Grady Russell

Here is my second entry. I am amazed by the number of readers! Thought you should all know that I am a pastor in Winter Garden, Florida. You can find my church website under my links.

One of the first things you should know about me is that I am a huge fan of the Contemporary English version of the Bible. Don’t get me wrong, I love the King James Authorized Version and the wonderful poetic flow of the language. I enjoy the NIV and the translation called The Message, too. The Amplified is also very useful, but for my daily reading and for most of my sermons, I rely heavily on the CEV.

Let me give a brief comparison of the CEV and the KJV.

In the book of Job, we find that Job loses his children, his wealth, his health, his friends are blaming him, and his wife is telling him to curse God and die. It seems that things could not get any worse. Then a storm of Biblical proportion comes into Job’s hometown and God finally decides to speak. In the 38th chapter of Job, in the KJV we read, “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, 2Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?” Beautiful language but what does it mean? In the CEV we read, “From out of a storm, the Lord said to Job: 2Why do you talk so much when you know so little?” Powerfully descriptive words which tell us to be as brief as our understanding.

I shall endeavor to do so in future entries.

God bless!