The crowd erupted in applause when the winner of The Voice, Jordan Smith, sang “Mary Did You Know?”! It was fantastic! Here’s the link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7Ux80jK3bI The lyrics for “Mary Did You Know?” were written in 1984 by Mark Lowry when his pastor asked him to write the Christmas program for their church. Buddy Greene of the Gaither Vocal Band wrote the music for it in 1991 and it was first recorded by Michael English that same year. Since then about 400 artists have recorded “Mary Did You Know?”! I love this song! And when I hear each line I think of Who the Bible tells us Jesus is. Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water? (Matthew 14:22-33; Mark 6:45-52; John 6:16-21) Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters? (Matthew 1:21; Luke 2:11; Luke 19:10; John 4:42; Acts 4:12; Acts 13:23; Ephesians 5:23; Philippians 3:20; 1 Timothy 1:15; 1 Timothy 4:10; 2 Timothy 1:10; Titus 2:13; 1 John 4:14) Did you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new? (2 Corinthians 5:17) This Child that you delivered will soon deliver you. Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man? (Matthew 9:27-31; Matthew 20:29-34; Mark 8:22-26; Mark 10:46b-52; Luke 18:35-43; John 9:1-12) Mary, did you know that your baby boy will calm the storm with His hand? (Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25) Did you know that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod? (Jesus doesn’t just show up in time at the incarnation. He was there at creation. Genesis 1:26; Genesis 3:22; John 1:1-3. The angels worshipped Him first in heaven before He was born.) When you kiss your little Baby you kissed the face of God? (John 1:1; John 1:14; John 4:26; John 8:24; John 8:28; John 9:35-38; John 10:30-33; John 13:19; John 20:28; Colossians 2:9) Mary did you know.. Mary did you know The blind will see. The deaf will hear. The dead will live again. The lame will leap. The dumb will speak The praises of The Lamb. Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation? (John 1:1-5; Colossians 1:15-20) Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations? (Revelation 1:5; Revelation 5:9; Revelation 12:5 Revelation 15:4) Did you know that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb? (John 1:29; John 1:36; the book of Revelation speaks of the Lamb in 30 verses! See Revelation 5:12. Go to www.biblegateway.com and enter Lamb and NASB for a full list.) The sleeping Child you're holding is the Great, I Am. (We see in Exodus 3:13-14 that the name for God is I AM. In John 8:58 Jesus claims “I am” and the Pharisees picked up stones to throw at Him. They knew Jesus was claiming to be God.) Oh Mary did you know? Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11 Let us rejoice! #Christmas

What comes to mind when you hear the word “saints”? Some really good people that do kind deeds? Most people think of a holy or godly person when they think of a saint. Some people think of saints as being in heaven. The word “saints” can be found throughout the Bible. In the New American Standard Bible (NASB) it is found 67 times. In the 1984 New International Version (NIV) it is found 68 times. Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) 62 times. English Standard Version (ESV) 81 times. If “saints” occurs so many times, it is important to understand what it means. The biblical view of the word “saints” may be different than what you think. The original language manuscripts are written in Hebrew and a small amount of Aramaic in the Old Testament. The Hebrew word chaciyd is often translated to “saints” along with another Hebrew word qadowsh. The New Testament was written in Greek and the Greek word hagios is translated to “saints.” All of these transliterated words have the same definition – a saint is someone who is sacred, holy, holy ones, and set apart. Biblically it literally translates to “those who are set apart by God for Himself.” In other words, it means believers who have been declared righteous and holy. How are we declared righteous and holy? 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) tells us: God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. My ESV study Bible says in the text note for this verse: This verse is one of the most important in all of Scripture for understanding the meaning of the atonement and justification…. The technical term for this foundational doctrine of the Christian faith is the substitutionary atonement – that Christ has provided the atoning sacrifice as “our” substitute, for the sins of all who believe…. This means that just as God imputed our sin and guilt to Christ so God also imputes the righteousness of Christ – a righteousness that is not our own – to all who believe in Christ. This righteousness belongs to believers because they are “in him”. Christ’s righteousness becomes ours at the point of our conversion. Therefore believers are regarded by God as righteous and holy. Christians are saints. I know what you are thinking. You probably know a lot of Christians who don’t act like saints. That is very true. Christians don’t become perfect at the time of conversion. We will never be perfect here on earth. Christians still sin. They are just forgiven for their sin and their eternity is sealed. We do however become new creations as 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us. At the point of conversion, called justification, God starts working on us to become more like Christ. This process is called sanctification which is the transformation of the person. It doesn’t happen overnight. And some people are very slow in their spiritual growth. So yes, you are going to meet some Christians who don’t act very saint-like. Sadly, I've been known to not act saint-like at times. Being a saint doesn’t refer to a person’s character, but to who they are in Christ. It isn’t the good deeds they do that make someone a saint. It is their state of being. Just as we aren’t saved by any good works we do, but we are saved by grace alone; saints don’t become saints by their good deeds, but by God’s grace. The apostle Paul frequently refers to believers as saints (37 verses in his epistles in the NASB). Paul even addresses the messed-up believers at Corinth as saints (1 Corinthians 1:2 and 2 Corinthians 2:1). Six of Paul's letters to churches are addressed to saints (Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians)! If you are reading from the New Living Translation (NLT) or 2011 New International Version (NIV) you aren’t going to see the word “saints.” It never was in the NLT. The word “saints” was found in the 1984 NIV 68 times. When the scholars revised the NIV in 2011 they removed the word “saints.” The reasoning of the revision board for removing the word “saints” was: Most people today think of a particularly good person when they hear the word ‟saint,” whereas in the Bible it translates terminology that regularly refers to all believers. Sometimes the context suggests an emphasis on God’s having declared them holy or the process of their becoming more and more holy, so a variety of similar expressions were used depending on the context. Jerry Bridges in his book, Respectable Sins, (affiliate link) talks about the phrase “conduct unbecoming an officer” and equates it to when Christians sin, the Holy Spirit convicts us, and we should think, “This is conduct unbecoming a saint.” I love that analogy! Saints are saved people - people whom God has made righteous and holy. A saint can be either a Christian who is alive on earth or one who is already in heaven. Oh when the Saints go marching in When the Saints go marching in O Lord, I want to be in that number When the Saints go marching in I want to be in that number. How about you? #saints #righteous

