BIBLE
God’s words will give men new life more than the other words that are for pleasure. O marvelous power of the Divine Seed which overpowers strong men in arms, softens hard hearts, and renews and changes into divine men, those men who had been brutalized by sins and departed infinitely far from God. Obviously such miraculous power could never be worked by the work of a priest if the Spirit of Life and the Eternal Word did not, above all things else, work with it.
—John Wycliffe
An elderly man who had never gone to school decided he wanted to learn how to read. His greatest desire was to read the Bible so that God could speak to him through His Word. But learning to read wasn’t easy. Just becoming familiar with the alphabet was hard work. For several years this dedicated Christian kept at it. Finally, he was able to read—a little at first and eventually the entire New Testament. A few days after he had finished the last book of the Bible, he stopped by to talk with a friend. With tears in his eyes, he said, “It was worth all that effort just to be able to read John 3:16.”
—Our Daily Bread
A man selling individual books of the Bible was stopped and robbed one night as he passed through a forest in Sicily and was ordered to burn his wares. After lighting a fire, he asked if he might read aloud a brief portion from each before surrendering them to the flames. Given permission, he read from one the twenty-third Psalm, from another the Sermon on the Mount, from another the parable of the Good Samaritan, and from another Paul’s hymn of love in 1 Corinthians 13. After each excerpt the outlaw exclaimed, “That’s a good book. We won’t burn that, give it to me.” So none were destroyed but all were taken by the thief. Some years later the robber appeared again, but now as an ordained minister. Reading the Bible had accomplished the miracle.
—Our Daily Bread
The Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe, practice it to be holy. It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s character. Paradise is restored, heaven opened, and the gates of hell disclosed. Christ is its grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently, prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory, and a river of pleasure. Follow its precepts and it will lead you to Calvary, to the empty tomb, to a resurrected life in Christ; yes, to glory itself, for eternity.
One day an infidel named William Hone met a small boy who was reading the Bible. Hone said to him, “Why do you spend your time with a worthless book like that?” The lad responded, “It’s the only thing that gives my sick mother any comfort.” The man was moved by the youngster’s simple comment and decided to read the Scriptures for himself. As he did, God’s Spirit spoke to his heart. Some time later he wrote the following lines on one of the pages in his Bible:
The proudest heart that ever beat
Hath been subdued in me;
The wildest will that ever rose
To scorn Thy cause or aid Thy foes
Is quelled, my God, by Thee.
William Hone’s life was transformed through the power of the Word.
—Our Daily Bread
A young Christian packing his bag for a journey said to a friend, “I have nearly finish packing. All I have to put in is a guidebook, a lamp, a microscope, a volume of fine poetry, a few biographies, a package of old letters, a book of songs, a sword, a hammer, and a set of tools.” “But you can’t get all that into your bag,” objected the friend. “Oh, yes I can,” said the Christian. “Here it is.” And he placed his Bible in the corner of the suitcase and closed the lid.
In regard to this great book, I have but to say, it is the best gift God has given to men. All the good Savior gave to the world was communicated through this book. But for it we could not know right from wrong. All things most desirable for man’s welfare, here and hereafter, are to be found portrayed in it.
—Abraham Lincoln
I am the Bible,
I am God’s wonderful library.
I am always—and above all—the truth.
To the weary pilgrim, I am a good, strong staff.
To the one who sits in black gloom, I am the glorious light.
To those who stoop beneath heavy burdens, I am sweet rest.
To him who has lost his way, I am a safe guide.
To those who have been hurt by sin, I am healing balm.
To the discouraged, I whisper a glad message of hope.
To those who are distressed by the storms of life, I am an anchor, sure and steadfast.
To those who suffer in lonely solitude, I am as a cool, soft hand resting upon a fevered brow.
Oh, child of man, to best defend me, just use me!
England has two books, the Bible and Shakespeare. England made Shakespeare, but the Bible made England.
—Victor Hugo
George Bernard Shaw once had a Bible. Four years before he died in 1950, he sold it to auctioneers. A few days ago the auctioneers sold it for $50. One of the selling points seems to have been an inscription on the flyleaf by the playwright himself:
“Except as a curiosity, this book as a material object is a most undesirable possession … I must get rid of it. I really cannot bear it in my house.”
