When I was 10 years old, my Pappaw John joined the Church of the New Jerusalem. I’m sharing this 46 years later because that little mini Bible they gave me that day still sits in Pappeye’s china cabinet right next to Mammaw Ruth’s china.
You needed 10-year-old eyes to read the tiny print! It only had the New Testament and Psalms, but it was the “portable Bible” of the 70s (he passed in 1980). And you know what? I did carry it with me — quite a bit actually. I couldn’t read much of it, but it was a keepsake, a good-luck charm, and a way to keep my family close when I needed them.
For actual Bible Reading … That required the one that Pappeye bought me when i was saved a couple years later … I no longer have it, I’d given it away to someone about 25 years ago when they needed a Bible … A friend asked me if i regretted it and i told them that Pappeye would have told me “Honey, i can’t think of a BETTER use for it than someone who needs it!” …
By then I didn’t need that particular Bible anymore… The Olive Tree app had come out for the Palm Pilot. From that point on, I pretty much lived in a digital Bible world.
To borrow from Elizabeth Barrett Browning (not Shakespeare, I double-checked!):
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”
Here are just a few of the ways I love God’s Word today:
- Online … Both through the Olive Tree App and through the Bible Gateway (for this ministry !!!!
- Phone and Tablet … The Olive Tree App (allows me to make notes to share across all platforms !!!!
- Physical … The treasured bibles that my church gave me when i graduated high school, Pappeye’s study bible, and our family bible !!!!
- Being There !!!! We were blessed to be able to walk through the Holy Land … This was a life changing trip that we hope to one day go back and do again !!!
While i still have and cherish the mini bible, it’s now got pride of place in a china cabinet. The real “workhorses” i use every day listed above are the living two way communication channels between my soul and my Creator …
Just a thought from an incredibly lucky guy that may be able to count the Bibles but will never be able to count the Blessings !!!!
Bible Verses
Questions
What type(s) of Bibles to you study with ??? Do you use them as two way communications with God ???
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