STEVE WEBB - 0:00  
Do you believe that God orders the events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans?

INTRO S12E363 - 0:13  
One more time! Coming to you from Riverside, California. This is the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And podcasting since 2004, I am your OG Godcaster, Steve Webb. This is the daily show where we're reading through the entire Bible in a year. This is History Tuesday, and we'll finish the book of Esther by reading chapters 6 through 10 which will also complete our reading of the entire Bible for season 12 of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, the last *live* season of the show. More about that a bit later. I'm calling today's episode "Coincidence? I Think Not." As promised on yesterday's show. I'll be talking about my plans for the future after my comments on Esther today. I'll be sharing some of the ideas that came in from the “The Next Step” emails you sent in. And of course, we'll have a time of prayer. Today's show notes page is at lifespringmedia.com/s12e363. Let's begin. 

ESTHER 6 (ESV) - 1:12  
Esther, chapter 6. (1) On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. (2) And it was found written how Mordecai had told about Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king’s eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. (3) And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king’s young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” (4) And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered the outer court of the king’s palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on the gallows that he had prepared for him. (5) And the king’s young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” (6) So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” (7) And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, (8) let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head a royal crown is set. (9) And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king’s most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” (10) Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits at the king’s gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” (11) So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”

(12) Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning and with his head covered. (13) And Haman told his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”

(14) While they were yet talking with him, the king’s eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman to the feast that Esther had prepared. 

ESTHER 7 (ESV) - 3:35  
Esther, chapter 7. (1) So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. (2) And on the second day, as they were drinking wine after the feast, the king again said to Esther, “What is your wish, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to the half of my kingdom, it shall be fulfilled.” (3) Then Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. (4) For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated. If we had been sold merely as slaves, men and women, I would have been silent, for our affliction is not to be compared with the loss to the king.” (5) Then King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther, “Who is he, and where is he, who has dared to do this?” (6) And Esther said, “A foe and enemy! This wicked Haman!” Then Haman was terrified before the king and the queen.

(7) And the king arose in his wrath from the wine-drinking and went into the palace garden, but Haman stayed to beg for his life from Queen Esther, for he saw that harm was determined against him by the king. (8) And the king returned from the palace garden to the place where they were drinking wine, as Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was. And the king said, “Will he even assault the queen in my presence, in my own house?” As the word left the mouth of the king, they covered Haman’s face. (9) Then Harbona, one of the eunuchs in attendance on the king, said, “Moreover, the gallows that Haman has prepared for Mordecai, whose word saved the king, is standing at Haman’s house, fifty cubits high.” And the king said, “Hang him on that.” (10) So they hanged Haman on the gallows that he had prepared for Mordecai. Then the wrath of the king abated. 

ESTHER 8 (NLT) - 5:24  
Esther, chapter 8. (1) On that same day King Xerxes gave the property of Haman, the enemy of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Then Mordecai was brought before the king, for Esther had told the king how they were related. (2) The king took off his signet ring—which he had taken back from Haman—and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s property.

(3) Then Esther went again before the king, falling down at his feet and begging him with tears to stop the evil plot devised by Haman the Agagite against the Jews. (4) Again the king held out the gold scepter to Esther. So she rose and stood before him.

(5) Esther said, “If it please the king, and if I have found favor with him, and if he thinks it is right, and if I am pleasing to him, let there be a decree that reverses the orders of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite, who ordered that Jews throughout all the king’s provinces should be destroyed. (6) For how can I endure to see my people and my family slaughtered and destroyed?”

(7) Then King Xerxes said to Queen Esther and Mordecai the Jew, “I have given Esther the property of Haman, and he has been impaled on a pole because he tried to destroy the Jews. (8) Now go ahead and send a message to the Jews in the king’s name, telling them whatever you want, and seal it with the king’s signet ring. But remember that whatever has already been written in the king’s name and sealed with his signet ring can never be revoked.”

(9) So on June 25 the king’s secretaries were summoned, and a decree was written exactly as Mordecai dictated. It was sent to the Jews and to the highest officers, the governors, and the nobles of all the 127 provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia. The decree was written in the scripts and languages of all the peoples of the empire, including that of the Jews. (10) The decree was written in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the king’s signet ring. Mordecai sent the dispatches by swift messengers, who rode fast horses especially bred for the king’s service.

(11) The king’s decree gave the Jews in every city authority to unite to defend their lives. They were allowed to kill, slaughter, and annihilate anyone of any nationality or province who might attack them or their children and wives, and to take the property of their enemies. (12) The day chosen for this event throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was March 7 of the next year.

