The Baked Bible
Submitted by: Dwayne Savaya

Several hundred years ago the people of Bohemia were forbidden to possess or to read the Bible by the Emperor of Austria, to which country Bohemia then belonged. Nevertheless, many of the people did have Bibles and refused to give them up.

So soldiers were sent out to search the houses and take any Bible which might be found. When the people of any village heard that the soldiers were coming, they made haste to hide their Bibles in some secret place. Consequently, although the soldiers searched the houses thoroughly and roughly, many Bibles were not found.

One day the report came to a house that the soldiers were on their way. There was only a young girl there, and she was kneading dough for bread. On hearing the breathless whisper of the sentinel, the quick-witted girl spread out her dough, placed the Bible in the center and, quickly doubling the dough over it, put it into a big pan and slipped it into the oven.

When the soldiers arrived a few minutes later, she met them at the door, and in answer to their demand for the Bible, calmly told them to search and see if there was one in the house. They looked into every corner of the cottage but found none. When they opened the stove door, they saw only a large loaf of bread baking. Years afterward the grandson of the heroine of this story came to America and settled in northwestern Ohio. He brought with him the Bible which his grandmother had saved from the soldiers. It had been carefully kept as a relic of days which, fortunately, are no more.

The Holy Bible is a perfect Book from our perfect God. It is His love letter to us. Here the Father plans, the Son executes, the Spirit operates. The way of salvation is given; Heaven is revealed; Hell is described. The cross is its center, eternal life its fruition and God's glory its end. By it the soul is cultured, the mind enlightened, the memory enriched and the heart established.

The Bible is the traveler's guide, the pilgrim's staff, the warrior's sword and the fighter's shield. It is the telescope of faith, the microscope of conscience, the mirror of Christ's face and the casket (or jewel box) of God's grace. It is food for the heart-hungry, drink for the soul-thirsty, medicine for the sin-sick and life for the spiritually dead.

Read it to be godly; use it to be fruitful; believe it to be faithful; trust it to have peace. God has magnified His Word above His great name, and has commanded that it be preached and practiced. It is His standard of judgment. By it, all are wooed and waned, saved or doomed. Read it in the company of the Author. Be a Bible-read, Bible-fed Christian. It covers the course of time between two eternities and will live forever.