Alive & Active Spring 2015
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Transcript of Alive & Active Spring 2015
The magazine of the Scottish Bible Society
ISSUE 72 : SPRING 2015
Life cycle ofthe BiblePart 1: translation, production, distribution
Enabling the front lineFinance and administration
Standing togetherSupporting Christians in Iraq
Land of a thousand hillsA visit to Rwanda
Hope and peaceProject update from Honduras
WORKINGTOGETHER
Ordering for your church?If your church is planning to purchase large quantities of Bibles or Gospel portions to distribute in your community, you can do this with SBS. Discounts are available if you are buying in bulk.
Wild by LukeThe captivating story of Luke’s Gospel in the New Living Translation. Filled with more than 75 eye-catching illustrations in full colour suitable for the 8-13 age group. Just £1.99 when you buy 100 copies or more.
Soisgeul Eòin – Gospel of John in Scottish GaelicThe Gospel of John newly translated into modern Scottish Gaelic using vivid everyday language. Order 10 or more copies to receive an automatic 50% discount on the RRP of this product.
NIV Gospels –Matthew, Mark, Luke, JohnThe story of Jesus told in the New International Version (NIV). Ideal for mission purposes, our pocket-sized NIV Gospels with colour covers are just 40p each when you buy 100 copies or more.
Please note delivery charges apply
SPRING 2015
I sometimes wonder if we take it for
granted that we worship a God who
speaks. We often describe the Bible as
God’s written word and the Lord Jesus
as the Living Word (see Hebrews 1: 1-2).
The concept of God speaking is very
reassuring. Without communication
from the living God, how would we ever
know who he is and what he thinks of
us humans. Left to our own devices we
would dream up all sorts of weird and
wonderful things about God.
So, God has taken the initiative and
revealed himself to us. He has not left
us guessing about his existence or his
character. To be sure he has left many
elements of mystery in this revelation,
but he has given us enough to know
that he is not indifferent to us.
In our role of making the Bible available
and accessible we take courage in
these words from Isaiah. God keeps his
promises and so his Word will bear fruit and be nourishing. In this edition of our magazine you will read stories that illustrate how God is working through his Word in the world today. I hope you are encouraged by what you read. But also inspired – to listen to what God is saying more deliberately and regularly. What a privilege and honour it is to know the God who speaks.
Elaine DuncanChief Executive
Welcome
7 Hampton TerraceEdinburgh EH12 5XU
Tel: 0131 337 9701Fax: 0131 337 0641
www.scottishbiblesociety.org
email: [email protected]
Scottish Charity No: SC010767Published in March and OctoberChief Executive: Elaine M DuncanCirculation: 40,000
The Scottish Bible Society – a company limited by guarantee
registered in Scotland no. 238687 – registered office as above.
(Formerly The National Bible Society of Scotland)Des
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The magazine of the Scottish Bible Society
Contents4 Life cycle of the Bible Part 1: translation, production, distribution
8 the Bible changes lives Impact of the life cycle of the Bible
10 Enabling the front line Finance and administration
11 Standing together Supporting Christians in Iraq
12 Land of a thousand hills A visit to Rwanda
14 Hope and peace Project update from Honduras
Isaiah 55: 10-11 (NLT)
The views expressed in the features and update articles are not necessarily those of the Society. Reprinting in whole or in part is forbidden, except by permission.
‘The rain and snow come down from the
heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth.
They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want
it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
2 : 3
The vision of the Scottish Bible
Society is to see communities
and cultures transformed as
people encounter God in the
Bible. Our mission, under God,
is to put the Bible into people’s
hands and hearts, so that all
people can have a Bible in a
language they can understand,
a form they can access and
at an affordable price, to aid
genuine encounters with God.
To achieve our mission, the
life cycle of the Bible is a
framework that helps us focus
on Bible availability, accessibility
and credibility in Scotland and
around the world. The Scottish
Bible Society is a founding
member of the United Bible
Societies – 146 Bible Societies
at work in over 200 countries
and territories. Together, we are
the biggest translator, publisher
and distributor of the Bible
in the world. Around three-
quarters of the world’s Bibles
have been provided by Bible
Societies.
