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bible (51)

Where do you get your history from?

                                                  Where do you get your history from?

                                

 

     I love some of the old Hollywood movie battle scenes where the wagon train gets attacked by Indians, when the cavalry defends its fort, when there’s a big Roman army battle or a cowboy gunfight. But what I soon learned is that Hollywood movies are not very accurate in their history.

     For example, I grew up in the 1950’s watching TV, so there were NEVER any cowboys who were black. Years later, I found out that 25% of cowboys were black. I was shocked!
     Wagon trains were another example of inaccurate history. Hollywood always shows the big white cloth covered Conestoga wagons travelling in a single file.  But Conestoga wagons weren’t used in wagon trains as their center of gravity was too high and a good stiff plains state wind would blow them over. They used regular wagons without the big white cloth covering them. And they only traveled in single file when going thru the mountains or a very narrow pass. Travelling single file would have kicked up a tremendous of dust for any wagon that was behind the lead wagon. They normally traveled side-by-side in a long row.



They also never circled the wagons in an Indian fight. They wouldn’t have had time to do that. The Indians also never circled the wagons. Indians weren’t dumb. Circling the wagons would have made them all moving targets. Instead, Indians attacked the wagons head on. They did, however, circle their wagons at night to keep the animals in.
All of these things, the Conestoga wagons, traveling in single file, circling the wagons in an Indian attack and the Indians circling around the wagons were inventions of Hollywood writers because they all looked better on camera.

     Regarding cowboy gun duals, Hollywood became obsessed with the fastest gun winning. But when Wyatt Earp was interviewed shortly before his death in the 1920’s, he exploded this myth. He said the fastest gun that shot first generally missed their target and that the guy that took time to AIM usually won. And cowboys who “fanned” their guns almost always missed as “fanning” your gun threw off your aim.
We often hear about how violent the old West was with all those gunfights going on.  But the old West wasn’t nearly as violent as Hollywood might have us think. Read 
https://www.wideopenspaces.com/10-misconceptions-guns-wild-west-pics/ and https://history.howstuffworks.com/historical-events/ridiculous-history-the-wild-wild-west-was-really-the-mild-mild-west.htm.

     In the movie “Gladiator” starring Russell Crowe, they have the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius being killed by his son, Commodus, who then became Emperor. But in real life, Marcus Aurelius retired and Commodus succeeded him as Emperor. In the movie, Commodus is killed by Russell Crowe’s character but in real life, he was poisoned by his wife. When that didn’t work, his wrestling partner strangled him while he was bathing.

     Also at the end of the movie, Rome returned to being a republic. In real life, Rome NEVER returned to a republic but kept on being an empire. Finally, there is no evidence that Marcus Aurelius wanted to restore Rome to a republic. This was an obvious appeal to 21st century democratic ideals. While Marcus Aurelius wasn’t a terrible Emperor (as Emperors went), he wasn’t the wise philosopher-king the movie made him out to be. He did violently persecute Christians.

     So, as you can see, it’s best not to get your history from the movies. Hollywood’s purpose is to entertain and to make money, not to be a history teacher. It’s a shame because their influence on gullible Americans is great. While you may like seeing battle scenes in the old West or the ancient world (I sure do), don’t trust Hollywood to be real accurate. They have got it right a few times, like in 1964’s ‘The Longest Day’ or 1970’s ‘Tora, Tora, Tora’, but overall, they’re not very accurate.

  

    

     What I learned from this little episode in my life was to watch what I accepted as truth. Was the source of a particular truth claim reliable? Did that source have an agenda? It made me appreciate the one source that I do have that guides my life…the Bible. I know when I look to that source that it is the ultimate truth that has my best interests at heart.

 

For His Kingdom and picky moviegoers,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com

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Hasn’t the Bible been re-written so many times that it can’t be trusted?

 

     Most of the bibles written today are written from only a few manuscripts. Then why do we have all these different translations? We don’t have the original manuscript of any ancient historical document. All we have are copies of them. How do we know that Julius Caesar ever existed? We have copies of manuscripts that attest to his existence. But we only have a few copies and they are dated to several hundred to more than a thousand years after when he existed. Whereas we have thousands of New Testaments, some written from 50-100 years after Jesus existed. So, we have wayyyy more copies of the New Testament than any other ancient historical document. The time frame between the event and the earliest copies is way, way less than any other ancient document. For a more complete answer, please refer to our class “How We Got the Bible” at https://www.bsssb-llc.com/video-courses-overview/how-we-got-the-bible/. Teacher notes 07-11 or scroll down to video 3-HD.  So the bible documents are much more accurate than any other ancient document that we have.


