Remember the Bible?

Remember that thick book at the bottom of your TBR stack? The one you look away from whenever you see it, guilt plaguing your mind? I really should read it. I know I should . . . but I'm too busy. I have to update my social media status first. Then I'll read a bit.

Two hours later: Well, I guess it's too late now. I'm really tired and have to get up early tomorrow for work, and then there's that birthday party I'm going to afterward. I won't have time tomorrow, but I'll be at church Sunday so that's alright.

So often in today's American culture a family might own ten Bibles. The majority of them sit on a shelf collecting dust, and maybe one per family member rests on a bedside table to be used twice a week. Reading the Bible frequently seems like a chore. Something that should be done, but is more of a task to get over with than the privilege that it is. Compare this to the 1400s and early 1500s in England.

Each week people would attend church services spoken in a language they were unfamiliar with. The Bible would be read in Latin and interpreted by the church who changed the meaning to match its own agenda. Translating the Bible into English was forbidden. People didn't own a single Bible they could understand. They weren't able to study the Bible at leisure. If they were caught with an English Bible, their punishment would be death. In 1519, seven fathers were burned at the stake for teaching their children the Lord's Prayer in English (Piper). Stop and imagine that for a moment. Parents wanted their children to understand what they were praying, and they were murdered for this.

Why? Why would the church execute Christians, seeking to read the Bible and understand it? Wasn't the church supposed to want people to learn more about God? No. The church wanted people to hear specific things about God (some of these things altogether faulty), and think they knew God. The church was unwilling to lose the power it held over people by making them believe they were saved by good works.

Enter into the scene: William Tyndale.

As Pastor John Piper, founder of desiringGod.org, summarizes Tyndale's life, Tyndale was “always singing one note.” His single-minded focus in life was getting the Bible translated into the common tongue and the hands of every person in England. In Tyndale's famous declaration, he audaciously stated his ambition: “I defy the pope and all his laws . . . If God spare my life ere many years, I will cause a boy that driveth the plow, shall know more of the Scripture than thou dost.”

Tyndale recognized the importance of people reading the Bible for themselves. Mastering several languages, Tyndale devoted his life to translating the Scriptures to English, despite being wanted by the law and living in exile in Germany for it. Upon completing the Greek New Testament, Tyndale smuggled at least 3,000 copies into England. After studying Hebrew, he published a revised edition of the New Testament in 1534, as well as translating parts of the Old Testament. Piper explained that Tyndale's translations were so accurate, many of his exact translations have remained through today. He estimates that the English Standard Version of the Bible (the translation I primarily use) is over 70% of Tyndale's direct work. Tyndale's Bible was certainly the basis for both the King James Version and Geneva Bible.

While Tyndale dedicated every moment to translation and distribution of the Bibles, the church in England retaliated and burned as many of his Bibles as they could find. Because people had accessed the Scriptures and read them for themselves, more and more started standing against the church's contrary teachings and for the truths they found in the Bible. The number of martyrs grew—for doing nothing more than reading the very book you have three copies of sitting on your shelf, virtually unused. It's a shocking revelation to realize that simply owning only one of what you have multiple copies of would have made you a martyr a few hundred years ago.

Tyndale never was able to complete the Old Testament translation, because he was betrayed by Henry Philips, who Tyndale had thought was a good friend, and arrested in May of 1535 for heresy. The generally accepted date of his strangling and burning is October 6, 1536. While the exact year of his birth is contested, Tyndale was somewhere around the age of 40. He'd spent 12 years of his life in exile, and a long, hard twelve they were. Tyndale died so you could have the Bible in your own language. So that you could read and study it—not leave it lying somewhere unused. Allow George Mueller to remind you of the value of studying the Bible from his own life:

“I saw that the most important thing I had to do was to give myself to the reading of the word of God, and to meditation on it. . . . What is the food of the inner man? Not prayer, but the word of God; and . . . not the simple reading of the word of God, so that it only passes through our minds, just as water runs through a pipe, but considering what we read, pondering over it, and applying it to our hearts.”

