SCRIPTURE IN LIMERICKS

Time with Jesus - 24 Aug. 2013

Hi all,

The title of one of my favourite books is “Which Bible Can We Trust”. It was written by Les Garrett, an Australian pastor. In the book, he asks how we know that what we read in our Bibles is the Word of God? It’s a very small question which we should take seriously. Particularly for those of us who regard the Bible as the inerrant Word of God! Now it’s clear that the Bible was not originally written in English. God is not an Englishman! It was written mainly in two languages; Hebrew and Coiné Greek. There are one or two portions written in other languages. However, for what we are looking at today, the languages of the Bible are Hebrew and Coiné Greek. This was the spoken language of the day in the Roman world. It’s much the same way as English is the spoken international language of our day. (Please don’t tell the French)

The first question to ask is, if any of us can read and write Hebrew and/or Coiné Greek. If so, you are off to a good start in reading and understanding the Bible. If, like me, you are reasonably proficient in English and have a modicum of knowledge of Afrikaans, it doesn’t help giving me a Hebrew or Greek Bible. For most of us, a reliable translation into English is not an alternative. So if I hand you a smart leather-bound book with the words “Holy Bible” written on the front, how can you tell if it’s the Bible and not the collected works of Darwin? Frankly you can’t. Not unless there is something written on it, or in it stating, “This is the Bible”. Fortunately, there is!

When Queen Elizabeth 1 died, on March 24, 1603, the crown of England passed to a man named James I. He had already worn the crown of Scotland for thirty-seven years as James VI. Some months after his coming to England, James summoned a conference of churchmen and theologians to Hampton Court “for the hearing, and for the determining, things pretended to be amiss in the church”. Nothing much came about from the Hampton Court conference. It was held in January of 1604. The exception was the resolution taken that a translation should be made of the whole Bible. It was proposed by the Puritan leader John Reynolds, that the new translation, would be as close to original Hebrew and Greek as it could possibly be.

54 men, including High Churchmen and Puritans, the greatest Hebrew and Greek scholars of their day, went about the task of translating the Bible into English. Using their Greek sources and relying on the best commentaries and translations available at that time from Europe, they expressed the sense of the Greek in clear, vigorous and idiomatic English. This Bible became the standard for all Bibles in the English Speaking World. The translation work was completed in 1611. It was then printed and published as the Authorised Version (AV) in UK, which is virtually the same as the King James Version (KJV) in USA.

Only in the 1860’s was there a challenger to the AV/KJV. Older manuscripts were discovered. One, “Codex Siniaticus” was found in the “waste paper basket” in St Catherine’s monastery on Mt Sinai. The other Codex Vaticanus was “discovered” in the Vatican. Apparently it had been hidden and was only “found” some 1200 years later. The question we need to ask is whether or not older is more accurate? Scholars of those days, in particular Dr Westcott and Dr Hort, in UK believed this to be the case. Neither of them believed in the inerrancy of Scripture, so older “had to be” better. However, is older better? This “dips” into the field of Textual Criticism. Accordingly there’s little I can add.

Today, there is a plethora of English translations of the Bible. Most of those printed after WW1 have relied on Westcott and Hort’s Greek text. This includes the New International Version (NIV) which is my favourite. But is it a genuine translation or just another collection of the works of Darwin? Sure it says NIV on the front. An NIV which some claim to mean the “Nearly Infallible Version”! See below

VARIOUS TRANSLATIONS OF MATTHEW 13:51		Comment
(KJV)	Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, LORD.	This is a small example of how Codex Siniaticus and Vaticanus have “downgraded” the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In the KJV+ the word LORD (G2962) is missing from the NASB+ In other words the translation of the earlier manuscript does not contain the word “LORD”. If so, why was it taken out? You tell me. This is only one deletion. There are literally 100’s of others. Furthermore, many verses and passages have been omitted. G2962 refers to Strong’s numbers in his Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries. Buy Les Garrett’s book and see for yourself! Available from Amazon. First printing was in 1982
(KJV+)	JesusG2424 saithG3004 unto them,G846 Have ye understoodG4920 allG3956 these things? TheyG5023 sayG3004 unto him,G846 Yea,G3483 LORD.G2962
(MKJV	Jesus said to them, Have you understood all these things? They said to Him, Yes, LORD.
THE WORD LORD HAS BEEN DELETED FROM THE FOLLOWING QUOTES
(ASV)	Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea.
(ESV)	"Have you understood all these things?" They said to him, "Yes."
(GW)	"Have you understood all of this?" "Yes," they answered.
(MSG)	Jesus asked, "Are you starting to get a handle on all this?" They answered, "Yes."
(NAS77)	"Have you understood all these things?" They *said to Him, "Yes."
(NASB)	"Have you understood all these things?" They *said to Him, "Yes."
(NASB+	"Have you understoodG4920 allG3956 theseG3778 thingsG3778?" They *saidG3004 to Him, "YesG3483a."
(NIrV)	"Do you understand all these things?" Jesus asked. "Yes," they replied.
(NIV)	"Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. "Yes," they replied.
(NLT)	Do you understand all these things?" "Yes," they said, "we do."
(TNIV)	"Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. "Yes," they replied.

