While going through the books on my bookshelves the other day, I ran across several
Bibles. As I flipped through the pages of each of them, certain things stood out to me.
The first Bible belonged to my Grandpa, George Benge. His Bible was a big, black imitation leather, giant print, Thomas Nelson New American Standard Version with the words of Christ in red. The Bible was well worn and used. Inside the Bible were some notations and underlined passages, but what really struck me was the handwritten verse on the inside cover and the item I found, several of them actually, stuck between the pages all throughout the book. The verse scribbled on the inside cover said simply “Deacon, 1 Tim., 3 Chp, 8 verse.” A reference to Paul’s letter to Timothy, and the section of the letter where Paul describes to Timothy what attributes a Diakonos, or servant, should exhibit. Scattered throughout Grandpa’s Bible were blank visitor welcome cards, lots of visitor welcome cards! My Grandpa was an usher at Springdale Baptist Church in Tulsa. I remember as a child going to church with my grandparents and watching as Grandpa performed his ushering duties. I could tell how proud he was to be performing that service and welcoming everyone to his church. I asked my Mom if Grandpa had ever been a Deacon at Springdale Baptist. She said he had not, but had been asked to be. Grandpa had decided against it Mom said because he simply felt that he was not a good enough person to serve as a Deacon in the church. His handwritten reference to the verse in 1 Timothy made me think of him sitting at the table with his Bible in front of him, reading the attributes of a Deacon carefully, his head humbly bowed, prayerfully considering what he had just read. This is a man that influenced my own character greatly growing up, and it was evident why right there in between the covers of his worn Bible. I wish I could have told him at that moment in time that he was already a “deacon” in the truest sense of the word...he was a servant, and had a servant’s heart as well.
The second Bible I picked up and flipped through the pages of was my very first Bible I remember owning. This would have been when I was around age 10. It was a King James Version, black imitation leather, Study Edition Bible. There were not a lot of notes or highlighting in my Bible, as I at that age was probably too afraid to write in my Bible. But, of the few notations in my Bible, one stood out to me. I had underlined a passage from Revelation 12:14, where it described God rescuing the Nation of Israel from the clutches of the Serpent (Satan) on eagle’s wings. I had a notation next to the underlined verse of “Exodus 19:4”, a passage where God is speaking to Moses and describes His rescuing the Children of Israel from the Egyptians, also on eagle’s wings. I love to study the Bible, and I especially love Old Testament Theology and Eschatology. Here in this Bible, I found a glimpse of my being drawn to these subjects, even though at the age of 10-13 years old, I had no idea what those theological areas of study even were.
The third Bible I picked up and leafed through was “The Way” Bible. This was the Bible I owned and used during my teenage years. Printed in 1972, it’s also known as the “Hippy Bible” and for very good reasons. It was The Living Bible version, and it was illustrated...boy was it illustrated. The inside of the Bible was filled with pictures of cars, cheerleaders, people playing sports, tanks, hippy teenagers, and crazy looking cars. It definitely was interesting to look at and read as a teenager. My eye was drawn to the leaf of the cover page though. There I had written in sloppy male teenage cursive writing “Being Saved,” and several reference verses on what being saved was all about. I was saved at the age of 10, and so in my younger teen years I was struggling to really figure out what this “being saved” thing was really all about. This was not a period of my life where I struggled to understand big questions concerning things like doctrine, apologetics, and theology. During this time I was focusing on the basics: how do you pray, how do you live like a Christian, what does a follower of Christ do in certain situations, and what does “being saved” actually mean? This Bible reflects my first steps in growing as a new Christ Follower.
