By Erlene Smith

The grass  withereth, the flower fadeth” but the word of our God shall stand forever. Isaiah 40:8. (KJV)

When I was studying literature in college, we always started out in a book  titled Anthology of World Masterpieces. The most ancient literature was books  from the Holy Bible: Job was the most ancient dating back to 1485-1445 B.C.

Other books from the Bible that we studied  were Genesis (The Creation and The Fall), several Psalms, and two books in Isaiah. All these books were originally written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

The next literature that we studied was Homer’s two poems The Iliad and The Odyssey. The Odyssey is a poem of 12,110 lines of dactylic hexameter.

It was written 800 B.C. When I taught English 1113 at PRCC, students had to study the book of Ruth in the Bible. It was an example of a perfect short story with all elements in the right place.

The Bible is an amazing book on many subjects. It can help us with our finances, and teach us how to deal with money. Forty-one different animals are named in the Bible, thirty-one different kinds of birds, and thirty-seven types of trees and shrubs. The Bible is the living Word of God. He speaks to us through His Spirit when we read the Bible. It has power to change lives, direct our paths in life; and it can help us live peaceful, happy lives.

When I was five years old, I learned a song at Salem Baptist Church, Collins,MS where my family attended: “Read your Bible every day, praying while you read it. It will guide you all the way if you will  only heed it. In my soul, in my soul, send a great revival. Teach me how to watch and pray and to read my Bible.”

Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for giving us Your Holy Bible. Help us to read it every day and feel Your presence in our hearts.