Wonder where he is now?
—Dallas Morning News editorial, March 14, 1952
Within that awful Volume lies
The mystery of mysteries!
Happiest they of human race,
To whom God has given grace
To read, to fear, to hope, to pray,
To lift the latch and force the way;
And better had they ne’er been born
Who read to doubt, or read to scorn.
—Walter Scott
We search the world for truth; we cull
The good, the pure, the beautiful,
From graven stone and written scroll,
From all old flower-fields of the soul;
And weary seekers of the best,
We come back laden from our quest,
To find that all the sages said
Is in the Book our mothers read.
—John Greenleaf Whittier
For several years I have read the Bible through twice in twelve months. It is a great and powerful tree, each word of which is a mighty branch. Each of these branches have I well shaken, so desirous was I to know what each one bore and what it would give me. And the shaking of them has never disappointed me.
—Martin Luther
In a news conference on February 21, 1985, President Ronald Reagan said he had found “that the Bible contains an answer to just about everything and every problem that confronts us, and I wonder sometimes why we won’t recognize that one book could solve our problems for us.”
—Chattanooga News–Free Press
As Sir Walter Scott lay dying, he said to his friend and biographer, John Gibson Lockhart, “Read from the Book.” “Which book?” asked Lockhart. Scott replied, “There is but one.”
If I should live a thousand years
And search it every day,
The precious Word of God would still
Shed light upon my way.
Should every other earthly thing
Be severed from my grasp,
I pray that I may ever hold
My Bible till the last.
And some day when He calls me home
And I at last can look
Upon His face, I’ll want to kneel
And thank Him—for His Book!
—Alice Hanche Mortenson
A rich Chinese man who visited England took great delight in a beautiful microscope which was shown him. Later he purchased one for himself and took it back to China.
One day he examined a tiny bit of his dinner rice with the microscope. To his horror he discovered that there were actually tiny living creatures in it.
It was part of his creed not to eat anything that had animal life. What should he do? He was not only particularly fond of his rice, but it was the staple item of his daily food.
He thought he saw only one way out of it. He would destroy the instrument that pointed out the distasteful fact, and so he dashed the microscope in pieces.
Similarly, many people hate the Word of God because it reveals their true condition.
Twenty-seven years ago, with the Holy Spirit as my guide, I entered at the portico of Genesis and went into the art galleries of the Old Testament; on the wall hung pictures of Enoch, Noah, Jacob, Abraham, Elijah, David, Daniel, and other famous prophets of old. Then I passed into the music room of the psalms where the Spirit swept the keyboard of my nature.… Then I stepped into the prophetic room and saw through the telescopes various stars, some pointing to far-off stars and others to nearby stars, but all concentrated upon the bright and morning star.… From here I went to the correspondence room where Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, James, and Jude sat at their tasks, penning their epistles to the church. Then I passed last of all into the throne room of Revelation and saw the King sitting high upon His throne.
—Billy Sunday
The Bible is like a magnificent palace constructed of precious oriental stone, comprising sixty-six stately chambers. Each one of these chambers is different from its fellows and is perfect in its individual beauty, while together they form an edifice incomparably majestic, glorious, and sublime.
In the book of Genesis we enter the grand Vestibule where we are immediately introduced to the records of the mighty work of God in creation. This Vestibule gives access to the Law Courts, passing through which we come to the Picture Gallery of the historical books. Here we find hung upon the walls scenes of battles, heroic deeds, and portraits of valiant men of God. Beyond the Picture Gallery we find the Philosopher’s Chamber—the book of Job—passing through which we enter the Music Room—the book of Psalms—and here we linger, thrilled by the grandest harmonies that ever fell on human ears. Then we come to the Business Office—the book of Proverbs in the very center of which stands the motto, “Righteousness exalteth a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.” Leaving the Business Office we pass into the Research Department—Ecclesiastes—and thence into the Conservatory—the Song of Solomon—where greet us the fragrant aroma of choicest fruits and flowers and the sweet singing of birds. We then reach the Observatory where the Prophets with their powerful telescopes are looking for the appearing of the “Bright and Morning Star,” prior to the dawning of the “Sun of Righteousness.” Crossing the courtyard, we come to the Audience Chamber of the King—the Gospels—where we find four lifelike portraits of the King Himself, revealing the perfections of His infinite beauty. Next we enter the Workroom of the Holy Spirit—the Acts of the Apostles—and beyond that the Correspondence Room—the Epistles—where we see Paul and Peter, James, John, and Jude, busy at their tables under the personal direction of the Spirit of Truth. Finally we enter the Throne Room—the book of Revelation—where we are enraptured by the mighty volume of adoration and praise which is ever addressed to the enthroned King and which fills the vast Chamber; while in the adjacent Galleries and Judgment Hall there are portrayed solemn scenes of judgment and wondrous scenes of glory associated with the coming manifestation of the Son of God as King of kings and Lord of lords.
