thankful. 11.11.09

I’m so thankful . . .

For BOOKS.

I read so many books at the “same time.” Authors are like friends. I just pick who I want to have a conversation with and/or what I want to “converse” about at that time and open up a book that fits. Today I read some from Philip Yancey’s “Prayer. Does it Make a Difference?” and Bruce Wilkinson’s “Secrets of the Vine.” (And “Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 2007” by Ed Bott and Woody Leonhard, but most people don’t like to chat about that book.)

I almost always learn something when I read. Yesterday, while reading Yancey’s “Prayer” I looked up a Bible passage he referred to and discovered that Matthew 17:21 is missing from the NIV, dismissed as a forgery. I originally looked up the passage in my New King James and thought the verse was interesting, so, as I sometimes do, I looked it up in another version to see the difference. In my NIV, Matthew 17 goes straight from verse 20 to 22. No reference in “The Message” either. A quick Google search later and I discovered that some translator decided that he would copy Mark 9:29 to Matthew 17:21 for “consistency.” Hence, the forgery.

I wonder, if I hadn’t looked up that passage because a book made me curious, if I ever would have noticed that. I love books.

THANK YOU, LORD!!!

I’m participating in a month of Thanksgiving hosted by Rebecca Writes. If you want to join in, post something you are thankful for and then link up over at Rebecca’s blog!