Hearing the Music

Translating the Word

How many Bibles do you have? Many of us have multiple copies of the Bible. We have different translations. We have editions with notes for different phases of life. We have Bible apps on our phones that can send us notifications to help us memorize verses. My wife and I even have a fancy Bible that was a wedding gift and is basically symbolic—I don’t recall ever having read from it! But many around the world are not so privileged—they do not have a Bible because the Word of God has not yet been translated into their heart language.

Just a few verses before our missions theme verse (John 1:4–5), John begins his Gospel by describing Jesus as the incarnate Word of God. Throughout the Old Testament scriptures, the Word of God is shown to be supremely effective. God spoke, and the world was created out of nothing (Genesis 1:3, 9; Psalm 33:6). God’s Word provided healing and deliverance for sinners who cried out to him (Psalm 107:17–22). His Word will not fail to accomplish God’s saving purposes (Isaiah 55:10–11). John’s gospel goes on to describe how the incarnate Word was the prophesied Messiah (John 4:26) whose work accomplishes salvation for whoever believes in him (John 3:16). 

We believe that God continues to work in special and powerful ways through his Word as written in the Old and New Testament scriptures. Jesus himself relied on it when tempted (Luke 4:1–13) and when addressing those who opposed him (Matthew 22:29). It is a light to our paths (Psalm 119:105). When writing to Timothy, Paul extols the multiple profitable uses of scripture for the Christian life (2 Timothy 3:16–17). In Philippians 2:14–16, Paul also connects “holding fast to the word of life” to our calling to “shine as lights to the world,” a calling we’re considering this month.

As part of our missions emphasis month, we are partnering with Seed Company to translate part of God’s Word into the language of a South Asian people group that still doesn't have the whole New Testament in their heart language. A couple of years ago we sponsored the translation of Philippians into this language. Our goal this year is to raise $5k to support this continuing translation effort. This is approximately the amount it would take to translate Romans, a rich book that many of us hold dear and that was just recently preached to us. For many people groups, receiving the Bible in their heart language is a cause for community-wide celebration, as this Seed Company video beautifully shows. What a joy to be able to help give this gift to another people group! 

Will you join us by contributing to this translation? Many of you have already and we've raised more than 20% of our goal in just one week! If you haven’t yet contributed, you can donate securely on our online giving page by selecting “Seed Company Translation fund” or by writing it in the memo line of a check. After giving, fill out this form to indicate a verse in Romans that you're especially excited to see translated. Provide your mailing address and receive a personalized thank-you card from Seed Company.

Thank you for considering giving in support of this effort, and may God bless and encourage you in the remainder of this missions emphasis month!

Photo provided by Seed Company

Light that Cannot Be Overcome

“For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light.” Psalm 36:9

How do you feel about cloudy days? West Michigan is well known for gray winter days framed by banks of low lying stratus clouds. I used to tell my students that the sun was still shining and strong above those clouds; that its light was still filtering through even if we couldn’t see its brilliance from our perspective. I have to admit, though, cloudy days can bring dullness to my spirit.

This past year has certainly produced figurative clouds as a world-wide pandemic gripped us and so much turmoil descended all around. The contrast between this February’s Missions Festival and the last one is striking: Last year we packed our auditorium as we feasted on a banquet featuring food from all over the world; our halls were filled with artwork from the congregation, and our Christ Church kids thrilled us with a living wax museum highlighting missionaries from the past and honoring current missionaries. We sang together. This year we are urged to keep distance from each other and our halls are silent. Yet right now, we celebrate the fact that God’s light shines more brightly than ever. The clouds cannot dim His truth or the hope that we so desperately need. 

Our theme verse this year comes from the book of John, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” John 1:4. Our missionaries have reflected on that verse and have made videos informing us of how they are living that reality in the ministries where God has placed them. In some ways the view is more intimate now, as they speak from their own living rooms and backyards. Each 2-5 minute video is unique and inspiring but has one overriding message: God is with us. His light shines.

We have exciting ways of celebrating God’s light this February. Each week is designated for a particular part of the world and an email will go out with links to missionaries in that part of the world. This past Tuesday's email began with the Americas, and will continue in the following weeks with Europe, then the Middle East and Africa, and finally, the continent of Asia. A new Missions page on our website highlights local ministries and missionaries we support with links to videos. New ones will be made available each week throughout the month. The points of light on the map show you exactly where each of our missionaries are located. As you explore all of the possibilities, you will also find their prayer requests, fascinating facts about their countries, personal challenges and even recipes to try, (if you are feeling adventurous or just want to have some fun!) We have tried to provide material that will draw young and old, families and individuals. In addition, our children's resources page offers a short video for kids along with coloring sheets. Each Sunday we will feature one of the missionary videos in both the on-site and on-line worship service, and the kids’ check-in table will have things for the children to explore. Every aspect of our worship this month shouts out the truth that God’s light shines in the darkness.  

One more exciting aspect is our opportunity to partner with the Seed Company in translating the book of Romans for a people group in south Asia. We are challenging members of our congregation provide the funds that would enable translation of the entire book. It is such a privilege to shine God’s light into hearts that are eagerly waiting! Details about how to do this are presented in our webpage as well as in our first worship service. 

What a joy it is to proclaim that our God is the fountain of light—that His Light shines in the darkness and cannot be overcome! Our prayer is that this overwhelming truth will enlighten your hearts this month and inspire you to pray for and connect with our missionaries and ministries. May you be challenged to share the light within you in new ways. God bless you.

Truth will set you Free!

As we march through these various “I Am” encounters with Jesus in the book of John, we are brought face to face with the character of the One who came to save a desperate people. These passages are of tremendous comfort for God’s people as we are invited to throw ourselves on One who is strong, compassionate, full of life, and good. However, these self revelations are also challenging because they confirm that God is so different than we are. He is the Creator, we are the creature. He is the Source, we are derivative. And what we see in many of these interactions is that human hearts are not easy with the fact that we are not God. The human heart constantly wants to elevate itself to throne status.

In John 8:31-59, our passage for Sunday, Jesus reminds his listeners that “before Abraham was, I am” (vs 58). In saying this Jesus preempts any claims that his listeners have to truth or identity apart from Him. The claim of Jesus to be the source of absolute truth is one that we have seen before and we will certainly see again (John 20:31;14:6). It also happens to be absolutely central to our engagement with the world today. As we will see Sunday, the Jews wanted to redefine their reality in terms they decided, even to the point of absurdly claiming that they had never been enslaved to anyone (John 8:33). (Hint: they were under Roman occupation at that very moment!) Jesus however wasn’t allowing them to choose their own truth. Jesus plainly called them to believe the words that he spoke. It is only in his words that they would find truth, and it is only in finding truth that they would be truly free! (John 8:31,32).

Almost daily our struggle to submit to God’s truth grabs the headlines. From refugees to the unborn, from gender to marriage, to a whole host of other issues, we seek answers to these questions from the perspective of “us". What are my rights? How does this affect our country? How do I feel about my body? Through it all we hear Jesus saying, "Believe me. Abide in my Word. It is only as you abide in my Word that you will know the truth. It is only as you abide in my Word that you will be truly free.” What a comfort these words are as the Source invites us to such intimacy! But let’s be real, this invitation to true life comes with a difficult call to die to self. But our God is patient with us and, as we will see Sunday, never demands of us something that he does not embrace himself.

_{Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash}