Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. [Joshua 1:8 (NLT)]
If I told you that 88% of Americans own four or five of these, you’d probably think of televisions until I told you that less than a fifth of Americans actually use them regularly. It’s the Bible—almost all of us have more than one and yet few of us ever open it more than a few times a year.
It’s estimated that over six billion Bibles have been printed since Gutenberg printed the first one in 1454. Since then, the entire Bible has been translated into 554 languages and some portion of the Bible has been translated into 2,932 languages. Within our language, we can choose from a vast array of translations—from word for word versions such as the King James to thought for thought ones like the New Living Translation to paraphrase versions such as the Message. There are large print, study, chronological, life application, and even journaling Bibles (“Journibles”) that allow us to express our creativity with doodles and sketches on the page margins. For the younger generation, the Bible has entered the 21st Century with both the Kingstone Bible, which presents the Bible in graphic novel form, and the Emoji Bible – Scripture 4 Millennials, with its Unicode-approved emojis and internet slang and contractions. We have Bibles enough for every preference and faith—we just need Bible readers.
The Bible is the foundation of our faith—it’s our history, God’s love letter to us and our ode to Him. It’s our Lord’s biography, the Church’s handbook and our instruction manual for life. Today is the International Day of the Bible. At noon, local time, people of all ages are invited to celebrate the Bible, in public or online, by reading or creatively expressing their love of God’s word. While hoping that people will share favorite Bible verses with family and friends, the event’s sponsor, The National Bible Association, hopes for more creativity such as flash mobs, singing or dancing to Scripture, and artwork or photography that capture God’s glory and add a few lines of verse.
I don’t hold out much hope for a massive demonstration of Bible lovers because, according to a recent study by the Barna Group, only 37% of those who consider themselves “practicing Christians” regularly read the Bible and more than half read it only four times a year. If we love it so much, I wonder why we don’t read it more. Two-thirds of Americans say they would like to do just that but they just can’t find the time. Somehow, I think we can all find at least five minutes a day in our busy lives for God! Today, if you don’t share your love of the Bible with someone else, perhaps you will observe this day by pausing for a few minutes to open and read your Bible and to thank God for the privilege of reading His word. And, maybe, if you don’t already do so, you’ll commit to reading God’s word regularly.
When we open the Bible, it does not say to us, “Listen: God is there!” Instead, the voice of the Spirit whispers through each line, “Look: I am here!” [Chris Webb]
I recently walked by a home that has a large sign at its front door: “Smile, you’re on camera!” We’ve got baby monitors and nanny cams and can see who is at the door with a glance at our cell phones! Cameras are disguised as working clocks, lightbulbs, phone chargers and smoke detectors. No moment is private if a cell phone is nearby and our most embarrassing moments may find their way onto Facebook or YouTube. Police have body cams, cyclists have Go-Pros, drivers have dash cams, drones can watch us sunbathing in the yard, and schools embed RFID chips in student ID badges. We’re even monitored while in department store dressing rooms (an unsettling thought when trying on bathing suits!) Two years ago, hidden cameras were found in a beach house that was rented out to unsuspecting vacationers. Cameras are everywhere and no place is private; this whole surveillance thing is rather disquieting.
I never thought I’d enjoy my smartphone so much, especially instant messaging. Now that I’ve gotten the hang of it, I love the way it keeps me connected with friends and family who are thousands of miles away. Between the grands’ recent report cards, Halloween costumes, trick-or-treating and the World Series, our phones have been dinging and whistling with texts and pictures for the last several days. Unfortunately, that dinging and whistling can go on much later than we old folks like! With our children living in time zones west of us, what seems like early evening to them is bedtime for us. During the Series, we’ve taken to silencing our phones before going to bed. Like our children, we want the Cubs to win; unlike them, we can wait until morning to find out if it happened!
True confession time—although I often write about making prayer an ongoing part of our daily routines, I tend to compartmentalize my own day. I allocate specific times to prayer and the rest of the day to living when, in actuality, my entire life should be a prayer. Granted, I’ve been known to offer quick thanks for God’s “Aha!” moments and “Please!” and “Help!” are often submitted to Him, but those brief messages are just the emojis of prayer. If I can send a picture or text to my kids, I can pause long enough to tell God how blessed I am by the moment or how much I love and need Him.
Patience may be one of the fruits of the Spirit but there appears to be a shortage of it in my life’s orchard. Paul tells us that hardships teach us patience and patience develops strength of character but I imagine most of us are impatient to see all of that character building come to an end. Moses must have grown impatient leading the Israelites all those years, yet consider the patience God had during those same forty years as He dealt with His children’s disobedience, ingratitude and complaints. In fact, consider how patient God has been with mankind since the beginning of time. We err and stray, forget and disobey, ignore, defy and even deny Him, yet He still hasn’t given up on us. Mercifully, we have a God who loves us and, as Paul tells us, love is patient and kind. Remembering that the measure we use to give will be used to measure what we receive, we must be patient with others if we want God to be patient with us.
As the weather up north cools, our snowbird neighbors have begun returning to their southwest Florida homes. One neighbor recently arrived from Portland, Oregon, a city that ranks third in a list of cities with the most depressing winters. Their weather forecast alternates between cloudy with rain showers to partly cloudy with a 60% chance of rain and that’s not likely to improve! Their early November temperatures will range from highs in the mid-60s to lows in the mid-40s with a UV index that never gets above a 2. On the other hand, our ten-day forecast fluctuates between sunny and mostly sunny with no more than a 10% chance of rain. Temperatures will rise to the mid-80s during the day and fall to the mid-60s at night; the UV index is 6 or 7. In short, Portland is damp, gray and dreary and we’re dry, warm and sunny (and should wear sunblock). On my neighbor’s first day back in our tropical paradise, while relaxing on her lanai with a book, she happened to fall asleep. Upon waking, hearing the mockingbird’s happy song and feeling the warm gentle breeze on her face, she had a moment of confusion and forgot where she was. Feeling incredibly peaceful, relaxed and refreshed, for a moment she actually thought she’d died and gone to heaven!
Printed on the tee-shirt were Paul’s words from Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things.” While the shirt, part of a new line of Christian workout wear, would be a great conversation starter at the gym, the message is somewhat misleading. I could wear that shirt and say those words but, try as I might, I’d still be unable to bench press 450 pounds! That, however, is not why the message is misleading. It’s because the rest and most important part of Paul’s words—“through Christ who strengthens me”—are missing. Paul’s words are not words of self-sufficiency but of God’s all-sufficiency. The apostle was not boasting of himself and his strength but rather of God’s strength and power that enable us to do His work.
