Nathan Davis’ Neighborhood

Have you ever had one of those moments in life where you think that something would never end? Like in Junior High, Kids cant wait to get to be a high schooler and that day never comes soon enough. But then the Senior soon-to-be graduate looks back and says it was too fast. Im at that point right now. Although I am not in high school I'm in my 3rd year of college. Im looking at life as it is spinning faster and faster and there is nothing to do but run with it. The other day I was driving home from a photo shoot in Downtown Orlando and I started to laugh uncontrollably. In the car I was grumbling that I didn't get enough exposure on the face in some photos and that they were not paying me enough, I then realized my first photography gig was IN downtown and it was non paying. It became a thistle in my side thinking that when I started to do my photography I did it because I loved light and I loved stories, and now here I am thinking about not getting paid enough, not having a better exposure (which it wasn't that bad in the first place). It was in that moment I started laugh and realize life was getting faster. I call my parents and my parents call me every so often. By so often I mean every other day. I love them they truly push me to follow my dreams. I watched my dad go from being a worker to being an owner and my mom the same. They showed me that normal people who never had a high school education can make it happen. I graduate in December and I couldn't be more nervous. Its that senior soon-to-be graduate mindset. When will the ride stop, and when it does, can I ride it again?

What is your favorite translation? The Bible was originally written with 11,280 Heb, Aramaic & Greek words.  The typical translation consists of about 6,000 words.  It’s obvious that translations have their limitations and this is why we must be students of various translations offering a more vast understanding of God’s Word. 

The Bible is inerrant and infallible. This means that the Bible has no errors and that it can never have errors. This does not mean that translations do not have errors because they do, yay even the most holy King James Version.

Verse divisions and numbers weren’t included in the Bible until 1560 A.D.  The KJV version didn’t come about until 1611. Soon after I had become a Christian I witnessed a group of pastors from a variety of backgrounds meeting. One of these pastors who’s denominational teaching only embraces the KJV became verbal about this matter. Finally in frustration he made the statement, “If the King James Version was good enough for Paul then it’s good enough for me!” Obviously Paul had nothing to do with a translation that would be written fifteen centuries after he died.

In all actuality the King James Version of today is really much different from the 1611 translation. In 1769 the translation was revised to be understood and over 75,000 changes were made to the first edition.

Nymphas is actually feminine - KJV interprets as masculine.  Nymphas was a woman.

Col 4:15  Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.  (KJV)

Col 4:15  Greet the brethren who are in Laodicea and also Nympha and the church that is in her house.  (NAS)

Col 4:15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.  (NIV)

“Thy fountains” refer to one’s sexuality and expression to be restricted to the confines of marriage. The KJV translation inaccurately interprets this to infer that you should let your sexuality be shared with strangers. This is obviously a mistake in the translation, which is contrary to every other translation you will read that poses this statement as a question which is answered clearly in the following verses.

Prov 5:16‑19  Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad, and rivers of waters in the streets.

17         Let them be only thine own, and not strangers' with thee.

18         Let thy fountain be blessed: and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.

19         Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe; let her breasts satisfy thee at all times; and be thou ravished always with her love.  (KJV)

Prov 5:16  Should your springs be dispersed abroad, streams of water in the streets?  (NAS)

Prov 5:16  Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? (NIV)

You might be surprised to learn that the New International Version actually excludes 14 verses from the text. These missing verses are Matt 17:21, Matt 18:11, Matt 23:14, Mark 7:16 9:44 9:46 11:26 15:28, Luke 17:36 23:17, Acts 8:37 15:34 24:7 28:29.

The fact is that we must move beyond any kind of thinking that limits our study of God’s Word to a single translation. There are a number of tools available to assist us in truly studying God’s Word.

The New American Standard is arguably the most accurate translation of Scripture. Bible colleges that study the original languages do so in correspondence to the NAS most commonly because of it’s accuracy.

Men like John Wycliffe & William Tyndale literally gave their lives so that you and I could read God’s Word as common believers. Enjoy your reading and enjoy your studying. Let’s never lose sight of the fact that we’re reading the Word of God that we might know the God of the Word more intimately.

George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."

Thomas Jefferson said,  "A studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands."

David’s passion is inspiring when we consider his heart and love for God’s Word. May we all become greater students of God’s Word and focus in on the important things.

Ps 119:165  Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.  (NIV)

Ps 119:47  for I delight in your commands because I love them.  (NIV)

Ps 119:48  I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.  (NIV)

Ps 119:97  Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long.  (NIV)

Ps 119:167  I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly.  (NIV)

After enough begging I finally gave in. The fish tank was set up in the girls’ bedroom and they were so excited. Days passed and the excitement wore off. Weeks passed and there had to be reminders to feed the fish. Months passed and I was fed up with the fish smell oozing from the bedroom every time I walked down the hallway.

Cautiously I began dropping hints after all this was going to be quite an accomplishment I could add to my dad resume. Two girls ages four and five were sly to my tactics by this time. Finally after enough discussions about how much work the fish had become. After what seemed like the 500^th tank cleaning. After several reminders to the girls how much more simple life was (B.F.) Before Fish. It was time. 

Gathering the family together for a special movie night I prepared the popcorn and then unveiled the featured presentation, Nemo! It couldn’t have been a more perfect setting to conclude the movie with a discussion about how these poor tropical fish we were holding captive needed to go find their family in the lake near our house. Of course I suspected these tropical fish wouldn’t survive the lake. Okay I more than suspected but I refrained from reading up on anything like that so my motives could be innocent and pure!

Alas the girls agreed that the fish should be set free. We made our way the very next day to the boat dock. The girls were very excited! As we got out of the car I carefully carried these orphaned fish that were bound to find their long lost families. “Nemo is coming home!”, I shouted as the girls and I walked toward the water. They were very pleased at this wonderful deed I was leading them in.

Carefully I dumped these precious little foster fish back into the water setting them free when suddenly it happened. Five ducks appeared from behind the dock thinking we were there to feed them. Quickly they swam right up to us and ate Blacky. Then they shamelessly and without conscience continued as they ate Bubbles.

With very few options I shouted very loudly,  “Wow! How awesome is that?!?! We got to let the fish go and feed the ducks all at the same time! Let’s go tell mom!” To which they responded in stunned silence for a few seconds searching for perspective and then it happened. They yelled, “Yeah! Hurry! Let’s go tell mom!”

We’ve all heard that when life gives you lemons you should make lemonade. The truth is, however, the lemons life gives us tend to already be in our mouths. The natural thing to do is pucker up and make a horrible face. Translating unexpected and difficult situations into hopeful circumstances takes constant practice.

Life is not about what happens to you but rather what happens in you when things happen to you.

A Harvard University study revealed that 85% of the reasons for success, accomplishments, promotions, etc. were because of our attitudes and only 15% because of education, intelligence or talent. Incredibly talented people are overlooked every day because of their inability to get along with others.

Circumstances are often out of your control but your attitude is 100% your responsibility. Don’t let other people or situations choose your attitude for you. Your attitude determines your altitude in almost every situation.

Babe Ruth is known as The Homerun King. Interestingly enough he had almost twice as many strikeouts as he had homeruns with 1,330 strikeouts to his 714 homeruns. Nobody, however has called him the strikeout king. The reason is because the homeruns were counted and the strikeouts were not. Life is about learning to count correctly. Don’t let your strikeouts get you down. Get back up to that plate and swing for another homerun! Marriages fail because they focus on strikeouts. People grow discouraged in their careers because they focus on the strikeouts.

Successful people are not people who never experienced failure. Successful people are people who learn from their mistakes. Thomas Edison is known as possibly the greatest inventor of all time. It might surprise you to know that 8 out of 10 of his inventions never worked. His attitude was one of constantly moving beyond mistakes to keep striving for a better future.

