BEAM ME UP

Most of us have heard the phrase, "Beam me up, Scotty" at one time or another, but do you know who said that phrase in the old Star Trek TV series? This phrase is famous isn't it; we see it everywhere from bumper stickers to posters.

Most of us have heard that some famous phrases may not be just as we have heard them or thought they were, or even said by the people we thought said them. Such as the phrase, "Play it again, Sam," which was never really uttered in the movie Casablanca?

OK, who said, "Beam me up Scotty" in the series? You may have guessed that it was Captain Kirk, (William Shatner), but the reality is that he never said this exact phrase. In fact the answer is that no one in the series ever said that exact phrase. The closest Captain Kirk ever got to saying it was on the cartoon version of the series. On the original TV series the closest that the Captain ever got was "Beam US up, Scotty".

How many things in our memory do we accept as being true which we really have no real idea where they came from? For example, which of these following statements come from the Bible?

1.      A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

2.      Beggars can't be choosers.

3.      Charity begins at home.

4.      Cleanliness is next to godliness.

5.      Everything that glitters is not gold.

6.      God helps those who help themselves.

7.      Honesty is the best policy.

Well, in principle most of the thoughts can be found in the bible, but those phrases all come from men's writings. Yet, if I had asked you personally, what would you have said. Would you have in all honesty thought that at least one or two were found in the Bible?

That's OK; none of us can know everything in the Bible, can we? But what is enough? When do we know enough, when have we grown enough in knowledge and understanding. Peter urges his readers in 2 Peter 3:18 to "grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."

My earnest prayer for you is that you will continue to read, study, and come to a greater understanding of Christ and his purpose for you. Read you Bible daily, search the word, and know God better.