Month: October 2020

Thank God for Broccoli

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By Snow

Before I was saved, I thought there were two or three translations of the Bible available in the English language. It turns out, there are over 450 translations – and that is only for the English language. The one that I seemed to encounter the most was the King James Version (KJV), which dates back to the 17th century. While poetic at times, the archaic language makes for a difficult read. The Bible my father handed down to me when I was a kid was a KJV. The Bible I inherited from Mom last year was also a KJV. It is the classic text that many people think of when it comes to the Bible.

Back in 2018, just before I was saved, I was beginning to explore Christianity. I no longer had my father’s Bible (a story for another day), so I bought my first Bible. It was a King James Version – Easy Read (KJVER). Basically, it updated words like “thee” and “thou” to their modern equivalents. Unfortunately, I still found it hard to follow – especially as a new believer.

Around the time I was saved, JC introduced me to the YouVersion Bible app. It currently contains over 60 English translations of the Bible. I find it to be an indispensable tool, and it allows me to have the Bible with me at all times by being on my iPhone.

I soon discovered the New Living Translation (NLT), which allowed me to understand better the overall story of the Bible. It dates back to the 1990s. Two years later, it remains my go-to translation. I tend to favor it heavily when quoting here on Beloved Walks, for instance. However, I still enjoy comparing different translations of the Bible. I also like the New International Version (NIV), which is slightly more “formal” than NLT. NIV dates back to the 1970s.

JC and I read the Bible together as much as possible. One of the things I love doing most in this world is reading His Word aloud to her. In the course of doing that, we will occasionally try different translations. Depending on what is going on in our lives, we sometimes need a laugh. The translation that offers the most comedic value, if not necessarily Biblical insight, is the Message (MSG), which dates back to the 2000s.

I know there are people out there who swear by one translation or another. For instance, some say that the KJV is the only “true” version in the English language that has the inspired Word of God. That is not a debate I care to enter, other than to say, I sure wouldn’t put God in a box of any kind, including that one. If a certain translation helps someone grow closer to Jesus, then that is the translation for that person in that time.

Credit: JC

Just for fun, today, I want to compare some translations. Up first is Genesis 1:1-2.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”
Genesis 1:1-2 KJV

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.”
Genesis 1:1-2 NLT

“First this: God created the Heavens and Earth—all you see, all you don’t see. Earth was a soup of nothingness, a bottomless emptiness, an inky blackness. God’s Spirit brooded like a bird above the watery abyss.”
Genesis 1:1-2 MSG

KJV and NLT are pretty close on Genesis 1:1-2. I would probably give the edge to KJV. As a writer, I like the sound of, “And the earth was without form.”

Next, let’s take a look at Romans 8:31-39 – one of my very favorite passages of the Bible.

“What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:31-39 KJV

“What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, ‘For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.’) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Romans 8:31-39 NLT

“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one. None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.”
Romans 8:31-39 MSG

For Romans 8:31-39, NLT far outpaces KJV. I especially love the last two verses in NLT: “And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Let’s wrap up our comparison with one last excerpt, Romans 14:6-9.

“He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.”
Romans 14:6-9 KJV

“Those who worship the Lord on a special day do it to honor him. Those who eat any kind of food do so to honor the Lord, since they give thanks to God before eating. And those who refuse to eat certain foods also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God. For we don’t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it’s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it’s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Christ died and rose again for this very purpose—to be Lord both of the living and of the dead.”
Romans 14:6-9 NLT

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the comedy stylings of the Message:

“What’s important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God’s sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you’re a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It’s God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That’s why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.”
Romans 14:6-9 MSG

I find KJV pretty hard to follow on Romans 14:6-9, especially without cheating by looking at NLT. NLT makes sense of the passage, while MSG makes some kind of stew out of it. I’m not sure what’s going on there, but it makes me laugh every time.

Thanks for reading. May Jesus bless you.