The fourth Bible I picked up and thumbed through was one that I received on my eighteenth birthday from my parents. It was really fancy...The Open Bible in burgundy imitation leather, King James Version (art thou impressed?), with my name printed right on the front cover in genuine imitation GOLD LEAF LETTERING! This Bible was worn and used, with lots of notes and highlighting throughout the Bible. This is the Bible I used in college while I attended John Brown University and earned double degrees in Bible and Christian Education. This Bible was basically one of my college textbooks that I used every semester I attended. As I flipped through the pages, I realized several things. This is the Bible I used when I discovered the joy of using multiple colored highlighters. Different themes used different colors to immediately set apart different topics or thoughts. I discovered it was okay to write it your Bible, in fact, it was really useful and beneficial to do so. The King James Version is a great version. Those men chosen by King James to put together an official version blessed by the King of England and first printed in 1611 did an outstanding job of putting together a Bible that still stands the test of time. It is to this day the version that many verses I quote in my head are from, including the “thee’s and thou’s.” I will say I now prefer the Holman Christian Standard Bible or New American Standard Bible versions, but that is for another discussion at another time. I also had marked what I consider to be my life verse in this Bible. John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” Note: it was highlighted in yellow...
The fifth Bible I looked through belonged to my great, great, great Grandma Elizabeth Pentzer. It was a New Testament printed by the American Tract Society in 1862. This Bible is very worn and showing its age, but it is still intact. There was not much underlining of verses or notes in her Bible, and I do not know that much about my distant relative, including if she was a Christian or not. However, I did find it interesting that of the few verses she did mark in her Bible, one of them was John 15:16...my favorite verse. This little detail bridged the gap of time and brought her a little closer to me. For an instant, I felt a connection with this distant relative. A shared belief, a single verse in the book of John, a quote from our Lord Jesus Christ...speaking directly to both her and myself …“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you…”
All five of these Bibles have meaning for me. These Bibles hold memories and are bookmarks in time that remind me of who I am, and how I got where I am today. This book is not just printed words on paper; it is a love letter, an instruction manual, a book containing the history of the world from its beginning to the very end which has not even occurred yet. The Bible itself not only contains words I consider to be sacred, and messages I believe to be inspired and dictated by the Holy Spirit through men; but also ideas and instructions that guide me every day of my life.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jn. 1:1
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph. 6:17
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Heb. 4:12
He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. Rev. 19:13
The first Bible belonged to my Grandpa, George Benge. His Bible was a big, black imitation leather, giant print, Thomas Nelson New American Standard Version with the words of Christ in red. The Bible was well worn and used. Inside the Bible were some notations and underlined passages, but what really struck me was the handwritten verse on the inside cover and the item I found, several of them actually, stuck between the pages all throughout the book. The verse scribbled on the inside cover said simply “Deacon, 1 Tim., 3 Chp, 8 verse.” A reference to Paul’s letter to Timothy, and the section of the letter where Paul describes to Timothy what attributes a Diakonos, or servant, should exhibit. Scattered throughout Grandpa’s Bible were blank visitor welcome cards, lots of visitor welcome cards! My Grandpa was an usher at Springdale Baptist Church in Tulsa. I remember as a child going to church with my grandparents and watching as Grandpa performed his ushering duties. I could tell how proud he was to be performing that service and welcoming everyone to his church. I asked my Mom if Grandpa had ever been a Deacon at Springdale Baptist. She said he had not, but had been asked to be. Grandpa had decided against it Mom said because he simply felt that he was not a good enough person to serve as a Deacon in the church. His handwritten reference to the verse in 1 Timothy made me think of him sitting at the table with his Bible in front of him, reading the attributes of a Deacon carefully, his head humbly bowed, prayerfully considering what he had just read. This is a man that influenced my own character greatly growing up, and it was evident why right there in between the covers of his worn Bible. I wish I could have told him at that moment in time that he was already a “deacon” in the truest sense of the word...he was a servant, and had a servant’s heart as well.
