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Hopefully, when this video is processed, you can hear me expound a bit more on it quickly. I’ll add to my thoughts later.
The picture below:
Blue: 36,605 churches and 3,515 missionaries and spend $316.6 million on
reaching 108.7 million people.
Orange: 8,243 churches
and 1,735 missionaries and spend $71.5 million on reaching 195.3 million
people.
See those? That’s 12 of the 13 or more physical copies of the Bible that I own. Most of them never come off the bookshelf. See the iPod on top? That represents the 5 Bibles that are on my iPod, the 1 that is on my phone, and the 7 that are on my computer. The small Bible on the top of that pile, right underneath the iPod is one that I’ve had since college, when my handy-dandy soul-winner’s New Testament was lost. The 5th from the Bottom is my second version of that same Bible, the first of which I bought at Bible college when my personal Bible was stolen(by another student). The one on the bottom? That’s my ESV Study Bible, and my most recent purchase. It’s the first Bible that I purchased that isn’t TR based.
Why this picture? Why am I talking about the Bibles that I own? Because, I recently was convicted of my failure to just memorize Scripture, and my failure to read the Bible all the way through. Reading the Bible, and loving the Bible, is how we fight against sin. The Bible was given to us by God, so that we can fight sin, and so that we can know more about Him. And so we ought to read and reread it, as though it were a letter from our husband or wife or girlfriend or boyfriend.
Oh Lord, forgive me of my failure to read, reread, and memorize your Word. Grant me a greater love for your Scriptures, that I may battle against sin. Don’t let this be just a mental exercise, or something I do under my own strength. Help me my God.
http://www.fallenandflawed.com/tricks-memorize-scripture/
Warning: Fundies will not like this song(the beat anyway).
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As I think back on this last year, and I reflect on all the good and bad things of the past year, I am reminded of how much I love my church. Here are some things that I think of when my church comes to mind.
1. I don’t have to second-guess what my friends from church mean when they say “How are you doing?” Too many times, people ask that question, but they don’t really want to know, so you just respond “fine”. My friends at church really do want to know how I’m doing, and will pray with me and for me.
2. I can count on the Bible being preached. In an age where too many churches are giving sermon series that come from the headlines of the culture instead of the Bible, my church stands firm on Biblical truths.Whether it’s Bro Wayne, Bro Tom, Dave, or one of the other pastors preaching, I know that the Word of God is handled reverently, and I know that I will hear something that comes from a strong conviction that God’s Word is authoritative.
3. My friends from church are an odd bunch, especially when you compare them to me. Where I would be comfortable hanging out at Tractor Supply, others would be comfortable at a Starbucks. While I buy my clothes at Cowboy Corner, others buy their clothes at Kohl’s. I’ve framed houses, and cut chicken and beef in a butcher shop, while others work as nurses or teachers or real estate agents. I don’t understand the fascination with SEC football, or college football at all, where many of them are hugely passionate fans of many different teams. But what we have in common is greater than the differences that we have, where years ago I wouldn’t have bothered to hang out with those same people. Our passion for Jesus Christ has made us friends where the world looks at us and wonders why we hang out together.
4. I know that at my church, there are pastors who care about us. There are fellow parishoners who care about one another. There are men who long to raise their children to love God, and who desire to be a a representation of Christ by being a godly husband of one wife. And there are women who want to demonstrate their love for God by being the Virtuous Woman(Prov 31), and a loving, godly wife and mother. I know that my church has a desire to witness to the lost, disciple the saved, and send missionaries and preachers all over the United States and the World.
My church is a mixture of different people, with different giftings and abilities, who love God and want to seek Him. My church is a grouping of people who are all vastly different sometimes from one another, and yet with Christ as their foundation they are able to reach across to those people who are so different from them and make deep friendships. My church is something else, something very unique, and perhaps a bit of a rarity. And these are just some of the reasons that I love my church.
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
(Gen 1:1 ESV)
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” The LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
(Gen 3:1-19 ESV)
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
(Rom 5:12-18 KJV)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(Joh 1:1-14 ESV)
And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. For with God nothing shall be impossible. And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
(Luk 1:26-38 KJV)
And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
(Luk 1:46-55 KJV)
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
(Luk 2:1-21 KJV)
Merry Christmas to all my readers!
I decided to take a look at the book in spite of the fact that I don’t have children, mainly because I have two nieces who are pre-school aged. My oldest niece discovered the book shortly after I had looked through it at several of the devotionals. She was immediately drawn to the captivating illustrations, and quickly expressed that she “loved” the book, and asked me to read it to her. So I read her from that day’s devotional, and then explained to her that she and her sister would get to keep that book, much to her delight.
