Through the Magic Mirror

Does anyone remember the name of the lady teacher in the old morning program "Romper Room"?  It was a really hokey program.  The lady would look into her magic mirror and see all the boys and girls in TV-land who were watching.  She would greet them, and when your child heard his name, he would think she was looking at him through the television. (Were we who were little kids back then really that dumb?  Mine aren't...)  Well, that is who I am today. I am the Romper Room lady.  I really like that Neocounter on my right side-bar.  I want to sit here with my magic mirror and say, "I see you, Iceland! Welcome to the Romper Room, India. Oh, and there's Canada -- so glad you are with us today!  And China and Germany and Denmark, oh! And there's South Africa and Venezuela!  How nice of you to join us!" Now I just wish all these visitors would say Hello!

The NIV Quiz

My husband is responsible for showing me the differences between the various English translations.  Many years ago he challenged me to read the KJB from cover to cover.  I had owned my beloved NIV for many years, and several times I had tried to read it all, but I had not succeeded one time.  So, okay, I reluctantly tried it.  I opened up the KJB and read a little bit, and then I got so angry with the whole preposterous idea that there was only ONE Bible, that I threw it against the wall!  But I did keep reading.  All the way through.  Again and again. And I found that there was power in the King James Bible.  It spoke to me "as one having authority, and not as the scribes".  It was black and white, not leaving moral and doctrinal issues up to me to decide. And it was plain on salvation.  “To as many as received HIM gave he power to become the sons of God.” John 1:12.  I grew up in a church that teaches baptismal regeneration.  Do you know, I could not find that doctrine in the King James Bible? I could find it in my NIV, though.  Now what?  I had to know.  My eternity depended on it.

 

Do you have a Holy Bible or an unholy Bible?  Do you have the whole Bible or a Holey Bible? Doesn’t it bother you when six different people at Bible study give their own revision of a verse, and none of them match? One says, “Baptism now saves us”; in the same verse another says that baptism is a figure of that which saves us.  One says redemption, even the forgiveness of sins, is through the blood of Christ; another leaves the blood out. What are you going to believe?  The issue is final authority.  What is yours?  Either it is God’s Word, or else it is your opinion, or someone else’s opinion. Someone once asked a well-known preacher the question, “Does it matter which Bible I read?”  He answered, “Only if you believe anything out of it.”

 

This quiz is just for fun:

 Try Answering These From Your NIV

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Using the New International Version Bible, answer the following questions to this NIV quiz.

Do not rely on your memory. As the Bible is the final authority, you must take the answer from the Bible verse (not from footnotes but from the text).

1.      Fill in the missing words in Matthew 5:44. "Love your enemies,__________ them that curse you, ______________ to them that hate you, and pray for them that __________ and persecute you."

2. According to Matthew 17:21, what two things are required to cast out this type of demon?


3. According to Matthew 18:11, why did Jesus come to earth?


4. According to Matthew 27:2, what was Pilate's first name?


5. In Matthew 27:35, when the wicked soldiers parted His garments, they were fulfilling the words of the prophet. Copy what the prophet said in Matthew 27:35 from the NIV.


6. In Mark 3:15, Jesus gave the apostles power to cast out demons and to: ____________


7. According to Mark 7:16, what does a man need to be able to hear?


8. According to Luke 7:28, what was John? (teacher, prophet, carpenter, etc.). What is his title or last name?


9. In Luke 9:55, what did the disciples not know?


10. In Luke 9:56, what did the Son of man not come to do? According to this verse, what did He come to do?


11. In Luke 22:14, how many apostles were with Jesus?


12. According to Luke 23:38, in what three languages was the superscription written?


13. In Luke 24:42, what did they give Jesus to eat with His fish?


14. John 3:13 is a very important verse, proving the deity of Christ. According to this verse (as Jesus spoke), where is the Son of man?


