October 10, 2022 – Monday
Psalm 27:1 NIV
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1 NET
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation. I fear no one. The Lord protects my life. I am afraid of no one.
Psalm 27:1 KJV
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Psalm 27:1 ESV
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
Comment
Why this verse? Because I used a paraphrase of the verse in the closing of my message on Sunday morning. I had found it on a ‘poster’ of sorts on Facebook. The paraphrase is “God is on Your Side. Be Fearless!” Take a look at the poster here (not on Facebook).
Now a challenge for you, look at the versions of Psalm 27:1 above and ask yourself if “God is on Your Side. Be Fearless!” is a valid paraphrase. If you would like to look at more versions of the verse go to BibleGateway here and Biblehub here. While a large number of the versions of this verse have the word fear, only one has the word fearless as in the paraphrase. And it is from The Message, Light, space, zest—that’s God! So, with him on my side I’m fearless, afraid of no one and nothing.
Why didn’t I list the verse from The Message above? Because it is not a translation at all, but a paraphrase in its entirety. Some things it gets right, some things very wrong, and at times leaves some things out and adds things at others. A real mishmash of sorts. I recommend this review by Michael Brown who is more even handed than I would have been in his treatment of The Message.
Why did I even use this paraphrase of Psalm 27:1? I was finishing up Acts 5 where the apostles after being threatened with death, were instead beaten, receiving 39 lashes (13 on the chest and 26 on the back). The apostles did not return home ashamed and full of caution and fear about what they would or would not do. No, instead they wore their suffering as a badge of honor as it was on behalf of Jesus. And with renewed zeal they kept right on preaching that Jesus was the Messiah, who had died for the sins of all and had been resurrected.
Always facing death for teaching the truth about Jesus, His crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. They had spent time with the resurrected Jesus. As a result, they were fearless. My question is why we cannot be fearless as well in telling the truth about Jesus and about sin.
Will we, in our faith, live up to the standard set by the apostles? Will we live up to it? Will we, for instance, speak against the medical establishment experimenting on children and young teenagers? Paraphrasing Psalm 27:1, God is on your side, so be fearless.
Bottom Line: Being fearless does not mean to be mean spirited, instead be kind and at the same time be fearless in telling the truth.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, Please give us the courage the apostles had. Let us always be able to speak the truth as you have provided it for us. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek