Which Bible version should I use?

Which Bible version should I use? is a common question in these days.  I took a course in biblical interpretation and the instruction spent some fair amount of time discussing the popular versions of the bible.  The biggest objection with the King James version is that it is written in a way as to make it difficult to understand.  I will admit that we say "you and instead of thee or thou and there are better choices for some words.  In one verse, for example , the translators of the KJV used the word "meet" but a better choice would have been "right".  Paul is translated to have said "If you etc" but a better translation would have been "Since"  In II Corinthians 5:17  the verse reads "all things pass away, all things become new".  A better translation would be to have used "becoming" and "passing" as we don't go from a new born convert while we are praying and a fully mature Christian as soon as we say amen.  It takes 24 years for the average human being to reach full maturity but if someone calls themselves a Christian everyone expects them to be an Apostle Paul from the get-go.
   The professor went on to discuss the various classes of translations, giving us their strengths and weaknesses.  At the end of his discussion he made this statement " The King James version is a very good translation."  What this professor and many others like him are saying is that as far as being true to the original transcript, the King James version is the best translation out there.  Our problem is not with the age of the language used in the translation.  If we could but know the original language then we could have a greatly appreciation of the poetry that many sections of scripture really are.  If we could but have an appreciation for the culture that the writers of the various books lived in then we could better appreciate their viewpoints.  If we just knew the questions that Paul was answering from the various churches then we could have a far better understanding of the answers.
  If you think I am just blowing smoke consider the instructions on many devices we buy today.
I recently purchased a smart band.  Instruction one reads as follows:  The smart band need to pair with smart phone through app.  Before downloading please refer to working condition for mobile."
That is very poor English even though it is an accurate translation When I first read this I had no idea what the manufacturer was trying to tell me.  One can translate the manufacturers words several different ways but one will never understand what he is trying to say unless you understand his way of thinking.  I have learned that what was meant to be conveyed was that if you have an Android phone that is a version 4.4 or less the smart band will not work.  Required is a version 4.5 or newer.  Most people understand what a 4.4 or 4.5 version means.  If you don't know then you will need to do some additional research.
  The same thing is true of scriptures.  It takes study and research to fully understand what the bible is teaching us.
  If I do not own a smart band or a Android smart phone then the instructions will never fully make sense.  If you have not accepted Jesus as your savior and Lord, then the bible  will never make sense.
Some parts are written to the lost and those parts everyone can comprehend.  You are lost,  Jesus is the savior.  Accept Jesus and live.   That is simple.   Have smart phone of a 4.5 version or greater, have a smart band, download app for smart bands.  You are good to go.

That's not right

From an MSN article "In Maine, Christmas directions should be taken down before January 14th. After that, it’s a law violation."

  Maybe the article meant to say decorations.

Confederate flag and southern soldier statues.

  Many Southerners, especially conservatives,  want the right to fly the Stars and Bars claiming it is their heritage and that flag wasn't the battle flag.    When I was in high school, back before integration, the school band played  "Dixie land" after every touchdown our school scored. The year the school integrated that practice stopped.  The song was about regional pride and had nothing to do with slavery but I suppose certain people found the line "in the land of cotton" offensive but it is hard to find a rhyme for forgotten.  At first I thought it was wrong to quit playing that song and I have never been to see my high school play another game.  It was a matter of school pride.  Somehow I thought that if we accepted some of their culture then they should accept some of ours.
  Being white, I know how others were treated and how we think  of other races.  It is okay to dislike another person for whatever reason you find to dislike them.  We don't like all our co-workers, our neighbors, our associates, or even our family. Many times we don't even like ourselves.   What is not okay is to act on our dislikes to the harm of that disliked person.  It is wrong; legally, morally, and religiously wrong.
  Over the years I have come to appreciate the value of symbols.  I'm  old school when it comes to dressing for church and I have a different lapel pin for each of my suits.  I have an American flag, a fish, a cross, praying hands, a song note, and other symbols.  A cross represents what Christ did for us at Calvary, the flag represents the ideas and ideals that this country stands for, at least in principle.
Symbols are an easy way to convey a message.  I think the swastika was once a peace symbol but after it was adopted by the Nazi party it has become to stand for white supremacy and hate.  The Bars and Stars once stood for Southern Pride but as the country has tried to move beyond the thoughts and fears that divided us, certain segments of society  has adopted that symbol as a rallying point for keeping alive the old ways and wrongful thoughts.  That symbol once stood for pride, and for a few it still does, but for the most part it stands for hate, white pride, or just plain refusal to let go of the past.    To be honest, statues are more than just symbols.  They are a larger than life tribute to a person's life and to what they stood for.  To a southern white Robert E. Lee was an honorable man of great character, a brilliant mind, brave, strong and true.    To a black person, he represents the mindset that wanted to keep them in slavery forever.   If the circumstance had been reversed, I don't think whites would like seeing statues to the person who wanted to keep them in bondage either.