Once a reporter asked Edison how it made him feel to have had 1,000 failed experiments when trying to invent the light bulb. Edison responded, “They were failed experiments. Successfully inventing the light bulb was a 1,000 step process.” At age 67 Edison lost all of his work to a fire that completely burned his factory to the ground. The next morning as he walked through the ashes he is quoted as saying, “There is great value in disaster. All of our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.” Three weeks later the world’s first phonograph was invented and thousands more inventions would come before his death.

The Beatles were turned down by Decca Recording Company because, “We don’t like your sound & guitar music is on way out.” Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, “because he lacks skill.” Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because he, “Lacked imagination and has no original ideas.”

Statistically we fail more than we succeed so how we handle failure is directly linked to our ability to succeed. Failure becomes fertilizer when we allow it to help us grow. Learning to manage pain is a critical component to providing leadership in different situations. One young pastor had introduced a variety of changes to a church that had asked him to come. Suddenly the church began to grow but not without opposition. One day the young man stepped to his pulpit to find a card with the word, “Fool!” waiting for him. As he picked it up before the entire congregation he made an announcement. Many times I’ve known a man to write a letter and not sign his name. This is the first time I’ve known a man to sign his name and not write the letter.

 “Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” - Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914) American journalist

Choosing to remain positive in what can often be a negative world is vital to your success in every way. Attitude truly is everything. I don’t claim to be an expert in this field but I have learned something about taking personal responsibility for our decisions. As a child I was abused sexually. My dad is a Christian today who is a wonderful man. However, I grew up with a different man as my father. He changed jobs on average five times a year holding more than one hundred jobs over a twenty-year period. Nobody in my family had ever graduated from high school and I had reasons to opt out myself.

Your decisions determine your destiny.

I don’t claim to be an expert but – High School – Sexual Abuse – Dad 100 jobs 20 yrs – Repeatedly filing bankruptcy. I’ve had to make a choice! It’s already been stated once in previous paragraphs but worth repeating, Circumstances are often out of your control but your attitude is 100% your responsibility.

A little girl went to her grandmother’s house after a very difficult day of school one day. In tears she explained how terrible her day was. Ridicule from friends, uncaring responses from her teacher and a variety of traumatic things all voiced with great emotion. As the grandmother listened the little girl hardly noticed her putting on three pots to boil. Finally the grandmother put the carrots on one plate, the eggs on another and straining the coffee beans she poured coffee into a cup. The wise grandmother explained that the fires of life get turned up at times and we must make a choice. If we are like the carrots we get soft. If we are like the eggs we get hard. If we are like the coffee beans we become a fragrant example for others to see.

There is something deeper in every person’s life that holds us together. All of mankind is created in God’s image with the ability to more than conquer in every set of circumstances. Scientifically this is proven when we take a look at Laminin, which is a cohesion protein.  Simply put it keeps our bodies from falling apart on a molecular level.  One glance at the scientific diagrams and pictures of the only protein God put in our bodies that keep us from falling apart communicates something profound. This cohesion protein is in the perfect shape of a cross. Laminin brings great credibility to Paul’s writings in Coossians.

Colossians 1:17 “Christ is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” (NIV)

Lately God has really been teaching me to step out in Faith instead of Fear. This has been a huge struggle for me for sometime but it has been more accurate in my life right now.  I have been doing things in fear and I need to have faith and trust God because I know that he is going to see me through these time in my life because I am doing as he has called me to do. I know if I intercede that God is going to interveen what else more do I need.  I am giving all I have over to God so that he can do as he pleases with me!

Aidan arrived at 2:47am on August 27th.  He weighed 8lb.s 8oz.s and was 21 1/2 inches long. He is two weeks today.  He now weighs 9lb.s 6oz.s and is 22 1/4 inches long.  Growing everyday he is as cute as can be! :)  Enjoy the photos!

Just minutes old