The challenge for this past week was to sit down and watch people in a crowded area ofor at least 15 minutes.  As they passed by we were to look at thier faces ponder that they were made for eternity.  Each person is made for a relationship with God yet some will reject God and go to hell.  We were to pray for the people we saw pass by.

After our High School Guys morning Bible study this past week I was near one of our local high schools.  As I saw the students I was struck by how thier lives were lived in the here and now.  Everything about America pushes these students toward immediate gratification and away from eternal thinking.  I wondered how many of them had ever been challenged with the fulll Gospel truth?

I then drove through the heart of Texas A&M and prayed for the students I saw.  I also prayed for people I saw while driving that morning.  The words of Francis Chan filled my head, "Hell is not just about right doctrine it is about the eternal destinies of real people."  I need Jesus every day and that humbles me.  I often see people in the worst light.  If someone cuts me off while drivingI assume they are rude, if a line is too long I am worried about MY schedule and the list goes on me, me, me.  As believers we are called to love God and love others.  Others includes people we don't know who we come into contact with every day.  If we are going to reach the lost we need to change our perspective on people. 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/has-the-bible-been-corrupted/id129084376?i=82020990

According to the Christian Booksellers Association, the NIV is the best-selling Bible in English-ahead of the King James Version, the New King James Version, the New Living translation, the English Standard Version, the New American Standard, and several others.[1]

But now Zondervan, the publisher of the NIV, has issued a new edition, the 2011 NIV. This edition will replace the current NIV (the 1984 edition). What is this new edition like?

The last two attempts at revising the NIV were met with a great deal of controversy due to their use of a gender-neutral philosophy of translation.[2] The gender-neutral approach of the TNIV (Today's New International Version) in 2002 and 2005 became such a lightning-rod that the version never caught on with American evangelicals and has now been discontinued.

The TNIV provoked a lively discussion among evangelical scholars and Bible readers about translation philosophy in general and about gender-neutral approaches in particular. In fact, the debate actually preceded the appearance of the TNIV because of rumors in the evangelical world that the NIV was going "gender-neutral." That debate began in 1997 and extended through the mid-2000s. Many of the contested issues in that discussion remain unresolved.[3]

It is no surprise, therefore, that many evangelicals have been anticipating the release of the 2011 NIV. Readers want to see how this latest revision has resolved (or not resolved) points of contention about gender language that are left over from these previous discussions.

Does the 2011 NIV deserve the same prominence among evangelicals that the 1984 NIV has enjoyed for so many years? Or will 2011 NIV fall into disuse and go the way of the TNIV?

Readers should realize, first, that the 2011 NIV is not a revision based on the old NIV of 1984, but is a revision based on the now-defunct TNIV of 2005. So there is an obvious question that needs answering. Have the weaknesses of the TNIV been sufficiently overcome in the 2011 NIV?

The following analysis explains both the commendable changes in the new NIV and the areas where we still have cause for concern.

Statistical Summary: 75% of Inaccurate Gender Language

Translations from the TNIV Are Retained in the 2011 NIV

Table 2 - Summary of Old Testament Revisions

from TNIV to 2011 NIV

 Table 3 - Summary of New Testament Revisions

from TNIV to 2011 NIV

3. The 2011 NIV incorrectly changes "father" to "parent" or something else

^{1984 NIV}  Proverbs 15:5 A fool spurns his father's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence.

^{2011 NIV}  Proverbs 15:5 A fool spurns a parent's discipline, but whoever heeds correction shows prudence. (same as TNIV)

But the Hebrew text has 'ab, which means "father," not "parent." Fifteen other verses in the 2011 NIV make a similar change. Why seek to eliminate "father" when that is the precise meaning of the Hebrew text?

For full review go to http://www.cbmw.org  and search for 2011 NIV

1. not approving or diminishing sin
2. not enabling sin
3. denying a wrongdoing
4. not waiting for an apology.
5. not forgetting (God does not interact with believers on the basis of our sin because of Jesus therefore our sin is forgoten)
6. forgiveness is not ceasing to feel the pain.
7. forgiveness is not a onetime event.
8. forgiveness is not neglecting justice. (You can forgive someone and call the police and have them arrested. You can forgive someone and testify against them in court.)
9. not trusting (that must be earned back over time)
10. not reconciliation.it takes one person to repent one to forgive two to reconcile

Taking these thoughts and combining them with the picture of God's forgiveness that comes through Jesus' work on the cross we can perhaps come closer to understanding what it means to forgive.  In the greek the term forgive carries the idea of passing over, pardoning, and releasing a person from condemnation on the basis of thier sin.  In the eternal sense this is done perfectly and completely because of Jesus' atonement on the cross.  As believers we can forgive in the since that we view others as Jesus views them namely all people are guilty sinners in need of rescue.  To forgive is to hand over the wrongs a person does against us to God.  We can trust God to deal with that person justly while we cleanse our hearts of the effects of anger, resentment, and punitive thoughts. 

Forgiveness then is empowered by the Holy Spirit who gives us a sense of humility and fear of God that allows us to love our neighbor.  As we forgive people we release our hearts to be freed to move on, to grow closer to Christ, and to allow Jesus to be seen through us.  I like Pastor Driscoll's list because it reminds us that as sinful people there are realities we face when sinned against.  There are real consequences and real feelings we have when someone sins against us or someone we love.  to forgive is to choose to love that person not on the basis of what they have done, but purely on the basis of what Christ has done for you. 

So forgiveness is a choice to interact with someone in love.  Some times love causes hurt, has bad memories, and allows discipline to occur, but in the end the goal of love is to see people as eternal beings in need of a savior.  Having trouble forgiving return to the cross, reflect on Jesus, and pray for the Holy Spirit to empower you to forgive. 

Yeah forgiveness, easier blogged about than done. 

Note he uses the term exorcism to refer to confronting a demon and calling for God to cast it out.  He is not using it in the Catholic sense which is what I referred to in my message PURE EVIL. 

I recently read a devotional that reminded me that Jesus went through the whole process of human development.  The Holy Spirit came upon Mary and she concieved a child.  That little baby began as a zygote, an embryo, a single cell, and grew during each week and each trimester of the pregancy.  Jesus grew just like any other baby forming little arms and legs. Yet another insite offered by the Christmas story is the response of JOhn the Baptist from the womb.  This unborn boy lept at being in the prescence of Jesus.  How could that be if unborn children aren't valued and full of life?

Considering this fact stop and ask yourself when does life begin in God's eyes?  The Holy Spirit appeared at conception not at the birth of the Baby, but at conception because that is when life begins. If Mary were to live today I get ill to think that one of the first options presented to her might just have been abortion.  Afterall who wants the stigma of an unplanned pregnancy to a teenager who is engaged?  

Jesus himself teaches us about the sanctity of human life even at Christmas time. 

The blessing of being a follower of Jesus Christ is that the Holy Spirit dwells in each of us.  Part of the role of the Holy Spirit is to illuminate Scripture.  Simply put He helps us understand God's Word.  Understanding God's Word is called interpretation.  It is quite common for this term interpretation to be misused or misunderstood these days.  Some say there are numerous interpretations of the Bible.  This statement can be very dangerous as it is saying that there is no stable meaning in a text other than what each individual finds in it.  Is that possible?  Who determines the meaning of a text?

This world is full of communication.  In fact you communicate everyday.  As you are in a conversation with another person you find meaning in what he or she is saying by determining his or her intended meaning.  You don't sit in a room and when a person talks you go around and have 20 people share thier view of what they thought the speaker meant.  No the only one that knows the meaning is the author.   2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us that all Scripture is God-breathed.  It all comes from God through human authors.  So to find the meaning of a text we must determine what God was conveying through the orginal author to his audience.  So we determine the meaning of a text in Ephesians by figuring out what Paul was intending to communicate to the Ephesian church.    To find this out we look at the context asking who, what, when, where, why and how the pasage was written.  We look at what literary type of writing is being used.  Is it poetry, prophecy, a letter, or a historical narrative to name a few.  So the Bible is no different than any other form of communication to understand its meaning you must get to the authors intent. 

This brings us to application.  While the interpretation of Scripture is stable and for each text there is one intended meaning that doesn't change the applicaton of a given text is far reaching.  It is accurate to say that there is one meaining, but many applications of a passage.  Once one determines the interpretation there are many ways that truth can correctly be applied.  So many people say, "Well, thats just your interpretation of the Bible."  I think they often mean to say that is how you "apply" that truth.  Many people mean there are many implications of a text not many interpretations.  The implications of don't get drunk apply to all alchol not just wine.  The implications of that statement also point to not getting high or losing control of our right state of mind via any substance. 

So as you read your Bibles know that the meaning is there and it does not change because God's character and truth are stable and unchanging.  The one thing that does change is how we apply that truth to our lives as the Holy Spirit works in us to convict us of sins and help us become like Christ. 

A Life Group could be seen as a home Bible Study, but in reality it is so much more than that.  Did you know that small groups were Jesus’ way of making disciples?  In Acts the church began with efforts to get small groups of believers together in their homes (Acts 2:42-46).  Our Life Groups are small groups of people gathering during the week to help each other stay on mission for Jesus.  When our groups gather they will study a topic related directly to the sermon, they will share prayer requests, break bread together, fellowship, and encourage one another to live, share, and show the Gospel.  Our groups provide another venue for people to discover and use your spiritual gifts and serve while helping our church to become more authentic and relational.   Our Life Groups are a great place for those who are new to connect and for those who have been attending for years to get revived.

I can honestly say that from my time as a lay person, to volunteering actively, to serving as a deacon, to serving as an elder, to being an associate pastor, and now as the pastor of Zion that small groups have been key to my spiritual growth.  I believe that these Life Groups have the potential to transform lives and build a community of believers devoted to carrying out the mission of making disciples.