   Most white people claim they aren't prejudice but that just isn't so.  They are just as prejudice as I am.  So are blacks, Asians, and every other person walking the face of the earth.  We all prefer to be with people that are similar to us in age, looks, values, income levels, education levels, and race.
  Dixie once represented the best of my high school, the confederate offered a sense of pride in my identity, and Robert E. Lee was a good man and a great leader. I no longer listen to Dixie, pat homage to the Confederate flag,  nor do I look with pride at Robert E. Lee.  He was a good man and a great leader and he may have been against slavery.  I don't really know.  But I do know that now his likeness represents southern pride.  I'm still a proud southerner but not of the all  things  Southern.
 
   I can also embrace Malcom X and Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks, and David Barr who invited me to share Thanksgiving with his family when I was having a hard time with life, and to Geneva Brown who taught me the evil of discrimination and Junior Dula who taught me the value of all people.

Car Problems

My wife and her granddaughter went to the beech for several days back in June and on the trip home the check engine light in her car came on.  We took the car to the repair shop the next day and except for 5 days it has been at the repair shop.  The check engine light is still on.  Every time on part is replaced the codes indicate there is another problem.  The entire computer system has been replaced but the car still says it is still having problems.
  I told the shop not to worry about it. I'll pick up my car this morning.  It's not fair for the repair shop to keep chasing non existent problems around and the expense is to the point that the car is no longer worth it.

Shrinking Crocs

  It took a lot of convincing before I wore my first set of rubber shoes with holes, known as crocs.  I wear them as water shoes when I go to water aerobics three times a week.  I have my own water weights and stuff my crocs into a bag with the water weights and leave them in the back seat of my car.  Apparently that wasn't a good idea as the crocs are now too small for me to wear.
   I never really thought about the crocs shrinking  but they do.  My wife ordered me a new pair and they are the same size as the ones I have been using but comparing the two pairs, the new ones are a full two inches longer than the old pair.  The crocs themselves are in good shape with no cracks or tears or obvious signs of wear: they just shrank.
  I suppose that is the way with most things.  Eventually everything will let you down .  Everything but Christ.  My savior is one thing that I can always depend on.   If you haven't accepted Jesus yet please do so.  You are also welcome to come worship with me at Academy Street Baptist in Randleman.

Family turned away from airport lounge for wearing Minnie Mouse t-shirts

How and why did this story make the news?  From the headlines one would think that the lounge had a stupid discriminatory policy  or was just being plain  mean by denying a cute little girl access to a lounge her parents had already paid t enter.
  I'm sure the lounge didn't call the press and I doubt the press had reporters there waiting for a big story.  The whole problem is the lounge had a policy in place which is provided to all customers and this lady choose to ignore it assuming that she is the exception to the rule.
  What is really difficult is for the lounge to make a policy that clothing with offensive pictures or language is prohibited.  What one employee of the lounge would determine to be offensive would be okay with another and maybe what would be acceptable to the lounge would be offensive to a customer.  The lounge decided it best to prohibit all clothing with writing and/or pictures.  I know it is just Mickey and Minnie Mouse but Mickey has been banned in some countries because he doesn't wear pants.
  What the headlines should have stated was "Woman's children banned from airport lounge because the Mother neglected to read or decided not to follow lounge policy."  The truth is you are really not that special and the rules do apply to you.

