Celebrating the King James Version

Christmas 2010, England’s Queen Elizabeth began her Christmas speech with a reference an American President could never do – a reference to a Bible.

“Over four hundred years ago, King James the Sixth of Scotland inherited the throne of England at a time when the Christian Church was deeply divided. Here at Hampton Court in 1604, he convened a conference of churchmen of all shades of opinion to discuss the future of Christianity in this country. The King agreed to commission a new translation of the Bible that was acceptable to all parties. This was to become the King James or Authorized Bible, which next year will be exactly four centuries old.”

For those of us who enjoy reading and studying the King James Version, it will be nice to see it celebrated. But it really isn’t important. What it tells us is. For those four hundred years, it has carried God’s message worldwide.

Now, I really don’t read the 1611 King James Bible. I’m not used to reading:

For God so loued ye world, that he gaue his only begotten Sonne: that whosoeuer beleeueth in him, should not perish, but haue euerlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV-1611)

I prefer spelling that is something I expect:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16 KJV)

Same words, but with spelling that is much more familiar to me. Unfortunately, some translations reach for the same meaning, but fall short.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (New International Version, ©2010)

I miss the ‘begotten.’ That single word has meaning to me through years of Bible reading and study. I do regret that the ‘dumbing down’ of America included a necessity of versions to simplify Bible reading. How difficult is it to read:

Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:29-31 KJV)

What difficulty is there is reading these verses? Are they bettered by:

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Acts 16:29-31 (New International Version, ©2010)

KJV was the third English translation and has been through centuries of publications. Still, I’ll stick with it for my reading and memory work. And I’ll celebrate the memory of the four hundred years it has been available to English speaking people. I relish seeing verses posted from it, from my Christian family around the world.

Sodom’s Sin

Ideas are not as important as the words used to convey them. We all have ideas as to what caused the destruction of Sodom, but God gave Ezekiel the words to explain the reason for that destruction.

Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good. (Ezekiel 16:49-50 KJV)

We need to take a very close look at our use of the word “pride” and be certain how we apply it. We say we are proud of our children’s scholastic achievements, proud of our sports teams, proud of our home, proud of our nation. Do we take pride in these things? Have you looked at the first few definitions of the word “pride”?

“A sense of one's own proper dignity or value; self-respect. Pleasure or satisfaction taken in an achievement, possession, or association”. “[A] high or inordinate opinion of one's own dignity, importance, merit”. Most of the web’s definitions also include words such as disdainful, ostentatious, conceit, insolence, arrogant – which clearly are not complimentary.

The Bible doesn’t take a good view of pride, either. God told Israel:

And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass: (Leviticus 26:19 KJV)

David recognized it in others:

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. (Psalms 10:4 KJV)

Solomon wrote of it in Proverbs 8:13, 11:2, 13:10, 14:3, 16:18, 29:23 – all admonitions to stay away from pride. John tells us, in the Bible’s last reference to pride:

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:16 KJV)

How close are we to the next two things that brought condemnation to Sodom, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness? Does your pantry hold enough food for your family to last several days? If that runs out, does your bank account hold enough to buy some more? Are there multiple markets, grocery and convenience stores. That’s fulness of bread.

Let’s talk about idleness, too. Suppose out of your 168 hours each week you spend 40 working and you sleep eight hours each night. That leaves you with 42% of your entire week available for – what? Leisure. How do you spend that 42%?

If you attend Sunday School, morning and evening worship, choir practice and Wednesday services, that’s only 3.5% of your entire weekly hours, or only 8.3% of your leisure hours. Appears to me we have an abundance of idleness. Any of that time spent with the poor and needy?

Look beyond the sin we think of when we hear of Sodom and look for the sin in our own lives that destroyed the city. We are guilty of pride, material wealth and an abundance of leisure time. What will be done to change that? If not from changes within through God’s mercy, do we face His displeasure as did Sodom?

How did you reach the conclusion that it doesn’t apply to us?

Facebook Rules

A friend of mine has two Facebook accounts. One is for Christian friends, the other for high school friends from years ago, and some new friends made along the way. When asked why two, the reply was that it was impossible to control what people wrote and Christian friends would find the other site offensive.

Whoa!!! Did that ever bring a scripture to mind:

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. (James 1:8 KJV)

You see, I control who posts on my Facebook. I choose who will be Friends displayed on my Facebook account. I have a ‘Note’ that I refer new Friends to that has my rules. It begins:

“Every once in a while I have de-friended someone on Facebook. Usually I explain why, sometimes I haven't. But the reasons have always been because of foul language or disrespect.”