15. What happened each year as told in John 5:4?


16. In John 7:50, what time of day did Nicodemus come to Jesus?


17. In Acts 8:37, what is the one requirement for baptism?


18. What did Saul ask Jesus in Acts 9:6?


19. Write the name of the man mentioned in Acts 15:34.


20. Study Acts 24:6-8. What would the Jew have done with Paul? What was the chief captain's name? What did the chief captain command?


21. Copy Romans 16:24 word for word from the NIV.


22. First Timothy 3:16 is perhaps the greatest verse in the New Testament concerning the deity of Christ. In this verse, who was manifested in the flesh?


23. In the second part of First Peter 4:14, how do [they] speak of Christ? And, what do we Christians do?


24. Who are the three Persons of the Trinity in First John 5:7?


25. Revelation 1:11 is another very important verse that proves the deity of Christ. In the first part of this verse Jesus said, "I am the A______________ and O___________, the _________ and the _______:"

Conclusion: Little space is provided for your answers, but it's much more than needed. If you followed the instructions above, you not only failed the test, you receive a big zero.

(Ed. These are all missing in the NIV.) So now what do you think of your accurate, easy to understand, up to date Bible?  

If you would like to improve your score, and in fact score 100%, you can take this test using the Authorized (King James) Bible.

By Rex L. Cobb

This is my last Bible version entry for a while (do I hear cheering?!?), since we are going to be away.  It has been mighty quiet here at diamondsintherough… probably some of you are feeling personally attacked for not believing the KJB.  That is not why I have been posting these things. Some of you think I am a nut.  Maybe so, but at least I know what I believe.

"Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them."  Psalm 119:165

The Living Word/The Word of Life

Today's daily devotion from the Institute for Creation Research  fits so appropriately with my recent posts on the Bible!

"Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither labored in vain" Philippians 2:16.

There is such beautiful correlation between the Living Word (Christ) and the written Word (the Bible) that certain Scriptures could well apply to either one. Such is the case with our text. The Philippians were exhorted to hold forth the Word of life, which presumably could mean either Christ, the Living Word, or else the Scriptures, which speak of eternal life.

The same dual meaning can be discerned in such texts as II Timothy 4:2 ("Preach the word") and Hebrews 4:12 ("The word of God is quick, and powerful"). In fact, there are many beautiful figures of speech that are applied in the Bible to the ministries of both Christ and the Scriptures in a believer's life.

For example, Christ is "the light of the world" (John 8:12), but also, "the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light" (Proverbs 6:23). Similarly Jesus said, "I am the bread of life" (John 6:35), but He also said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" (Luke 4:4).

The Lord Jesus Christ said, "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink" (John 7:37). God also promised that "as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, . . . So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth" (Isaiah 55:10-11).

Both are described as the very personification of truth. Jesus said, "I am . . . the truth," and He also prayed to the Father: "Thy word is truth" (John 14:6; 17:17). Finally, both must be received: "receive . . . the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21), for "as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God" (John 1:12). HMM

Which Bible? Part III

 

Back to our discussion of “Which Bible?”.  Sorry, my train of thought jumped the track for a few days!

 

Two Bibles that differ cannot both be God’s Word. Either one Bible is, and the other is not, or else neither one is God’s Word.  If you know your Bible has errors and is inconsistent within itself, it can not be God’s Word.

 

 I do not worship the King James Bible, but it is very similar to my Saviour, who is the Word of God himself, in many ways. Like him, it deserves my devotion.  It is perfect and without fault, it has power to save sinners, it is incorruptible, it is eternal.  It is living and capable of imparting spiritual life. It is my Comforter.  It is my Bread. It refreshes me like the Water of Life. Like the Rock, it is unchanging, strong and immovable. When I read the Bible, I know Christ better, because I am reading him. Men have attempted to do away with the KJB for 400 years, and unlike modern flash-in-the-pan revisions, still it lives on.  Some sixty million believers have died for it!  It cannot be destroyed any more than the Lord Jesus could be destroyed.  No, the leather and paper and ink are not God.  But because of them, I know God!  Below are some things to consider about the Bible:

