The Inspiring Uninspired Parts of My Bible

Heb 13:25 Grace be with you all. Amen. Written to the Hebrews from Italy, by Timothy.

Have you ever thought much about the parts of the Bible which are not God-breathed but are a big help?

1. The headings of the Psalms written as instructions for the mood or background of the Psalm
2. The addendums such as the one above to give historical, biographical or geographical context
3. The italicized words added by the King James translators to add clarity to the thought.
4. Chapter and verse divisions which facilitate the reading and study of the Word. By the way, those of the New Testament were developed by a preacher on horseback as he traveled his circuit. I am glad he didn’t have a cell phone!
5. The Apocryphal books, which, while not the Word of God and not included in most of our Bibles, are of historical value.
6. Concordances and study helps such as word translations, cross references, etc., which greatly aid in our understanding of the Bible.

I could add one more of my favorite parts, not really related or even on par with these. That is the notes we write on the fly-leafs and margins of our Bibles. Personal blessings that we pen or pencil in as God spoke to us through the preaching or our personal study. These are the things that we wanted to preserve, so we reverently penned them into the eternal record.

I have preached from the flyleaf of my Bible a few times and was greatly blessed by doing so. It included quotes, quips and quiet time thoughts from the back of the old black Book that keep on blessing even though they fade and wear gracefully.

Without all of these mentioned above, the Bible would still be complete, but I thank God for them and for the aid they bring us rightly dividing the Word.

And so endeth my blogs from the book of Hebrews. Written to whosoever readeth from a kitchen table, by Gary

Postscript: I didn't even mention the autograph page where signatures of the great pulpiteers are etched for the ages. Nor did I mention the introductory pages where license was given by King James for the translating and publishing of our English Bible.