Making Sense of The Sign!
I recently had the privilege of doing some Bible teaching on an Oak Hall trip to one of the most unreached countries in the world, Japan! We spent time in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, and the Mount Fuji area. It was fascinating to visit a new culture, and very different to sub-Saharan Africa where Christianity is widely accepted. Sadly, in Japan there are few believers. Japan’s indigenous religion is Shintoism, although the vast majority of the population takes part in both Shinto and Buddhist activities. Whilst there is a full Japanese Bible, only 0.5% of the population is considered to be evangelical Christians. Out of a population of 122.5 million, that’s only 612,500 people!! Imagine my surprise then when I stopped to chat to an elderly Japanese man whilst on a forest walk – only to be told by him that he was a believer! I had given him a Japanese Bible tract, and as I shared a bit about my faith, he nervously whispered to me that he was in fact a Christian! He might not have needed the tract, but I hope it puts him in contact with some of the other 612,499 Japanese Christians in the country!
On an early morning walk to view Mount Fuji, I came across a large signpost. Whilst I knew it was giving useful directions and pointers, it meant absolutely nothing to me, because I couldn’t read Japanese! If I had actually needed direction, and only had that sign in front of me, I would not have known which way to turn. It got me thinking….and of course, you know where this is going! We believe that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, and that these “holy Scriptures are able to make a person wise for salvation through faith in Christ.” It is therefore the most important book in the world! It gives us direction and guidance, it is useful for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training,” it tells us where we need to go to in order be saved – the foot of the cross.
But what if you are unable to read those directions? What if you’re desperate to learn about “The Way” but you can’t make sense of the directions because they’re not written in your heart language? That, my friends, is the situation for over 1.5 billion people in the world today. Over 2500 languages still don’t have one word of the Bible written down – and so those people are not in a position to make sense of the signpost that is able to point them towards Christ. That’s what TWFTW is all about. We’re seeking to help make The Signpost readable in all languages. We’re certainly making great strides, and we give thanks to God for that – but we still need your help, and we certainly need your prayers as we seek to point people in the right direction.
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Hymn Singing: Great for Bible Translation! As we head into the Christmas season, we’ll no doubt be hearing and singing some popular carols. However, one of the most popular hymns that we sing throughout the year now has a connection with TWFTW! You’ll immediately recognise it with the mention of a few phrases: forest glades, sweetly singing birds, and a grand lofty mountain! ‘How Great Thou Art’ is one of the most famous hymns in the world, written by an English missionary to Ukraine called Stuart Hine (1899-1989). He had come across a poem by a Swedish man called Carl Boberg and, having translated it into English, he then rewrote it with his own additions. In fact the fourth verse was added later by Stuart after WW2 in response to seeing grieving refugees pouring into London from Eastern Europe. He wanted to emphasise the hope of our true and future home in Christ.
The hymn became extremely popular here in the UK, and indeed elsewhere around the world; even Elvis recorded a version of it! And so the royalties began to pour in. Stuart, however, was a humble missionary who didn’t feel comfortable receiving money for the hymn, and so this eventually led to a trust being set up in which all the royalties were placed. To date ‘The Stuart Hine Trust’ has distributed over £6 million for gospel work! His daughter Sonia, who died last year aged 95, was a Bible translator and trainer, and that is partly why Bible translation is high on the agenda when guiding the trustees as they allocate funds. Both Stuart and Sonia believed, as TWFTW believes, that people need the Bible in their heart language, and that God speaks through His Word today.
What’s all this got to do with TWFTW, I hear you ask?! Well, during the past year, we have applied to over 80 Trusts/Foundations for funding for our projects, with a positive response rate of…….. 10%! That might sound quite low, but one of those responses certainly brought a smile to my face! The Stuart Hine Trust not only sent us some funding, but decided to double what we had requested! This was then sent on to the Lughuru Bible translation project in Tanzania, and answered their prayers for the shortfall in their budget! So, next time you sing about lofty mountains, rolling thunder, and bowing in humble adoration – not only will you be able to sing of God “How great thou art”, but you’ll also be reminded that your singing could well be contributing to the work of Bible translation around the world!
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The Ultimate Sign; God with us! Whilst we’re celebrating a good year for TWFTW, and giving thanks for all our donors and supporters, there is something even more stunning that we need to give thanks for – one of the most momentous moments in history! The story of God breaking into the world in human form is a remarkable event, and one that is hard for us to fully grasp – but I hope that, amidst the busyness and distractions we may face this Christmas, we’ll ponder in wonderment at what it meant for the 2nd person of the Trinity “to leave the parapet of heaven and dive into the swirling mass of humanity here on earth. Was there any moment of farewell as you stepped, in a millisecond of time, from being the richest to becoming the poorest? Can we tiptoe for a moment onto that holy ground, and consider the magnificent Christ becoming a tiny, embryonic speck?” (Jeff Lucas; Lucas on Life).
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” (John 1:14). PTL indeed! Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas.
Out & About Diary Dates for UK Director Dec/Jan:
- 4-10 Dec: Ex-Co leadership meetings in Hermanus, South Africa
- 6th Dec: Leading devotional at start of our Ex-Co meetings (am)
- 15th Dec: Preaching at Corsham Baptist, Wiltshire (am)
- 22nd Dec: Preaching at Corsham Baptist, Wiltshire (am)
- 24 Dec-6th Jan: UK office closed
- 9th Jan 2025: UK Board meeting in Clapham, Bedford
- 26th Jan: Preaching at Hebron Church, Long Ashton, Bristol (am)
Facebook & Instagram: We’re now posting regular updates from the UK office and the wider world of TWFTW on our Facebook & Instagram pages. We’d love you to follow us! Here are the links you need:
https://www.facebook.com/share/8jPffM6fwHnz4zKo/
https://www.instagram.com/thewordfortheworlduk/
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Praise & Prayer Points:
- As a result of the ongoing civil war in Sudan, there is a need for a safe place to set up a new office (the old office was ransacked by soldiers). Please pray for this process and for the safety of our team members there.
- Praise God we were enabled to reach into 3 new language groups in Papua New Guinea: A trial translation of the 1st chapter of Mark’s Gospel will start this month.
- Pray for Barry Funnell (Director of Consulting Services & UK Trustee) as he oversees the training of our 89 “Translation Consultants” who are currently in the training programme, to help ensure good quality translations are produced.
- Please pray for the UK Director who travels to South Africa on 4th Dec for management meetings; that God would provide wisdom and discernment beyond what he naturally has!