(13) A copy of this decree was to be issued as law in every province and proclaimed to all peoples, so that the Jews would be ready to take revenge on their enemies on the appointed day. (14) So urged on by the king’s command, the messengers rode out swiftly on fast horses bred for the king’s service. The same decree was also proclaimed in the fortress of Susa.

(15) Then Mordecai left the king’s presence, wearing the royal robe of blue and white, the great crown of gold, and an outer cloak of fine linen and purple. And the people of Susa celebrated the new decree. (16) The Jews were filled with joy and gladness and were honored everywhere. (17) In every province and city, wherever the king’s decree arrived, the Jews rejoiced and had a great celebration and declared a public festival and holiday. And many of the people of the land became Jews themselves, for they feared what the Jews might do to them. 

ESTHER 9 (NIV) - 8:46  
Esther, chapter 9. (1) On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the edict commanded by the king was to be carried out. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but now the tables were turned and the Jews got the upper hand over those who hated them. (2) The Jews assembled in their cities in all the provinces of King Xerxes to attack those determined to destroy them. No one could stand against them, because the people of all the other nationalities were afraid of them. (3) And all the nobles of the provinces, the satraps, the governors and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because fear of Mordecai had seized them. (4) Mordecai was prominent in the palace; his reputation spread throughout the provinces, and he became more and more powerful.

(5) The Jews struck down all their enemies with the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did what they pleased to those who hated them. (6) In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men. (7) They also killed Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha, (8) Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha, (9) Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai and Vaizatha, (10) the ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews. But they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

(11) The number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king that same day. (12) The king said to Queen Esther, “The Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men and the ten sons of Haman in the citadel of Susa. What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given you. What is your request? It will also be granted.”

(13) “If it pleases the king,” Esther answered, “give the Jews in Susa permission to carry out this day’s edict tomorrow also, and let Haman’s ten sons be impaled on poles.”

(14) So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they impaled the ten sons of Haman. (15) The Jews in Susa came together on the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, and they put to death in Susa three hundred men, but they did not lay their hands on the plunder.

(16) Meanwhile, the remainder of the Jews who were in the king’s provinces also assembled to protect themselves and get relief from their enemies. They killed seventy-five thousand of them but did not lay their hands on the plunder. (17) This happened on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.

(18) The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.

(19) That is why rural Jews—those living in villages—observe the fourteenth of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting, a day for giving presents to each other.

(20) Mordecai recorded these events, and he sent letters to all the Jews throughout the provinces of King Xerxes, near and far, (21) to have them celebrate annually the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar (22) as the time when the Jews got relief from their enemies, and as the month when their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration. He wrote them to observe the days as days of feasting and joy and giving presents of food to one another and gifts to the poor.

(23) So the Jews agreed to continue the celebration they had begun, doing what Mordecai had written to them. (24) For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the pur (that is, the lot) for their ruin and destruction. (25) But when the plot came to the king’s attention, he issued written orders that the evil scheme Haman had devised against the Jews should come back onto his own head, and that he and his sons should be impaled on poles. (26) (Therefore these days were called Purim, from the word pur.) Because of everything written in this letter and because of what they had seen and what had happened to them, (27) the Jews took it on themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should without fail observe these two days every year, in the way prescribed and at the time appointed. (28) These days should be remembered and observed in every generation by every family, and in every province and in every city. And these days of Purim should never fail to be celebrated by the Jews—nor should the memory of these days die out among their descendants.

(29) So Queen Esther, daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim. (30) And Mordecai sent letters to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of Xerxes’ kingdom—words of goodwill and assurance— (31) to establish these days of Purim at their designated times, as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had decreed for them, and as they had established for themselves and their descendants in regard to their times of fasting and lamentation. (32) Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, and it was written down in the records. 

ESTHER 10 (NKJV) - 13:44  
Esther, chapter 10. (1) And King imposed tribute on the land and on the islands of the sea. (2) Now all the acts of his power and his might, and the account of the greatness of Mordecai, to which the king advanced him, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Media and Persia? (3) For Mordecai the Jew was second to King Ahasuerus, and was great among the Jews and well received by the multitude of his brethren, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen. 

COMMENTS - 14:17  
Beloved, I have a question for you. Do you believe that God orders the events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans? There are some people who believe that once God finished His work of creation, he stepped away, took his hands off, and let events on earth happen on their own. To me, that seems sort of foolish, but that's what some people think.

Well, here in Esther, we have an example of how God does orchestrate the events of man for his purposes.

