Eventually I came to a bargain area. Prices of books in this area were slashed drastically. I saw books from best selling authors selling for $10, $5, and some even as low as $3. Even hardback books. Some of you know exactly where I shopped.
It dawned on me how a book can be popular for a season and then forgotten. What might have been a best seller in previous years can end up on the clearance aisle to sell cheaply. Books and authors come and go.
Eventually I made my way to the biography section. At first I searched in vain. I looked for the old preachers. These are not the best sellers. The shelves were lined with celebrities biographies which held no interest for me. I longed for old biographies of the giants of the past. The ones most have never heard of. Sadly I saw nothing of them, a sad commentary of our contemporary times.
Then I noticed one book. A collection of biographical sketches of preachers, evangelists and missionaries. My spirits lifted. I spotted a companion volume next to it. It just so happens I am reading another book in that set by the same author currently. I made my selections and rejoiced to find they were on sale. Two treasures to add to my library.
That is not what drives this post today. I have thought about those bargain books repeatedly. Those once popular authors ad books that no longer have any value. Just like with a lot of today's contemporary Christian music, most authors and books will not stand the test of time. They will be quickly forgotten.
NOT THE BIBLE. No book has been more scrutinized or criticized. No book has been more hated. No book has been more judged, feared and considered a threat. And yet, the word of God still stands. I saw an entire wall devoted to nothing but different translations of the Bible. Year after year the Bible is still a best seller. In fact, it is the best selling book of all time.
God authored the Bible inspiring instruments of His choosing to write God breathed sacred scripture. It is the text I just finished reading this morning. It is the text I will preach from later this morning. In my devotional reading this morning you know what truth lodged most deeply in my heart?
Isaiah 40:8 (ESV)
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.
Other things are temporary on this earth. The word of God is everlasting. It will stand forever. It will remain, endure and continue long after I am dead and gone. It endured long before I was born. There will never be a time when the word of God will not stand. There may come a day when it is outlawed world wide. There may come a day when it is hard to find. GOD WILL PRESERVE HIS WORD. It will stand forever.
There is no other book I treasure more, have studied more intently or have read more often than my Bible. I should say Bibles. I have worn out more than one copy. I still love and long for it. Praise God His word still stands in this pagan culture and always will.
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