On April 9, 1833, the first tax-supported library in America was established in Peterborough, New Hampshire open to all its citizens.  A committee was formed to oversee the library, consisting of one person from each of its school districts, and three directors.  In 1837, a complete catalog was printed, listing all the books in the library, sorted by topic, and then distributed to every family in town.  They were first stored in the general store, then in the post office, and finally in a local pharmacy.  By 1890, the library had over 6,000 books, and space became a major issue.

“Words from Above” in the Bible include the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, the last of whom identified himself as “the disciple whom Jesus loved.”  At the end of his gospel account, John declared that he wrote the gospel account, and testified that the account was true and accurate.  He also added that there were many other things that Jesus did that he did not include in his account, but he said that if he had written everything that Jesus did, he thought that “not even the world itself could contain the books” that could have been written to include all that Jesus did.

In Acts 10:38, the same Luke who wrote a gospel account, said, “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” and that He “went about doing good, and healing all who were oppressed of the devil, for God was with Him.”  John later quoted Jesus in John 12:49, 50 as claiming that everything He said did not come from Himself but from His Father in heaven.  So, everything He did and everything he said was what God wanted Him to do and say, which certainly applies to every believer and follower of God today.  The apostle recommended this in I Corinthians 10:31 when he said, “whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”  Paul likewise said in Colossians 3:23, 24, that ”whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of your inheritance.”

At the end of His life, Jesus offered a prayer to God in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to His arrest and crucifixion.  In that prayer He said that He had glorified God on the earth by finishing the work that God had given Him to do.  He then asked that God would glorify Him by allowing Him to return to heaven to sit once again on His Father’s throne next to Him.   All believers can have that same prayer answered for themselves.

Larry R. Steffee is pastor of the Center Hill Brethren In Christ Church on Miller Road in Smithville.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  For informa-tion, you may email lrsteffeetn@yahoo.com.