"What Kind of Bible Do You Have?"
Warren E. Berkley
What kind of Bible do you have? Though the issue of English translations is worthy of serious thought, that isn't what I'm asking here. What kind of Bible do you have? I thought about this one time and wrote out the following "kinds."
Car Bibles. There are Car Bibles. Car Bibles are taken out of the car on Sunday (if the owner remembers), but they remain in the car the rest of the week; you can always tell if somebody has a Car Bible - it has a sun tan!
Decorative Bibles. There are Decorative Bibles. They sit on coffee tables or on a shelf somewhere. They are usually in mint condition because they are seldom opened. A child who opens a Decorative Bible may be scolded and told to leave it alone.
Pew Bibles. There are Pew Bibles. They may be opened once or twice a week. The only other time they are touched is when the janitor puts them back in the racks. Pew Bibles often find use as back support for the lumbar region.
Storage Bibles. There are Storage Bibles. They collect flowers, important papers and genealogical information. Obituaries are often put in them, I suppose for safe keeping; kind of like a lock box.
So, there are Car Bibles, Decorative Bibles, Pew Bibles, and Storage Bibles. What kind of Bible do you have?
Used Bibles. I hope you have a used Bible. There are fingerprints all over it, some loose pages, the spine may not be stiff anymore; there are pen and pencil notations, and the cover is worn and soiled by the repeated use of the owner. This kind of Bible is read and studied frequently because of the owner's hunger and thirst for righteousness. The owner knows the only way to live every day is to learn, believe, and obey the teachings of the Word of God.
David said, "Lord, I love your law" (Ps. 119:163). I hope you have a Used Bible.
"Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow"
Author Unknown
Each week has two days about which we should not worry, two days we should keep free from fear and apprehension.
One of these days is yesterday, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed; it's forever beyond our control.
All of the world's money cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single word spoken or deed done. Yesterday is gone forever.
The other day about which we should not worry is tomorrow, with its possible adversaries, its burdens, its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.
If God permits, tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor, or behind a cloudy mask. Until it does, we have no stake in it, for it is yet unborn, out of our view.
This leaves only one day—today. Anyone can fight life's battles for just one day. Only when we add the burdens of those awful eternities—yesterday and tomorrow—do we break down!
It is not today's experience that drives us mad. It is remorse or bitterness for what happened yesterday and the dread of what may happen tomorrow.
Let us, therefore, live but one day—today—at a time.
James 4:13-17 (NKJV)
13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit";
14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.
15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that."
16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin."
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