“Then He said to them, ‘Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.’”
Matthew 13:52
That Was Then…
Over the course of time I have used various Bible study tools and methods. I find that if I don’t mix things up a bit, I grow bored, complacent, and stale. New perspectives keep my daily bread fresh and my wineskins new in anticipation of new wine.
I have an old Bible that is probably fifteen years old. I had it rebound as it began to literally fall apart. It is well used and is my “go to” Bible of choice. It is filled with notes and markings and underlines and highlights. Dates and outlines fill the margins. It is full of memories, spiritual insights, and testimony of God’s faithfulness. Over the past year it has been marked with bright coloring denoting themes such as sin, promises, idolatry, the character of God, and prayer. I can’t tell you how many times I have read through this old familiar friend from Genesis to Revelation.
On my bookshelf is a new Bible that I have possessed for almost two years now and have rarely opened. I made a decision recently to begin using these unturned, unmarked pages for my morning study time. The paper is crisp and clean, no notes, no cues to past insights. It is unmarred by personal commentary. I find my thoughts are fresh and I have a new perspective on Scripture. I don’t go back in my mind as to why I wrote a particular note or who I was when I first underlined this passage. I am coming to Scripture open and ready for new ways in which God will speak to me.
And so I experience the old and the new and find both are good. His word is treasure.
“Thank You, Father, for speaking out of these pages in the worn and marked as well as the clean and uncharted. Your Spirit illumines and teaches. Your Word is truth. Word of God speak. Amen.”