The Anniversary of D-Day; 67 Years Ago The World Changed.

Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.

Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.

But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!

I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!

Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.

-- Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Sixty-seven years ago today, sons, brothers, husbands, and fathers rushed into the breach in a desperate push against evil. Sixty-seven years ago the blood of heroes poured into the sand and families were broken into pieces. 

Let us never, ever, forget the price they paid for our freedom. 

They gave everything they had that we might have a chance to work for anything we want. 

Today as you go about your work, remember them.  Remember the lives given that we might be free.

Remember, and tell your children and your grandchildren about the men who are not here today so that the could  be here today. 

Two are Better Than One

“In Hebei, China, a teenager named Lui Shi Ching, 16 years old, has carried his friend to school daily for the last 8 years. His friend Lu Shao has a congenital disorder which makes it difficult for him to walk.
Eight years ago on a rainy day, Lu shao was stuck at school when his mom didn’t come to pick him up. Lui Shi Ching, who was smaller than Lu Shao, decided to help and carried him home. Since then, he has carried Lu shao to and from school and even to restrooms.Lui Shi Ching didn’t brag about his good deeds too much; his parents didn’t even find out until 4 years after he first helped out his friend.Lu Shao mentioned in his diary that Lui Shi Ching’s help has lifted a dark cloud in his life and let sunshine into it.”



story taken from ibtimes published on May 5th, 2011

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12


"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.


 Galatians 6: 2 "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

Stories like the one above take my breath away. In this dark world where there is pain and misery and hardship on every side, it is amazing that friendships like this one still bloom.  It makes me think of David and Jonathan's friendship, and certain friendsof mine  who have done the same for me as Lui Shi Ching has done for his friend. They may not have carried me to school every day for eight years, but they've stuck by me through thick and thin.  I thank God for them.

This pairs' example of the give and take in friendship is certainly heartwarming, and it made me tear up when I first read it, but it also got me thinking. There is  One Who Sticks Closer Than A Brother, and He has carried me for decades through this contumelious life.  And He calls me friend. 

How has Christ carried you this week?

His Way Will Not Be Carrying the NEW 2011 NIV

We are saddened to announce that His Way Christian Bookstore can not in good faith support or condone this mis-translation of Scripture. Zondervan and its translation team have pressed the Word of God to the point of the absurd in some places, and  in others the changes are so bad they alter the meaning of the text itself. Below, we have highlighted some of the most noticeable portions of  change, but these are only a drop in the bucket.


 Romans 6:19 NIV (1984 version)

"I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness."

 Romans 6:19 NIV (2011 version)

"I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness."


Judges 13:5 NIV (1984 version)

"...you will conceive and give birth to a son. No razor may be used on his head, because the boy is to be a Nazirite, set apart to God from birth, and he will begin the deliverance of Israel from the hands of the Philistines."

Judges 13:5 NIV (2011 version)

"You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines."

Matthew 19:12 NIV (1984 version)

"For some are eunuchs because they were born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

Matthew 19:12 NIV (2011 version)

"For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others--and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."

Job 33:26 NIV (1984 version)

"He prays to God and finds favor with him, he sees God's face and shouts for joy; he is restored by God to his righteous state."

Job 33:26 NIV (2011 verion)

"Then that person can pray to God and find favor with him, they will see God's face and shout for joy; he will restore them to full well-being."


Because of the changes, both to the text in general and the gender changes in places, His Way can not continue to sell this version of the Bible. We will be beefing up our stock of ESV, NKJV, NLTs, Amplified, HCSV, and Message to fill in the gap the NIV will leave on our shelves.

For those who would like the full list of changes found in the 2011  please go here.  Robert Slowley has done an amazing job showing  point by point where the changes can be found. He also urges people, as do we, to go to Bible Gateway and compare the changes for themselves. John Dyer also has an amazing comparison page and you can find that, here.

Please do not hesitate to ask any His Way associate for more details on this issue, we are happy to answer any further questions you have.

Lord of Lords

"Thus says the Lord,`the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

Isaiah 49:7 ESV



"I know men, and I tell you that Jesus Christ is not a man. Superficial minds see a resemblance between Christ and the founders of empires, and the gods of other religions. That resemblance does not exist. There is between Christianity and whatever other religion the distance of infinity.”

-Napoleon

"And the LORD God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; on your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life:  And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."

