Posted by Deb Beaton/Author Unknown on 7/30/2001, 1:13 pm

New Living Bible Posted by Deb Beaton on 5/19/2001, 8:25 pm Is anyone familiar with the New Living Bible. I admit I cringed when I heard Dobson using it. Since then I've heard it was a fairly decent translation.? (Brings me back to Mss. and Translations class with Lanny.) db ---------- Posted by Dave Kenady on 5/19/2001, 9:57 pm , in reply to "New Living Bible" Info on the New Living Translation -- click below.... Link: New Living Translation Info www.newlivingtranslation.com/about.html ---------- Posted by Deb on 5/20/2001, 8:10 am , in reply to "Re: New Living Bible" Thanks Dave - you're fast! Sounds decent, eh? db ____________________ A small sample of my coming book Posted by Author Unknown on 5/19/2001, 12:40 pm Chapter 3 THE INVITATION TO THE GREAT BANQUET The Greek word for church in the New Testament is “ekklesia,” which is derived from “kaleo” and means “to call.” Kaleo can be understood as used in a classroom when the teacher calls a student to the front of the class. The expression church has much the same meaning: its focus is also on people being called out, especially from among the non-believing. All who make up the church have been “called.” Everyone is invited, but not everyone answers the call. For some, the voice of the Shepherd is drowned out by the cares of this life. They simply avoid the challenge of resisting sin and exercising faith with all the other things Christians do that seem so laborious to them. Others fail to find fellowship with Christ because they have either bought into or fallen into the deception of false teaching. Then there are those who know and trust in Christ’s sacrifice, but their heart is far from him, people who have found salvation but have never pressed on in their spiritual development. Still there are many who fail to comprehend the real intent of Scripture: their hearts are cold and bitter, and they portray God as an oppressive taskmaster. Finally, there are people who are meek at heart, who lean not to their own understanding or trust in their own providence, but rather rely on Jesus, having faith that he is both Lord and Savior. These possess true wisdom. In this chapter we will look into history, we will investigate Scripture, and we may even examine our own hearts and see if we might be found among the company of believers that Christ is longing to bring to the Great Banquet. The Religious Groups of Christ’s Time One looking into the history of religious sects at and around the time of Christ can draw parallels to the mindset of many Christians today. Two thousand years ago, there were several devout groups in Israel. The Pharisees and Sadducees were the largest denominations and they were mentioned in the New Testament on several occasions. In the days Jesus walked the earth, most of Israel was keeping the Old Testament covenants. They observed the Sabbaths. They kept the feast days. The Nation of Israel was looking for a deliverer as promised in the Scriptures to free them from Roman rule and usher in a kingdom with Jerusalem as its chief city. Four hundred years had passed since Israel had seen a prophet. Then the day came when John the Baptist began baptizing in the Jordan River. John had no phylacteries upon his forehead nor did he look as spotless as the lawyers and scribes who came to see him, yet he was more pure than any one of them. John’s elegance was from within. The visible church at that time had all the outward splendor of a sanctified group, many were well dressed and freshly bathed, but some of the most distinguished ones were lacking in what really counted—inward attributes like: “justice, mercy and faithfulness.” When John saw “many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers” (Matthew 3:7, NIV). These men were the highest-ranking leaders in Israel, but John weighed them on a true scale and found them lacking. These men attended the synagogue weekly and kept all of the required ordinances, and they were the most prominent of Israel’s upper class. Yet John told them to repent of their wrongdoing and then come and be baptized; they refused. Instead of taking John’s advice, they publicly discredited him. When Jesus spoke to them, he said, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are” (Matthew 23:15, NIV). Christ claimed these Pharisees were ungodly men. He went on to say, “on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness (Matthew 23: 28 NIV). If the Scribes and Pharisees had been humble, God-seeking men, they may have repented and found righteousness. The irony is they were so devout in their outward ceremonial practices, they mistakenly thought they were sanctified. They were missing the whole meaning of the rituals; these teachers of Israel needed to do some learning themselves. All of their observances were pointing to Christ, yet when they looked him in the face they failed to recognize him. These men were a part of Israel’s visible congregation, but they really weren’t part of the true assembly. When Christ tried to reprove them explaining that genuine righteousness is from within, they quickly dismissed his words. How many men and women today who are active in religion wouldn’t recognize Jesus if he showed up at their door? How many people today would also quickly dismiss his words, trusting beyond hope that mere ritual will save their souls? Among the visible church there are those who have failed the grace of God. Instead of growing to maturity, these people remain bound in religious ceremony. The Wedding Parable is a Model Envision a bride-to-be having a dream about her wedding day, yearning to be swept away from her ho-hum existence; suddenly a shining prince on a white horse sweeps her into his arms and takes her into a paradise land with crystal clear waters and wondrous surroundings. She dreams on. In this wonderland they will live forever young with a depth of love that has no bounds. This bride’s dream shadows the actual picture of paradise waiting on the horizon for the ones Christ loves. A man and woman in wedded bliss is a natural model that has a supernatural counterpart. From the very beginning, God’s plan was to live and dwell with his human children. From the very beginning, God has longed to love and cherish his created children. Through his Christ, God will fulfill his plan. Jesus will ride up on a white horse as a shining prince and receive his bride unto himself: ”Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!” (Revelation 19:9, NIV) I hope you enjoy this small sample.