Translation
There are approximately 7,000 languages in use throughout the world but around 4,500 languages have no Scripture in their language at all. That means hundreds of millions of people still don’t have the Bible in their own language. Imagine the opportunities for mission, teaching and discipleship if the Bible was made available to all those still waiting. Imagine what it must be like to finally be able to see the Word of God in a language you understand, and to be able to share his Word with others.
The Bible translation process starts when a local church community identifies the need. A team of translators and partnering agencies come together to develop a plan. Translation work is always done in teams, with local native speakers, as well as experienced translators who know how to work from the Greek and Hebrew source texts. Community consultation is also very important to Bible translation – discussion with, and feedback from, the various local Christian communities is vital to the development of a successful and culturally contextualised translation.
The life cycle
The life cycle of the Bible is a way to describe the transformative work of the Bible Society. In the first of a two-part series exploring the six different parts of the life cycle, we focus on translation, productionand distribution.
Translation
Publication
Distribution
Literacy
Engagement
Advocacy
SPRING 2015
Translation projects can take years to complete and the length of the project can depend on whether it’s the full Bible or just the New Testament being translated, for example. None of this is possible, of course, without the involvement of a lot of other people as well – fundraisers, supporters and
partners around the world.
In a recent report (about
to be published at time of
writing) on global Scripture
access, the United Bible
Societies reports that 47
Bibles, New Testaments and
portions in new translations
were published by Bible
Societies and their partners
across the world in 2014. The new translations have the potential to reach over 80 million people. The majority of these were full Bibles – including 10 first-time translations, giving millions of people the potential to access Scripture (or more Scripture) in their heart language for the first time.
It is so encouraging to see the great strides being made in translating Scripture into more languages and in making it increasingly accessible. Bible Societies, in partnership with other Bible agencies, are currently working hard to complete over 500 translation projects to give more people the opportunity to encounter the life-changing power of God’s Word. We pray for the hundreds of dedicated translation teams working around the world that God will give them wisdom and strength for their vital work.
of the Bible
Translation project in Scotland Our team of translators is making great progress with the modern Gaelic translation of the New Testament and we are hoping to complete the project by the end of this year. Since the Gospel of John was published in 2010, we have had positive feedback and growing interest in the translation project.
Bibles Testaments Portions
No
Scrip
ture
s
526 1,305 845
4,45
5
Number of languages with Scripture, source: United Bible Societies 2014
Alexander Schweitzer, Head of United Bible Societies Global Bible Translation
4 : 5
The life cycleContinued
Digital Bible Library
The United Bible Societies is one of the world’s leading providers of digital Bibles, making hundreds of Bible translations and versions freely accessible to millions of people around the world. The library, which hosts Bible texts owned by Bible Societies and other Bible agencies, can be accessed on the free YouVersion Bible app on mobile phones and tablet devices. The languages represented are spoken by more than 4 billion people!
Thousands of Gospels
distributed in Scotland
Last year, the Scottish Bible Society was at the forefront
of one of the largest Scripture distribution projects in
Scotland for decades. Over three quarters of a million Penny
Gospels were distributed and an estimated 2,000 copies
of this sports-themed Gospel of Luke were given out each
day in Glasgow during the
Commonwealth Games period.
Production
Once a Bible has been translated, printing physical copies of the Bible or producing Braille, audio and digital formats of the Scriptures takes place. Bibles are printed across the world with South Korea, Brazil and China being the largest providers of Scriptures for Bible Society work.
In South Korea, the Korean Bible Society prints Scriptures for more than 100 countries in 162 languages. Their printing press is located in the city of Paju, Gyeonggi Province. Around 5 million Bibles are printed each year. The largest numbers of Scriptures are printed in Spanish, Swahili and English.
The Bible Society of Brazil
prints Scriptures for more than 100 countries in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe. Their printing press is located in the city of Barueri, São Paulo. Around 8.5 million Bibles are printed each year and around twenty percent of the Bibles are exported to other countries. The languages printed include Spanish, English, French, Arabic and Yoruba.
In China, more than 100 million Bibles have been printed at the Amity Printing Company in Nanjing since 1988. Over 60 million copies have been produced for China alone. The United Bible Societies has enjoyed a long relationship with the Amity Printing Company. In 1985, the China Christian Council approached the leaders of United Bible Societies
SPRING 2015
6 : 76 : 7
In the next edition of
our magazine, we will
focus on the other
three activities of the
life cycle of the Bible:
literacy, engagement
and advocacy.
