Seth Udinski, FISM News
In an amazing story of God’s sovereignty and saving love, a pastor’s lost Bible helped lead the man who found it to salvation in Jesus Christ.
Fifteen years ago, Pastor Paul Daugherty of Victory Church in Oklahoma reportedly lost his Bible and assumed he would never find it again. To his shock and delight, recently he met a man named Clayton who told him he had found his lost Bible. He presented the Bible to Pastor Daugherty, and sure enough, the pastor recognized his title of “P. Daugherty” on the cover. He also recognized his handwriting in the margins.
The delight of discovering a beloved lost treasure, however, could not compare with Clayton’s testimony of discovering the Bible. Pastor Daugherty learned that Clayton had recently trusted in Christ for salvation after using Pastor Daugherty’s Bible to discover the truths of the gospel.
The pastor shared the amazing story on social media last week with a picture of himself with Clayton and the rediscovered Bible. He said,
Meet Clayton – he found this old Bible at a shelter 10 years ago and started reading it, and saw the name P. DAUGHERTY on the front cover not knowing who that was but seeing all kind of little journal notes, and underlines and scribble thoughts next to Scripture verses from the Old Testament to the New Testament. He surrendered his life to Christ recently and broke free of a lot of stuff. He came to church tonight and showed me the Bible and asked if I knew who’s it was!!? It was my old Bible from middle & high school that I lost and hadn’t seen in 15 years!!! God used my old messy scribbled in Bible to save this guy’s life who now is saved, set free, and brought his whole family with kids to church tonight!!!! The WORD IS ALIVE AND POWERFUL!!!
This incredible story of salvation should be an encouragement to believers, reminding of the trustworthiness of God’s perfect Word, as proclaimed in Isaiah 55:11:
So shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.