I am thankful for the interesting people I meet working the early-morning shift at the front desk of our local YMCA. These interactions are pleasant and encouraging as we all try to wake up and get the day underway.
One of the swimmers, a daily user of the pool, always comes through the front door with a witty comment as he smiles on the day. One morning, Chuck passed by saying: “I talked to a friend last night on the phone. We went to college together. He is the curator for a museum. I asked him, ‘How’s your work going?’ He replied, ‘Oh, you know, same old stuff!’”
This good-humored brother, a member of the local Episcopal church, regularly brings a grin to my face. As he passed me recently, I said, “Have a good swim out there.” He quickly responded, “There’s no other kind.”
His attitude is great, sure enough. He hits the pool every day — “the same old stuff” — and embraces that physical discipline as the day’s blessing — “a daily swim is always a good thing.”
Chuck’s comments put me to thinking about the spiritual dynamic of the “same old stuff” being “always a good thing.”
The discipline of reading the Bible lies at the heart of Christian experience.
The discipline of reading the Bible lies at the heart of Christian experience and at the forefront of our self-descriptions as Baptists:
- Thomas Helwys confession of 1611: “That the Scriptures off the Old and New Testament are written for our instruction & that wee ought to search them for they testifie off CHRIST. And therefor to bee vsed with all reverence, as conteyning the Holie Word off God, which onlie is our direction in all thinges whatsoever.”
- Thomas Lover, late 1640s: “Let the Scripture therefore be the rule of thy faith and practice.”
- Second London Confession of 1677 and 1689: “The Holy Scripture is the only sufficient, certain, and infallible rule received because it is the Word of God.”
- Southern Baptist Convention Baptist Faith and Message of 2000: “ … all Scripture is totally true and trustworthy. It reveals the principles by which God judges us, and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.”
- Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Core Values of 2024: “We believe in the authority of Scripture. We believe the Bible, under the Lordship of Christ, is central to the life of the individual and the church. We affirm the freedom and right of every Christian to interpret and apply Scripture under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.”
Yes, the Bible is at the heart of our Baptist-ness and is our focus in following Jesus’ call to discipleship.
But it is “old,” isn’t it? It is amazing that in 2024 we continue to read the pages of text that have been in existence for who knows how long — at least more than 2424 years, just thinking conservatively if Torah’s canon was complete by 400 B.C. and the Prophets by 200 B.C. and the Writings by the Council of Jamnia in A.D. 90. When it comes to Christians and our quiet times with the Scripture at the center of our reflections and prayers, if someone asked us what we are reading, we, too, could easily say, “same old stuff.”
And yet that is the point of discipline, of discipleship, of following the Master, isn’t it? If Jesus is Lord of our lives, then to return to the Scriptures every day becomes like Chuck entering the swimming pool with his “Good swim? There’s no other kind!” attitude.
For followers of Jesus, opening the Bible is the entrance into a good day, a blessed day, an insightful day, for there’s no other kind when God’s word is a “lamp to our feet and a light to our path.”
Our daily return to the Bible makes God’s difference for the times we live and the ways our days unfold.
Same old stuff? You better believe it! Our daily return to the Bible makes God’s difference for the times we live and the ways our days unfold.
The prophets of old, our Lord Jesus and the early church modeled this for us:
- In Jeremiah, from Chapter 1 to Chapter 49, 14 references state, “The word of the Lord came to me ….” The prophet heard from God through a discipline of listening.
- In Ezekiel, from Chapter 3 to Chapter 38, 49 references state, “The word of the Lord came to me ….” Interacting with the Lord’s word obviously was a “holy habit” for the prophet.
- In the first eight chapters of Zechariah, “The word of the Lord came to me” is written six times. These prophets heard from God as a “usual” practice — an expectation was at work in their lives.
- During the temptation story in Matthew 4, Jesus says, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” To “live on” something requires regular consumption of it.
- Jesus’ parable of the Sower in Luke 8 assumes a long and disciplined process when he says, “But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.” Till, plant, water, weed — hear, retain, persevere — all happens over time.
- Thirteen times in the Book of Acts we read “the word of God” was accepted, preached, received, spoken, spread, proclaimed, taught and heard. The gospel went forth by careful attention to, and execution of, “the word of God.”
Yes, the stories of the faithful across many years gone by tell us they were glad to come regularly to the “same old stuff” to encourage them to become the people God intended them to be as individuals and as leaders and influencers of their day.
Jesus’ word to Mary and Martha always has stood out as definitive. He pointed out there are “few things needed” in life, and Mary had chosen “the good part,” the one thing that is needed above all others — to sit at the feet of the Master.
At his feet, like the two on route to Emmaus in Luke 24, Jesus teaches us, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.” As they thought back through the written testimony, Jesus “opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.”
For all we say about the Bible, then, it remains for us to return to those same old verses that continue to be “alive and active.” In our daily return to those texts, we encounter the Holy Spirit reminding us of the teaching of Jesus and the impact of his teaching upon the way we live, think and make decisions.
So, when the events of our times and the details of our journey cause us to pray for a “good day,” hope for a “good day,” wish someone to have a “good day,” we will know that there is no other kind having chosen “the good part” of all that is needed in this life.
“Same old stuff?” Yes, it is, and we are blessed!
Tony Tench
Tony Tench works with the Lakelands Region YMCA of South Carolina and is former pastor of First Baptist Church of Shelby, N.C., and interim pastor of Poplar Springs Baptist Church in Shelby. He and his wife, Janet, enjoy living near their daughter’s family and serving with them at NewSpring Church in Greenwood, S.C.
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How to pick a Bible that’s right for you
Read the Bible critically before you read it spiritually