The New Testament has 27 books. They are organized similar to the Old Testament by historical, writings, prophecy. They are not organized chronologically. The first book to be written was James around AD 46-49. The last book to be written was Revelation around AD 95-96. All of the books were written by the end of the first century. Why is this important? Because people were still alive who had witnessed the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. These books were copied and circulated immediately after being written. People would have known if their contents had been a lie. The first 5 books of the New Testament, the four Gospels and Acts, are considered the historical books and cover a time period of 5 BC to AD 100. The next 21 are epistles which is a fancy word for letters. These letters are organized by the first 13 are Pauline letters (written by Paul) and are broken up into: Paul’s 9 Letters to Churches Paul’s 4 Letters to Individuals After the Pauline letters the next 9 books are General letters (written by others). Revelation is a prophetical book written in letter form, so it is still considered a general letter on some charts. We believe we know who wrote every book of the New Testament except for Hebrews. Some believe Paul wrote it. Most scholars believe either Barnabas or Apollos wrote it. It was included in the Canon because it met the criteria – was used in the early church and the doctrine was sound - meaning it conformed to the teaching of the entire Bible. Here's a chart I made for students to visualize the organzation. All Bibles have the same 27 books of the New Testament organized in the same manner. The first 4 historical books of the New Testament are called the Gospels. The term gospel means good news and these books are about “Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.” The Gospels tell a story about the actions and teachings of Jesus; Jesus proclaiming the coming of God’s kingdom; and that God’s promises to His people in the Old Testament are now fulfilled in Jesus. There is only one gospel written by four evangelists, “the” gospel according to… The gospels are four similar, yet distinctive stories about Jesus’ life and work from four related perspectives. They are four different points of view on the history of Jesus, but only one divine conclusion as to His identity as the Son of God. Each writer of a gospel had certain material which he wanted to convey and transmit to a particular audience. Each writer rearranged, broadened or edited according to the interest of that audience. But there are no contradictions of historical details. We do not know everything about Jesus’ life, but only what God wants us to know. John 21:25 tells us, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.” (NASB) Matthew, Mark, and Luke are called the synoptic gospels. The word synoptic means “seen together.” This just means that they are very similar. John’s gospel is quite different in content from the synoptic gospels. John includes material and adds details that the others do not include. The four Gospel writers portrayed Jesus from different angles. Matthew Written to the Jews Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the King of the Jews Mark Written to the Romans (non-Jews) Jesus came to serve; Jesus is the Son of Man; the power of God is active in the world Luke Written to the Gentiles (non-Jews) Jesus is the Perfect Man seeking men John Written to everyone Jesus is the Word of God/ the Son of God The Synoptic Gospels emphasize the theme of the kingdom of God and the Gospel of John focuses on the concept of eternal life. I love how George Guthrie who has a conversation with Darrell Bock in his book, Read the Bible for Life, (affiliate link) explains it: The Synoptic Gospels were written from ‘the earth up,’ gradually allowing the reader to discover who Jesus is as the story unfolds. John was written from ‘heaven down,’ telling us immediately that Jesus is the Lord of the universe.(1) Many Bibles have charts on the Harmony of the Gospels and there are charts in study Bibles comparing the miracles and parables in the Gospels. Luke wrote one book, Luke-Acts, which was later divided into two books. Acts focuses on the birth of the church, the spread of Christianity, and explains Christ’s continued work on earth through the Holy Spirit. After Acts are the 13 epistles written by Paul - Romans through Philemon. These are not in chronological order when Paul wrote them. They are organized by his letters to the churches (9 letters) – longest to shortest - and his letters to individuals (4 letters) – longest to shortest. All are instructional on how to live the Christian life. After Paul’s letters come the General Letters, Hebrews through Jude. These are also about Christian living. Most of the General Epistles/Letters were written during the years of heavy Roman persecution of the Christian population. The content and tone of the General Letters combats false teaching and encourages the Christians to stand firm in their faith. These letters were written over a period of approximately fifty years. It is important to know that the 21 epistles are occasional documents. This means that each letter was written to address a specific set of issues, at a specific time, and in a specific place. So it is prudent to gain some context of the letter by reading an introduction to that book of the Bible in your study Bible or in another book. Although these books were written to specific people for a specific reason, there is much Christians today can learn from them. Although time moves on, human nature is the same. The book of Revelation (and please don’t put an “s” on the end of Revelation) is a letter John wrote from the island of Patmos to 7 churches. It is a prophetical book proclaiming God’s message of salvation and judgment at a crucial moment in history, the second coming of Christ. It also is a special genre of writing, known as apocalyptic literature. An Apocalypse was a popular type of literature for Jews, Christians, and others. We know this was a popular type of literature because of the sheer number of Apocalypses that exist from ancient Jewish, Christian and even pagan communities of that period. Apocalypses were often written at a time of crisis and convey the message through signs, symbols, dreams, and visions. The books of Ezekiel and Daniel in the Old Testament both contain some apocalyptic writing. The Old Testament is the “Code Book” for the symbols of Revelation. If you haven’t read the Old Testament, a lot of the symbolism is going to be lost on you. The 27 books of the New Testament tell us about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, about Jesus fulfilling the Old Testament prophesies, about His crucifixion and resurrection; that Jesus is the Christ; the coming of the Holy Spirit to indwell in believers; about the founding of the universal church; the spread of the gospel message; how believers should live; and the second coming of Christ when God wins the battle against evil. Ready... Set... Read the book of your faith. George H. Guthrie, Read the Bible for Life, (B&H Publishing Group, 2011), 152-153 (affiliate link) [You may also find Organization of New Testament Letters to be informative.]

