During the summer of 2004, our youth group sponsored a church-wide trek to the Pecos River wilderness in search of Pecos diamonds. Many of you might be wondering what Pecos diamonds are or what they look like. Pecos diamonds are double-ended quartz crystals known for their varied size (often large) and their wide variety of colors (e.g., white, pink, rose, coral, red, deep purple, and variegated). They can be found in abundance along the Pecos River Valley in southeastern New Mexico. Anyone who is a true “Rock Hound” might be interested to know that they are rated as a #7 on the gems and minerals hardness scale.
Pecos diamonds are crystalline structures formed from the inside outward. In other words, it might actually look like an ordinary rock until it shatters revealing the beautiful quartz-like structures on the inside. It is said the best place to look is a sandy, desert-like place that looks like several dishes or pieces of glass have been broken. There in the shiny fragments, one can find Pecos diamonds in abundance. Of course, there are other “diamonds” in abundance, too. The diamond-back rattlesnake is popular in these areas as well…but we won’t discuss that right now.
Perhaps the most outstanding feature of the Pecos diamond is in its hidden beauty. It must be broken open to be revealed. How ironic are the similarities between the Bible and Pecos diamonds! Until the Bible is opened, and read with frequency, we are unable to discover the wonderful truths it reveals to us.
Here is a list of only just a few precious promises given to us in the Bible, taken from the New International Version (NIV).
The promise of a guide for everyday life:
Psalm 119:11 I have hidden you word in my heart that I might no sin against you.
The promise of a comfort by night and a guide for the day:
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.
The promise that He will be with us always:
Matthew 28:20 And surely I will be with you always, to the very end of the age.
The promise that we shall be with Him forever:
John 14:2-3 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
And perhaps the greatest promise of all… that God loves us!
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Wow! These are amazing promises. We say that it is “hard to put a good book down.” We also agree that the Bible is the best book of them all. So why is it then that we tend to disregard the Bible as “the daily bread of life” and treat it more like cake “for special occasions?” Because he died when I was only 12, I have only a few memories of my father, George Raymond. But one of the best memories is that Dad made sure a Bible was in our hand when going to church; but it was also a part of our daily lives as well. My grandmother, Helen Wrigley, spent many winter months each year in our home and I have many more memories of her. One of the most special memories will always be her dedication to daily reading of the scriptures. Additionally, I have heard it said many times, “The Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t.”
I truly believe that we are being called as a Christian people to once again renew our dedication to daily reading the written Word of God. It is our guide book for daily living. It is also an invaluable source of comfort and hope for whatever our current circumstances may be. I am confident we would all agree that the promises contained in the Bible are worth far more than Pecos diamonds! They are worth far more than silver, or even gold! One of our older hymns reminds us of just how precious the Bible’s promises are:
Far More Precious than Gold (Franklin D, Barnes, 1905)
The Bible our guide, far more precious than gold, the half of its glories have never been told; Its wonderful words for the old and the young, the grandest e’er spoken by poor mortal tongue.
The Bible our counsel, reveals precious truth, support for the aged, the guide of our youth; A comfort by night and a guide for the day, and glorious things at the end of the way.
Exceeding great promises here do we see, and they are most precious to you and to me; the promise that He will be with us always, then we shall be with Him forever to stay.
The wonderful things in the Bible contained, most heart-stirring tidings man ever proclaimed; The wonderful things of the Bible are true, and this is the dearest, that Jesus loves you!
Far more precious than gold, far more precious than gold, The wonderful things revealed to us are far more precious than gold.
Gracious Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the precious gift of your Holy Word. May we never take for granted the privilege we have in owning and reading our own Bible. May we humbly seek your Word for daily guidance, comfort, and hope in the coming days.
In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, Amen.
The devotional Pecos Diamonds appeared first for a televised devotional series,
written by Dotty Willmon, October 2004 and read by Marian Wrigley on closed-circuit
ACV TV-2, Advent Christian Village, Dowling Park, FL;
updated and posted September 2024 on Write From My Heart at
https://writefrommyheartblog.blogspot.com
email: Dotty Willmon, writefrommyheartblog@gmail.com
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