ESV: The search is over

After nearly thirty years of seeking my "perfect" Bible translation, I can now declare "Success!". As a new Christian in the late 1970's my first Bible was an NIV. A local pastor who was instrumental in my conversion recommended it and it was the "new, happening" translation which had great potential to become widely used by the Church, which it did. Then, just as I was becoming familiar with the NIV, I became involved in what would be considered the more "fundamentalist" wing of Christianity and was gently exhorted to use the King James Version. During those years my two main Bibles were a New Scofield Reference Bible and a KJV Open Study Bible. Also during the decade of the 1980's I became aware of and purchased my first New American Standard Bible, having learned of it being touted as the best "word-for-word" translation.

Moving ahead to the late 80's and the 1990's, finding myself in an evangelical church, I dusted off my New International Version and used it as my primary Bible for the next several years. I collected many different Bibles over the years....looking for that "perfect" one in size, feel, color, binding, and most of all...translation. I never was totally satisfied. Ultimately I always seemed to come back to the literal, word-for-word NASB, though I never found a local church where this version was used from the pulpit.

Then out of nowhere into my life in 2007 comes the English Standard Version. It had been around for six years, but I had not heard of it. I investigated this "essentially literal" translation and was blown away. Finally, a Bible had arrived on the scene that was very accurate like the NASB, but more readable, and had the poetic flow of the KJV. In the past year I have purchased five ESV Bibles, all in different sizes, shapes, colors and formats, and have already given one away. It is the version used by our pastor and appears to be used by the majority of our denomination. The English Standard Version is right on and I hope it becomes the standard for the body of Christ.

My spiritual journey (Part 10)

I spent the years of 2003 - 2006 basically wandering in the wilderness of sin and purposelessness. I might darken the doors of the church once every month or so. My life continued on in many interesting and exciting ways, but God was not a part of it. Finally, in 2007, being very depressed about things in general and feeling quite "lost" in many different ways, I started "attending" a church on the internet, "Live Church TV" I think it is called. That was ok, but there was no personal interaction. During that summer I started investigating churches in the area I had never checked out before or had not lately. I received a phone call from a good friend whom I had served with in church ministry in the past, who had finally become pastor of his own church and invited me to his first service. I am very happy for him. He has a nice, small, country church and I wish him the best. It was not what I was looking for personally, and it was a little too far to travel. During this time I found a post card that I had received some six years earlier, thanking me for visiting Grace Fellowship. I knew they had grown some and were meeting in a different place than before. I visited a Sunday morning worship service late summer 2007 and have been there ever since.

Grace Fellowship is a part of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) denomination. They are theologically conservative and true to the Bible. They also practice "reformed theology", the teachings of the historic Christian church dating back to John Calvin, Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation. I must admit that much of reformed theology is new to me, some of it very different from what I had been taught in the past, but it all seems familiar and right. As I jumped in with both feet, scripture passages that I had previously had difficulty with, began to make sense and become clearer. It's like being a brand new believer and being excited about new truth.....actually, old biblical truth with proper interpretation and understanding for the first time in my Christian experience. I can't read, study or listen to sermons fast enough as I hunger for truth once again. I have joined Grace recently and am already involved in some ministries. I am reading my Bible and praying again and I am very thankful that I have finally emerged from a very dark time into the light of His Presence.