Yesterday I was in Asheville, North Carolina, for about an hour. Actually it was Candler, a suburb not far west of the City. There is located a small bookstore, mostly housing Christian material, some of it rare.
I frequent such places rather often.
I compare my habit of going to bookstores … to a fisherman casting his lure into the lake or river! Or a miner digging for gold or silver! Yes, I am on a treasure hunt! There’s no telling what I might discover!
For example, the picture above. I’ve never seen this title … until 2:00 pm yesterday! I’m not familiar with the author, either. But the concept sure is worth a lot … at least to me!
There’s a line near the bottom of the book. Can you see it, read it? It says “THE GRAND CHRIST HYMN OF PSALM 1-8.” And I say … WOW!
There’s my 10 pound bass for the day!
Or my generous allotment of gold!
I (yesterday) learned of a new idea with which to approach the Psalms, the first 8 of them anyway!
And the unifying Theme? JESUS!!!
Now all this leads me to Today’s Bible Lesson …
I really believe our Lord (in Matthew 13) was sitting by the seaside, looking up into the nearby hills … when He saw something. “The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat ….” Matthew 13:1, Jesus always alert to the things of God, His Father.
I think He in the distance likely spied a farmer, casting a bag of seed onto the earth, his little plot.
Then it happened, Jesus struck gold too!
He landed a big one, a beautiful thought by which to illustrate a truth!
Much like what happened to me in the bookstore yesterday. (Except all Jesus did was perfect! I “miss the mark” way too often.)
And then Jesus … “spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a SOWER went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and ….” Matthew 13:3-4
I of course can’t prove that’s the way it happened. But I do KNOW Jesus was keenly aware of His surroundings. Always looking for fresh ways to present Truth to His followers.
What about us?
Do I look for God’s “fingerprints” all day long?
His Hand guiding me, even in the so-called “incidentals” of daily life?
Like seeing a book?
Oh, Lord … make us more sensitive to Thy Presence!
End of today’s Lesson.
Now, I can hardly wait (yes, I bought the book. I had been reduced to 5.00 anyway) to think today about Psalms 1-8, how they “link” together … around the Subject of our dear Lord!
Guess I had best go get started!
Have a great day of discovery, ya’ll!
— Dr. Mike Bagwell
Jeremiah 29:13 is a promise, directly from God! “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”
Amazing!