Where Have All the Bibles Gone?

Help me understand something. As I travel from church to church to supply-preach, I notice that very few attendees carry a Bible. Why is this? It used to be a mark of a Bible-believing church that its attendees brought Bibles to church and followed along in the Bible as the pastor preached. Because I preach expository sermons, I think churchgoers would get far more benefit from each message if they referred to the sermon text verse by verse as I preach.

So why don’t people carry Bibles to church? Has expository preaching gone the way of the dinosaurs, thereby eliminating the need to use a Bible in church? Has entertainment replaced Biblical edification? Has the believer’s confidence in the Bible diminished? Has illiteracy engulfed churchgoers? You tell me.

Clean Ducts and an Opportunity

We had our heat ducts cleaned Tuesday. The two men who did the work vacuumed out dust, gravel, stones, pieces of wood, and chunks of dry wall. Some of that debris could have KO’d our furnace’s motor if it had fallen into it. After paying for the work, I gave each man a copy of my book, All Good People Go to Heaven and Other Religious Lore. They seemed to appreciate the gift, but one of them read the back cover copy and asked, “Is this book controversial?” I told him everything I do is controversial, and the book contradicts the popular notion that a person can go to heaven if he joins a church or performs good deeds or gives to charity. “There is only one way to heaven,” I explained, “and Jesus is the way. If we put our faith in Him, we will go to heaven.”

I think both men will read the book, and perhaps they will be in heaven someday.

Sweet Dreams!

In his first letter the apostle Peter instructed us to cast all our anxiety on the Lord because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7). It isn’t easy to follow Peter’s instruction, is it? When our funds are low but our bills stack high, it is natural to worry. It is also natural to worry when job layoffs are pending or we face serious surgery or a loved one is gravely ill. But Peter’s inspired instruction was backed by personal experience. He knew firsthand that the Lord could handle even the most harrowing situation.

According to Acts 12, Herod’s soldiers arrested Peter and threw him into a dungeon, and then kept him under close surveillance around the clock. Herod’s plan was to decapitate Peter, but Peter did not worry. During the night, when an angel appeared in his cell to free him, Peter was sleeping so soundly, the angel had to poke him in the ribs to wake him up. Soon Peter was out of prison and reunited with his Christian friends.

How could Peter sleep so soundly in such adverse circumstances? Here’s my guess. After rising from the dead Jesus told Peter he would die when he was old (John 21:18, 19). Peter wasn’t old when he was in prison, so he knew Herod couldn’t execute him. Taking Jesus at His word, Peter fell into a sound, peaceful sleep.

Wouldn’t our worries disappear like soap bubbles in the wind if we took the Lord’s promises to heart? Because He has promised to care for us, we can bid worries a firm adieu.

A Matter of Priorities

thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:20).

Somewhere I read a joke about a woman who sued for a divorce on religious grounds. She told her attorney she worshiped money and her husband didn’t have any.

We can enjoy the humor in this story, but it also has a serious side. Some people do worship money and even accompany such worship with sacrifices. They may sacrifice their own health as they work long hours in the pursuit of what they consider the almighty dollar. They may sacrifice their marriage by devoting far more attention to their financial goals than to their spouse. They may sacrifice their children by leaving little or no time for parenting. They may even sacrifice their souls by having greed as their creed and valuing gold above God.

Jesus issued crisp but significant counsel about setting life’s priorities. He taught us to set our hearts on eternal values. Serving God pays eternal dividends, He explained, whereas serving money leads only to irreversible loss (Matthew 6:19–24).

To be sure, the Bible does not condemn wealth. To the contrary, it lauds a number of wealthy men and women for their service to God. Those individuals had their priorities straight. They valued God above money. Like them, we should be good stewards of our money instead of slaves to it. Let’s build our securities in heaven!

By Jim Dyet © Anchor, Haven Ministries

Language Lapse

Learning and speaking a non-English language is far from easy. I studied German for four years and French for five, but I have forgotten much of what I learned, especially the oral part. It is a little easier for me to read German and French than it is to speak in those languages. The other day, I had an opportunity in the morning to practice German, and in the afternoon I had an opportunity to practice French. A woman who grew up in Germany drew blood from me for an A1C test. She said my German was good, but she was being overly kind. In the afternoon I met new neighbors who recently moved to Colorado Springs from Quebec. The husband, a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force works at NORAD. We had a brief exchange in French.

Hats off to missionaries who immerse themselves in a foreign culture and learn the official language so nationals can hear the gospel in their native tongue!

I wonder if we will all learn a new language in Heaven. Kenneth Wuest, my Greek teacher at Moody Bible Institute, voiced the opinion that koine Greek will be the language of Heaven. As a Scottish-born lad, I ha’ ma doots. But whatever the language, we will all join in exclaiming, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing” (Rev. 5:12).

Feel free to say “Amen” in the language of your choice.