God of mercy, let this dear reader today know and experience mercy as they show and receive it in all their needs. In Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Yoked with God was our sermon series and it ended yesterday. As we talked about the early church and how it grew beyond the first twelve ("More Than A Dozen" was the sermon title), that Pentecost Day saw the church grow in incredible number because "the Lord added to their number." Why did the Lord do that? It was because of the devotion of those early Christians to several things. Acts 2:42a, " They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching." Unlike us, these early believers did not have New Testaments to read. They had something even better, the witness of the disciples. I have often wondered what it was like to sit there and listen and learn from those who had seen and been with Jesus. One hour with Peter, James, and John would have probably shared with us experiences not written in the pages of the Bible as we know it. But we do have The Bible as our teacher. Our Bible has both the Bible of the disciples as well as those pages inspired by the teaching of Jesus. It is our daily guide to what God has shown through the prophets and through His only Son, Jesus Christ.
I was called to a residence this past Saturday morning. The mother of the home owner had just died. She had been taken in so that both the family and hospice care could watch over her last days. The grandson had a turn on watch and it was during that hour that he asked his grandma if there was anything she needed. She whispered, "B-i-b-l-e." It was still by her side on Saturday, called by her daughter, "her treasure book." In it were various notes and poems and other items that she had collected for many years. It truly had served as her teacher for many, many years, and as her body ceased to function, the joy and peace of a better home saw her through what many of us fear, her death. The son-in-law said, "We thought it would be more difficult" referring to her death, but because of her faith and her walk with the Lord, "it was not."
Will we ask for our Bible at such a time? Will our family know that it is our "treasure book?" Will the pages be wrinkled and torn from use, will there be precious notes about special verses and about special days in our lives? Will it be something that our children will remember us reading and using as God's word?
The Bible is a precious resource for our daily living. It has unexplainable power in it if we will only open it, read it, pray it, and live it. As the children's song that my children taught me says, "The B-I-B-L-E, now that's the book for me! I stand upon the word of God, The B-I-B-L-E!"
PRAYER: Loving God, let the reading of Thy word be that which nourishes and strengthens me today and all days. May I find in it exactly what I need to be Your witness and servant. May I be one who gives to others the hope that I have found within the pages of Scripture. I ask this in Jesus' precious and powerful name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
