Where have the ideas of mystery, power and fear of an awesome God gone? Most do not remember going into a Church SANCTUARY (deliberately and aptly named meeting place) to worship and to pray to the One and Only Living God.
Most do not remember the tears being shed over personal sin, people running to altars to confess their sin, repent and to get right with God and others, and the joy of fellowship afterward.
Most do not remember the spreading joy over a repentant person who surrenders their life to Jesus and entered the family of God!
Most do not remember the prayer meetings that would sometimes last for hours until a breakthrough was sensed.
While attending First Baptist Church, San Antonio, Texas, just before services had begun, some kids were playing in the balcony, running around, squealing and shouting. The senior pastor came to the microphone and spoke these words: “Hey, kids. It’s time to settle down. I need you to settle down, now. I am getting ready to perform SPIRITUAL SURGERY here, and I need some quiet.” These youngsters quickly settled and readied for services to begin, and the pastor quietly spoke, “thank you, young people. Thank you.”
With that, a hush fell over the entire church as people, young, old and all others, began to prepare their hearts and minds to meet God in prayer, worship and reverence. Something we rarely see now-a-days as we sip our coffee in the auditorium, listening to modern ‘Christian music’ being played over the church’s audio system and glancing at the announcements via on-screen video and sit casually chatting with those around us, as we wait for the show to start.
Services, as I remember would ‘serve’ in a fashion that at their conclusion many would leave feeling a sense of spiritual renewal or spiritual relief – instead of being ‘pumped up’ to become a ‘better you or to hear ‘another fascinating bible story’; being inspired by the Word of God to live a holy life was a primary thing, and going to lunch with friends after church was just a secondary pleasure.
The ‘remaking of Church’, the work of redefining everything Christian, the hijacking of certain look-a-like ‘Christian practices and phraseology’ has lulled us into a relaxed slumber and has caused us to forget that we don’t just “GO TO CHURCH”, but that the “WE ARE THE CHURCH”. The Church goes wherever we go. We “ASSEMBLE AS THE CHURCH”, and this is why scriptures tell us “Do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrew 10:25). It is not a matter of “GOING TO CHURCH”, it is a matter of “BEING THE CHURCH ON THE GO”!
The day is coming though and is now at hand when every eye will see Him. For now, God is raising up a holy remnant in these last days: “Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” Romans 11:1-6
Please, let’s pray together:
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners shall be converted to You.
Your Brother and Friend,
Mike Young
PS: Ever so slowly, over decades, the Bible has been re-written (yes, re-written).
Using a slight-of-hand writing technique, over sixty people and organizations, putting themselves forward as ‘Bible translators’, have re-written the Bible. These are NOT new translations of the Bible. They are ‘new VERSIONS’; their own versions, of the Bible. But, like the writers of the English Standard Version are saying,
Here is a list and comparison of how THE KINGDOM, THE POWER and THE GLORY and other important verses have been deliberately altered or omitted from scriptures for reasons other than clarity and simplicity – no matter what they are saying to the contrary:
King James Version – “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen.”
American Standard Version – “And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
English Standard Version – “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
New American Standard Bible – “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”
“The English Standard Version (ESV) stands in the classic mainstream of English Bible translations over the past half-millennium. The fountainhead of that stream was William Tyndale’s New Testament of 1526; marking its course were the King James Version of 1611 (KJV), the English Revised Version of 1885 (RV), the American Standard Version of 1901 (ASV), and the Revised Standard Version of 1952 and 1971 (RSV). In that stream, faithfulness to the text and vigorous pursuit of accuracy were combined with simplicity, beauty, and dignity of expression. Our goal has been to carry forward this legacy for a new century.”
These people have deliberately removed wording that may be deemed confusing or offensive to a post-modern post-Christian culture. They have redefined certain words to suit their own cultural and religious worldviews. They, in essence, are playing God with the Bible and the results are now obvious: Church evangelism and Church growth is in decline, a serious decline that some are calling a freefall.
Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
American Standard Version – And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (missing: Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.)
(The American Standard Version was the basis of four revisions. They were the Revised Standard Version, 1971, the Amplified Bible, 1965, the New American Standard Bible, 1995, and the Recovery Version, 1999. A fifth revision, known as the World English Bible, was published in 2000 and was placed in the public domain. The ASV was also the basis for Kenneth N. Taylor’s Bible paraphrase, The Living Bible, 1971.)
English Standard Version – And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (missing: Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.)
(The English Standard Version (ESV) stands in the classic mainstream of English Bible translations over the past half-millennium. The fountainhead of that stream was William Tyndale’s New Testament of 1526; marking its course were the King James Version of 1611 (KJV), the English Revised Version of 1885 (RV), the American Standard Version of 1901 (ASV), and the Revised Standard Version of 1952 and 1971 (RSV). In that stream, faithfulness to the text and vigorous pursuit of accuracy were combined with simplicity, beauty, and dignity of expression. Our goal has been to carry forward this legacy for a new century.)
New American Standard Bible – And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.’ (missing: Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.)
The NASB does not attempt to interpret Scripture through translation. Instead, the NASB adheres to the principles of a formal equivalence translation. This is the most exacting and demanding method of translation, striving for the most readable word-for-word translation that is both accurate and clear. This method more closely follows the word and sentence patterns of the biblical authors in order to enable the reader to study Scripture in its most literal format and to experience the individual personalities of those who penned the original manuscripts.
NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE 2020 UPDATE
(After completion in 1971, the NASB was updated in 1977, 1995, and most recently in 2020. This brand new update of the widely respected NASB 1995 builds upon its strengths by further improving accuracy, modernizing language, and improving readability. The NASB 2020 is an important update because it utilizes advances in biblical scholarship over the past 25 years and it incorporates changes necessary to keep pace with the ever evolving English language. This refreshed text is designed to speak accurately and clearly to current and future generations.
The long-established translation standard for the NASB remains the same as it always has been, that is to accurately translate the inspired Word of God from the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts into modern English that is clearly understandable today.)
But, why remove and completely omit all of these entire verses?
Matthew 12:47 — removed in the footnotes
Matthew 17:21 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.”
Matthew 18:11 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
Matthew 21:44 — removed in the footnotes
Matthew 23:14 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.”
Mark 7:16 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.”
Mark 9:44 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
“Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Mark 9:46 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
Mark 11:26 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Mark 15:28 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.”
Mark 16:9-20 (all 12 verses) — There is a line separating the last 12 verses of Mark from the main text. Right under the line it says: [The two most reliable early manuscripts do not have Mark 16:9-20] (NIV, 1978 ed.) The Jehovah’s Witness “Bible” also places the last 12 verses of Mark as an appendix of sorts.
Luke 17:36 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.”
Luke 22:44 — removed in the footnotes
Luke 22:43 — removed in the footnotes
Luke 23:17 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “(For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)”
John 5:4 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.”
John 7:53-8:11 — removed in the footnotes
Acts 8:37 — COMPLETELY removed . It’s deletion makes one think that people can be baptized and saved without believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Sounds Catholic. What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Acts 15:34 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV says: “Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there still.”
Acts 24:7 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our hands,”
Acts 28:29 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.”
Romans 16:24 — COMPLETELY removed . What are you NIV readers missing?
KJV: “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
I John 5:7 — Vitally important phrase COMPLETELY removed . In the NIV it says,
“For there are three that testify:”
Compare the NIV reading with the following Jehovah’s Witness reading–
“For there are three witness bearers,”
What are you NIV readers missing? What does the real Bible say?
KJV: “For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.”
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