That applies to their friends, too. If my Friend has Friends that post foul language or is disrespectful, and my Friend does nothing about it, I will de-friend my own Friend to clean up my house. I explain further in the Note:

“I am not judging these people … I just do not want to bring that sort of language into my life or my home, and so I am choosing not to. Say what you want, be who you want. Just don't get mad when I choose not to support you in your actions … Reading those sorts of comments is not bringing any glory to my Lord, nor is it bringing me any closer to Him. So I choose not to read them. If they are not there, I cannot read them. I am not telling anyone what they can or cannot write on their page. I write what I want to on mine. If I make you uncomfortable, just delete me. No hard feelings.”

I have one Facebook account and I apply the rules to all Friends. I have de-friended family members just as I have de-friended acquaintances. I choose what goes through my eyes into my mind.

My friend cannot keep two lives going. That is like serving two masters.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24 KJV)

This friend is double minded. Two-faced, actually, presenting one face to Christians, and not letting the Christians see the other. I was given a glimpse into that other life, and I want no part of it. That lifestyle cost my friend a job. Mutual Christian friends witnessed that job loss and it has cost their friendship.

This may cost me a friendship I valued. That value was placed through my experiences with this friend. It was saddening too find there is an entire second life with experiences that do not fit within:

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. (Philippians 4:8 KJV)

So I call out to my friend to remember the commitment made, not to me, but to God. I pray my friend consider James’ exhortation:

Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. (James 4:8 KJV)

Incompatible

There was a recent Associated Press article that should help explain why it is important to understand the differences between Christianity and Islam and laws based on each.

“Iran has imposed new restrictions on 12 university social sciences deemed to be based on Western schools of thought and therefore incompatible with Islamic teachings, state radio reported Sunday.

“The list includes law, philosophy, management, psychology, political science and the two subjects that appear to cause the most concern among Iran's conservative leadership — women's studies and human rights.”

It would appear to me that this refusal and the term education would be incompatible. Can you imagine the response if any American university refused to offer studies in Sharia, the Islamic law? Or, imagine if universities were to deny any student the opportunity to study philosophies from any corner of the world? What religions would be denied studies in higher education?

Forget the universities for a moment – how about management? How many corporations offer their employees management skill courses? How many people move upward based on management skills (OK, as an aside, I do know many look upon them as jokes – but, hey, they are still offered!)

The lack of education leads to such legal decisions as this one documented in New Jersey regarding Sharia law in America. What happened to the stereotypically American response, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.” Apparently this husband preferred not to learn of rights given under American law. And the New Jersey judge agreed that this was just fine.

Duke University has online Sharon L. Davies’ “The Jurisprudence of Willfulness… ”, which begins with the acknowledgement, "The principle of ignorantia legis non excusat -- ignorance of the law does not excuse -- is perhaps the most well-rooted maxim in the Anglo-American criminal law. It has been recognized by courts and legal thinkers for centuries, it has been enacted into law, and it is familiar to jurist and layperson alike." Of course, the next three words in her title are “An Evolving Theory,” and her paper is a discussion of how that maxim is changing.

The men who wrote our Declaration of Independence did so for political reasons, many of them monetary. Yet they included wording such as “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

I appreciate that freedom and wish it to remain a part of the cultural fabric of my country, the tradition, the basis of the United States of America government and legal system. So far it has been, through many difficulties that threatened it. May God grant that it continue to be so.

What does all of this have to do with my Bible reading? That Bible cannot be studied in Iran, either. The Bible is contraband in many other countries around the world. My country allows me to write as I please and post it for anyone in the world to read. Some countries dislike that ability. They do not appreciate the individual’s ability to post their beliefs that:

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. (John 8:32 KJV)

But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:8 KJV)

Study – check it out. Follow the example of the Bereans to see if this is so.

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. (Acts 17:11 KJV)

The Children

Samuel had a mentor. In 1 Samuel 3 we read how Samuel mistook God’s call for Eli’s. Eli was able to direct Samuel to the source of his calling, and he responded. The most interesting part for me today is:

Now Samuel did not yet know the LORD, neither was the word of the LORD yet revealed unto him. (1 Samuel 3:7 KJV)

He’s living with a priest, in the temple and he did not know the Lord nor the Lord’s word. Somewhat of a sad commentary on Eli’s training – but then his own sons were found to be lacking:

Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. (1 Samuel 2:12 KJV)

Sadly, the first message Samuel received was condemnation of Eli.