I first heard about this from customers back when I worked at the Christian bookstore. They would say something like, “I would never read from the NIV because it is missing verses!” The first time I heard it I was like, “What?!” And the young guy showed me where some verses were not in the NIV Bible. I was caught off guard. Take a look in your NIV Bible and turn to Mark 15:28. Oh no! It is missing! Now look at Luke 23:17. Again, where is it?! These verses are in the King James Version. Where did they go from the New International Version? Actually these verses aren’t missing. They were never in the earliest manuscripts discovered which is what the newer Bible versions are based off of. They somehow crept into later manuscripts. The not-really-missing verses consist of 17 verses and 2 passages of the New Testament. Let me first explain first what manuscripts are. The words were recorded and became the original writings of the Bible. These original documents that comprise the Scriptures were copied over and over and these copies are called manuscripts. They were copied primarily on papyrus plants that grew in the marshes of the Nile Delta in Egypt (these represent the earliest copies of the NT) or parchment which was made from the skins of cattle, sheep, goats, and antelope. The parchment material used for writing lasted only 20 to 40 years, depending on the climate and quality of parchment, so copyists had to keep making new manuscripts to preserve the text from being destroyed. Besides preserving the text, more copies were made so that more people could have access to them. They were sent to the various early churches to be read aloud. Copying Scripture took a long time and was done with painstaking care to ensure that accuracy was maintained. The documents were copied over and over by hand until the invention of the printing press in 1455. The amount of manuscript evidence from the Bible is astounding! As of 2012 there are over 5900 Greek manuscripts - part or all - of the New Testament, as well as over 24,000 Greek and other languages (Latin, Syriac, Coptic; and secondary translations made a little later, like Armenian and Gothic; Also Georgian and Ethiopic) manuscripts - part or all - of the New Testament which have been discovered. The manuscript evidence and the study of each and every variance in each manuscript discovered is a whole subject I am not going to address right now. But we know the text of the Bible in the original languages; Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, is reliable. The Greek manuscripts of the New Testament have been discovered on 3 continents – Asia, Africa, and Europe. The vast majority of manuscripts fall into two “families”. Byzantine Family: KJV, NKJV Commonly called the Textus Receptus About 95% of all manuscripts Earliest Date: 5th century Closer in location to WHERE the NT was written – centered in Eastern Europe/ Asia Middle East Alexandrian Family: NIV, NLT, ESV, HCSB About 3-4% of all manuscripts Earliest Date: 2nd century Closer in date to WHEN the NT was written – centered in Northern Africa NASB was taken mainly from the Byzantine family of manuscripts, but took into account the Alexandrian family of manuscripts during the translation process. So the verses in question are found in the NASB, but have brackets around them with footnotes saying “Early manuscripts do not contain this verse.” For the vast majority of church history, the best and most numerous manuscripts were in the Byzantine family. The Alexandrian family of manuscripts weren’t discovered until 1844 by Archaeologist Constantin von Tischendorf at the Monastery of Saint Catherine on Mt. Sinai. (The KJV was written in 1611 before these manuscripts were discovered and was based on the Byzantine family of manuscripts.) How exciting it must have been to find a whole new family of manuscripts! Scholars examined these new manuscripts and discerned them to be the oldest and most reliable manuscripts. On the positive side, although these manuscripts come from a whole new line of copyists and an entirely different chain of history, the contents for the vast majority matched the manuscripts in the Byzantine family! This further confirmed the reliability of the biblical text. On the negative side, however, there were some differences including the missing verses and passages. These missing verses weren’t in the ‘Alexandrian family’ of manuscripts (200 to 400 AD), but show up in the medieval ‘Byzantine family’ of manuscripts (500 to 1000 AD) discovered on a different continent. (Just to clarify - earlier fragments/ parts of manuscripts have been discovered - just not "families.") Scholars don't know how these verses got into the text. They believe they were added by the copyists to expound upon a point or to clarify a point. Because the King James Bible is based on later manuscripts, these verses became part of the Bible tradition in English-speaking lands. These verses aren’t missing. They were added to later manuscripts. List of 17 New Testament verses: When a verse is omitted, later ones in the same chapter retain their traditional numbering. The below verses are in the NASB. Matthew 17:21 ["But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting."] Matthew 18:11 ["For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost."] Matthew 23:14 ["Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation."] Mark 7:16 ["If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."] Mark 9:44 ["where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED."] Mark 9:46 ["where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED."] Mark 11:26 ["But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."] Mark 15:28 [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors."] Luke 17:36 ["Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other will be left."] Luke 23:17 [Now he was obliged to release to them at the feast one prisoner.] John 5:3b,4 [waiting for the moving of the waters; for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.] Act 8:37 [And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” ] Acts 15:34 [But it seemed good to Silas to remain there.] Acts 24:6b-8a [We wanted to judge him according to our own Law. “But Lusias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of our hands, ordering his accusers to come before you.”] Acts 28:29 [When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.] Romans 16:24 [The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.] 1 John 5:7 This verse is in the Alexandrian family text, but is different than in the Byzantine text. Closer look at the last one 1 John 5:7 because skeptics will say the text was corrupted to add the Trinity concept to Scripture. KJV (Byzantine): For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. NASB: For there are three that testify: ESV: For there are three that testify: NIV: For there are three that testify: NLT: So we have these three witnesses – My NIV Study Bible text note for 1 John 5,7,8 says “Late manuscripts of the Vulgate testify in heaven: the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one. And there are three that testify on earth: the (not found in any Greek manuscript before the sixteenth century)” This addition is not found in any Greek manuscript or New Testament translation prior to the 16th century. Hence the newer versions of the Bible do not include these verses or added words or they put a bracket around the added words with a text note. Two Passages: Besides the above 17 verses, there are two passages which are not found in the Alexandrian family of manuscripts. If you want to read them go to www.biblegateway.com / enter the passages/ KJV/ and then click add parallel and you can add up to 3 parallels and read what they say. Mark 16:9-20 – This account of Jesus appearing to Mary Magdalene and the commissioning of the disciples is located in the gospel of Matthew. In Luke and John the risen Jesus appears to Mary Magdalene. And in the gospel of John Jesus commissioned the disciples to tend His sheep. This passage, while