Is the B-I-B-L-E Still the Book for Me?
Christian Devotional on the importance of God's Word
By Debra Torres
There are four big black letters scribbled on the top of the Bible I retrieved from the “free book bin” at our library.
“D-I-S-C” is written there by a hurried hand, and I’ve come to the sad conclusion that the letters most likely stand for the word: DISCARD.
Sometimes libraries get rid of items that aren’t being checked out enough, maybe that’s why it was discarded. If so, it’s a stark reminder of our times.
I’m a hopeless collector of old books, especially cookbooks and gardening books. But Bibles, well, they rank pretty high on my list. Who wouldn’t want the message of wisdom and understanding readily available in the palm of their hands? I know I do.
I had an elderly neighbor once who I enjoyed visiting. When we’d talk, she’d often point to her old blue Bible and tell me about her lengthy quiet times with God. I liked to picture her there in her old velour recliner spending time in her thick Bible. It was a comfort to know that someone close by was studying God’s word too.
After my neighbor passed away, I stopped over at her estate sale anxious to bring home some memories of her. As I rummaged through a cardboard box of sale items, I came across her old blue Bible.
What a treasure! I couldn’t believe I found it and that I could actually take it home with me. She had highlighted throughout the book and now I could see firsthand the words that were meaningful to her.
But Bibles don’t always get opened and read do they?
There are four big black letters scribbled on the top of the Bible I retrieved from the “free book bin” at our library.
“D-I-S-C” is written there by a hurried hand, and I’ve come to the sad conclusion that the letters most likely stand for the word: DISCARD.
Sometimes libraries get rid of items that aren’t being checked out enough, maybe that’s why it was discarded. If so, it’s a stark reminder of our times.
I’m a hopeless collector of old books, especially cookbooks and gardening books. But Bibles, well, they rank pretty high on my list. Who wouldn’t want the message of wisdom and understanding readily available in the palm of their hands? I know I do.
I had an elderly neighbor once who I enjoyed visiting. When we’d talk, she’d often point to her old blue Bible and tell me about her lengthy quiet times with God. I liked to picture her there in her old velour recliner spending time in her thick Bible. It was a comfort to know that someone close by was studying God’s word too.
After my neighbor passed away, I stopped over at her estate sale anxious to bring home some memories of her. As I rummaged through a cardboard box of sale items, I came across her old blue Bible.
What a treasure! I couldn’t believe I found it and that I could actually take it home with me. She had highlighted throughout the book and now I could see firsthand the words that were meaningful to her.
But Bibles don’t always get opened and read do they?
It’s funny how you can tell the shape of someone’s soul by the shape of their Bible.
I always feel like I want to sit and listen to someone who’s got a Good Book that’s worn out and dog eared.
When I was a young teen, one of my first jobs was helping my friend Karin clean Mrs. Potter’s house.
I always feel like I want to sit and listen to someone who’s got a Good Book that’s worn out and dog eared.
When I was a young teen, one of my first jobs was helping my friend Karin clean Mrs. Potter’s house.
Karin had the job of cleaning the kitchen and bathrooms, while I took care of the vacuuming and dusting.
I remember the day Mrs. Potter added a new piece of furniture to her nicely decorated living room. It was a small, round table and a hardcover Bible lay on its shiny wood surface.
Now, I give Mrs. Potter lots of credit for keeping her Bible ready and available, but you know, I knew that Mrs. Potter didn’t read her Bible. How?
Well, I had the job of dusting it every week.
I remember the day Mrs. Potter added a new piece of furniture to her nicely decorated living room. It was a small, round table and a hardcover Bible lay on its shiny wood surface.
Now, I give Mrs. Potter lots of credit for keeping her Bible ready and available, but you know, I knew that Mrs. Potter didn’t read her Bible. How?
Well, I had the job of dusting it every week.
_ The book “The Hiding Place” tells the true story of WWII concentration camp prisoner, Corrie ten Boom, and one of my favorite scenes involves Corrie’s desperate attempt to keep her Bible.
In the scene, she and her sister Betsie are to go through a check point where they are to shower and put on prison clothes.
In the scene, she and her sister Betsie are to go through a check point where they are to shower and put on prison clothes.
Corrie finds a way to stash her precious book near the clothes pile where she retrieves it later and miraculously is not searched along with the other ladies in line.
The Bible is like gold to Corrie and reading it gets her and many others through the horrors of Ravensbruck -- one of Hitler’s worst concentration camps.
She writes this in her book: “But as the rest of the world grew stranger, one thing became increasingly clear. And that was the reason the two of us were here. Why others should suffer we were not shown. As for us, from morning until lights –out, whenever we were not in ranks for roll call, our Bible was the center of an ever-widening circle of help and hope. Like waifs clustered around a blazing fire, we gathered about it, holding out our hearts to its warmth and light. The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the word of God.”
Corrie ten Boom would be horrified with the D-I-S-C on my Bible, don’t you think? If our Bible’s have similar “labels,” I think it’s time we made a change don’t you? Spending time daily in the word will make you a new person.
I’m going to take out my black marker and give my Bible some new ending letters. Because in reading God’s word, well, there’s always something new to
D-I-S-C-O-V-E-R.
The Bible is like gold to Corrie and reading it gets her and many others through the horrors of Ravensbruck -- one of Hitler’s worst concentration camps.
She writes this in her book: “But as the rest of the world grew stranger, one thing became increasingly clear. And that was the reason the two of us were here. Why others should suffer we were not shown. As for us, from morning until lights –out, whenever we were not in ranks for roll call, our Bible was the center of an ever-widening circle of help and hope. Like waifs clustered around a blazing fire, we gathered about it, holding out our hearts to its warmth and light. The blacker the night around us grew, the brighter and truer and more beautiful burned the word of God.”
Corrie ten Boom would be horrified with the D-I-S-C on my Bible, don’t you think? If our Bible’s have similar “labels,” I think it’s time we made a change don’t you? Spending time daily in the word will make you a new person.
I’m going to take out my black marker and give my Bible some new ending letters. Because in reading God’s word, well, there’s always something new to
D-I-S-C-O-V-E-R.
Here are some Bible verses that'll help you on your journey:
Psalm 119:105 King James Version
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
2 Timothy 3:16 Amplified Bible
Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action),
Psalm 119:11 Amplified Bible
Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You
Psalm 119:105 King James Version
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
2 Timothy 3:16 Amplified Bible
Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God's will in thought, purpose, and action),
Psalm 119:11 Amplified Bible
Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You