Courtesy of Israel Gomez: Amy Schultz, now of Tennessee, revels in the revelation she had found her personal Bible more than a month after it went missing at Calvary Baptist Church on Newlin Avenue in Whittier.

By Israel Gomez

Pastor of Students & Families

Calvary Baptist Church

WHITTIER – This is Amy Schultz.  She just graduated Magna Cum Laude from CSU Fullerton with a BS in Child and Adolescent development and a Minor in Natural Science.  The fascinating thing about this young woman is that she graduated with such honor and doesn’t seem to be seeking the most prestigious teaching job to start out.  Most people believe they are more than they are or seek jobs above their abilities.  In an age when recent grads expect large paychecks, more responsibility, or the head job; here, the brightest among them is seeking the job of a servant.  Amy is joining an organization called Teachers For America.  They believe that every student in America should have a chance at an excellent education.  They take recent graduates and put them in lower-income areas. Thus, Amy is joining them in rural Mississippi, where she will dive right into their community because she wants to teach kids who don’t have good access to education.

What gives a sharp woman like Amy the drive to give so much of herself to others when she could most likely land the big job?  She is profoundly gripped by Jesus and His Word.

On Mother’s Day, Amy was here at Calvary visiting her grandparents Ron and Nancy Shultz. When she left, she had forgotten something very precious to her, her Bible.  If you read your Bible it becomes very much a part of you.  It has notes, markings, journal entries, and ideas. In some cases, these may have taken years to complete in one precious Bible.  It is yours, with your thoughts and no one else’s.  You know the pages intimately, and you know what side of the page your favorite verses fall on, whether on the left or the right and that its layout is completely different from other Bibles.  With as profoundly personal an individual’s Bible might be to him or her, above all, it is God’s Word. For these reasons, Amy loves her Bible.

For more than a month she looked everywhere and no one could find it at any part of the facility at Calvary.  On June 30, more than a month from the time she had left it behind, she decided to give one last ditch-effort in locating her lost Bible.  She asked if she could take a look around the church.  I agreed to help look. When I was first greeted at the office door by Amy, I did notice that her eyes were watery, but passed it off as allergies. I had no idea it was because she was saddened with the agonizing notion that her Bible might be lost forever.  After unsuccessfully locating her Bible, I informed her that we would let her know if her Bible turned up. With tears in her eyes, and no perceivable history of allergies, she went on her way.

My wife and I decided to take one more look and found it in an unassuming corner of one of the side offices of the sanctuary. Instantly I called her grandmother and asked her to notify Amy to inform her of the good news and within minutes she drove back and was able to reunite with her Bible.  She was overjoyed.

This little morning episode got me excited about people who love their Bibles because they are excited about what God says.  This leaves me with one question to ponder.  If I lost my Bible today, would I miss it?

One day, St. Francis of Assisi said to several of his followers: “Let us go to the village over the way and preach.”  As they went, they met a man who was greatly burdened in his spirit.  Francis was in no hurry, so he stopped and listened attentively to the man’s tale of woe.

Upon reaching the village, Francis talked with the shop-keepers, spent time with the farmers at their vegetable and fruit stalls, and played with the children in the streets.  On the way back to the monastery, he and his followers were met by a farmer with a load of hay.  Francis stopped to talk with him.  By the time he said good-bye, the morning was gone.

One of the followers seemed disappointed.  He said to Francis, “Brother Francis, you said you were going to preach.  The morning is spent and no sermon has been given.”

The saintly Francis replied, “But we have been preaching all the way.”  Not only do our thoughts give rise to words, but to actions.  As we think, so we speak and do.  As we act, so we are.  Choose, therefore, with great care what you will think.  In your thoughts are the seeds of your reputation.  Be careful of your thoughts:  They may become words at any TIME.

A wise man’s heart guides his mouth.

Proverbs 16:23

The Rev. Thomas M. Boles graduated with honors from Trinity Theological Seminary with his BT, DMin and D.D.degrees, also his MAT Degree from Fuller Theological Seminary and his PhD. in Biblical Studies at Newburgh Theological Seminary.