The king was unable to sleep on the very night that Haman was plotting to kill Mordecai. So the king does what many of us do, he decided to read a book hoping that that'll make him sleepy. Think of it. Ahasuerus is the king of the most powerful kingdom on earth, so he could have done almost anything for a diversion, but he chose to read a book. He orders that a book of remembrances be brought to him. Now he had a kingdom of 127 provinces, so I can imagine that this book of remembrances probably had several volumes, can't you? But the person who was tasked with bringing the book brought the volume that included the account of how Mordecai saved the king from assassination. And the servant opened the book to the very page with that record. What are the odds? Well, with God, the odds are 100%. Without God, who knows? There had been many remembrances in that book. But on this specific night, this specific page was opened.

Coincidence? I think not. Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans? Of course he does.

Has God ever intervened in your life like this? Can you remember a time where the course of your life was changed by a seemingly random event?

Let me tell you about a time this happened to me.

And some of you know this story. But it happened in 2004. It was a Saturday in September, I think it was. And I turned on the radio to listen to a talk show about technology. This was normally a call-in type show where people would ask the host for help with their tech devices. But when I turned on the radio, the host was interviewing a guy, and the guy was telling the host about this new thing he invented where radio-type shows would be automatically downloaded to people's computers. And better still, every time a new show was created. The new episodes would just show up on their computers, and then they could transfer the new shows onto their portable mp3 player, and they could listen to them whenever they wanted. Well, this idea sounded pretty interesting to me having been in radio in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

And, of course, this new invention was podcasting. The interviewer was Leo Laporte, and the interviewee was Adam Curry, whom I am now happy to not only call my friend, but ecstatic to call my brother in the Lord. But that's a different story.

Well, just a week before I heard this interview, I had asked God, what more I could do to serve him. I was already the tech guy at my church and putting in a lot of time in that. But I wanted to do more for God since he had been so very good to me and had blessed me with a wonderful wife, great kids, a business that paid the bills and a home. I just wanted to be available to do whatever God had for me. I prayed and I asked God, what more I could do. And his answer was a very clear almost audible, “Proclaim my name.”

So was it just a random event when I heard Adam Curry telling Leo Laporte about podcasting? I don't think so. God prompted me to turn on that radio at just the right time. And on November 13, 2004, I uploaded the world's first Christian podcast to my church's website. And within days, I received emails from around the world telling me stories of how God was using my podcast to bring them to Jesus. God was using my little podcast in miraculous ways.

But the story doesn't end there. From that first podcast that I called Lifespring. I created several other podcasts, one of which was the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. And because of that show, a person asked me to record the entire Douay-Rheims Bible. And because of that project, I wrote Webb's Easy Bible Names Pronunciation Guide, which was published in 2012, and has helped many, many people as they study and teach and preach God's word. And also because of podcasting, I've got a career doing voiceovers for radio and TV commercials and videos for companies around the world and church videos and so much more. Something I never would have dreamed would happen.

My life was changed when God orchestrated events on that September Saturday in 2004. Do you believe that God orders events in the lives of people to accomplish his plans? I sure do.

You have a comment? Let me know. Go to lifespringmedia.com/s12e363. I'd love to hear from you.

Boost.

THE NEXT STEP - 19:27  
Normally, this is the time where we do the donation segment, but I want to talk to you first about what my plans are. So here we are at the last episode of the final fully live season of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. I guess there should probably be an asterisk there on “fully live” since by definition a podcast isn't really live, but now with a brand new lit tag in the Podcasting 2.0 namespace. That's even no longer true, but let's not get too geeky here. You know what I mean. I will no longer be producing episodes of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible with new content every day. It isn't that I've lost interest. It isn't that I don't want to. It's just that I have to step back because I have to take care of myself. I have a wonderfully understanding and patient and supportive wife who deserves much, much more of my attention, and for whom I would love to do some projects that have been simmering on the back burner for literally years. And I've got grandchildren and sons and daughters-in-law with whom I would love to spend time, and I've got hobbies that I'd like to get back to. But at the same time, I am a firm believer that there really is no retirement plan for Christians. As long as God continues to give me breath, he's got a job for me to do for His kingdom. And I believe that's true for every believer. Like Paul said, I want to finish the race. I don't plan on dropping out of the race. I want to finish strong, stretching for the finish line.

So what I did, as you know, is I asked you to send me emails for what my next step should be. And many of you did, for which I am grateful. I tried, and I think I succeeded in responding to each email, and if I missed responding to yours, believe me it was not intentional. And I'm sorry, if I did miss you. What I want to do right now is share some of these emails with you. I'm doing this because there are some ideas that came through in here, and some reasons for the decision that I have made going forward.

