The "Frowning Glory"

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  • January 8, 2025 – January is…..A new Ending

    “No one can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending” (Unknown). I want you to remind yourself of this quote as you move into the new year. The upshot of the quote is this: we don’t start over; but we begin again, right where we are, toward the ending Jesus has already worked out for us.

    If we believe that “If I do this or don’t do that Jesus will love me more”, then we have the wrong idea of the kind of relationship G-d wants with each one of us. We must change our thinking to “Because G-d already loves me beyond all measure, I will therefore live out that love every day, in every way”. Because there is nothing we can do to have G-d love us more, instead of looking backwards seeking a new beginning, we focus on beginning a new ending for our lives right now.

    I do not make New Year’s resolutions anymore. I find them to be limiting. Since I know that most resolutions are forgotten or abandoned within a few weeks, why kid myself into thinking this year will be different.

    Instead I try to find new ways to live into the love of G-d and the presence of my family and church every day. Every day I want to have a deeper commitment to praying and reading G-d’s word. Every day I believe the current times and trends in this world requires my undivided attention on G-d’s Word and the truth behind it so I can deal with the trials and tribulations that lie waiting around the corner.

    How you end this year will be determined by how you start it. Do you want to get deeper into understanding G-d’s word and G-d’s intent for your life? Do you want a new ending this year? If you’re not a Christian, please know that this could be the best New Year of your life. Your life can be filled with hope and peace as you open yourself up to G-d’s word and the power of the Holy Spirit speaking truth and life into your existence. Why should every year be the same as the one before with nothing really changing?

    If you are a Christian and you feel stagnate in your relationship with the Lord, then now is the time to rekindle that relationship – beginning with Word and Prayer. The real ending in our life will be when Jesus says well done my good and faithful servant. Wouldn’t it be nice for each one of us to know where Jesus said that and the love and intent behind what he meant?

     

    Pastor Dave

  • January 7, 2025 – January is….Reading the Word

    If you “Google” translations of the bible, you may find there are more than one hundred different translations to choose from. I am not sure you will find one hundred selections at your local bookstore, but a bible reading “App” like “BibleGateway” will give you many, many options. So, which one should you choose?

    Well, your choice of translations will be impacted by your preferences for reading. Do you like a lot of notations and footnotes? If so I would suggest the New English Translation (NET). This is a great translation for seeking cross references to other scriptures and notes about context, but I believe you can only find the NET in a digital format. In other words, you cannot go to your local bookstore and buy a hard copy of the NET.

    Now some of you may like to read in the King’s English – so the King James Version (KJV) is your best bet. I personally do not like the KJV mostly because I cannot read the King’s English, and the translation was written in the beginning of the 17th century (1611 CE). We have come a long way since then with our translations. I always blanch at the thought that so many believers think that the King James Version is the “only” acceptable and true translation to read or study. During my Seminary years I learned that the King James Version was translated from the best known manuscripts of their time. But since then, better and older manuscripts have been discovered

    Which brings up another point in this discussion, the differences between translations and paraphrases. Translations of the bible attempt to match the meaning of one language (e.g. Aramaic or Greek) into another language (e.g. English). The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) is a translation of the Bible, the one the Lutheran Church uses for Worship texts. I like the NRSV. Another translation of the bible I like is the New International Version (NIV). It is known to be more faithful to the rendering and meaning of the Greek language.

     A Bible Paraphrase like “The Living Bible” is an English-to-English paraphrase written in the 1960s by Ken Taylor to give his ten kids a better understanding of scripture at their suppertime family devotions. It attempts to make the bible more understandable through simplification. The same is true for Eugene Peterson’s “The Message”. This paraphrase of the Bible tries to give a better feel for the dynamics and nuances of Biblical passages through the use of American colloquialisms. The important task for you is to find your preference. You may want to find a “Study Bible” version of a particular translation – these offer questions for consideration and extra notes on context.

     So, what have we learned today? It is simple, if not complex in many ways, but find the translation of the bible that speaks to you – and allows G-d to speak directly to you.

     

    Pastor Dave