Occasionally, someone comes into your life who has a profound impact on your life. Keith Kiser was one of the men God used in my life. He was a professor at Crown College of the Bible in Powell, TN from its inception until God took him home in April, 2002. I learned much from him in Bible Doctrines, Homiletics, and many other courses. But the greatest thing I learned from Bro. Kiser was his love for God’s Word.
Bro. Kiser loved the Thompson Chain Reference Bible 4th edition. The 5th edition just didn’t do it for him because he had used the 4th for so long that he was very accustomed to it. He knew where everything was on the page; his Bible was all marked up on every single page; he loved that book! (Before you accuse him of being a bibliolater; I don’t believe that was the case at all. He just loved his Lord, that love spilled over into the Word, and so his copy of the Word was very precious to him.)
Unfortunately, as with all well-used Bibles, his was falling apart. He mentioned several times in class that he wasn’t sure what he was going to do about it. It just so happened that in my dad’s church was a man who rebound Bibles. As a ministry, he would rebind Bibles for those in the ministry for no charge; the only catch was that it would not be highest priority, so it would take a while. We approached Bro. Kiser with the possibility, and he thought on it long and hard. Finally, he surrendered his Bible to us to have it rebound. As I recall, it took about 6 months.
I will never forget the day we brought him his newly rebound Bible. We were standing on the east side of the new auditorium (near the deaf section). We handed him the Bible, and he gingerly reached out for it, and took it in his hands. Tears began to well up in his eyes, as he thumbed through the book that had served him so well for so many years. He could barely speak as he whispered, “Thank you, thank you!” He talked about it for days after that. He was so thrilled to have it back! I walked by his casket, and there he was, according to his request, laying with his Bible open on his chest, his hand resting on a well-marked page, finger pointing to II Kings 22:8: I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD.
He found the book! May God give me the same desire to know God and His Word that He gave to Keith Kiser. Thank God for men like this who have a profound impact on the lives of young men and ladies desiring to serve Him.
Enjoy this brief clip from Bro. Kiser.