So the first one, I think appropriately is from Brother Paul of Seattle. He says, “Hi, Steve, I think you're recording the last episode of the Family Audio Bible tomorrow or Monday. So I just wanted to say a huge thank you for putting out the daily Family Audio Bible. It's interesting to see how God led me to the podcast through TWiT, Leo Laporte saying he was totally opposite politically of No Agenda in some sidebar, and I thought, hey, I should check that out. So from TWiT I went to No Agenda, and then from No Agenda to the Lifespring Family Audio Bible. It only took 16 years. I am very happy as listening to the Family Audio Bible rekindled my relationship with God. And I believe God has brought me back to his path. I still struggle as I know everyone does. But my prayer is for God to continue to work in my life, grow my faith in Him, learn to listen to him, and look for how I can serve God with my life, not just continue doing the job every day. So thank you for listening to God's calling 17 plus years ago, I don't know how many lives God has changed through you. But I know that there is at least one. I'm looking forward to seeing what podcasts you're going to do. And I already subscribe to the all media feed. And by the way, it was for me a little hard to find the all media feed.”

I'm gonna stop right there for just a second, if you were searching for the Lifespring all media feed, that might be one of the problems that you had. It's the Lifespring Media All Shows Feed. I tried this out just a little while ago, and I went to my different podcast apps that I have on my phone, and I did a search for Lifespring Media All Shows Feed, and it shows up every time. So if you look for Lifespring all media feed, that might be why it was difficult. That's my guess.

Continuing the email here. “I know I mentioned this in a previous email, but I'm serious about wanting to help in some way with Lifespring Media. I don't know what that would be or what I could do. But if you need help with something, let me know. Signed, Paul”

Brother Paul, thank you so much for that. I don't know what your skills are. But keep listening because there's something that's going to come up a little bit later that if you have skills in this area, for sure I would want your help. So keep listening. And again, thank you so much for your email and for all the support and encouragement you've given me this year. So thank you, Paul.

And then here's another one. “Hi, Steve, Sir Snide here. ITM.” In The Morning to you Sir Snide. He says, “I want to thank you for what you've done, and let you know that it has enriched my life and walk with God. Being an engineer, I have had many thoughts about possible next steps a lot over the past several days. From a personally selfish perspective, I would like things to continue as is. But this is neither respectful nor feasible. So the engineer in me kicks in and my mind ran through many possible outcomes. Number one, do nothing and let people access the archives to read the Bible again on their schedule, very manual and high friction for the user, but easiest to accomplish. Number two, automate and rebroadcast the last season with pre-canned intro about it being a rebroadcast and the donor segment is from last year and please support the rebroadcast cost by donating again on the value-for-value model as servers, storage and bandwidth cost. May be simple to accomplish. Has the advantage that podcast apps can pick them up on a published schedule, which makes it easier for the user. Number three, if you still have the raw files and if you recorded things in segments, you could create an evergreen version that has the scripture reading, your best or favorite commentary from the past seasons, this day in history, and a canned value-for-value donation request for the servers, storage and bandwidth as in point two. This has the advantage to be able to be replayed year after year with minimal effort after the evergreen episodes are created. Still benefits users with a scheduled release for their podcast apps to handle, but I fear some of the personality and special extras from time-to-time would disappear. But also at the same time, it would not grow stale due to old prayer requests and other time-anchored elements. Number four, find a successor and mentor them and allow them to become the host for this podcast adding a second personality to your Lifespring Media setup. So turning off my engineering mode, I will support your future choices and treasure the blessings of this podcast that I have received over the past year. I leave it in your capable hands and I'm sure God will make his will clear to you. Best regards, Sir Snide.”

Thank you, Sir Snide, for all of those suggestions. They were all good. I agree with you on your evaluation of each option, but they were some very good suggestions there. Thank you, Sir Snide. I appreciate it very much.

And now I have a short one from Denise; yes, Denise who helps with the transcriptions. She said some very nice things. And then, she says, “I love history. So I'd vote for a weekly church history podcast, 20 minutes on an historical figure or event in church history. Or do a daily reading from someone's journal, like John Wesley's, for instance, and do, like, a year-in-the-life of John Wesley, but I don't know how that would work with a weekly podcast.” She said, “I liked Susan from Oregon's idea of doing a weekly podcast on current social issues. And I also liked Jane's idea of keeping the daily Bible readings going but doing a weekly commentary.”

I could make a hybrid of Sir Snide’s suggestion of reassembling the shows. That's… that would be a possibility.

And then she volunteered this last wonderful little bit. She said, “If you need any help with transcripts or research in the next season, if there is a next season, I'd be glad to help with that.” She said, “God bless you and LeeAnn and enjoy your visit with little Penelope this coming week.”

