This phrase from St. Paul’s
Epistle to the Thessalonians (5:17) has always made an impression on me. How
can we pray without ceasing? How can we do that, when we have countless things
to do on a daily basis? We have to work, we have to eat, drink, sleep, read,
write… Many times, God is not in our mind; we are overtaken by our daily
troubles. Nonetheless, there are examples of people who can pray without
ceasing. These are the monks, the priests and the faithful in general. How do
they do it? How do they pray constantly? The answer is to be found in St. Isaac
the Syrian’s Mystic Treatises, where
he explains:
‘When the Spirit takes its
dwelling-place in someone, he does not cease to pray, because the Spirit will
constantly pray in him. Then, neither when he sleeps, nor when he is awake,
will prayer be cut off from his soul; but when he eats and when he drinks, when
he lies down or when he does any work, even when he is immersed in sleep, the
perfumes of prayer will breathe in his heart spontaneously’.
This explains the scripture! Thanks Dimitry!
ReplyDeleteBTW I love feeding the fish!
ReplyDeleteTHE TRUSTED VERSION BY STEVE FINNELL
ReplyDeleteIs there only one translation of God's word that is correct? Have all others been corrupted?
Some would say that the King James Version would be "THE TRUSTED VERSION", others would advocate the Revised Standard Version, the American Standard Version, the New International Version etc. This presents us with a couple of problems.
The first problem, is who is correct? Some of the advocates who champion the King James Version as "THE TRUSTED VERSION" say it was the first English version, and God did not make a mistake. Actually, the Wycliffe New Testament was translated into English (hand written) in 1385. The Matthew-Tyndale complete Bible was translated from the original Greek and Hebrew in 1547. It is also worth noting the 1611 King James Version sold in most Christian bookstores today is not the original King James Version.
We need to stop worrying about which translation has omitted a certain word or passage of Scripture and just teach, believe, and practice what the Bible declares.
The truly sad thing is even though some believe in "THE TRUSTED VERSION" scenario, many of them still proclaim God's word to be mistranslated if it does not affirm their view of doctrine. To make "THE TRUSTED VERSION" proclamation, is in effect saying all other translations of God's word cannot be trusted. Can this be confirmed using Scripture? No, this conclusion, along with the assertion that the Bible has been, in general, mistranslated, can only be supported by quoting books written about the Bible, commentaries, and other opinions of men. This discredits God's word. The ramifications of which are creating doubt and unbelief in non-Christians, the novice church member, as well as some seasoned Saints.
To discredit God's word is no small matter. Satan's very first act of deception was to discredit God's word. Genesis 3:1-5 Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman , "Indeed, has God said, 'You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?".....3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in middle of the garden, God said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it , or you will die.' 4 The serpent said to the woman , "You surely will not die!........(In a manner of speaking, Satan was saying do not trust God's word).
Is God to be trusted? 1 Peter 1:24-25 For, "ALL FLESH IS LIKE GRASS, AND ALL ITS GLORY LIKE THE FLOWER OR GRASS, THE GRASS WITHERS, AND THE FLOWERS FALL OFF, 25 BUT THE WORD OF THE LORD ENDURES FOREVER." And this is the word which was preached to you.
Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
If you trusted God to send His Son, Jesus, to die for the sins of all mankind and believe He created all things, then why is it so difficult to have enough faith to believe that God can guide men to translate His word without errors?
"THE TRUSTED VERSION" or "JUST TRUST GOD"?
(All Scriptures quotes from; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE)
(For the serious Bible student I would recommend a word for word translation, such as the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BILE, KING JAMES BIBLE, ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION, or NEW KING JAMES VERSION, however, I have no doubts that 99% of the 60+ translations in English, can give you the proper instruction as to how to get to heaven.
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