Post by foxjj on Jul 3, 2020 15:56:02 GMT
A Famine Of God’s Word
While my wife and I were visiting London we stopped to take a rest in a garden-like setting. In the midst of this tranquil oasis from the noisy traffic stood a memorial. On the plack we read; William Tyndale 1494 – 1536 followed by a brief description of his life. We became more impressed later when we viewed the movie 'God's Outlaw' based on his life. He was a man to whom the English speaking world owes an eternal debt. Educated at Oxford, Tindale loved The Lord, a man with a passion for Scripture. Journeying through England meeting with the gentle village folk he would share The Gospel, knowing that Spiritual ignorance is a deadly yolk. Seeing the people's hunger to know their God, Tyndale came to the understanding that there was a famine of God's Word in the land.
His love of people gave birth to a desire to put The Word of God into each mans hand. However, there was a major problem with his plan, because the established Church of that time only allowed The Scriptures to be written in Latin or Greek. These were Languages that the common people could not understand, thus keeping them from knowing The God of the Bible. Undertaking to translate The Scriptures for Englishmen to read, Tyndale was accused of Heresy. Fleeing his native land, God’s outlaw escaped to Europe where he translated the New Testament into English.
In 1526 history was made as the first printed edition of The Gospel of Jesus Christ in English, was smuggled from across the sea. Now Englishmen and women can read the Good News in their native tongue. However, an outlaw has a price on his head and soon a Judas was found. Accused of heresy for loving Scripture, to a stake William Tyndale was bound. “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes,” were among the final prayers of this brave man. The flames burned a body, not the dream. God’s Word lives to be read by all because, within four years of Tyndale’s death, the King placed an English Bible in each Church to be read by both great and small.
Tyndale is only one in a long line of men and women who gave their lives for the Gospel, ensuring that there would not be another famine of God's Word. However, in today's society knowledge of The Bible is scarce. Where among the corridors of public education will you find the Christian Scriptures? Instead you may find them ridiculed. So how will the younger generation hear the truth of God's Word if not from you and I? We must be ever ready to share the hope that lays within us (1 Peter 3:16) ensuring that there will never again be a famine of God's Word.
Today, let us thank The Lord for His Word, passed down to us through history.
John Joseph Fox.
While my wife and I were visiting London we stopped to take a rest in a garden-like setting. In the midst of this tranquil oasis from the noisy traffic stood a memorial. On the plack we read; William Tyndale 1494 – 1536 followed by a brief description of his life. We became more impressed later when we viewed the movie 'God's Outlaw' based on his life. He was a man to whom the English speaking world owes an eternal debt. Educated at Oxford, Tindale loved The Lord, a man with a passion for Scripture. Journeying through England meeting with the gentle village folk he would share The Gospel, knowing that Spiritual ignorance is a deadly yolk. Seeing the people's hunger to know their God, Tyndale came to the understanding that there was a famine of God's Word in the land.
His love of people gave birth to a desire to put The Word of God into each mans hand. However, there was a major problem with his plan, because the established Church of that time only allowed The Scriptures to be written in Latin or Greek. These were Languages that the common people could not understand, thus keeping them from knowing The God of the Bible. Undertaking to translate The Scriptures for Englishmen to read, Tyndale was accused of Heresy. Fleeing his native land, God’s outlaw escaped to Europe where he translated the New Testament into English.
In 1526 history was made as the first printed edition of The Gospel of Jesus Christ in English, was smuggled from across the sea. Now Englishmen and women can read the Good News in their native tongue. However, an outlaw has a price on his head and soon a Judas was found. Accused of heresy for loving Scripture, to a stake William Tyndale was bound. “Lord, open the King of England’s eyes,” were among the final prayers of this brave man. The flames burned a body, not the dream. God’s Word lives to be read by all because, within four years of Tyndale’s death, the King placed an English Bible in each Church to be read by both great and small.
Tyndale is only one in a long line of men and women who gave their lives for the Gospel, ensuring that there would not be another famine of God's Word. However, in today's society knowledge of The Bible is scarce. Where among the corridors of public education will you find the Christian Scriptures? Instead you may find them ridiculed. So how will the younger generation hear the truth of God's Word if not from you and I? We must be ever ready to share the hope that lays within us (1 Peter 3:16) ensuring that there will never again be a famine of God's Word.
Today, let us thank The Lord for His Word, passed down to us through history.
John Joseph Fox.