The second Bible I picked up and flipped through the pages of was my very first Bible I remember owning. This would have been when I was around age 10. It was a King James Version, black imitation leather, Study Edition Bible. There were not a lot of notes or highlighting in my Bible, as I at that age was probably too afraid to write in my Bible. But, of the few notations in my Bible, one stood out to me. I had underlined a passage from Revelation 12:14, where it described God rescuing the Nation of Israel from the clutches of the Serpent (Satan) on eagle’s wings. I had a notation next to the underlined verse of “Exodus 19:4”, a passage where God is speaking to Moses and describes His rescuing the Children of Israel from the Egyptians, also on eagle’s wings. I love to study the Bible, and I especially love Old Testament Theology and Eschatology. Here in this Bible, I found a glimpse of my being drawn to these subjects, even though at the age of 10-13 years old, I had no idea what those theological areas of study even were.
The third Bible I picked up and leafed through was “The Way” Bible. This was the Bible I owned and used during my teenage years. Printed in 1972, it’s also known as the “Hippy Bible” and for very good reasons. It was The Living Bible version, and it was illustrated...boy was it illustrated. The inside of the Bible was filled with pictures of cars, cheerleaders, people playing sports, tanks, hippy teenagers, and crazy looking cars. It definitely was interesting to look at and read as a teenager. My eye was drawn to the leaf of the cover page though. There I had written in sloppy male teenage cursive writing “Being Saved,” and several reference verses on what being saved was all about. I was saved at the age of 10, and so in my younger teen years I was struggling to really figure out what this “being saved” thing was really all about. This was not a period of my life where I struggled to understand big questions concerning things like doctrine, apologetics, and theology. During this time I was focusing on the basics: how do you pray, how do you live like a Christian, what does a follower of Christ do in certain situations, and what does “being saved” actually mean? This Bible reflects my first steps in growing as a new Christ Follower.
The fourth Bible I picked up and thumbed through was one that I received on my eighteenth birthday from my parents. It was really fancy...The Open Bible in burgundy imitation leather, King James Version (art thou impressed?), with my name printed right on the front cover in genuine imitation GOLD LEAF LETTERING! This Bible was worn and used, with lots of notes and highlighting throughout the Bible. This is the Bible I used in college while I attended John Brown University and earned double degrees in Bible and Christian Education. This Bible was basically one of my college textbooks that I used every semester I attended. As I flipped through the pages, I realized several things. This is the Bible I used when I discovered the joy of using multiple colored highlighters. Different themes used different colors to immediately set apart different topics or thoughts. I discovered it was okay to write it your Bible, in fact, it was really useful and beneficial to do so. The King James Version is a great version. Those men chosen by King James to put together an official version blessed by the King of England and first printed in 1611 did an outstanding job of putting together a Bible that still stands the test of time. It is to this day the version that many verses I quote in my head are from, including the “thee’s and thou’s.” I will say I now prefer the Holman Christian Standard Bible or New American Standard Bible versions, but that is for another discussion at another time. I also had marked what I consider to be my life verse in this Bible. John 15:16 “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” Note: it was highlighted in yellow...
The fifth Bible I looked through belonged to my great, great, great Grandma Elizabeth Pentzer. It was a New Testament printed by the American Tract Society in 1862. This Bible is very worn and showing its age, but it is still intact. There was not much underlining of verses or notes in her Bible, and I do not know that much about my distant relative, including if she was a Christian or not. However, I did find it interesting that of the few verses she did mark in her Bible, one of them was John 15:16...my favorite verse. This little detail bridged the gap of time and brought her a little closer to me. For an instant, I felt a connection with this distant relative. A shared belief, a single verse in the book of John, a quote from our Lord Jesus Christ...speaking directly to both her and myself …“You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you…”
All five of these Bibles have meaning for me. These Bibles hold memories and are bookmarks in time that remind me of who I am, and how I got where I am today. This book is not just printed words on paper; it is a love letter, an instruction manual, a book containing the history of the world from its beginning to the very end which has not even occurred yet. The Bible itself not only contains words I consider to be sacred, and messages I believe to be inspired and dictated by the Holy Spirit through men; but also ideas and instructions that guide me every day of my life.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Jn. 1:1
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph. 6:17
For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Heb. 4:12
He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. Rev. 19:13
