I grew up hearing Bible stories, in Sunday school and later, as a young adult, sitting in wooden-pews. I have fond memories of my father teaching from his old King James Bible. In his lessons, I learned about my Heavenly Father.
The stories he told were not of cartoon characters from my children’s illustrated Bible. They were real life stories, with battles, blood, and guts. In them, angels and devils struggled against one another, with the outcomes of regular men and women hanging in the balance. There were stories of murderers, prostitutes, heroes, and deceivers. These were certainly not rated-G stories.
My Father’s Bible
Lately, I have been doing a lot of cleaning around my house and found one of my dad’s Bibles. I read the handwritten notes and highlighted sections, and they connected me to memories of my father. I could hear his voice and see him sitting in his chair reading from this vary Bible.
My father studied this Bible. He spent hours reading it. It wasn’t because he was trying to become a Bible scholar. For him, It was about spending time with his Heavenly Father. It was about a friend he had found in Jesus many years earlier. I hope to pass these stories and my love for Jesus on to my own grandchildren. I hope to teach them the lessons that I have learned over the years.
Hand Written Notes
In flipping through my dad’s Bible, I found a highlighted section in Joshua chapter 10. It is the story of the day that Joshua prayed, saying, “Sun, stand still and moon stand in place, until God has delivered our enemies into our hands.” So, the sun stopped in the heavens and stayed there for almost twenty-four hours—all because of the prayer of one man.
I found another amazing story from the Book of Joshua. Joshua sent out two spies to examine the fighting force of city of Jericho. The spies hid in house of Rahab, which was constructed into the city wall. She covered them under bunches of flax on the roof, protecting them from capture. Many might be surprised to learn that Rahab… the prostitute… is in Jesus’ family tree. She was a grandmother to King David.
In Acts, I found a hand written note about the miracles performed at the hands of the Apostle Paul. In Acts chapter 19, we read of the seven sons of Sceva. They decided to copy Paul and perform miracles using the name of Jesus. This story is like a scene out of the movie “The Exorcist.”
Gideon’s Victory
I found another highlighted section in Judges chapter seven. It is the amazing story of Gideon. The army of Israel was camped at the spring of Harod. The camp of Midian was north of them. “They were like a multitude of grasshopper, and their camels were without number, as the sand by the sea side.” In all, there were 132,000 Midianites who had come to destroy the people of God.
Amazingly, the Lord said to Gideon, “You have too many men.” He told Gideon to send home anyone who was afraid. “So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.”
But, God did not stop there. “There are still too many men.” He said, “Take them down to the water and separate those who lap the water as a dog laps.” Only three hundred drank from cupped hands as a dog laps. So that they would be alert to an approaching enemy. Everyone else got down on their knees to drink the water.
Focus On God
Here at the stream of Herod, the Lord said, “With these three hundred men, I will save you. Let all the others go home.” And, God did deliver the 132,000 Midianites into the hands of Gideon, with just 300 soldiers.
The lesson is don’t focus on what you don’t have, instead, focus on God. What you don’t have doesn’t matter, use what God has given you for his glory.
We can come near to God through the pages of his Word. I am thankful for the example of an earthly father who has shown me how to draw close God. You can learn from these same Bible stories.
Copyright © 2023 Chuck Locklear
Also, see Victorious.