A Treasure!

I just found the link to an amazing web site - the complete English Standard Version Bible is available on-line. You can read is, browse it, search it, compare it, print it, study it...and even hear it! I just listened to Ephesians 1.

Described as " a new, essentially literal translation that combines word-for-word precision and accuracy with literary excellence, beauty and readability".

This is an incredible resource for every believer. I am so excited! Check it out and see what you think.

http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/

“The ESV satisfies the preaching, memorizing, studying, and reading needs of our church, from children to adults. We are building all of our future ministry around it.” ~ John Piper

“After twenty years of teaching God’s Word and changing translations I have found at last, by God’s grace, a translation that is easy to read and immensely accurate. The ESV is the new first choice for serious students and careful communicators of God’s unchanging Word.”
~ James MacDonald

“Having now read through the ESV several times in my personal devotional life, I have adopted it as the primary text for my teaching and writing ministry. My hope is that the ESV will draw millions of people into the reading and study of God’s Word and into a more intimate relationship with the God of the Word.”
~ Nancy Leigh DeMoss

“Retaining the majesty of language with the clarity of thought, the English Standard Version is a grand accomplishment.”
~ Dr. Ravi Zacharias

“The ESV represents a new level of excellence in Bible translations—combining unquestionable accuracy in translation with a beautiful style of expression. It is faithful to the text, easy to understand, and a pleasure to read. This is a translation you can trust.”
~ Dr. R. Albert Mohler

I Choose to Trust

This post is for anyone who needs to know today that you can trust your God. He is near.

"Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:10

"Trust is the antidote to anxiety; it's the resolution of worry and the destruction of fear.

Trust is the act of my will to give my burdens to God. It's like a muscle--as you exercise it, trust gets stronger.

Trust is walking forward moment by moment, having rolled your burden onto God. You've no doubt said, "I gave it to God once, but here it is again in my grip." When you sense that you've taken it back again, get back on your knees, get the burden back on God, get on your feet again, and continue to trust.

Trust means you anchor your heart in the reality of God's awareness of your situation. He sees more than you can ever see.

God, who loves you and is committed to you, will not disappoint you now or in the future if you put your weight fully on Him."

~ James MacDonald

I wonder.....

Ok, this is a random post, but thot I would just get it out there, cause I've been wondering about this for nearly three weeks now:

I was holding my Bible in church a few weeks ago, slowly paging thru it, enjoying all the familiar verses, words and phrases on each page, when suddenly I wondered how much of the Bible I have actually read....and how much I have missed?

Wouldn't it be interesting if everything in the Bible that I have ever read would be suddenly be highlighted in yellow so I could see exactly what parts I have read...and missed.

And then it occurred to me: I have never ever actually, physically, deliberately, succinctly read thru the entire Bible.

Wow, that really hit me hard. I grew up in the church, had 12 yrs of Christian education, have studied and taught the Word ever since then...I absolutely know I have read most of the Bible....but I am also absolutely sure I haven't read it all....and that is a very hard thot for me.

In fact, this has nearly consumed thinking. Oh...what have I missed?

I am now making it my goal to read completely thru the Bible....this year, and I can't wait. Anyone willing to join me?

Quote to Ponder

"As long as we are finite and fallen, Christian faith will mean both delighting in the (past) incarnation and desiring the (future) consummation.

It will be both contentment and dissatisfaction. And the dissatisfaction will grow directly out of the measure of contentment that we have known in Christ."

~ John Piper
A Hunger for God, p. 43.

What Impresses God

Thot I would pass on this recent post from Mark Altrogge:

Last week I caught part of the opening ceremony of the Olympics, reportedly planned and rehearsed for 5 years, and costing $300 million to stage.

It featured 15,000 Chinese performers. 33,866 fireworks were fired off – almost as many as our local Indiana County Fair on July 4th. It was probably the largest and most expensive show ever produced. Especially cool was the performance of 2000 drummers in playing in perfect synchronization. Obviously, China wanted to impress.

But China’s government is not impressive.

