20 Jan, 2010
Words, Words, Words
As humanitarian agencies ship food, water and medicine to earthquake-ravaged Haiti, one U.S. company is sending aid of another type: solar-powered audio Bibles.
Officials at Faith Comes by Hearing says 600 "Proclaimer" devices have been shipped to Haiti, where they'll be able to broadcast holy scriptures in native Haitian Creole to up to 300 people at a time.
"Peoples' houses are crumbled, their families are shattered and they are living in ruins," spokesman Jon Wilke said in a statement posted on the company's Web site. "Haitians will need that long-term hope and comfort that comes from knowing God has not forgotten them through this tragedy."
Wilke said there is an "immediate need" for an additional 3,000 devices to be used by disaster relief teams, church groups and ministries.
The devices, which can play scriptures in more than 400 languages, can be used in tandem with a printed Bible to assist "illiterate children and villagers," according to the company's Web site.
Story provided by: foxnews.com.
Romans 10:14-17 (The Message)
But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That's why Scripture exclaims,
A sight to take your breath away!
Grand processions of people telling all the good things of God!
But not everybody is ready for this, ready to see and hear and act. Isaiah asked what we all ask at one time or another: "Does anyone care, God? Is anyone listening and believing a word of it?" The point is: Before you trust, you have to listen. But unless Christ's Word is preached, there's nothing to listen to.
What does God's Story scripture teach us about how His story changes lives?
In the New American Standard Bible sitting beside me, this section of scripture is properly titled "The Word of Faith Brings Salvation." It is a theme that runs throughout scripture, that God uses scripture to impact and change lives.
In another letter Paul wrote, he pens: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17 New International Version)." Paul makes it clear in these two places and others that scripture impacts our lives in profound ways.
It seems clear that Paul wants people to get that the things God says in His scriptures are important.
How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?
A pastor friend of mine tells a story of one of his professors ministering to a man. The professor shares how as he spoke with the man, God brought a passage from Ezekiel to his mind that fit perfectly with where the man was. The students - my friend included - celebrated the story, but before they could finish their celebration, the professor turned and asked: " Have you done the work so that God can bring a scripture from Ezekiel to your mind?"
Every time I have heard this story, it has grabbed my heart. Am I able to help make the connections? I know I am probably never going to have the Bible memorized, but am I spending the time to know it at all? Am I constantly getting to know God's Story better? How about you? Are you spending time learning God's story?
How can we connect today's story, God's Story scripture, and our story to others?
Our friends need to hear the word of God, and they need to hear the part that matches their story, but for that to happen two things must be true. We must be listening to our friends, and we must be spending time in the scriptures to know God and His story.
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