When the King James bible (KJV) was written, scholars had New Testament copies that were only so old. When the slew of modern translations were written, they had older copies to translate from. But the most important thing to remember is this…no matter when the copy was written, they are almost completely identical. This can be said of no other ancient documents that we have. So, in practical terms, it really doesn’t matter too much what translation you read. They all say the same thing.

     But why are there so many modern translations? There are two ways to translate anything.
– word for word…this is the most accurate way but it’s not the most readable.
– thought for thought…this is the most readable but it’s not the most accurate.
Most people want a translation that is accurate and readable. The NIV is the best for accuracy and readability. See the table below that compares several translations. As you can see, it just depends upon which translation suits you best.
  You can now buy an NIV bible that has study notes geared to the subject of archaeology or apologetics (the defense of the faith) or life applications or teen-agers, etc. You can also buy large print bible or thin line bibles for traveling or bibles that have space for journaling or ones that are geared to men or women or children. There are bibles that list 4 different translations side-by-side on one page so you can compare different translations (parallel bibles). As with many things in America, there is a plethora of choices in bibles.

     As of October 2017, the full bible has been translated into 670 languages. The New Testament has been translated into 1,521 languages and bible portions or stories into 1,121 languages. But the bible is NOT available in 57% of the world’s 6,901 languages.
2,195 languages (26%) are in the process of getting the bible translated into their own language. But the bible is being translated into more languages and at a faster rate than ever before.

     Here are the bible translation designations:
NIV=New International Version                                    NLT=New Living Translation
ESV=English Standard Version                                      CEV-Contemporary English Version
NASB=New American Standard Bible                         MSG=The Message Version
KJV=King James Version                                                  TEV=Today’s English Version
NKJV=New King James Version                                     RSV=Revised Standard Version
HCSB=Holman Christian Standard Bible                    NRSV=New Revised Standard Version

 

 For His Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com

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The Bible in one page

The Bible in One Page

God made Adam & Eve to fellowship with Him forever. Because He didn’t make them robots, He gave them free will. After some time, they chose to turn away from Him and follow the Devil. Since they chose the Devil’s way, they lost their eternal life and direct contact with God.

God made a long term plan to win them back.

The children Adam & Eve birthed got worse and worse so God destroyed them with a flood and He started over with one man, Noah. He spoke to all humanity thru Noah and then Shem.

That didn’t work out well either, so God broke them up by confusing their language.

He then spoke thru another man, Abraham and his descendants, the nation Israel.

That didn’t work out well either, so He spoke to the nation Israel thru another man, Moses. He also FREED THEM FROM SLAVEY, for crying out loud.

That didn’t work out well either, so He spoke to them thru a group of Judges.

That didn’t work out well either. The people wanted a King, so He spoke to them thru a King.

That didn’t work out well either. Israel was so rebellious, so He allowed a foreign nation to rule over them, to get their attention.

That didn’t work out well either, so He finally gave them His long term plan. That worked out GREAT, even though it didn’t seem that way right away. The Church was established but the world around it kept getting worse.

Finally, He sent Jesus back a 2nd time. Jesus set up His kingdom and ruled forevermore. All the people then realized that the problem was not with God but with them. That’s why things never worked out. They needed a new nature, they needed their old sin nature removed.

The people who didn’t love God or Jesus got to be without Him forever. Hell is separation from God forever. God didn’t send them to hell. It was their own choice to go to hell.

The people who loved God & Jesus got to be with Him forever in heaven and, man, was it GREAT!

The end…except that it never ends. Life goes on for an eternity. It’s just where you chose to spend it. Genesis is paradise lost. Revelation is paradise regained. In-between these 2 books is the story of us, our relationship with God and what He did to repair it.

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Space Age Quotes

See if you can guess who said the following:

“In this age of space flight, when we use the modern tools of science to advance into new regions of human activity, the Bible – this grandiose, stirring history of the gradual revelation and unfolding of the moral law – remains in every way an up-to-date book.
Our knowledge and use of the laws of nature that enable us to fly to the moon also enable us to destroy our home planet with the atom bomb. Science itself does not address the question whether we should use the power at our disposal for good or for evil.
The guidelines of what we ought to do are furnished in the moral law of God. It is no longer enough that we pray that God may be with us on our side. We must learn to pray that we may be on God’s side.”