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Denise. Those are great ideas. And yeah, stay tuned.

And now from John Taves from Candanavia. He's been around these parts for many, many years now. He wrote some very nice things as well. And then he said, “Ideas could include reading a smaller part of the Bible, just the New Testament or a few books, or a topical study, like endtimes, living in Christian life or foundations of the faith, etc. Number two, reading from other Christian material: books, studies, topics, etc. Next suggestion is updates and prayer time. Another idea is more HymnStories or other shows with music.” Problem with music shows is the copyright issue, that… it's getting harder all the time. “Next, repost the Bible, you've already recorded with some of the commentary relating to the world at that time trimmed out. Shorter shows rebroadcasted.” This is a theme that came up with a lot of them. “Something shorter, like a devotional and commentary on a less frequent schedule, or something more like the original Lifespring show, sporadic shows discussing a topic or interviewing someone, etc.”

And that one came up quite a bit, too, redoing the Lifespring show. New episodes of a Lifespring-type show. So that came up quite a bit.

This one is from a brand new listener, Jason Morgan. He said, “I started listening to your show a month ago, and I just wanted to thank you for all your good works. I have needed this, my brother. It helps me understand the message more than reading alone. I'm thankful you share your knowledge in the Holy Spirit daily. God bless you, Steve. PS, I hope to hear more from you. I'm listening.” He put a smiley face.

So Jason, thank you very much for that. And I'm so glad you found us even though it is sort of late in the year. And I got quite a few of this type of thing. “I just found your show. And I'm so glad that I did find it.” This email and the others like it are one of the reasons why I have made the decision to, at least, keep going in some manner. Keep listening here on this, this episode.

And then Sir Kevin said, “What I'd really like to hear are your insights, your stories. What's on Steve's mind? What have you been up to? What have you been thinking about? Is there a particular Bible verse you've read that has stuck out to you or that you've learned something new from? Is there a story from your life that applies to something happening today? Or that might be just what someone in the family needs to hear? How's the Lovely Lady LeeAnn? How are the grandkids? How are Del and Kathi holding up? Maybe we could spend some time praying together.” I like that. “Maybe 30 minute episode per week, longer if you've got more to say, or more often, if you have the time. I think a lot of what that will be will be up to you. But those are my thoughts. I hope that's the kind of feedback you're looking for.”

And Sir Kevin that's exactly what I was looking for. And thank you for those suggestions. So really what Sir Kevin is referring to is something like the old Lifespring show used to be. So put another hash on the scoreboard for that one.

And then here's another one from a longtime listener. This is Matt Bogart. “How about a scaled down weekly version of the current show? Maybe just one or two verses, along with some commentary, then prayer requests. One caveat on prayer…,” And this is why I'm reading this particular email. “One caveat on prayer requests is that they work best whenever they're closer to real time. So not sure a once per week prayer show would work well.”

You know, Matt, I've thought a lot about that. And here's my thinking - and this just me. You might very well be right about it being important to be near real time. But here's my thought. God is outside of time. Think of it a little bit like we live in a fishbowl. We are inside of time. Fish… the fishbowl is time and we live in there. And God is outside of that, as if he's looking into the fishbowl. He's not in time. So when we have a prayer request, and when we pray, for God, it's not really real time. In other words, being outside of time, he knows about the, the need. He knows about the prayer request, even before we pray it.

So, if we had a show that was just once a week, as an example, and I took prayer requests, we could pray for something, and it could be as far as a week out before you hear the prayer or before we pray the prayer. But to God, it doesn't matter. I know that can be kind of a weird concept. But the fact that we pray isn't really to cause God to change His mind. It's more to change our heart to conform to God's will. It's like when I pray for Kathi Brixey, I don't really expect that I'm going to change God's will for Kathi's life. It would be wonderful if because of my prayers, God says, “Okay, Steve talked me into it. I'm going to heal her.” I don't expect that to happen. God's plan for Kathi is God's plan for Kathi. As I pray, I try to align my heart to God's will. I think it's okay. I think God wants us to submit our petitions to him. But as we do that, as we live our lives, the Holy Spirit does His work in us to conform us to him.

Now, all that being said, what you say might very well be true. I don't know how receptive people would be to having prayer requests that aren't, like, you know, the next day… they are going to show up on the next day. I could explain this idea of God being outside of time. And I think some people would say, “That makes sense”. But other people might say, “I don't know.” So I don't know. Something to think about.

If you, Beloved, as you're listening to this have any comments on what I just said, feel free to send them to me, steve@lifespringmedia.com.

