We are Bible rich at our house. This pastor's home is filled with Bibles of every size, color, translation. A whole shelf of Bibles lives in my husband's office. He loves a new Bible like some women love a new pair of shoes! Me, I'm a one Bible kind of gal. I love and live in that Bible, carry it with me everywhere, mark it up like a journal, and after a decade or so, I may reluctantly get a different one. So my Bibles tell the story of my life...of my life entwined with His life, His life in me, Him being my life.
On the shelf in my office a handful of Bibles sit...
...the green hardcovered copy of the Living Bible that was my companion through highschool, college and my first years as a young wife and mama. Scriptures about God's guidance are underlined as I sought God's will and direction for my life. Every verse that speaks of how God feels about me is marked with a smiley face beside it as I groped to find my identity in Him. (smiley faces, I was young, remember?) The margins show the handwriting of a much younger me.
...the New American Standard "Open Bible" that was my first "grown up" Study Bible. This was my companion through the 80's. It's back pages have the dates when each of my three daughters gave their lives to Jesus, the dates they were baptized...
...My burgundy leather New King James Bible...This Bible has my color coded highlighting-
red colored pencil for all scriptures about the blood of Jesus and salvation
yellow for all scriptures about the fear of the Lord (a whole study I did about this topic changed my life!)
purple for all the scriptural promises God gave me for my girls
green for all scriptures about grace
blue marked the verses about prayer
orange highlighted the verses about the Holy Spirit
blue marked the verses that spoke of who I am in Christ
...the most expensive Bible I ever had was a small, calf skin New King James Bible given to me as a gift by my husband. That's when I discovered that some Bibles "just don't fit"...not the words, but the small size and the way the margins had no room for me to write notes or the date when God spoke that word to me personally. It was just so small and so pretty and so soft and so expensive, that I just couldn't live in that Bible, mark it up, write in it
...my Amplified Bible. This is my companion now. It doesn't sit on the shelf in the office. It is with me...my Bible goes with me everywhere. I literally wouldn't think of leaving home without it. It's Words are my life, breath, food.
I too am sentimental about my Bibles. It nearly broke my heart to have to shelve my small companion - one who had been across the world and back with me, the one who's Truth had jumped off the pages and brought me back from the desert, the one I held in my hands as the chains of long-fought bondage broke free - But now, so well-loved it is falling to pieces and so it sits, no longer carried with me everywhere, replaced now by one I'm trying to make my own. Often I revisit my worn-through friend - the one I know so well... and I remember, first Love, the Love, Him.
ReplyDeleteThank you for bringing my first book of Life to mind...
blessings to you,
aimee
I'm a one Bible woman myself. A few years ago, my Bible study gals presented me with an NIV study Bible; I've given that thing a work-out in that time. I just got an ESV study Bible, but am having trouble making the switch. So, I don't. Instead, I'm using them together--kind of like good friends.
ReplyDeleteI can't think of a better companion to join me on my journey of grace. God's Word... the transforming work of Jesus in me. Love it.
peace~elaine (over here from Ann's blog)