Happy New Year! The best is yet to come…

star1Last night at church we had a fun time of fellowship. We welcomed the new year with the reading of this Scripture and a reminder that we are closer to the return of Christ, and His making all things new. Rejoice in expectant hope! Behold all that awaits the faithful…..

Revelation 21
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

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Inspiration of the Words of the Bible

As I listen to a lecture on the errors of Bart Ehrman’s book Misquoting Jesus, a helpful comment was made — and worth keeping in mind. One problem Ehrman raises is this: how can we know what God said in the inspired Word, if we do not have the original manuscripts of the Ot and NT?

The answer: Let us remember that divine inspiration of the words of Scripture is NOT limited to the ink of the words first written. The inspiration was of the words — the terms themselves — not simply the physical first edition. If we have a body of manuscript copies that faithfully contain the original words, (and we do!), we have the inspried Word of God.

Read, believe and obey.
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