not feeling up to it. In the days following the procedure. I do want to be prepared. I was after all a Cubmaster for Steven and Timothy's Cub Scout pack, you know, be prepared. And by the way, if you're subscribed to the newsletter, Kirstie sent out one this week in which I included a couple of YouTube links to videos about the procedure I'll be having I thought maybe you'd find them interesting. And in the spirit of 100%, transparency, Monday show, which I usually do record on Sunday will be done in advance partly because I want to have it done in case I'm not feeling well. But mainly because the Indianapolis 500 Is this Sunday. I have loved watching that race since my parents took me to see it in 1963. Yeah, I was there in person, I got to see Parnelli Jones win the race. So I've been in love with that race ever since then. So I want to watch the race this year without having to know that I also need to get a show out. You don't mind if I indulge myself a little bit, do you? I hope not. Thank you.

Steve Webb  18:55  
So let's pray. Our heavenly Father once again, we thank you for the wisdom that we find in Proverbs. And I thank you for godly friends. I pray that every Lifespring family member has friends like that. And if not, that you'll bring them into the lives of the people that don't have close friends like that. It's a blessing Lord, and I pray that you'll bless everyone in the Lifespring family with a friend like that. I pray Lord, that you lead how we do the perfect job that he'll be able to use the gifts you've given him and that will be both challenging and fulfilling for him. That would be ideal. But the main thing is that he be able to pay the bills. You know, every job opening out there and I know that you have one for Howie. So I'm asking that you put Howie and the job opening together. You've told us that when we seek you first you will provide for our needs. So we know that you will do it and we'll give you praise Lord. Now Lord, I pray once again that you'll be in the operating room with me and the medical team tomorrow morning to give each of them a good night's sleep, then may they be in top form, guide their decisions and their hands during the procedure, Lord, I'm yours. Each breath I take, every beat of my heart comes from you. It's always been that way and until you take me home, it will always be that way. I pray that your will would be done in my life and in the operating room. I pray for Leann that you'd give her your peace while she waits. And I thank You, Lord for Shawn and Brittany, bless them in a special way for giving their time to be with Leann. I thank you for the Lifespring family. And I asked you to bless them today. I pray this in Jesus name, amen. If you've got a prayer request or a praise, go to prayer dot Lifespring media.com.

Steve Webb  20:51  
Share the show, if you believe in what we're doing here, let other people know about it. Comment on the show at Lifespring media.com/s 12 e 267. Email me at Steve at Lifespring media.com thanks to the team Kirstie Sean of San Pedro and Denise, thanks to you for being here. Support the show with your time talent or treasure Lifespring media.com/support. And until tomorrow, virtually and until probably about Tuesday, almost live. May God bless you richly My name is Steve Webb. Remember to pray for me tomorrow please. Bye

Transcribed by https://otter.ai