 

n      If modern scholars are smart enough to find “errors” in the Bible, why haven’t they corrected them all and given us a perfect one by now?

n      Where in the Bible is your pastor’s example to use the terminology, “A better rendering would be ______,” or “The Greek says, (or the Hebrew says, or the originals say,)______________.” Jesus, Peter, Paul, James, or John never quoted the Old Testament this way.  Isn’t the Bible supposed to be our final authority in all matters of faith and practice?  Did you ever see what would happen if you just looked up the word in a good English dictionary, such as Noah Webster's 1828? For an English-speaking person, the dictionary sheds much more light on the Bible than a Greek lesson does!

n      If the Bible is not absolutely perfect, how can you call it God’s Word?

n      Who taught you that God’s Word is not infallible or that God has not preserved his very words for us? It was not the Holy Spirit, for he tells us otherwise in the Bible.

n      Many believe that education has improved over the years and that God’s men are more qualified to translate God’s word today than they were in 1611.  How can this be true, when everything else around us has degenerated?

n      Has God lost the words that he gave by inspiration? Where are they today?

n      Why do preachers and teachers of the Bible say they are quoting “the Greek”, or “the Hebrew” when there are MANY Greek and Hebrew texts (many differing from one another), and not just one of each?  Why don’t they tell us there are more? The original manuscripts do not exist.  Why do we think “the Hebrew” and “the Greek” are the standard to which we compare all other translations? What do scholars compare them to? Nothing.

n      Before the first “modern” translation was published in 1881 (the Revised Version), the King James Bible was published, preached, and taught throughout the world.  God blessed these efforts and hundred of millions were saved.  Today, with many new translations on the market, very few are being saved, and we have a fleshly, ungodly impostor Christianity. The great revivals are over. Who has gained more from the new versions of the Bible – God or Satan?

And Be Ye Thankful

I AM THANKFUL:

FOR THE WIFE

WHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT,

BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME,

AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBAND

WHO IS ON THE SOFA

BEING A COUCH POTATO,

BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME

AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER

WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES

BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME,

NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY

BECAUSE IT MEANS

I AM EMPLOYED .

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE

BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG

BECAUSE IT MEANS

I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK

BECAUSE IT MEANS

I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING,

WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING,

AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME .

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING

I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT

BECAUSE IT MEANS

WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH. .

FOR THE PARKING SPOT

I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING

AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION .

FOR MY HUGE AIR CONDITIONING BILL

BECAUSE IT MEANS

I AM COOL.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH

WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS

I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING

BECAUSE IT MEANS

I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES

AT THE END OF THE DAY

BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN

CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF

IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS

BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MANY COMMENTS BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

"In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."  1 Thessalonians 5:18

The Throes of Three

It seems that each of us has had an attitude problem to overcome this week.  First, Math Girl (post below), then me (I don't do at all well with the strife of hissy fits), then one girl musician and another girl NOT doing her English.  Here is the BIGGEST attitude problem we have to fix (ironically she is the smallest person):

 

You see, Preschooler does not appreciate it when everyone else is doing school, and she is left to her own devices.  Thankfully I am twice her size, or else this photo would be plain scary, don't you think?  Twenty times a day I hear, "Mom, I have NOTHING to do," which, to my thinking, should not even be in a three year old's vocabulary! I don't remember it being this bad with the previous sisters when school started.  I can't believe this is the same cute-as-a-button little girl that I posted earlier:

All this, to say HELP!  Give me all of your Keep-Preschoolers-Busy ideas and resources!

