It is hard to believe that many people around the world have never held a bible in their hands or had read one. I own at least ten different bibles in Spanish and English and they are in different versions and different kinds of print. Nowadays one can get a bible by just clicking in the app in our smart phones. One can go to a county fair and there would be people giving away New Testament bibles. This is great for us that live in this great country and for those who try to have a bible because we have grown in the church.
About twenty-four years ago I met a lady. She had a catholic background and was hesitant to come visit the church at Beltline when we gave her the invitation. Once she came, she observed that we only follow the bible. Everything that was said was backed by a book chapter and verse. She did not own a bible and we offered one. She was so excited that she told her husband about this new place of worship that she had found. She brought her husband, and he also was eager to learn about the bible. We also gave a bible to her husband and a few weeks later they both were baptized for the forgiveness of their sins.
Last Monday November 29, at noon we had the funeral of that man named Martin Delgado. Martin read the bible and obeyed the gospel and was baptized he will have eternal life. What a big difference it made that he had a bible to find salvation. Martin grew up in a country like me. In Mexico the catholic church does not encourage people to read the bible. People just follow what they are being told without checking it. Martin was able to read it and check it for himself if what was being taught to him was the truth.
We make our goal in our Hispanic ministry to provide as many people as possible who has never had a bible with one. In Mexico we make efforts to provide people with Mayan and Spanish bible so people will open their eyes when they read the word of God. No matter how many years goes on, the bible, the word of God continues to change lives. It continues to make a difference on where people will spend eternity. The word of God has great value, let us treasure it. Let us learn more about it and put into practice in our daily lives.
I was reading some time ago about this lady in France who was getting ready to sell her house. I wonder how many times she sat at her table in her little kitchen drinking coffee and thinking about how she was going to deal with her economic problems. For many years she had a painting hanging in her kitchen wall. That painting has been in the family for many years. If she knew that painting was very valuable. If she knew that the answer to all her economic problems was just right in front of her. One part of the article that appeared in the newspaper read like this:
“SENLIS, France — A medieval painting that hung for years near the kitchen of an older Frenchwoman before being recognized as a work by the Italian artist Cimabue was auctioned on Sunday in France for $26.8 million.” This lady did not realize what she in front of her until an appraiser came to appraise her house to be sold. He saw the painting and suggested the painting to be appraised. She could not believe the value of that painting that for many years she has had.
If we have a bible, if we have read it and obeyed the gospel; thank God for it. Let us make the effort to share with others the precious word of God that leads to salvation. Paul reminds us on how important the word of God is: 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
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