Which would you prefer? In my book, Jesus is Lord. His Divinity is not contested.  For me, the AV / KJV is the more accurate! Have fun!

Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 24 Aug. 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes						©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	SCRIPTURE IN LIMERICKS
I wonder how many of us remember the great comedian and concert pianist, Victor Borge. Sometimes called the “Clown Prince of Denmark”, he had a way with the piano and words that appealed to many people. I first heard him while still at school. He was telling us all about inflation in English. How since the war “Tuesday”, should be “Threes-day” You haven’t “won” the race you have “twod” the race. “Unfortunately” became “Twofivethreeninely” As a pianist he was exceptional. While playing the Minute Waltz he would discuss the uses of the tune as an egg-timer. For me, the very best was his phonetic pronunciation. He would make strange sounds representing full-stops, commas, exclamation marks and inverted commas. I loved his zany comedy and listened carefully to how he would play the works of some of the great composers. Then in the middle, without skipping a beat he would include, in an identical style, the tune, “Happy Birthday to you”. For me, punctuation has always been a problem. Where do you put what? As for colons, semi-colons and full stops, where should they be? So I have a tendency to leave them out while writing. Then I have to go back and litter them liberally all over the page. I must confess that without Phyllida looking at what I’ve written, my spelling and grammar would border on the classic comedy of “The Great Dane”. This difficulty with punctuation expresses itself best when I put together my truncated limericks. The 7, 2, 2, 3 style lends itself to not being sure what should go where as I’m sure most of you will have already noticed. I may have done well as a scribe when Greek words were all compressed together, so that no one was quite sure where one word started or ended.  For example, “The cat sat on the mat” would be “thecatsatonthemat”. The clever bit was reading and understanding what was written. A case in point from the days when my mother did the crossword puzzle; I asked her on one occasion, what was a “castironalibi”? It’s a “cast iron alibi” she commented. Something a little closer to the bone, we have an interesting puzzle in the English translation of Jesus’ words, to the dying thief on the cross. Jesus’ said to him were, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with Me in paradise." But if I adjust the punctuation I read:  "I tell you the truth today, you will be with Me in paradise." Luke 23:43 NIV  Notice that the words are exactly the same. But by moving the comma one word to the right, the meaning changes. Jesus was not telling the thief they will both be in Paradise on the day of the crucifixion. He was saying to the thief, they will be in Paradise together. This latter understanding seems to be better than our usual one. If I’m correct, what this means is that sometime between the original, and what we have today, the comma was misplaced. Since they weren’t there anyway, it would not be difficult. I do it regularly. So perhaps I’m not as bad a scribe as I thought? Hopefully, one day we will all be together in Paradise with Jesus and Victor Borge. We’ll ask Victor to please read the Scripture for us complete with the phonetic punctuation. That should finally settle it. The thief will probably have a good laugh and say how wonderful it is to be with Jesus in Paradise! Jim & Phyllida Strickland			4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me, while it is day. Night comes when no man can work. John 9:4 MKJV	I have to keep on working while there is still the time. There is no light, In darkest night, When people turn to crime.		Almighty God has sent me, to work while it is day. When I am done, His only Son, Will surely pass away.
			4 People who refuse to work want things and get nothing. But the longings of people who work hard are completely satisfied. Proverbs 13:4 NIrV	Idle hands don’t prosper, nor do they get their pay. There’s no reward, From Christ the Lord, In any kind of way!		But those whose hands are dirty; calloused, hard and rough. They will succeed, And if they need, He’ll see they have enough!
			25 The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25 NLT	The generous will prosper, It is God’s perfect law. There’ll be no lack. He will pay back, More than there was before.		But this is not just money, it’s also help and aid. Refresh a friend, And in the end, In kindness you’ll be paid.
			34 Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent Me, and from finishing His work. 35 You know the saying, 'Four months between planting and harvest.' But I say, wake up and look around. The fields are already ripe for harvest. 36 The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life. What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike! John 4:34-36 NLT	Look closely at My person; God’s will and food are one. My heart desires, What He requires, Until all time has gone!		Of course it takes some patience, but don’t be in a rush. At the right time, The crop will climb, All rich and green and lush.
				The farmer doesn’t panic. The crop is sure to sprout. It will not fail. And only hail, Can keep the reapers out!		Their harvest for the future? Eternal life with Me. Their great reward, Is from the Lord. From sin and death set free.
			1 "God's kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. Matthew 20:1-2 MSG	God’s Kingdom’s like a farmer when it was harvest time. He found some men, And hired them. One dollar each was fine!		And so they started working and it was very hot. But they’d agreed, The wage they’d need, And that is what they got!
			2 Preach the word of God. Be prepared, whether the time is favourable or not. Patiently correct, rebuke, and encourage your people with good teaching. 2 Timothy 4:2 NLT	Paul gave the injunction, to preach God’s Holy Word. The time is here, So have no fear. Make sure that all have heard!		Rebuke, correct, encourage your people when you teach. Do not hold back. Launch the attack, And many more you’ll reach.
			13 So he sent for ten of his servants. He gave them each about three months' pay. 'Put this money to work until I come back,' he said. Luke 19:13 NIrV	He gave his servants money. Each one got three month’s pay. “Diligently, Invest for me. I’m coming home one day”!		Some servants were successful. A profit they had made. One never tried. The master cried, “My trust you have betrayed!
			10 But whatever I am now, it is all because God poured out His special favour on me--and not without results. For I have worked harder than any of the other apostles; yet it was not I but God who was working through me by His grace. 1 Corinthians 15:10 NLT	Don’t congratulate me and say, “Look what he’s done”. It was God’s grace, That set the pace. The victory He’s won!		I’m absolutely nothing apart from what He’s made. His life in me, All men must see! My life must surely fade.
				Jim Strickland Written 24th August 2012

