Scriptures: "...as gentle and powerful as a little girl's kiss on the cheek."

by Stephen Melton | October 20, 2009

In Yann Martel’s book, The Life of Pi, a young boy is adrift at sea for months. Besides starving for food and thirsting for water, he writes, "My greatest wish - other than salvation was to have just a book of scripture." He writes that after being saved, the first time he came upon a Bible in a bedside table at a hotel room in Canada, he burst into tears. He said he sent a contribution to the Gideons the very next day. There is no better way to spread the faith, he writes; we don’t need thundering from pulpits, condemnation and peer pressure, what we need, he writes, is, "...just a book of scripture quietly waiting to say hello, as gentle and powerful as a little girl’s kiss on your cheek." (279)

Scriptures give us life. Over the years I have kept a journal of passages of the Bible that have helped keep me afloat when I needed to be kept afloat.

Psalm 119:92 says, "If your word had not been my delight, I would surely perished." Most of can think of times when we were pressed down by life and we turned to the Bible to give us hope.

For "Tuesday Mornings" in October, I will be sharing some of those gentle and powerful Scriptures that blessed me like a little girl’s kiss on my cheek.

I encourage you to start your own journal with passages of life that may keep you afloat during stormy times.

Psalms 55:22

Cast your burden on the LORD,

and he will sustain you;

he will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

By day the LORD commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

Jer 17:14

Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed;

save me, and I shall be saved;

for you are my praise.

Lam 3:21-24

But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases,

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,

"therefore I will hope in him."

Lam 3:25-28

The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul that seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.

It is good for one to bear

the yoke in youth,

to sit alone in silence

when the Lord has imposed it...

Together in Christ,

Stephen