God's Word and Toilet Paper

If you have a bible, what kind of condition is it in? Is it old or new? Is it in pristine condition or beaten up because it's been handled a lot? Perhaps you don't use a printed bible. Maybe you use a bible app on your phone or device. Whatever you use to read and take in God's Word, I hope it gets a lot of use because God's Word is critical to our faith and growth. While we often wish God would speak to us and tell us what to do in our lives, in many cases, He already has in His Word. We just don't realize it. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." The bible is inspired and reveals things to us about who He is, who we are, the world around us, and how to live.

Last month, I noticed my bible was kind of damp. It was sitting on my desk and a cup of water had spilled and soaked through a bunch of the pages. I thought I'm going to have to start using a different bible. But I liked this one. I've read through it cover to cover, marked it up, and written notes in it. And the thought of doing that with another bible was pretty daunting. Of course, you don't have to do all that to read your bible well but it may help.  My bible is pretty beaten up because I carry it around and use it a lot. Of course, it's central to my job as a pastor. But if there's any one possession I own that reminds me of my faith in God and His love for me, the bible is it. I hope it's the same for you!

So while I was sitting there lamenting how my bible was ruined and the pages were soggy. My daughter Avery went online and looked up how to fix damp pages in a book (see you can look up almost anything online these days). She then got a roll of toilet paper, tore the little squares and carefully placed them between each page, and then put a bunch of large heavy books on top of my bible to weigh it down. Her younger sister, Ellie, and I said it won't work, the pages are too thin, the ink is going to run, blah, blah, blah. But she did it anyway. And after a few days, voila, the pages were dry and mostly normal (thank you Avery!). While my bible is still pretty beaten up, I continue to use it like normal.  So if you see me carrying around my bible and toilet paper happens to fall out, you know why.

Isaiah 40:8 says, "The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of our God endures forever."   

Pastor Darren