not originally found in Mark, is located elsewhere in Scripture. John 7:53 – 8:11 – The story of the adulterous woman. This account is not located in the earliest manuscripts. But I found the story of the adulterous women in all my Bibles with clarification. My NIV Life Application Study Bible text note says: “There is considerable doubt that this story is part of John’s original Gospel, for it is absent from all of the oldest manuscripts. But there is nothing in it unworthy of sound doctrine. It seems best to view the story as something that probably happened during Jesus’ ministry but that was not originally part of what John wrote in his Gospel. Therefore it should not be considered as part of Scripture and should not be used as the basis for building any point of doctrine unless confirmed in Scripture.” Some of these verses in the story of the adulterous woman can be located elsewhere in Scripture. I’ll admit this well-known story not being in the early manuscripts is a bit unsettling. For more on this read: http://www.bibleodyssey.org/passages/main-articles/woman-caught-in-adultery.aspx Why do I even write about the missing verses which aren’t really missing? First of all I was thrown off guard when I first heard about the missing verses. When someone who acts like they know what they are talking about tells you the text of your Bible version is unreliable, you have doubts. Don’t have doubts. Your text is reliable! And also one day I heard a segment on The History Channel and their proclaimed scholar was saying the text of the Bible is unreliable for this very reason. We all know people watch The History Channel and take it as the truth. [Thousands of scholars with doctorates pour over the manuscripts and variances and tell us our biblical text is reliable. And The History Channel finds the one "expert" who says it isn't. Of course.] I’m sharing this information to combat the spread of misinformation. It isn’t like biblical scholars don’t know about these verses. It isn’t like they aren’t disclosing it. I also believe it is good to be an intelligent Christian - to know what is going on so you can join in the discussion. These verses found in the Byzantine family of manuscripts and not in the Alexandrian family of manuscripts or other earlier manuscripts discovered add, or subtract, nothing from the original or from the message of the Word. No major Christian doctrine is impacted or changed. Your Bible text is reliable. Scholars are sure of that. #Bibleisreliable

Rome had something called the Roman Calendar. The Romans began their chronology with the year of the founding of pagan Rome which compared to the Christian Calendar (our calendar) would be about 753 B.C. It was a big old mess originally dividing the year into 10 months which left 60 days unaccounted for. Early on they tried to fix it by adding the months of January and February to the end of the year to keep the calendar in line with the solar year. They would add a month when necessary, at the discretion of the pontifex maximus. (The pontifex maximus was the high priest of the ancient Roman religion.) Unfortunately the pontifices often adjusted the Roman Calendar to lengthen or shorten an official’s term or to manipulate elections. Julias Caesar (100 B.C. – 44 B.C.) realized the need to end the abuses and saw the need for using a uniform and consistent calendar throughout the Roman Empire. In 45 B.C. he asked Greek astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria to come up with this new calendar. This calendar was called the Julian Calendar. It had to do with the length of the year not the actual year, but it had issues though too. Its year was 11 minutes and 14 seconds longer than the actual solar year. After Caesar’s death in 44 B.C., the seventh month of the calendar was renamed to July in his honor. Roman Emperor Constantine the Great decriminalized Christianity in the year A.D. 313. Constantine became the first Christian Roman Emperor. It was this period in history when the Roman Empire went from pagan worship to Christianity. When Easter fell was a big old debate. In A.D. 525 Pope John the First asked a monk named Dionysius Exiguus (Dionysius the Little) to come up with tables for determining the date of Easter. While working on this, Dionysius decided to abandon the pagan way of numbering years and base the division of time on his calculated year of the birth of Jesus Christ. He used a combination of biblical references and other data to come up with the year Jesus was born. Luke 3:1,2 tells us Jesus was baptized in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Anna and Caiaphas,... And in Luke 3:23 we are told that Jesus was about 30 years of age at the start of His ministry (His baptism.) Dionysius calculated Jesus was probably born in the 753rd year since the founding of the Roman empire. He suggested dates should be given the initials A.D., standing for Anno Domini meaning “in the year of our Lord” and earlier dates referred to by B.C., Before Christ. However, A.D. and B.C. weren't formally adopted until Charlemagne did so in A.D. 800. The calendar in use was still the Julian Calendar which was still off by those 11 minutes and 14 seconds. So adjustments kept having to be made to the calendar. Dionysius' work only affected how the years are counted. It didn't fix the annual calendar. The day Easter was celebrated kept being moved out of the traditional season. Pope Gregory XIII said enough and decreed in A.D. 1582 that ten days should be dropped from that year! People were none too happy! The Gregorian Calendar, also called the Christian Calendar, was developed and was immediately adopted in most Catholic countries, including Spain, Portugal, and parts of Italy. Protestant countries accepted it somewhat later. It was introduced into Scotland in 1600. Great Britain and the American Colonies adopted it in 1752. Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries did not accept the Gregorian Calendar until after World War I! Anyways, poor Dionysius got the year of Jesus’ birth wrong! He missed the date by 4 or 5 years. Matthew 2:16 tells us that Herod had all of the male babies from two years old and under in Bethlehem killed. Herod was trying to have Jesus, the King of the Jews, killed. (By the way there are 7 Herods mentioned in the Bible.) Dionysius calculated the year he thought Jesus was born based on the biblical and other information he had in A.D. 525. Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, tells that Herod died shortly after an eclipse of the moon, but prior to Passover. Astronomers today know there were 3 eclipses of the moon in that time period. On this and other evidence, historians determined King Herod died in 4 B.C. King Herod ordered the slaughter of the infants two years old and under in Bethlehem. Jesus had to be born before Herod died in 4 B.C. This evidence leads historians to believe Jesus was born around 5 B.C.! All of my reference books list Jesus’ birth somewhere between 6 B.C. to 4 B.C. We know Jesus was about 30 when He began His ministry. We know He ministered about 3-1/2 years. So Jesus would have been crucified around A.D. 27-30. So what year is it really right now? Well it is really around 5 years ago! We get a do-over, ha ha. Pretty fascinating, huh? About this point you are wondering why I was so geeky to research this. Many years ago I was in a class called Bible Basics and one of the guys asked the teacher what year was Jesus born A.D. 0 or 1. The teacher didn't have a clue. Then when I took a class on the New Testament and the teacher put up a slide of the timeline of when they think the books of the New Testament were written; it had Jesus was born in 5 B.C. I asked about it. She told us a little about Dionysius. Later I developed a class on The New Testament Historical Books (Matthew through Acts) and I researched it more to be able to adequately answer the students if they ask. Plus I just found it interesting. What does it have to do with encouraging you to read the Bible? Not a whole lot except to let you know that back when the books of the Bible were authored and passed on, the calendar as we know it didn't exist. So the authors referred to historical events to measure time - often by referring to the reign of a certain ruler. For instance 1 Kings 15:28 says: So Baasha killed him in the third year of Asa king of Judah and reigned in his place. Does it really matter if we know the exact year Jesus was born? No. It only matters our Savior was born! Happy New Year! #yearborn #Jesusbirth #year

