Merry Christmas

May God bless you this Christmas and may we never forget that we have a God who came to be with us.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.


But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”


All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”—which means, “God with us.”


Matthew 1:18-23

Happy Thanksgiving

I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes. The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad. Lord, save us!
Lord, grant us success! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God,
and he has made his light shine on us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God, and I will exalt you. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever. (Psalm 118:21-29 NIV)

Scripture as Story: A Review of The Voice New Testament

This semester I have been teaching Principles of Bible Study 1 at LCU. One of the things that I have been trying to emphasize to my students is the fact that God's revelation comes to us through the medium of story. There are letters, laws, poems, proverbs, and prophetic visions, but the overwhelming sense of Scripture is that it is a story. God's story of how he created the world, we broke creation, he sent his Son to fix it, and how ultimately he will come to restore the world and live with us. This new Bible, simply called The Voice, aims at helping us see scripture as a story. It is a new approach to scripture that combines the efforts of Biblical scholars and Christian writers and musicians in an effort to give us a more dramatic and story like version of the Bible. They have taken great care to translate the Greek as best as possible to communicate the meaning of the text. This is done in conjunction with artists who give the words some depth to engage the reader. Simply, The Voice is a dynamic equivalent translation of the Bible that aims as presenting the Bible artfully.

There are a lot of things that I like about this translation. First, I believe that it is more useful than a paraphrase like The Message. While the Message has been helpful to many, it is the work of one man, while the Voice is a collaboration of many scholars, artists, and pastors which adds to the strength of the translation. Also, when reading sections of the Voice, I was struck by how similar it was to typical Bible translations and yet at the same time it was easier to read than many translations. While it is easier to read like a paraphrase, it doesn't read like a typical paraphrase. It still feels like it is using language that would be familiar to someone who has read the Bible and yet easier to understand for those who do not have much experience with the Bible. In the way that it is written, it would be a great translation to read on a Sunday Morning, especially if you want to "dramatize" the Bible. It has been translated with the help of writers and musicians, it makes for an already dramatized version. The dialogue in the voice even appears in play like format. Since I am on a team that plans Sunday morning worship services, I will be adding readings from the Voice translation when a more dynamic reading is needed.

For those who are worried about the of translation from Greek to English, I think the Voice offers one of the best paraphrase/dynamic equivalents thus far. The majority of the text comes from the Greek text. On occasion they will add in phrases that either aid in understanding or emphasize something in the text that may not be in the Greek text. These additions are in italics so that it is easy to see when these additions have been made. As far as how it has been translated, there were times that I wonder why they changed from the typical wording (like John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Voice"), but so far I have not found anything that concerns me about the way it has been translated.

Overall, I think that this is a fantastic addition to anyone's Bible reading. I, personally, cannot wait for the entire Bible to be released next year and I hope that it will be available for Logos so that I can have it in that form. I even purchased their translation of the Psalms because I think that it will be helpful in worship planning. This Bible is useful for anyone new to Scripture or just trying to get a fresh artistic look at the Bible. If you are eager to read it, they have John available on their website www.hearthevoice.com. I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to wait until the whole Bible is available, but I would encourage you to purchase it at some point.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Merry Christmas!

Today begins the Christmas Season. No the Christmas season does not start in December (or in November). Christmas officially begins on the 25th and goes for twelve days. So I would encourage you not to just celebrate Christmas today, but for the next twelve. Give to others and celebrate the great miracle of the incarnation. I also would encourage you to remember the words of Paul from Philippians.

In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

Who, being in very nature God,
   did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
   by taking the very nature of a servant,
   being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
   he humbled himself
   by becoming obedient to death—
      even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
   and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11 (NIV)


Merry Christmas!

Good Friday

It's Good Friday, and I don't need to add my own words to what this day is all about. Instead, I will leave you with this:

Matthew 27:45-56

From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.  About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means,“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split.  The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life.  They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Sonc of God!”

 Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.  Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

Romans 5:6-11

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!  For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!  Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.