In 1962, two young women left their homes in America to answer God’s call to translate His Word into the language of the Balangao people in the Philippines. Joanne Shetler shares her story of this experience in her book, And the Word Came with Power. This is one of my favorite stories about God’s Word, the Bible, being taken to the farthest corners of the world so that others, and the whole world, can know the love and saving work of Jesus, to be reconciled to the Father and adopted as a child of God. This is the message the world needs to hear. Jesus is the Word made flesh and He comes with power to save.
This is why we need to be dwelling richly in God’s Word, and also why we need to continue to support the work of Bible translation until all hear this good news in their heart languages.
You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:10-17 ESV
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:16 ESV
Do you know the power of the Word of God in your life? You won’t know it unless you actually spend time in it. When you purpose to daily let your life be formed by the Word of God, you are letting the Architect frame the rooms of your soul, training your will to submit to God’s set apart ways, His goodness and truth. This brings fruit in your life, others’ lives, and ultimately blesses the world.
One practical way you can know God more is by following a Bible reading plan. For years, I longed to have a morning routine that included consistent and structured Bible reading and meditation. But it wasn’t until 6 years ago, that I found a reading guide that worked for me. It just clicked. The Bible reading plan that has worked for me these past 6 years is called Seeing Jesus Together (formerly called Community Bible Reading). It takes the reader through the entire Bible: every year you read through the entire New Testament; the Old Testament is read through in a cycle of 3 years. I have been using this method for 6 years now and have read through the New Testament 6 times and the Old Testament twice in those past 6 years. The structure is simple:
Monday-Friday: read 1 OT chapter and 1 NT chapter
Saturday: reading 1 Psalm
Sunday: no reading because we are at church and enjoy the many Scripture readings included in our liturgy and the preaching of God’s Word (sermons are preached book by book through the entirety of the Bible).
I want to write more about this but for right now, I want to send you over to the Seeing Jesus Together site so you can get started on reading the Bible. More on this soon!
May the Word of God come with power in your life this year and always.