Well-Worn, Well Loved Bibles
Good Morning Friends,
God gives us a stunning promise in the book of Isaiah about what will happen when we allow Him to unleash the power of His Word in our lives. Over the Thanksgiving holidays as my wife and I cleaned up my home office and library, the place where I write these devotionals, I thought about this promise as it began it began to stare me in the face when my wife picked up one book and began to clean it and return it to its place in the library. What prompted the thought, as we packaged up books for donation to our church’s garage sale, was that some books we would always save… our Well-Worn, Well Loved Bibles.
Scripture: All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NRSV)
Oh, how I love your law! It is my meditation all day long. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your decrees are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn away from your ordinances, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to observe your righteous ordinances.
Psalm 119:97-106 (NRSV)
For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
Isaiah 55:10-11 (NRSV)
Message: It has been said that a Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t. I really do not know if that is true about physical things but in things spiritual it is a truth I would trust and embrace. You see I have logged in about 10,000 hours of Bible related study in the last 40 years and the well-worn pages of my Bibles tell a story. Every wrinkle on my aging face marks a spot in the good book where I got a glimpse of God. The notes written in the margin, though not as many as those of some of my friends, are still reminders of lessons learned now retained in my muscle memory. The cracked, fall apart bindings of one of my Bibles reveals in its brokenness a strength even as my own body ages. The Word made flesh shows us the truth about who we are, why we need Him, and who we can be in Him and how He through His Word can be in us. It is a light that shows us where to go, who to trust, and how to be filled with joy. It is the way we develop a relationship with Jesus…to know and love the Lord. Here the soul of a word is revealed in relations. Each word echoes with the voice of God. Every book points to Jesus. Every verse reveals His plan, His purposes, and His passion. Friends, every time we open our Bibles we come into His presence and have the chance for a fresh start, new beginning, radical transformation, or quiet grace. Do you want to flourish? Do you want to be fruitful? Fill yourself with the words of God. His Word will not return to Him without fulfilling His deepest desire in you.
Pray today we open our Bibles and meet God in its pages. Pray we not read just to check it off our list or quiet our guilt. Pray we still our spirits and listen for the voice of God. Pray we let our hearts beat in anticipation of being with the One who loves us beyond measure. Pray we let the richness of His Word feed our deepest hunger. Pray we let the living waters of His presence fill the deep crevices of our souls. Pray our well-loved Bibles be reflections of hearts that have taken a journey of joy. Pray we observe what scripture says, interpret correctly what it means and apply what it prompts us to do. Pray the words of God unleased in prayer breathe life into our souls.
Pray that who we are and what we do helps others to know the beauty of the Word.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 