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Meaning
of the Bible
Bible
Translation of
The story is told of four ministers discussing the pros
and cons of various bible translations and paraphrases. Eventually each stated
which version
in his opinion
is the best. The first minister said he used the
King James because the Old English style is beautiful and produces the most
reverent picture of the Holy Scriptures. The second said he preferred the New
American Standard Bible because he felt it comes nearer to the original Greek
and Hebrew texts. The third minister said his favorite was the paraphrased
Living Bible because his congregation was young
and it related to them in a
practical way.
All
three men waited while the fourth minister sat silently. Finally he said
“I
guess when it comes to translations and paraphrased editions of the Bible
I
like my Dad’s translation best. He put the Word of God into practice every day.
It was the most convincing translation I’ve ever seen.” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
【Bible
Hatred
of】It is told that many years ago
while on a visit to
England
a wealthy businessman was fascinated by a powerful microscope. Looking
through its lens to study crystals and the petals of flowers
he was amazed at
their beauty and detail. He decided to purchase a microscope and take it back
home. He thoroughly enjoyed using it until one day he examined some food he was
planning to eat for dinner. Much to his dismay
he discovered that tiny living
creatures were crawling in it. Since he was especially fond of this particular
food
he wondered what to do. Finally
he concluded that there was only one way
out of his dilemma—he would destroy the instrument that caused him to discover
the distasteful fact. So he smashed the microscope to pieces!
“How
foolish!” you say. But many people do the same thing with the Word of God. They
hate it and would like to get rid of it because it reveals their evil nature.
── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
【Bible
Knowledge of】There is a story about a New
England teacher who quizzed a group of college-bound high-school juniors and
seniors on the Bible. The quiz preceded a “Bible as Literature” class he
planned to teach at
Other
students thought that the four horsemen appeared “on the Acropolis
” that the
New Testament Gospels were written by Matthew
Mark
“Luther
” and John
that
Eve was created “from an apple
” and that Jesus was “Baptized by Moses.” The
answer that took the misinformation prize was given by a fellow who was
academically in the top 5 percent of the graduating class. The question: “What
was
【Bible
“Problem” Passages in】Mark Twain once said: “Most people are
bothered by those passages of Scripture which they cannot understand; but as
for me
I have always noticed that the passages in Scripture which trouble me
most are those which I do understand.” ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
【Bible
Context in】There is a story of two lawyers on
opposing sides of a case. During the trial
one thought he would make a great
impression on the jury by quoting from the Bible. So he said
concerning his
opponent’s client
“We have it on the highest authority that ‘All that a man
has will he give for his skin.’”
The
other lawyer knew the Bible better. He said
“I am very much impressed by the
fact that my distinguished colleague here regards as the highest authority the
one who said
‘All that a man has will he give for his skin.’ You will find
that this saying comes from the Book of Job and the one who utters it is the
devil. And that is who he regards as the highest authority!” ── Michael P.
Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
【Bible
Context in】On a Christmas card the
following verse was cited: “They exchanged gifts and made merry…(Rev. 11:10).”
The context of the verse
which describes anything but what it appeared to mean
on the Christmas greeting
is rejoicing over the death of God’s two witnesses
at the hand of the beast. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
【Bible
Authority of】Trying to destroy or defend
the Word of God is like having two men push with toothpicks on opposite sides
of the Rock of Gibraltar. While one is trying push it over with his toothpick
the other is trying to hold it up with his. The rock is going to stay firm
regardless of what either man does! ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
【Bible
Authority of】The authority of Scripture
is so rooted in and closely linked to the authority of Jesus Christ that the
two are indivisible. To attempt to distinguish them is like asking which blade
of a pair of scissors is more important
or which leg of a pair of pants is
more necessary. We know Christ through the Bible
and we understand the Bible
through the knowledge of Christ and the Spirit he sent. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
【The Bible】In 1989
Americans purchased Harlequin
romance novels at the rate of 7191 per hour. If only God's people would show a
similar interest in his word! ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical Preaching》
【The
Bible】As an illustration of
"learned" scholars tampering with the Scriptures
I quote from a
newspaper article: "An
electronic computer figures that
reach this conclusion. They said the method could be used to
determine the authorship of any part of the Bible."
Truly
amazing - a mindless machine questioning the Word of God! If its findings were
correct
they would make Paul a liar
for he claims the authorship of at least
13 of the epistles. Just think
a
lifeless mechanism "proving" that the Bible is not true! The computer is now a disputer. Strangely enough
it was proven by the
same computer analysis that the man who wrote the book about these conclusions
couldn't have been its author. ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
【The
Bible】Henry Ford is credited with
saying
"Cut your own wood and you
warm yourself twice." What he meant was that the man who chops
his own firewood not only enjoys the heat from the logs burning in his fireplace
but he also gets physically warmed from the exercise involved in his labor.
If you
really want to enjoy your Bible
you should "cut your own wood" by
studying things for yourself. Check
the cross references
look up the meaning of key words
and ask God to show you
how the passage on which you are meditating applies to your life. The truth you discover for yourself in
the Word will have a fresh
new flavor.
Have
you tried to "cut your own wood?" ── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》
【The
Bible】The heads of a thousand
major American companies and twelve hundred universities were asked which book
had the most influence on their lives and far and away the number one book was
the Bible. -- Associated Press
【The
Bible】A 91-year-old woman wrote
"I spend about one hour each day with my Lord
reading my Bible and
Christian literature. When people
ask what good all my reading does if I can't remember what I've read
my answer
is always the same. I'm in pretty
good health
have a roof over my head
and have plenty of food to eat... I also
have two sons and one grandson who love me dearly. My cup runneth over. I am not concerned about my memory. I just do my reading and God does the
remembering."
Does
the way look dark? Keep reading
God's Word. if you can no longer
read
listen to it on tapes. Thank
the Lord daily for meeting your physical needs. Draw on the support of other Christians.
Even
if you forget God's promises
you'll discover that He never forgets them. He'll strengthen you and stand with you.
── Michael P. Green《Illustrations
for Biblical Preaching》
【Did
You Know The Bible】Did
you know -
* That the longest verse in the Bible is Esther 8:9 (91
words)?
* That the shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35 (2
words)?
* That the NIV has two "shortest" verses: John 11:35 and 1 Thessalonians 5:17 (2
words each)?
* That there are 1189 chapters in the Bible?
* That there are 31
102 verses in the Bible? 7957 of these are in the New Testament
and 23
145 are in the Old Testament.
* That the RSV has one more verse than the KJV? The extra verse is 3 John 1:15.
* That the longest word in the Bible is
Jonathelemrechokim? It occurs in
the title of Psalm 56.
* That there are 790
704 words in the Bible
but only 12
775
different words?
* That there are 180
392 words in the New Testament and
610
312 words in the Old Testament?
* That in the RSV
Exodus 22:4 is printed between Exodus
22:1 and Exodus 22:2?
(Unless
otherwise noted
all facts relate to the King James Version)
── Michael P. Green《Illustrations for Biblical
Preaching》