A Math Problem Solved

We started school yesterday.  Yes, I know, some of you just got into your vacation, but there is nothing to do around here in the heat, so we start school in the summer and break in the spring, when the temps are nice.  Anyway, school started just the way we all expected it to, with one of my girls (can't tell you which one -- she would be mortified) throwing a big fat hissy over her math.  This has gone on daily on school days for the past two years, and I got to the point where I told her to leave all the division problems for "later", which, of course, never came. Finally I almost decided it wasn't really important whether she could divide with two- and three-digit divisors, as long as she know how to use a calculator.  Right?  Uh, well, that didn't totally sit right with me, but it was really tempting.

I began to look for an alternate method to doing long division, and behold double division, also called 1-2-4-8 division!  I told Daughter to forget everything she has ever learned (or not learned) about division. We sat together at the computer and deciphered the new method. This is an interactive site, and you can either follow the steps for the problem they give, or else enter your own numbers into the division problem in the sample, and then repeatedly click on "next step" until you get it. After about two problems a reluctant smile began to crack my daughter's face.  Then, "Let me do it myself, Mom," and soon after that, "This is fun!"  In the last 24 hours she has done three days' math assignments with joy and confidence.

I wanted to post math "before" and "after" pictures.  The "after" photo is easy, but I can't get her to stage a fit for the camera for the "before" pic!

UPDATE:
For those of you who have come to this page from www.doubledivision.org, I posted the following entry at a later date:

Long division problems, anyone?

My Weblink Wednesday site for you is doubledivision.org. I mentioned this site in an earlier post, but it was so helpful to my daughter, I want to be sure you didn't miss it! For those others of you who have two- and three-digit division "problems", I am sure you will find a "solution" here also. Large division problems require estimation (sometimes just plain guessing), and lots of frustrating trial and error. Double division, however, eliminates the guess work, and has resulted in nearly 100% correct answers and a much happier and confident math student in my house.

The site is interactive.  You can click repeatedly on "next step" to see how the sample division problem is solved, or else you can plug in your own numbers and see, step by step, how to work your problem using double division.

One of the criticisms in the comments at this website is that the double division method only uses subraction and multiplication by 2, and that it does not reinforce the higher multiplication facts.  (What will the poor child do when it comes time to divide polynomials??  That is no concern to me.  How many polynomials do you divide each day??) Don't your children continue to practice the upper multiplication problems in their daily assignments, anyway? My daughter will learn to do long division the normal way when she is ready.  As a matter of fact, she is beginning to try a few of those "IMPOSSIBLE" problems on her own now! Ah, another one of the beauties of homeschooling, letting them wait to learn a concept when they confident that they can do it.

ANOTHER UPDATE: I don't know if anyone ever reads this page, but I just want to let you all know that the anti-division daughter can now do any division problem on her own, the old-fashioned way.  The previously hated subject, MATH, is now her favorite.   As a matter of fact, her very favorite math activity is DIVISION.  It is because of double-division that this is possible.  I am so very thankful for the confidence that this new method gave her!

Dressy Kitchen Towel

I first posted this tutorial on making a dressy oven door kitchen towel more than two years ago. Since then I have made many of them, and they just get easier! This is by far my most visited page, so I have updated the photos and added a video to demonstrate sewing the underarm seams.  Yesterday I looked at Etsy.com to see what these towels are selling for.  Wow!  Some crafty ladies are asking $20 for them!  I could do ten hours' work for $100...

These cute kitchen towels are relatively inexpensive gifts, especially if you have a stash of buttons and a bunch of extra trim lying around. And once you get the hang of it they don't take very long to whip up.

First of all, pick out a kitchen towel that you like. Next find a coordinating fabric.  You will need a piece about 14" x 28".  Wash and dry your fabric. If it is a wrinkled mess, iron it. Fold your fabric in half, right sides together, so that when you cut out your pattern you will be cutting two identical pieces.

Here is the bodice pattern that I made for it. Sorry you can't read my notes very well. It is 12"x13", with the corners cut out so that the bodice is 8" across the front, and the sleeve side is 6" wide. You don't have to use these exact dimensions.  I used a canning jar lid as a pattern for the head hole, and off-set the circle about 1/2" from the center so that the finished "dress" looks like there is a front and a back. (I did not offset the neck hole for the towel/dress in the above photo.)