The next time you see your Bible shoved in between the dictionary and the edge of the shelf, take some time to pull it down, dust it off, and read. Remember the sacrifices people made for the same privilege you have in abundance. America is still a free nation, and you still can access the Bible everywhere you turn. It's an honor. And a command. “Blessed is the man . . . [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1.1-2). Remember what a treasure the Bible is.

Note: Another post I wrote on a similar subject as reading your Bible is one of my favorites, Dear God, Where Have You Been?

Piper, John. “Always Singing One Note—A Vernacular Bible.” Desiring God Conference for Pastors. Desiring God. 31 January 2006. Conference Presentation.

Biography of Charlotte "Lottie" Diggs Moon.

Lately I haven't shared any of the Christian biographies that I had wanted to do. I was able to find this picture of Lottie.

Charlotte "Lottie" Diggs Moon.

Charlotte "Lottie" Diggs Moon was born in Virginia on December 12, 1840. She was the third of seven homeschooled children. (One reason why I like her!) Her mother was a strong Christian who taught her children of her faith but Lottie did not become in her early years. When in college she always avoided the chapel. Lottie was very smart but also a practical joker. Her "real" story begins when some of her friends invited her to a revival meeting about missions. She only went because she wanted to hang out with her friends. Little did Lottie know that this meeting would change her life forever. The Lord spoke so deeply to her that night, that she became a Christian and desired to spread the gospel. In preparation for this goal, she studied Greek, Latin, and three other languages so that she fluently spoke them. For a time she was a pastor's assistant to earn money to become a missionary. She also taught in a school for girls. Now, the question was, where did God want her to go? Lottie committed herself to God's leading and went to China to join her missionary sister. Lottie never expected that she would return to America. It took twenty-five days to travel by ship to Japan, and for most of that time she was seasick. After she finally reached China, she traveled 55 miles by land until she reached her destination in a very populated area. She hired someone to teach her Chinese and worked very hard until she had it mastered. She did her best to make contact with the Chinese people by baking cookies for the children and visiting with the people. Very slowly she began to gain their trust. Then her sister got sick so they both returned home. Her sister would eventually recover but would be incapable traveling back to China. Later, Lottie returned to China. Lottie set out right away by beginning a girls' school. Lottie was very bothered by the foot binding process and determined to stop it. Very slowly she accomplished this. Her next task was to travel inland to more remote places, despite the danger. She was able to build many missions thanks to donations from people and churches in the United States. Lottie did her best to live like the Chinese yet never had a family or married. Toward the end of her life, a large famine swept China. Lottie's mind began to deteriorate and she was sent home. Sadly, she never made it home. Charlotte Diggs Moon died at sea on December 24, 1912.

I personally found her story very moving. When doing research for this post I came across a few sites that I would recommend you read if you are interested in learning more about Lottie. I especially recommend the first site, it is rather short and written as though by Lottie herself.

http://www.baptistheritage.org/StoriesforKids/TheStoryofLottieMoon/tabid/259/Default.aspx 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lottie_Moon
http://www.bdcconline.net/en/stories/m/moon-charlotte-diggs.php

Biography of Pete Fleming.

Here is biography number two! Enjoy!

Pete Fleming

Pete Fleming was originally from Washington state. Over time, Fleming became friends with Jim Elliot. Together, the two men traveled to Ecuador along with some others to get training for missionary work. God removed every obstacle out of their path. They were dropped off in Ecuador on August 29, 1952. While training to be a doctor, Pete and his friends lived like the people of Ecuador that they might be better equipped to help them. Together they built an airstrip and a school for boys. While Jim was good at nearly everything, Pete struggled against many illnesses as well as in physical jobs. One time Pete was sick with malaria and went to the nearest hospital. Here he met with God and was strengthened in his spiritual life. A time when they questioned their work in Ecuador was when floods washed away their house, clinic, and school. Trusting in the Lord, they re-built. Many people were saved and many baptisms were held. Through all this, the Lord was burning a desire into their hearts to bring the gospel to the dangerous Auca Indians. Finally they located a Auca village that was know to be particularly violent. Regularly they would fly over the village and lower gifts from the airplane to earn their trust. Soon, they began to receive gifts back. After much time of doing this, they landed not far from the village and stayed hoping for a friendly visit from the Aucas. Soon their patience was rewarded by some of the Aucas coming to “check them out.” Shortly thereafter, the Aucas returned, this time not so friendly. Every one of the missionaries, although they could have defended themselves, didn't and were killed. Through their brave deaths, word was spread throughout the world. Many people became missionaries encouraged by these people's faith. Both Jim Elliot's and Pete Fleming's wives later returned as missionaries to the same tribe who had killed their husbands.

