A Man of the Bible – Liddell’s Legacy: Aug/Sept 24
Imagine what it must feel like to qualify for a place at the Olympics, and then to be considered as one of the favourites in your particular sport to win a gold medal. Imagine what it must then be like to have to pull out of your scheduled race after months and even years of training. It must be gutting. As we’ll see during these Olympic Games, this sometimes happens, and its normally down to an injury. However, imagine choosing to pull out of your scheduled race yourself, not because of an injury, but because of your faith and Biblical beliefs.
One hundred years ago, at the 1924 Olympics in Paris, this happened to a man who became known as “The Flying Scotsman”, otherwise known as Eric Liddell , whose story was made famous in the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire. He understood that God had made him a fast runner, and he wanted to use that ability to its full potential, but he also held a deep conviction that he should not run on a Sunday. Having found out that his 100-metre race was scheduled for a Sunday he chose to pull out, and held true to his Biblically based conviction, standing firm against the immense pressure that came from friends, runners and politicians to reconsider. However, he was given the opportunity to run in the 400-metre race, which had been scheduled for a weekday. Before the race, he was handed a note from another British athlete which said: “Those who honour me I will honour” (1 Sam 2:30). Indeed, God honoured Erics conviction, and not only did he win gold in the 400-metre race, but he smashed the world record at the same time with a time of 47.6 seconds!!
Just a year later (1925), Liddell left Scotland and headed to Tientsin in China as a missionary with the London Missionary Society, where he taught at a Christian College. With the approach of WW2, life in China became increasingly dangerous, and Liddell decided to send his family back home. He continued to teach & preach, holding true to Gods Word, and supporting other missionaries, but in 1943 he was captured by the Japanese and, along with 1800 other prisoners, was interned in a prisoner of war camp. Despite the conditions, and despite his failing health, it is said that Eric spent time in his Bible every day during that time. A few years later, in February 1945, at the age of 43, Eric died of severe influenza and a brain tumour – but even as he lay dying, he reminded those attending him to surrender everything to God.
Running the Race & Passing the ‘Batton’:
Erics life was so much more than winning medals and starters’ orders; his whole life was a race for God, and based very much on the Word of God. He was soaked in the scriptures, and a Bible man through and through, and someone who sought to live out his life according to what the Bible teaches. As we run our individual races of faith, let’s make it our aim to be devoted to Gods Word. And maybe, as we watch those Olympic relay races, with batons being passed on, let’s consider the incredible opportunity we have in being able to pass-on the Bible to those who are desperately reaching out for it in their own language.
Amazingly, as I finish writing this newsletter, guess what theme tune is being played on Classic FM?!
Diary Dates for Aug/Sept (UK Director):
- Sun 4th Aug: Preaching at Oak Hall Church, Caterham, Surrey (am & pm)
- Mon 5th Aug: Meeting with supporters & prospective board member, N Wales
- Sun 11th Aug: Preaching at Corsham Baptist Church, Wiltshire (am)
- 17-27 Aug: TWFTW leadership meetings in Hermanus, South Africa
- Sun 1st Sept: Preaching at Colerne Chapel, Wiltshire (am)
- Fri 6th Sept: TWFTW UK Board meeting, Hartham Park, Wiltshire
- 11-18 Sept: Annual leave
- 22nd Sept: Preaching at Warminster Baptist Church, Wiltshire (am)
Praise & Prayer Points:
- Praise God that 7 more Oral Bible Translation (OBT) projects have officially started in Africa. This brings us to 40 OBT projects in Africa, along with 10 projects in SE Asia.
- Praise God for an exciting breakthrough in AI. We’ve been testing some new technology that produces the first draft of a Bible translation: AiBT – “Artificial Intelligence Immersed Bible Translation”. Initial tests are proving that first-drafts of a translation are produced in a matter of minutes! This reduces, by a third, the amount of time traditionally taken to create a first draft, and will help to speed up the process!
- Please pray that a TWFTW team would be accepted by Chief Ndondo and the Xhosa people in Zimbabwe for a potential new Bible translation in their community.
- Pray for the successful launch of potential projects in Papua New Guinea; for the formation of translation communities and the selection of translators.
- Please pray for me as I travel to South Africa for leadership meetings on 17th August; for safety in travel, and for fruitful meetings with other leaders and partners. Many thanks for your prayers and support.