New NIV Translation: Be Aware

From Brian Mitchell:

Well, you may be aware that Zondervan (who holds the copyright of the NIV translation) and the Committee on Bible Translation (formed in 1965 for the creation and revision of the NIV) released the TNIV in 2001/2005 which was made more gender-neutral. Many evangelicals (and other less liberal believers) rejected the TNIV. [ Lifeway even opposed it and refuses to carry it. ]

Zondervan and the CBT have gone back to the drawing board. They are now releasing what is referred to as NIV 2010 or NIV 2011. (The previous edition was NIV 1984). Rather than erasing the drawing board before trying another run at it, they used the TNIV as their starting point and have kept much of the TNIV’s gender-neutrality. They are not giving this translation a new name (like they did TNIV) but it will simply be the NIV. Any future NIV that you purchase will be different from your older NIV bibles.

See the post on the blog of The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood at: http://www.cbmw.org/Blog/Posts/CBMW-Responds-to-New-NIV2011

This site provides the statistics and also shows the side by side comparisons of verses changed from NIV to TNIV to NIV 2011:

http://www.biblewebapp.com/niv2011-changes/

NIV(1984) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

TNIV(2005) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me.

NIV(2011) Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.

The Knowledge Trap

1Co 1:26 MKJV
(26) For you see your calling, brothers, that not many wise men according to the flesh are called, not many mighty, not many noble.

Paul spoke of the 'foolish things of God' as being greater than the strong things of men. Have you noticed there aren't a lot of tremendous minds in the Kingdom? Oh, yes there are some! But with knowledge comes pride that wars against the Revelation of Jesus. The wonderful thing about the Gospel of the Kingdom is that it is for the unlearned and learned alike. It's for everyone! Anyone who can accept the news can also propagate it.

1Co 1:29 MKJV
(29) so that no flesh should glory in His presence.

We want... we desire... we strive... to know 'about' God - often for the wrong reasons. But to know God with a son's heart is to realize the Glory of the Father, which automatically places us in the proper perspective. The flesh cannot even begin to stand up to the weightier manifestations of His Spirit! It will shake... cry... collapse... even lose consciousness at times...

We could ask another question that might begin with "Then, how could Satan...?" The answer is the devil is not flesh, nor has he ever had the heart of a son. Every realization of his existence has been out of a prideful heart. In truth, this may never change, but his knee will bow nonetheless. This is who he is. How many people will follow his way? Jesus answered that question with this word: agonize.

I thank God for those who have taught me some of the deeper things of God. God has hidden much for those of us who love to dig, and He invites us to don our shovels. But knowledge of Him is for walking a little further with Him alone, and blowing oxygen on the smoldering spiritual fires of our brethren. It's not for hanging a diploma on the walls of our hearts.

Dabbling in Spiritual Cowardice

My original title for this post was "It's Time". Unfortunately I've used that before so I had to get more to the point. It IS time for Christians to step into what we have all been called to become: Christ-like. I have detected a shift, spiritually, since the beginning of this year. Everyone in my spiritual circle (which spans multiple congregations) has noticed this. Granted... those in prophetic circles have seen revival of epic proportions coming to this part of the world for a long time. It's my belief that it is here. People are hungry... and nervous.

Have you ever been invited to a pool party where the water was cold? The only ones who were really happy were the ones who had jumped in. Everyone else was apprehensive, reluctant, unsettled, afraid... you know the feeling. It's time to jump in and get wet. The Christian walk has plenty of opportunity to be uncomfortable. Yet, continually wrestling with whether to jump in or not will eventually wear you out, and you will end up going home in a bad mood. The only cure I know for being wishy-washy... is to stop. It's time to be serious about the Kingdom of Heaven. If you haven't noticed... God's Kingdom isn't the only one in which there has been a shift this year. Have you been watching the news?

A shift in the heavenlies has taken place. There is spiritual warfare happening now at a scale we have not seen in a while, and this is evidenced by the unrest in the nations. In the end, there can be no neutrality. Jump in.

Jesus the Builder - Pt3

How did Jesus learn so much, and who taught Him? This is the question the local experts wanted to know as well.

Joh 7:15 MKJV
(15) And the Jews marveled, saying, How does this man know letters, not being taught?

Isaiah had insight on this, as he wrote of the Messiah:
Isa 50:4-5 MKJV
(4) The Lord Jehovah has given Me the tongue of the learned, to know to help the weary with a word. He wakens morning by morning, He wakens the ear to hear as the learned.
(5) The Lord Jehovah has opened My ear, and I was not rebellious, nor turned away backwards.

