Favorite or Special Bible

[Sam]

Do you have a Bible that is a favorite or that holds a special meaning?

This is from a blog on another forum. I have the author's permission to share it. He is a 4th generation Pentecostal preacher, has been in the ministry for 38 years, and has pastored for 25 years. I love what he wrote. You can sense the love and respect he has for his father, his father's memory, and his father's God.
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I was talking to someone the other day about an old Bible that I have which belonged to my Dad. My father started preaching at the age of eighteen in 1948. He preached his last message five days before he passed away. That message was preached from his hospital bed in 1999. During those fifty one years he wore out two Thompson Chain Bibles and used a couple of others.

The first Bible that I remember Dad using was a brown covered Thompson Chain. It is the only thing of Dad’s that I ever really wanted and he gave it to me a few years before he died. The cover is so worn around the edges that the leather is separated. The binding is coming loose in the back. The pages are wrinkled and marked from handling, preaching and studying.

I remember the Christmas that Mom bought Dad a new black Thompson Chain Bible. With this one she bought a case for protection. I remember him preaching from that Bible many times. It too showed the signs of much use when it was finally put into “retirement.”

I could have had the choice of either Bible, mainly because I asked first. However, I wanted the Brown Thompson Chain Bible. You see there were some special memories that I have with that Bible. Let me share a few with you.

On February 12, 1952 a twenty one year old man became a soldier upon invitation from Uncle Sam. Dad was an Ordained Minister of the Gospel. This should have disqualified him automatically. He said that President Truman liked him so much he come visit anyway.

Dad had flat feet and was born blind in one eye. Either one of those should have kept him out of the military, yet they took him anyway. When he arrived in Virginia for basic training the doctors examined him and asked, “How did you get in here with these conditions?”

Dad replied, “It wasn’t hard at all!”

At that time they wanted to send him home. He shouldn’t have been there at all. Yet Dad said, “No, I am proud to serve my country, let me stay.” He felt God had him there for a reason. They let him stay.

While at Camp Pickett, Virginia Dad was able to start a church on the base for the Pentecostal soldiers and their wives to attend. Through the years he talked to many soldiers who attended that church after he was shipped out. God had him there for a reason.

He was shipped to Korea. He was in the Medical Corp and drove an ambulance. Because of his beliefs he refused to carry a weapon. He wouldn’t even carry a side arm. He walked guard duty on the front lines, but refused to carry a weapon.

Several times his life was spared by the hand of God. One time he was helping load wounded soldiers on a train just behind the front line. As he returned from the train to get another patient his commanding officer handed him a piece of shrapnel. The officer said it had landed inches behind Dad and if it had hit him it would have killed him.

The Bible Dad preached from was the Brown Thompson Chain Bible. He carried it to Virginia and preached from it there. He carried it with him to Korea and preached from it there.

I remember as a young child seeing him carry it to the pulpit and preach from it. I remember him sitting and reading from it when he was grieving over the death of his father. I remember a few months later when he returned from the funeral of his young brother who was killed so tragically in an accident, he would pick up the worn Bible and read from it. It was like a friend.

In those early formative years I came to realize that it wasn’t “that” Bible that was so special. It was “the” Bible that was so special. The author and he were good friends. He could share his thoughts and sorrows with him and get Words of strength and encouragement in return.

I will never forget sitting with him one night, very late. It was a few days before his passing. He had called us boys to come and talk. Actually, it should have been to come and listen. My two brothers and my son Justin were with me. Dad shared a lot of things with us that night. One thing he said I will never forget. In essence he said he didn’t understand why he had gotten Parkinson’s disease. He was younger than most people are when they get it. He didn’t understand why he had been stopped from doing what he had hoped to do with his life. He had wanted to travel and preach. He had wanted to take care of Mom and enjoy his grandkids and great grandchildren. He said there were a lot of things that he didn’t understand. Yet he said he wanted us boys to know, if just one life was touched by his ten years of suffering, it was worth every moment of it.

I came across a passage today that touched my heart. The Psalmist made this statement, “I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations: therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever.”

Dad made the name of the Lord to be remembered to all generations. Eternity will only tell exactly who was touched. Only eternity will reveal whose life was changed because of a man who loved and served God first and foremost in his life.

This I do know. My life is different because Dad made the name of the Lord known to me. This I do know, I have two brothers who are also preachers of the Gospel because the name of the Lord was made known to them. This I do know, he has a grandson and grandson in law that are preachers of the gospel. This I do know three of his granddaughters are filled with the Holy Ghost and living for God, actively involved in the work of God.

