On my coffee table at home I have a few books for "show." If you know me, you know that I love tea parties! I love to entertain and cook. Having a few close friends over for a special afternoon of tea and goodies is at the top of my list of favorite things to do. My coffee table reflects that interest with a few Tea Party books and magazines.
Many years ago, after the birth of my son, Daniel, I had a photographer come to the house to take some baby portraits. I ended up buying some package where they would come back year after year. Well, I received a lovely bonus...a very large family Bible (KJV), which promptly became a "coffee table book." I wasn't a Christian, although I was raised in a church...and I never owned a Bible...this was my first one! I thought it was pretty neat and besides it had some great pictures in it...and it looked really good on my coffee table!
As I look back, it is so sad. I guess I thought of that Bible as some kind of a "good luck" charm. I never picked it up to read it. Oh, I might have flipped through it a couple times to look at the pictures but really, it just sat on my coffee table gathering dust.
I wasn't until about 1995 or 96 that I began to read and study the Bible...not the one on my coffee table...but a New Living Translation Bible. Prior to reading and studying the Bible I was very opinionated about it. I would argue about how outdated it was and that it was so full of contradictions. All without ever reading a word!!
When adversity came into my life, I wanted to find out about God and the only way was to read the Bible. I've been reading and studying it ever since. Funny thing is...as I read and studied it...God's TRUTH was revealed to me. In 1998 I accepted Jesus as the Lord and Savior of my life.
God's Word is Truth, Life, and Food for your soul. It shows the way to salvation, it teaches and convicts us. There is no other Book like it in the world....because it is God's own words!
2 Timothy 3:16-17: All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Hebrews 4:12: For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
You can't get to know God and the Truth of the Gospel message from the back of a cereal box. The only way to know God and His son Jesus is to read the book He wrote. Do you have a Bible delegated as the "coffee table" book or is it at the bottom of your closet or up on a shelf? Why don't you dust it off, open it up and read His Story? You'll be amazed at the treasures you'll find!
MaryAnn
MaryAnn and John Kiernan have been married for 35 years, have 2 grown/married sons and are the proud grandparents of two grandsons. She serves at America's KESWICK as the Intake Coordinator for the Colony of Mercy. Her life verse is Romans 8:28.
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