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An
Outreach Publication of the Church of Christ at
Creekwood |
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Lost in Translation A story is told about
four preachers who were debating concerning the best Bible translation.
The first argued that the King James Version (KJV) is the
best. It shows that God's word
will endure from generation to generation, and the poetry The second minister
argued that the New American Standard Bible (NASB) was better
because it provides us with the most accurate translation.
He explained that The third minister argued that the New International Version (NIV) was the best translation. He said that it was much easier to read than the other translations and while it did not have the word for word meaning like the NASB, the NIV captured the original meaning of the text and communicated it in modern language. Each of the ministers then looked to the fourth minister to see which version of the Bible he thought was the best. After a few moments he said, "I guess I believe the ' living Bible' is the best translation." Each of the other ministers responded, "The Living Bible is NOT a translation; it's only a paraphrase and too wordy to be trusted." The fourth minister smiled and said, "No, I don't mean the BOOK; I'm referring to the ' living Bible' I saw lived out in the LIFE of my father every day. He lived the Scriptures in such a way that I was convinced the Bible was indeed the Word of God. Dad's LIVING Bible changed my life." Truly, the BEST translation of the Bible is the one that " translated " into our daily living! The Apostle Paul wrote to a group of Christians telling them the reason he was so thankful for them: "For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the Word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it NOT as the word of MEN, but as it is IN TRUTH, the Word of GOD, which also effectively works in you who believe" (1Thessalonians 2:13). Will YOU receive the Word of God, and welcome it into your life for what it is: THE WORD OF GOD? Will you believe His Word enough to OBEY it? In Acts 2, we read of a large group of people who accepted the Gospel message that the apostles' preached as the Word of God..... Believing that Jesus is the Son of God and that their sin was responsible for His death, they cried out, "What shall we do?" The Apostle Peter responded, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized (immersed) in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). The Bible records their response: "Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and THAT day about three thousand souls were added to them" (Acts 2:41). Will YOU
respond in like manner – TRUSTING and OBEYING the Word of God – Please, don't let the Bible be lost in translation in YOUR life.
David A. Sargent,
Minister To Subscribe to "Living Water" send a blank e-mail to:
HTML version: subscribe-livingwater@lyris.dundee.net Follow this link to locate the church of Christ nearest you: www.churchsearch.org Archived issues of "Living Water" can be accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org
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