 

Cut out your bodice through both layers, and remember to cut out the circle for a neck hole.

Next, cut your towel in half and set it aside.  I found several of these nice quality Laura Ashley towels at Big!Lots! for $2.50 each.

Now take your bodice pieces and pin them together around the neck hole, matching all the sides and corners.  Sew around the neck hole using a 1/4" seam.

Clip into the seam about every 1/2", or less, so that when you turn it right side out, the circle will be nice and even and not shaped like a multi-faceted polygon.  Be careful not to cut into the stitching.

  Take one of the layers, either one, and stuff it through the neck hole.

 Now lay the two pieces together nice and flat, matching the sides, and press the neck seam.

Next, watch. 

Oops, I meant to say that the seam should be trimmed to 1/4" or 3/8". Be sure to clip into the curve, close to the stitching, just like you did with the neck seam.  Lay the bodice flat and press each seam nice and flat.

Turn up a 5/8" hem on the sleeves, turning both the bodice piece and the lining piece to the inside of the fabric, matching the edges at the fold.  Press, then top-stitch close to the edge. 

 

Set the bodice aside.

Now for the towel/skirt. Using your longest stitch length (basting), make a row of stitching 5/8" from the cut edge of both towel pieces, leaving several inches of both spool and bobbin thread at both ends.  Do this again 1/4" inside the first stitching line. 

You are going to gather the towel so that its width will match the width of the bodice. Anchor the bobbin threads down at one end by inserting a pin and then wrapping both threads around the pin in a figure eight. At the other end of the stitching, pull both bobbin threads together with one hand, and with the other hand slide the fabric along the thread so that the towel edge gathers.  When the towel width matches the bodice width, anchor this end of the thread the same way you did the other.

Adjust the gathers so that they are even across the top of the "skirt".  Now pin the towel to the outside front piece of the bodice, right sides together, keeping the lining clear. Set your stitch length back to normal and sew from one side seam to the other, backstitching at each end. This is easier if you have the gathers on the underside. Repeat these steps with the back pieces.

Lay the "dress" out flat so the the inside is face up. Trim the seam to 3/8" (don't cut the facing) and press it towards the bodice.  Your facing should be loose. Turn up the bottom edge of the facing 5/8" so that the pressed fold lies on the stitching line, and hand-sew it down across the bodice on the inside of the seam.

 

 

Here is how your "dress" should look now.  Sorry, I got tricky and added some eyelet to the bodice/skirt seam, and I didn't tell you how to do that.  But you can figure it out.  I have confidence in you.  

You're almost done!  Now you can decorate with trim around the neck edge, sleeves, and/or bottom of bodice.  Just stitch the trim on over the fabric, wrapping the trim ends around the back side.

The final step is to cut four pieces of 1/4" or 3/8" cross-grain ribbon to about 8", and tack one piece to each side of the front and back of the bodice. I use a bit of FrayCheck on the raw edges of the ribbon to keep it from raveling.  Snaps would be good, too, or Velcro. Use your imagination.

Hang the dress over your oven door handle and tie both sides. Voila!

 

If you have questions leave a comment, and I will answer in forum style, commenting back to you on this page. Happy sewing and giving!

Which Bible? Part II

This post is being written in response to the comments I got on my last post.  I didn't want to try to fit all this multitude of words into that little teeny comment box, so unless you click on someone else's blog right now, you are going to be bombarded with my reply to /johnightthirtytwo and BibleMan. Oh, wait a second. Before I invite more fire, I wanted to tell you all (all but 8 of you, 8 wonderful ladies who are my FRIENDS) that I was disappointed in the results of my delurking day! Only EIGHT?? Who's still just lurking?  I got way more than that on my counter... out with it.  Oh, okayyy, you don't have to say you love my blog.  Just post a comment. And oh, whoever you are, Anonymous non-HSB'er, you didn't leave me a way to contact you to say thank you!  So leave another one :o)  And now everyone, go get your tomatoes, you have time.  This is a long post.

