The Tribune

By DR J EMMETTE

A WEIR

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”

– (Psalm 119:105 AV)

HAVE you ever heard of Sister Annie? Perhaps you have or you have not.

Whether your answer to this question is affirmative or negative, it is useful and refreshing to reflect on her ministry as we begin this new year. So let me tell you about her.

Sister Annie Thompson, or simply “Sister Annie” as she as affectionately known, is a youthful and enthusiastic Bahamian lady who has served for many years as a nun of the Catholic Archdiocese of the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands.

Coming from a Christian family background, she has always been a faithful, dynamic servant of Christ.

Blessed with a magnetic personality, she has made major contributions in the fields of education, pastoral care and as the trusted confidant of people from all walks of life.

Now Sister Annie is well known for her wise sayings, one of which is “The word for today is the word for today!”

What does Sister Annie mean by this? What can we glean from it to help us in our own spiritual journey of faith?

Well, there can be no doubt that here this devout Christian lady is speaking about the Bible. This is precisely because the Bible is recognised by all Christians as the Word of God.

Here it is relevant to bear in mind that there are many approaches to the reading of the Bible. There are those, for instance, who try to read through the Bible in a year or even less. Then there are many resources to assist us in understanding the Bible and how to apply its teachings to our lives. Among these are resources such as “The Upper Room”, “Christ in Our Home”, the many publications of the International Bible Reading Association, including one based on our reading this morning, “Light For Our Path”, “Morning Watch”, “Unity” and many others.

No one can possibly read all these. Nor it is necessary to even to try to read many of them. Rather, all that is necessary is that we should read one of them, daily!

You see, the guidance of God to us through the Bible comes as we read of a portion of it day by day and seek to apply its meaning to our life. This means simply that whatever devotional resources you are using at the present is the Word of God for you today!

Bear in mind that when the Israelites were in the wilderness they were fed daily by manna or bread from heaven. Every morning there was a fresh supply, except on Fridays when there were supplies for two days so that they needed not to work by gathering manna on the Sabbath.

When they tried to store up manna for several days it became stale and could not be used for nourishment. The same is true of the Word of God. The Word we read today is the Word of God for us today. You cannot develop spiritually depending upon the Word for yesterday or anticipating that for tomorrow. Rather, we must live day by day by the Word given us. All this is beautifully summed up in the book of Lamentation:

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,

His mercies never come to an end.

They are new every morning.

Great is Thy faithfulness.”

It is essential that we bear this in mind as we embark upon the challenges of this new year. We do not know what will happen during it.

We can, however, be sure that if we read the Word of God day by day, we shall receive guidance which will enable us to meet the challenges of each new day. So read your Bible daily using whatever resources are available to you and you will discover that which the saints have testified to ever since the time of Christ – the guidance of God does come to us as we read and reflect on the Word of God day by day.

Yes, Sister Anne is right, the word for today is the word for today.