Buying a Bible in Scotland may
be relatively straightforward,
but getting the Bible into
people’s hands in some
places around the world
can be challenging. Brazil is
famous for its highly populous
cities of Rio de Janeiro and
São Paolo. However, in the
north of the country lies the
Amazon rainforest. It spans
nine countries and three time
zones. It accounts for 40%
of the entire South American
continent and the majority
of the rainforest is contained
in Brazil. For the past 50
years, the Bible Society of
Brazil and its partners have
travelled thousands of miles
in the Society’s ‘Light of the
Amazon’ boats to reach people living in isolated and deprived communities along the Amazon river. As well as distributing Scripture, they bring medical, educational, social and spiritual support to thousands of people each year.
Distribution
Bible Societies work with churches and other agencies to put the Bible into people’s hands. We are committed to making it available and affordable to all people. Each year, millions of Bibles and Scripture portions are distributed around the world in different formats that suit people’s needs.
of the Bible
Global Scripture distribution, source United Bible Societies 2012
and expressed the idea of
working together to build a
Bible printing press in China.
In the same year, a printing
company was established and
Bible Societies shipped 100
MT (metric ton) of Bible paper
to the printing press because
such quality thin paper was
not produced in China in those
days. China now produces the
high quality and light weight
Bible paper and importing Bible
paper at a higher cost from
abroad is no longer necessary.
This helps to control cost and
allows the Bibles to be sold at
an affordable price. Amity prints
Scriptures in more than 90
different languages including
English, German, Spanish,
French and many African
languages.
6 : 7
the BIBLE changes lives
Thanks to the prayers
and generosity of our
supporters, here are
some of the people
whose lives have
been transformed
through translation,
production and
distribution projects
around the world.
UruguayDistribution
The Bible Society of Uruguay supports churches in bringing God’s Word to deprived districts in the capital city, Montevideo, and
to rural communities 400 miles away. For ten years, distribution manager Samuel Duarte
criss-crossed Uruguay in a small van with 250,000 miles on the clock in order to reach
churches, schools and bookshops. The van needed regular expensive repairs and was at
risk of breaking down in a remote area.
You helped support the Bible Society with the purchase of a new vehicle that covers the
whole country reliably and is stocked with Scripture materials able to meet the needs of
Uruguay’s people.
IndiaTranslation
India is an incredibly diverse nation – 13 times larger than the UK and with a population of over 1.2 billion. It is estimated that there are over three thousand languages in use throughout the
country. The Bible Society of India is already providing God’s Word in 135 different languages and you helped support teams of translators who are currently working on translating the Bible into
a further 25 languages.
“I was the first Christian in our family. When I told them that I was going to be baptized, my family disapproved. In addition, I refused to join in with my family’s sacrificial rituals. My parents
told me that I was doing something stupid. But the Bible had touched my heart, so I didn’t give up. Now my husband is helping with a translation into the Apatani language, so very soon we will
have our own Bible – it will help more people to understand the Word of God.” – Tallo, India
EthiopiaDistribution
In Ethiopia, around 70% of the population cannot read. You helped the
Bible Society of Ethiopia to produce audio Bibles, known as ‘Proclaimers’,
that have given thousands of people the opportunity to hear the Gospel.
“For the first time I felt joy and peace in my life. I repented of my sin and
accepted Jesus Christ as my personal saviour … Jesus has set me free and
made me a new creation.” – Bedilu, Ethiopia
SPRING 2015
8 : 9
PapuaNew Guinea
Translation
There are 840 indigenous languages spoken in Papua New Guinea. Local groups have approached the Bible
Society for assistance and guidance to carry out translation work. Often
the groups are in remote areas, working in isolation. With your help, we are funding translation projects
for eight of these languages.
Nelson (right) worked on the translation of the Kirivili Bible, which
was launched in 2012. After a day’s work, he had spent every night for
the past few decades translating the Scriptures by hand under the dim light of a kerosene lamp until the
early hours of the morning. Nelson and his collaborators carried out their rough work on a blackboard and then
handwrote the text, carbon copies of which were eventually sent to
Canberra for inputting to a computer. Like the other local translators,
Nelson made enormous sacrifices to ensure that the Kiriwina people now
have access to God’s Word.