Whoa!  See what I mean about it being a divisive issue?  Both of you raised some good points.  In answer to Short, the titles, subtitles, and chapter headings were not a part of the inspired, preserved words of God, but were inserted later by publishers who do not claim infallibility. The chapter and verse numbers and the paragraph markings were also added later. I agree with you.  I have seen some misleading headings when looking for passages in my own Bible. But that is not what I am talking about when comparing Bibles.

You said the KJV (which, by the way, was not the first English translation) has many errors when compared with the Hebrew. How many Hebrew texts are you talking about?  What are you comparing the KJV to?  And how do you know which one is wrong? (The originals don’t exist anymore – I know King Jehoiakim threw one of Jeremiah’s original manuscripts into the fire!)  I don’t know how many Hebrew texts there are, but I do know that there are over 5000 surviving Greek texts manuscripts which contain all or part of the New Testament. These 5000+ manuscripts agree with each other 95% of the time, and it is from these texts, called the Textus Receptus, that the KJV was translated. The other 5%, called the Alexandrian manuscripts, make up the differences between the KJV and ALL of the other modern translations, accounting for between 5000 and 36,000 differences, depending on which translation you are looking at, AND they do not even agree with each other much of the time!  The Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus, two of the manuscripts on which modern translators rely very heavily, are in this group of revised Greek texts.  This manuscript evidence stuff can get really deep, but it’s really not that hard to understand. (After all, even I can get it! lol!)

 For example, look at Mark 16, regarding the resurrection of Christ.  Six hundred and eighteen texts include the last twelve verses.  The Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus both leave out this portion of the scripture.  But there is NOT ONE other manuscript that leaves out these verses!  Yet look in your modern Bible. The NASB puts these verses in brackets, saying these verses “probably” were not in the original writings.  The other modern versions use brackets or footnotes to indicate this unfortunate “error” or “ambiguity” in translation also.  That is ridiculous!  If 618 people said they witnessed a crime and two said it didn’t happen, whom would you believe? The issue here is TRUTH. If the verses are true, what is the point of removing them, except to cast doubt on God’s Word??

 Bible Man had a good point, which is that the underlying issue here is one of final authority.  As long as we do not believe God kept his words for us, we are free to disagree with the Bible and change it.  Satan cast doubt on God’s Word right from the start of Genesis.  He asked Eve, “Yea, hath God said…?” and men have been questioning God’s Word ever since. Without God’s Word being the final authority, we ourselves will choose what to believe and what to reject.  You don’t believe Mary was a virgin? Okay, take that part out.  You don’t believe in the blood atonement?  Okay, just take the blood out. You don’t believe Jesus Christ was God manifest in the flesh?  Just attack the verses that prove his deity. What’s left? Certainly nothing to show sinners their need of Jesus Christ.

 Yes, each Bible has an agenda.  The agenda of the modern bibles is to make you doubt God and his authority.  God’s agenda in preserving his words in the King James Bible was to show English-speaking people all over the world their need to be saved from sin and hell. The Bible says we are saved through FAITH, Eph. 2:8,9. How do we get faith?  From the incorruptible Word of God, Romans 10:17 and 1 Peter 1:23.

 So if one reads the right Bible, he can get enough faith to believe that God meant HIM/her when he said, “ For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 

 Then he looks further into the Book and sees that “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord,” Romans 6:23, and “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8. 