Work postponed

I didn't get to mow last week as I was away at summer camp and couldn't mow until today because my mower was in the shop.  Of course, with all the rain today mowing is also out until tomorrow or Friday (I'll be in Hickory Thursday, I suppose).  My car is still in the shop.  The replacement part came in and has been installed but the check engine light still came on indicating one of the parts recently replaced is now not working.  Hopefully I'll get it back to my wife can go to the doctor and I can go see my mom.
  My wife got home from the beach on the 15th of June and I took it to the shop on the 16th.  I got the car back on Monday June 26th and had to take it back on June 30th I got it back the second time on July 14th and put it back in the shop July 16th.  It was in the shop until July 28th and I had to take it back on the 30th.  It like I'm borrowing my own car every two weeks to go to Hickory to see Mom. It's getting rather old.  My other car just received a recall notice and the way things are looking I may be without a vehicle.  At least I could drive my mower, if only it were legal.

Getting it back together

Yesterday, my first day back from camp, was a good one.  I went to the lawn mower repair shop, paid the charges and arranged for delivery then by the barbers for a haircut.  Met people at the church to help a widow move and afterwards went to the store and purchased a new phone and got it programmed.  I also took care of the financial situation.  Hopefully I'll get my car back Monday or Tuesday.

  It certainly will be good to get things back on track.  I will still be minus a TV set but it was a free one although a nice one so I don't feel like I lost monetarily and it was one I never watched (which was the reason I was moving it to begin with).

Finally made it back

  I dropped a TV set and broke it, then my check engine light came on in my car so I sent it to be fixed.  It was the computer system that needed replacing.  My rider mower kept throwing the belt off so I sent it to the shop.  Being the first of the month I had a lot of bills to settle up on and other financial problems to deal with  but I was off to summer camp for the week.
  The first day I was in a canoe which sank.  it was bad enough being drenched in stinky stagnant pond water and sucked into the thick murky bottom but I realized once I was out that I still had my phone with me.  It lasted another day before it gave up the ghost.  Three days later I broke my Kindle and it had to be disposed of.
  Yea, it feels really good to be back home and now I can start taking care of things.  I can now handle the financial problems, deal with the medical appointments, and get the mechanical problems
fixed.   I do have a lot of work to do to get my life back on track but at least now I have the time.
  The fun and games were great and the food was descent but the sleeping conditions were horrible.  I'm glad I finally had the camp experience but I don't think I will want to repeat it, especially at my age.

Good News/bad News

The good news is I got home safe from my resent trip to Hickory to visit Mom.  She is now almost totally blind and almost deaf so at 92 is quite a handful to get in and out of the car.  She didn't get to go home but I did get her out for lunch and to her hairdresser.
  After having my car in the shop for two weeks, I got it back in time to make the trip to Hickory but the check engine light came on for the third time in a month.
This time the news was bad.  It seems it is the computer system.  That makes me scary of my other car.  I have owned two Kia's and a Hyundai and in one Hyundai and one Kia the computer system went out soon after the vehicle reach 60000 miles and I have just turned over 60000 miles on my other car.  

The case for Christ

Today, being a Christian is not popular.  Once upon a time even non Christian showed respect to church going people and to the pastors of churches but in todays culture not even God gets respect and most people think of Christians as being delusional. But I find serving Christ to be the one thing that gives meaning to life and security to everyday living.  Without Christ I am nothing.

