Different translations. Different study notes. Even different languages.
But one of those Bibles is more special to me than all the rest.
It’s not because it’s the most expensive – it’s probably the cheapest one of them all. It’s not because it has the greatest study resources – it has none. It’s not because it was given to me by someone special – it was a gift Bible given by a church I didn’t even attend.
What makes this Bible so special is a hand written note that I wrote on one of the pages.
Let me give you a little backstory. Family legend says that I accepted Jesus as my Savior when I was 4 years old. I was an over-achiever. But I only have very faint memories of the event – and they easily could be my imagination trying to fill in the gaps.
Because I didn’t have a clear memory of the event, growing up I was plagued by fears that I wasn’t really saved. I was afraid it didn’t really happen. I worried that because I was so young, I didn’t really know what I was doing. I stressed that I did it wrong.
Bottom line: I didn’t have a consistent peace of God in my life.
But in 1981, that all changed. I was at AWANA Scholarship camp (AWANA is a youth Bible memorization organization – and the camp was specifically for those in the program who had completed at least 3 years of memorization). One night the speaker made a special invitation. I don’t remember it very well. I may have come to the front of the chapel, or I may have stayed in my seat. But that night I made sure that Jesus was my Lord and Savior.
This wasn’t the first time I had done this. I had done it many times, but each one sort of faded into the background as the memory grew distant. So the next day, in an effort to make this time more permanent than all the ones before, I wrote a note to my future self in that old Bible.
There it is, in my 12 year old handwriting.
I don’t remember 8:50 PM that night. But I clearly remember sitting on my bunk bed the next day writing these words. If I went back to that camp, I could walk without hesitation to the cabin and the bed where that ink was rolled out.
Of all my Bibles, this is the most precious to me. It’s the Bible that grounds me in the reality of my salvation. Other Bibles have more reference materials and margin notes. But this one Bible has been an anchor for my faith for a few days over 40 years.
It felt really good to take it off the shelf today to write this note. I smile at the formality of the words that I wrote so long ago – knowing even then that I was writing to last an entire lifetime.
I’m honored to share this little piece of my story with you. It brings me joy to remember this part of my journey and how I came to love Jesus even more.
What’s your story? How did you come to Jesus? What gives you confidence in your salvation?
Would you reply to this email and share the moment or the process where you came to place your faith in Jesus. Tell me a bit about yourself and the confidence of salvation that you have. Or, if you don’t have that confidence, would you share that instead?
I’d love to be overwhelmed with hundreds of messages of the stories of God’s goodness in your life, and others like you.
God bless you and may you have a rich week in Him.
Dennis
