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Please pray with me and for me.
Eternal God, God of truth and light, shine in our hearts and minds this day the light of your wisdom. Forgive our foolish ways: the way we try to live our lives as if they were our own, the way we follow our own devices and desires rather than walk our own truths rather than obey your truth.
We are not as thoughtful, wise, and discerning, as we like to think. We need your guidance. Therefore we pray that in this time of worship we might not only receive Your comfort, Your love, and Your care, but also Your truth.
Speak to us, Father God, show us Your way, and having shown us Your truth, give us the wisdom to follow. Amen
The headlines read:
SPRINGFIELD NEWS-SUN SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 5, 2009: Bible to undergo revision; gender terms under fire - Last revision was plagued by controversy that pitted experts against each other.
The top-selling Bible in North America will undergo its first revision in 25 years, modernizing the language in some sections and promising to reopen a contentious debate about changing gender terms in the sacred text.
The New International Version, the Bible of choice for conservative evangelicals, will be revised to reflect changes in English usage and advances in Biblical scholarship, it was announced Tuesday. The revision is to be completed late next year and published in 2011.
“We want to reach English speakers across the globe with a Bible that is accurate, accessible and that speaks to readers in a language they can understand,” said Keith Danby, global president and CEO of Biblica, a Colorado Springs.-based Christian ministry that hold the New International
copyright.
But past attempts to remake the NIV for contemporary audiences in different editions have been plagued by controversies about general language that have pitted theological conservatives against each other.
The changes did not make all men “people” or remove male references to God, but instead involved dropping gender-specific terms when translators judged the original text didn’t mean it. So in some verses, references to “sons of God” become “Children of God.”
Supporters say gender inclusive changes are more accurate and make the Bible more accessible, but critics’ contend they twist meaning or smack of political correctness.
I remember when I first began reading the Bible and I struggled as I read of God who the Bible states very clearly made the heavens and the earth and all that we know in our lives today in respect to life, breathing, sunshine, sunset, animals, and the water. The Bible makes it very clear that on the 7th Day He rested, God rested, and here is where I first remember realizing that God is a male.
My problem with reading the Bible began as I read about who God is from the beginning of the Bible as it is very evident:
God is creative, he made you and I.
God is eternal, forever with us.
God chose to make us, we are not a mistake, and we matter to God
God can have anger and God can be loving but firm
It was as though everything I learned about God from reading the Bible went against everything as I understood a male to be. You mean you can cuddle and be loving and be a man? I thought to be a man you had to use a hand, a belt, and grab hold of me with a firm grip that sometimes hurt as much as a spanking with a hand and or a belt.
As I read about God I pictured a man but I did not know how to describe this man. There was a part of what I read that reminded me of my favorite aunt or of a mom, or the lady next door who always so loved me and listened to me as I talked.
How can you be physically male and be female in your emotions? I just didn’t get it?
Have you been there? Reading the Bible and not getting it?
Open your Bible to the Book of Acts 5:19-25 where we learn prior to verse 19 that the Apostles met opposition with the Sadducees who were jealous and placed the Apostles in jail. Acts 5:19-25.
But an angel of the Lord came at night, opened the gates of the jail, and brought the Apostles out. Then the angel of the Lord told the Apostles, “Go to the temple and give the people the message of life!” So at daybreak the Apostles entered the Temple, as they were told, and immediately began teaching. When the high priest and his officials arrived, they convened the high council-the full assembly of the elders of Israel. Then they sent for the Apostles to be brought from the jail for trial. But when the Temple guards went to the jail, the Apostles were gone. So the Temple guards returned to the council and reported, “The jail was securely loc ked, with the guards standing outside, but when we opened the gates, nobody was there!” When the captain of the temple guard and the head priest heard this, they were perplexed, wondering where it would all end. Then someone arrived with startling news: “The men you put in jail are standing in the Temple, teaching the people.”
