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Pastoral Nuggets |
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Please allow me to start today’s Pastoral Nugget by giving credit where credit is due. Unbelievably, something my good friend Dr. Ahhhaaaa-men, Paul Baxter of First Baptist Church in LaGrange, said recently served as the inspiration for today’s Nugget. Now, for those of you who know Paul as I do, you know He doesn’t say too many things that are really, really profound, so, when he does I have to take full advantage of it. (Love ya Paul!) (Just kidding!) We were at the memorial service for a precious saint of God, Janet McMillian. Janet was the precious mother of Jimmy & Jackie and the widow of one of my personal heroes of the faith, Rev. J. C. McMillian. When Jimmy McMillian, Bobby Bozeman, and Paul entered the pulpit at Baptist Tabernacle to conduct Janet’s memorial service, Jimmy & Bobby sat in one of the pews in the pulpit area and Paul sat on the other by himself. As Paul patiently awaited his time to speak, he noticed a Bible on the seat beside him. He picked it up and began to thumb through it. He soon realized that it was one of J. C. McMillian’s old Bibles. As he thumbed through the worn, tattered, marked-up pages of that Bible, they bore witness to him that a man of God had used this particular sword well. He realized he was holding a treasure in his hands. After Bobby and all the grandchildren had spoken and several songs had been sung, Paul stood to address the crowd. He turned toward Jimmy and confessed that while the songs were being sung and the grandchildren were paying their respects to their grandmother, he had been selfishly thumbing through his father’s Bible. He then turned toward the congregation and held up J. C.’s Bible. He informed us that it was a King James Version of the Bible. He then asked if we would like to know his favorite version of the Bible. He said he we would tell us if we would all say, “Ahhhaaaa-men” instead of “A-men.” Now, I must admit, about this time the thought was running through my mind, “Why in the world is he talking about different versions of the Bible at Janet’s memorial service?” However, without even stopping to consult me regarding my opinion, he proceeded to say, “The King James is not my favorite version of the Bible, or the New King James, or the Living Bible, or the New International Version, or the Holman Christian Standard.” Then he paused and said, “My favorite version of the Bible is the version I have seen fleshed-out by saints of God like Janet as they have weathered the storms of life.” I turned to Marianne and in hushed tones whispered, “That was profound!” And indeed, it was. My friend had hit the nail square on the head. He captured the essence of the Christian life. When all is said and done and someday some pastor stands over our lifeless bodies, the measure of our life will not be determined by what version of the Bible we read, professed, or perhaps have even made a point of doctrinal contention. The measure of our life as Christians will be determined by the version of the Bible that exuded from every fiber of our being as we weathered the storms of life. When people read the Bible according to you and me, I wonder which version they are getting. Do they get one version when things are going well in our lives, but quite another when things are going poorly? I wonder if the unsearchable depths of the love and the mercies of God exude from us in all life’s situations, or do we present a situational gospel? I wonder, what is the gospel according to me? What is the gospel according to you? Which version do we present? The King James Version of the Bible translates Mark 12:30 as, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.” The New King James Version translates it, “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. This is the first commandment.” Did you notice the different verbiage in the two translations? Did you see “thou” vs. “you,” “shalt” vs. “shall,” and “thy” vs. “your?” Now, I realize that some of you reading this Nugget today will go to your grave defending the old English verbiage of the King James Version of the Bible and that some will go defending modern translations. And be very sure, my purpose today is not to pick a fight over Bible translations. My purpose is remind each of us that, regardless of our personal Biblical preferences, to a lost, dying, hell-bound world, our lives may be the only Bible some will read. And regardless of whether we prefer “thou” to “you” or “shalt” over “shall,” the bottom line is that when the world looks at you and me they must know, even through all life’s situations, good or bad, hot or cold, up or down, that we truly love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. How will they know? Because His presence exudes from every fiber of our being. We must present a translation of the Bible that gives love to the unlovable and hope to the hopeless. The world is reading the Bible according to you and me. Which translation are we presenting? Thank you J. C. McMillian for leaving behind a worn-out King James Translation of the Bible. Thank you Janet McMillian for living a translation of the Bible that pointed others to Christ. Thank
you Paul Baxter for reminding each of us to live a translation of the Bible
that, in the words of the old hymn boldly proclaims, “I serve a risen Saviour,
He's in the world today, I know that He is living, Whatever men may say, I see
His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, And just the time I need Him He's
always near. Chorus:
He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today! He walks with me and talks
with me along life's narrow way. He
lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives: Proverbs 25:11 “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” Brother Aaron
Copyright 2008 Aaron McCollough Fresh Fire Ministries All Rights Reserved
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