 Then he can learn the answer, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved,” Romans 10:9.  “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” 1 Peter 2:24

 The Bible also says, “…and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” 1 John 1:7, and “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

 “Which Bible” is vitally important to our soul’s salvation.( “…the HOLY scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto SALVATION through FAITH which is in Christ Jesus,” 2 Tim. 3:15.)  1 Peter 1:23 says, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of INCORRUPTIBLE, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”  Right there is a promise of preservation, and there are others, Psalm 12, Mt 24:35, Ps. 119:89. “The word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day,” Jn. 12:48 – can we be judged by it, if we don’t have it?

 So then, finally, do we have God’s perfect, inspired, preserved Word today? (Not, was it perfect when it was written.)  And if we DO have God’s Word today, which Bible is it???  You don’t have to believe it is the KJV, but if you believe what God has told us about his word, you must believe that he has given it to you to believe and to understand and to be accountable to. Find the one that is perfect and without error, not according to human standard, but according to its own standard, “comparing spiritual things with spiritual”. You will then have found a Bible that you can trust your soul to.

Thank you, Short, for challenging me! No ruffled feathers here. Iron sharpeneth iron.

Which Bible?

This afternoon I came across a random blog written by a couple of young ladies, and I was very impressed.  Many of the kids’ blogs I have seen are disappointing at best, but these girls are really trying to have a good testimony for the Lord Jesus, and to point others the right way.  One of the entries was a fictional advice column called “Dear Margaret”, and the questions had to do with Bible versions. Go read it. Young Rose did a good job of answering her “writer”, but I felt "led" to help her out a bit.  I posted a comment (edited a bit, since I have thought on it more), and here it is:

Dear Rose,

I found your blog at random, and I was very interested to see your answers to the above questions. You had some good thoughts, but may I add to them?  There are some very important reasons why one’s choice in Bibles is critical.  It is because we have so many different Bibles that there are so many different “Christian” doctrines.

Is faith in the blood of Jesus alone sufficient to wash away sins?

Is a sinner regenerated by faith in Christ, or by faith in water baptism?

Are you eternally secure (is Christ’s gift of salvation eternal or is it temporary)? 

Is salvation a gift, or must I do good works to go to heaven?

Was Mary a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus? 

Was Jesus 100% God and 100% man? 

Is there only one God? 

Your answers to these critical questions will depend on which Bible you believe to be God’s Word (if you read it), or which Bible you are taught from. Where is the Word of God today?  Do we have the actual words of God now?  Be careful how you answer. If we do not have God’s Word today, then God lied when he promised to preserve his words (emphasis on words, not message or ideas) in Psalm 12, and in other places.

The world IS changing, and most people, even Christians, are getting farther and farther from the Bible. One of the reasons why there are so many “bibles” is that there is money to be had every time someone can come up with a “new” one to sell. You were right when you said possibly some of the translators weren’t satisfied with the original words, and wanted to change them.  Many of the translators of the modern Bible versions have completely changed doctrinal truths by changing words, deleting words, or adding words. (The Bible itself gives us serious warnings against doing this!) They have left out the blood of Christ hundreds of times.  They have made Jesus merely a man, and not God, or the Son of God, or the Christ. They have made his mother, Mary, a “young woman”, rather than a virgin.  They have given Satan the name of Jesus, the “Morning Star”. Some of the translators of the modern versions were spiritists who held seances. At least one is a homosexual. These men do not believe in the authority of God's Word. YES, it is critical which Bible you read! 

Also, there is a good reason for the thee’s and thou’s.  In old English, as with many foreign languages, there is a different word for “you”, singular, and “you”, plural.  By paying special attention to whether a verse says, “thee” or “ye”, you can tell whether the person is speaking to one person or to a group of people.  That is simple, isn’t it?  Rather than confusing us, the thee’s and thou’s clear things up!

You are right about the KJV.  Stick with it.   You can get more information about this issue in a book called, Let’s Weigh the Evidence, from Chick Publications.  It is a small book, and easy to understand. God bless you for trying to point other young ladies in the right direction!

Mrs J.

