As I was recently going through some old family documents, I came across a United States Postal Service first class stamp with the denomination of six cents. “Wow!” I thought. “When I sent a Christmas card this year, the cost was ten times as much-sixty cents.” The stamp had never been used to send a piece of mail, but nonetheless was rather yellowed with age. What year was it printed?

Its image and inscription give clues. It is the photo of the earth as it rises above the lunar horizon photographed by William A. Anders. He was aboard NASA’s Apollo 8, along with his two crewmates, James A. Lovell Jr., and Frank F. Borman. Apollo 8 orbited the moon without landing in December 1968. And Anders’ photo was chosen to be printed soon thereafter in 1969 on a U.S.A. postage stamp with the inscription, “In the beginning God…”

Tap on image to enlarge

On Christmas Eve 1968 Anders, Lovell, and commander Borman took turns reading the first ten verses of Genesis from the first book of the Holy Bible which is revered by many religions all over the world. The audio and video were broadcast live on television world-wide in grainy black and white from the astronauts’ command module. They closed by saying, “And God bless all of you, all of you on the good earth.”

Here are the opening words of The Holy Bible as translated below into English, French, Spanish, and German. May they speak to your heart.

English: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Genesis 1:1 KJV (The Holy Bible King James Version)

Français: Au commencement, Dieu créa les cieux et la terre. Genèse 1.1 LSG (La Sainte Bible par Louis Segond)

Español: En el principio creó Dios los cielos y la tierra. Génesis 1.1 RRV60 (La Santa Biblia Revisión de Reina Valera 1960)

Deutsch: Am Aufang schuf Gott Himmel und Erde. 1.Mose 1,1 DELUT (Lutherbibel 1912)

If you would like to see and hear the first ten verses of the Holy Bible in your heart language, click on the following link: https://youversion.com/thebible-app/

Encouragement and Instruction from God’s Word
Connie Carlisle Polley, 2021-2022
ConnieCarlislePolley.com
NonnyDay.com

---