The Greatest Gift

On Christmas morning 1950, the last present I opened was a leather Bible with my name imprinted in gold letters. I never read it, but I carried it with me to church every Sunday, feeling very important. The following Christmas, I got a comic book. Wow! I loved comic books. This one was 8½"x11" and ¾" thick, filled with Bible stories. I read it so many times, the cover wore out and came off.

Your Word is a lamp to keep my feet from stumbling, a light that shines before me to show the way you want me to go. — Psalm 119:105

Ten Thoughts to Ponder

1. The most difficult part of time dedicated to hearing God’s voice is not hearing anything.
2. My actions may not depend upon my comfort, but they must depend upon my conviction.
3. What God wants is what we need, so what we don’t need is to tell God what we want.
4. God’s needs justify the actions we don’t understand when we don’t get what we want.
5. What we think we know, even if we really do know, is just a fraction of what God knows.
6. All we have to do to experience God’s miracles is to make ourselves part of what he wants to do.
7. A genuine expression of gratitude to God is impossible without recognizing his value.
8. Unexpressed gratitude is a diamond hidden from sight.
9. Moment by moment throughout the day, whatever I do is a matter of choice. I say I have no choice only because I’ve already decided what I must do.
10. What I want can cause me to ignore what would otherwise influence what I want.

Questions for Further Thought

• Why don’t people spend more time studying Scripture?
• What can make the Bible easier to understand?