I have been thinking about posting some things about the Bible for a while, anyway, and here’s a start.  I think most of us would agree it is one of our goals to train up our children (and ourselves!) in the way of the Lord, but we are not all using the same roadmap.  Many Christians think this is a divisive issue.  I am all for the unity of the believers, but not at the expense of truth.  Will be interesting to see where we go from here.

De-Lurking Day

I tried, I really did.  When I started this blog, I promised myself not to become dependent on cyber-appreciation.  But I am coming out of the closet. (Thank you,Tracy, for being an inspiration to me -- it's no secret how comment-dependent you are!)  Now that I have confessed I have a problem, would you help me out?  Everyone who has been merely lurking, please leave a comment.  Especially if you have never left one before, or if you rarely do.  I want to know you are there!  Just say something like, "I am here, and I live in the _____________ area, and I love/tolerate/despise your blog." In exchange for your support of my habit, I will, in turn, leave YOU a comment.  Deal?

Tips for the New School Year

Those of you who don't know Sprittibee need to go over and meet her.  As with most blogs I recommend from time to time, I have to add my disclaimer, because doctrinally we do not agree on some Bible truths.  But this lady is a wealth of homeschool wisdom.  Be sure to check out these tips for the new school year:

Sprittibee's Favorite Homeschool Advice

(I wish I had written these.  Come to think of it, I wish I practiced all these tips!)

Now That's More Like It

You Are 16% California

You are a bogus Californian. Go back to the East Coast.

How California Are You?

But East Coast?  How about Minnesota? or Montana?

Another Dumb Quiz

I was sitting here last night just poking around on my computer, too lazy to go to bed, and I did this quiz, Where Does Your Inner Californian Belong? (whatever that means). I was curious, because I am from California originally -- Orange County, to be exact. I grew up there, moved away from there, and was saved from there when I met the Lord Jesus Christ!  Believe me, it is a good place to be FROM.  Every time I go home to my parents' house (my childhood home), I am aghast, dismayed, disgusted at how image-oriented and totally VAIN the whole area is. I often pray that God will make my kids forget the things they see and hear there, that would draw their hearts away from him. OC is maybe the biggest Vanity Fair on the face of the earth, second to Beverly Hills which, for image's sake, has no funeral homes, landfills, or other "negatives".  Well, now that I think about it, maybe it is third.  I just saw an article about NYC, where the Golden People are spending, on average, $30 for a quart of bottled WATER, one with just the right designer label. One hot-selling brand is $55/qt!!!

So how did my quiz turn out?  Where does my "inner Californian" belong?

Orange County

You're rich, pretty, and living a charmed life. (Or you seriously wish you were.) From Disneyland to Laguna Beach, you're all about living the California dream life. Just make sure to marry rich - so you don't have to work for it!

Where Does Your Inner Californian Belong?

  No. First of all, I am not rich, unless I have some treasures stored up in heaven.  I am not pretty, as pretty goes.  And I do live a blessed life, but not a charmed one. Disneyland? Not anymore.  I can't support that industry with a clean conscience. And no, I am not all about living the California dream life.  I have eternal life to look forward to! So does this mean that in my inner person, I am really wishing I was back there again?  No, I can truthfully say it does not.  It is one of the last places on earth I would want to live.  Who writes these dumb quizzes, anyway?  (And why do I waste my time on them??  My fault, lol!) I have to admit, though, I do love the ocean.  But God made that...

(I know some of you readers live in So Cal, and even OC.  Just ignore my ranting, if you will.)

Another Great Morning at the Lake

(Notice Dad in his "Lifeguard Dad on Duty" shirt, from Familyman Ministries.)

Grocery Bills Again

Thank you, Jane and JoAnn, for helping me out with my grocery question (see post below).  I guess I feel a teeny bit better, not about the amount of money the belly god is getting from us, but that I am doing better than two of my friends.   I would still like to hear from others of you.  Does anyone out there spend less than $100 per person, per month on groceries?  If so, I would like to know how you do it (besides growing your own produce, because we can't do that here).