THE WAY OF GIVING:LEARNING TO LIVE GENEROUSLY By R. Herbert
The Scriptures begin with the story of what God gave humans at the beginning of history and end with what he wants to give them at history’s end. Between these bookends of giving, the Bible teaches generosity in the majority of its sixty-six books. The reason for this is because giving lies at the very heart of the nature of God himself and the lesson for us is that if we really want to learn about God and how we can grow to be more like him, we need to learn more about how to give.
The new free e-book The Way of Giving provides an in-depth look at this core aspect of Christian living, and shows that there are many more opportunities to be generous than we often realize – even if we think we have little or even nothing to give. In fact, there are amazingly powerful ways in which we can all accomplish good through the kind of giving God encourages. Download a free copy of The Way of Giving in your favorite format for reading on computer, e-book reader, or smart phone, here.
Lessons from the Life of Jesus: Practical Insights from the Gospels has always been one of the most popular downloads on this site and is now even better! The new, expanded, third edition includes five new chapters – enhancing an already helpful book and adding many new practical lessons.
Rather than simply retelling the story of the life of Jesus, this e-book focuses on some of the details of the Gospel narratives that are easy to miss, but which can help us to better understand his life and teachings. In each case there are lessons we can learn and apply – sometimes with the potential for an effect on our lives that is well out of proportion to the seemingly small detail that conveys the lesson.
Enrich your understanding of the life and work of Jesus and take away lessons you can apply today. You can download a copy in any of three formats – .pdf, .epub, and .mobi – to read on your computer, smart phone, or e-book reader. No registration or email address is needed – simply click and download from our e-books page here.
Our latest free e-book, Take Courage! The Vital Quality Every Christian Must Have, has just been published and is ready for download in multiple formats. The topic is an important one. We live in an age when courage is seldom found and often unappreciated, but the Bible commands us to utilize courage in many areas of our lives. Take Courage! explains why courage is vitally important for every Christian and looks at how we can have real courage in our own lives. Don’t think courage is just for heroes – this is a book that may change many aspects of your life. Download a free copy (no email or registration needed) here.
When we think of Bible versions we can’t understand, most of us might think of Bibles in the original languages of Hebrew or Greek, or perhaps a medieval Latin Bible. But we often don’t realize how much our own language has changed over the centuries and how difficult it would be for us to read a Bible in English from several hundred years ago. Below, we give the example of the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6 – as it looked in English Bibles every two hundred years from the thirteenth century to today. Before the thirteenth century very little of the Bible was translated into English at all. The first complete English-language version of the Bible dates from 1382 and was credited to the translator John Wycliffe and his followers, so we begin with that time point.
Thirteenth Century – Manuscript in the Library of Cambridge University:
Fader oure that art in heve, i-halgeed be thi nome, i-cume thi kinereiche, y-worthe thi wylle also is in hevene so be an erthe, oure iche-dayes-bred gif us today, and forgif us our gultes, also we forgifet oure gultare, and ne led ows nowth into fondingge, auth ales ows of harme.
Fifteenth Century – Manuscript in the Library of Oxford University:
Fader oure that art in heuene, halewed be thy name: thy kyngedom come to thee: thy wille be do in erthe as in heuen: oure eche dayes brede geue us to daye: and forgeue us oure dettes as we forgeue to oure dettoures: and lede us nogte into temptacion: bot delyver us from yvel.
Seventeenth Century – The King James Version of 1611:
Our father which art in heauen, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdome come. Thy will be done, in earth, as it is in heauen. Giue vs this day our daily bread. And forgiue vs our debts, as we forgiue our debters. And lead vs not into temptation, but deliuer vs from euill: For thine is the kingdome, and the power, and the glory, for euer.
Nineteenth Century – The English Revised Version:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And bring us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
Twenty-first Century – The Christian Standard Bible:
Our Father in heaven, your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.
The differences between these Bible versions become more noticeable the further we go back, of course, and considering that most of us know what the examples above say before we started to read them, we would probably agree that we would find it difficult to read a whole Bible of the thirteenth, fifteenth, or seventeenth centuries – even if it is in English.
While it may be interesting to see and realize the difficulty we would experience in reading a Bible in our own language unless it were of recent date, we can draw a useful lesson from this. Often, Christians think that the major work of Bible translations into other languages is essentially done. The Bible has, after all, been translated into over 700 languages, and the New Testament has been translated into well over 1200 languages.
While it is true that this means the Bible has been translated into most important languages, it is still equally true that there are many thousands of dialects of these languages that still have no Bible translation. We may think that local dialects are relatively unimportant – for instance, someone in the United States speaking a southern dialect can fairly easily understand someone using an Appalachian dialect – the differences in our dialects are relatively small. But in many language groups the various dialects are just as, or even more, different than what we see in an English Bible of today and an English Bible of the thirteenth century – that you and I would find extremely difficult to read.
The moral of the story is simple. While a great deal of Bible translation work has been tirelessly accomplished by dedicated translators over the past century or so, there are many millions of people who still have no Bible in their own language or only one in a related dialect that is very difficult for them to understand. Understanding this situation can help us to pray more, and more intently, for still-needed translations, and to see the need to support the ongoing work of Bible translators in whatever way we can.
There are many lessons to be learned from the book of Job, and among them are important lessons we can learn from his friends. Despite their lack of understanding regarding Job’s situation and the errors they made in what they said in that regard, Job’s friends got some things right and their story can teach us worthwhile lessons in helping those who are suffering:
1. They were attentive.
Although Job and his friends were separated by considerable distances, they obviously stayed in touch to the extent that they knew that Job was suffering and could use their encouragement. We cannot help others if we fail to stay connected and are not attentive to their needs – whether they are friends, co-workers, aged family members, or others. Job’s friends were not so wrapped up in their own lives that they were disconnected from his; they were not too busy to stay in touch and see when he needed them.
2. They got involved.
When they became aware of Job’s situation, his friends acted on the knowledge. They did not simply pray for Job – right and proper as that would be – they got involved to do what they could do directly. The friends doubtless sacrificed considerable time and energy in traveling to Job from other lands, and they apparently came at once rather than waiting for a convenient time, after the harvest, after the summer heat, or whatever.
3. They coordinated.
Job 2:11 tells us that Job’s friends: “met together to go and sympathize with Job and comfort him,” or, as the ESV translates this verse: “They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.” The three friends clearly coordinated with each other to help Job. We can learn from this by seeing the value of reaching out to let others know of a person’s need and by helping to coordinate visits or help for the individual from different people at different times.
4. They reacted appropriately.
The Bible tells us to “Mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15), and we are told that when Job’s friends saw him “they began to weep aloud, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads” (Job 2:12). Tearing one’s clothes and throwing dust or ashes on oneself was a sign of mourning in the ancient world, and this is what Job himself had done (Job 2:8). Jobs’ friends grieved deeply for him and they expressed their emotions in clear but appropriate ways that helped Job see they identified with him and his suffering.
5. They did best when they said less.
The friends said nothing for seven days (2:13), and while they commiserated in silence the friends did no wrong. It was only once they began to comment on the situation that their mistaken assumptions of Job’s guilt made him even more miserable and eventually earned a rebuke from God himself. The friends’ statements about children who do wrong or who suffer for their parents’ wrongdoing (Job 5:4; 8:4; 21:19; etc.) were doubtless especially painful to Job who had just lost his own children (Job 1:5). Often, when people are suffering, we may try to say something to make the situation better or to offer encouragement – but what we say at such times can inadvertently appear to be arguing with the sufferer or hurt in other ways (Job 16:4; 19:2). Job’s friends showed there are times when it is better to say less and allow our physical presence to do most of the talking.
6. They stayed with Job.
Despite their failings with words, Job’s friends stayed with him for at least seven days – it was no quick visit just to offer condolences. We may not always be able to give up extended periods of time to help others, but the principle of staying with the sufferer means doing things such as continuing to contact them, to see if they need help and to give them an opportunity to talk about their situation. We should notice that even when the friends stopped trying to speak to Job (Job 32:1), they did not leave for home – they stayed and continued sitting with him for some time.
These six lessons are simple enough, but applying them in our interaction with those who are suffering can make a great deal of difference.
SURVEY OF THE OLD TESTAMENT Vol. 1. Creation to Covenant Vol. 2. The Promised Land to the Promised One
ISBN 978-1-63752-297-4 Cornerstone Publications
Based on the successful Cornerstone course, this new two volume e-book presents an in-depth but readable survey of the Old Testament by looking closely at key events recorded in the flow of the biblical narrative. This has many advantages over studying the Old Testament book by book or theme by theme, and the course is now used in seminaries, Bible schools, and other biblical training situations, as well as for personal use by students of the Bible around the world. Volume 1 covers major biblical events from the story of Creation to the institution of the Sinai Covenant and Volume 2 covers the entry into the promised land to the close of the Old Testament. The two volumes offer a clear overview and a deeper understanding of the Old Testament. Download a free copy of both volumes of this new book in the format of your choice hereand here.
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