The Bible View #914 — Gratitude

In This Issue:
Do You Appreciate What You Have Before It’s Gone?
Always Green    In Everything Give Thanks
The Blessing in Being Robbed
Thankful for the Fleas
Memorial of Gratitude
Count It All Joy     Never Happy

Volume: 914     July 10, 2023
Theme: Gratitude

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Do You Appreciate What You Have Before It’s Gone?
Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Michael Green

There is a fictitious story about a day when the sun did not rise.  Six o’clock came, and there was no sign of dawn.  At seven o’clock, there was still no ray of light.  At noon, it was as black as midnight.  No birds sang, and only the hoot of an owl broke the silence.  Then came the long black hours of the afternoon.

Finally, evening arrived, but no one slept that night.  Some wept; some wrung their hands in anguish.  Every church was thronged with people on their knees.  Thus they remained the whole night through.

After that long night of terror and agony, millions of eager, tear-streaked faces were turned toward the East.  When the sky began to grow red, and the sun rose, there was a loud shout of joy.  Millions of lips said, “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” because the sun had risen after one day of darkness.

The very consistency of God’s blessings sometimes seems to dull our gratitude.  The wonderful thing about the mercies of God is that they are fresh every morning and new every evening.  Let us remember to be constantly thankful to our gracious God.
“It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23


Always Green
Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Michael Green

An evergreen is always green despite the changes in weather around it.  It is green in the heat of summer and the cold of winter.  

So also our lives are to be characterized by an enduring thankfulness that is unaffected by the changes around us.  When the heat of a pressured week or the deadly cold of pain strikes us, we should stand “ever green,” continually thankful, regardless of what surrounds us.


“A little boy was asked by his father to say grace at the table.  While the rest of the family waited, the little fellow eyed every dish of food his mother had prepared.  After the examination, he bowed his head and honestly prayed, ‘Lord, I don’t like the looks of it, but I thank you for it, and I’ll eat it anyway.  Amen.’” — Green

In Everything, Give Thanks
Author Unknown

‘Mid sunshine, cloud or stormy days,
When hope abounds or care dismays,
When trials press and toils increase
Let not thy faith in God decrease
“In everything give thanks.”

All things we know shall work for good,
Nor would we change them if we could;
‘Tis well if only He command;
His promises will ever stand
“In everything, give thanks.”

He satisfies the longing heart,
He thwarts the tempter’s cruel dart,
With goodness fills the hungry soul,
And helps us sing when billows roll.
“In everything, give thanks.”

“Be thankful you’re still above ground.”  
 

The Blessing in Being Robbed
Matthew Henry

After being robbed, Bible commentator Matthew Henry, wrote in his diary, “Let me be thankful.  First, because I was never robbed before.  Second, because although they took my wallet, they did not take my life.  Third, because they took my all, it was not much.  Fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed.”

Thankful for the Fleas
Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Michael Green

“Rejoice evermore.” I Thessalonians 5:16

In The Hiding Place, Corrie ten Boom related an incident that taught her always to be thankful.  She and her sister, Betsy, had just been transferred to the worst German prison camp they had been to, Ravensbruck.  On entering the barracks, they found them extremely over-crowded and flea-infested.

That morning, their Scripture reading in I Thessalonians reminded them always to rejoice, pray, and give thanks for all circumstances.  Betsy told Corrie to stop and thank the Lord for every detail of their new living quarters.  

Corrie, at first, flatly refused to give thanks for the fleas.  Still, Betsy persisted, and Corrie finally succumbed to her pleadings.  

During the months spent at that camp, they were surprised to find how openly they could hold Bible study and prayer meetings without the guard’s interference.  It was not until several months later that they learned the guards would not enter the barracks because of the fleas.


Memorial of Gratitude
Illustrations for Biblical Preaching, Michael Green

A very poor and aged man busied in planting and grafting an apple tree was rudely interrupted by this interrogation, “Why do you plant trees?  You cannot hope to eat the fruit of them?”

He raised himself and leaning upon his spade replied, “Someone planted trees for me before I was born, and I have eaten the fruit.  I now plant for others that the memorial of my gratitude may exist when I am dead and gone.”

Count It All Joy
Barbara Brinkworth

As a new Christian, over 40 years ago, a close friend encouraged me to read the Bible daily.  Of course, there were many things I did not understand. 

As I read the Bible through each year, the stories in God’s Word became more familiar.  I looked forward to my time in the Scriptures.

Four or five years later, there was still one verse that made no sense to me.  It was James 1:2, ”My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations;”  How could one thank God for problems? 

I had been through many tests and trials since I had trusted Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour.  During those times, there had not been a lot of joy going on.  I had to move from West Virginia to New Jersey to care for my ailing parents.  My younger brother died at 36, and ten days later, my mother died.  Within two more years, my dad died — unsaved.  That was very hard to accept.  Also, my oldest daughter was involved in a very serious motorcycle accident.  Whew!  Was I joyful during all these events?  I think not.

Since God’s Word is true, what had I missed about James 1:2?  How could I accept and understand that verse?  God had the answer, and he gave it to me as a present on my forty-second birthday.  Here is how it happened:
I was at a Bible seminar with two friends, who were also sisters.  At some point, the speaker discussed James 1:2.  As always, I had listened in vain, hoping to apply that verse to my own life.  During the next break, I spoke to my friends about their mother, Dot.  She had been through many trials recently, including the death of her husband and some serious physical problems of her own.  She was discouraged, to say the least.  Suddenly I found myself saying, “Wouldn’t you think Dot would see God’s hand working through her problems?  Wouldn’t you think she would know God cares and count it all…?”  I stopped mid-sentence.  That was my answer to the meaning of James 1:2.  It was not that I should be joyful for the trials, but rather joyful about the God of the trials.

Through the testings and temptations God brings into our lives, He teaches us how to live and serve Him better.  He also reveals more about Himself to us in each diverse situation.  As we see Him work through our trials, we are more assured of His love and care.  We learn more about His character.  Our faith is strengthened as we see God working on our behalf in ways only He could accomplish.

Now, James 1:2 is part of my own personal arsenal to keep discouragement at bay.  During times of diverse temptations, I can better trust God and count it all joy.  I wait and see how He will use the trials in my life for my ultimate good and His eternal glory.

“The brook would lose its song if we removed the rocks.”  — Author Unknown



Never Happy
Stennett

The discontented man is ever restless and uneasy.  He is dissatisfied with his station in life, his connections, and almost every circumstance that happens to him.  He is continually peevish and fretful, impatient of every injury he receives, and unduly impressed with every disappointment he suffers.

He considers most other persons happier than himself and enjoys hardly any of the blessings of Providence with a calm and grateful mind.  He forms a thousand distressing fears concerning the future and makes his present condition unhappy by anticipating the misery he may endure in years to come.

“Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.”  Proverb 27:20

The BIBLE VIEW #913 — End Times

In This Issue:
Sorrows
When Will the End of the World Come?

Volume: 913     July 3, 2023
Theme: End Times

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Beginning of Sorrows
Bill Brinkworth

“For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.  6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.  8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:5-8

Matthew 24 speaks of sorrows that will occur before the seven years of the future Great Tribulation.  It warns that some will declare that they are the Christ, nations will war against nations, famines and pestilences will occur, and earthquakes will increase.

Many of those occurrences have happened throughout history.  However, before the end of day’s tribulations, they will increase.  The Bible says those happenings will be the beginning of sorrows to come.

Sorrows have always plagued mankind.  Because of the introduction of sin by Adam and Eve, all experience hardship and great sadnesses.

Because we temporarily reside on a sin-cursed planet, all have and will experience sorrows.  Even Jesus did, as was prophesied centuries previous to His ministry on Earth.
“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Isaiah 53:3

Most will face:
Personal sorrows.
“I am afraid of all my sorrows, I know that thou wilt not hold me innocent.” Job 9:28

God allowed sorrows
“How oft is the candle of the wicked put out!  and how oft cometh their destruction upon them!  God distributeth sorrows in his anger.” Job 21:17
“Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips.” Psalm 16:4

Remembered Sorrows.
“It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.”  Psalm 127:2
“For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night.  This is also vanity.” Ecclesiastes 2:23  Also: Isaiah 13:7.

Forgotten sorrows.
“They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones, they cast out their sorrows.” Job 39:3

Sorrows from losing loved ones.
“The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.” Psalm 18:4   Also: Psalm 116:3.

However, the most devastating sorrows will be experienced by those who have not been saved by trusting Christ’s sacrificial death to pay for their sins.

Sorrows of the unsaved.
“Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the LORD, mercy shall compass him about.” Psalm 32:10

The greatest sorrow the lost will experience will be when one finds oneself in a tormenting, unescapable Hell.
“The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell gat hold upon me: I found trouble and sorrow.” Psalm 116:3
“The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.” Psalm 18:5  Also: II Samuel 22:6.


One can avoid the sorrows of Hell by being born-again (John 3:3) into God’s family.  However, even the child of God will experience many sorrows.  Be encouraged, Christian; you are not alone in the valleys of despair.  Your mighty God will be your guide and helper through the turbulent times.
“So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” Hebrews 13:6
“For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.” Psalm 72:12  Also: Psalm 54:4.

“God doesn’t give us what we can handle.  God helps us handle what we are given.” Author Unknown   


When Will the End of the World Come?
Bill Brinkworth

Since the time of Jesus’ disciples (Mat. 24:3), many have wondered, “When will the end of the world come?” Many have given dates for the end or dates for biblically predicted end-time events such as the rapture, the last judgment, the Battle of Armageddon, and even the future of humanity.  All foretold dates have been wrong, obviously!

One internet site, Wikipedia.com, has recorded more than 158 predicted days for end-time events that never occurred.  Many of the prediction dates came from fairly well-known people such as Martin Luther (“not later than 1600”), Christopher Columbus (1658), John Wesley (1836), Jeanne Dixon (2/4/62), Jim Jones (1967), Charles Manson (1969), and Nostradamus (7/1999). 

Some “religious” folks have also given their predictions, including Catholic popes (1/1/1000, 1284, 1901), Herbert W. Armstrong (1936, 1943), Hal Lindsey (1980s), Jehovah’s Witnesses (1908, 1914, 1916, 1941, 1971, 1975, 1984), Seventh-day Adventists (1999), and Sun Myung Moon (2000).  Since 1977, someone has set a date for an end-time event almost every year.

There are also many predicted dates for the future.  Jean Dixon (a psychic) also claimed something will happen between 2020 and 2037.  Nostradamus again predicted another date of 3797.

When the projected dates were given, I imagine some were concerned.  Many may have been alarmed and tried to prepare for what they thought would be a cataclysmic event by stockpiling and hoarding supplies, as some are doing today.

Although all the past predicted dates were wrong, some overlook the only source that has never been wrong about predicting events.  That source has foretold many historical events, and most prophecies have already come true.  Some predicted events were even warned about 1,000 years before the event occurred. 

This authority told about the coming of God’s Son and what He would do on Earth.  All those prophecies about Jesus came true.  The reliable source also gives many predictions about future events.  That source is God’s Word, the Bible.  If it was correct about hundreds of past prophecies, we can also trust its accuracy about future events that have not occurred yet.

However, the King James Bible, as accurate as it has been in the past, does not give dates for end-time events.  God’s Word has indicated that it is not for mankind to know when God will begin the last-days events.  He even states that the angels do not know the day and hour, nor does His only Son, Jesus.
“But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.” Matthew 24:36

If the heavenly host and Jesus do not know when such events will occur, we can be assured that a common, sinful man will not know either.  Certainly, those who believe contrary to what the Bible commands will not be told the details of God’s plan, including psychics, unbiblical religions, astrologists, and even some preachers.  Why anyone would think that a Holy God would whisper end dates to human-sacrificing, false god worshipping Mayans is even more ludicrous.

Many sense that the “end” is getting closer.  Cataclysmic events may occur.  This year may be a challenging year financially and physically for many.  Most have been snubbing their noses at God for a long time.  Why would He not begin to exercise His promised events soon?

However, the last day’s events will begin when God says it is time, and they will be according to how His Word records them.  God’s Word says the rapture of God’s people will happen first, followed by the seven-year tribulation, the 1,000-year reign of Christ, and other judgments on the Earth’s inhabitants.  After they have occurred, this world will be “passed away” (Revelation 21:1), and a new Earth will replace the old. If people would read and believe their Bible more than what the television or some newspaper writer says, they would realize that most predictions are not even close to what will happen.  Read and

The BIBLE VIEW #912 — The Cost of Sin

In This Issue:
Payday Will be Someday
The Leopard Is Out of Control
Serve Not Sin
There Is Danger Close at Hand
Others Go Down with the Sinking Sin Ship

Volume: 912     June 26, 2023
Theme: The Cost of Sin

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Payday Will be Someday
Bill Brinkworth

Psalm 94 and many other Scriptures ask the same question.  How long are the wicked going to get away with their sin?  We see and hear so many in blatant disregard to God’s moral laws and His desired behaviors, and we wonder how some seemingly get away with the terrible things they are doing.
“LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?” Psalm 94:3

The answer is they will not get away with sin.  The payday for iniquity will come someday.  It may be today; it may be ten years from now.  They may appear unscathed from their wrongdoing in this life, but there is God’s promise that in the next, they will stand before a judge that will issue a verdict they will fear and regret.

As I told many Sunday school classes, no one gets away with sinning against God.  True to that biblical promise, I have seen sinners pay a price for their wrongdoing that they never thought they would pay.  The wage for their offense against God came after the transgression, bringing grief and regret that lasted much of their lives.

When raising my daughter, I remember her observation of one in our church that regularly committed sins.  One day she commented, “See, so-and-so is doing this and that, but nothing is happening to them.”

My reply was, “Be patient.  They won’t get away with it.” Sure enough, a time did come, several years later, that they received the wage for the transgression they had sown, and it was devastating. 

God is the judge, and nothing escapes His scrutiny.  Vengeance is His, and He will receive it (Psalm 94:1-2).  All wrongdoing will be dealt with (Psalm 94:4-6).

A sinner may think their iniquity escaped the eye of the Lord, but it did not (Psalm 94:7-10).  He even knows our thoughts (Psalm 94:11), so there is no escaping sin’s consequences.  With this in mind, it is prudent and wise to flee sin and get as far away from it as possible.
“And he shall bring upon them their own iniquity, and shall cut them off in their own wickedness; yea, the LORD our God shall cut them off.” Psalm 94:23
“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Galatians 6:7

“… there are only two places for your sins: either they are on Christ or you.  If they are on Christ, the judgment is passed; if they are not, you have only judgment to look forward to in the future.”   — J. Vernon McGee


The Leopard Is Out of Control
C. H. Spurgeon

I have heard of one who kept a tame leopard in his house.  He had nursed it when it was a cub, and it wandered and played about the house like a cat.  One day, while the master was asleep, it licked his hand.  The man’s blood flowed as the cat licked a place where the skin was thin and broken.

All the wild instincts of the beast of the forest flashed in its fierce eyes.  The man suddenly awoke and saw the situation.  His end was near unless he should be quick and skillful enough to destroy the animal.

Do you think he paused or hesitated?  No.  A loaded pistol was within reach, so he stretched out his hand quietly, grasped it firmly, aimed it steadily, fired it instantly, and the creature lay dead at his feet.  It had come to the time that either he must kill it, or it would kill him.

It may be so with you.  Your sins began to draw blood from you already.  Those stings of conscience, that empty purse, or those alcohol-induced red eyes, are telling what sin can do.  Not yet do you know all its horror.  Before the leopard springs upon you and speedily tears you into pieces, God can help you give it up!

“Lusts of the flesh are much like enemy soldiers encamped within us, foraging amongst us, and ready to enforce their military control against us.”
— Author Unknown

Serve Not Sin
Edited from Morning and Evening, C. H. Spurgeon

“Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Romans 6:6

Christian, what hast thou to do with sin?  Hath it not cost thee enough already?

Burnt child, wilt thou play with the fire?  When thou hast already been between the jaws of the lion, wilt thou step a second time into his den?

Hast thou not had enough of the old serpent?  Did he not poison all thy veins once, and wilt thou play upon the hole of the asp and put thy hand upon the cockatrice’s den a second time?  Oh, be not so mad nor so foolish!

Did sin ever yield thee real pleasure?  Didst thou find substantial satisfaction in it?  If so, return to thine old drudgery and wear the chain of bondage again if it delights thee.  Inasmuch as sin did never give thee what it promised to bestow, but deluded thee with lies, be not a second time snared by the old fowler; be free.

Let the remembrance of thy ancient bondage forbid thee to enter the net again!  It is contrary to the designs of eternal love, which all have an eye to thy purity and holiness.  Run not counter to the purposes of thy Lord.

Another thought should restrain thee from sin.  Christians can never sin cheaply.  They pay a heavy price for iniquity.  Transgression destroys the peace of mind, obscures fellowship with Jesus, hinders prayer, and brings darkness over the soul.  Therefore, be not the serf and bondman of sin.

There is yet a higher argument.  Each time you “serve sin,” you have “Crucified the Lord afresh and put Him to an open shame.” Can you bear that thought?  Oh!  If you have fallen into any sin during this day, it may be my Master has sent this admonition today to bring you back before you have backslidden very far.

Turn thee to Jesus anew.  He has not forgotten His love for thee.  His grace is still the same.  With weeping and repentance, come to His footstool, and thou shalt be once more received into His heart.

“True repentance hates the sin, and not merely the penalty…”  — Taylor


There Is Danger Close at Hand
Bill Brinkworth

When working with young people, I often tried to get them to deal with the sin in their lives. Sin was usually the culprit behind most problems they had. After discussing the wrongdoing they were involved in, and what the Bible said about it, I sometimes heard the remark, “Oh, God just doesn’t want me to have any fun.”

The reason God wants all to keep away from sin has nothing to do with prohibiting us from any “fun.”  He knows that sin always hurts someone, and that is why God hates sin so much. Getting involved in iniquity ruins marriages, robs people of joy, shortens lives, destroys and wastes futures, causes physical problems, shortcircuits proper thinking, and has thousands of other terrible side effects.  No wonder God detests sin!

There is also another very important reason God abhors sin.  God knows that there is a terrible price tag on all sin. Unless one’s sin is paid for by trusting only on the shed sacrifice of Jesus’ blood, there is an eternal price for our iniquities.

Just as one works all week and expects a wage for their labor, so will it be at the end of our lives. For the unsaved, the wage for their sins will be an eternity in the Lake of Fire.  That is unfortunate news, but there can be good news. The good news is that there is a gift from God that will save all sinners that believe and request it.  It is the gift of eternal life in Heaven by receiving Christ as Saviour.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23.

“You can make choices freely, but you cannot determine the consequences of those choices.” — Barbara Brinkworth

Others Go Down with the Sinking Sin Ship
C. H. Spurgeon

A vessel sailing from Joppa carried a passenger, who, beneath his berth, cut a hole through the ship’s side.  The men on the watch reprimanded the unthinking man.

“What doest thou, O miserable man?” they cried.

The offender calmly replied, “What matters it to you?  The hole I have made lies under my berth.”

The passenger finally saw his folly as the whole ship began to sink.  Sailor’s lives were endangered.  Merchants lost their livelihoods as their onboard cargo was lost at sea.  One man’s foolishness cost so many very much.

No man perishes alone in his iniquity.  No man can guess the full consequences of his transgression, but usually others suffer from another’s sin.


The Burglar in the Heart
C. H. Spurgeon

I do not believe that a man becomes a villain all at once.  He puts his soul to school.  His thoughts are his teachers, or rather, they are the schoolbooks in which his soul reads.  At last, he becomes capable of transacting the deeds of a scoundrel.

If you think long upon any sin, the chances are that as soon as the temptation to that sin comes, you will commit it.  Beware then of all thoughts of sin.

If you show a thief all the locks and bolts and bars in your house and tell him how the cellar window could be opened or the back door be made to give way, do not be surprised if one night you should find all your goods stolen.  If you introduce these evil thoughts into your habitation, you should not wonder about the consequences.

The BIBLE VIEW #911 — Thoughtlife

In This Issue:
A Tale of Two Minds
Our Thoughts
As We Think
A Recipe for Health

Volume: 911   June 19, 2023
Theme: Thoughtlife

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A Tale of Two Minds
Bill Brinkworth 

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” II Corinthians 5:17

After one is saved, it is often argued that a child of God is “brainwashed. After having a lifetime of being filled with godless, worldly philosophies and unhealthy ideas, most brains need to be washed of unscriptural influences.

When one is saved, he becomes a new creature (II Cor. 5:17) with a new mind.  Examine some of what the Bible says about the new, godly mind:

A godly mind should have desires and thinking similar to Christ’s.  As the acronym WWJD suggests: What would Jesus Do?  What would He do if He were in the situation in which you find yourself?  We should have thinking patterns similar to those of the Son of God.
“For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him?  But we have the mind of Christ.” I Corinthians 2:16

A godly mind wants to please God. 
It shares the desires that God has instilled in it.  An unsaved person cannot experience this.  This is why they do not understand the different thinking of a Christian.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:” Hebrews 8:10   Also: I Peter 1:13, 3:8.

A godly mind should be an eager, willing one desiring to serve God and follow His leadership.

When Nehemiah took on the task of rebuilding the place to worship God, he was successful because there were people helping him with a mind to work.  Work for God will not grow if people do not desire to work to accomplish the desires He has put in their hearts.
“So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” Nehemiah 4:6

David had a deep desire to build a place of worship.  Because his background involved much bloodshed, God would not allow him to build the temple.  Solomon, David’s son, could build it, according to God.  David put his energies into getting the materials to build it, so the place of worship could be built.  His godly mindset was to build a place to worship God even if he was not allowed to build it.  The leader was determined to help another construct it.  We need to have similar thinking in accomplishing something for the Lord.

“And David said to Solomon, My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God:” I Chronicles 22:7  

A godly mind should be a remembering mind.  This mind remembers the spiritual lessons it was taught.  It is a mind that can hear and understand the words and urgings of God.  It is a spiritually sensitive mindset.

An example is Peter.  Peter was not standing up for Jesus as he should have, but he remembered what he was told.
“And the second time the cock crew.  And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.  And when he thought thereon, he wept.” Mark 14:72    A “remembering” mind can be convicted of God’s will and way.

A godly mind is a “right” mind.  When Jesus healed the demoniac, he put the man in his “right mind.”  This implies there is such a thing as a “wrong mind.”
“And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.” Mark 5:15


Here is how God defines a wrong, ungodly mind:
An ungodly mind is a forgetful mind.  No, I am not referring to the aged mind that forgets what it did yesterday.  I am referring to a mind that chooses not to remember the things of God that it has already learned.  That mindset does not want to hear the convicting voice of God.
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;” Romans 1:28

An ungodly mind is a prideful mind.  King Nebuchadnezzar had such a mind, and God taught him a painful lesson.  The King learned the hard way who was responsible for his success.
“But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him:” Daniel 5:20   Also: Romans 12:16

An ungodly mind is a reprobate mind.  Its thoughts and desires are abandoned to sin.  The commission of sin does not bother one’s conscience.
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”  Romans 1:28

The world has often influenced an ungodly mind, or it has never had any godly precepts put into it.  It prioritizes the temporary glitter the world offers more than it does living for the Lord and pleasing Him.
“Because the carnal mind is enmity [opposite of friendship] against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” Romans 8:7  


Are you a child of God?  If so, there is no guarantee that our minds will have the proper thinking.  We have to guard our thought-life and fill it with godly influences.  As is often said to explain computer data errors, “Garbage in, garbage out!”

Are godly influences going into your mind?  Are you letting that mindset lead you?  Christian, is your mind the mind of Christ He intends it to be?
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” Philippians 2:5

“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” — Proverbs 23:7  


Our Thoughts
War Cry

 Our thoughts make us.  They are the silent builders of the temple of character we are rearing.  They give color and form to the entire building.

If we think properly, we are rearing a fabric whiter than Parian marble.  If our thoughts are evil, the fabric rising within us is blemished.

The inner and the outer life will always correspond in the end. An evil heart will work through to the surface.

If a man’s life is righteous, you know his thoughts are just.  Unjust thoughts will never yield righteousness in conduct.

Thoughts seem mere nothings.  They are like flecks of cloud flying through the air and like flocks of birds flittering by and are gone.  However, they are the most natural things about our life.

Our thoughts fly out like birds and take their place in the world.  Our heart is still their home-nest, where they may return to dwell.

“The mind grows by what it feeds on.” — Holland


As We Think
Daniel Robbins, War Cry

The mind is like a crowded street
Where phantom thoughts like people meet;
Some hard at work, some idle are,
Some stay at home, some wander far.
Some thoughts wield power that ever lives
A power that inspiration gives,
While others dwell with us awhile,
Then pass, as transient as a smile.
Thus, come and go these thoughts of ours,
Some perfume-laden as the flowers,
While others sear our lives with blight
And bring no pleasure or delight.
Our thinking lifts us to the stars,
Or seals our hearts with prison bars
Confers on us both joy and strife,
For as we think we fashion life.

“He that never thinks, never can be wise.”   — Johnson


A Recipe for Health
Gospel Herald

“We do not advance upward unless we yearn upward,” it has been said.  Our thoughts shape our lives.  We grow little or big by the ideals we cherish and the thoughts upon which we dwell.

“Avoid worry, anger, fear, hate, and all abnormal and depressing mental states,” said an eminent authority on health.  This victory over harmful thoughts cannot be achieved by suppressing these feelings but by supplanting them with proper thinking, which is becoming the followers of Jesus Christ and the outgrowth of a close walk with the Lord.

“Thinkers think, and doers do.  But, until the thinkers do and the doers think, progress will be just another word in the already overburdened vocabulary of the talkers who talk.” — Author Unknown

The Bible View #910 — God’s Provision

In This Issue:
Little Can Be Much
Little Is Much When God Is In It
“I’ve Got All I Want”
Just Enough
Looking for a Way Out
Wealth May Not Give Happiness

Volume: 910   June 5, 2023
Theme: God’s Provision

Start your day with some good news from the Bible!  Sign-up at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M to receive the DAILY VIEW devotion.  The daily e-mail includes a KJV chapter, a brief commentary on the chapter’s teachings, and more spiritual food for the hungry soul. 

Are you a Sunday school teacher or pastor?  There are over 400 FREE lessons and sermon ideas at: http://www.openthoumineeyes.com/lessons.html. There are also puzzles there to be used as classroom activities.  Why buy Sunday school material when it is free at www.OpenThouMineEyes.com


Little Can Be Much
Bill Brinkworth

Somehow, many Christians have gotten it into their heads that if God blesses someone, there will be prosperity and ease.  Perhaps some of that thinking was drummed into them through the “prosperity Gospel” crowd, who teach that God wants you to be rich and gives one an easy life if they are right with Him. Maybe our natural thinking makes us believe that any problems we have can only mean that we are not right with God and His hand is against us.  That teaching is not evidenced in the Bible often, however.

There were times when God gave peace and prosperity to some at certain times.  The majority of the time, God’s evidence of power is more evident during “bad” and troubled times.  Those times can get one closer to Him and allow one to see God’s mightiness.

Often, God works with a little, rather than much, to accomplish His goals.  Yet, when all was finished, there was no question that God had done a great thing with just a little.  His miracles are sometimes performed with irrational objects, resulting in the most illogical solutions.  Some of these supernatural occurrences were:

  • The earth was created in six days by God only, not over millions of years, and not by many “accidents” or a “big bang.”  

    Being created by one God is not how a “natural” man would understand.  A lot was accomplished with just a little of God’s time.
  • The people were scattered at the tower of Babel, not by disease or enemy, but by a “little” confusion of languages.  From that small instance, people were scattered, and civilization spread all over the globe.
  • Moses and God’s people had a way of escaping from the encroaching enemy when Moses stretched his rod over the sea.  They watched as God took an “impossible” method to open the Red Sea for them to cross to safety.  
  • The walls of a protected enemy were knocked down by a simple shout at Jericho, not ramming machines nor by a vast army.  A big victory was accomplished by an incident that would hardly be expected to knock those mighty double walls outward.
  • Naaman’s leprosy was cured by simply dipping in the Jordan River seven times, not by some doctor’s cure or super drug.  A little obedience healed the man in a big way.
  • Gideon was vastly outnumbered but won a battle with only 300 men, lamps, pitchers, and shouts.
  • Under-sized David slew his adversary with a small, smooth stone propelled from his unthreatening sling.
  • Tiny God-controlled hornets chased vast enemies.
  • Five small barley loaves and two fishes fed over 5,000 people.
  • A blind man’s sight was restored not by surgery or some miracle cure but by a little spittle and clay.
  • Man’s Sins can be forgiven simply by Jesus’ paying for them 2,000 years ago by His shed blood on Calvary’s cross, not by our good works or our payment for them.  The death of one “man,” Christ, became the most important action in man’s history.

Anyone can get by with the help of millions of dollars; there is not much of a miracle in that.  There is not always proof that God is in the solution when money buys the way out of the problem.  When there is plenty in the checkbook, just about anybody can change any situation.  Solving situations with plenty is not necessarily God’s fingerprint on the solution.

When God is involved in a situation, He must get the glory.  He will get the credit when a “little” does the impossible.  Nothing is impossible when God is in the matter.  God’s involvement is often evident when a little goes a long way and does extraordinary and wondrous things.  Little is much when God is in it because God can do anything He desires with anything!

“When you’re down to nothing, God may be up to something.”


Little Is Much When God Is In It
Hymn by Kittie Suffield

In the harvest field now ripened
There’s a work for all to do;
Hark!  the voice of God is calling,
To the harvest calling you.
Refrain:
Little is much when God is in it!
Labor not for wealth or fame;
There’s a crown, and you can win it,
If you go in Jesus’ name.

In the mad rush of the broad way,
In the hurry and the strife,
Tell of Jesus’ love and mercy,
Give to them the Word of Life.
Refrain:

Does the place you’re called to labor
Seem so small and little known?
It is great if God is in it,
And He’ll not forget His own.
Refrain:

Are you laid aside from service,
Body worn from toil and care?
You can still be in the battle,
In the sacred place of prayer.
Refrain:

When the conflict here is ended
And our race on Earth is run,
He will say, if we are faithful,
“Welcome home, My child—well done!”
Refrain:


“I’ve Got All I Want”
Oliver B. Greene

After a Sunday school lesson one week, a little girl was heard misquoting Psalm 23:1, a familiar Bible verse that many children have memorized.  Although the child did not quote it quite right, she had the right idea when she said, “The Lord is my shepherd; I’ve got all I want.”

The truth we adults often fail to remember is that God does provide all our needs, and we should be content with His provision.

“Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?” Luke 12:24


Just Enough
Edited from an Article by Robert G. Lee

God miraculously dealt with the people of Israel during their wilderness wandering.  God said, “And I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes are not waxen old upon you, and thy shoe is not waxen old upon thy foot.  6 Ye have not eaten bread, neither have ye drunk wine or strong drink: that ye might know that I am the LORD your God.” Deut. 29:5-6

The Israelites’ clothes did not wear out for forty years, and they received a daily ration of manna rained down on them from Heaven.   The manna was “…  like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.” Exodus 13:31  God faithfully provided for them daily.

They received enough manna daily for every man, woman, and child to eat.  If they tried to save some for the next day, it would be covered by worms and stank.  God’s reason was not because of the shortage of supplies.  It was so they would obey Him and trust Him to provide.
“Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.” Exodus 16:4

God wanted to know whether Israel would trust Him for their daily provisions.  Though it took the equivalent of one hundred and eighty freight car loads of manna each day to feed these three million Israelites and ninety-four tank cars of water per day, God did not let them lack at any time.

If we trust and obey what God has told us in His Word, He will provide for us.  He will meet your needs.

“When a train goes through a dark tunnel, you don’t throw away the ticket and jump off.  You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through safely.  Trust God today, no matter how dark your situation.  God says, ‘You are
coming out!’”


Looking for a Way Out
Oliver B. Greene

At a cross-country steeplechase exhibition, one horse suddenly shied away from a hurdle and ran into a barbed-wire fence.  The result was a disaster, as the rider was taken by ambulance to a hospital, and the bleeding horse remained ensnarled in the wire until the slow process of cutting it away was completed.

The underlying tragedy was seen in the fact that the jump was a low one, which the horse could have easily cleared.  Yet, the horse mistook the fence to be an opening in the course and thus an escape from the obstacle.

We are often like that foolish horse!  When faced with difficulties, do we look for the way out rather than trusting God’s provision?  Do we break for an opening at the first opportunity, only to find that we have become ensnared and that our present difficulty is far worse than the one we sought to avoid?



Wealth May Not Give Happiness
Author Unknown

After the death of Abderman, Caliph of Cordova, the following paper was found in his handwriting: “Fifty years have elapsed since I became caliph.  I have possessed riches, honors, pleasures, and friends.  In short, I have had everything that man can desire in this world.  I have reckoned up the days I could say I was really happy, and they amount to fourteen.”

The BIBLE VIEW #909 — Salvation

In This Issue:
Paid in Full
How Does the Bible Tell One to Be Saved?
Salvation
How Can One Know He Is Saved?  

Volume: 909   May 29, 2023
Theme: Salvation

Start your day with some good news from the Bible!  Sign-up at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M to receive the DAILY VIEW devotion.  The daily e-mail includes a KJV chapter, a brief commentary on the chapter’s teachings, and more spiritual food for the hungry soul. 

Are you a Sunday school teacher or pastor?  There are over 400 FREE lessons and sermon ideas at: http://www.openthoumineeyes.com/lessons.html. There are also puzzles there to be used as classroom activities.  Why buy Sunday school material when it is free at www.OpenThouMineEyes.com


Paid in Full
Bill Brinkworth

An unusual gesture happened recently at the check-out line at Good Value Grocery.  

A slightly frustrated line formed behind a mother as she took item after item out of her cart and hurriedly placed them on the register’s conveyor belt. The items were necessary.  None were frivolous or costly.  Hotdogs were rung up instead of steaks.  The clerk shoved dry beans, rice, and other staples instead of more expensive processed food.  It was apparent that this woman was carefully watching her expenditures and was careful to buy what was needed for her two patiently waiting children and others in her family.

As the items were rung up and bagged, the young mother opened her pocketbook and began searching for her purse or checkbook.  Her movements became frantic as she could not find what she had sought.  Again, she searched even the small compartments, but nothing was found.  One futile attempt was made to check her pockets; still nothing!

A frantic and embarrassed countenance was on her face as she meekly admitted to the clerk,” I am so sorry.  I must have left my checkbook at home.  I have nothing to pay for the food.”

The message reached those behind her, and their body language and groans made it clear they were unhappy.  A confused, aggravated look appeared on the face of the cashier as she said, “That happens, but I will have to get someone to put these things back on the shelf.  Next time, be sure you can pay for something before you get in line.”

As the cashier grabbed the phone to summon help in ridding the unpaid products, all but one of those waiting in line moaned.  The middle-aged woman let out a soft “Oh, my,” instead.  She quickly grabbed her purse, went to the embarrassed woman, and spoke softly to the clerk. 

“How much is her bill, Maam?”

Startled, the clerk checked the register’s tape and said, “One hundred eighty-four dollars and 12 cents.”

“Put it on my credit card,” as the concerned bystander paid for the shocked mother’s bill.

A sigh of relief escaped the mouth of the debtee, and surprised words of gratitude thanked the generous giver.

The compassionate giver was not bound to pay the other’s bill.  Still, she gave out of compassion and concern for the other woman and her family.  

The debt-payer’s action was not unlike what Jesus did for all that will accept His payment for their sins.   Jesus did not have to pay our sin bill.  The humble son of God offered Himself to be the payment for all who trusted and called upon His name to be saved from eternal punishment.
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13

He could have avoided embarrassment and pain, but Jesus saw the need and did not want any to perish in eternal torment.  The brutal punishment He received, and death on a cruel cross were for no sin He committed.  He was sinless.  It was for mine and your iniquities!

Unlike the fictitious indebtedness in the above account, our sin debt is not for one deed only.  Our debt is for a lifetime of disobedience, ignorance of God’s will, purposeful ignoring of what the Bible commands us not to do, and countless transgressions against a Holy God.

Yet, out of unimaginable love for the creatures He created, God wants none to perish in a horrible punishment created for Satan and those that followed him.  He is willing, however, to pay your massive sin debt by allowing the shed blood of His only son to be payment for your tremendous bill of transgressions. 
“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:” Matthew 25:41

If you accept God’s offer, all committed iniquities will be forgiven, forgotten, and under the saving blood of God’s Son, Jesus.  Will you humble yourself and accept the Saviour’s payment for ALL your sins?
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:6

How Does the Bible Tell One to Be Saved?

  1. Know that you are a sinner:
    “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23   Also: Romans 5:12, I John 1:10.
  • Hell is the payment for all that have sinned.
    “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
    “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” Romans 5:12
  • BUT, there is good news!  Jesus’ death on the cross is the payment for the sins of all that call upon Him for salvation!
    “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Romans 10:9
    “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13

“What did you have to give up to be a Christian?  Hell!”


Salvation
Sunday Circle

A group of friends visited an old church, which was of great historical interest to them.  They asked for admission, and the sexton gave them the key after saying, “You can unlock the door and go in, and I will come to you directly.”

They went to the door, put the key in the lock, and tried to open it, but they could not turn the key.  They turned and twisted it but to no effect. They had just given up in despair when the sexton arrived.  “We cannot make this lock open,” said one of the party.

“I beg your pardon,” said the sexton, “I forgot to tell you that the door is not locked.  All you need to do is to lift the latch and walk in.”

A great many are like them.  They try by their efforts to unlock the door of salvation, but all their efforts (Ephesians 2:9) are a waste of time.  Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, long ago unlocked the door, and all we need to do is lift the latch, and by faith, walk in.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9



How Can One Know He Is Saved? 
Bill Brinkworth

A person can know if he is saved.  If he has trusted Christ’s death as payment for his sins as the only way to Heaven, he will see himself changed.  He will see new things happen in his life.

Here are some of those new changes:
A NEW belief.  A saved person believes differently than he believed before.
“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself:… These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God;that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” I John 5:10-13 

A NEW interest in God’s people.
“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.  He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.  Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.  Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” I John 3:14-16  The “brethren” are other saved people.

A NEW Master.  A saved person is attentive and interested in obeying a new Master — God!“Jesus answered them, …  But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” John 10:25-29

A NEW Life.  A saved person gets a second chance at life.  He gets to start over, this time with God’s guidance and help.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” II Cor. 5:17
The new life may include things one would never have suspected he would do, such as: reading the Bible, desiring a ministry, being faithful to church attendance, etc.  He will also find he no longer wants to do many of the wrong things he used to do and even has a conviction against doing them.

A NEW Trust.  A saved person has a God that he can trust and rely on.
“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” II Tim 1:12

A NEW fruit — NEW interests
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts  ….” Galatians 5:22-25  
When the Spirit of God indwells a believer, there are some things He wants to be done in our lives and around us.  These changes that we allow Him to do in us are proofs of our salvation.

The BIBLE VIEW #908 —Prayer

In This Issue:
Answered Prayer
A Sincere Prayer
In Jesus’ Name
Revival through Prayer
When Should You Pray?

Volume: 908   May 22, 2023
Theme: Prayer

Start your day with some good news from the Bible!  Sign-up at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M to receive the DAILY VIEW devotion.  The daily e-mail includes a KJV chapter, a brief commentary on the chapter’s teachings, and more spiritual food for the hungry soul. 

Are you a Sunday school teacher or pastor?  There are over 400 FREE lessons and sermon ideas at:
http://www.openthoumineeyes.com/lessons.html. There are also puzzles there to be used as classroom activities.  Why buy Sunday school material when it is free at www.OpenThouMineEyes.com


Answered Prayers
Dr. J. Campbell, 1871

  • Abraham’s servant prayed; Rebekah appeared.
  • Moses cried to God; the sea divided.
  • Moses prayed; Amalek was discomfited.
  • Joshua prayed; Achan was discovered.
  • Hannah prayed; Samuel was born.
  • David prayed; Ahithophel hung himself.
  • Asa prayed; a victory was gained.
  • Jehoshaphat cried to God; God turned away his enemies.
  • Isaiah and Hezekiah prayed; 185,000 Assyrians were dead within 12 hours.
  • Daniel prayed; the meaning of a dream was revealed to him.
  • Daniel prayed; the lions did not harm him.
  • Ezra prayed; God answered (Ezra 8:21-23).
  • Nehemiah darted a quick prayer; the king’s heart softened in a minute.
  • Elijah prayed; rain descended.
  • Elisha prayed; the Jordan River was divided.
  • Elisha prayed; a child came back to life.
  • The Apostles prayed; the Holy Ghost came down.
  • A church prayed for Peter’s release from prison; Peter soon knocked at their door.
  • You prayed and ____________________________.


A Sincere Prayer
Bill Brinkworth

“To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David.  Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.” Psalm 61:1

David revealed an important ingredient that should be in more prayers — a cry.  A “cry” is a desperate utterance, often accompanied by heartfelt tears. 

Unfortunately, prayers are not the sincere pleas in times of distress they should be.  For many, their prayers are more like a list a child hopes Santa Claus will fulfill.  Their “prayer” usually goes something like: “Gimmee this and gimme that.  Oh, yea.  Bless Mommy, Daddy, Uncle Frank, and keep the bullies away.  Oh Lord, could you give me an ‘A’ in Arithmetic.”

Sadly, “lists” are the most popular form of talking to God.  Occasionally, one will open a prayer book and recite what someone else has written and labeled to be prayed in the situation one finds oneself.

Prayer to a Christian is communicating with a Holy God.  He owes us nothing, but we are indebted to Him for everything.  It is an honor and privilege that we are even permitted to speak to our Creator. 

We should not dishonor him with empty, thoughtless, insincere pleas.  Our conversation with God can be like we have with no other person.  We can tell Him everything on our hearts. 

We can tell the Lord things we would dare not tell others.  He is our God, and He desires conversation with His people.
“But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.” Mat.  6:7

The words are not as crucial as our sincerity.  God is more interested in the condition of our hearts when we talk to Him.  A sincere, real “cry” shows Him that we are in desperate need, and we realize He is the only solution to our situation.  He sees our reliance and dependence on Him, which is what He desires. 

Christian,  have a real prayer time with God today!  Talk to Him as if He is your best friend.  He is!

“When thou prayest, rather let thy heart be without words than thy words without heart.” — Bunyan


In Jesus’ Name
Barbara Brinkworth

The table was set, the food steaming hot, and the guests seated.  It was time to eat, but first, the blessing.  “Dear Lord, thank you for this food, for friends and family to share it with…  Please bless it to our bodies and use us to serve you today.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

How often have we heard the phrase used — “in Jesus’ name”?   Have we ever given much thought as to what it means?  It can be used in several ways.

When we pray, we come to the Father in Jesus’ name.  Why is that necessary?  As fallen, sinful people, we have no right to request anything of God Almighty.  Were it not for Jesus, there would be no fellowship with God.  Once we are born-again (John 3:3) and have accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we also are accepted by God.  He will honor our requests because of His love for Jesus and for all those who belong to Him.  We ask all in Jesus’ name.

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus commanded his disciples to be witnesses in His name.  He would soon return to Heaven (Acts 1:8) because His work on Earth was finished.

The awesome task of evangelizing the world was left to His church.  They would go in the power of the Holy Spirit, but the name they proclaimed was that of Jesus Christ.  To this very day, all successful witnessing and missionary work is done in the name of Jesus.

As a believer goes through his daily tasks, he acts as an ambassador for Jesus Christ.  All that is done is done in the name of Jesus.  Does the Christian have a good testimony in the community?  The credit goes to Jesus.  Does the believer have a reputation for not paying his debts?  The blame goes to Jesus.  Is he living a life that others would desire to have?  If so, many will inquire about his Jesus.  If not, he may turn people away from the kingdom of God.

The Bible says in Philippians 2:9-11, “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”  We must take seriously all we do in Jesus’ name to glorify our worthy God.


Revival through Prayer
C. H. Spurgeon

All the mighty works of God have been attended with great prayer, as well as with great faith.  The Great American Revival (1850s to early 1900s) had such a beginning.

An unknown and obscure man was convicted about praying that God would bless his country.  After praying, he made a soul-stirring inquiry, “Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” A burden was soon put on his heart.  He then got to work! 

He rented a room and announced that there would be a prayer meeting there at such an hour of the day.  At the appointed time not a single person was there.  However, he began to pray and continued for half an hour alone.  At the end of the half-hour, one joined him, and soon two more came in.  I believe his prayer meeting closed with six concerned praying believers.  

The following week came, and there were about fifty that attended.  Soon the prayer meeting grew to a hundred.  Others began to start other prayer meetings. 

Soon there was scarcely a street in New York without a prayer meeting.  Merchants found time to run in to pray.  The meetings became daily ones.  Some lasted for about an hour.  

Petitions and requests were sent up.  These were asked and offered before God, and the answers came.  Many were the happy hearts that stood up and testified that the prayer offered last week had been fulfilled.

It was when all were earnest in prayer that the Spirit of God worked among the people.  In a certain village, a preacher had been preaching, and hundreds were converted in a week.  The matter spread throughout the Northern States.  A quarter of a million people were believed to be converted in two or three months.

Oh, for earnest, sincere hearts to again change this nation through such prayer.  God is able.  He awaits our concern and dependence on Him. Will you faithfully pray for a revival in your country?

“When God starts changing things, He usually begins with changing us.”


When Should You Pray?

  • “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Psalm 5:3
  • “O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee:” Psalm 88:1
  • “Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.” Palms 55:17
  • “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.” Luke 6:12
  • “Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;” Romans 12:12
  • “Pray without ceasing.” I Thessalonians 5:17

The BIBLE VIEW #907 — Obedience

In This Issue:
Be Obedient While You Have the Opportunity
Is He Really Your Lord?
A Benefit and Privilege
Don’t Question Orders

Volume: 907   May 15, 2023
Theme: Obedience

Start your day with some good news from the Bible!  Sign-up at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M to receive the DAILY VIEW devotion.  The daily e-mail includes a KJV chapter, a brief commentary on the chapter’s teachings, and more spiritual food for the hungry soul. 

Are you a Sunday school teacher or pastor?  There are over 400 FREE lessons and sermon ideas at: http://www.openthoumineeyes.com/lessons.html. There are also puzzles there to be used as classroom activities.  Why buy Sunday school material when it is free at www.OpenThouMineEyes.com


Be Obedient While You Have the OpportunityBill Brinkworth

“Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” Proverbs 27:1

Although Proverbs 27 is chock-full of life-directing wisdom, verse one should remind each one of us that our time on this Earth is not forever. Our life could change drastically or end before the sun sets today. No one knows how much time they have left.  No one has the promise of tomorrow!

While we have the time, do not procrastinate.  Do not put off:

  • Being saved. Although many put off being born again (John 3:3), they may not have tomorrow to do so.  One’s opportunity to have God’s promise of an eternity with Him may soon be ended. Each time salvation is put off, one’s heart hardens and becomes more defiant to God’s calling. 

    One may have another day, but after having ignored the pleas of the Holy Spirit so often, the Spirit may no longer speak to one about securing their eternity (Romans 10:9) in Heaven.  Each time one says “No” to the Spirit of God’s prodding and His commandments, one’s sensitivity to God’s calling is lessened.
    “Again, he limiteth a certain day, saying in David, To day, after so long a time; as it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Hebrews 4:7“
    And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.  25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” Acts 24:24-25
  • Halting the sin(s) you have been convicted of doing.  When a person is saved, the Holy Spirit convicts one of sin(s) that is/are prohibiting one’s spiritual growth. Putting off iniquity one was made aware of should be dealt with immediately. What if the rapture (I Thes. 4:16-18) or death takes one home before a “convenient time” to obey the Lord occurs? It would be too late. Obey the Lord now while there still is an opportunity.
  • Doing what the Lord laid on your heart to do. Has the Lord urged you to rebuild a broken relationship, get involved in a ministry, read your Bible, be faithful in church, make your testimony more godly, or something else? Do it now, as again, you may not have another chance to do so.
  • Being the Christian, spouse, parent, or child, God would have you be. You may never have another opportunity if you put it off any longer.


Most of us have had many days. We assume we will have more time, but we may not.  This may be the last reminder one may have to obey what God has laid on their heart to do. Do it now, as no one knows how much more time they have left.

Is He Really Your Lord?
Bill Brinkworth

Often in prayers or conversations, God is called “Lord.”  “I love you, Lord,” “Lord, we need your intervention in helping us out of this mess,” and “Lord, I’ll do whatever you show me to do” are often uttered.  If, however, the situation is followed up on and the reactions observed of the one who requested of God, it may be wondered if God is really one’s “Lord.”

The title “Lord” implies that another is one’s master and is a supreme being, an absolute authority, and one’s ruler.  If it is true that “Lord” has a Saxon definition meaning “sole bread giver,” then it also implies that the user of the address “Lord” is relying on God for all their provisions and needs.  When God is addressed as Lord, is He really all that title implies?

  • If God truly is one’s Lord, one would do what God has told them to do.  God would not have to speak to our hearts multiple times about reading His Word faithfully, halting the sin He convicted us of doing, changing a practice in our life, or doing anything His Spirit whispered to our hearts about doing.  Total obedience would be given to God if He indeed were our Lord.  “LORD, it’s not open to discussion.  You show me, and I will do it!”
    “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” Luke 6:46
  • If God truly is Lord of your life, He should receive your total respect and honor.  One obeying the Lord should never dispute, question, or refuse to do the bidding of one’s Master.
    “A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour?  and if I be a master, where is my fear?  saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name.  And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?  7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee?  In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.  8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil?  and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil?  offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person?  saith the LORD of hosts.” Malachi 1:6-8
  • If God is truly your Lord, then there should be proof.  You should notice how you have forsaken your will and way for His.  Even those around you should see your priority in obeying God’s will!
    “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” James 1:22
    “(For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.” Romans 2:13
    “Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciple.” John 15:8


Calling God Lord, does not necessarily make Him one’s Lord.  If we make God our Lord, it will be shown by our obedience and respect for Him.

Is His Lordship in your life clearly exhibited in the way you live?  Is God truly your LORD?

“To live for self or God is the question we all face.  How one’s life turns out depends on how the question was answered!” — Author Unknown


A Benefit and Privilege
Watson, 1696

  1. God commands nothing from us that is not beneficial.”
    “That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.” Deut. 6:2
  2. God has His reasons for telling us to do something.  We should not question why.
  3. He bids us to repent.  Why?  That our sins may be blotted out.
    “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;” Acts 3:19
  4. He commands us to believe, and why?  That we may be saved.
    “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:31
  5. There is love in every one of God’s commandments!

“True obedience hath no lead at its heels!”  — Adams, 1653


Don’t Question Orders
Spurgeon

“Sir,” said the Duke of Wellington to an officer of engineers who argued the impossibility of executing the directions he had received, “I did not ask your opinion, I gave you my orders, and I expect them to be obeyed.”

Such should be the obedience of every follower of Jesus.  The Words, which He has spoken and had recorded, are our law!  Our adherence to them should not be based on our judgments or fancies.  We are to do our Master’s bidding and advance through flood or flame.  We are to do as He tells us to do!

“Don’t pray to give God instructions.  Just report for duty!”

The Bible View #906 — Separation

In This Issue:
Stay in the Henhouse
A Worldly Christian
Safe in the Ark
Get Far from Evil
The Danger of the World

Volume: 906   May 1, 2023
Theme: Separation

Start your day with some good news from the Bible!  Sign-up at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M to receive the DAILY VIEW devotion.  The daily e-mail includes a KJV chapter, a brief commentary on the chapter’s teachings, and more spiritual food for the hungry soul. 

Are you a Sunday school teacher or pastor?  There are over 400 FREE lessons and sermon ideas at:
http://www.openthoumineeyes.com/lessons.html. There are also puzzles there to be used as classroom activities.  Why buy Sunday school material when it is free at www.OpenThouMineEyes.com


Stay in the Henhouse  
Bill Brinkworth

I have endeavored to raise chickens to raise as much food as possible.  After hearing the locals tell of coyotes and seeing evidence of a fox, coupled with the knowledge of nearby black snakes, I knew that the pen and the henhouse must resist those predators.

When building their coop, I accommodated for all those dangers in the design.  Their outside run was wrapped with strong chicken wire.  Even the floor was laid with the fence material in case one of the raiders tried to gain entrance by digging in.  The wire was doubled stapled so no creature could gain entry by tearing off the covering.  Even the roof was partly covered with wire and sheet metal to keep out airborne enemies like hawks.

The house was sheathed in strong material, with even the smallest gaps eliminated, so an egg-hungry snake could not slither in.  Windows were covered with heavy screening that would keep them out and was higher than any ground predator could reach.  When finished, the house was safe for all the fowl that lived within.

Afterward, the squeaking and squawking chicks were brought into their new living quarters.  Their daily needs were met.  They got their daily food, water, and occasional kitchen waste that they devoured.  Soon, they grew and were nearing the age that they would produce eggs.

However, their behavior began to change.  They no longer fear me as I come to feed, water, and clean their living quarters.  At times, they were a bit hostile to me as I tried to feed them. 

As I left their pen or henhouse, they kept following me to get outside their protected environment.  Sometimes, as I went, they attempted to dart out to the unprotected outside.  Usually, they could be herded back into their safe environment and were discouraged from escaping. 

One morning, however, one hen managed to get out.  Fortunately, before she got too far, I was able to catch her and put her back in the safe area I had created for her.

I realize their discontentment with their secure environment and curiosity to go “outside” was very much what too many Christians spend their lives trying to do.  Instead of following God’s commandments, as preserved in the Bible, they take every opportunity to go outside God’s protection. 

The rules that they ignore, disobey, and often dislike are there for their protection.  A life within those guidelines will be safe and guarantee a closer walk with God.  A life lived outside those guidelines will be one without God’s protection and guidance and may result in hardship, unhappiness, and even destruction.  

God knows what waits “outside.”  He knows all about the luring temptations, the strangling grip of sin, and the devouring Devil that can ruin any man, woman, or child once they are outside His protection.

Man may learn God’s commandments and what God warns him not to do, but he often looks “outside.”  He sees most of the world doing things he knows he should not do. 

Often he observes that it appears that nothing happens when the world commits sin or even gets close to it.  It seems that they get away with it. 

He considers that the biblical warnings are wrong or for a different time and that now they must be okay to do, as so many appear to get away with iniquity.  (If man could follow those people’s lives and learn of all the details, he would find they did not get away with it after all!).

Mankind often lurches outside the protection God has provided.  For a short time, doing what everyone else is doing is fun.  There are no repercussions for sin or getting too close to it.

However, his life changes so slowly that he often does not see the changes that happen.  His desire to please God and obey Him is usually the first thing that is eroded, along with the fear of the consequences of getting involved in sin. 

Lack of concern for others also disappears.  What remains is a self-centered individual bent on satisfying one’s selfish desires. 

Often involvement in sin does physical damage or changes.  Again, the sinner never sees the damage exposure to the “outside” has done.

No one gets away with sin.  That is why God commands us not to get close to it, so it can never get a hold of a person.  There is a wage to iniquity’s commission.  Stay inside God’s boundaries, and you can escape the dangers that lurk “outside.”

“If we could look steadily at the world and see it as it is in the eyes of God, many of our estimates would be amazingly changed.”   — Edward Gareshe


A Worldly Christian
C. H. Spurgeon

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.  Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” Mat.  6:24

No man can serve God and mammon because there is not enough life in the heart to serve the two.  Alas!  Many people try this, and they fail both ways.

I have known a man who has tried to let some of his heart run into the world and another part he allowed to drip into the church.  The effect was that he was suspected of hypocrisy when he came into the church.

“Why,” they said, “if he were truly obeying the Lord, could he have done yesterday what he did and then come and profess so much today?”  Other believers look upon him suspiciously, or if he deceives them, they feel he cannot be trusted because he has not given all his heart to the Lord.

What is the effect of his conduct to the world?  Why, his religion is a constraint to him there.  Any mention of God or His commandments, especially any expression of guilt, makes the world uncomfortable around him, and they also do not trust him.

The world will not have him, and other Christians will not have him.  He wants to go between the two, and both avoid him.

“If you can get along with the world, then you are out of step with God.”
— Dr. Harold Sightler


Safe in the Ark
D. L. Moody

When the voice came down from Heaven to Noah, “… Come thou and all thy house into the ark, for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation,” there was a minute when Noah was outside the ark and another when he was inside.  By being inside, he was saved.  As long as he was outside the ark, he was exposed to the wrath of God just like the rest of the people.  

If he had stayed out and remained with the others, he would have been swept away, as they were.  It was not his righteousness.  It was not his faith or works that saved him; it was the ark.  

God has provided an ark for us (His Word), and the question is, “Are you inside or outside this ark?”  If you are inside, you are safe; if you are outside, you are not.


Get Far from Evil
Adam Clark

Abstain from all appearance of evil (I Thes. 5:22).  Sin not and avoid even the appearance of it.  Do not drive your morality so near the bounds of evil as to lead even weak persons to believe you touch, taste, or handle it.  Let not the form of it appear with or among you. 

Ye are called to holiness.  Be ye holy, for God is holy.

 “If you are saved, you are on the winning side.  Why would you want to look or act like the losing side that is headed for Hell?”

The Danger of the World
J. Mason

Beware of the world.  It has slain its millions!
What ruined Lot’s wife?  The world.
What ruined Achan?  The world.
What ruined Haman?  The world.
What ruined Judas?  The world.
What ruined Demas?  The world.
What will ruin you?  The world.
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?  or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mat.  16:26

The BIBLE VIEW #905 — God’s Word

In This Issue:
God Kept His Word
What the New “bibles” Do

Volume: 905   April 24, 2023
Theme: God’s Word

Start your day with some good news from the Bible!  Sign-up at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/a26cc9M to receive the DAILY VIEW devotion.  The daily e-mail includes a KJV chapter, a brief commentary on the chapter’s teachings, and more spiritual food for the hungry soul. 

View 16+ years of printable, free BIBLE VIEWs at https://openthoumineeyes.com/newsletters.html.  Make as many copies as you need.  Use them at your church, nursing homes (large print version available), Sunday school, deaf ministry, bus ministry, and as a church bulletin insert. 


God Kept His Word
Bill Brinkworth

God said He would keep His Word for and with us, and He has done so!
“The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.” Isa. 40:8 According to verse seven, the grass refers to people.  People will come and go, but God’s Word will always be amongst us. 
“But the word of the Lord endureth for ever.  And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” I Pet. 1:25   Also: Psalms 102:12, Luke 16:17.

God preserved His Word in written form.
“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Mat.  5:18   Jot and tittle refer to the dialectical marks of the languages used.  This implies that the preserved word is in written form!

Its preservation is essential to our faith.  Why would God require it if He would not keep it for us?
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Rom. 10:17

Many places in the Scriptures were quoted accurately at a later date by prophets, leaders, rulers, and even Christ.  “As it is written” is used in 49 verses, indicating that the preserved Word was trusted then.

It is inspired!  “God breathed” into the originals, and He has preserved His original inspiration.
“The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.  Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.” Psa. 12:6-7
We have the inspired, preserved Word of God!

There have always been copies.  The originals have never been gathered together in one place.  There are now no originals!  From the beginning, God has used and blessed copies:

  • Moses broke the first tablets.  God made sure His people had an accurate copy of them.
  • King Jehoiakim (Jer. 36) did not like what Jehudi read from the Word of God and burnt them.  God again gave it to Jeremiah.  Then it was thrown in the river (Jer. 51:63); end of original #2, but we still have it now.  It is preserved!

The Hebrews preserved the Old Testament in the Masoretic Text. The New Testament was preserved in Greek in the Textus Receptus.  There have been copies from those translated texts since 150 AD.

Different men had a burden that the Word of God be written in a language the common person could read.  Before their work, only certain clergy could read it.  They only told the masses what they wanted them to hear, often in a language the people did not understand.  The work of many preserved God’s Word in these forms from such men as Erasmus, William Tyndale, Miles Coverdale, and the six companies of 47-54 (according to different accounts) translators that translated the 1611 King James.

The King James 1611 had several changes done to it up to 1769.  The KJV that we read today is the 1769 version.  All the 400 changes from the 1611 to the 1769 version were spelling and grammatical changes as the written English language grew more consistent and changed.  Compare those minimal changes to the thousands of alterations reportedly changed in the New King James Version in the 5th version from the 1st version.

KJV 1611: “For God so loued the world, the he gaue his only begotten Sonne: that whosoeuer beleeurth in him, should not perish, but haue euerlasting life.”  John 3:16   Notice where we used a “v” the earlier language used a “u”.  Also: “I”’s were used as “J”’s,  “f”’s for “s”’s….
KJV 1769: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 

Since the beginning, Satan has gotten man to doubt and question the Word of God.  If you doubt it, you will not believe it or live it.  I am sure this is why Satan has done much to water down God’s Word, hide His Word, or get people confused enough not to read or believe the Bible.
Gen. 3:1 “ Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.  And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”

Even the early church had to deal with Satan’s attack on the Truth.  That attack continues even more so in these last crucial days!
“For we are not as many, which corrupt the word of God: but as of sincerity, but as of God, in the sight of God speak we in Christ.” II Cor. 2:17

If the Bible is missing or has words changed, it is not the preserved Word of God that God promised to keep.  All modern translations and revisions have changed words.  They cannot be trusted.  They are tampering with the Word of God!

The modern translations and revisions are counterfeits!

  • Their root is from Egypt.  The Bible has a negative outlook on Egypt (Rev. 11:8.), especially Alexandria (Acts 6:9, Col. 2:8).  Alexandria is where the philosophy that the Bible is fallible (Origen) grew and that it has mistakes and must be corrected.  Most modern translations come from the Alexandrian manuscripts.
  • They remove or change words.  i.e.: NIV is 90,000 words short of what is in the KJV.
  • They change the meaning of the verses.  Bible teachings are altered many times to suit the author or organization producing the “bible” and their beliefs.  Often the new perversions change verses dealing with the deity of Christ, Jesus’ virgin birth, Hell, and salvation. 
  • The new “bibles” bring confusion.  Who is the author of confusion (I Cor. 14:33)?  Not God!  Satan is behind the perversion of God’s Word.  The perversions change biblical doctrine!
  • They profess to make the Word of God easier to understand, but they do not!  The Holy Spirit reveals the understanding of God’s Word to man, not man’s intellect.  The “bible” is said to be made “easier” to understand, yet fewer than ever are reading any version!

There is a battle raging over the souls of man.  The warfare can only be won with the Word of God.  Many, including Satan, are working hard to dull the only spiritual weapon man has.  God has made sure the Bible is still preserved in the KJV.  Do you read and obey it?

“If the modern ‘bibles’ are supposed to make it easier to understand and also correct ‘mistakes,’ why did 300+ different English versions still not make it easy enough and get it right, and why are they still creating more versions?  The answer is that the goal is not to make the Word of God clearer, but to make money and make it say what they want!”


What the New “bibles” Do
Bill Brinkworth

There are thousands of changes in all the different versions.  Here are a few so one can get an idea as to how man has changed what God has said! 

They change God’s Commandments.
King James (KJV): “And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.  And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” Acts 8:37
New International Version (NIV): Verse removed and footnoted
New American Standard Version (NASV): Verse removed and footnoted
New World Translation (NWT — Jehovah Witness Bible): Verse removed.
Revised Standard Version (RSV): Verse removed and footnoted
New Century Version (NCV): Verse removed and footnoted.
These re-writers wanted to do away with the biblical teaching of baptism!

They alter truths about Christ.
(KJV) “And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” Mat.  1:25
(NASV) “and kept her virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called his name Jesus.”
(RSV)  “but knew her not until she had borne a son; and he called his name Jesus.”
(NIV) “But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son.  And he gave him the name Jesus.”

Other versions remove wording that indicates Jesus was Mary’s firstborn son.  
(KJV) “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.” Mat.  18:11
(NASB) This verse is footnoted and implies that it should not be there.
(NIV) Verse removed and footnoted (footnote is changed, however).
(NWT) Verse removed.
(NCV) Verse removed.
The important reason for Jesus Christ’s coming has been deleted!  The way of salvation is removed!

They alter truths about judgment and Hell!
“Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” Mark 9:46
(NIV) Omitted and footnoted
(NWT, NASB, NCV.  RSV, Amplified) Omitted.

They do not make God’s word easier to understand, as they claim!
(KJV) “And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;” Eph. 5:18
New King James Version (NKJV)  “And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation….”
(NIV) “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.  Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”

(KJV) “Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.” Daniel 3:2
(NKJV) “And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.” A difficult word was inserted, and facts were changed.
(NIV) “He then summoned the satraps, prefects ….”

They change facts:
“Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel’s table.” I Kings 18:19
 (NKJV, NIV, NCV, NASB, RSV) “… and the four hundred prophets of Asherah ….”
(NWT) “… four hundred prophets of sacred pole ….”
In the Catholic Confraternity Version (1963), this verse is found in III Kings 18:19.

They not only remove and change words, but they add words.
“And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” Rev. 22:19
(The Amplified Bible) “And if any one cancels or takes away from the statements of the book of this prophecy — these predictions relating to Christ’s kingdom and its speedy triumph, together with the consolations and admonitions (warnings) pertaining to them — God will cancel and take away from him his share in the tree of life and in the city of holiness (pure and hallowed) which are described and promised in this book.” — wheeww!

“Things That Are Different Are Not the Same!”  
— Title of Dr. Mickey Carter’s book on the Bible version issue