For I have told him that I will judge his house for ever for the iniquity which he knoweth; because his sons made themselves vile, and he restrained them not. (1 Samuel 3:13 KJV)

God did not condemn their father for the son’s vileness. Eli was condemned because he did not restrain his sons. As their priest, he could have.

My children are all grandparents. My mistakes in their raising (and I did make some doozies!!) are long past. I have confessed my errors to God, and to my children, and have received forgiveness. Some of my errors were that I, too, restrained them not.

Paul says this is a requirement of a pastor, having faithful children.

If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; (Titus 1:6-7 KJV)

Those faithful children are taught, and Titus 2 pretty much tells all of us how we should be when we are teaching:

In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. (Titus 2:7-8 KJV)

Let’s take inventory. Where do we stand as any child looks to us as examples?

Do we show a pattern of good works?
Do we show corruption instead of Godliness?
Do we speak with serious sincerity?
Do we use good language or are our words condemning?
What do others say about you?
Whether what they say is bad or good, is it true?

Following Paul’s exhortation will place us in a position that we will have authority when restraining children. They may be our own, our children’s children, or those we’ve come to love in an extended family. It will be a blessing for them – and for us, to provide loving care.

What To Pray?

Good morning!! And welcome to the new year. Clean slate, starting over, all the clichés that are thrown at us over this holiday – take your pick. Unfortunately, we carry with us baggage from choices we’ve made before. One of mine was simply to be awake to see in the new year, and we did so with several couples.

We closed our evening with a circle of prayer, each of us petitioning our Lord for the coming year – most of us mentioning several things we have in common. Some we’ve been praying for months, and we have yet to know the answer. There will be an answer.

A reader reminded me yesterday that prayers are always answered. This is true. Some are a resounding “Yes!” that is unmistakable. Some are “No,” and cause us sadness because we do not understand God’s reasoning. He knows we do not understand:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. [Isaiah 55:8 KJV]

There is another answer we often overlook, “Not now.” John included a request that I firmly believe will be answered with that resounding “Yes!” but it remains a “Not now,” for the present time.

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. [Revelation 22:20 KJV]

Still, we approach His throne, knowing that the Holy Spirit speaks for us:

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. [Romans 8:26 KJV]

What should we pray for? The answer is given in God’s word:

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. [Philippians 4:6 KJV]

What are your requests of our Lord? I must confess often I do not know what my requests should be and I depend on the Holy Spirit to make that determination for me. When I do make specific requests, I understand that what I ask may not be in His will and therefore the answer will be “No.” However, I also understand that His answer will be the best. Jesus said so.

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? [Matthew 7:11 KJV]

So, we closed out 2010 – and we began 2011 with prayer.

Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. [Psalms 130:2 KJV]

Answered Prayer

Let me tell you about prayer – it’s wonderful! Last night a prayer request went out for a two-year-old who fell and hit her head on concrete. Her parents and grandparents are members of our church and serve their Lord with loving praise. She was not responding to them as she should. As they rushed her to the hospital, they also sent out a prayer request.

The call came to our Thursday night fun and fellowship over dominoes and sixteen people immediately went to prayer for this child, her family and for a couple of others standing in need of prayer. The request then went, literally, around the world with connections to churches over the internet.

With praises this morning, we read a mid-night post from her grandfather: "Praise the Lord she just has a concussion and will be OK. She even gets to go home tonight. Thank you for your prayers."

“Thank you for your prayers,” is a beautiful phrase, acknowledging the care and love of Christ’s extended family for someone standing in need of prayer. At times, we all do. At times, we don’t even know what to pray for, and God understood that and gave us an answer:

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. (Romans 8:26 KJV)

Christ, knowing what would be happening to Him within the next hours, went to our Father in prayer:

And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matthew 26:39 KJV)

He went back and prayed again, with just a couple of changes:

He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. (Matthew 26:42 KJV)

Some would say that His prayer was ignored, that it went unanswered. Please look again at the close. “Thy will be done.”

Whether it’s Matthew 6:10 or here, it’s the example He left for us:

And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. (Luke 11:2 KJV)

Some will say God doesn’t answer prayer, that we just accept whatever happens. Untrue. We know what He provides.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 KJV)

Thus we give thanks.

The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them. (Psalms 145:18-19 KJV)