Sometimes Older Means Better

We are so into “new” in America. Marketing experts know that if there is any conceivable way that they can find to put the word “new” on a product, it will improve the product’s chances of getting a look, a second look, and an eventual sale.

Most Christians would probably be surprised to find out that the number of Bible translations in the English language is fast approaching 500. That’s right!  There are almost 500 translations. Of course many of them are so obscure, odds are that you will never hear of them, let alone ever see them.

Step into you average Christian bookstore and you will have to face the choice between several translations. No, you won’t have hundreds to choose from, but you will probably have the option between most of these popular translations:

The Last Verse of Our National Anthem

Have you seen the fourth and final verse of The Star-Spangled Banner by Francis Scott Key? Here it is:

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war’s desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav’n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: “In God is our trust.”
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

John Piper on Retaining Memorized Scripture

Very good counsel HERE.

Joshua Harris and Twitter

Joshua Harris offers this brilliant, humorous perspective about Twitter, which I am on, in case you didn’t know.

Brian Regan on Boasting

Then what becomes of our boasting? – Romans 3.27a

Gotta love this video where Brian Regan talks about the common human condition of wanting to one-up others.

Read Through the KJV in 2011

2011 marks the 400th anniversary of the publication of the most influential book in English and American history: the King James Version Bible (KJV). What better way is there to celebrate this occasion by reading it? Consider joining me and many others as we take on this rewarding challenge.

Yes, the language is antiquated. But it also has a beautiful rhythm to it. Another advantage I have noticed in reading the King James is how it causes me to slow down and concentrate more. Because the language is more difficult, it forces me to think more about what I am reading, which creates a great opportunity for me to meditate on the meaning.

If you are on Facebook, hop over to the group I’ve started and sign on!

Baby Got Book

Lebron’s Big Decision

Here’s a different angle on the Lebron story…my angle.

WDJLL – What Did Jesus Look Like?

Ok, so we all know what the Hollywood and Sunday School Jesus look like – pretty much the same white guy with the gentle, endearing smile and the long flowing hair.

Well, forget that image. Three things we are pretty certain are not true about our modern idea of the physical looks of Jesus of Nazareth:

1. Jesus did not have long hair. Otherwise the apostle Paul would have had to qualify his statement to the Corinthian church:

Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him…? – 1 Corinthians 11.14, ESV

2. Jesus was not European white. He was from the ancient mediterranean, which meant that he most likely had dark olive skin.

3. By today’s standards he was not tall nor especially attractive. In fact there was nothing about him physically that would cause him to really stand out from the crowd. Isaiah the prophet said of him:

…he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him… – Isa. 53:2, ESV

From studying skeletal remains from the 1st Century, archaeologists have concluded that the average male of Christ’s time was barely over 5 feet tall (5’1″) and weighed in at about 110 lbs.

For more details, check out Justin Taylor’s fascinating post.

Tweet-A-Holics

I don’t know how some people are so creative as to come up with so many good tweets so many times a day. I’m doing good to tweet once a day. I try to tweet something encouraging or spiritually challenging, but occasionally a personal tweet gets sent out. I got a kick out of this and hope you do too: