Author: rey

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history

What’s Wrong With the KJV (or Other Bible Versions)?

Have you wondered why the King James Version uses words that aren’t in any other version? Or why some verses you read make no sense (like James 2:3)?

Have you ever heard “The Holy Spirit has preserved the Word of God so as to give us this Authorized Version”? Or have you heard that others have come along and introduced the doctrines of men into the newer versions? Sometimes even saying that it’s theological bias?

In this post, I want to give an answer for you folk who are wondering: (1) Is there anything wrong with other Bible versions and (2) Is there anything wrong with the King James Version?

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church human

What Is God’s Will For My Life (and Yours)

For years I was told to seek God’s will for my life. What career God wants for me. What school God wants me to go to. What woman God wants me to marry. That if I don’t do these things I am acting outside of the will of God and at best missing out on blessings or at worse sinning.

I was told that if I made right choices, I’d feel the peace of God that passes all understand. But if the wrong choices I’d have nothing but problems.

For me, these sorts of words led to worry. “What if God wanted me to be a missionary?”, I thought with fear as I picked my college. Quickly followed by “what if by going to that school I had missed out on the girl God wanted me to marry?”

Let me break down my thinking which I think accords more with Scripture.

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study

Do You Really Need To Take Notes?

In all honesty, a post like this can be counterproductive. I’ve argued for two posts that there should be some theological methodology for taking notes and that there are some goals while taking notes. In this post, I want to point out that none of this is really necessary and that might wind up cancelling the previous two posts.

Here’s why: we moderns tend to think that if something isn’t necessary then it isn’t really important and might not even be helpful. We Evangelicals happily point out that liturgy isn’t necessary and then often condemn liturgical churches while ignoring our own liturgies (Open in Prayer; Make announcements; sing three songs; introduce the speaker with a benediction; Prayer before speaking; the message; Close in Prayer). I’ve seen the same thing done to sports, movies, exercise, and voting.

And then, things that we want people to do, we underscore as “necessary” and add a guarantee to the thing (ie: note-taking is guaranteed to increase your love for the Lord). So here are 8 reasons why note-taking isn’t necessary.

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study

How To Take Notes

So with my previous post on the theological methodology for note-taking in mind, and as part of a textually minded culture, I think we should be taking notes—no matter the tool (computer, notepads, mp3 recorders, stenography). In this post I want to six goals for taking notes.

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Categories
study

Thinking Theologically About Taking Notes

In the How to Study Your E-Bible series, I listed digital tools for note-taking with respective methods (recording mp3’s, outlines, etc). I mentioned that the process should be easy, accessible, and personal but in this first of three posts I wanted to highlight seven points of a theological methodology for note-taking.

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