What's Wrong with THIS Picture?

From the new edition of the NIV.  Please don't look it up.  One word has been removed from the text and replaced with another word:

⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to worship together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

I'd love to know, privately, if you were successful in noting the word that doesn't belong and to determine the word I removed.

Finishing the Quote

"...so let's give thanks to the Lord above 'cause Santa Claus comes tonight."

Says it all. Says it all.

My First Entirely Secular Holiday Celebration

For a ton of reasons, this year I determined not to try to keep Christ in Christmas.

Among the many reasons are the creeping high church-ism in my own tradition and the realization that, apart from high church circles, Christmas is nothing--that there is no New Testament evidence that early disciples celebrated the nativity.

So this year I just dove head first into the secular and to a lesser degree, the Madison Ave holiday.

And, I have to tell you, it was a blast. I've had more fun this year than ever.

I will celebrate the incarnation with every breath I breathe. But, I can't see me ever doing CHRIST-MASS ever again.

Finish the Quote

Don't look it up. This should be fairly easy.

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"Peace on earth will come to all if we just follow the light..."

Makes you think, eh?
;-\

An Insight from Today's Mediation Walk with the Dog

Biblically speaking, a worship service is neither.

What's Wrong with this Picture?

Below is a quotation of Titus 1:5 from the new version of the NIV.  I have removed one word from that verse and substituted another word in its place.

The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every church, as I directed you.

Without looking it up, can you tell which is the word in question?

Do you know what word it has replaced?

(If you reply on the blog, please do so in a way that will not give the answer away to people who find this after you.)

Francis Chan on the American Church

The--what many would call--house church with which I meet on Thursday evenings is devoting some of its time many of the times it gathers to the reading of Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love.

Yesterday I came across this comment on page 68 of the earlier edition:

...the American church is a difficult place to fit in if you want to live out New Testament Christianity...Taking the word of Christ seriously and literally is rarely considered.  That's for the "radicals" who are "unbalanced" and who go "overboard."  Most of us want a balanced life that we control, that is safe, and that does not involve suffering.

Right on, Francis.  Continue to live it and preach it, brother!