Then look at what happened, Acts 5: 26-32
The captain went with his Temple guards and arrested the apostles, but without violence for they were afraid the people would stone them. Then the captain and the Temple guards brought the apostles before the high council, where the high priest confronted them. “Didn’t we tell you never again to teach in this man’s (Jesus) name?” he demanded. “Instead you have filled all Jerusalem with your teaching about him, (Jesus) and you make us responsible for his death!” But Peter and the Apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than any human authority. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead after you killed him on a cross. Then God put him in a place of honor at his right hand as Prince and Savior. He did this so the people of Israel would repent of their sins and be forgiven. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit, who is given by God to those who obey him.”
I stand here at this moment in disgust over the big deal that has been made, is being made, over the Bible undergoing revision to make it gender friendly.
Is the issue here God’s children comprehending God’s word; or is the issue scholars who have to show how college smart they are? Is the issue that God’s children don’t understand what they are reading in the B-I-B-L-E,
Basic Instruction Before
Leaving Earth, or is the issue clearly stated in the newspaper article I began this sermon with? Listen closely, “But past attempts to remake the New International Version for contemporary audiences in different editions have been plagued by controversies about gender language that have pitted theological conservatives against each other.”
Did you hear the ending statement? “that have pitted theological conservatives against each other.”
Is the real issue a gender language issue, or an intellectual mind game? Sometimes we get so caught up in our intelligence that we can’t see the picture for looking at it. Sometimes we become so smart that we become stupid. It’s as if we become so focused on things of this world that we cannot be focused on God’s presence in our lives.
The Temple guards and high priest couldn’t understand how the Apostles escaped from jail when everything was locked up securely. The Temple guards and the high priest knew what they saw with the eyes in their head but they were unable to see the truth with their hearts. They were Intellectually intelligent, but blind in faith.
I learned as a youngster and I believe as an adult that there is only one way to get to heaven. It is not by intelligence or by using gender inclusive language. The only way to heaven I believe is by praying the sinners’ prayer and accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I have learned and believe that a high school diploma or an equivalent will get you to the next step.
A college degree will open doors to a brighter future but if you don’t know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior you are on a one-way road to an eternal hell.
I learned as a youngster that what matters is not head smarts but heart smart. Did you hear what I just said? I learned as a youngster that what matters is not head smart but heart smart. My brain struggles to comprehend much of the Bible.
My heart listens as God speaks to me and through my heart the Bible speaks to me.
Jesus loves me this I know not because a college professor or an intellect told me but because I feel Jesus love in my heart. That is why we can read God’s Word over and over and get a different meaning from the same Scripture. Man’s way often leads us to a hopeless end but God’s way leads us to an endless feeling of hope.
What amazes me is society gets so wrapped up in their intelligence that they forget that the seed goes down into the soil and somehow corn and crops grow up. The seed goes down into the ground and somehow, flowers bloom.
In fact if you come to visit Pilar and I at our house I must warn you that you are putting your life at risk. You could be hit on top of the head; you could end up on your back. The squirrels at the Mock house are busy right now preparing for winter as they have built their winter nest and are now storing their nuts. Pilar and I are convinced because we have seen the squirrels watching us from their perch on their tree limb. Pilar and I are convinced that the squirrels wait for us to come out of the house or to step out of our vehicle and then they throw nuts down on us for their entertainment as we tip tow through the nuts and yelp when one, sometimes two, land on top of our head. We are convinced we are the squirrels’ entertainment, “Human at 2:00, FIRE!”
These animals of God are wise enough to take care of what they need to do for the long winter’s day ahead of them. Let us be like nature and be prepared in God’s Word for the days that lie ahead.
In the end what matters is not gender, what matters is our salvation. What matters when we get to heaven are these words spoken from God to you and me as we stand before Him, “Job well done faithful servant. Welcome to heaven.
As we enter into prayer, consider Proverbs 3:5-8
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge the Lord, and the Lord will make your paths straight. Be not wise in your own eyes; respect the Lord, and turn away evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Father God, thank you for loving me, for loving us, just as we are, as Your child. Thank You Father God for accepting us with our mistakes and understanding our struggles in our daily lives. Thank You Father God that we are inclusive just as we are for in heaven there are no male or female, rich or poor, no color; only the souls of those who have committed their life to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Amen
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