The One and Only

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By Snow

I have been using WordPress.com, the hosting service of this blog, for well over a decade now. For the last few years, they have been trying to force new editors on their users. I managed to avoid switching last time and kept the simpler editor I prefer.

It seems they are pushing harder with their latest version this time, though. My favorite, “Classic Editor,” has been “deprecated” — which is the kiss of death in software. The new “Block Editor” is horrible and unnecessary, especially for a simple blog like this one. I am not sure what I will do when it is the only option — likely explore moving off of WordPress.com all together.

As of the last couple of weeks, to make a new post in Classic Editor now requires the following steps:

1.) Create the new post, which can only be done in the new Block Editor.
2.) Save it, but with no content.
3.) Exit the blank post.
4.) Open the blank post in Classic Editor.
5.) Write away.
6.) Publish.

I complain about these “First World problems” in a post here on Beloved Walks only to raise a point.

Software changes. People change. Health changes. Situations change. Jobs change. Finances change. Feelings change. Relationships change. Minds change. Presidents change. Economies change.

One of the many wonderful aspects about Jesus, though, is that He never changes. We don’t have to worry about being forced to install a buggy “Jesus 2.0” that wipes out the already perfect Jesus for the sake of “improvements” and “upgrades.”

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.”
Hebrews 13:8

Yes, He is, and what a blessing!

Credit: JC

Not a scratch

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Credit: JC

By Snow

Fortunately, I had locked the door. She was erupting on the other side of it, trying to force herself in to the home office that had become my sanctuary. For years, I had felt trapped. In my marriage. In my job. In my life.

I had known for over five months that my toxic marriage needed to change. I actually wanted it to end, but God had told me not to suggest that, but to take a slower path. I was reluctant, but obeyed.

I had been praying throughout the day of and in the weeks leading up to a difficult conversation about my requested changes. The end result was that my spouse decided to end the marriage anyway.

I was at peace. As she hurled insults and false accusations against me, I answered them calmly. The calmer I was, the angrier and louder she became. The angrier and louder she was, the calmer I became.

I was secure in who I was. I knew what I had done and had not done, and God knew as well. What anyone else thought was really beside the point.

The sheer rage on the other side of the door told me to keep it sealed. While I certainly would not have hit back, a physical confrontation would have done neither of us any good. I had been trapped in my marriage for years. What was a few hours more in my little room?

Less than eight months before, in that very same room, on the verge of suicide, I had accepted Jesus. I was a new person now, and I was filled with His peace. Even if my old life was in the hall yelling at me.

I stayed awake that night with the door sealed, even partially barricading it. Just in case. I spent the time praying, informing my loved ones, starting to pack for a now inevitable move, and shutting down my credit cards. I would be my spouse’s debt mule no longer.

Eventually, things settled down. As things do. That was the last real day of my marriage. The remaining eight months were primarily spent on legal transactions to undo the whole mess. As I have mentioned before, I ignored or missed several warning flags when getting married. It was the biggest mistake of my life, and I am grateful that Jesus has given me a second chance to experience the life He intends for me.

Yes, I once thought I was trapped. That my fate was sealed. Only through faith did I learn that Jesus was there all along, working behind the seal.

No, I was never truly trapped. For God was always with me.

“The king was deeply troubled, and he tried to think of a way to save Daniel. He spent the rest of the day looking for a way to get Daniel out of this predicament. In the evening the men went together to the king and said, ‘Your Majesty, you know that according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, no law that the king signs can be changed.’ So at last the king gave orders for Daniel to be arrested and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to him, ‘May your God, whom you serve so faithfully, rescue you.’

“Very early the next morning, the king got up and hurried out to the lions’ den. When he got there, he called out in anguish, ‘Daniel, servant of the living God! Was your God, whom you serve so faithfully, able to rescue you from the lions?’ Daniel answered, ‘Long live the king! My God sent his angel to shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, for I have been found innocent in his sight. And I have not wronged you, Your Majesty.’ The king was overjoyed and ordered that Daniel be lifted from the den. Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God.”
Daniel 6:14-16,19-23