Bible translations

I was given a new Bible a couple of weeks ago, and I liked that it came with a case; I often find the pages of my Bible folded as a result of being roughed around in my bag. But I've been using an NKJV for a while now. This new Bible's an NLT.

I didn't think it'd be all that different, so in the past week or so, I've busied transferring some notes from my old Bible into the new one. In the course of doing this, however, I've noticed marked differences in some verses, and by the time I was done, I felt unspeakably uncomfortable with the NLT. Perhaps the verses that have come to be so familiar to me just sound so different in a new translation.

Now, I am fully aware that these are but translations, and any bilingual person can tell you that you can try all you like; you will never be able to truly convey all of the intentions of the writer when you translate his words into a different language. Sometimes there are just no words in another language that can serve as a word-for-word translation.

That being said, the NLT openly affirms itself as a thought-for-thought translation. While this seemed fair at first blush, I'm not entirely sure how comfortably I am with the translaters claiming to know the "thoughts" of the original writers of the scriptures. I realise that, to some, this might seem overly paranoid, but in the matter of discerning God's word, I can't help but err on the side of caution.

My NKJV, for example, describes God as a "jealous" God. Because of how it is commonly used in the English language, "jealous" often brings with it a negative connotation. But the Bible cannot be read out of context; not in a single verse, and most certainly, not in a single word. If by "jealous," it means that it hurts God when we turn away from Him, or when we put other things ahead of glorifying Him, then yes, He is a jealous God. The NLT, on the other hand, replaces "jealous" with "passionate." I don't know which is closer to the truth, although I'm certain that God loves me passionately as well; and perhaps the word scares people less than a "jealous" God, but it doesn't bring with it that idea that God wants to be the first and foremost in our lives, at least, not to me.

My brother prefers the NLT, because he says it's easier to understand. Hey, if it makes you want to read the Bible more, then I'm certainly all for it. There are some parts of the NLT that have helped me understand some verses better, but for now, I'm sticking with my NKJV, with the NLT as occasional reference. Perhaps it's time to go pick up Hebrew and Greek; that's the only way, isn't it? ;) In the end, I guess whichever translation we choose, God is the one who leads and speaks.

(If you want to read up more about the NLT, there is a criticism here. And if you have any thoughts that might help my decision-making/changing, I'd love to hear them.)

The truth

"To tell you the truth I struggle with the fact that my plans have been to do one thing but I find I am doing another. But God is teaching me, 'The mind of a man plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps.'"

-- "Telling the Truth," Mission Safari (via Semicolon)

Juggling

In the past, exams have always taken first priority; everything else gets put on hold until afterwards. This semester is a little different. In some ways, I didn't really have a choice. They came fast and furious, and I found myself juggling more balls than I could handle. All of a sudden, my exams seemed the least of my worries -- the one ball that I could put down.

It's an amazing mixture of trepidation and expectation, when you find that you no longer have the strength, to put everything at the foot of the cross: God, help me to honour You in all I do. Let that be my purpose -- my desire -- first and foremost. On the one hand, everything in you tells you that if you don't hold it all together, everything will fall apart, and yet, the other part of you knows that every time you come to God with such surrender, He makes something so beautiful out of it that you never could imagine was possible.

More than halfway through, and you couldn't even tell that I was in the throes of exam fever. I find it hard to believe how I've survived it. I haven't just survived, even -- I've enjoyed every step of it, and I'm learning so much more than just trying to get a good grade.

God has been amazing in all of this. Me? I'm just enjoying being in awe of the view from here.

"But seek first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you."

-- Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)

Service

"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men..."

-- Colossians 3:23 (NKJV)

There are these wonderful people who you look up to, who make you want to be a better person, and then there are these other types of people: who are so nasty that they make you want to be prettier than, or smarter than, just so you can be nastier back to them.

It doesn't make sense, but I let them get to me anyway.

As I sat down, eyes brimmed with tears that threatened to spill over -- one question prodded at my heart: "Why does it matter what they say or think? Would you rather serve man, or serve Me?"

I already know the answer. I knew it even before I stumbled.

Faithfulness

"He heals the brokenhearted
And binds up their wounds.
He counts the number of the stars;
He calls them all by name."

-- Psalm 147:3-4 (NKJV)

Clinging on for dear life

"We don't get to do anything. Just have to wait. It's really hard, but you just have to go about your life and do everyday things; go to work, do your laundry, clean the house. You know, just try to keep your mind off all the horrible things that might be happening to him. And you do that, for a week or a month, or maybe a year... Welcome to the outside of the disease."

