Thought for Today

Exodus 24:12  The Lord said to Moses, "Come up to me on the mountain, and wait there; and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and the commandment, which I have written for their instruction."

2 Chronicles 35:26  Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and his faithful deeds in accordance with what is written in the law of the Lord, 27  and his acts, first and last, are written in the Book of the Kings of Israel and Judah.

Luke 4:21  Then he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

2 Timothy 3:16  All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,  

Old Testament or New Testament, which do you prefer? Which do you most often read? Do you prefer the stories of the Patriarchs, the heroes of old, the Prophets, the Wisdom books of Psalms, Proverbs and Song of Solomon? Maybe you prefer the Gospels or the Epistles of the New Testament. Or, (literally) heaven forbid, you don’t ever read your Bible!!

People read for many reasons. Sometimes we read to gain knowledge. Sometimes we read purely for entertainment. We read many genres: fictional, non-fictional, technical, historical, romantic, poetic and prophetic works. Some of us only read when we have no other recourse. All of this is true of both secular and religious writings.

Do you read your Bible? If you are reading this, you almost certainly have at least one Bible around the house. When did you last read in it? Why? Were you studying something specific? Were you merely reading the Bible for the shear joy of reading the Word of God? Maybe you were seeking the comfort of scripture in a time of need? We don’t really need to have any particular reason for which to read our Bibles. Paul’s words to Timothy are true; but, those words do not exhaust or limit the spectrum of reasons for which to seek refuge in the Bible.

While we are on the subject, which translation of the Bible do you prefer? Both the Presbyterian Church, USA and the United Church of Christ have adopted the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV). When I quote scripture, with a few specific exceptions, I use the NRSV. I rarely quote, read or say Psalm 23 in any version other than the King James Version (KJV). Its rendition is the closest to both the Hebrew and Greek and is the most powerful expression of that beautiful Psalm in the English language I have ever encountered.

“The most popular dynamic-equivalency translations, which dominate the evangelical world, are the New International Version (NIV), Today’s New International Version (TNIV), The Message (MSG), The Living Bible (TLB), the Good News Bible (GNB), and the New Living Translation (NLT). Of those, the NIV is the most reliable . . . The four most popular formal equivalency translations in English are the King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), the New American Standard Bible (NASB), and the English Standard Version (ESV) . . . Formal equivalency attempts a word for word rendition, providing as literal a translation as possible. Dynamic equivalency is more like a paraphrase, trying to convey ideas thought by thought.” (www.gty.org)

I generally prefer what that site refers to as ‘formal equivalency’ translations. I have found the New King James Version to be the closest to my Greek Bible. But, truthfully, when I need to dig deepest in any passage, I default to the Revised Standard Version Bible I was presented in 1956 by Bethany Christian Church in Houston, Texas. It is the Bible which I have read cover-to-cover. That particular Bible has been recovered multiple times and is an old and trusted friend and resource.

I also love as a pastime to do my own translations from the Greek. I often gain new and deeper insight into the full range of meaning of the passages I study by looking at the understanding of the Greek scholars who prepared the Septuagint and the New Testament writers who wrote in Greek.

One of the earliest Christian heresies was Marcionism. Marcion proposed a sharp distinction between the “God of wrath” of the Old Testament and the “God of love” of the New. Every time I read the Bible, I am reminded that the God of Genesis 1:1 is the same God of Revelation 22:21. And, everything in between is inspired and useful.

Stay safe, read the Bible often, trust God,

Pastor Ray