The Newport, Tennessee, couple had no choice but to abandon everything to save themselves.

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"Pretty much everything that we own is gone," Wagner said to the TV station.

Everything except for the Bible.

A friend who was helping the couple clean up the fire Wednesday found the remains of a Bible in the ashes. He found the book opened to a passage from John 3:16 that said, "For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

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Passengers wait at a Delta check-in counter at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport domestic terminal on Friday, Nov. 7, 2025, the first day of the Federal Aviation Administration cutting flight capacity at airports during the government shutdown. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com