The Rustling Of Pages

When you preach in different churches from week to week you never know who you will meet or what you will encounter. Such was the case this past week once again. Brenda and I enjoyed ourselves meeting complete strangers but feeling like brothers and sisters in Christ before we left.

Brenda and I walked into a gathering of people we did not know. I gave thanks to God for the opportunity to minister His word once again. God burned a message in my heart for those people and when it came time to preach I entered into it enthusiastically.

I opened with a prayer and then announced the text we would study. What happened next stunned me. It came so unexpectedly it caught me off guard. All over that little sanctuary I heard the rustling of pages as people opened their Bibles turning to the selected text  to study with me.

That sound proved as moving to my soul as any song we sang that morning. I paused before starting the message just to listen to the rustling of pages all over that room. Maybe that is a sound many preachers and parishioners take for granted. Maybe it not a sound heard where you worship. That beautiful sound reverberated in my ears. Not a loud over the top sound. I doubt anyone else in the room even noticed it this past Sunday. No sound that day moved me more deeply.

I noticed. I loved it. I love God. I love His word. I love the local church. I love the people of God. I love getting to preach and teach His word in any setting. Ido not take preaching for granted nor people hungry for His word for granted. We are living in times when the truth of God's word is devalued for other worship expressions. Many times Bible truth taught or preached is little more than a pithy devotional thought.

I am old fashioned. I still believe God has a word to share with people all over the world. I believe that word comes from the sacred scriptures. I love the rustling of the pages when people gather to study and learn. I know in these times many use their smart phones or other electronic devices to look at the Bible. That may work for them but I prefer to hold the sacred book of the Bible.

I like the feel of the leather in my hands. It broke my heart after 15 years of reading, studying and preaching from the same Bible I had to recently purchase a new one and  am breaking it in. I love the weight of it in my hands. I love pointing people back to truths embedded in the text itself. I love expounding the truth. I love seeing the black type of the print (and the red type for the words of Jesus.) I love underlining, hi lighting, making notes in the margins, circling key words in a passage, and recalling where certain verses are located in certain spots on the printed pages after years of familiarity. In my ministry I have worn out three Bibles preaching. By the grace of God I plan to wear a few more out along the way. Truth is I do't like my new Bible and on the hunt for a better one with wider margins for taking notes.

I know I am old fashioned and I do not apologize for it. I love the book. To hear good folks flipping pages in their Bibles fired my soul deeply. I thank God for those people and that sound He brought to my attention. I hope I never forget it and live to see it repeated over and over again in my ministry.