-- E.R., Season 9, Episode 15 (A Boy Falling out of the Sky)

The waiting -- for me, at least -- is always the worst. Minutes stretching to hours -- it's awful. I used to bring a book to read, but I realised that it was too difficult to do so. So these days, while I wait, I walk around -- but not too far that I'm out of reach of the intercom system. I make about 10 trips to the vending machines in under an hour; over and over, just pressing the buttons: Milo, snack, Milo, snack. I wasn't hungry.

***

Dad was brought into the hospital today. It's been two years since he's had a relapse, and we thought we'd seen the worse of it. Tonight, he was more frantic than all the other times he's made this trip; I don't know why.

"Don't desert me, okay?" he said through the tears. Why would we? "Daddy loves you." I love you too, Daddy.

"Just cling on to Jesus," he muttered in his sedated state. "Cling on to Jesus... Cling on."

To the nurse, he sounded like a madman. To me, it was everything. In a million years, I could not ask for a better Dad.

I'm clinging on for dear life; I'm not letting go.

This is faith

"This is the deal I have with God. I will go down on his ship. I will not raise my arms and surrender. There will be no white flag upon my bow. This is faith, and I'm in it for the long haul."

-- "Going down with the ship," Gordon Atkinson a.k.a Real Live Preacher, The Christian Century Magazine

God's plan

"God has a special purpose mapped out for your life, and no matter what you have done to mess it up, you have not succeeded. God's plan still stands, and if you let Him, He will complete the work He has begun in you."

-- "The Divine Dance" by Shannon Kubiak

My corner

"The 'world out there' is a scary place. It's too big, too busy, and too impersonal. It's all black, white, and grey and not enough colours. It requires too much of me... I just want to sit in a corner and cry."

-- "What is a Blog?" by Bernadette

Even though it's not the same thing, this sums up pretty much what grips me into inaction once too often.

It's a crazy thing -- making these decisions -- not because the choices are tough to choose from, but because they are so blatantly obvious. But it's so much safer in my little corner.

Trust Me, God says, while I cower under the table. I don't know which I'm more afraid of -- getting out of there, or never trusting God enough to do so.

Just to be with me

I've heard it said that a man would climb a mountain
Just to be with the one he loves
How many times has he broken that promise
It has never been done
Well, I never climbed the highest mountain
But I walked the hill of Calvary

And I've heard it said that a man would swim the ocean
Just to be with the one he loves
All of those dreams are empty motion
It has never been done
Well, I've never swum the deepest ocean
But I've walked upon the raging sea

Just to be with you, I'd do anything
There's no price I would not pay
Just to be with you, I would give everything
I would give my life away

And I know that you don't understand the fullness of My love
How I died upon the cross for your sins
And I know that you don't realize how much that I give you
And I promise I would do it all again

Just to be with you, I've done everything
There's no price I did not pay
Just to be with you, I gave everything
Yes, I gave My life away

I gave My life away
Just to be with you

-- "Love Song" by Third Day

Don't waste your life

"If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full."

-- Don't Waste Your Life by John Piper

(Click on book title to read free online version.)

Dancing

I feel like dancing
It's foolishness, I know
But when the world has seen the light
They will dance with joy
Like we're dancing now

-- "I Could Sing of Your Love Forever" by Martin Smith

RIP: Pope John Paul II

"For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain."

-- Philippians 1:21

Admittedly I know very little about the late Pope, but seeing how loved he was has prompted me to find out why -- and I'm slowly beginning to understand.

Someone said (that I read yesterday but cannot seem to find now) that if he had never become Pope, he'd probably have gone down as the world's greatest Catholic philosopher. Reading some of his speeches now, I'm also beginning to find out just why they said that.

Annie has an entry on his passing that made me cry, and Danielle knows that even in mourning, there is cause for joy:

"The news that the Pope has just died is both very sad and very joyful at the same time. He's finally Home now, which is definitely cause for rejoicing. He was a wonderful man, and I know Jesus is happy to have him in heaven tonight."

Truth vs Tolerance

"Remember, when Jesus commands us to 'love our neighbour as ourselves' he calls us to treat each person with the highest degree of respect, even when we disagree -- which has been the historical definition of tolerance until recent years. Not everyone appreciates the truth. Not everyone will accept Jesus' words -- or ours, for that matter."

-- "Tolerance" by Faith

For the life of me, I cannot seem to leave comments in Faith's blog. But this is a wonderful entry; in walking that tightrope of truth and tolerance, it's always comforting to know that you're not alone. :)