Recycling Has It’s Perks
Are you someone who writes in their bible…down the margins, front and back and every blank space in between? I am and there are so many dates and notations written in my bible, not including the once blank onion pages in the front and back of my bible that are covered with what I coined as “Jerryisms,” special quips that Pastor would throw out every once in a while…ones like “Get right or get left” or “If nothin’ changes, nothin’ changes.” But also, next to certain verses that he would use in his message, he may have said something that really caught my attention, as it pertained to that verse, and I would write it next to the verse. One of those is Romans 8:28 which reads, “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Many years ago, using that verse, he said, “every adverse circumstance must yield to me a good result,” which I promptly scribbled above the verse.
The other day he was preaching a message and he began to say the quip relating to Romans 8:28 and sitting in my chair, without much thought, I was saying it too. You see, I’ve reminded myself of that very thing so many times, it is engrained in my brain through memorization and I’ve shared it with many others when they are going through life struggles. I sit close enough to the front that Pastor heard me, even though I wasn’t trying to get any attention.
I’m sure there are some who “remind” him that he’s already preached a particular message, but it doesn’t bother me because the bible is a living, breathing instruction manual. Just like the one for your car, one day you may have to refer to it for how to change the time on the clock, another time you may have to use it to figure out a warning that popped up on your dash. The book remained the same, but you gained useful information each time that was applicable to your situation. A scripture that doesn’t speak to me today may just be the exact thing I need to hear a year from now. Pastor’s messages always feel like they’re just for me and I glean information from them each time that I can apply to my life, even if it is a recycled message.
When I got home, I opened my bible to the book of Romans and found that I’d written that quip in September of 1999. I took a picture of it and sent it to Pastor, saying “it’s been a journey.”