Bursting Wineskins! The One Year Bible Reading for January 28

 Today we read from the One Year Bible in the following passages:

Exodus 5:22-7:25
Matthew 18:21-19:12
Psalm 23:1-6
Proverbs 5:22-23

And first let's talk about the Psalm. "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" might be the way you remember it. It might sound odd to hear "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing." But that's a modern interpretation of the same passage. Many of us want to cling to the King James translation because it's familiar. But that's a dangerous thing to do. Why? I'm glad you asked.

See, God is continually giving us fresh bread every day. And He wants us to share that bread with the people in our lives. It is a normal and natural thing for people to grow attached to the way God did something in their lives at one time, and think that's the only way He works. But it's not. He's continually making all things new. So it's best to read the Bible in a translation that brings out its actual MEANING, and not just comforting or even encantational or magical power of the words. Some cling to the KJV for this reason. Others cling to the old Latin mass of the Catholic church for similar reasons. Now, don't get me wrong. Many love the KJV because it's beautiful. And many love the Latin mass for the same reason. And seeing the beauty of things God has done is a good thing.

But we need to resist the urge to resist. We need to allow God to do new things in new times with new people. We need to see that from east to west, He gathers to Himself a people to do His work - and they might not do it the same way you're used to.

God, thanks for reminding us not to put new wine into old wineskins. 

PS it's ironic that I use the word "wineskins" here since some modern translations say "bottles" ;)