OCTOBER EDITION 2019... WONDERFUL WORDS OF LIFE...

                                               by Dr. Keith J. Wise

I. INTRODUCTION: In the month of October the leaves are turning and thoughts of Summer are fading. In Michigan and in many parts of the Mid-West and New England, this annual event presents some awesome experiences in what the locals call "leaf peeping."  This little phrase is a way to say we appreciate and sometimes become vividly aware the glory of color of the changing scenery around us.  I was born and lived in the industrial city of Steubenville, Ohio.  My section of town was called Lincoln Heights. Here "baby boomer" children and youth grew-up in safety and discovered the world.  My grandmother lived on the other block and it was my custom to walk between 549 Dresden Avenue and 506 Lincoln Boulevard. Often in the Fall I remember seeing any number of trees shed their leaves and provide a series of glorious reviews on sunny days and even on those rainy fall gloomy days.  My 5th grade teacher use to say to us, "...the changing of the colors of the leaves, remind us that God's tapestries are beyond words..."  I would second that motion and encourage you, no matter where you live to talk walks and see the ever changing world in the month of October.

II. DIGGING DEEPER... Some Interesting Details Concerning the Bible...

I believe I ran this series of materials in one of my earlier blogs, but I thought it was interesting and informative and thought you would enjoy reading it again. 

The Bible as a library of books, has blessed the world with its message from its Judaeo-Christian roots. It has been loved and cherished in one setting and despised and ridiculed in another.  However, it has endured the challenges and perversions of its message for the ages and is still the "best" seller of all volumes.

The Bible is spoken of to be the Sword of the Spirit (Eph.6:17). Therefore, one desiring to be a disciple of the Lord should spend time in its study in order to prepare, meditate and share it with others, and when necessary, correct false teaching that is not aligned with its clear historical and theological injunctions (II Tim.2:15; 3:16; II Peter 3:15).

The numerous translations of the Bible will have similar statistics that I will be sharing here, but for all intents and purposes, we will digest the King James Version.  The (KJV) contains 3,566,480 letters, 773,746 words, 31,102 verses, 1,189 chapters, and 66 books.  There are 39 books in the Old Testament, and 27 books in the New. The Bible is composed of writings from about 40 men, writing over a period of some 1600 years; from 1500 B.C. to A.D. 100.  It was primarily written in Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic.

The word "Jehovah" appears 6,855 times; "Lord" 1,853 times; "and" occurs 46,277 times and the words "reverend", "grandmother" and "gnat" appear only one time each.  The book of Esther has ten chapters, but the words "Lord" and "God" are not found within it.  The shortest chapter in the Bible is also the middle chapter, Psalm 117.  The middle verse is Psalm 118:6; the middle book of the Old Testament is Proverbs; and the middle verse in the Old Testament is II Chronicles is 20:13.  The shortest verse in the Old Testament is I Chronicles 1:25; and the longest is Esther 8:9. 

In the New Testament, the middle book is II Thessalonians.; the middle chapter is between Rom.13 and 14; the middle verse is Acts 17:17; the shortest verse is John 11:35 in English, but in I Thess. 5:16 in Greek.  The longest verse in the Bible is Esth. 8:9, which is ninety words. The longest word in the Bible is in Isa.8:1; and all the letters in the alphabet are found in Ezra 7:21, except the letter "j".  Two chapters in II Kings 19 and Isaiah 37, are almost identical.

The Bible holds the distinction of being the first book printed with movable type, in 1450.  The first Bible printed in America was in the native American language, by John Eliot.  The King James version was published in 1611.  The American Standard version was published in 1901, and the New International version was completed in 1978. Revisions has been made in it and any number of other translations and paraphrases have followed.  The Bible was divided into chapters by Cardinal Hugo in 1250.  The New Testament was divided into verses by Sir Robert Stephens in 1551.  The entire Bible was divided into chapters and verses in the "Geneva Bible" which was translated in 1560.  This was also knows as the "Breeches Bible" because it read, "They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves breeches." (Gen. 3:7)

The Red Letter Edition Bible was a product of Louis Klopsch.  He was the first editor of the "Christian Herald" magazine.  He printed the Red Letter Edition in 1901.  He based it from Luke 22:20, "This cup is the new Testament in my blood, which is shed for you."  He reasoned that all blood is red, thus Christ's words should be in red, as a constant reminded to the reader.