—Fred Mitchell
I believe the Bible to be the Word of God:
Because it is the champion of human liberties.
Because it is founded upon justice and mercy.
Because it fills men with a desire to help others.
Because it presents the divine-human Person—Christ.
Because it points out the Way from sin to salvation.
Because it brings peace and comfort to heart and mind.
Because no other book has ever been so loved and hated.
Because its life stories have a perennial, universal charm.
Because it reveals the only indispensable Man—Christ Jesus.
Because its influence is rapidly traveling to the whole world.
Because after two thousand years of publication it is still the world’s best-seller.
Because it records the only authentic history of the human race.
Because its benefits are not limited to any race, color, or condition.
Because, when accepted, men immediately seek for better things.
Because it provides the only real consolation for men dying in war.
Because in studying its words we “breathe the atmosphere of eternity.”
Because its messages of hope have saved many from self-destruction.
Because it recognizes and upholds the dignity and individuality of every person.
Because those who would destroy it have not furnished any substitute of value.
I believe the Bible to be the Word of God:
Because it reveals the only Way out of this present evil world into a better one.
—C. E. Holmes
The Scriptures are accurate in their descriptions, unfailing in their prophecies, dependable in their promises, reliable in their histories, authoritative in their claims, united in their testimony, self-evidencing in their miracles, honest in their records, suggestive in their silence, final in their teachings, divine in their origin, unique in their structure, living in their nature, heavenly in their morality, perennial in their freshness, and inexhaustible in their depth.
A series of articles by Robert A. Vogeler in the Saturday Evening Post told of his experiences during his imprisonment by communist powers.
Vogeler reported that he had repeatedly asked for a Bible but did not receive one for some time. However, he was allowed to read other books, including Dickens, Tolstoy, and Shaw. He testified, “Although I read Pickwick two or three times, the other novels of Dickens, especially Oliver Twist, were so depressing that I could read them only once. The Bible, in spite of certain depressing chapters, gave me the greatest solace of all. I now know that, if I were marooned on a desert island, the Bible is the one book above all others that I would most like to possess.”
Know it in your mind.
Stow it in your heart.
Show it in your life.
Sow it in the world.
The Bible is alive, it speaks to me; it has feet, it runs after me; it has hands, it lays hold of me.
—Martin Luther
Lay hold of the Bible until the Bible lays hold of you.
—Will H. Houghton
When I spoke to eight hundred students in a state university, I was informed that the Bible should not be mentioned in the school. The same afternoon I was invited to talk to about eight hundred men in the state penitentiary, and the warden asked me to give them the Bible truth.
—Albert E. Aldrich
Though the cover is worn,
And the pages are torn,
And though places bear traces of tears
Yet more precious than gold
Is the Book worn and old,
That can shatter and scatter my fears.
When I prayerfully look
In the precious old Book,
As my eyes scan the pages I see
Many tokens of love
From the Father above,
Who is nearest and dearest to me.
This old Book is my guide,
’Tis a friend by my side,
It will lighten and brighten my way;
And each promise I find
Soothes and gladdens my mind
As I read it and heed it today.
The world’s all-time “best-seller” is the Bible. In 1960, Americans alone purchased an estimated eleven million copies. Some are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand; some are too heavy to hold. There is a twenty-volume edition in Braille. Prices range from less than a dollar to a $600,000 Gutenberg edition, now a national treasure.