sears and Amazon

Amazon.com and Sears came to an agreement by which Amazon.com will begin selling Kenmore appliances.  I have done a lot of business with Sears during my lifetime  but mainly because they carried what I needed but Sears didn't always make doing business with them a pleasant experience.  I distinctly remember one time I purchased a small item but got the wrong one so I took it back to Sears.  I expected to give them the one I had and get the one I needed and go home.  My item was unopened and the two parts were the same price.  But no, Sears could not even handle the transaction at the register.  I had to go to the back of the store to customer service, stand in line fill out a form get a refund then go back to the department to make my new purchase.
  Not only lousy customer service but one never felt appreciated but did feel like they were paying more for an item than it was really worth.  Even so Sears was always a fun store to shop it because they had everything and they were everywhere.  But now I do most of my shopping at Amazon.com.  Shopping is easy, fast. accurate and returns are not problematic at all.    But still one has to be cautious.  Not everything on Amazon is cheaper.
  In fact this week I wanted a certain book and it was $29,00 to $31.00 on Amazon but from the publisher it was $12.99.  In many cases the prices are the same and if they are I'll buy from Amazon rather than the original supplier for two reasons.  First, buying most of my stuff from one place limits the number of places my personal information is and the second reason it is much easier to return things for credit, exchange or Refund through Amazon.  Convenience and confidence means a lot.
  One would think being able to see and handle merchandise before purchasing would have an advantage over ordering from an impersonal website, especially if there was a live person to ask questions  but the truth is, the live person doesn't always know what they are talking about and I have had to return just as big a percentage of items I've purchase in a store as I have things I bought online.  Comparison shopping is so much easier sand one is more likely to find the exact item that meets ones needs online.  I only shop at stores if I need it now or if it is a perishable item (can't see buying ice cream on line even if it does come with free one-day shipping).
 The funny thing about Sears is they began to really expand when they put their emphasis on their catalogue dales.  Roebuck sold his part of the company because he didn't think there was a future in catalogue sales.  Instead of printing and distributing catalogues it would have been so much easier to distribute a web address and Sears could have been the first Amazon.  They had the name recognition and the supply line to have been successful.  But knowing Sears, they would have made you go to a customer service counter and wait in line to make a return
   Not so many years ago Sears made the fateful decision to get out of catalogue stores and concentrate on their brick and mortar operations when the wiser thing to do was to which over to online sales.  But many times we get stuck in a rut and think that if we just refine business as usual we can reclaim our former glory when we need to be either changing with the times or become innovative and initiate those changes.  One has to in order to be successful.

Birth Order matters

The article says 2nd born children most likely to be delinquent.  maybe.  Another article describes traits that indicate intelligence and according to that I have to be stupid.  Not so either.  I suppose if you pick and choose your criteria you can make anything true or false depending on your agenda.

I would be a Democrat except for....

One thing I don't like about politics now a days is that instead of education and the information sharing that is so available with computers today, people seem to be driven further apart by their party labels.  Everything someone of the other party thinks is right is wrong and is destroying our country.  It should not be this way.  Politics has denigrated into the rich versus the poor, big business versus the workers and the religious right versus the non believing left.
  Democrats picture Republicans as being for big business and against the little people and as a bunch of closed minded religious nuts and Republicans picture Democrats as being anything goes,free spending, government program producing, child killing, alternative lifestyle loving socialists.
   I'm a Republican and I do believe our health care system needed fixing, the working man needs help, and we all should be able to live free and feel safe from oppression.   I also believe that if women want to be responsible for their own bodies than they should take care not to have babies they don't want to bring to term.  We should all know how babies are made.  But I don't believe abortion should be a criminal offense  but I don't believe it should be encouraged either.  I don't think homosexuality is an acceptable lifestyle anymore than I believe lying should be socially acceptable.
Lying isn't illegal except under certain circumstances (perjury) and sex isn't illegal (except with minors and as defined in rape statues) Just because I believe homosexuality is an unacceptable lifestyle doesn't not mean I an homophobic any more than my believing lying is unacceptable means I'm misanthropic.
   I do believe the rich are becoming richer and therefor should be paying a bigger share of this countries expenses.  The rich are making much of their money off the backs of the working poor and suppressing the non working poor and should help alieve this problem by investing more in the people
  But I cannot support a party that believes killing babies is acceptable and that homosexuals have the right to get married.  I accept God's law as superior to man's law.  A man does not have the right to lie in court even though our constitution guarantees us freedom of speech.  Homosexuals do not have the right to enter into a marriage even though they do  have the right not to be discriminated against.
One is not the same as the other.