Although I had personally heard this story many times before, I was inspired by their love for these Indians, their love for God, and their bravery. If this biography also brings you inspiration, you can read a good biography series published by YWAM that includes at least four of the people involved in this event: Jim Elliot and his wife Elisabeth, and Nate Saint, the pilot, and his sister Rachel Saint. This series, Christian Heroes: Then and Now, was written by Janet and Geoff Benge. Have you ever faced a time when you needed to trust God, really, really trust Him? Have you ever faced a situation where you had to stand up for God and bear His name?

Biography of Dwight L. Moody

Here is the first biography from LIFE Camp that I will post. May you all be inspired!

Dwight L. Moody

• He was born in Massachusetts in 1837
• At the age of four his father died leaving a wife, seven kids and twins in the womb.
• The children had to work on farms to earn their living and support their large family. They worked Monday to Saturday weekly.
• Moody worked for his uncle in Boston.
• His uncle's requirement was that Moody went to church with him. Eventually Moody became willing and often read his Bible.
• He accepted Christ through a Mr. Gemble who (I think) was a Sunday school teacher.
• From then on Moody fervently spread the gospel.
• Then he moved to Chicago.
• His two life goals were to make $100,000 (which was back then A LOT of money) and to preach.
• In Chicago, he reached out to the street children. He rented a pew in his church and brought random street kids.
• Eventually he was paying for four pews a Sunday.
• He reached out to 12 year old girls and brought them to Christ.
• Moody gave up his goal of making $100,000.
• At the age of 23 he left his job in 1860.
• He worked for YMCA (while it was actually Young Men's Christian Association and lived up to its name) and became a missionary.
• Traveled to England.
• His home was a victim of the Chicago fire in addition to his church.
• He built another church, but yet another fire destroyed it too.
• At the age of 54 Moody developed a terrible cough.
• He had been preaching three times a day but four times on Sunday.
• The doctor said that he needed to slow down or he'd die.
• On the way back from a trip to England, his ship began to sink with both Moody and his son aboard in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. At this point Moody had been considering what the doctor had said and thinking about minimizing his preachings.
• While aboard the sinking ship, Moody realized that God did not want him to slow down. So Moody trusted God to get him through his sinking ship and simply went to bed. Some time later his son awoke him to say that they had been rescued by another passing ship.
• Moody continued to work hard trusting in the Lord for seven more years. Then at the age of 63 Moody died.
• During his lifetime he had brought hundreds of people to Christ, started numerous Bible schools, etc.
• Most of all, Moody is a great example of trusting in God even in very hard times when your life is at stake.

I hope that you all were inspired by the brief explanation of Dwight L. Moody's life. I would love to hear your thoughts!

LIFE Camp 2014!

Well, even though LIFE Camp was a ways back I am still doing a post about it. I have been blessed to attend this camp for four years now. This year, as I said in an earlier post, the theme was about the Armor of God. It was very thought provoking as a new Bible teacher took one part of the armor a day and spoke about it. Also, the people in biography as well as our chapel speaker each night spoke of the same part of the armor. I would like to share each of the biographies that we learned over the next few weeks by posting about one person at a time. We studied D.L. Moody, Charlotte Diggs Moon, William Tyndale, and Pete Flemming. Also each day we learned one hymn and a brief biography about its author. Some examples are I Surrender All, Take My Life and Let it Be, and A Mighty Fortress is our God. Perhaps I will also do a weekly post for five weeks each with a hymn. I would love your input as to if you would enjoy this or not. Here is a brief explanation of what a day at camp would consist of:

