{"id":85654,"date":"2025-03-15T13:21:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T18:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=85654"},"modified":"2025-03-15T13:21:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T18:21:19","slug":"saying-goodbye-to-a-dear-friend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/saying-goodbye-to-a-dear-friend\/","title":{"rendered":"Saying Goodbye to a Dear Friend"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<p>by Adam Litmer<\/p>\n<p>It won&#8217;t be long now. The binding in my Bible is coming undone, and pages are starting to tear and fall out. Tape and glue are no longer getting the job done. I&#8217;m going to have to purchase a new Bible. Honestly, it nearly brings a tear to my eye.<\/p>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/worn-bible-300x200.avif\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/>I suppose many would find that strange. We love to buy new things. The thought of new computers, phones, jewelry, furniture, clothes, and cars usually brings a smile of anticipation.<br \/>\nBut my Bible is not just some &#8220;thing&#8221; to be replaced by a shiny new model. So much of myself is found in my Bible. I&#8217;ve experienced spiritual breakthroughs in my Bible. I know exactly where everything is on the page because of countless hours spent in my Bible. All the smudges, creases, folds, and tears are like old friends. This is the Bible I preach, teach, study, and read from. Not a day has gone by in all the years that I&#8217;ve had it where we did not spend some time together.\n<p>When I finally purchase a new Bible, it will be identical to my Bible now. Soon, my worn Bible will be retired to my &#8220;Bible Shelf.&#8221; Some notes will be transferred to the new Bible, and others will not. Eventually, the next Bible will become &#8220;my&#8221; Bible. But for now, I feel like I&#8217;m saying goodbye to a very dear friend.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Adam Litmer It won&#8217;t be long now. The binding in my Bible is coming undone, and pages are starting to tear and fall out. Tape and glue are no longer getting the job done. I&#8217;m going to have to purchase a new Bible. Honestly, it nearly brings a tear to my eye. I suppose&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[219,913],"class_list":["post-85654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-bible","tag-bible-study"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":36518,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-new-job-interferes-with-going-to-bible-study-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":85654,"position":0},"title":"My new job interferes with going to Bible study. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 17, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just started a new job at school where I work the second shift Monday through Friday. The local assembly where I worship meets for Bible study on Wednesday evenings. My question is: according to Hebrews 10:25 is it considered forsaking or neglecting if I miss Wednesday Bible study?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":65342,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/grandmothers-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":85654,"position":1},"title":"Grandmother&#8217;s Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by John Shafer One day, a mother told her daughter that she would be spending time at her grandmother's house. The little girl told her mother how excited she was, because of how great grandmother's Bible was. \"Why is it so great?\" her mother asked. The little girl told her\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/worn-bible-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4346,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-there-study-bibles-or-commentaries-written-by-members-of-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":85654,"position":2},"title":"Are there study Bibles or commentaries written by members of the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is there a study Bible whose commentator is a member of the church of Christ? I can't seem to find one. Maybe not a study bible but a commentary (maybe written in a separate book) written by a member of the church of Christ. Just as long as it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53962,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-you-know-of-good-inductive-study-guides\/","url_meta":{"origin":85654,"position":3},"title":"Do you know of good Inductive Study guides?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Does anyone know a good Inductive Study Guide for study on how to learn the Scripture? I know there are items out there, but I was trying to locate one that members of the Church of Christ have reviewed and found to be of sound teaching. So many folks\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Answer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Inductive4-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":59504,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/science-and-the-bible\/","url_meta":{"origin":85654,"position":4},"title":"Science and the Bible","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by R. L. Whiteside from\u00a0Kingdom of Promise and Prophecy The claim that science and the Bible do not agree should disturb no one. What is called \"science\" is not static. Each generation brings new light; most of the old theories have been exploded by scientists themselves. Yet, each generation of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57591,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-study-my-bible-like-i-plow-my-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":85654,"position":5},"title":"I Study My Bible Like I Plow My Field","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Author Unknown A farmer explained: \"I study my Bible like I plow my field. Oftentimes when I'm plowing or breaking new ground, my plow will get hung under a root, and if I'm going at a pretty good clip it will really jar me. But I don't get mad and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Article&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/01\/farmerPlowing-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85654\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}