Bible

William McPherson was the superintendent for a stone quarry when a blast severely injured him. He lost his eyesight and both hands in the explosion. He was determined to read the Bible, and learned to read raised letters with the tip of his tongue. It is said that he read through the Bible four times in this manner.

Source: Annual Report of the American Bible Society, Volume 97

The Bible is like a telescope. If a man looks through his telescope he sees worlds beyond; but if he looks at his telescope, he does not see anything but that. The Bible is a thing to be looked through to see that which is beyond; but most people only look at it and so they see only the letter of the law.

Source: One Thousand Gems, Henry Ward Beecher

The story is told of an old man who was wandering in the desert looking for water. He approached an old shack and on the porch area he found a water pump. Next to the water pump he saw a one gallon jug. A note on the jug said, “Use all the water to prime the pump.” The man’s instincts said to drink the water and not trust the pump. Nevertheless he poured the water into the pump and began pumping until an abundance of cool water came to the top.

George Mueller said: “I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the Word of God. Friends often say, ‘I have so much to do, so many people to see, I cannot find time for Scripture study.’ Perhaps there are not many who have more to do than I. For more than half a century I have never known one day when I had not more business than I could get through. For 4 years I have had annually about 30,000 letters, and most of these have passed through my own hands.

The French have a proverb, which states, “A good meal ought to begin with hunger.” It is hard to enjoy a meal when you are not yet hungry. But, when you are hungry, anything tastes good.

If we approach the Word with a hunger to be satisfied, we will be satisfied every time. Effective worship begins with a hunger for God.

Source: The Facts on File, Martin Manser

Mormons say that the angel Moroni visited Joseph Smith and completed the compilation and writing of the Book of Mormon. He told Joseph Smith where to find golden plates buried near his family home. He then translated what was written on those plates (the Book of Mormon). Eleven men are said to have seen the plates and three of them were relatives of Joseph Smith.

When David Livingstone began his trek across Africa in 1852, he carried 73 books which together weighed 180 pounds. After he had gone 300 miles he had to throw away some of the books because it was not feasible to carry so much through the jungle. He continued throwing books away as he went further into the jungle. Eventually his library had shrunk to one book—the Bible—this he did not throw away.

The Bible is truly the most important book in the world, yet many read it as if it were the least important.

Two cows were grazing in a pasture when they saw a milk truck pass. On the side of the truck were the words, “Pasteurized, homogenized, standardized, vitamin A added.” One cow sighed and said to the other, “Makes you feel sort of inadequate, doesn’t it?”

People try to improve on milk, but one thing you will never be able to improve on is the Word of God. It does not need any pasteurizing, standardizing, or homogenizing.

Source: Unknown

Elizabeth Barrett’s father disapproved of her marriage to Robert browning so strongly that he never forgave her. She wrote letters to her father seeking reconciliation, but he returned them unopened. Had he opened them, and read the beautiful language she used, he may have forgiven her. The Bible is God’s letter to give us reconciliation, yet many people never read it.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica, Hugh Chisholm

A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.

Teacher: It is physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it is a very large mammal its throat is very small.

Little girl: Jonah was swallowed by a whale.

The irritated teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.

Little girl: When I get to Heaven I will ask Jonah.

Teacher: What if Jonah went to hell?

Little girl: Then you ask him.

Source: Unknown

1. The wonder of its formation—the way in which it grew is one of the mysteries of time.

2. The wonder of its unification—it is a library of 66 books, yet one book.

3. The wonder of its age—it is the most ancient of all books.

4. The wonder of its sale—it is the best-seller of all time.

5. The wonder of its interest—it is the only book in the world read by all classes of people.

6. The wonder of its language—it was written largely by uneducated men, yet it is the best book from a literary standpoint.

In the year A.D. 303, the Roman Emperor Diocletian issued a decree which he hoped would extinguish the spreading flames of Christianity. One of his primary objectives was the seizure and destruction of the Bible. Later that year, officials enforced the decree in North Africa. One of the targets was Felix, Bishop of Tibjuca, a village near Carthage. The mayor of the town ordered Felix to hand over his Scriptures.

An unknown writer said, “This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character.

A walk in the Spirit will of necessity be a walk in accordance with the Word the Spirit has inspired. The parallel between Ephesians 5:18-21 and Colossians 3:15-17 is significant. The same results are said to flow from being filled with the Spirit in the first cast, and being filled with the Word in the second. To remain filled with the Spirit, and thus enjoy His continuing sanctifying work, will mean continuing to be filled with the Word. The relationship is obvious.

Finding the Ten Commandments can be a challenge for many adults (Exodus 20). Imagine the looks a Sunday School teacher got when she inquired of their whereabouts in a class for five-year-olds. After a few moments of blank stares she asked again, “Can anybody tell me where to find the Ten Commandments?” Finally, a little kid offered, “Have you looked them up in the Yellow Pages?”

Source: King's Treasury of Dynamic Humor, King Duncan

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

In February 1891, the Star of the East was whale hunting off the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. While pursuing a large sperm whale, one of the two boats was capsized by the leviathan. The hunters went on to kill the whale but feared two of their men had drowned. James Bartley was one of the missing fishermen. The crew mourned their loss but also had a tremendous task of preparing this giant sea monster. They worked until midnight removing blubber from the eighty-foot long, eighty-ton fish. The next morning they hoisted the whale's stomach on deck.

A businessman well known for his ruthlessness once announced to writer Mark Twain, “Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud at the top.”

”I have a better idea,” replied Twain. “You could stay in Boston and keep them.”

Source: Today in the Word, September 1991, Moody Bible Institute

Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College

It was 1898 and Ben had left the East 8 years ago to head out West in hopes of making his fortune. Well he wasn't rich, but he had accumulated over 300 acres of good land and built a comfortable farm house on it. He raised wheat, corn, and all of his vegetables. He had managed to build his herd of cattle to over 200 head. Having accomplished all of this in only 8 years, he decided that it was now time. 

The ad that he placed in the New York newspaper said, “Wanted: A good woman willing to be a pen pal. Marriage is a possibility for the right woman.”

A certain missionary society, in order to gain access for a missionary to work in some of the African tribes, sent down trinkets to be bartered with the natives. Among them was a package of little hand mirrors, such as ladies use.

The natives had never seen their own faces except in the waters of some lake or stream. So the news of this wonderful instrument by which people could see their features was spread abroad. The missionary was invited by the tribe after tribe to visit them with his hand glass.

Somewhere in the beginning of each day, you probably find yourself looking at your reflection in the mirror. Many of us never give a second thought as to how that reflection is produced. All surfaces reflect some light, but only a special type of surface reflects light in such a way that it can form a mirror. In 1835 German chemist Justis von Liebig devised a process for coating plates of glass with metallic silver. This was the beginning of the mirror as we know it today and helped it become a common household item.