Better Than Silver And Gold

A pastor who served people in a ghetto was visiting a family that was going through a difficult time of making ends meet. As he got up to leave, he noticed an old well-worn Bible on a shelf. As he neared the door, he said, “I saw something in this room that has more value than any amount of money. I wonder if you will ever find it.”

A few days later while dusting the shelves, one of the children discovered the Bible. Taking it to her Dad she asked, “Could this have been what the preacher-man was talking about? Wonder if this is what he meant.”

Holding it very carefully he placed it on the table and took great care to open it. Then he looked down and noticed a verse that was underlined with a red pencil: “The law from Your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.”

He began to weep quietly as his wife and children sat silently around him. Finally, he was able to speak and said, “This is my mother’s Bible. Before she died, she gave it to me and asked me to read it every day and I promised her that I would. But, I let her down and I’ve let you - my family - down. Maybe God led us to this difficult place just so we would find this verse she underlined to help us.”

God works in many strange and subtle ways. He even brings times of difficulty and desperation into our lives to get our attention. He has never promised that our days would always be filled with sunshine and blue skies. But, He has promised that when we look to Him and His Word we will find salvation, hope and encouragement.

Prayer: Help us, Heavenly Father, to realize the wealth we will find in Your Word when we have nothing else left. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 119:72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

Words You Can Depend On

Shortly before leaving for college my saintly pastor came to visit me and offer me a few words of advice on the importance of being well prepared to serve God. During our conversation he advised me to take every course that had anything to do with speaking or writing. “Larry,” he said in a voice that reflected sincerity and compassion, “it does not matter how much you know about the Bible, if you can’t explain it so people can understand it, accept it and live it, you’ll be letting God down.” It made good sense to me and I followed his recommendation carefully.

One of the classes I took emphasized the difficulty of people hearing what a speaker says and interpreting it correctly. It is easy to hear what someone says but quite difficult to pass it on without changing the words and the meaning that the speaker intended. When this happens something is lost in “transmission” and it could be a matter of life and death if the message passed on is incorrect or inconsistent.

The importance of the integrity of God’s message is clearly presented in Psalm 92:5, “Your statutes stand firm!” That means “Whatever God said is so.” His Word contains no errors, no mistakes and no information that can lead us astray if accepted as written. In fact, the word for statues emphasizes the fact that Scripture rests on the integrity of God our Creator. His statements, promises, warnings and commands are not to be changed to meet the desires of man but to proclaim and present the everlasting covenant between God and man.

Prayer: We thank You, Lord, for the trustworthiness of Your Word that declares the Way, the Truth and the Life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 93:5 Your testimonies are very sure; Holiness adorns Your house, O Lord, forever.