The Bible has been translated into almost every language and dialect in the world.  It is the only book that gives a definitive answer to the question of man's origin, mission and destiny.  Above all else, the Bible is a textbook on salvation, and should be seriously examined and studied, then carefully accepted and obeyed, and lastly, it should be religiously taught unto all men.  It is to that end that this material has been gathered for your interests and edification. (Note: This material was in part the product of Dr. Hoyt Allen, at the time Evangelist with the KYOWVA Evangelistic Associated of Ironton, Ohio)

III. DID YOU KNOW??? How Could All the Animals Fit in the Ark?

This is one of those surface questions often ask by honest people and some skeptics seeking a few answers concerning the universal flood of Genesis.  There are some statistics and logic that answer in practical form this question and others in regards to the capacity and dimensions of the Ark.

John Whitcomb and Henry Morris, in their book, The Genesis Flood, did an exceptionally thorough job of analyzing the data  relating to the physical dimensions and carrying capacity of the ark.  They noted that the ark would have been 437.5 feet in length, 72.92 feet in width, and 43.75 feet in height (given from 17.5 inches per cubit). 

The ark had three decks (Gen. 6:16), so the total deck area was approximately 95,700 square feet, and the total volume 1,396,000 cubit feet. The gross tonnage of the ark would have been approximately 13,960 tons, which is comparable to some large, modern day vessels.

The carrying capacity of the ark would, therefore, be equal to 522 standard railroad stock cars, each of which could carry 240 sheep.  The ark could have accommodated at least 125,000 sheep.  Additionally, Genesis 6:14 tells us that besides having three decks, nests or rooms were constructed to house the animals. Beside all of this, we now know from genetic information that the ark would have been a virtual "gene pool" for future procreation and adaption in a post flood world.  A known writer in this field is Frank Lewis Marsh.  He has noted that "...over 500 varieties of sweet pea have been developed from a single type pea since the year 1700; and that over 200 distinct varieties of dogs, that are different from each other as the dachshund and the collie, have developed from a very few wild dogs." 

III. NUGGETS OF NOURISHMENT... A Sermon: "Who's That Beside You?"

Text: I Timothy 4:16-18

Introduction: No mater your age or place in life, sooner or later you will need someone to stand beside you and with you. Such was the case of the Apostle Paul who finds himself in Rome having been put on trial with no one to stand with him. Demas, a Christian brother and co-worker had deserted him, Paul said, "having loved this present world," and only Luke had returned. (vs.11) He recounts a man by the name of Alexander the metalworker who had "done him great harm..." (vs.14).  So in this circumstance Paul gives us a hint how we can endure and thrive even in the midst of rejection and pain.

A. Believe: (have faith)- 

     Edwin McManus, a Christian writer has said: "You and I were not created to believe in nothing."  But believing in God is not something done for our own sake.  Trusting belief in God enable us to believe in each other. He empowers that perspective.  We also need people around us who believe in us.  Let's be honest, isn't it great to have people in your life who believe in you?  In short definition, we would agree with the 19th century poet Cyprian Norwid who wrote: "...To be what we define as happy we need to have, 1)something to live on ("meaning"), 2) something to live for ("purpose"), 3) something to die for ("destiny")."  These are all wrapped up in the drama and tragedy of life.  Jesus provides all the above and more...with much more to come.

B. Belong: (Community)

     As a people we are here making the Church one community of faith and love. Only such genuine belonging can fill the void inside each of us.  Realize that in this imperfect community here, you will let people down and they will let you down.  As much as we would like, no human being will ever love you the way you want to be loved, basically because of our own imperfect perceptions of love and life.  (Illust: Fred Rogers of "Mister Rogers" fame, built his whole program on the idea that everyone longs to be loved and longs to know that he or she is lovable.  Like it or not, we belong to others at some level.

C. Become: (Grow and Mature)

     If you stop and think bout it, we are one of the few creatures in God's creation that can become "more" than we are from every perspective. Our more noble-self can emerge in the midst of any crisis we face.  This can happen both for us and for others.  We often hear about frailty and weakness, which is self evident.  But when Christ enters the picture a new confidence and new direction emerges.  We need the positive challenges of life and friends to help us.  Let us look beyond our confines, beyond our restrictions and fears to positive answers and life.  As we look to Christ today we are enabled to go beyond yourselves to grow and mature.  

Conclusion: (Poem-"I believe...") So Believe, Belong, Become and gain that new perspective.

IV. QUOTABLE QUOTES... Words to Live By or Ponder...

1. "It is not enough to learn the tricks of the the trade...you must learn the trade." (Ben Franklin)

2. "One of the most important lessons that experience teaches is that, on the whole, success depends more upon character than upon either intellect or fortune." (William Edward H. Lecky)

3. "The aim of education should be to convert the mind into a living fountain, and not a reservoir.  That which is filled by merely pumping in, will be emptied by pumping out..." (John M. Mason)

4. "...within man's reasoning he pardons his actions through the court of his mind" (William Locksey)