Books

 Two of the greatest days in my childhood were the day I learned to read, and the day my grandmother took me to the Kurth Memorial Library in Lufkin, TX to get my first library card. Those two days brought me into a five decade love affair with books. I'm a helpless bookaholic. 

I remember reading my first words. "See Pug run." Pug was a dog character in our little primary readers. I also read about Ted and Jan. As the years passed and my reading skills increased, I recall a day that I became so engrossed in reading a book during some free time in class, I missed my change of classrooms for the next period. I loved reading the Hardy Boys detective series, Little House on the Prairie series and any sports books I could find. 

When my grandmother took me into that library, I was overwhelmed with the sheer volume of books. I stood in awe. She escorted me to the children's section where I found several selections of fictional sports books. Later, I learned to love biographies and autobiographies. I currently have seven shelves devoted to those books alone. 

As much as I try, I am not a fast enough reader to read all that I want to digest. I have several thousand books in my study. I have not read most of them, though I try. So much information. So much theology. So many lessons to learn. 

This got me curious today. I wondered what is the largest library in the world. I did a search and found out what I suspected. The U.S. Library of Congress. That library contains 70 million books in addition to other materials. Next, I wondered what the largest libraries in the U.S. were after the Library of Congress. Once again, my suspicions were true when I guessed the New York City Public Library containing 65 million books, periodicals, and reference research materials. 

As a native Texan where everything is bigger and better, I was surprised to find that the Dallas Public Library is only number nine of the largest in America with 5.1 million books. Houston did not make the list until number twenty-three with 3 million books. 

All this information whetted my appetite to know more. When I did a search for the largest bookstore in the world I came up with two answers. The Barnes and Nobles on Fifth Avenue in New York City has the largest floor space. Powell's Books in Portland, OR is considered the largest because it has the most shelf space, shelving an estimated 1 million books. Powell's takes up an entire city block. 

One more question popped into my mind. How many books are in the world? In 2010 a research group came up with the number of 129,864,880 unique books. THAT IS A LOT OF BOOKS!

Another group did another study on the topic of how many books are in the world in 2023. They came up with 158,464,880 unique books in the world. A more recent study estimated that about 2.2 million books get published every year. 

I am sure this information has bored you. I promise it is leading to something spiritually significant. No. This is not a plea to get people to read more books, though I believe that is a good thing. I have written several and Brenda has not read one of them. Her famous line is, "I lived them. Why do I need to read them?" 

Of all the books I love to read, none is more valuable to me than the Bible. Many years ago I committed to see how many times I can read the Bible through from Genesis to Revelation in my life. I keep a record of each time I finish. I set a lofty goal for myself that keeps my nose in those pages in the wee hours of the morning. That is when I came across a verse I have read numerous times before. That verse served as the catalyst for this blog. What did I read? 

[John 21:25] And there are also many other things that Jesus did which if they were written one by one, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.

In the four Gospels we only have a small summary of the miraculous things He did. Just a fraction of those works were recorded in scripture. He did much much more. More than could be written and housed in the Library of Congress, New York City Library, Powell's Books, and even more than the entire history of books in the world at over 159 million of them. John wrote the world could not contain enough space to hold all the books of all the things that could be written that Jesus did while on earth. 

What about everything He has done since walking on the earth in person? It is mind boggling. We live in an age when people try to shrink the Savior so they can better understand Him or relate to Him. He is not just Jesus. He is the LORD JESUS CHRIST! The fullness of God dwelt in Him. The scripture only scratch the surface of what Jesus Christ did in those 33 years He walked among men. I am awed. Bewildered. Stunned by His Sovereignty and Supremacy. What a Savior. I bow in awe of Him and devote my life to know and serve Him anew. 

He Stinks

 People have problems. Those problems come in all shapes and sizes. People cope with them in various ways. Some people pray. Others escape through exercise and physical fitness activities. There are those who turn to substance abuse to dull the pain and try to escape reality. Some try to ignore the problem until it exasarbates. 

