What Did He Say?

Posted byLuther DavisPosted inUncategorized

The movie theater was cool and dark, freshly popped popcorn filled the theater. As a Star Trek fan I eagerly awaited the release of Star Trek 2 and now was my opportunity to experience the movie for myself. As the projector cast it’s beam of light across the screen my heart thumped with excitement. Then the bombshell exploded, the movie was dubbed in Japanese.

I sat through the movie hoping beyond hope that at some point I would recognize some inkling of the plot as the movie continued. There was all the long familiar characters and sets, yet I was at a lost as to what was going on. It was years later when I saw the movie in English did I understand the movie and could enjoy it.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

Matthew 24:14

And the gospel must first be published among all nations.

Mark 13:10

According to https://www.wycliffe.net/ there are 7.9 billion people alive on the earth with 7378 languages spoken across the globe.

Across this world there are millions of people living that nightmare as they long to read the Words of the Living God in their own language. For them the nightmare continues.

Of those languages only 3495 have some portions of scripture available in their own languages. Only 717 languages have the complete Bible. 1582 languages have the complete New Testament. Another 1196 languages have some translated Bible portions available.

Those languages having no scriptures available only 828 of them are in the process of being translated. 1892 languages need to begin. 1119 languages have a population so small that no translations are needed. 44 of these communities are served by Scripture in another language.

As of right now there are 2217 languages in 147 countries where translations of the Bible has begun. This still leaves millions who have never had the Bible in their native language. Currently there is no completion date has been set for this monumental task. About a year ago there was a drive to collect monies to complete the task by 2025.

The reason these translations have taken so long is simple, it’s a long tedious process. It takes about 10 years of study to become proficient in the language, another 10 years of translating the text add to that approximately 5 years to publish and distribute then 5-10 years for churches and pastors to be trained.

As late as the 1980s the goal was around 2150 for this task to be accomplished. But with the advances in technology what took decades to complete now takes a couple years. Seeing as Christ says that when the gospel is published among all nations the end will come it would seem we would pay closer attention to this task.

This week ask the Lord how you can help fulfill His mission for the Gospel to published to all nations. It could be by making a financial contribution(s) to the cause or volunteering as a translator either way we need to pray that His Word can reach the lost and dying world.

Father,

Most days I lose sight that there is literally a world of people who have never heard the Good News of the Gospel, some have never heard the name Jesus spoken to them. As I set in church listening to a sermon or spend my daily meditation on your Word, lay on my heart these lost and dying souls. Use me to help sow the seed that may germinate into another soul entering Your kingdom.

Amen

Published by Luther Davis

I'm a 50+ year old country boy raised in southeast Georgia. My dad said "rich people go to school, poor people go to work," I became an electrician in the U.S. Navy. After retiring, I spent 16 years as a construction electrician in North Carolina and Virginia. Across the many sites I worked I had the privilege of defending God and His Word from the mainstream to the exotic, the uneducated to the scholar and back again. With no formal education but a love of God's Word, I self educated myself with each new concept I encountered. As a seeker of truth, I researched each topic using writings from the earliest church fathers to current biblical scholars across denominational lines. I was raised in a evangelical fundamental denomination with a rigid and inflexible view of biblical interpretation. The more I learned I abandoned some of the ideas of my youth. Today I'm back in "God's country" married, working as a security guard. Yet the love I have for God's Word has created a wise man out of a country bumpkin. My only claim to notoriety came I was placed on the "do not call" list of an evangelical cult. Seems they didn't like a nobody using their bible to show them God's truth uncovering their own deceptions and lies.

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