—Time
I have worked at the Bible, prayed over the Bible, lived by the Bible for more than sixty years, and I tell you there is no book like the Bible. It is a miracle of literature, a perennial spring of wisdom, a wonder book of surprises, a revelation of mystery, an infallible guide of conduct, and an unspeakable source of comfort. Give no heed to people that discredit it, for they speak without knowledge. It is the Word of God in the inspired speech of humanity. Read it for yourself. Read it thoroughly. Study it according to its own directions. Live by its principles. Believe its message. Follow its precepts.
No man is uneducated who knows the Bible, and no man is wise who is ignorant of its teaching. Every day is begun at its open page. It lies close at hand in all my work. I never go anywhere without it, and it is my chief joy.
—Samuel Chadwick
A Mohammedan trader who could not read a word of English kept an English Bible beside him nevertheless at all times. “When I meet a trader who is unknown to me,” he explained, “I put the Bible into his way and watch him. If he opens it and reads, I know I can trust him. If he throws it aside with a sneer or a curse, I will have nothing to do with him.”
A noted orator asked Charles Dickens for the most pathetic story in literature, and he said it was that of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15). Samuel Coleridge was asked for the richest passage in literature, and he said it was Matthew 5:1–16. Another asked Daniel Webster for the greatest legal digest, and he replied that it was the Sermon on the Mount.
No one has equaled Moses for law, David for poetry, Isaiah for vision, Jesus for Good News, Peter for holy zeal, Paul for logic, or John’s statements of divine love.
The vigor of our spiritual life will be in exact proportion to the place held by the Bible in our life and thoughts. I solemnly state this from the experience of fifty-four years. The first three years after conversion I neglected the Word of God. Since I began to search it diligently, the blessing has been wonderful. I have read the Bible through one hundred times, and always with increasing delight. Each time it seems like a new book to me. Great has been the blessing from consecutive, diligent, daily study. I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the Word of God.
—George Mueller
I always have the pleasure to have people read and study the Bible since the Bible is the voice of the Holy Spirit. It reveals the righteousness of God and His love. Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, gave His life and shed His blood to save those who believe in Him. His righteousness exalts the nation. Christ is the cornerstone of all freedoms. His love covers all sins. All those who believe in Him shall have eternal life.
—Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek
Dwight L. Moody once wrote, “I’m glad there’s a depth in the Bible I know nothing about, for it shows its divine authorship.”
A man once came to him with a very difficult passage and said, “Mr. Moody, how do you explain that?”
I replied, “I don’t.”
“But how do you interpret it?”
“I don’t interpret it.”
“Well, how do you understand it?”
“I don’t understand it.”
“What do you do with it?”
“I don’t do anything with it.”
“You don’t believe it?”
“Yes, I believe it! I believe many things I don’t understand.… Nature itself is filled with wonders we cannot fathom, so how can we expect to know everything spiritual?”
Voltaire gathered all the Bibles he could find and burned them. Today in the very house where he lived, a Bible Society has four presses, publishing thousands of Bibles every year in several dozen languages.
Adams, John Quincey, 1767–1848: “So great is my veneration for the Bible that the earlier my children begin to read it, the more confident will be my hopes that they will prove useful citizens to their country and respectable members of society.”
Bacon, Francis, 1561–1626: “There never was found, in any age of the world, either religion or law that did so highly exalt the public good as the Bible.”
Barton, Bruce: “Voltaire spoke of the Bible as a short-lived book. He said that within a hundred years it would pass from common use. Not many people read Voltaire today, but his house has been packed with Bibles as a depot of a Bible society.”
Carlyle, Thomas, 1795–1881: “A noble book! All men’s book! It is our first, oldest statement of the never-ending problem—man’s destiny—and God’s ways with him here on earth; and it is all in such free-flowing outlines—grand in it sincerity, in its simplicity, and its epic melody.”
Faraday, Michael, 1791–1867: “As tears come from the heart and appeal to the heart, so the Bible comes from God, and he that is from God listens to His voice.”
Franklin, Benjamin, 1706–1790: “A Bible in every home is the principle support of virtue, morality, and civil liberty.”
George V, 1865–1936 (King of Great Britain, 1910–1936): “It is my confident hope that my subjects may never cease to cherish their noble inheritance in the English Bible, which in a secular aspect, is the first of national treasures and is, in its spiritual significance, the most valuable thing that this world affords.”
