Marked

There are a lot of things marked in my Bible...in the front, there are special notes, like the dates of my kids' salvation. And notes...lots of notes. Some reveal the depths of my heart, like when I'd lost a loved one and the Lord comforted me with Scripture. Others are verses I was clinging to...sometimes with great joy...other times, I was holding on for dear life!!!

For example:

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints. Ps 116:15 (in memory of missionary friend Carolyn Campbell dated 1-14-05)

Michael Joseph Wallace was blameless. Not perfect. Only Christ is perfect. 2 Pet 3:14. In memory of my 21 yr old nephew that SEEMED perfect. A gentle giant.

On parenting:
Affirm
Build bridges
Choose battles carefully

On WORDS:
Is it TRUE?
Is it KIND?
Is it NECESSARY?

Random verses the Spirit prompted me to write:
Revive me, o Lord, for your Name's sake! Ps 143:11
Too deep for words? Rom 8:26-27

And random places where I've written notes to myself:

Eva, are you pleasing God? Rom 8:8
Eva, be a vessel of mercy. Rom 9
Eva, owe love ~ nothing more! Rom 13:8
Eva, you're accountable to God ~ for your SELF! (Rom 14:12)
Eva, your faith is in the power of God! (1 Cor 1:22)
Eva, submit to Barry as you submit to Christ in EVERYTHING (Eph 4:24)

Then, there are other parts of the Bible that I've filled in with notes during sermons...like, from James 3

Roots of Worldly Wisdom:

Bitter jealousy: you have something and afraid you'll lose it. Or that someone will have better than you.

Selfish ambition: do you change your story as you go along?

Lying against the truth: we know the truth but build a case against it. Defending a lie?

Roots of Godly Wisdom:

Purity ~ not by nature, but by the Spirit
Peace ~ doesn't cause strife
Gentleness ~ considerate of others
Willing to yield ~ reasonable, open to discussion
Merciful ~ compassionate about the things God cares about
Good fruits ~ more good than bad
Without partiality ~ unwavering
Without hypocrisy ~ without masks

Ouch! that makes me want to go back to square one. Back to the day I turned my life over to Christ Jesus. Jan 24, 1982. That's a lot of years. Should be a lot more markings in my life...more good fruits than bad. I can't change the past...but there's still today...it's not too late for me to make a difference today!!!

I also found another special reminder my Bible, in my own handwriting:

Many pages of my own Bible are marked. But while I was at my brother's house, i was reading his Bible and noticed that there was only thing written there:

Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You
Psalm 25:21

This is a reflection on my brother's life, and I pray it will be mine, too. dated June 24, 2006

And, last, but not least:

Many people mark their Bibles, but does the Bible mark YOU?