Focused on God’s Word

“While growing up, I never knew that God had a plan for me. In fact, I didn’t know anything about God. We went to church, but not consistently. Talking with the pastor about Jesus Christ gave me the desire to go to church regularly.”

Pastor K now serves as a translator with the Bandi Old Testament team. But as a child, even though his family went to church, he found that idol worship “was something natural to me.” It was common to have ancestral shrines or altars in the home. He learned that idol worship was displeasing to God through conversations with his pastor. Abandoning the practice, he “began to worship God in spirit and in truth during services, and I prayed every day.” Many blessings followed, and today he is proud to bring God’s Word to his people in their own language.

As I sat down to write this blog post, my intent was to talk about Advent. Then a co-worker came to my office, wondering if a question would interrupt my train of thought. That led to thoughts about trains running on tracks, and the fundamental goal of getting from point A to point B in the most direct, efficient way possible. It’s probably obvious to you by now that the train of my thoughts doesn’t always work that way. Too many ideas, too many diversions and distractions. Instead of focusing solely on one thing, my thoughts are often up and down and all around.

Which leads back to Pastor K. Here is a man who was nominally a Christian from childhood. But the deep-seated traditions of his culture prevented him from seeing that Jesus alone is the direct path to salvation. It was the instruction of a Christian mentor who helped him shed such distractions and focus instead on what is truly pleasing to God. And he now shares that knowledge with his people through the Word translated into Bandi.

Thank you for your prayers and support of Bible translation. Because of you, people around the world are learning that God alone saves, and He has a plan for them. Let us all reflect on God’s plan for our own lives during this Advent season, focusing our thoughts and worship on the miracle of Christ’s birth and marveling at God’s goodness as we share the hope, love, joy, and peace found through Jesus.