Sponsored click bait

I once enjoyed my home page as a source for news.  One on computer I had MSN and on the other I had Yahoo.  But now it seems that half the articles on the home pages are "sponsored" sites, or in other words, that articles are nothing more than a series of short articles or pictures intended to bring you a long series of advertisements.  They will get you with headlines that read "What Justine Batmen looks like now is simple amazing"  When you open the site they have 27 pictures of various actresses and Justine Batmen will be number 24.  When you finally click through the whole thing you realize you have viewed a series of formerly hot women who are now just a bunch of old folks and you realize that your fantasy women is no longer desirable and you just wasted 15 minutes.
   I do my best to resist the temptation to click on these sites but once in a while a headline really gets my interest.  I had no idea what a teapot scandal was   so instead of click on the article I just searched the term "teapot scandal" and read an article that contained all I wanted to know without having to click the next page button.
  More often, I click on one of these sites because I read the headline but missed the word sponsored hidden by the white background or printed so small that it was difficult to see.
  As a result of these sponsored sites I seldom read my home page anymore and have gone back to watching the news on TV.  I always hated TV news.  They tantalized us with :This common product could be deadly to you and your family" and then promised to give you the details 7 hours from now, leaving you wondering if you are about to use a product that could kill you and then realizing the news comes on 4 hours after you go to bed because you have to get up at 3 am in order to be at work at 5 and won't be able to watch.
  At one time a person could just search his home page for the news article and find out now.  But it seems that in the present day one goes to his home page, finds an article "Common products that kill" click on it and find it is a sponsored site and the newest product in the 48 listed on the site was made unavailable in 1974.  All the while you will used and frustrated so you set your DVR up to record the local news and watch it the next morning while you are fixing your breakfast hoping that no one used that product the night before and you or someone you love won't be found dead in and hour or two.
    When cable TV first came out it was promoted as "Pay TV" but the big selling point was that there were no advertisements.  But now there are more ads on cable than there ever were on "free" TV.
 The same seems to be happening to  computers.  The more we depend on them then more companies try to get us to click on an ad.  We have to watch a 30 second clip before watching a news video nd many times the only difference between the news articles and the headlines is just one or two words.
  Another trick I see is the "Read more" button.  It reminds me of the "continued on page five tagline one finds on headline stores in newspapers.  Page five always turns out to be in section B of the paper which your wife or roommate is reading.  Oh please give me a break.
   It was a cardinal rule of newspapers to never put advertising on the front page.  Except for the Sunday edition and the Wednesday paper, people bought newspapers for the news.   The same is for our homepage.  It should be for the news and now for ads or sponsored sites.  Now, MSN won't even let a person comment on articles.  I guess that is because no matter what is discussed, people will soon resort to political statement and name calling, just like they did in the days when everyone had a CB radio.  The immaturity of the American mind is so unbelieveable.

long hard week

Monday and Tuesday were spent in working in the yard.  While needful and rewarding it was also hot and tiring.  Wednesday I walked the streets passing out tracts for the upcoming church event.  Thursday I went to Hickory to see Mom and then went to church and cleaned the front of the building to tidy things up for tonight's show.  Friday I dropped off my car for repair, mowed the grass and then picked up the food for our pastor's surprise birthday party.  Saturday I spent the morning helping someone move.
  The Anchormen were everything one could hope for and the church was packed out.  I believe it was a successful event for Jim's kids

Jim's kids and the Anchormen

 The Anchormen held a concert at Academy Street Baptist Church in Randleman last night, July 13, 2017.  The church was almost filled to capacity.
  The show was opened by Summit's Trace, a "Country Gospel" band.   The crowd was polite but it was obvious this style of music wasn't a popular choice.  It sounded very much like rock gospel because it had no beer, momma, trains, pick-up trucks, or broken hearts over girls or horses.  They only way I know it was country is because that what the band said it was.  The group even managed to insult the only female service member in attendance.
.  The Anchormen were the opposite.  The group were dressed in suits as opposed to Summit Traces casual  street clothes and they sang Southern Gospel.  The group was totally professional and thoroughly entertaining.   They delivered what the crowd came to hear.
  If you were there then you know who I am.  I was the only person in a suit and tie that wasn't an Anchorman.  Why, you may want to know, was I the only one who wore a suit?  The answer is simple.  I was in God's house and all that I did: printing and passing out mini flyers, painting the railing at the church, and sweeping the cobwebs off the front door just minutes before the first quests arrived was done with the idea of bring glory to my Lord and Savior.  I didn't see last night as only a
fundraiser event for Jim's kids but an opportunity to get a unchurched person into God's house.
  I fully recognize that almost everyone there came to be entertained and entertained we were.  But I saw an opportunity to bring glory to God's name.  We were in His house after all.  So if I am different from everyone else that is okay.  I exist not to please man but to honor God.  Now I am not saying that wearing a suit makes one any more or any less holy than another person .  It isn't about them.