And then here in the email, Matt had some other suggestions for Lifespring-type shows, for interview-type things. Oh, here's one that kind of grabbed my, my attention. Matt said, “Lastly, if you recall from our conversation over lunch a few years back, I also mentioned I thought a podcast interview that covers a show guests’ conversion story or testimony would be super interesting.” So yeah, I like that idea. That might have legs. So put that on the scorecard here. He closed by saying, “However it shakes out, you definitely should take a break to clear your mind and rest those vocal cords before you do the next thing. You've earned it.” Thank you, Matt.

And then this one from York Campbell, who, who does the Poetic Earthlings podcast. And if you like storytelling podcasts, look up Poetic Earthlings. York said, “I'm a faithful listener to your show. God has used you in profound ways to speak to my heart.  You have strengthened my understanding of the love of God and His Word. Thank you. What about if you do a weekly show and you tackle the difficult parts in the Bible?” First off, York, thank you so much for those very kind words. I appreciate it. And I do like that idea about doing a weekly show that tackles the difficult parts of the Bible. That's definitely something that's in the mix.

And then Roderick sent an email - and by the way, for those of you who've been around podcasting since the early days, no, this is not Father Roderick, the Dutch Catholic priest that had a very successful podcast, back in the day. And, you know what, I've even got a picture of myself and LeeAnn and Father Roderick together along with Greg and Jennifer, co-hosts of the Rosary Army Podcast, back in the day. I'll put that picture up on the show notes page if you'd like to see who we all look like back in 2006. But, our Roderick said, New believers need to hear every single word you read. Old Believers, like me, need to hear every single word you read.” And he's talking about, obviously, the Bible, not my own comments. But he says, “I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with my family after listening to you reading the Word of God. So for me, I wouldn't want you to change a thing. I find enormous value in your teaching. And…” Well, thank you. “And hope to hear you continue reading every word of the Bible, until I get to be with you and yours in heaven.” Well, Roderick, thank you so very much for that. And your comment there about the importance of getting the Word out, along with the comments from new believers about how this show has really helped them in their walk with God has had a really big influence on my decision to keep the Lifespring Family Audio Bible alive in one way or another.

I've got just two more emails to share with you. One of the emails is from Ann whom we've heard from before in donation segments, and Ann is the wife of Howie who we prayed for. Howie is the father-in-law of Sean of San Pedro. So Ann is Sean of San Pedro's mother-in-law. She said, “Another podcast topic could be about family and being Christian grandparents and the impact grandparents have in the lives of their grandchildren, or the knowledge they can share with the third generation. I know as grandparents Howie and I see things differently, now. However, as a Christian scholar…” She's talking about me. Are you talking about me? Who me? “…as a Christian scholar, you have an abundant knowledge and insights to share and teach young families. I keep ‘hearing’…” - and she puts that in quotes – “I keep ‘hearing’ that your next ministry needs to bring joy to your heart. And it needs to make you smile every time you think about it. This is very important. I'm also ‘hearing’, quote, “Teach them about me, and what a wonderful Father I am,” unquote. Share stories from your experiences as a grandfather and connected to Scripture. The joy you felt in your heart the first time you held your grandchild, and how that's how God feels about us.” Ann, thank you for that. I very, very much appreciate your thoughts. And yes, I do want whatever I do to bring joy to my heart. I think that when we are working for God, when we're doing what he calls us to do, that's one of the benefits. God puts joy in our hearts. Not that it's always easy. God does not always call us to things that are easy. But in following him, it does bring joy.

And then the last email this one is from Howie. He wrote, “One idea we thought of is a Q & A podcast where listeners can send in biblical questions they may have wanted to ask their pastor, but never had the opportunity since pastors are so busy these days. That's why we really enjoy your summaries at the end of the Bible readings.” Thank you for that, Howie.

And then, lastly, there are a couple of people who suggested I do a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly show with another well-known podcaster, who will remain unnamed right now. Well, to those of you who suggested this idea, I want you to know that I did mention it to this person. But they have not, as yet, responded, probably because they've been out of town. But if this show is to happen, I want it to be of God. So I'm not going to push it with this other person. If the Lord wants it to happen, I want *him* to lay it on this other person's heart. So I want you to know that I did not just put that suggestion off to the side.

So there you go. These are just a few of the emails that y'all sent me. There's some great ideas there, I think you'll agree and each has got merit. What I'm gonna do is rest and recharge, and I'm going to continue to seek God's will. And I think after I've had time to rest and just really make this a matter of prayer. I'll know what to do. One thing I will say is that it is clear that the Lifespring Family Audio Bible has to continue in some form or fashion. I've learned never to say never, but I don't anticipate the show coming back in its present form. But I'm going to take the ideas that you sent in and I'll bring it back in some way.

