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“Reading My Bible in Public”
We know that in all things God works for good with those who love him, those whom he has called according to his purpose.
[Romans 8:28 Good News Translation]
Davis B. writes:
I’m a criminal trial attorney in the inner city courts of Boston. Several months ago a court officer asked me what I was reading, and I showed him my Bible (I can’t remember which translation it was). He nodded and continued on his way. He wanted more information about Christianity, and I gave it to him, but he wanted to argue several points so I referred him to a few sources.
I heard nothing from him for a few months. Then recently in court he saw me reading the Bible again, but this time it was the Good News New Testament, the one with the line drawings and the plain English. He saw a line drawing, and it captured his interest.
He thumbed through it and looked at several more line drawings and said, “May I borrow this? I need some spirituality.”
I told him no, you cannot borrow it, you can HAVE it.
Once he saw that it was in plain everyday English and had the interesting line drawings (which I also find very interesting to look at), he was “captured” and wanted to know more.
Thank you, Lord, for calling this young man to You, and thank you to the folks who published the Good News NT edition.
Please note that the views expressed in this story are not necessarily the views of the American Bible Society. Story posted on January 23rd, 2008 and filed under Praise, Your Stories, Evangelization, Most Popular Stories.
January 23rd, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Dear Davis B.:
The world will be a better place had there been more criminal attorneys who ‘humbly’ read the Bible.
It is obviously difficult for a legal professional such as your good self to balance between justice and compassion, self-righteousness and understanding, to say the least.
Personally, I struggled to choose between the two fields of theology and law to study for my career. I chose the easy way out–theology. Nonetheless, I also completed a Paralegal Certificate. From my humble experiences, there is no doubt that you can help ‘convert’ criminals with your love of God “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehnsion, shall guard your hearts ad your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phillipiand 4.7).
GODSPEED in your good work with more court officers and beyond, and
May GOD ALL MIGHTY Bless you,
Mary Sun.
January 23rd, 2008 at 4:26 pm
Hi Mary: What helps me, also, is my completion of three Bible/theology certificate programs and right now I am on my fourth. If I ever hit the lottery, I would immediately enroll in seminary full-time, probably within an hour of winning any large amount of money…in the meantime, I keep up my theological studies.
January 25th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Bruce,
If you keep reading your Bible and your faith grows (Rom. 10:17) then you won’t need the lottery to take you to seminary. The God who owns everything will provide it for you!!
January 28th, 2008 at 10:47 am
You know, Adam, just after I typed that about the lottery I said to myself, well THAT doesn’t sound too appropriate. Let me disavow any connection between the lottery and seminary :)
February 20th, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Hi Davis, I, too, read my Bible in public. I don’t own a car, so I use bus transportation several time a week. I read my Bible to “keep my mind staid on Him” because buses in any large city are not naturally condusive to “perfect peace”. People notice when they sit next to me and if they say something it’s a good ministry opportunity. If they don’t say anything, it’s still a ministry opportunity. Also, the Bible seems to promote peace in the people sitting around me. God’s Word is a treasure beyond compare. I wouldn’t be without it.
February 21st, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Hi Caroline: That is great. And you are right–whether they are interested at that moment or not, the impression is still there. Some say that a skeptic or unbeliever sometimes needs to make contact with several Christians before it sinks in. I think the main problem is that they just do not think it is real, but more importantly, they don’t think God CAN be real, because of their worldview, which they subscribe to because it is the prevailing view nowadays among non-Christians. To penetrate that wall of not thinking it can be true, i.e. that there really and truly IS a God, that is a tough thing to do, and we do it more by example than by talking to people.