A few years later, he wrote:

“One cannot be exposed to the law and order of the universe without concluding that there must be design and purpose behind it all…The better we understand the intricacies of the universe and all it harbors, the more reason we have found to marvel at the inherent design upon which it is based…
To be forced to believe only one conclusion – that everything in the universe happened by chance – would violate the very objectivity itself…What random process could produce the brains of a man or the system of the human eye?…
They (evolutionists) challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we really light a candle to see the sun?…They say they cannot visualize a Designer. Well, can a physicist visual an electron?…What strange rationale makes some physicists accept the inconceivable electron as real while refusing to accept the reality of a Designer on the ground that they cannot conceive Him?…
It is scientific honesty that I endorse the presentation of alternative theories for the origin of the universe, life and man in the science classroom. It would be an error to overlook the possibility that the universe was planned rather than happening by chance.”

You probably think these were made by a preacher or a theologian. If you think this, you’d be wrong. The above 2 quotes were made by the “Father of the American Space Program”, the director of NASA and the U.S. guided missile program, Dr. Werner von Braun (1912-1977), one of the top space scientists in the world.

What do you think of his statement that we should present other scientific theories on the origin of the universe in our classrooms?

werner-von-braun

For his Kingdom,
Dave Maynard
https://bsssb-llc.com

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Anxiety and fear are relentless. These are two of the enemy’s most popular weapons that he uses against us. Unchecked fear can keep you in bed for hours past what is healthy or wise. Anxiety can also show us as fiery anger, in unkind speech and hurtful attitudes. The longer you struggle with fear, the more likely it is for you to be overwhelmed by it, allowing it to control your every decision and move. Choosing not to deal with it can leave you with scars. Even still, we have a promise that “God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability” (1 Corinthians 10:13), and this includes the sinful unbelief of an anxious heart. One of the best ways to rid yourself of the fear that is plaguing you is to turn to Scripture. Here are eight Bible verses that remind us God is in control.

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Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Sometimes, we can read certain verses from Scripture a hundred times and fail to take them to heart the way the Lord wants us to. Other times, we can linger on a verse or two, and let them minister life, healing and comfort to us. Isaiah 41:10 is so rich with the promises of God that it warrants some special attention from us. Ultimately, the Lord wants to impart to us through this verse that we shouldn’t be afraid. “Fear not [there is nothing to fear].” On reason why God warns us against fear is that it can short-circuit the answered prayers and blessings that He has in store for us.

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Psalm 46:1
“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

By definition, a refuge is a safe place. When the Bible describes God as our refuge, it is saying that God is our safe place when we need protection from something. Knowing God is our refuge enables us to trust Him more freely. We need not fear situations or people who threaten our well-being, whether in a physical or spiritual sense. There is no situation we will ever face that is out of God’s control, so the best place to be, always, is right with Him.

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Philippians 4:6-7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

According to data released by Amazon on the most highlighted passage in Kindle ebooks, the most popular passage from the Bible is this passage from Philippians. Most biblical scholars agree that the apostle Paul composed Philippians while he was in prison so the fact that Paul was able to reject anxiety even during his own imprisonment makes the passage all the more encouraging. Although it might seem novel to see biblical writers addressing modern worries, the lesson from this passage is timeless and can affect anyone. The life of faith is filled with a constant challenge to risk more to become our true selves.

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1 John 4:18
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The One who fears is not made perfect in love.”

In the previous verse (verse 17), John tells us how to have confidence or boldness on the Day of Judgment. And in verse 18, he tells us how to cast fear out of our lives. These are simply positive and negative ways of saying the same thing: getting rid of fear is the negative way of saying become confident. John wants to help us enjoy confidence before God. He does not want us to be paralyzed or depressed by fear of judgment.

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Psalm 94:19
“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.” Psalm 94:19

What this Psalm tells us is that even in rough or desperate situations, we can be filled with the joy of the Lord. He is our consolation and His Word eases anxiety like nothing else can. God can bring joy to your soul even during times when you’re most anxious by simply knowing that He’s present and trusting in His power.

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Luke 12:22-26
“Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”

Life is more than food and clothing. God has reminded us of that throughout the Scriptures. Jesus reminded us of it when He faced temptation from Satan. So we shouldn’t worry because God will take care of the big stuff and the little stuff. Worrying doesn’t change things, big or small, except to make those problems appear worse than they really are. So why let ourselves get so worked up into a frenzy over “big things”? Cast your cares on God and then trust in His wisdom.