Now to do some of the automated things that were suggested. I would need some fairly sophisticated help. I am in no way a coder. I know just enough PHP and CSS to get me into trouble. But I don't know anything beyond that, certainly nowhere near enough to do the things that were suggested in some of these emails, like especially from Sir Snide. But I would love it if someone would be willing to donate their time, talent or treasure toward that end, if they would step forward. I need someone who could write some code to add a pre-roll and/or a post-roll value-for-value message to the nearly 3000 episodes that are already at 
lifespringmedia.com. Or a pre-roll that talks about what's new with Lifespring Media, and somebody who could write something to automate the scheduling of posting new episodes, stuff like that. If that's you, or if you know somebody who could do this stuff, let me know. Write to me at steve@lifespringmedia.com.

And before we go to the next segment, please know how very, very thankful I am for each one of you. You have made this the best year I have ever had in podcasting. The interaction we've had this year has been leaps and bounds ahead of any other of my nearly 18 years in podcasting. You've been generous with your time, with your talent, with your treasure in the form of emails, your prayers, figuring out the new Podcasting 2.0 toys, and your donations. Listen, podcasting can sometimes be a very lonely thing. You speak into a microphone. You edit the show. You post it. And most of the time you wonder if what you're doing matters to anybody. But this year has been different. You've been with me and you've let me know that I'm not here by myself. And it's because of that interaction that I'm coming back. Do me a favor, if you have other podcasts that matter to you. Be sure to let those podcasters know. Give them some love, too, because, unless it's a really huge show, they wonder if what they're doing is worthwhile, too.

Now you've heard me call you “Beloved” many times on the show. And each time I use that word, it was intentional. I love you. And I'll be back, Lord willing. But give me at least two weeks, perhaps a month. But do know that the Lifespring Family Audio Bible will be back in its new form. soon. Stay subscribed, and subscribe to the Lifespring Media All Shows Feed in your chosen podcast app, or you can subscribe right there at lifespringmedia.com. And one last thing all the episodes at 
Lifespring Media are value-for-value enabled so you can boost and stream even on the old episodes.

DISTINGUISHED PRODUCER SHOUT-OUTS - 42:21  
And now today we have three Distinguished Producers. These three people have distinguished themselves by their generous and selfless value-for-value gifts of time, talent and treasure. Kirsty has been creating the Lifespring Media newsletter for much of this season. And she's done it with only occasional input from Yours Truly. And without Sean of San Pedro, the chapters for the show would not exist. For those of you that have been brave enough to switch to a modern Podcasting 2.0 podcast app and have enjoyed the chapters function, you have Sean to thank. He even wrote a custom web-based chapter-generating app to speed the process up. And one of the first things I'm going to do with my newly found free time is show this app to Adam Curry and Dave Jones. And Denise has been correcting the artificial-intelligence- (or I should say not-so-intelligence)generated transcripts for several months now, which is certainly not a glamorous task, but is highly appreciated by me as one who can be a bit of a stickler for spelling and punctuation. And if you want confirmation on that, just ask the Lovely Lady LeeAnn. It drives me crazy to see bad punctuation and spelling…, and so thank you Denise. So because of their sacrifice of their time, talent and treasure, I hereby name Kirsty, Sean of San Pedro and Denise Distinguished Producers of this, the final episode of season 12 of the Lifespring Family Audio Bible, episode s12e363. 

LIFESPRING FAMILY BEREANS - 43:52  
And I furthermore bestow the title of Lifespring Family Berean on the henceforth to be known as Sister Kirsty, Brother Sean of San Pedro and Sister Denise, with my heartfelt gratitude. Your service to the Lifespring family will forever be remembered. 

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER SHOUT-OUT - 44:08  
And I want to thank Kevin Schneider in Candanavia who sent in $123.45, 1-2-3-4-5, via Pay Pal and just said, “For the Daily Audio Bible,” making him our Associate Producer today. Kevin, thank you so very much. You've been a Lifespring family member for quite some time, and I appreciate you. God bless you, Brother. And speaking of Brother Sean of San Pedro, he sent in a $50 donation via Zelle with this note: “For the last episode of the year. What a year!” Yes, Sean, it has been quite a year. Thank you. 

MORE SUPPORTER SHOUT-OUTS - 44:42  
And Matthew Thomas sent in a row-o-ducks, $22.22 and he did that over at lifespringmedia.com/support. He said, “First time making it through the Bible in a year. Thank you for your courage and passion. ITM.” Well, he obviously came over from No Agenda. I should have one of those jingles like Adam has for Joe Rogan when one of the Joe Rogan listeners comes over to No Agenda. Well Matthew, thank you for your gift. Thank you for your courage and may God bless you richly. Thank you.

