1 Peter 1:24,25 "For, All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the Word of the Lord stands forever."
For three and a half years, my husband and I lived in South Dakota in a small town 45 miles from Rosebud Reservation. We had gone there as he had a call from the Lord to minister to the Dakota Sioux Native Americans. We stayed until his health was such he could not tolerate another winter there. But while we were there, in that small town, 1 1/2 hours away from the what you would call a larger town, Pierre. Anyway, there was not much in the line of things to do, one movie house, one screen, showed the same movie for about 2 weeks......and auctions. The auctions were sad I thought, as these were held when folks had passed away and their children had no use for these things or the folks were moving south to warmer weather, but what ever the reason, all these things were sold. The auctioneers would put multiple things in boxes, smaller items, books, sort things out that way; and the boxes would be lined up. You would bid on a box and if no one wanted it, another boxed was pulled into it. I once purchased over 10 boxes for two dollars. But it was a lot of fun and we got a lot of old things that we enjoyed. I have three boxes of old cameras...that sort of thing. But then we packed up and came home. Some of the boxes were still unopened in the garage. When I had my garage sale, I found the auction box. Inside were some very old greeting cards and post cards from the later 1800s and early 1900s. Then I found the Bible. It is in almost pristine condition for its age, binding still intact. Some of the cover pages a little dry around the edges, but the inscription inside reads Nov. 12, 1876. The Word of God from so long ago, still the same as now, except in the older translation.
Never changing, the Word of God stands. I want to read it but I do not want to cause anything to tear, and the print is so small, but everything is readable. The only thing faded is the inscription. Inside the front cover was a small flag with 42 stars. I will be going back and see when this flag was our flag, trying to see when it was placed in the Bible.
As I was thinking about the Bible, I thought about the Holy Spirit, and I truly feel He intended for me to find the Bible again. I can see Him wondering when I would actually look inside the box again to see the Bible. I saw it when we had the garage sale, but was busy and put it away. Today I looked inside the box again and took the Bible out and looked at it, really looked at it. It is old, very old to my standards. But time has not diminished the words in it, all the scripture is still very readable, so very true in its content. I know that the Lord changes nothing in His Word, it was written to give us instruction and hope, encouragement and peace, from the first Bible written to all the newer translations we have today. God's Word, still the most important book ever written. The very living Word of God. The Word that comes alive when read by the seeker of God. The one who longs to draw near to the Lord, who wants that relationship with Him that cannot be found unless you study His Word, to learn about our Lord, to truly understand His thoughts, His will for our lives. Studying His Word so that we can learn how the Lord wants us to live, and how to do this very thing, how to live according to that very Word, the spoken Word of God. Someone who is in despair, troubled or ill, can pick up this precious Word and find words of encouragement, words of love, words that will heal their wounded spirit, their sick soul; words that will bring life and restoration to them.
How I love Your Word, my God. I use to spend so much time reading everything but Your Word, and now I cannot read anything but the Word of my Lord. I seek You through this precious Word, I seek Your will for my life; I find You between the lines of scripture, my Lord; You are there from the beginning to the end, always the same, with the same message coming forth.....You love me, You love me, You love me. This beautiful message, the words giving me newness of life through Your mightly and unconditional love for me. Your love. Your Word.
And now, years after the purchase of the auction box, I am gifted once again with this precious Bible, Your Holy Word, published so long ago, but with the never changing message....You love me, You love me, You love me. This 28th day of May, my Lord, I consecrate myself to You, to Your Word, and to Your love. I love You, dear Lord, I love You, I love You, I love You.
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