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Psalm 27:1

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?”

Like many psalms, King David wrote this from a season of trouble. Yet, it is a song of confidence and triumph because David was not in darkness or ultimate peril because the Lord was his light and salvation. God Himself brought light to David’s life. He did not despair in darkness and all that it represented. His life was filled with the Lord, and his life was filled with the light.

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Revelation 1:17
“Then He placed His right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.”

Jesus said first, “Do not be afraid” This is what we need to hear in these days when many of us are so anxious. Remember, fear doesn’t glorify God. Jesus was always saying “fear not” to his frightened disciples. The Gospels record that every time they were in trouble, they expressed themselves in manifestations of fear, anxiety, worry and panic, but the Lord always came along at the right moment and said, “Fear not.” We are called to do the same.

One of the best ways to combat two of the enemy’s weapon of fear and anxiety is through the power of Scripture. Read God’s Word, and repeatedly immerse yourself in it. The more you read, the better you will understand His Word and the truth found in it. While fear may continue to show up for you, when you acknowledge and truly believe God is in control, fear and anxiety will no longer paralyze you.

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Excrepts from my book A Prayer Study Guide

This book makes a compelling argument for the value of prayers in the lives of all believers 8466511663?profile=originalregardless of religious persuasions. The non-believer can go to God in sincere prayer with a repentant heart; God will hear and answer if the prayer request aligns with the will of God. If one were to study prayer from an objective, psychological point of view, or even study prayer from a historical point of view, prayer has a definite value.

The book is available through Amazon.com and from the author by contacting her at white3285@sbcglobal.net.

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RCBI On Blog Talk Radio

From the book, "First Things First", Russel Board writes on the subject of Prayer.

Today, we continue, with Dr. August S. Francis, to cover the subject of Prayer and the Types of Prayer that are covered, overall, in the Word of God.  Prayer is conversation with the Lord and we must take it very seriously.  How can we do the work of the Lord without speaking to the one we work for.  Let's take a look at His Word!

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The new Remnant Church Bible Institute broadcast, "I Can Talk To God"  (PRAYER) at http://tobtr.com/s/7187545. Let's go into the things of the Lord!

Remnant Church Bible Institute

Tell Them Outreach Church

Tell Them On Facebook

Tell Them Prayer Page (Jesus Is Lord Over The Golden Triangle)

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The Bible!

With a host of books written and the host of people who are teaching from their own words, why do we need the Bible?

 

Remnant Church Bible Institute

rcbi-edu@outlook.com

1-409-234-5854

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rcbi/2014/09/27/remnant-church-bible-institute-the-bible-gods-word-for-me

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What Is The Fruit Of The Spirit?

We are presenting the last teaching on this subject and the closing section of this chapter.  Please take the Fruit Of The Spirit very seriously.  This is the personality of Jesus that the Holy Spirit wants to develop in our lives.

As the late B.H. Clendenon stated, "The Lord is more interested in 'us' being something then He is in 'us' doing something!"  Be who the Lord wants you to be, then you will do what the Lord wants you to do.

 

Remnant Church Bible Institute

rcbi-edu@outlook.com

1-409-234-5854

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rcbi/2014/08/23/what-is-the-fruit-of-the-spirit

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What Is The Fruit Of The Spirit?

What I ask you to notice is the question and the way it is phrased.  "What IS The Fruit Of The Spirit?"  Not "...what ARE the fruitS..."

The Fruit Of The Spirit IS One, not many!

Let's look at the Word of God and the lessons.

Remnant Church Bible Institute

rcbi-edu@outlook.com

1-409-234-5854

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rcbi/2014/08/09/what-is-the-fruit-of-the-spirit

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http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rcbi/2014/08/02/how-are-spiritual-gifts-to-be-used

According to our author, Russell A. Board, "There are four (4) principles to guide us in the exercise of the Gifts Of The Spirit..."

Let's examine the use of the Gifts and operate by the Holy Spirit.

 

Remnant Church Bible Institute

rcbi-edu@outlook.com

1-409-234-5854

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The Gifts of the Spirit help us to present Jesus to the world!  These are not "toys" for the church world to amuse themselves or to show off to each other.  We were present these and are presented these gifts to manifest Jesus.  And the Word of God says that the earth groans for the manifestation of the Sons of God.

Remnant Church Bible Institute

rcbi-edu@outlook.com

1-409-234-5854

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rcbi/2014/07/26/what-are-the-gifts-of-the-spirit-part-4

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