Genesis 3:14-15

This promise comes just after the fall of man, and predicts the coming of the "seed of the woman" implying the virgin birth.  The virgin born child would be a male who would trample the serpent under his feet.  John, in Revelation, lets us know that the serpent is Satan, and Matthew informs us that the boy is Jesus.  When Jesus was crucified the serpent bruised "his heel."  However, when Jesus rose he bruised [crushed] the serpents offspring of death.

Promises of Rescue, Promises of our Messiah

 Zechariah  6:9-13 ESV

And the word of the LORD came to me: "Take from the exiles Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah, who have arrived from Babylon, and go the same day to the house of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah. Take from them silver and gold, and make a crown, and set it on the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest.
And say to him, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall branch out from his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD. It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And there shall be a priest on his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both."'

Joshua doesn't mean "Branch" it means "God Saves" so what is the Lord saying in this passage written 500 years before Jesus was born? Well, take a look at this:

The Lord told Zechariah that as he set the crowns on the head of Joshua the high priest, he should speak the words: "Behold the man whose name is THE BRANCH." The man that Zechariah was bidding us to notice was Joshua himself. He said that the name of this Joshua who lived more than five hundred years before Christ was THE BRANCH. The prophet's declaration can be understood in various ways, but only one way agrees with the facts. The actual name of this Joshua was not THE BRANCH. And he was not the Christ who would also bear that name, for the Joshua in Zechariah's day has never ruled the world and the Old Testament never predicts that he will yet rule the world. The right interpretation of the words concerning this Joshua requires us replace THE BRANCH with something equivalent. We must treat the oracle like an expression in algebra or logic. THE BRANCH equals "a name of Christ." Therefore, after making the appropriate substitution, we discover that what the oracle is truly saying is this: "Behold the man whose name is a name of Christ."

In fact, the name of Joshua the high priest anticipated the very human name that the parents of Christ would bestow upon Him. "Joshua" is an English transliteration of the Hebrew Yeshua, exactly the same name that is spelled Iasous in Greek. From the Greek Iasous has come the English name "Jesus." In other words, the names "Joshua" and "Jesus" are identical in Hebrew. Thus, English translations of the Bible unnecessarily mystify Zechariah's prophecy. The high priest with a name of Christ was none other than a man called Jesus. Only a man determined at all costs to deny the supernatural character of the Bible would shrink from the obvious conclusion that Christ would also be called Jesus.  Stanley Edgar Richard via his website "The Moorings"

Five Hundred Years Later:

Matthew 1:18-25
 
Now the birth of Jesus Christ  took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed  to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

Psalm 22

^{Known as the Messianic Psalm, this divinely inspired poem was written by David 1,000 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, and nearly 200 years before crucifixion was invented as a way to execute someone. As we stand on the beginning of Holy Week, take time to marvel at how our Rescuer continually announced that He was coming for those of us caught in darkness.} 

<sup>Psalm 22 ESV

1</sup>My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
   Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
²O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
   and by night, but I find no rest.
 ³Yet you are holy,
    enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴In you our fathers trusted;
   they trusted, and you delivered them.
⁵To you they cried and were rescued;
   in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
 ⁶But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
⁷All who see me mock me;
   they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
⁸ "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
   let him rescue him, for he delights in him!"
 ⁹Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
   you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
¹⁰On you was I cast from my birth,
   and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
¹¹Be not far from me,
   for trouble is near,
   and there is none to help.
 ¹²Many bulls encompass me;
    strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
¹³they open wide their mouths at me,
   like a ravening and roaring lion.
 ¹⁴I am poured out like water,
   and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
   it is melted within my breast;
¹⁵my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
   and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
   you lay me in the dust of death.
 ¹⁶For dogs encompass me;
   a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet—
¹⁷I can count all my bones—they stare and gloat over me;
¹⁸ they divide my garments among them,
   and for my clothing they cast lots.
 ¹⁹But you, O LORD, do not be far off!
   O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword,
   my precious life from the power of the dog!
 ²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!
 ²² I will tell of your name to my brothers;
   in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
²³You who fear the LORD, praise him!
   All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
   and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
²⁴For he has not despised or abhorred
   the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
   but has heard, when he cried to him.
 ²⁵From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
   my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
²⁶The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
   those who seek him shall praise the LORD!
   May your hearts live forever!
 ²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember
   and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
   shall worship before you.
²⁸For kingship belongs to the LORD,
   and he rules over the nations.
 ²⁹All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
   before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
   even the one who could not keep himself alive.
³⁰Posterity shall serve him;
   it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
³¹they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
   that he has done it.