“They hung me up across an iron gate, then they yanked open the gate and my whole body lifted until my chest nearly split in two. I hung like that for four hours.”

This is how Peter Xu Yongze (age 61), describes how he was treated during one of five jail sentences in China because of his belief in Christ. Christians are not allowed to evangelize in China, and it’s against the law to worship in any group or home outside state sanctioned churches. To do so is to risk fines, imprisonment, torture and even death.

While he was in prison, one of the jailers told Mr. Xu the only way to avoid breaking the law would be if he prayed under the covers in bed.

“A believer was praying, so a jailer made other prisoners lift him up to the ceiling and drop him to the ground many times until he died,” Mr. Xu said. (BBC News, Nov 9, 2004)

House church leader Zhou Heng, who manages a state registered bookstore, was arrested on Aug. 31, 2007, for receiving 3 tons of Bibles that had been donated by South Korean churches and intended for free distribution to local Christians. The government only allows state churches to print and distribute a limited number of Bibles yearly. It is reported that in prison Zhou was beaten severely by both guards and inmates. He was still in prison as of this past February. (The Christian Post, Feb.7, 2008)

The Lord who spoke the worlds into existence is not impressed by our pomp and technology and fireworks. But he is impressed by his people glorifying him despite persecution by a wicked government. His eyes are on his precious sheep singing his praises behind closed doors of their homes or praying under their prison covers.

When you watch the Olympics this week, lift up a prayer for the persecuted saints in China. Ask Jesus to have mercy on them, fill them with his joy and give them the grace to persevere. Ask Jesus to bring his kingdom, the most impressive kingdom of all, to earth.

Worth More Than Gold

As the eyes of the world focus on China during the Olympic games, may the heart of God's people focus on prayer for China.

More than 1.2 billion Chinese - nearly one-fifth of the world population - do not know Christ! Many have never even heard.

Will you intercede? Will you join me in praying for China.

Praying...for the glory of God

This summer I have undertaken an intense study of the Lord's Prayer inspired by a powerful message Pastor Jason Hubbard presented on Fathers Day. It changed me.

Tonite I was reading thru a sermon by John Piper and found this on mature prayer. I challenge you to ponder it with me. Enjoy!

We all know the difference between immature prayer and mature, God-centered prayer. We know we are in a different atmosphere—a higher one—when we hear someone pray with the priorities that Jesus teaches. It sounds something like this:

"Father, we long to see you honored more and more in our church and our city. Cause your name to be hallowed among us. Magnify your worth and your glory in our midst. And let your kingdom come. Take up your kingly rule more and more fully over our church and our lives and our families and our city. And hasten the day of Christ's final appearing. Meet our physical needs we pray, so that we can press on with joy in the work you call us to for your name's sake. Forgive us, O Lord, where we have sinned and fallen short of your glory. And keep us from entangling temptations that will trip us up and bring reproach upon your name. Through Jesus Christ we pray. Amen."

There are a thousand ways to say that. My plea is not that you use my words, but that you have Jesus' priorities and that you express them in your praying, namely, that the Father's name be hallowed and that his kingdom come.

If this feels foreign to you, if you never plead for the name of God to be hallowed or the kingdom of God to come, don't be content today to stay stuck at that immature level of praying. Instead say in a fresh, new way to God this week: Father, hallow your name IN MY LIFE, IN MY PRAYING this year as never before.

The promise that will encourage you in following Jesus' direction on this first point comes from Ezekiel 36:23, "I will vindicate the holiness of my great name . . . and the nations will know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes." God's name WILL be vindicated among all the nations as true and glorious. But he has decreed that we will have a hand in this triumph through prayer.

So make the glory of God the center of your prayers. Pray again and again, with as many different words as you can think of, "Father, let your name be hallowed and let your kingdom come!"

Brokenness

Have you ever been broken? Brokenness is empty-handedness before God. It has no demands; it make no requests. It is falling into the embrace of your loving Father and finding Him to be enough. It is not just saying, “God, I need You,” but “God, You are all I need.”

~ James MacDonald