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The Bible and the Hit Man

Read: Psalm 119:97-112

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. (v. 97)

Moments after the deputy locked the gang member up, there was a loud thud inside the cell. When the deputy opened the cell door again, there was a Bible lying on the concrete floor. The sight surprised the deputy because he thought the man in the cell had given his life to Jesus. The man always had his Bible tucked under his arm when he went to court. However, the day the jury found this hardened gang hit man guilty, he threw his Bible against the door. Evidently, he had only carried it as a good luck charm to impress the judge.

The author of Psalm 119 would never be so careless with the Scriptures. He loved the first five books of the Bible containing the law of God. Following God’s commands made him “wiser than [his] enemies” (v. 98). He also used God’s law to direct his feet on the right path (v. 105). The psalmist would agree with the apostle Paul, who wrote, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).

The deputy was my uncle, and it saddened him to see the Bible thrown around like some trashy novel. Do you regard the Bible as the psalmist did? Or is your view of Scripture more in line with the hit man? The Bible is much more than a lucky trinket. It’s the inspired Word of God meant to guide our lives on the right path.

As you pray, thank God for his Word and ask him to help you value it more every day.

About the Author

Headshot of author Steve Laman

Steven Laman is a writer and public speaker who has lived with cerebral palsy since his birth in 1970. Steven is a prolific devotional writer for Words of Hope, and the author of three books: My Journey God’s Grace, Strength in Weakness and My Grace Is Sufficient. He also volunteers as a teacher’s aide. He lives with his parents in Iowa.

This entry is part 6 of 15 in the series Personal Faith Lessons
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