JESUS IN MESample

Living by the Precepts of the Holy Spirit

While I can’t remember the specific year that I confessed my sin, claimed Jesus as my Savior, and invited Him to live in my heart, I do remember, following that decision, I began to have a strong desire to read my Bible. That began a lifelong love affair with God’s Word.

Every day without fail, my mother led our family in devotions. She would gather everyone who was in the house into the kitchen, where she would read a portion of Scripture, then pray. The consistency of my mother’s effort, as well as her obvious love for God’s Word and belief in its relevancy for all of us as we began our day, made a deep impact.

When my father was home, he led family devotions, usually in the evening. He also would read a portion of Scripture, but he would then stop, ask questions, make comments, and lead us in a discussion of what he had read.

By her example my mother taught me to love and read my Bible every day—preferably in the morning. My father, by his example, taught me to think about what I was reading. Those two life lessons are perhaps the most valuable ones my parents handed down to me.

My first “real” Bible was a navy leather-bound King James Version, Scofield edition. Mother and Daddy gave it to me at my baptism. It is a treasure that I still have safely on my bookshelf. In the flyleaf, my mother wrote these words: To Anne—(who on this January 13, 1957 publicly took her stand for Christ, her Savior), we give this Book, your one sure guide in an unsure world. Read it, study it, love it, live it. In it you will find a verse for every occasion. Hide them in your heart.

Although my mother’s words were written over sixty years ago, their wisdom transcends generations, cultures, world events, time, and age. I have done my best to truly take her encouragement to heart and live it out.

My love of reading, studying, applying, and obeying my Bible has led me to the deep conviction that it is more than just great literature. There is something supernatural about it. What makes it so unique? The Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit could make Scripture “God-breathed,” alive, and truly life-changing—throughout all generations.

In what way have you experienced the Bible as God’s living Word?