Gladstone, William Ewart, 1809–1898: “I have spent seventy years of my life studying that Book to satisfy my heart; it is the Word of God. I bank my life on the statement that I believe this Book to be the solid rock of Holy Scriptures. All the wonders of Greek civilization were not as wonderful as this single book of Psalms.”
Grant, Ulysses S., 1822–1885: “Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives. To the influence of this book we are indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future. ‘Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.’ ”
Greeley, Horace, 1811–1872: “It is impossible to mentally or socially enslave a Bible-reading people.”
Henry, Patrick, 1736–1799: “There is a Book worth all other books which were ever printed.”
Hoover, Herbert C., 1874–1964: “There is no book so various as the Bible, nor one so full of concentrated wisdom. Whether it be of law, business, morals, or that vision which leads the imagination in the creation of constructive enterprises for the happiness of mankind, he who seeks for guidance … may look inside its covers and find illumination. We are indebted to the Book of Books for our national ideals and institutions. Their preservation persists in adhering to its principles.”
Jackson, Andrew, 1767–1848: “The Bible is the rock on which our republic rests.”
Jefferson, Thomas, 1743–1826: “A serious perusal of the sacred volume will make better citizens, better fellows, and better husbands.”
Kant, Immanuel, 1724–1804: “The Bible is an inexhaustible fountain of all truths. The existence of the Bible is the greatest blessing which humanity ever experienced.”
Lee, Robert E., 1807–1879: “The Bible is a book in comparison with which all others in my eyes are of minor importance, and which in all my perplexities and distresses has never failed to give me light and strength.”
Lincoln, Abraham, 1809–1865: “I am profitably engaged in reading the Bible. Take all of this book upon reason that you can and the balance by faith, and you will live and die a better man. I believe that the Bible is the best gift God has given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through the Book.”
Livingstone, David, 1813–1873: “All that I am I owe to Jesus Christ, revealed to me in His divine book.”
Locke, John, 1632–1704: “The Bible is one of the greatest blessings bestowed by God on the children of men. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture for its matter. It is all pure, all sincere; nothing too much; nothing wanting.”
Luther, Martin, 1483–1546: “God’s Word of itself is pure, clean, bright, and clear.”
Milton, John, 1608–1674: “There are no songs comparable to the songs of Zion; no orations equal to those of the prophets; and no politics like those which the Scriptures teach.”
Moody, Dwight L., 1837–1899: “The Bible is the only news book in the world. The newspaper tells what has taken place, but this book tells us what will take place.”
Napoleon, 1769–1821: “The Gospel is not merely a book—it is a living power—a book surpassing all others. I never omit to read it, and everyday with the same pleasure. Nowhere is to be found such a series of beautiful ideas, and admirable moral maxims, which pass before us like the battalions of a celestial army.… The soul can never go astray with this book for its guide.”
Newton, Sir Isaac, 1642–1727: “We account the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philosophy. I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible than in any profane history whatever.”
Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858–1919: “I plead for a closer and wider and deeper study of the Bible, so that our people may be in fact as well as in theory ‘doers of the Word and not hearers only.’ ”
Ruskin, John, 1819–1900: “Of my early knowledge of the Bible I owe the best part of my taste in literature, and the most precious, and on the whole, the one essential part of my education.”
Tennyson, Alfred, 1809–1892: “Bible reading is an education in itself.”
Wanamaker, John, 1838–1922: “I cannot too greatly emphasize the importance and value of Bible study.”
Washington, George, 1732–1799: “It is not possible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible.”
Webster, Daniel, 1782–1885: “Philosophi-cal argument, especially that drawn from the vastness of the universe in comparison with the apparent insignificance of this globe, has sometimes shaken my reason for the faith that is in me; but my heart has always assured and reassured me that the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be a divine reality. The sacred writings of Scripture have been my daily study and vigilant contemplation.”
Wesley, John, 1703–1791: “I want to know one thing—the way to heaven. God Himself has condescended to teach the way.… He hath written it down in a Book! O give me that Book! At any price, give me that Book of God!”
Wilson, Woodrow, 1865–1924: “When you have read the Bible, you will know it is the Word of God, because you will have found it the key to your own happiness and your own duty. A man has deprived himself of the best there is in the world who has deprived himself of this knowledge of the Bible.”