MASTER

Time with Jesus - 23 Aug 2013

Hi all,

Have you ever wondered what Adam understood when ¹⁶ the LORD God warned him, "You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden ¹⁷ - except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die." Gen 2:16-17 NLT

I’ve read this verse and wrestled with it, to try and get inside it. For me, the big problem is what he understood by “you are sure to die”! After all, he was in a sinless world in which there was no death. What did he know about death? He could not have seen a dead body. Death was completely absent! What was that like? 

We can only guess. Likewise, we know nothing of a death-free world. On the contrary, we thrive on death! Compost is an example. 

Furthermore, what would predators eat if they didn’t kill other animals? We also eat dead animals. We have a thriving meat industry in South Africa. What about plant life? What do you do with roses when they have bloomed? In a deathless world, would plants grow, or would they be in bloom eternally?

If there was no death, would there be any cemeteries? What for, if nothing dies? 

What would lions eat? Isaiah prophesied about a time when Messiah reigned saying: ⁶ The wolf will romp with the lamb, the leopard sleep with the kid. Calf and lion will eat from the same trough, and a little child will tend them. ⁷ Cow and bear will graze the same pasture, their calves and cubs grow up together, and the lion eat straw like the ox. ⁸ The nursing child will crawl over rattlesnake dens, the toddler stick his hand down the hole of a serpent. Isa 11:6-8 MSG

Uiileann Pipes
The Irish Bagpipes

We have some concept of what conditions will be like after Jesus has returned. I have no proof for this, but I guess it will not be grossly different from the creation before the fall. In this regard we know that people lived for many years after the fall. Methuselah lived for 969 years. It was much the same for most of the recorded antediluvians.

Riverdance

Adam must have had a wonderful time in Eden. He walked and talked with God in the cool of the evening. Does this mean the earth was revolving on an axis? If this was not the case, how would anyone know it was in the cool of the evening? There can be no evening without a morning and a night!

Final Outcome for all

In his letter to Corinth Paul wrote, ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³ But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴ Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵ For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶ The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 1 Cor. 15:22-26 ESV.

If the last enemy to be defeated is death, we must assume that death will continue to be a part of life until Jesus returns. This means that until He does, you and I have an appointment with death. It’s not a threat. It is a fact. 

As my dad would say, “It’s as sure as God made little apples.” We know it’s true because when we look at each other as the years roll by, our physical appearance changes. I’m not the man I was 30 years ago. I can’t do a lot of that “stuff”. I haven’t got the strength. I’m a bit like the 90 year old man who was arrested and charged with rape. “Are you guilty or not guilty” asked the judge. “Guilty” replied the old man. “Memories! Memories!”

Memories are very important for all of us. As we grow older, our memories reach further and further back into our past lives. We have good memories and bad memories. Strangely enough, we seem to hang onto the good ones. The ladies seem to have memories that are more accurate and with more detail than men. In spite of this we like to cast our minds back to the days of yesteryear.

Foster and Allen

In today’s meditation, if you like Irish folk tunes with words changed to Christian lyrics, you’ll enjoy what I’ve written. I’ve taken “Maggie”, an Irish folk song made popular by Foster and Allen in the 1980’s. I’ve changed the word “Maggie” to “Master” and made it applicable to Phyllida and me, in praise of what Jesus Christ has done for us. It’s a bit of a “tear-jerker”. 