The illustrations are cute, and very eye-catching for young children. The pages are fairly sturdy, so they won’t be easily ripped out by your young children. The daily lessons consist of a verse of Scripture, a small devotional thought, and then a little rhyme at the end that ties in with the lesson. While I didn’t go through the book with a checklist, it does appear that the book uses at least one verse from every book of the Bible, something I thought was rather interesting. It starts in Genesis, and works it’s way all the way through Revelation.
The one thing that I didn’t like about the book, is that it uses multiple translations. On a personal level, I would much rather that the devotional stuck to one translation for consistency. Other than that, it seemed to be rather well done, and certainly something that a young child will enjoy. My rating for this book is 4 stars.
*I was provided with a free copy of this book for review as part of the Tyndale Blogging Network.
A friend recently alerted me to an article written on the Catholic Answers website that charges William Tyndale with heresy, and with producing a corrupt translation of the Bible that was filled with heresy and purposeful mistranslation. I, as well as my friend, would like to ask the author of this piece to put forth some evidence for some of his claims. Let’s take a look at them.
Tyndale’s Heresy from the Catholic Answers website, written by Matthew A.C. Newsome. Matthew Newsome, ironically, keeps a Catholic Apologetics website. I say “ironically”, because his article here is so full of logical fallacies, ad hominem attacks, and does not cite a single scholarly source.
Was translating the Bible into English actually illegal? The answer is no.
Well, technically the answer is yes. The translating of the Bible into English was forbidden, unless the person doing so was either licensed clergy, or was sponsored by a Roman Bishop.
Wycliff had produced a translation of the Bible that was corrupt and full of heresy. It was not an accurate rendering of sacred Scripture.
What heresies sir? What heresies? You have made a claim, without providing documentation for your claim. Because you have failed to document this claim, it is at best hearsay at this time, and at worse a lie.
It is a fact usually ignored by Protestant historians that many English versions of the Scriptures existed before Wycliff, and these were authorized and perfectly legal.
And what translations would you be referring to sir? I find it quite humorous that you say “many”, when in fact you mean “very few” if you make any attempt at intellectual honesty. Let’s take a look at what English translations existed.
The earliest English translation that we know of was done by a 7th century monk named Caedmon. His “translation” was simply bits and pieces of both the Old and New Testaments done in metrical fashion. This was written in Old English, and was unreadable to Englishmen of the Middle Ages when Wycliff and Tyndale existed.
The next would have been the translation work done by Bede the Venerable, who is alleged to have translated the Gospels into English during the 8th century. This again would have been in Old English, and unreadable to contemporaries of Tyndale.
The next after this would have been the translation work done by King Alfred the Great(871-899). He translated the Ten Commandments and apparently the Psalms, but nothing other than this.
We also have the Lindisfarne Gospels, which was an early Interlinear translation work(950ad). It consisted of word for word English translations put between the lines of the Latin text. Then there’s the idiomatic translations of Aelfric, abbot of Eynsham. His translation work consisted of the Pentateuch with Joshua and Judges. Again, both of these translations were in Old English, unreadable to contemporaries of Tyndale. The common man could read that as readily as he could read Latin.
Now, at Wycliffe’s time, there were a couple of translations of the Psalms available in Middle English, one by William of Shoreham, and the other by Richard Rolle. Both of these translations consisted of verse-by-verse commentary of the Psalms, and were somewhat popular when Wycliffe was a young man.
None of these were actually full translations, and most were not readable by men of the time of Wycliffe and Tyndale. So again, I ask you sir, how is it that you can consider the English tongue to have had “many English versions” already?
(Note: As sources for this portion discussing the early English translations, I have used The Origin of the Bible-Section 5-The History of the English Bible by Philip W. Comfort pp273-275; How We Got the Bible by Neil R. Lightfoot pp174-175)
First, it saw no real need for a new English translation of the Scriptures at this time. In fact, booksellers were having a hard time selling the print editions of the Bible that they already had. Sumptuary laws had to be enacted to force people into buying them.
Really? Source please. What full translations of the Old and/or New Testament were in existence at this time in the English language? Again, it was Wycliffe who produced the first full English translation of the Bible(See above sources, Wikipedia, the Encyclopedia, etc).
He was infamous for insulting the clergy, from the pope down to the friars and monks, and had a genuine contempt for Church authority. In fact, he was first tried for heresy in 1522, three years before his translation of the New Testament was printed.
You do realize that the clergy in England were quite ignorant of the Scriptures, correct? When the Bishop of England finally did a survey of the priests throughout England some fifteen years after Tyndale’s unholy execution, and discovered that many of the English priests didn’t even know where to find the Ten Commandments. So yes, he insulted such men. I would like to know what sources you are using to make your case here. So far, you have engaged only in character assassination.
