Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Eyewitness

2 Peter 1: 12-21

12 So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have.

13 I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body,

14 because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.

15 And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

19 And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.

20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation.

21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.


I do believe that the Bible is written by men inspired totally by God and am thankful that those words were transcribed and continue to be transcribed into Bibles that we can understand today. I've mentioned before that I really like the King James Version as literature but have to admit when I don't understand a passage, I turn to NIV or other translations. I think that is what we should do.

Last Sunday our pastor mentioned having a copy of the Wyclif Bible. He didn't mean an original copy. Looking up some facts, it looks like only about 250 original copies of that translation survive for us to see today.

It is amazing to me how much our own English language has changed and continues to change each year. Why just going from one side of the state of Georgia to the other, I find some words have different meanings so it boggles my mind when I think about what a huge task it must have been to take the different writings and translate them into the word of the day. That task continues even today. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have the original papers of the entire Bible to translate from?

Look at this from the Wyclif Bible John 3:16 - "For God louede so the world that he yaf his oon bigetun sone, that ech man that beliueth in him perische not, but haue euerlastynge lijf." Well, at least I can make out a bit of what the words mean. I admire and am thankful for those that study the languages of ancient Palestine which the Bible was originally written in, Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek, and have the ability to translate those words into languages we can understand.

Today will be a busy day for me as I have several projects to finish up. Hope your day is a good one and you feel the blessings of God with each step you take.

The wellness tip for today comes from Realage.com

"Three foods your arteries can't get enough of: onions, celery, and parsley.

Whether you add them to soups, relish dishes, sandwiches, or salads, improving the health of your arteries may be as simple as munching on these flavor boosters. People who eat more flavonoid-rich veggies like these cut their risk of hardening of the arteries -- especially in the legs -- in half. "

2 comments:

kimberly said...

very interesting, phyllis....thank you for sharing...i love the King James Version also, however, most of my daily readings are from The New English Bible....however, i check a lot of verses with the King James Version as i am reading....just so i understand how it is being interpreted.

also....interesting wellness tip....i eat a lot of all of those things....so yeah! maybe it will offset all the junk i eat! :)
have a wonderful day getting your projects taken care of...
hugs,
kimberly

Joni said...

I do rely on and love knowing the bible is not hearsay, but words originating from God. We have several bibles around the house, but my own personal one is a NASB. After spending so much time analyzing the language of Shakespeare I know I would be ill-equiped to handle anything of greater importance.

funny thing...I just received this wellness tip from realage.com in my inbox...

hope your day is blessed with untiring productivity...how are those flamingos coming along?

hugs to you~
joni

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