You probably have questions about things that have to do with Christianity. Believe me. I relate. I pretty much was the Queen of Questions. I went to church and youth group every week in middle school and high school. I had accepted Jesus as my Savior and was a believer. I don't remember having too many questions at that point in my life. After college I married and my husband and I were too busy going out all the time and well, spiritual matters hardly ever entered my mind. We had no interest in attending a church and only went at Christmas and Easter when we went home to visit our families. Fast forward a few more years and we have kids. I decide the kids need some "religion." I'd make everyone get all dressed up and drag them to church. The kids dozed or doodled on the program. Actually my husband did too, ha ha. But I sat there and listened intently to the minister – critiquing everything he said, trying to figure out his point, questioning it all. It wasn't that I didn't believe; it was more that I didn't quite get what the minister was saying. Heaven/hell, angels/demons, sin/ righteousness, justification/sanctification, the kingdom of God, inheritance,... It was like learning a whole new vocabulary! I think the minister assumed we all had some level of understanding of the basic concepts of Christianity. But I would sit there and wonder why he said things he did and well, just not fully get it. I kept trying to figure it out. I was invited to a new church where I heard things put so clearly that it only piqued my interest more. With each aspect of Christianity explained it seemed to lead to more questions. I would sit in church or in a small group or in a class and someone would say something and I would think, ‘Why are they saying that? What does it mean? Am I supposed to believe that?' I didn’t buy everything I was hearing. It didn’t matter to me that a minister said it. Or the leader of a group. Or the teacher of a class. I still questioned whether it was true. I think even then that I knew a faith based on what other people were telling me wasn’t good enough. What if they were wrong? Just because they believed it didn't mean I should automatically accept it. This was too important to get wrong. The questions started coming. And as each question came I would seek out the answer. Does God really hear and answer my prayers? Does it matter if just I pray for something or if 5000 people pray for the same thing? Do animals go to heaven? Can someone who commits suicide go to heaven? How do I know if something is God's will or not? How can God be three Persons at the same time? How do I know for sure that Jesus really was resurrected? What does this Jesus as my "Lord" thing mean? Does it mean I can't drink alcohol? How is that different than just accepting Jesus as my Savior? Who is the Holy Spirit? Are there such things as ghosts? How do I know the Bible is true? Is Christianity the only way to heaven? Does God get angry with me when I sin? Did Jesus establish the church? What is the church? Am I required to tithe? Is hell real? What about heaven, what do we know about it? Do people become angels when they die? Why some places in the Bible did the children and animals have to die too? Why would a loving God do that? Is God’s grace really real? (It just seemed too good to be true.) Is the Bible really God’s Word? Am I really saved? Just some of my many, many, many questions! I became friends with a few mature Christians who were willing to answer me when I asked them a question. And I know my question after question must have been irritating to them at times. I can send the lonnngggest emails. I know people say, "There are no dumb questions." Well, based on the looks I would get from some people, that must not be true. Ha. I asked my share of "dumb" questions! But these few people I had found were willing to take the time to help me find answers. I can name them. I appreciate what they did. They mentored me. If they didn’t know the answer, they would point me in the right direction. They were willing to discuss spiritual things with me. That was HUGE! I went to church every week to learn more. I signed up for Bible classes and studies. I belonged to a small group. I bought so many Christian books and I read and I read. And then I had a God moment. It truly was. I was at The Cove in Asheville walking on a trail to the chapel. I was by myself. I'm walking along and out of the blue God told me to "Read the Bible." It was clearly Him and He repeated it over and over in my mind for days (at the weirdest times I might add.) Up until then I had been reading bits and pieces that had to do with the Bible study I was doing or the question I was trying to answer. But I hadn’t read the whole thing. And so I read it. I can’t even begin to put into words what this meant to my life! It was as if suddenly everything I had been questioning and researching all came together. I understood! I got it! It has literally transformed me - how I think, how I act, how I process things. Gone are the doubts I had about some of the Christian doctrines. Looking back it was the entire spiritual journey I went on that changed me, but it was reading the Bible which really clinched it for me. Was I a Christian before I read the Bible? I was. Did I really know why I believed what I believed? Sort of, but not like I do now. I’m smiling as I type that. I regret that it took me so long to begin searching for answers. I wasted a large portion of my life being an Occasional Christian. I also regret I never really trained my children. They were older when I started this searching. They went to church and youth group, but I had done those things too and still didn’t really understand what I do now. We didn’t talk about spiritual things in our home. They never really were taught why we believe the essentials of the Christian faith. Now on the rare occasion when my son asks me a spiritual question, he gets my full attention and enthusiasm. My question-asking has made me sympathetic and supportive of those who are seeking for answers. I'm not condescending to them. For me there really is no dumb question. I’m more than a little upset with the churches I grew up in and when I first started going back to church. Why didn’t they ever teach the basics? We’d go to church and hear the stories in the Bible – David and Goliath/ Adam and Eve/ Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount/ Noah/ Jesus walking on water… But I somehow didn’t connect it all. When I started learning that the Bible was reliable and that the Old Testament and New Testament go together and all the other things I’ve learned; I am like, 'Why was this never taught to me?!' I didn’t know what I didn’t know until I knew it. And there was a lot I didn’t know! (I continue to learn on a deeper level. But the basics I have down now.) I teach basic information on the Bible (organization and historical eras and key words) and my students always seem surprised to learn it. For whatever reason, there is a large percentage of Christians who don’t know the basics. And our young people – they go off to college and some professor or new friend who seems like they know what they are talking about says, "The Bible isn’t true." That "Christianity is a lie." That "God doesn’t exist." And because they don’t know the basics to stand firm in their faith, they are easily swayed. Doubts set in and Satan gets a foothold in their lives. Statistics show we have lost a large segment of my generation and are rapidly losing the next generation. We need to