Jesus was awakened in the morning - listening - to God. God gave Him ears to hear:

Rom 10:17 MKJV
(17) Then faith is of hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

Remember, to be a follower of a rabbi is to become like the rabbi, not to learn what the rabbi knows! Jesus was a disciple of God Himself, and as we know, He was the very face of God.

Jesus the Builder - Pt2

As stated in the previous post, it was the responsibility of the Jewish father to begin teaching his son a trade by age 12, and to find him a wife by age 20. As we know, Jesus was not promised a wife in the flesh. Why did Joseph fall short in this responsibility? These are valid questions that require valid answers, or the very heritage of a Jewish Jesus is in question!

In Luke 2:41-48, we see that Jesus and Joseph are together. Jesus is about to enter 'middle' school, and is probably learning a trade at this point from Joseph. After this, Joseph disappears and is not seen again in the text. Why? All indications are that Joseph died at a young age. When the family of Jesus comes to retrieve Him in Matthew 12:46-49 ("Who is my mother and who are my brothers?") Joseph is not present. In John 19:26-27 as Jesus is dying, He gives His mother to John, also indicating that Joseph is no longer in the picture. This narrows down the time of death for Joseph to be while Jesus is between the age of 12 and 33.

Since Jesus was not promised a bride (excluding the possibility of further angelic visitation to Joseph on this subject) we can assume that Joseph passed away during the teen years of Jesus. The most gifted of students started middle school around the age of 12 while they worked their trade. Jesus was as gifted as they came, and He would have done likewise until the age of 15. At 15 the truly gifted would abandon their trade and seek to follow a rabbi with authority, one of the great Rabbis. Why did Jesus not do this?

If the father of the family died, the eldest son would take the responsibility for providing for the family. We know that Jesus did not follow a great rabbi of the day, lending more credence to the presumption that Joseph died while Jesus was 12-15 years old, and Jesus worked to provide for His family as the eldest should. He was a Teckton. So how did Jesus learn, and from whom?

Jesus The Builder - Pt1

The scripture says that Joseph, the father of Jesus, was a 'teckton', or 'builder'. Most scripture declares him a carpenter, although wood-working would have been probably the oddity during that day. Stone masonry would have been much more prevalent, as housing stones, mill stones, temple and synagogue stones had to be chiseled. Wood very often was imported in from Lebanon for large-scale building. That's not to say that carpentry didn't exist. We don't know what kind of builder Joseph was, just that he was.

In Jewish culture, it was required that a man teach his son his trade by around age 12, and find him a wife around age 20. Joseph would not have diverted from his culture, so it's right to assume that about the time we see Jesus teaching and asking questions in the temple (Luke 2:46), He is also starting to learn to be a builder from His father.

The Importance of Two or More

Just take a quick look at these scriptures. Notice, they are in pairs (and about pairs).

Deu 19:15 MKJV
(15) One witness shall not rise up against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin that he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses, or at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be made sure.

Mat 18:16 MKJV
(16) But if he will not hear you, take one or two more with you, so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.


Mat 18:20 ASV
(20) For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Pro 27:17 ESV
(17) Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.

Gen 2:18 MKJV
(18) And Jehovah God said, It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.

Joh 15:26 ESV
(26) "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

Maybe this opens up a world of implications for you as it did for me. For instance... where two or more are gathered in MY name, there is 'establishment'. There I am - says Jesus. Deuteronomy 19:15 says that on the testimony of two or more, we will consider the matter as 'truth'. Jesus says when two or more of you are gathered in MY name, I will be there - the TRUTH.

Gen 1:16 MKJV
(16) And God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day and the smaller light to rule the night, and the stars also.

The lesser light is a reflection of the greater. It 'bears witness' that there is a greater light when the greater light cannot be seen. This is why the moon is symbolic of the church, or spiritual Israel. This concept is so prevalent in scripture that a books could be written.

Greater Darkness, Greater Light

As Christians, most of us wish to see miracles, but most of us don't want to need them to survive. However, that desperation is coming quickly. In fact, it's that desperation that may be what pushes us into the 'greater things' Jesus spoke of.

As the times grow darker, all light will appear brighter. The gray areas will disappear because neutrality is going away. Church, what we have prayed for is coming upon us, but it's probably not going to be in a jolly, care-free kind of way. The Acts 2 church existed in a time of oppression and occupation. People did not have the unlimited resources we've grown accustomed to in the west. As a result, they had a desperation for God that many of us have never experienced.

The word from the Lord is this: lean on Me, first. Put your faith in Me, now, before you choose to trust anyone else.

Much like bowing the knee... it's much better to bow now than be forced to bow later. The word is TRUST NOW.

Joh 1:5 MKJV
(5) And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overtake it.