Your Daily Devotional for March 16, 2006

March 16, 2006

 

A Well-Worn Bible

by Dr. Paul Chappell

 

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

Psalm 23

 

It was a Monday morning last summer when I boarded an airplane on my way to the National Sword of the Lord Conference in Walkertown, North Carolina. During a layover in Chicago, I took some time to check the messages left on my cell phone during the flight. Eventually, I came to one left by an assistant pastor of our church. His message was simply, “Pastor, you need to call right away.”

 

I returned the call immediately and was saddened to learn that a faithful member of our congregation had been in a car accident earlier that day, and God had called him home. As I boarded the plane for the next leg of my journey, I began to weep. I wept for the loss of a wonderful, godly man—a man who loved the Lord and me as his Pastor, and he let those facts be known. I began reading through Psalm 22-24, not in preparation for a sermon but for myself. The Psalms are wonderful. They offer counseling, and they’re what I needed during that time.

 

Upon my return home a few days later, I visited with the man’s wife. Realizing that her heart was broken, I asked her how she was doing. “Pastor,” she said calmly, “God’s grace is sufficient.” I could tell that she was allowing God to minister to her during her time of need, for grace is a disposition created by the Holy Spirit; it’s the inner working of God in the heart of a man or woman.

 

While there, I took the opportunity to look through her husband’s Bible. What a tribute to him to see that his Bible was well worn. You can learn a lot about a man by looking at his Bible, and it was obvious that this man had spent a lot of time studying the Word of God. His wife told me that, before leaving the house that morning, her husband’s last few hours on earth had been spent in morning devotions, reading God’s Word, and rereading a Christian book. “By the way, Pastor,” she said, “the book he had been rereading was your book—Enter His Presence.”

 

The Bible assures us in 2 Corinthians 5:8 that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  This godly man had read about entering into the presence of the Lord, and a few minutes later, he did. Although he’d had a wonderful career with the fire department and was a veteran of World War II with a tremendous record of serving our country, the most important decision he had ever made was to accept Jesus Christ as his Saviour.

 

The most important decision you, too, will make is to receive Jesus Christ as your Saviour. If you are not saved, I hope that you’ll take a moment and recognize that life is but a vapor. It appears for a little while and then vanishes away. If you are saved, thank God for what Jesus did for you. Spend time in His Word every day and grow closer to Him so that when He calls you home, you will leave behind the legacy of a godly testimony and a well-worn Bible.

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