equip people because the world is going to mock and attack their beliefs. Satan chips away one experience at a time. We are failing miserably at the teaching part of Christianity. (I’m making a general statement here. Your church may be a teaching church.) You don’t have a question that hasn’t been asked before. Seriously. But you have to be purposeful about looking for the answer. Don’t be content going along with the status quo. Don’t be like that with your faith! Just because someone says something doesn’t make it true. Think. Be intelligent. Know why you believe what you believe. I see posts all the time on Facebook from Christians about “send good vibes/ good thoughts/ good karma.” That is what you believe in? The good thoughts of another person will make a difference in your circumstances? That is what will sustain you when push comes to shove? Do you really believe that? Think! Christianity will stand up to any amount of scrutiny. A question without an answer won’t get you anywhere. A faith without deep roots can easily be swept away when the first major storm comes. You don’t have to check your brain at the door before you enter church. This world needs intelligent Christians – people who know why they believe what they believe and can share it with others. Got questions? Begin by asking God to bring you the answers and continue by opening your Bible. #spiritualjourney

The books of the Old Testament are organized in the canon of Scripture by historical, poetical, and prophetical. Old Testament Historical- books that describe key figures, events, locations in biblical history Poetical- books of poetry, songs Prophetical- proclaiming the Word of God, both for that present generation and the future generations The word "canon" means rule of faith and is what we call the books making up our sacred Scripture. The Hebrew (Jewish) Canon is identical to the canon of the Protestant Bible’s Old Testament. We just arranged it differently than they did. We divided some books out (like 1 and 2 Kings and prophetical books). But the Canon of the Protestants and the Jews is the same. Historical Books: These books are the first 17 books of the Old Testament. They are divided into the Law and the History books. The historical books of Genesis through Esther make up about one-third of the Bible. The length of time covered in the opening chapters of Genesis is unknown, but from Genesis chapter 12 to the end of Nehemiah is a time period of about 2,000 years. The historical books present the story of the Creator’s desire to have an intimate relationship with the people He created. God reveals Himself through relationships with key people. These books are not intended to be a complete history of the world. And the history does not flow evenly and consistently. There are great gaps in time - for instance the 400 plus years the Jews were in slavery in Egypt. They tell us what God wants us to know. Law (Pentateuch): These are the first five books of the Old Testament. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. These 5 books are called The Pentateuch which is a Greek word meaning “five vessels or scrolls.” They are considered by the Jewish people to be the Law and are called the Hebrew word “Torah”. The Pentateuch/ Torah/ Law tells us about the creation of the world and how sin entered the world. They tell us of God forming a people for Himself to which He will bless all nations. How God rescues those people from slavery and leads them and what He expects of them. These books lay the theological groundwork for the rest of Scripture. History: The next 12 books in the Old Testament, Joshua through Esther, are called the history books. These books tell you about various historical eras of God’s redemptive plan. Starting with Joshua they go over how God gave the Promised Land to His people. Judges talks about how they ruled Israel until they asked for a king. Then you get into the kingdom books where Israel was a united nation and then civil war erupted and they were a divided nation. God brings judgment against the northern nation of Israel and then later against the southern nation of Judah where the temple Solomon built is destroyed. The Jewish people are exiled. Then a remnant is able to return to Jerusalem and rebuild a smaller temple and the city. The history of the Jewish nation is fascinating and well documented outside of the Bible in both archeological findings and ancient writings. The Pentateuch 1. Genesis 2. Exodus 3. Leviticus 4. Numbers 5. Deuteronomy The Kingdom Books 1. Joshua 2. Judges 3. Ruth 4. 1 Samuel 5. 2 Samuel 6. 1 Kings 7. 2 Kings The Post-Exilic Books 1. 1 Chronicles 2. 2 Chronicles 3. Ezra 4. Nehemiah 5. Esther Poetical Books: These five books, Job through Song of Solomon, are sometimes referred to as Wisdom Literature or Writings. These books are poetic in genre. Some tell stories; others contain songs or general wisdom. These books do not add to the history of Israel or advance the chronology. God often uses these books to lead and comfort us in times of suffering. Prophetical Books: The last 17 books of the Old Testament are the prophetical books. The prophets often predicted the future, but they also confronted the people of their day with strong messages from God about how they were living. The people had turned away from God and the prophets would tell them to come back to God. The prophetical books are divided up into the Major Prophets and the Minor Prophets. The first 5 being the major prophetical books - Isaiah through Daniel - and the next 12 (the last 12 books of the Old Testament) are considered the minor prophetical books. The major prophetical books are not considered more important than the minor prophetical books. The terms major and minor have nothing to do with the prominence of the authors or the importance of the material. They only call them "major" and "minor" because of length. The major books are long and the minor are short books. Another important thing to know is these books are not organized chronologically! So before you read a prophetical book, it is prudent to read an introduction to that book to get some context – who was writing to whom and in what historical time period. Read an introduction either in a study Bible or in a book such as The Complete Guide to the Bible. (affiliate link) So why do we read the Old Testament? Why is it in our Bible? Why do we consider it Scripture? The Old Testament Scriptures are referred and alluded to over and over in the New Testament. To understand concepts in the New Testament (for example Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb, referring to Passover, or the symbolism in the book of Revelation); reading the Old Testament Scriptures are critical. In the Old Testament we find how God created the world. How evil entered the world and we are sinful. We are told of God’s character – holy, just, merciful, loving, powerful, sovereign, almighty,… We see how God makes a series of covenants with His people. How God expects His people to keep their part of the covenant and to worship only Him. We see how God has a redemptive plan for His people to bring them a Savior. The moral law of the Old Testament does not change because God's character does not change. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8 "For I, the LORD, do not change;" Malachi 3:6a ...coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17b "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Revelation 1:8 The Old Testament has many prophecies of the coming Messiah. The Savior of the world is to come from the Jewish people - specifically from the line of King David. Jesus is the only Man of all mankind to fulfill every Old Testament prophecy regarding the Messiah and that is because Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Christ. The Old Testament shows us how God interacts with His people, and as believers in Jesus as our Savior and Lord that we are grafted into His people. Jesus regarded the Old Testament Scriptures as authoritative. The writers of the New Testament books also recognized the authority of the Old Testament. The universal church regards them as authoritative. Thus, that makes them authoritative for our rule of faith too. The organization of the Old Testament books are divided into three sections: 17 Historical Books 5 Pentateuch/ Torah/ Law 12 History Books 5 Poetical Books 17 Prophetical Books 5 Major Prophetical Books 12 Minor Prophetical Books Reading God’s Word includes reading the Old Testament. Only by knowing it will you get the big picture of His redemptive plan. #Bible #booksoftheBible #OldTestament

