Quote from Forum Archives on August 23, 2002, 10:24 am

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

This week, the Year of the Bible Web site at
www.gospelcom.net/yob/dated/see_today.shtml has been going
through the book of Romans. If you want to get a great
theological perspective of our faith, this is one great book to
read, though it's probably best read once a few of the other
books of the Bible have been read. Nevertheless, it is one of
the finest writings in scripture, and contains many of the
principles that true Christians follow.

I find the version of the Bible that the Year of the Bible uses,
The Contemporary English Version of the Bible, interesting, not
necessarily for its total literary accuracy, but for the manner
in which it is written. You can read it without any difficulty
at all if you can read the things I write. In fact, the prose
and language used is every day language, as much as possible.
For a guy like me, who is familiar with these passages, reading
them in a different form brings out and highlights the things in
it.

For any of you who may question the accuracy of the text, there
are many Bible tranlations available. bible.gospelcom.net/
has many tranlations that you can use to either read or compare,
plus some really good searching features.
bible.crosswalk.com/ offers study tools, online parallel
Bibles, commentaries, Bible dictionaries, and just about anything
else you may need.

My point? It is well worth knowing God, and knowing Him comes
from reading His Word. There are disagreements between people
about which translations are most accurate, but there are
materials galore everywhere, both in stores and online that you
can use as resources yourself to validate that the essential
truths of God's Word come through clearly. If there are any
translations that, in any way, add or retract from the truth,
that can be readily examined.

I believe that Satan would seek to distract us with all of these
different tranlations. Yet whether man nor spirit would attempt
to destroy God's Word, His truth can still get through, and God
does, and will forever, prevail. So rather than get into
squabbles about God's Word, make sure you KNOW God's Word
yourself, and then you can decide for yourself which
translation(s) faithfully reproduce that which God has spoken to
men in a way that has been historically recorded.

Have you had your own private appointment with your Savior today?

Dear Lord,

I am SO thankful for Your Word and Your assurance that You have
not turned Your back on Your people. No, You have been more than
a conqueror, for You have sent Your own Son to redeem us - a
completely lost people, those who have strayed from You. I ask
for personal forgiveness; I, too, have been guilty of turning my
back against You when I fail to acknowledge You in every detail
of my life.

Help me to become a faithful servant. Remind me of Your
promises. Continue, by Your Spirit, not only to urge me to read
Your Word, but fill me with understanding, so that I may heed its
message. There are many who need to have hope and are lost
without any hope at all. I know that I, too, need hope and
encouragement, but I have found these things in You.

Please continue to encourage me, that I, too, may be an
encouragement to others.

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

August 22, Romans 12
Christ Brings New Life

12 Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies
to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most
sensible way to serve God. 2 Don't be like the people of this
world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know
how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.

3 I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of
you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good
sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has
given you. 4 A body is made up of many parts, and each of them
has its own use. 5 That's how it is with us. There are many of
us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part
of one another.

6 God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can
prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we
have. 7 If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach,
we should teach. 8 If we can encourage others, we should
encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are
leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we
should do it cheerfully.

Rules for Christian Living

9 Be sincere in your love for others. Hate everything that is
evil and hold tight to everything that is good. 10 Love each
other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than you do
yourself. 11 Never give up. Eagerly follow the Holy Spirit and
serve the Lord. 12 Let your hope make you glad. Be patient in
time of trouble and never stop praying. 13 Take care of God's
needy people and welcome strangers into your home.

14 Ask God to bless everyone who mistreats you. Ask him to bless
them and not to curse them. 15 When others are happy, be happy
with them, and when they are sad, be sad. 16 Be friendly with
everyone. Don't be proud and feel that you are smarter than
others. Make friends with ordinary people. 17 Don't mistreat
someone who has mistreated you. But try to earn the respect of
others, 18 and do your best to live at peace with everyone.

19 Dear friends, don't try to get even. Let God take revenge. In
the Scriptures the Lord says,

"I am the one to take revenge and pay them back."

20 The Scriptures also say,

"If your enemies are hungry, give them something to eat. And
if they are thirsty, give them something to drink. This will
be the same as piling burning coals on their heads."

21 Don't let evil defeat you, but defeat evil with good.

Scripture made available by the American Bible Society for the
Year of the Bible Project. These passages are from the
Contemporary English Version of the Bible. For more information
call: 1.888.324.2535 or contact us through this web site.
www.gospelcom.net/yob/dated/see_today.shtml

=====
--
Brian Masinick, mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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