Years ago an aging Moravian pastor named William Kaltrider gave me a little booklet he had written entitled, “Wonderful Words of Life.” He did not say it, but his obvious pride in the handsome little blue and yellow bound mimeographed work made me think he thought it the crowning achievement of his long life and ministry. In the slim little volume with the purposeful title he had distilled the gospel down to a dozen or so words that were the foundation of our faith in the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. As he handed it to me he said, “If you learn these words, you will add immeasurably to your understanding of the Bible–if you will read it, that is.”

For many long years and decades I kept that little booklet in the center drawer of my desk. I seldom referred to it, or picked it up, but its presence in the drawer was a pleasant reminder of Mr. Kaltrider, friend of my father. And his word studies inspired my own. I took it upon myself to study “the wonderful words of life” I found in the Bible, and these studies did make the Bible much easier to understand. If I was reading a passage in a particular book, and discovered a word that seemed important to the author, then I studied that same word in all of that author’s writings. Then I went on to study it in the other significant authors and divisions of the Bible and related literature, such as the early preachers, and historians of the church. (Click on Page 2 Below).