IndiaTranslation
India is an incredibly diverse nation – 13 times larger than the UK and with a population of over 1.2 billion. It is estimated that there are over three thousand languages in use throughout the
country. The Bible Society of India is already providing God’s Word in 135 different languages and you helped support teams of translators who are currently working on translating the Bible into
a further 25 languages.
“I was the first Christian in our family. When I told them that I was going to be baptized, my family disapproved. In addition, I refused to join in with my family’s sacrificial rituals. My parents
told me that I was doing something stupid. But the Bible had touched my heart, so I didn’t give up. Now my husband is helping with a translation into the Apatani language, so very soon we will
have our own Bible – it will help more people to understand the Word of God.” – Tallo, India
ChinaProduction
In five years, the Amity Printing Company in China doubled the number of Bibles printed. You helped millions of people to receive the Bible in China and across the world in different formats.
For example, the first Mandarin Braille Bible published in China after the Cultural Revolution, was produced in 1996 by Amity. Ma Wei, a visually impaired staff worker, was there in 1995
helping to typeset and proof-read the Braille Bible. Through his work, he became a Christian.
“God guided me to the place where Scriptures for the blind are printed so that I could encounter his Word. This has opened my heart to receive Christ Jesus as my Savior and to
become a child of God.”
8 : 9
What is the primary role of your department?In simple terms, the department ensures that our organisation complies with all charity and corporate governance legislation, our staff have a good and healthy environment to work in, and of course that we correctly record and monitor our finances, while utilising our assets to allow us to carry out our mission work. We want to be able to demonstrate our transparency and integrity with our supporters about how, where and when we distribute their financial support.
You work in a team of four
people. How do your roles
differ?
Caroline is our Financial
Controller who is responsible for
maintaining our financial books
and records. Jacqualine is our
Business Administrator who
looks after all legacies, insurance,
contracts and our IT equipment,
and gives me secretarial support.
Keith, the Office Services
Administrator, is primarily
responsible for maintaining our
building. We’re a small team and
as a result there are many strings
to everyone’s bow.
You’ve recently taken up this
post. What attracted you to
working for SBS?
The answer to this comes in two
parts. Previously I worked in the
corporate world of business and
after what can be described as
a successful period, I was left
feeling that I was only making
a positive impact on client’s
pockets and not much of a ‘God
impact’. Climbing the career
ladder was becoming less
fulfilling. Secondly, in the past
few years I’ve become involved
in a small charity project in Haiti,
working with a local church to
build a school. This led me to
seek God’s guidance on whether
or not I should be using my skill
set to work with an organisation
with God at the centre. We are all
God’s workers and ambassadors,
whether we work for a secular or
Christian employer, but I felt the
call to come and work specifically
for a Christian organisation.
What does a typical day for the Director of Finance and Administration consist of?
I’m delighted to say that in my short time here, I’ve not yet experienced a typical day. It can vary from meeting with financial advisors, preparing financial figures or reading reports about the building’s lightening rods! All different but each task focused on making sure we’re serving God and being responsible to our supporters.
front lineEnabling the
In most organisations,
you’ll find a finance and
administration team
to ensure it operates
smoothly. We meet the
newly appointed director,
Ross McFarlane.
Ross took up his role at the end of 2014 when Ian Lawson retired from the post. Ian spent 11 years working for the Scottish Bible Society. We thank Ian for his hard work, commitment to SBS and for his colourful characteristics that made him enjoyable to work with.
SPRING 2015
The Bible Society has been helping the persecuted Christian community in Iraq for a number of years, providing struggling families with aid packages containing food, medicine, hygiene items and Scriptures. The onslaught of Islamic State (IS), which now controls vast areas of Iraq, has created an unprecedented crisis for the already suffering Christian population.
Christians have been expelled from their homes by IS with little more than the clothes on their backs and have been robbed of their possessions. Along with other Iraqi people displaced by IS, thousands are moving to refugee camps like Erbil where the conditions are basic. They desperately need to receive the Bible Society’s aid packages, as well as blankets to keep warm and toys for children to play with.
“So many Christians are arriving
here in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, that the government is saying that it won’t be able to meet all their needs,” says Nabil. “We are trying our best to provide practical aid, including food packages and medicine, as well as Scriptures to give them spiritual support, but there isn’t enough for everyone. There is a huge and urgent need for aid to support these desperate Christian refugees. Their lives depend on it.”