Some problems are bigger than others. A common headache is not as serious as cancer. A flat tire is not as serious as a bad car accident. Not having the children visit or call in a few days or weeks is not as bad as them dying like Job's children and never talking to or seeing them again this side of heaven. 

I don't know what you are up against today. I know from personal experience and three decades of pastoral ministry, that everyone has something. Everybody has to deal with some adversity from time to time. How do we get through the tough stuff? How do we persevere when so many things are going to against us. 

There are two people who inspire me. One many will never heard of before. The other will be more recognizable. Let me introduce you to Charles Simeon. Charles served as a pastor back in the 1700s in England. He was appointed to his position by the previous pastor. Charles served as an assistant under this pastor for many years. When that guy retired he appointed Charles Simeon. 

Here is where the problem arose. There was a second assistant pastor and the people wanted him. Charles knew this. He got wind of how the people felt and tried to turn down the appointment. The retiring pastor informed Charles that even if he refused to accept the position the other associate would not get the position. Charles accepted. 

The people revolted. Their first revolt was to refuse the open the gated doors on the ends of the pews. They kept them locked so anyone who attended had to stand. Charles brought chairs into the house of God so people could sit in them. One morning he awoke to find all of those chairs thrown outside on the church lawn. People had to stand to listen to him preach. It was not uncommon for sermons to last up to an hour. This did not last for weeks or months. This lasted for 12 long years! Simeon persevered. Even after those 12 years, things were not smooth sailing. How many would have given up in just a few short months? Not Simeon. Simeon remained in that church for 54 years serving faithfully!

He said something one day I read in a book that hit home with me. He talked about trying to crawl through a hedge and feeling the pokes and pricks of the bushes. This is what he said next.

My dear brother, we must not mind a little suffering for Christ's sake. When I am getting through a hedge, if my head and shoulders are safely through, I can bear the pricking of my legs. Let us rejoice in the remembrance that our holy Head has surrounded all His suffering and triumphant over death. Let us follow Him patiently; we shall soon be partakers of His victory.

Simeon's example has inspired me since I first heard and read about him decades ago. He personified perseverance and how to overcome and outlast problems. 

My other example can be found in John 11:1-44. Lazarus' problem? He got sick and died. What did Jesus do? Called him back to life. Let that sink in. Lazarus died. There is no physical problem any person will ever face bigger than that. Now I get it. For children of God death is not the end. It is an open door to everlasting life. People still die. Sometimes prematurely. Some times through old age. Other times death comes through much suffering or tragically. 

Maratha and Mary grieved the death of their brother. They both told Jesus if He had been there Lazarus would have lived. They did not know what they were about to witness. Jesus spoke about being the resurrection and the life. He then commanded that the stone be rolled away from the tomb. Martha responded, "He has been in there four days. He will stink." 

That is what happens to dead and decaying bodies. They start stinking as they decompose. If you have ever smelled the dead carcass of a deer on the side of the road, you know it is not pleasant. After four days, Lazarus would have been rank with a foul stench. 

Jesus gave a simple command, "Lazarus, come forth." To everyone's astonishment Lazarus walked out of that tomb still wrapped in grave clothes. What a miracle. 

For the rest of Lazarus' life I can picture him listening to people whine about their problems. Lovingly I can just hear his gentle reminder, "If your problem is not bigger than mine, rememberI died, then Jesus can handle it." How true. 

So whatever you are facing, whatever waves are pounding you at the moment, whatever adversities are getting the best of you, and whatever menacing mountains stand in your way, I just remind you God is bigger than your problem. He is stronger, wiser, and mightier than what you are up against. I hope that offers a small measure of comfort and a large dose of hope. 

I am thankful for Charles Simeon. He may not have felt his life made much of a difference. I can tell his ministry and example are still paying dividends in my life. I am also thankful for the glorious example of Lazarus. Just when it seems all hope is gone, everything is lost, and you are at a dead end Jesus can still perform miracles just as big as resurrecting the dead back to life. If He can do that, I know He can handle whatever problem you are facing. Press on weary soldiers of the cross. We must not mind a little adversity for Christ's sake. Our resurrection miracle might just be around the corner.