Frankly, we mean every word!

Shalom,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 23 August 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
	INTRODUCTION		DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	MASTER
In 2010, Phyllida and I took a Trafalgar Tours bus trip to places which included England, Scotland, Irish Republic and Wales. It was a wonderful tour which we thoroughly enjoyed. We “fell in love” with Ireland. It’s one of the few places in the world outside South Africa, we would like to live. It is aptly called “The Emerald Isle”. The greenery is beautiful. We loved Limerick. We went to Blarney Castle but didn’t kiss the stone. We couldn’t face all those steps to the top! The journey brought back old memories for me. Memories of 1952 and the song “Galway Bay”. I’m not sure why this song was popular at that time. It’s more like a traditional Irish folk song than anything else. The Irish are a remarkable people. The nation has been through so many unhappy incidents over the past couple of hundred years. But this has not embittered the people. We found them warm, open and friendly. We enjoyed listening to their extraordinary music. “Riverdance” has highlighted many of their talents; and traditional Irish dancing has taken the world by storm. Part of “Riverdance” features the Uilleann pipes. It has a strange, “haunting” sound that is matchless. Sometimes called Irish bagpipes, they are uniquely Irish! The songs of Foster and Allen have been favourites of ours for many years and today’s meditation takes its cue from one of their songs. Entitled “Maggie”, it’s a song about an “old” Irish couple looking back down the years of their lives. Primarily it is the man singing to the love of his life and recalling the things of yesteryear. I appreciated  it the first time I heard it sung. A small bit of research tells me they recorded the song back in 1996. However, I can remember them singing it from the mid 1980’s For some time, I thought that if Foster and Allen could immortalise “Maggie”, I could have a go at using the song as a basis for a Christian version. This one not based on “Maggie”, but upon “The Lord Jesus Christ”. The word, “Master” seemed appropriate. So a number of years ago I composed the song “Master” in similar vein. In this case it was my own personal tribute to Jesus. Then it struck me that the words applied to Phyllida and me equally. So I’ve revisited the song, added a verse and came up with a version that applies to both of us. I’m glad I did. The Lord has given us over thirty years of life together as husband and wife. They have been wonderful years. At times they have been very difficult. Not hard between us as a couple. That love has blossomed, grown and gets better every day. But we are no longer “young”. We have followed Him all our married life, into our golden years. Now we pause, look back on the past and look forward to being with Him forever. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			4 I will be your God throughout your lifetime--until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you. Isaiah 46:4 NLT	(Based on the Song “Maggie” sung by Foster and Allen) We've laboured so long in the field, Master; Or bodies are ageing and grey. Our spirits are longing to yield, Master, And go to our home far away. We've loved You with all of our heart, Master, And tried to do all You have said. We've done all we know to be part, Master, Of following where You have led. You let us be husband and wife, Master When things seemed to go down the drain Wonderful partners for life, Master You caused us to love once again. We didn’t know how it would be, Master We’d been through the pain of divorce Your loving set both of us free, Master And put us back on the right course It's been such a wonderful life, Master, In everything, we are replete. You've husbanded us like Your wife, Master, Through fellowships gentle and sweet. You've helped us in all we have done, Master; Provided assistance and aid; Together we've had so much fun, Master And You brought us back when we strayed! So as we look back down the years, Master, Remembering all we have known; The laughter, the joy and the tears, Master, We see now how much we have grown. You've caused us to come to this place, Master, Of utter contentment and peace. Your wonderful love and Your grace, Master Have caused all our strivings to cease. So what can we do but adore, Master, The God Who allowed this to be, A life that has meant so much more, Master, Than all we expected to see! Jim Strickland 23rd August 2012
			1 But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. Isaiah 43:1-2 ESV
			4 And I'll keep on carrying you when you're old. I'll be there, bearing you when you're old and grey. I've done it and will keep on doing it, carrying you on my back, saving you. Isaiah 46:4 MSG
			11 Like an eagle that rouses her chicks and hovers over her young, so He spread His wings to take them up and carried them safely on His pinions. 12 The LORD alone guided them; they followed no foreign gods. Deuteronomy 32:11-12 NLT
			9 In all their suffering He also suffered, and He personally rescued them. In His love and mercy He redeemed them. He lifted them up and carried them through all the years. Isaiah 63:9 NLT
			8 For Jesus doesn't change--yesterday, today, tomorrow, he's always totally himself. Hebrews 13:8 MSG
			38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 ESV
			15 The LORD answers, "Can a mother forget the baby who is nursing at her breast? Can she stop showing her tender love to the child who was born to her? She might forget her child. But I will not forget you. Isaiah 49:15 NIrV