Doxology is probably a familiar word to you. Derived from two Greek words, doxa, meaning “praise, glory” and logos, meaning “word” or “speaking”; doxology is a word of praise to God. Many Christian churches use doxologies in their worship service to praise God and this is how you probably most associate the word. Gloria in Excelsis Deo (“Glory to God in the highest”) is often called the “Greater Doxology”. The Gloria Patri (“Glory be to the Father”) is often called the “Lesser Doxology”. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost; as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen, amen. And you may be familiar with the Doxology (called the Common Doxology) written by Anglican Bishop Thomas Ken in 1674. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen. I grew up in a traditional church where we sang the Common Doxology at every Sunday service and sometimes the Lesser Doxology. I miss it now. I really do. Sometimes I sing the Common Doxology around the house and I have a sweet Siberian husky who always finds it extremely interesting. He will cock his head and listen intently. When I figured that out, I sing it more. And louder. Of course I only do this when I'm home alone. My family already thinks I'm a bit off. [Although when I sing it I always notice the "Ghost" word because scholars say a better translation is "Spirit". But Spirit doesn't rhyme. So what's a person to do? Anyways, I'm veering off subject...] The word “doxology” isn’t found in the Bible, but praising God can be found throughout Scripture. Most of the Old Testament doxologies have some form of “Blessed be the Lord” or “Praise the Lord”. We especially associate doxologies with the Psalms. Some samplings of Old Testament doxologies: Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!” Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord. 1 Chronicles 16:36 Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen. Psalm 41:13 Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen. Psalm 89:52 New Testament doxologies usually have some form of “Glory to God forever and ever. Amen.” Many of the New Testament books end with a doxology. B.F. Westcott (A British bishop, biblical scholar and theologian who was most known for co-editing The New Testament in the Original Greek in 1881) catalogued sixteen doxologies in the New Testament: Romans 11:36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. Romans 16:27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen. Galatians 1:5 to whom be glory for evermore. Amen. Ephesians 3:21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. Philippians 4:20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:16b To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. 2 Timothy 4:18b to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Hebrews 13:21b through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 4:11b so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belongs the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen. 2 Pet. 3:18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. Jude 25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. Revelation 1:6b to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 5:13b "To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever." Revelation 7:12 "Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen." Don’t let worshipping God be something you just do on Sunday. Worship Him throughout your day. Read these doxologies. If you write in your Bible, write "doxology" by each of these verses. Memorize them. Doxologies should become a part of every Christian’s life. We should express our praise to Him frequently and with great joy. Worship is a love exchange between us and God. It’s essential to our relationship with Him. To Him be the glory, both now and forever. Amen. Oh and by the way. The end of times ends with a doxology. Smile.

Have you ever pondered this? The answer is simple. God wants us to know Him so He reveals Himself to us. God shows us who He is and how He works through events, in creation and in our hearts. The term for this is “revelation” and it simply means God’s self-disclosure. There are two types of revelation from God and they are General Revelation and Special Revelation. General Revelation is when God reveals Himself to us through creation and in our conscience. The heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1 (NASB) They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Romans 1:19-20 (NLT) Or as R.C. Sproul stated it, “The universe is God’s handiwork. It sparkles with the revelation of its Maker.” It is God’s revelation when you witness a beautiful powerful waterfall. When you see a vibrant sunset full of reds and oranges over the ocean. When you see a majestic snow-peaked mountain. When a hummingbird flits around your head whirling its wings so fast and not moving, hovering in the air. When you look up at the expanse of the skies and see countless stars brilliantly twinkling. When you hold your child in the quiet of the night and become overwhelmed with her creation and life. When you hold a sweet furry puppy and he licks your face and breathes puppy breath all over you. Here is the thing. You know there is a God in those moments. You are overcome with His presence. Some people can squash that knowledge. They can dismiss it. But it doesn’t make it any less real that it exists. They knew Him even if only for a moment. And they have no excuse. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” Psalm 14:1a (NIV) God reveals Himself in our conscience. Every society and culture knows right from wrong. We know it. Again, we can dismiss it, ignore it, justify our actions; but we know it. We instinctively know moral code in our conscience. Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right. Romans 2:14-15 (NLT) God is pursuing us. We are aware of it. Something within us tells us there is a God. Sadly, just believing God exists isn’t enough to transform our lives or change our circumstances. It isn’t enough to alter our eternity. Scripture tells us that even the demons know He exists. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! James 2:19 (ESV) And when Jesus casts out the demons in Matthew chapter 8, verse 29 tells us: “What do you want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?” (NIV) Even the demons recognize the Son of God. Just believing He exists isn’t enough. General Revelation discloses to all people His existence, His power and His moral attributes. He discloses this to us through creation and moral nature. General Revelation is not saving revelation. Special Revelation is God revealing His character, His will, and His acts to His people. Special Revelation is saving revelation. God speaks by the Holy Spirit to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways to His people: Through the Bible Through prayer Through circumstances Through the church and believers God is the only one capable and willing to change the outcome of your life. Only He can transform your life into an abundant life. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” The number one way God will speak to you is through hearing and reading His Word. The writers of the Bible use some form of the expression, “The Lord says,” over three thousand times! God has a lot to tell us. If we will only listen. Who doesn’t want to know what the holy, powerful, almighty, merciful God of the universe has to say for their lives? Open your Bible. Let Him speak.

