Monday, February 19, 2018

The Tool Box

       How does you tool box look?  Everyone seems to have tools of one sort or another.  Men have tool boxes that are filled with a large variety of tools.  Women have their tools, not in a box, but perhaps in a drawer.  I do a lot of cooking and have a large variety of spoons both wooden and metal, spatulas, knives and so on.  The question is, however, how do they look.  When my Father passed away, I became the recipient of a large tool box that was filled with all kinds of wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers, files and things I don't know what they are or what they are used for.  My fathers tools had scratches, grease and all sorts of grime on them because they were used.  There was not one completely shiny tool in the whole box.  He used them all.  A tool is not of much use if it is never used.  On the spiritual side, we have tools also.  Colossians 4:16 says, " And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea." 
     The word "read" is used some 70 times in the Bible and many of those times refers to the reading of the Scriptures, the Word of God, The Bible.  Our "tool box" is a library of 66 books that all have a purpose in our lives.  We need to use all of them.  I have to admit that I have a lot of books on my shelves that look almost new as they have not been used that much.  My library is a reference library and can be used to research almost every book of the Bible.  My personal tool box has also been enhanced by the number of electronic books that are on my various devices.  One such tool has over 250 books in it.  While we can accumulate a large number of physical books and electronic books in this age, they are of no value if they are not used.  There is also one tool that you cannot be without and that is the Bible.  Perhaps you have a favorite Bible that is marked with pens and colored pencils and notes on the edges of the pages as you use this tool in your life and begin to apply the truths to what is going on in your life today.    So, how does your tool box look?  It shouldn't be dusty due to neglect or hidden under a pile of magazines or have pages stuck together because they were never read.  I know of one man, a pastor, that when he was saved many years ago, he began to read his Bible and discovered that almost 75 pages were missing.  Do you know if every page is in your Bible?  Well, use your Bible today and every day and praise God that He has given us the Best Tool of all, His Holy Word.

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