We wake up at seven. (Or at least that's the set time...) A few minutes to 8:00 we raise the flag to several patriotic songs and prayer and then march on to breakfast. After that there are three classes: Biography, Bible, and a new class dubbed Discussion. (More on that in a minute.) Then there is lunch which includes mail delivery, camp and cabin cleanup, swimming, and field games. Verse memorization, snack, and two hours of free time are next. Directly after free time, we lower the flag, eat dinner, and then rush over to chapel. To end the day there are night field games, snack, and devotions. And then, one of my favorite parts of the day, lights out! (Zzzzzz)

Although we are busy, it is a good busy. Most years instead of discussion we have missionary class but I think that I enjoyed discussion better. During this time, the entire camp (boys and girls) are divided up into several small groups. We talked about the part of the armor that we studied that day in more depth depending on your age category. Biography was my personal favorite class. I enjoy learning about such influential people in the Christian faith. Studying them helps to encourage me to follow their examples and being more open to God's plan for my life.

Thank you all so much for your prayers and thoughts. I felt like I was encouraged in my walk. I had a super cabin and superb counselor. As a cabin we got into great discussions and truly had a blast. Sorry that I don't have any pictures but again thank you all very much!

Off to Camp!

Last week, my sister and I went to a Christian camp, called LIFE Camp, by Lake Lopez. The goal of this camp is to help kids live in faith effectively. The fruits of the spirit was the theme this year and our “challenge passage” (a passage out of the Bible for the kids to try to memorize as well as the daily and theme verses.) was Galatians 5.Our mom and dad dropped us off Monday morning and picked us up Saturday. Although it was a long time to be away from our parents and home, my sister and I had a marvelous time growing closer to God and having fun.

I like everything about Life Camp especially just growing nearer to the Lord. In the morning, the first of our three classes is Missionary where you learn about one missionary all week. This year it was Dr. Carl Becker, missionary/doctor to the people in mid- Africa– especially the Pigmy people. Our second class of the morning, Biography, was taught by the director. We discovered the lives of a different person every day. A few examples are Joni Ericson Tada, Eric Liddel, George Washington Carver, and Jim Elliot. Our last class was Bible where we learned about Ruth, Paul, Joseph, David, and more. In the evening we had chapel with a different speaker every night.

Life Camp offers lots of fun, active activities. After lunch girls go swimming for about an hour to an hour and a half. Directly afterward is field games where we play multiple different games such as: capture the flag, belly bumpers, soccer, dodge ball and that is only scratching the surface of all the games. Soon afterward, everyone enjoys what is probably most people's favorite activity– free time! At this time the campers are allowed to do just about anything. The only hitch is that if you want to go outside the boundaries or into the creek that flows by, you must have a staff person who is willing to accompany you or at least keep you in their sight. During some free times the staff have organized activities for the campers. One day there was a gold hunt in the creek where whoever wanted to go could learn how to pan for gold and the likely places gold would be. Another exciting expedition was when a group of campers hiked a ways up the mountain to search for fossils. Most kids found one– or two– or even more! I was in the category of “even more”. I found two rocks but combined in the two rocks was a total of three clam fossils. I was given two more rocks with fossils, their total– six plus!!! The last activity at the end of the day is “night games”. During “night games” we mostly play “blob tag” which is similar to family tag. The only other game that I can remember playing at night was capture the flag.

My LIFE Camp cabin group.

Everything about Life Camp was a lot of fun- so much fun that is- that I can't choose which thing was the funnest. I was blessed to be in a small cabin with only three other girls and one fantastic counselor. Between night time Devotions and Missions, swimming and free time, snack and dinner, everything was so fabulous. I feel like I grew closer to God and will be able to be better at the fruits of the spirit. Thank you, Jake, for putting on Life Camp so faithfully each year and for being interactive with the campers! Thanks everyone who sent me and my sister letters at Life Camp! It meant a lot!