I worked at a Christian bookstore when the 2011 New International Version Bible (NIV) came out. Up until then people were reading from the 1984 revision of the NIV. The NIV is the most popular version of the Bible sold in the world today. A revision to a popular Bible version doesn’t seem like it would be any big deal, but this one caused a lot of controversy. The hoopla over this revision was because the translation team decided to go from masculine language to gender neutral language. Our Old Testament is the Jewish Scripture. The manuscripts are in the Jewish language - Hebrew (with a few chapters and verses in Aramaic in later books). During the time period between the Testaments, Alexander the Great came to power and united the world with the Greek language. So the New Testament authors wrote in Greek. Now since we can't read Hebrew/ Aramaic or Greek, the original language manuscripts had to be translated to English. The original language manuscripts are written with masculine language. The translation teams take their task very seriously. They know they are dealing with the holy Word of God. The credentials of the scholars doing the translating are incredible! They are highly qualified and work in teams (for most popular Bible versions like the NIV.) It is their job to accurately translate the original language wording to English (or whatever language they are translating to.) The translators struggle with what to do with the masculine language when women are included - when the verses apply to all people. Research found that a large percentage of readers would read a passage such as “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone” (John 8:7) to refer only to men or boys, not to women or girls. (OK, sorry, but “duh?” I mean really.) I read from a masculine language Bible and I don't have any problem knowing the Scripture applies to me too. The 2011 NIV revision translation team decided to revise the wording to include the women by going "gender neutral." Scriptures referring to all people (both men and women) were modified to be all-inclusive. In all translations, even with gender-neutral language; God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are always referred to as masculine. Always. People got very upset about this revision! A lot of critics said this was not translating the manuscripts, but altering the Word of God. "Don’t be messing with Scripture!" But my answer to that is they already "messed with it" when they translated it! Most modern versions already use gender neutral language. New Living Translation (NLT), Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) and the Christian Standard Bible (CSB), and The Message were written with gender neutral language. And now the NIV. English Standard Version (ESV) has some gender neutral language. ESV is considered a literal translation even though it does have a little gender neutral language. (Literal translations translate as close to word for word even if some of the meaning in modern day language is lost.) Literal translations like the King James Version (KJV), New King James Version (NKJV), and the New American Standard Bible (NASB - which I usually read from) all have masculine language. The trend is to go with gender neutral language. Let’s look at some examples of the masculine language being changed to gender-neutral language: Mark 4:25 (NIV 1984) Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. Mark 4:25 (NIV 2011) Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. Luke 17:3 (NIV 1984) If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. Luke 17:3 (NIV 2011) If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Proverbs 27:17 (NIV 1984) As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17 (NIV 2011) As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Matthew 4:4 (NIV 1984) Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4 (NIV 2011) Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Note they did not change Matthew 4:4 because it is such a well-known Scripture verse as-is! In order for a change to be made, 70% of the committee had to agree on the change. They did not make every masculine verse gender-neutral, but they did revise most of them. Titus 3:1-2 (NIV 1984) Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men. Titus 3:1-2 (NIV 2011) Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone. Gender neutral language “pluralizes” masculine words to include both men and women. Paul’s “brothers” was changed to “brothers and sisters”. They changed "man" to "people". We know language evolves over time. “Pluralizing” is not particularly harmful. You may have learned the standard English rule that a singular noun must be followed by a singular pronoun, which of course was always masculine. “if anyone…, let he…” However, it is now becoming standard English that a singular noun can be followed by a plural pronoun, “If anyone…, let them…” Notice this. It is everywhere now! We now typically speak and write with gender neutral language. I take on faith that the translators have done a good job with picking the correct word to best convey the meaning of Scripture. Is gender-neutral language harmful to theology? Is the message of the original writers altered? I have researched this quite a bit and have not found the meaning of Scripture to be altered. I see no harm. I read from a masculine language Bible. I don't have issues understanding when Scripture applies to me. I already knew "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone" included me too. But I firmly stand with the translation trend to go with all-inclusive language. #Scripture #readingtheBible #translations

(This post has affiliate links that help support this website. Thank you for your support.) I’d like to recommend a great reference book. Before you read a book of the Bible it is quite helpful to get a little background of that book. This is especially a great idea for the Old Testament prophesy books (to give you an idea which historical era the prophet was writing to) and for the 21 epistles (letters) in the New Testament (since they are written to various audiences and for various reasons.) Reading an introduction to a book of the Bible before you read that book will greatly enhance your reading of the Bible. If you have a study Bible, there will be an introduction to each book of the Bible which will tell you things like the author, when that book was written, the audience, Key Scriptures, Key Themes, and an outline of the book. I have 3 study Bibles and the introductions are informative, but somewhat dry and boring. There are reference books that have information about each book of the Bible. These books give you the big picture of each book – themes, cultural background, historical background, maps, pictures,… I have 3 of the most popular ones and I like each of them. 1. The Essential Bible Companion by John H. Walton, Mark L. Strauss, and Ted Cooper Jr., copyright 2006 , published by Zondervan. In this book you get the essentials of each book of the Bible. The format is 2 pages per book which gives you a summary overview, key themes, author, recipients, a timeline, pictures and maps, interesting facts and the purpose. I like how the timelines also include people and events relating to world history. 2. Bible Overview, copyright 2012, published by Rose Publishing, Inc. For each book of the Bible it gives you the purpose; the theme and how it fits in with the rest of the Bible; author, date, audience, and brief history of that time period; outlines; maps; time lines; charts; photos; archaeological discoveries; how Jesus can be seen in each book; and application for us today. Also included is some general information about the Old Testament, New Testament, and the time between the testaments. Generally 2-4 pages per book of the Bible. 3. The Complete Guide to the Bible by Stephen M. Miller, copyright 2007, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc. This one has the book-by-book background and explanations, fascinating details on Bible times, and beautiful pictures. Several pages per book of the Bible. The author has a sense of humor and it reads like a book. Any of these 3 books are great resources. But my favorite and the one I recommend to my students is The Complete Guide to the Bible by Stephen M. Miller. A books-of-the-Bible reference book is worthwhile to have. #booksoftheBible #Christianbook

We want everything fast, right now, in a hurry because we are busy people and our days are packed. There is work, kid’s activities, running errands, social media to check, games to play on our phones, our dogs to feed, the favorite TV show to watch and not enough time in the day to add anything else. Our spiritual life gets squeezed out and put in the “if I have time” category. We vow to make some time for God and we download a Bible app on our smart phones and get a Verse-a-Day that we read. We follow the tweets of some famous Christian speaker. We have devotionals emailed to us. We listen to Christian radio on our way to and from work. We have a devotional on our night stand and we read one when we go to bed. We get our fast food spiritual fix. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with Bible apps, devotionals, Christian radio, and other things. I love them! There are times in our lives when life hits us and we truly are swamped and have no extra time for anything else but a Bible Verse-a-Day. And that is OK. But for that to be our spiritual norm is not OK. If that is all you are eating spiritually then your spirituality is fast food. This really is the norm right now for Christians. Spiritual fast food. I sometimes want to scream, "PUT THE PHONE DOWN AND READ YOUR BIBLE!" Many years ago in an attempt to purposefully memorize well-known verses two friends and I started to compile them. We kept adding to it and it grew to 156 Scripture verses. You hear these same verses over and over on the radio and see them in devotionals. Great verses. But there is so much more to Scripture than just these well-known verses. How long have you been a believer? 5 years? 20 years? Are you still stuck in that eat a hamburger-a-day mentality? Real spiritual growth comes from time spent feasting on God’s Word. Hebrews 5:12-14 NLT (New Living Translation) You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God’s word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn’t know how to do what is right. Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. Isaiah 55:2 NASB (New American Standard Bible) “Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance." Isaiah 55:2 The Message (a Paraphrase) Why do you spend your money on junk food, your hard-earned cash on cotton candy? Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best, fill yourself with only the finest. Perhaps it is time to go for the steak, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, warm yeast rolls, and that big thick piece of chocolate cake - food that has real sustenance and will help you to become all that God has planned for you. Open your Bible. Begin to be nourished. #devotionals #readtheBible