Read the Bible completely like a love letter,
Consult it constantly like a road map,
Study it carefully like a lesson book, and
Obey it conscientiously like an army order.
Books of the Old Testament—39
Books of the New Testament—27
Total number of books—66
Chapters in the Old Testament—929
Chapters in the New Testament—260
Total number of chapters—1,189
Verses in the Old Testament—33, 214
Verses in the New Testament—7,959
Total number of verses—41,173
Words in the Old Testament (KJV)—593,393
Words in the New Testament—181,253
Total number of words—774,646
A businessman who was accustomed to presiding at business functions was called on suddenly to officiate at a church affair. Somebody read the Scriptures, and this man absentmindedly got up and said, “If there are no corrections, the Scriptures will stand as read.”
—The Vance Havner Quote Book
If you see a Bible that is falling apart, it probably belongs to someone who isn’t!
—The Vance Havner Quote Book
The liberals say, “The Bible is inspired in spots, and we are inspired to spot the spots.”
—Bob Harrington
William Lyon Phelps of Yale University stated on more than one occasion, “I thoroughly believe in a university education for both men and women, but I believe a knowledge of the Bible without a college course is better than a college course without the Bible.”
Several young men, recently graduated from seminary, came before a ministerial body in Chicago for ordination. A few were weak on the great question of the authority of the Bible. Finally one of the older examining ministers rose to his feet and said, “Young men, when you stand with a family at the coffin of a mother or father, or perhaps a child, you had better know what you believe!”
Henry Watson, Bible scholar and teacher, said, “I hate these chapters and verses; reading a Bible in which I find them always reminds me of riding over a corduroy road.”
Scythians drink blood to bind an oath.
Certain tribes of India swear on a tiger’s tooth.
Malay tribesmen swear by their swords.
Dakota Indians swear by the sun.
Lovers swear by the moon.
Homeric Greeks swore by the heath.
Norsemen swore by a ring.
South Slavs swear by their children.
Northeast Africans swear, “If I don’t speak the truth, may my wife be away.”
Christians swear on the Bible.
One time Billy Graham said to a reporter that if he had the last ten years to live over, he would do some things differently, and then he specified the following: “I would spend more time studying.… I particularly plan to concentrate on the Scriptures. When the end of my life comes, I want to be saturated in the Scriptures.”
“Mr. [D. L.] Moody used to say, ‘in our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study, God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.’ We certainly ought to spend more time every day listening to what God has to say to us in His Word than we require Him to spend in listening to what we have to say to Him in our prayers.”
—R. A. Torrey
A Christian repairman was once called to service the mechanism of a giant telescope. During the noon hour, the chief astronomer found him reading his New Testament and asked, “What good do you expect to get out of that? With our scientific advancements, the Bible is now completely outdated. Why, you can’t even be sure who wrote it!” The mechanic was silent for a moment, then he looked up and said, “Don’t you make considerable use of the multiplication tables in your calculations as an astronomer?” “Yes, I certainly do,” replied the other. “Do you know who wrote them?” “Why no, I guess I don’t.” “Then,” said the mechanic, “how can you employ them when you’re not even sure of the author?” “We trust them because they work,” the astronomer finished with a note of irritation. “Well, I trust the Bible for the same reason!”
—Our Daily Bread
Many people talk of knowing the Bible from cover to cover, but all they know is the cover.
Ramad was the most dangerous man in all of India. His gang attacked, plundered, and terrified the remote villages of the area. He was wanted dead or alive. While ransacking a small home in one of these villages, he found a small black book. At first he started to throw it away, but he noticed that the paper was very thin and just the right size for roll-your-own cigarettes. Each evening after a meal Ramad would relax with a smoke. He would take out the little book, tear a page out, and fold it over for the tobacco. One evening while folding the paper, he noticed the writing was in his own language. So each evening after eating, he would read a page of the little book and then smoke it. One evening he knelt down and asked Jesus to forgive his sins and to be his Savior. The small black book was the Bible.
He turned himself over to the police, much to their surprise, and turned from a bandit to a prisoner for Christ. The prison became Ramad’s mission field where he led many other prisoners to Jesus. God’s Word made the change in his life.
—Peter V. Deison