Boostagram.

And there's a boostagram. Sean of San Pedro sent an another 1-2-3-4-5 sat boost, 12,345 sats. Thank you. And last, but not least, Wayne Henderson sent in yet another Stryper boostagram of 777 sats using the Fountain app.

[Stryper sings.]

And by the way, if you're a Green Bay Packers fan, you really need to check out Wayne’s show, the Packers Fan Podcast at, strangely enough, packersfanpodcast.com. He's been doing this show since June of 2011. Congrats on that Wayne and thank you for the boostagram, buddy. God bless you.

And while I'm on the subject of boostagrams, which is a subset of streaming sats, which is something that every podcaster who is participating in this Podcasting 2.0 technology is thrilled to receive. I want to acknowledge and thank each and every one of you who have streamed sats while listening to the show over this year. I can't thank you by name because I don't get that information. I only get your name if and when you send a boostagram and you choose to share your name in the boostagram. But there are some of you who have been extremely generous in your streaming. Don't think that I haven't noticed, I have and I'm thankful. God bless all of you who have taken this admittedly geeky and not always easy step. So I very much appreciate each of you.

ON THIS DATE IN CHURCH HISTORY - 46:51  
On this date in church history, August 30, 1856, the Methodist Episcopal Church established Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio, and ownership of the school was transferred to the African Methodist Episcopal Church or AME Church in 1863.

PRAYER REQUESTS - 47:17  
Prayer requests. Del said that Kathi had a rough night. She kept waking up. Overall, she's feeling about the same. She's probably going to start her oral nausea medications today, since the ones given to the IV are losing their effectiveness and the pain in her mouth and throat, much like a sunburn, you'll remember, is still there. Del says he asked her to message her doctor to see how to relieve that pain, but she's always iffy about contacting the doctor. I told Del to slap her upside the head and say, “That's what the doctor is there for!” No, I didn't say that, but I said, “That's what the doctor is for.”

And then this came in from Sean this morning. He said, “Thank you and the Lifespring family for all of the prayers for Brittaney, for me and our extended family.” That would be Howie, of course, and his friend that was anonymous on the show. Sean wanted me to pass that along to you the Lifespring family.

CLOSING PRAYER – 48:08
So let's pray. Our heavenly Father, Lord, I thank you for calling me to this microphone, despite my many faults. Who am I, Lord, that you would allow me to have a part in your work? Oh, Lord, You are so merciful. I worship you. And I offer myself to you once more to do with me as you see fit.

Lord, I ask you to be with Kathi. Help her through this time. Bring healing to her body. Ease the pain. Ease the nausea and the vertigo. And I know, Lord, that Dell is afraid. He's afraid. And I pray God that you would be with him and comfort his heart.

I thank you, Lord, for each person that you brought to the show over the years and right up to today. Thank you for touching their hearts and for the work you've done and continue to do in their lives through the hearing of your Word. We know, Lord, that your word never returns void. And it is a joy to be involved in anything having to do with your word. I thank You, Lord. I pray, Lord, that you'll bless these brothers and sisters, these Lifespring family members according to your mercy, and your grace and your love. I pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.

This is the place where I always say: “If you have a prayer request or a praise that you'd like to share with the family, go to prayer.lifespringmedia.com and let me know about it.” Well, obviously there's not going to be another one of these shows for a while. But that doesn't mean I don't care about what's happening in your life. If you have a prayer request or if God is doing something marvelous in your life, I do want to hear about it. And prayer.lifespringmedia.com is an easy way for you to make that happen. Or, like I said before, you can always email me at steve@lifespringmedia.com

OUTRO S12E363 - 49:55  
If you have a comment on this show, please do leave it at lifespringmedia.com/s12e363. As I've said many times, scroll all the way to the bottom of that page where you'll find a box where you can put your comments. There won't be another show necessarily to share your comments with, but I’ll see the comments and I'll respond. Thank you to Sister Kirsty, Brother Sean of San Pedro and Sister Denise. I love each of you.

Thank you to Kevin. Thank you to Brother Sean. And thank you to Matthew for your gifts today. And thanks to Sean of San Pedro and Wayne for the boostagrams.

And thank you for allowing me to be in your life yet once more today. Please stick around. Stay subscribed. And if you haven't yet, subscribe now to the Lifespring Media All Shows Feed. I love you and until next time, may God bless you richly. My name as always is Steve Webb. See you soon. 

Fun for the whole family. You won't want to miss it.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai