We missed a post last week. That happens sometimes. When last we met, efforts to launch the Read the Bible series as a podcast were underway. We have been on Spotify since June 1st and more recently Amazon Music, Audible and iHeart Radio. Apple is being… difficult. It’s not that they won’t host my podcast, I’ve had no luck so far creating an Apple Account (previously called Apple ID).

Here are links to Read the Bible on the various podcast platforms. If you are already listening to the show, thank you. But if a few of my friends, IRL or blog friends, wanted to go to each of these links and like, subscribe or follow, that would be fantastic.

Did you know there is a Gideon ESV? I learned a few years ago that if a modern translation is requested, the Gideons will place Bibles in the English Standard Version. I was surprised but pleased by this development. I have only recently learned there is more to it than that.

For many years they offered the NKJV as an alternative to their regular KJV Bibles, from the time it was first published in 1982 until 2013. Then Thomas Nelson publishers, who own the rights to the NKJV text, were purchased by Harper Collins. The Gideons could not work out a deal they liked with Harper Collins but they were able to negotiate with Crossway, the publishers of the newer ESV. The ESV was first published in 2001 and if you don’t know there have been a few revisions since then. I never realized how similar the ESV is to the King James text until I began diligently comparing and contrasting multiple translation while working on Read the Bible. I have actually found the ESV, to my surprise, to not be much help. I have also discovered the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and – brace yourself – the New International Version (NIV) – to perhaps be better translations than I had previously given them credit for. But here is what you need to know about the Gideon ESV: It is not the same as the ESV you can buy in stores or read online.

Through a special arrangement with Crossway, the Gideons have exclusive distribution rights of an ESV text that is more like the textus receptus sourced translations than other modern translations. I was somehow surprised but should not have been. I believe all the differences are found in the New Testament, the part of our Bible originally written in Greek. The King James Only crowd have long accused modern translators of “leaving out” passages of scripture. Perhaps the best example is the story of the woman brought to Jesus who was caught in the act of adultery. If that passage of text, John 8:3-11, is in your Bible there might also be a footnote that says it is omitted from some ancient manuscripts or the passage itself will be in the footnotes with an explanation that it is not found in the Majority text. Look up the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 5. Does it end with the words “For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever?” Is there a footnote or center column reference? Those are examples of textual variance among the manuscripts our Bibles are translated from and cause the KJVO people to believe that every modern translation not based on the textus receptus are from the devil. Except for the Gideons ESV which has had them translated and added.

I have long supported the work of the Gideons and will continue. Most of the Bibles they place are King James and I believe everyone should have a Bible translation they can read in their first language. I was glad to hear about their distribution of ESV Bibles in certain cases then a little shocked, although not that much now that I understand, that they have their own exclusively deal to a modified ESV, an alternative to the alternative. It all seems a little weird to me. I can’t believe anyone would go to the trouble and I can’t believe they got Crossway to play ball. But hey, the best translation of the Bible is the one you will read. A lost soul looking for hope that finds a Gideon Bible in a hotel nightstand drawer or a prisoner in a cell that has never picked up a Bible before doesn’t know all the details about translation history and Greek manuscripts this post is about. The Gideons have access to places that I never will and they do nothing but give away Bibles free of charge. That is good news.

My first impression was if you attend this church you need to find another because you do not have a real pastor. But let’s break this down and see if we can give it a fair shake. First Baptist Church Dallas (TX) has approximately 16,000 members. Their pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress, is also a Fox News contributor. The church’s website goes to great lengths to explain that it is possible to meet the pastor however; if you need pastoral care they have a team of people on staff to handle those kinds of needs. An individual person, such as a church pastor, can maintain a personal relationship with about 200 people. If a member of the pastoral care staff comes to the hospital, embraces you, prays with you and cries with you while you cry for a family member, that is the person you will form a personal bond with that lasts whether it’s the pastor, his wife, a full time staff member or a volunteer. If your church is small enough an individual serving as the pastor might be able to answer every call, make every hospital visit, stay and talk with each member after the service. That’s a small church. Large churches need small groups of people that meet together and not only get to know each other but are invested in each other’s lives. That could be anything from a Sunday School class to an in-home meeting one night during the week. Mega churches have multiple people on staff and it’s not (necessarily) because the pastor is shirking his responsibilities. Every pastor needs help and support regardless of the size of his congregation. At the end of the day Dr. Jeffress is one man that can only be in one place at a time. He has the same number of hours in his day as the rest of us, and needs time to do things like sleep and spend alone with God. Let’s keep that in mind no matter how many people are in the church you attend.

All cats are the same. Every cat owner that has ever been rubbing their pet’s belly while she purred calmly then switches into kick-bite-scratch mode knows this to be true.

Summer is here. I don’t do swimsuit season but grill season? I’m all about that. Heinz wants you to be ready with their unnecessary yet convenient line up of products. (Look at Mayocue, third from the right. That’s a mixture of mayonnaise and barbecue sauce. If you mix those two ingredients in the proper proportions it is a dead ringer for Chick-fil-A sauce. I no longer buy Chick-fil-A sauce in the 16 oz bottle at the grocery store. I don’t know if that’s a sin or not but let me tell you, put that on your chicken nuggies…)

For all you nerds out there – and let’s be honest, you’re reading a blog on Saturday. You either have or you’re thinking about reversing engineering Chick-fil-A sauce. It wasn’t cool when I was in high school but nerds rule the world now. Season three of Strange New Worlds begins streaming on Paramount+ July 17th. Season four is in production and an abbreviated fifth and final season has been announced.

Yes and no. It is true that the first heat advisory has been issued for Alaska this weekend. The expected high in Fairbanks will be around 85 degrees Sunday afternoon. But that is not hardly the record high temp; for Fairbanks, AK, is 96 degrees. The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a heat advisory for this weekend but previously would have issued a “special weather statement.” The caption is technically true but misleading. It does not indicate temperatures are higher in Alaska than they have ever been, which is how most people will read it.

It’s the middle of June, let’s talk college football. New NCAA rules will limit rosters to 105 total players. Previously a team could have 85 scholarship players and as many walk-ons as they wanted. The “Georgia tradition” refers to guys like Rodrigo Blankenship and Stetson Bennett who famously walked on and became superstars.

I get what they’re doing, or trying to do, I just don’t know if it’s right to force it. They hope to level the playing field just like MLB has done in their sport for decades. If UGA can have as many walk-ons as they want, then in an era of big wins and post-season opportunities more players want to walk on. But if you’re team is a dumpster fire the best players are hoping to walk on somewhere else. Just like the introduction of the transfer portal, NCAA is hoping this will end dynasties. They don’t want Georgia, Alabama or anyone else winning multiple championships in a row, or even winning 5 scattered across a 10 year period of time. They hope every school gets a turn and ultimately that most schools have evenly split records for the season. No 11-0’s or 1-10 records. In another 20 years they will quit keeping score and hand out participation trophies.

And finally…

Sly Stone and Brian Wilson have both passed in the last week. Both men were possessed some form of genius and both suffered some sort of mental illness or dementia for many years. I saw the Beach Boys in 1994 when Brian was still with the group. He would later tour solo and the group would eventually continue performing as the Beach Boys with only one original member. He turned 52 that summer; I will turn 50 later this year. That doesn’t seem as old to me now as it did back then.