Valuable Possesion...

This morning i was sitting in my office checking my email and i heard Juli yelling at Elias and calling me. This is not unusual. Elias spends most of his day getting into trouble. I am told that is just what boys do.

Well, this morning when she called me i actually went over to the family room to fix the situation. You see Elias was writing with a pen in my Bible. Do you have a Bible that is so important to you? To all of us our Bible should be one of our most treasured possessions. In many countries a Bible is their most treasured possession. In fact in countries like China where i recently visited, people are not free to read the Bible or gather to talk about it in Bible studies or churches. So, if someone has one, they often only have parts of it and they often keep it hidden as a precious treasure. If it is found, they can go to prison and often times endure torture.

The Bible tells us to hide his word...in our hearts. Psalm 119:11 says "I have hidden your word in my heart that i might not sin against you."

I also think of Corrie Ten Boom and her sister. These were christian women who lived through the Holocaust in German occupied Netherlands. They hid jews from the Nazis in their home and eventually got caught. They were sent to a concentration camp for their illegal actions. I remember that towards the end of their sentence in the camp, her sister dies. But before this, these ladies orally discussed and taught one another the Bible. When they didn't have this treasure on paper, they had it hidden in their hearts. Amazing.

Then i think of the recent movie which i loved, "The Book of Eli". Long story short, everyone thinks this man has a rare and valuable Bible in his possession. It is thought to be the last one on earth. But in the end we see that he himself is the Bible. For he has memorized ever verse from cover to cover.

And so i am brought back to my precious treasure. My Bible that was on my coffee table that Elias was writing in. It is just a book, not some relic of holiness or anything. If it is destroyed, God will not punish me. But to me it is precious. It was my mother's Bible you see and she died in 2000. And i at one point thought i had lost it and could not find one like it anywhere. It has such a great concordance and references in it. And i have highlighted all my favorite verses and written little notes throughout. But i really need to spend more time hiding this treasure in my heart. So that i am in constant communion with God. If I have his word in my heart, I will remember it in my conscience. I will be more likely think before i act in a way unpleasing to him. And His spirit will guide me through whatever i am struggling with using this word spoken right from God's lips.

Do you realize the value of your Bible? Is it hidden in your heart or just a pretty decoration on your book shelf? Get it down and mark it up a little...you won't regret it.