Mammamel
08-15-2009, 05:31 PM
Last weekend I happened upon 3 Bibles at yard sales. I saw more but the others were exact duplicates of ones I already have. One of them is called the “New Century Version” Also called “The Everyday Bible”. While I am still studying it and can not yet recommend it this is where I am so far.
As I usually do with such things, I opened it to Titus 2. I like to begin here to compare how one bible stacks up with another.
In this passage it brought to light some things I knew from the other readings. It just sort of made them stand out in bold.
Here it is from the NCV:
1 But you must tell everyone what to do to follow the true teaching.2 Teach older men to be self-controlled, serious, wise, strong in faith, in love, and in patience.
3 In the same way, teach older women to be holy in their behavior, not speaking against others or enslaved to too much wine, but teaching what is good.4 Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,5 to be wise and pure, to be good workers at home, to be kind, and to yield to their husbands. Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us.
What this brought out to me is.
1)Self control is key. For everyone, men and women. We must have control of our desires and habits.
2)We need to be serious in how we handle things. Not taking lightly how we show God to others.
3)We should crave wisdom. Pray for it; study God’s word for it. Never become convinced that we have enough of it.
4)Before we try to teach any one, we must be strong in our Faith, able to teach in Faith, with love and patience. Not getting upset when people do not see things our way. Ultimately we can only teach what God says, nothing else is allowed. The True way is only what God says.
5)Older women cannot teach the younger anything until they have themselves under control. A pushy, out spoken woman cannot be a teacher of young women.
6)I always read the bit about wine and knew it was not a complete and total prohibition on wine. (not that I drink wine, I can’t stand the stuff) However reading this one and the KJV it became clearer. It has always said “much“wine. If it was a complete prohibition it would have just said wine. Not huge since I do not use the stuff. However it does speak to being sound in doctrine. Not adding to scripture and so forth.
7)The next part says but teaching what is good, THEN they can teach the young women. So in order to be a teacher one must learn what is good, pray on it, search it out and learn it, THEN we may become teachers. It is not enough simply to have an idea or something to say, it needs to back up what God already says.
8) Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, love their children. I hear often about how people fall in love. This verse puts the lie to that. Love is not an emotion; it is not something that just pops up in us, either toward our husbands or our children. It is something we need to learn to do. You cannot teach an emotional response. Therefore love is not an emotion. It is something we decide to do and work on cultivating. How many marriages could be saved if this fact was taught more in the church? If there were the structured accountability on this wise now days that Paul and the apostles set up? The church needs to get back to the basics. Forming intimate circles, being the focus of the family again.
9)We are also told to be good workers at home. No this does not mean you cannot have a job. (Though I personally think it may be best not to at least if there are children at home)This means pay attention to the home, and the goings on inside it. One version says keepers; a keeper is like a guard. A protector, a champion. Someone willing to protect and defend the home from outside influences. It is more, way more than just house work, gardening and babysitting. It is monitoring for negative influences and stopping them at the gate. Not an easy job.
10)Here is a toughie for a lot of ladies today, teach them to yield to their husbands. This being a fallen world, our husbands are not perfect. Oh wait… neither are we. It is our job to meet their needs as perfectly as we are able. It is not our job to decide since they are not meeting ours we have a right to relax our gate keeping. Once we let down our guard satan has a clear shot at our husbands, our children, our home. I know, he leaves his socks on the floor, he yells over silly junk, he forgets to take out trash. According to God he is still the head of the home. My personal opinion, though I have no Bible backing for this is, if he hits you, leave. Pray about it, pray for him, but do not let it escalate. Keep in mind if you are a Christian woman, God has rules we must follow that do not echo what society says. I personally would rather be alone than bruised.
11)Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us. Wow. Think about this. The reason society mocks God is because we have failed to follow these teachings. I have a close relative, a brilliant man. He has read the Bible many times, studied it yet he will not believe it. He says when disaster strikes his town it is the homosexuals that get out and help people recover. He says he does not see the church doing anything but snubbing those “lower” than its members. I know why he feels this way; we share a relative that comes off this way. Sadly in my experience too many in the church are willing to hurt those outside it, instead of reaching them in love to bring them in.
There is a time for strong teaching. There is a time for gentle teaching too. The metaphor the apostles used was babies get milk, adults strong meat. To reach the lost our message must be one of gentleness, and as they learn and become saints, then the message can become stronger. To demand someone not yet convinced of God’s love, grace and right to rule their life change and conform is useless. First they need to learn who God is. Then teach them who Jesus is. Then what Jesus did for them. Once the magnitude of this hits them and they ask for His grace, then is the time to begin gently helping them see how to change their lives. We cannot just go out and point fingers. Especially not when we as Christian fail so often to follow the true teaching of God.
