The New Living Translation

Over the years, I have read through the New King James Version, the New International Version, the New American Standard Bible, and the English Standard Version. I have appreciated each translation. It's a nice privilege to live in a place and time in which the word of God is available in a variety of versions.

A couple of years ago, I received the New Living Translation of the Bible as a Christmas gift. Over the last year, I have read through it too.

At first, I was a little skeptical about the translation. I doubted that it would convey the message of Christ accurately. After all, it was a translation that was based on a paraphrase of the Bible. How accurate and trustworthy could it be?

Then, I looked at the list of scholars on the translation team. I recognized the names of Darrell Bock of Dallas Theological Seminary, Scot McKnight of North Park Seminary, and D.A. Carson of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. I began to understand that this was not a list of lightweights among biblical scholars. These translators have a great deal of expertise in understanding the text.

As I began to read the NLT Bible, I found it refreshing. It does not follow the word-for-word translation philosophy of the New King James, New American Standard, and English Standard Versions. Instead, it focuses more on accurately conveying the thoughts within the text, much like the New International Version does. As a result, I came across several passages which were easier to understand in the New Living Translation.

For example, Philippians 1:20 in the ESV reads:

"as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death."

While that passage can be understood in the ESV, I found it easier to read and comprehend in the NLT because the language is much closer to the way I speak and think. In the NLT, it reads:

"For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die."

I have been so impressed with the New Living Translation that I have made it my primary translation for reading. (However, I have not found a better study Bible than the ESV Study Bible. I will continue to use it as my primary study Bible.) If you have not read the NLT, give it a shot. It's worth it.

A Discussion of Biblical Inerrancy

This video features an important discussion on the doctrine of biblical inerrancy which took place recently on the campus of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

Radical Together: Reaching the Unreached

This was Greg Pittman's sermon today. It focused on the need for international missions, especially among groups of people around the world who do not have access to the good news of Jesus Christ..

Slavery Today

This video documents cases of slavery around the world today.

Going the Second Mile

This is a training video for employees of Chick-fil-A. I think it is an excellent illustration of the attitude behind Jesus' instructions for his followers to go the second mile.

"If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles" (Matthew 5:41, NIV 1984).

The Importance of Doing SOMETHING in the Face of Evil

For many years, Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky raped boys while those in authority over him looked the other way. Despite what they said and what they did to help people in other ways, those men who ignored the needs of boys in need of their protection failed in their moral duty to love others as they loved themselves. They placed more importance on maintaining their reputations than on doing the right thing in protecting those boys.

This is a reminder to all people (especially to Christians) that we have a responsibility to do something in the face of evil, no matter what it does to our reputations.
 
"Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die;
save them as they stagger to their death.
Don't excuse yourself by saying,
'Look, we didn't know.'
For God understands all hearts,
and he sees you.
He who guards your soul knows you knew.
He will repay all people as their actions deserve" (Proverbs 24:11-12, NLT).

Faith in the Furnace

On Friday night, our son Christopher participated in the children's musical Faith in the Furnace at our local church. It was a huge production involving over 240 children and 100 volunteers. The play was based on the lives of the prophet Daniel and his three friends.

Christopher played the role of Abednego. He did a great job of acting in front of a huge crowd of people.

(In the photo, Christopher is the boy dressed in blue and orange standing on the far right.)