The planet is doomed

Reading stories on my home page this morning and found an article on climate change.  The gest of the article is that we are warming up faster than anticipated.  The horrors the article points out is that by the end of the century Miami and Bangladesh will no longer exist and over half the world's population will have died from heat.  When the permafrost melts off the trapped carbon will accelerate global warming to such a degree that the world will most certainly become uninhabitable for humans.
  But, according to the article, this doesn't have to me.  If only we took the threat more serious and began doing things to prevent the increase in warming we will be able to prevent much of the tragedy,
  The article does mention that there have been 4 or 5 previous periods of time when the climate changed and life on earth was virtually eliminated.   All of these events were climate related except for the meteors that killed off the dinosaurs.  Man was a non influence in all of these events and they happened anyway.  We neither caused nor could we prevent climate change in the past and yet we are urged to believe we are the cause and the prevention method for the current one.  But there is something even more startling than that.  The author said we should pray for the cornfields.
  I suppose in a sub-conscious way he is acknowledging the possibility that there just might be a God.  But from the tone of the article man is in control even if we are out of control and we get to decide our future within the context of science and nature.  Well, the writer is not totally wrong.
  The end is coming and there is  nothing man can do about that but our future is up to us.  That non existent God the writer said to pray to does exist but the way to limit the affects of climate change is through prayer and not controlling carbon emissions.  Accepting Christ as our Lord will assure us that we will not be here when the end comes but will be safe with Jesus.
  Many people don't believe in climate change just as many people do not believe in Jesus but that makes neither any more or any less real.  Many people believe that man can solve our own problems and those many people are correct. but man cannot solve our problems through man but only through Christ.

mark 16;16

All the commentary I have read assumes, as does most Christians, that the baptism is speaking of immersion by water but the verse does not specially say that.  I know the church has two ordinances, The Lord's Supper and Baptism  but those two things are meant to be testimonies and are not requirements for salvation.  What did Mark mean then when he said we must believe and be baptized?  This statement is written in such a way as to make baptism a requirement for salvation.  Scripture seems to make clear that baptism is not a requirement yet this verse states that it definitely is a requirement.
  Most commentators state that baptism is strongly recommended and that Jesus strongly suggested that we should get baptized. and those statement are all well and good but they do not say what this verse says.  This verse states that baptizing is a requirement.  It does not suggest anything.
  I think commentators fail to recognize the truth of this verse because they fail under the power of suggestion.  People have been interpreting this verse as to baptism referring to water baptizing and even in all their learning fail to realize that it is not.  They try so hard to make the bible fit what they believe by trying to explain away the seemingly contradiction between this verse and other scripture.    I do believe that one has to be baptized to order to be saved because the scripture says so as well as that fact demonstrated elsewhere but I do not think this requirement is water baptism but Spiritual baptism.  Jesus told the disciples to wait until the Holy Ghost comes upon them.  I think Paul makes it clear that when a person is saved that received the baptism of the Holy Spirit.  One must believe and be baptized (in the Holy Spirit).
  We cannot make scripture say what we want it to say but must let scripture interpret itself.  
 

Not for Men Only

 Some time back there was an article about saving money on shaving supplies.  I commented that coating my razor blade with baby oil after each use prolonged the blade and thereby saved me money.  Someone replied saying that could not be true but was a matter of lubrication only.  I didn't have an adequate response but I did know that without baby oil I used a blade for two weeks and using baby oil I used a blade for at least two months.  Was it just a matter of lubrication or does baby oil really extend the life of the blade?
   I have two identical razors so I laced a new blade in each.  One I packed in my travel kit and the other I put in my shower.  I purchased a 6.5 oz bottle of baby oil at the dollar store and a plastic soup holder and filled the soup holder with baby oil.  I used this razor before heading to the mountains and got a good shave and the next day I used the travel razor with the same results.  I did not use baby oil on the one in my travel kit.
   Three months later I shaved again with the razor from my travel kit and thought it would rip my face off.  A month later I coated it in baby oil and then shaved with it and while the shave was no rougher it wasn't any better either.  Meanwhile the razor I use every day is still giving me a smooth shave after 5 months.
  My conclusion is that coating a razor with baby oil extends the life of the blade.  Better yet is letting it soak in baby oil between uses.