During his visit to Scotland, Nabil travelled the country to bring this news to over six hundred people through church meetings, conferences and a visit to the Scottish Parliament. In addition to asking for prayer and financial support for the refugee camps, he highlighted the trauma that many people have suffered and the need for doctors and trained councillors to help with the psychological as well as physical healing.
During his most recent visit to Scotland, Nabil
from the Bible Society in Iraq shared an eyewitness account of the desperate
situation in Iraq and asked us to stand
together in prayer.
Together
Nabil (centre) in the Garden Lobby of the Scottish Parliament after a meeting with MSPs
Standing
The Scottish Bible Society has committed to supporting our colleagues working in Iraq to provide practical aid, Scriptures and resources to help with trauma healing. Through prayer and generous financial gifts, we ask that God will bring an end to their suffering and heal this nation.
10 : 11
Last year, a team of eight consisting of staff and volunteers visited the Bible Society of Rwanda. Norman Liddle, Community Partnership Manager reports on some of the experiences he and the group encountered.
A landlocked country in
central Africa with mountains
dominating the landscape in
the west, they call Rwanda the
‘land of a thousand hills’. Sadly
however, Rwanda is probably
best known for the terrible
genocide that took place as
recently as twenty years ago.
In 100 days from 6 April to 16
July 1994, an estimated one
million Tutsis and Hutus were
slaughtered. During this period,
more than 6 men, women and
children were murdered every
minute of every hour of every
day. This was one of the darkest
moments of human history.
I was so humbled when I met
Marcellin, a man who suffered
terribly during the genocide. He
was hunted down and his name
was on a death list. His wife and
one of his three children were
killed along with 98 members
of his wider family. Despite this,
Marcellin works tirelessly as
a volunteer promoting peace
and reconciliation. He goes
into prisons visiting men who
are serving time for crimes
committed during the genocide
sharing stories of forgiveness
and hope from the Bible.
The theme of reconciliation
is the focus of one of the
projects we visited. The Bible
Society brings together groups
of widows, drawn from both
sides of the conflict, to study
the Bible. This group work
leads to deeper discussions
as they do practical work
together such as making
baskets or planting vegetables.
Through talking and sharing
with each other the healing
process starts. A community
has now been established that
understands that both sides
have painful memories. The
tears still flow freely but so
does the compassion and care
for each other as the impact
of Bible teaching is seen in the
new lives being lived in these
communities. Now they no
longer call themselves Tutsi or
Hutu, but Rwandan.
As I watched these women
sitting, chatting and laughing
together as they wove baskets,
I wondered to myself if I could
have done the same? Would I
be able to reach this level of
forgiveness and reconciliation?
The emotion I experienced
here was not one of hatred but
of joy. Using Bibles provided
by the Bible Society, a biblical
framework for forgiveness and
reconciliation is being taught.
I could see that the Gospel
message is clearly helping the
women in this difficult and
challenging process. They feel
enabled to move forward.
Our group, consisting of Pete
Chirnside, Moira McCarrell,
Andrew McGurk, Kiki Macrae,
Alex Mitchell, Martin Thomson
and Andy Wallace, was involved
in a variety of tasks during
the visit. We helped local
people with some gardening,
painting buildings and
constructing houses. At the
Remera Presbyterian hospital
in Rukoma, we prepared
food for patients who were
Land of aTHOUSAND HILLS
SPRING 2015
in hospital because of AIDS. Here the volunteers from the Bible Society’s Good Samaritan Project cook food and give Bibles and spiritual support to patients. As I worked alongside some of the volunteers from local churches, they talked about how they were looking beyond the stigma of the disease and taking inspiration from the parable of the Good Samaritan, showing practical love and care in spite of their own poverty.
Poverty is a big challenge for Rwandans. It’s one of the poorest countries in the world. The average income is £2 per week. The major religion in the country is Christianity but with the cost of a Bible at £4, not everyone who wants a Bible can afford one. During our visit, we were able to distribute Bibles through projects like the Good Samaritan. It was such an amazing privilege when I gave someone their first-ever Bible. Just to see the look of joy on their face and watch them immediately start to read it, lost in the Word and oblivious to anyone around them was delightful.
There’s so much more I could share about this visit. It has deeply moved me and will be an experience I will never forget. I know my colleagues from the group feel the same way which is why we would like the opportunity to tell you more
about the transformative work of the Bible Society in Rwanda.