There in 1525 he produced a translation of the New Testament that was swarming with textual corruption. He willfully mistranslated entire passages of Sacred Scripture in order to condemn orthodox Catholic doctrine and support the new Lutheran ideas. The Bishop of London claimed that he could count over 2,000 errors in the volume (and this was just the New Testament).
Really? And you can prove this? I will expect you to give some sources for this accusation.
But it was their own founder, King Henry VIII, who in 1531 declared that “the translation of the Scripture corrupted by William Tyndale should be utterly expelled, rejected, and put away out of the hands of the people.”
Yes, because Henry VIII is a great example of…well, I guess the closest thing we could compare him to is King Herod, who had John the Baptist imprisoned and executed after John the Baptist spoke against Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife. Ironically, it was Tyndale’s speaking out against Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage that so incensed the king against him.
Ultimately, it was the secular authorities that proved to be the end for Tyndale. He was arrested and tried (and sentenced to die) in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor in 1536.
Let’s see…arrested…tried…sentenced to die…BY THE COURT OF THE HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR. No, I think you just buried yourself there, by making such a statement. It was the Catholic Institution that was the end of Tyndale, the secular authorities were simply pawns.
I had the privilege this week of getting a chance to read and review the book Blackout: A Riley Covington Thriller by Jason Elam and Steve Yohn.
Blackout is the third novel in the Riley Covington series, a series that I must confess I have not read until this book. The book follows football star Riley Covington, who was formerly involved in military special operations. During training camp, Riley is suddenly informed that he has been traded to an inferior team across the country, with really no satisfactory reason given until a friend involved in anti-terrorism for the government brings him to his office. As a deadly terrorist plot begins to unfold, Riley Covington is involuntarily recruited into a special anti-terrorist team that is desperately racing against the clock to stop the attack. The terrorists are planning to surgically strike the United States with EMP’s(Electro-Magnetic Pulse)generated by a nuclear weapon), a scenario which could leave millions of people without power for a considerable amount of time.
The book presents the reality of an EMP detonation with a good deal of accuracy. Riley Covington, who did a thesis on the effects of an EMP attack at one point explains to the president the ramifications of such an attack on U.S. soil. In short, an EMP attack would not only leave millions of civilians without power, but an EMP attack would stop pacemakers, leave hospitals in the dark, cause planes to plummet out of the sky, and strand families miles apart.
There is also a slight romantic element to the novel, but it doesn’t distract from the plot even a little. Riley Covington is not just a football player who is sometimes involved in special ops, he’s also a Christian. And the woman he is attracted to is a moderate-liberal Muslim. While Riley clearly has feelings for this woman, he is unable to start a relationship with her because of their religious differences. Riley is torn between his faith and his feelings for this woman, but also develops some feelings for a female reporter.
This book is a fantastic read for the most part. Once you get started, you really don’t want to put it down. The book contains some enigmatic elements at some points, which become more clear as the story develops. The plot is well done, and could probably make a great movie. Character development is probably somewhere around the middle ground, but I think that unless you’ve read the other two books in this series, you aren’t going to get a good feel for the depth of the main characters, which is why I plan to go and purchase them. There are a couple of parts that seemed mildly repetitive, but that does not distract from the overall quality of the book. Blackout is a well-written book, centered around solid Christian principles, but is done without being preachy.
I give this book four and a half stars. It is really an excellent read, that likely won’t disappoint you. It has suspense without vulgar language, and romantic interest without compromising Biblical principles. It reads easily, and keeps you turning every page to find out what happens next. Blackout will become available January 1, 2010. I recommend pre-ordering this book either for yourself or as a late Christmas gift for a friend or family member who is interested in suspense thrillers.
Note: I received a free copy of this book to review from Tyndale House Publishers to review. My opinions and comments on this book are my own, and I stand by them.
Rain, Rain, go away. My sinus headache needs relief today. #fb - posted on 09/03/2010 21:51:49
@markhallCC ...weren't causing problems. - posted on 07/03/2010 20:23:13
@markhallCC ...the police and event center staff had to intervene and say that those passing out bibles/tracts could stay as they... - posted on 07/03/2010 20:22:59
@markhallCC was told that it was def not event center staff or police, it was CC staff who identified themselves as such. Was told that... - posted on 07/03/2010 20:22:18
@markhallCC Why did CC staff try to stop ppl from passng out Bibles outside concert last night? Frnd was there giving gospel/bibles. He askd - posted on 07/03/2010 15:15:37
