Sunday, March 30, 2025
So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; look, new things have come into being! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. ~2 Corinthians 5:17-18
Written by Rev. Leah Quarles | Associate Pastor
As you can imagine, pastors have lots of Bibles. We have heavy study Bibles with historical background material, comments, maps and charts. Pocket-size Bibles for hospital visits and the graveside. Bibles in Hebrew and in ancient Greek. Which Bible stands out? It’s hard to say.
I suppose it’s the Harper Collins NRSV Study Bible we used in seminary. It’s covered in notes and highlighter and has hand drawn timelines from classmates taped to the inside of the front cover–which is no longer bound to the rest of the Bible. I use this at Bible study and when preparing for sermons. There are two more though that I hold on to.
My Spanish-English Bible I bought while a missionary in the Dominican Republic. It’s worn just the same. I tried my best to translate as I learned Spanish from those around me. It’s the Reina Valera - basically a King James, so it was a struggle to make my way through the Spanish my Dominican friends barely ever used - except for some reason, when they read the Bible.
The last is my first. It sits on my bedside table. I received it as a child from my church. It has a soft picture of Jesus holding a lamb on the cover and my name in gold. I once began a futile attempt of copying the Bible word for word. I got as far as the first account of creation before I decided the Bible was already written down - I didn’t need to duplicate efforts.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the many ways your words of life have come to us. Keep it coming! Amen.