We place prohibitions where God does not; we say things are ok when God says no they aren’t. It all comes down to speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where it is silent.
As I usually do with such things, I opened it to Titus 2. I like to begin here to compare how one bible stacks up with another.
In this passage it brought to light some things I knew from the other readings. It just sort of made them stand out in bold.
Here it is from the NCV:
1 But you must tell everyone what to do to follow the true teaching.2 Teach older men to be self-controlled, serious, wise, strong in faith, in love, and in patience.
3 In the same way, teach older women to be holy in their behavior, not speaking against others or enslaved to too much wine, but teaching what is good.4 Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,5 to be wise and pure, to be good workers at home, to be kind, and to yield to their husbands. Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us.
What this brought out to me is.
1)Self control is key. For everyone, men and women. We must have control of our desires and habits.
2)We need to be serious in how we handle things. Not taking lightly how we show God to others.
3)We should crave wisdom. Pray for it; study God’s word for it. Never become convinced that we have enough of it.
4)Before we try to teach any one, we must be strong in our Faith, able to teach in Faith, with love and patience. Not getting upset when people do not see things our way. Ultimately we can only teach what God says, nothing else is allowed. The True way is only what God says.
5)Older women cannot teach the younger anything until they have themselves under control. A pushy, out spoken woman cannot be a teacher of young women.
6)I always read the bit about wine and knew it was not a complete and total prohibition on wine. (not that I drink wine, I can’t stand the stuff) However reading this one and the KJV it became clearer. It has always said “much“wine. If it was a complete prohibition it would have just said wine. Not huge since I do not use the stuff. However it does speak to being sound in doctrine. Not adding to scripture and so forth.
7)The next part says but teaching what is good, THEN they can teach the young women. So in order to be a teacher one must learn what is good, pray on it, search it out and learn it, THEN we may become teachers. It is not enough simply to have an idea or something to say, it needs to back up what God already says.
8) Then they can teach the young women to love their husbands, love their children. I hear often about how people fall in love. This verse puts the lie to that. Love is not an emotion; it is not something that just pops up in us, either toward our husbands or our children. It is something we need to learn to do. You cannot teach an emotional response. Therefore love is not an emotion. It is something we decide to do and work on cultivating. How many marriages could be saved if this fact was taught more in the church? If there were the structured accountability on this wise now days that Paul and the apostles set up? The church needs to get back to the basics. Forming intimate circles, being the focus of the family again.
9)We are also told to be good workers at home. No this does not mean you cannot have a job. (Though I personally think it may be best not to at least if there are children at home)This means pay attention to the home, and the goings on inside it. One version says keepers; a keeper is like a guard. A protector, a champion. Someone willing to protect and defend the home from outside influences. It is more, way more than just house work, gardening and babysitting. It is monitoring for negative influences and stopping them at the gate. Not an easy job.
10)Here is a toughie for a lot of ladies today, teach them to yield to their husbands. This being a fallen world, our husbands are not perfect. Oh wait… neither are we. It is our job to meet their needs as perfectly as we are able. It is not our job to decide since they are not meeting ours we have a right to relax our gate keeping. Once we let down our guard satan has a clear shot at our husbands, our children, our home. I know, he leaves his socks on the floor, he yells over silly junk, he forgets to take out trash. According to God he is still the head of the home. My personal opinion, though I have no Bible backing for this is, if he hits you, leave. Pray about it, pray for him, but do not let it escalate. Keep in mind if you are a Christian woman, God has rules we must follow that do not echo what society says. I personally would rather be alone than bruised.
11)Then no one will be able to criticize the teaching God gave us. Wow. Think about this. The reason society mocks God is because we have failed to follow these teachings. I have a close relative, a brilliant man. He has read the Bible many times, studied it yet he will not believe it. He says when disaster strikes his town it is the homosexuals that get out and help people recover. He says he does not see the church doing anything but snubbing those “lower” than its members. I know why he feels this way; we share a relative that comes off this way. Sadly in my experience too many in the church are willing to hurt those outside it, instead of reaching them in love to bring them in.
There is a time for strong teaching. There is a time for gentle teaching too. The metaphor the apostles used was babies get milk, adults strong meat. To reach the lost our message must be one of gentleness, and as they learn and become saints, then the message can become stronger. To demand someone not yet convinced of God’s love, grace and right to rule their life change and conform is useless. First they need to learn who God is. Then teach them who Jesus is. Then what Jesus did for them. Once the magnitude of this hits them and they ask for His grace, then is the time to begin gently helping them see how to change their lives. We cannot just go out and point fingers. Especially not when we as Christian fail so often to follow the true teaching of God.
We place prohibitions where God does not; we say things are ok when God says no they aren’t. It all comes down to speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where it is silent.