Throughout this year, we are asking our supporters to pray, give generously and hold events to raise the awareness of Bible-based projects in Rwanda. The funds raised can help to buy and distribute Bibles, teach people to read, train people to run Bible Studies and assist people in a variety of different groups such as trauma healing and AIDS support groups.
Land of aTHOUSAND HILLS
To find out more, pray or give to the projects in Rwanda and to request Norman or one of the volunteers from the visit to speak at your church or at a meeting in your community, call us on 0131 347 9812 or email [email protected]
Thank you for supporting Bible Society projects in Honduras – one of the most dangerous countries in the world. Your gifts are giving many people the opportunity to engage with the Bible, helping to bring hope and peace to this country.
According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Honduras has the highest homicide rate in the world. Poverty, gangs and crime are part of daily life, driven by a culture of widespread corruption and violence.
In November 2012 Angel López, the Bible Society’s Project Co-ordinator, was shot and killed on his way to work, shortly after dropping his young daughter off at school. The crime was not punished and was classified as a ‘fluke’. Sadly, attacks such as this are not unusual. In fact all of the Bible Society staff have been personally affected by violent crime in some way.
With the support of the government the Bible Society is taking action, working to bring peace to Honduras by sharing the Gospel with children and young people as an alternative path to becoming a gang member, and also with those involved in bringing criminals to justice, including members of the police force, the military, judges and prosecutors. Over the next three years 35,700 Bibles and New Testaments will be distributed.
At the project launch in October, Minister of Defence Samuel Reyes explained that the government is looking to the Bible as the source of hope for Honduras’ future and is prayerfully trusting God in
their efforts to bring about
change. “On behalf of myself
and President Juan Orlando
Hernández, I thank the Bible
Society for the gift of these
Bibles for our Armed Forces,”
said Mr Reyes, “Honduras is
changing weapons, from guns
and knives to Bibles.”
As well as distributing
Scriptures, the Bible Society is
working alongside churches and
other Christian organisations
to help people to actively
engage with the Word of God.
The Roman Catholic Church
is running a prison ministry in
every jail in the country. At the
national training college for the
Police Force, which is known
to be one of the most corrupt
institutions in the country
and at times responsible
for violence, the National
Evangelical Association has
been given permission to teach
‘Biblical Ethics’, encouraging
police officers to adopt biblical
principles in relation to justice.
HopePeaceand
SPRING 2015
The Bible Society’s project
is still in its early days and it
will take time to bring about
a significant level of change
in the country. However, God
is changing people’s hearts,
and already there has been a
noticeable reduction in violence.
“Juticalpa [in central-eastern
Honduras] has changed
because of God’s Word,” says
Pastor Samuel Cárdenas, “It
was a land of drug trafficking.
Now we are reaching more than
170 police – 30 of them have
accepted Jesus.”
“I was in prison for thirteen
and a half years,” says Pastor
Tercero, “I found Jesus in that
place thanks to reading the
Bible. Now I am free and every
week I go back to prison in San
Pedro Sula [‘The Murder Capital
of the World’], Yoro, Olanchito
and Tela to preach and to reach
prisoners for Jesus.”
Thank you for supporting the
Bible Society’s work and helping
to bring peace to people’s lives.
Please continue to pray for
Honduras that God may quickly
bring about peace and greater
justice.
Please pray:• Thank God for opening the doors to distribute Bibles to so many people; for the support of government
agencies and President Juan Orlando Hernández.
• Pray that God will bring healing to Honduras – that people will be able to live without fear and that violence will cease to be ‘normal’.
• Remember the Bible Society’s work reaching out to young people, and Bible teaching in the National Police School and prison ministries. As people read and explore the Bible may they know God’s love and choose to take on board biblical values in relation to peace and justice.
14 : 15
SPRING 2015
Bible MeditationThe rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
Isaiah 55: 10-11 (NLT)
These questions may help you as you explore the text:
• Verse 10 conjures up an image of abundant
fruitfulness. Why do you think Isaiah chose that
picture to describe God’s Word?
• In what ways is God’s Word nourishing?
• What sort of fruit do you think God’s Word produces?
• Identify the nourishment and fruitfulness of God’s
Word in your life.
• What are the evidences of this fruitfulness in your
church?
Take some time to read and meditate on these verses.
It will be helpful if you also read the whole of Isaiah 55.