I am encouraged to know as I deal with the cares that life brings my way, I can make the name of the Lord known to all generations. I can do it by placing my trust and confidence in God. As I do this, the next generation will hopefully realize that God is faithful and true no matter what we are dealing with.

Yes, I picked the Brown Thompson Chain Bible because it reminded me of the God of my Father. A God whose name he made known unto me.

God Bless!

[OneAccord]

Wow, Bro. Sam. Thank you for posting this. What I'd give to know who wrote this and have picture of that Bible. The only words I can think of to describe how this moved me are these (underlined):

Luk 4:36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

Great post- ranks right up there with the Top Ten Posts of the Year!

[Sam]

Well, the person who wrote that is a Pentecostal preacher. He didn't include any pictures of the Bible.

After I had commented on some of the Bibles I had used over the years he said:
I am on my 2nd Thompson chain. I stopped carrying them to church when my first one started getting worn. I buy a smaller one to carry and type all of the scriptures I want to preach from in my notes. This make the TC last longer. I have several other Bibles, of course, but the TC is still my favorite to study from. I agree, it is like losing a friend.

[Sam]

I was born into God's family over 50 years ago. I soon bought a Bible. It was a pretty large one with a maroon cover and had an embossment on the cover of Jesus knocking at the door. I think it was called "The Light of the World Edition." I took that to Bible School and pretty soon it had a lot of notes in the margins.

A year later I came to Cincinnati. The pastor here had a Thompson Chain Reference Bible. I don't know how many he had used over the years but his was well used and marked. At one time he had lived in Indianapolis and was a representative for them. He had suggested that they publish an edition with blank side margins and let people put their own notes in there.

I guess it was a couple of years later that I got a Thompson chain Bible. Most of the men in the church had the brown ones but I got a black one. One of the teenage boys in a Sunday School class that I taught asked me if he could have my old Bible. I gave it to him and apologized for the marks, wear, etc. He seemed honored that I had given it to him. I used my Thompson Chain Bible for several years. I even kept it in a case but in time it got pretty unusable.

My next Bible was a Scofield. It was a loose leaf version and I had it for many years. Actually, I still have it but all it is now is a pile of loose pages. Every once in a while I'll get it out and look for some note or something I've marked in it.

About 10 years ago I bought two Bibles. One is the CJB (Complete Jewish Bible). The other is "The Contemporary Parallel New Testament." It has 8 different translations in it. Some times I've carried both of them but usually I've just used the CJB. It has now reached the state where it isn't very usable any more even though I've kept it in a case.

I teach the Wednesday evening Bible class at our church. Some times I use my CJB. I've also used the Contemporary NT but then I don't have an Old Testament with me. A few weeks ago I used a copy of The Living Bible. I've used it before preaching because I just like the way it says some things. Usually the Bible I use in teaching now is a hard back copy of The Spirit Filled Life Bible (SFLB). The last few years I worked at General Electric I kept it there and used it in Bible Study Classes we had during lunch hours. it is NKJV (New King James Version) and is specifically designed for Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians. Jack Hayford is the chief editor. There is a new updated SFLB out now but I haven't bought one.

I'm not sure what to do about getting a new Bible. Right now I'm just using different ones that I have.

[freeatlast]

My first year after coming to Christ I bought a brown Thompsnon Chain Reference. That was 1970, I still have it.

I also have my Grandmothers bible that was given to her by her sunday school class in 1938

It does serve as reminder of the great faith that my dear old Methodist grandmother displayed.

[Sam]

I have a copy of The Living Bible that belonged to my grandmother before she died. It is that dark green hard cover edition from the 1972 printing. She has been dead many years.

My grandfather had an old KJV that he read every night. He has been dead for over 40 years. I don't know whatever happened to that Bible.

[Sam]

I've looked at Thompson Chain Bibles in a Christian book store recently. They don't seem to have the same cover they used to have. Didn't they have a soft leather cover with leather bonded inside the cover making it very flexible? The copies I have seen lately seem to have paper inside the cover and it is not real flexible.

[Shawn]

I read a Thomson Chain Bible. But, I prefer a little bigger text.

I gave my mom a KJ New Testament last year when she was still battling cancer. I bought her one with big text. That's the one I read the most.

[Steve Epley]

What a wonderful story.

[commonsense]

Sam, I too liked the story.

I have two Bibles that had belonged to my dad. One is about 50 years old the other is the Bible he was using at the time he passed away a dozen years ago.

I also have several notebooks with his sermon and bible study notes; one dating to the mid 1930's.

And I have all of my mother's ABI notes from 1943. While the doctrine hasn't changed many other aspects of bible school are from another planet.