Touching lives in Israel with the Bible

Published: 28/09/2017 ~ 0

“What I want supporters in New Zealand to know is the Word of God is changing lives in Israel!”

“It is because of your support we can do this. Thank you, and please keep it up, there is still more work to do,” says Victor Kalisher, Head of Bible Society in Israel (BSI).

“For me to know I am here in Israel and you are on the other side of the world, but we are working together in unity to build the body of Christ – it’s so encouraging for us here at BSI.”

One of the ways you can help with Bible mission in Israel right now is by helping BSI reach out to migrants in the Holy Land with the Bible.

Faithful outreach

Every week, without fail, Victor and his team pack up their supplies of Bibles, biblical materials, tables and soup pots and head out to areas of Jerusalem frequented by desperate and poor migrants. They come from many countries including Ethiopia and Russia. The refugees sit, waiting patiently, as the team prepare the food. “Seeing how desperately hungry they are is very sad and makes us wish we could do more,” says Victor.

Migrants like these from African countries, receive Bibles and meals from BSI.

But what he and his team do is open up the fullness of the Bible to these migrants. “We share with them, talk and give them the Gospel. It’s amazing. People ask us questions. Just a few weeks ago a man approached us and said, ‘I want to know more about Jesus, do you have some materials?’ We gave him a New Testament. This is just one example.”

“We give them spiritual food and provide the Bible in many different languages for them,” said Victor.

“One time, an Israeli man came up to us. He said he’d been watching us from a distance and noticed we were not only giving food but we also cared and talked to the refugees showing them love. ‘I know who you are and I know you give Christian literature. Your Jesus must have a lot of love and you show it to others,’ he said. When we asked him if he would like a New Testament in Hebrew, he told us if we had met him in the streets of Tel Aviv he would have said no. But because of what he witnessed today he said, ‘Your God must be a great man and I am more than happy to take a New Testament.’”

Victor’s story

Victor, who trained as an electrical engineer, joined Bible Society because it was a calling on his life. “I knew I would serve the Lord full-time. I knew it from my childhood.”

“My father is a holocaust survivor,” said Victor. “He then went through the Independence War (the 1948 Arab-Israeli war) and with no surviving family or any worldly goods left he came to faith by receiving a Bible. He started reading it and realised there was a God in spite of everything he had been through.

A table stacked full of biblical materials is popular with the many Israelis who are seeking spiritual meaning and truth for their lives.

“The Word of God is living and it changes lives. I’ve seen it through the life of my father. He was never angry. I saw how God worked in his heart. So for me, I know the Lord can change lives through his Word.”

“There are many things that are happening in Israel. In the news you hear about conflict but you don’t hear about what God is doing. God is doing a lot. There is a growing body of believers, people come to faith and they are eager to share their faith with others.”

The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:40 (NAS1977)

Easter/Passover outreach

During the time of Easter and Passover, BSI tried a different approach with a Gospel choir from France. During the day, staff and volunteers went out onto the streets and beaches inviting people to the nightly concerts.

“At the entrance, we placed a big table stacked with Bibles in assorted languages. We were surprised by how many books were gone on the first night. The people said that the choir was very good and it even attracted local neighbouring Israelis. Following each song, a short gospel message was given,” shared Victor.

This lady is reading a booklet of 25 Bible stories given to her by BSI.

The homeless, drug addicts and refugees from the park were also invited. Each night after the concert, BSI organised a big cookout and invited everyone. “It was so good to see their smiling faces. For a few hours, at least, they were able to forget all their problems. Some of the people asked for prayer, including a young Israeli woman who was a drug addict. She approached the pastor who had just spoken and hugged him and she said with tears running down her face,

‘Your message touched me. Can your Jesus save me? Please pray for me, I want to start a new life.’”

Victor says BSI is now in regular contact with her and praying God will touch her and transform her life.

We hope you’ve been encouraged by the story Victor has shared. Will you prayerfully consider partnering with us to help reach people in Israel with the Bible?

If you can help, use the form below to make a donation…

Bringing the Bible to hard places – Iraq and Bangladesh

Published: 28/09/2017 ~ 0

Can you imagine doing Bible mission in a country at war with fighting, destruction and danger all around you?

A place where Christians are persecuted, the government is unstable, violence is commonplace and poverty is widespread? This is the everyday reality for the Bible Society in Iraq.

Nabil Omiesh, Head of the Bible Society in Iraq, describes their operational conditions as “difficult”, and he makes a plea for support. “Due to the hard and difficult situation Iraq is passing through now, the religious extremism in the region, I would like to ask our Christian friends in New Zealand to help their persecuted brothers and sisters in Christ in Iraq. God bless you.”

They need help to keep them operational, so they can continue to have a presence in this war-torn landscape.

“We always need prayer for our staff, who are working under these difficult circumstances and require tremendous strength.”

Recently, Sandra Elliot from International Christian Concern (ICC) reported in an Assist News Service article the closure of eight churches in Baghdad due to significant loss of the Christian population. She writes, “Christianity was once an integral part of the multi-faceted religious fabric of Iraq. At the beginning of the 21st century, Christians made up ten percent of the total population. The recent history of Iraq, however, reflects a stream of repression, conflict, displacement and persecution.

“For the 230,000 Christians remaining in Iraq, we must continue to pray and support them,” she said.

The Bible Society in Iraq has two offices, one in the north dealing with the needs of the surrounding region and another in Baghdad dealing with the middle and southern part of the country.

Their most immediate need is for a vehicle for Bible distribution. “Our offices are very simple and spartan. We have one distribution van for our offices in Bagdad but we don’t have one for the Arbil (north) office,” says Nabil.

Nabil tells us another pressing need is for essentials like printers and basic office equipment because of their difficult working conditions and their limited budget.

But finally the biggest need, he says, is for prayer. “We always need prayer for our staff, who are working under these difficult circumstances and require tremendous strength.”

But despite all this, Nabil says he and his staff try to work hard with “joy and peace” in their hearts “to serve the Lord Jesus Christ”.

This steadfast faith is bearing fruit, and the Bible Society in Iraq is considered an important part of the Christian culture in the country.

Nabil says they’re providing several key Bible programmes for children and people in need as well as an important Bible-based trauma healing programme.

Persecution and physical hardship are also commonplace for Christians in Bangladesh.

A developing country, Bangladesh continually faces severe environmental issues, such as last month’s devastating monsoon rains which displaced millions of people, along with poverty and illiteracy.

In Bangladesh there is no war, but in many other ways, the situation is just as bleak as Iraq.

Only 0.6% of the vast 165 million population is Christian. Bangladeshi Christians tend to be poor and working in rural areas. They live in villages and are mostly farmers living hand to mouth. Their low income means they are not able to purchase Scriptures for their own use, yet this growing Christian community is hungry for the Word of God.

Bible Society is the only supplier of Scriptures to the churches in Bangladesh and they depend on them to provide Bibles for their committed, but unsupported, congregations.

“In addition to keeping the Christian community supplied with Scriptures, there is a great need to share the Bible with this huge number of people, who speak 46 different languages and have not yet heard the Word of God,” said acting Bangladesh Bible Society CEO Richmond Joydhor.

Like Iraq, the Bible Society’s greatest need in Bangladesh is for a vehicle. Bibles and biblical resources are too sensitive to post in Bangladesh so the only safe means of distribution is through private transportation to reach every corner of the country. They also need help with basic operational costs including equipment and staff training.

Would you prayerfully consider this opportunity to help continue the Bible work in Iraq and Bangladesh? Your gift will help provide resources including vehicles to ensure they can continue to reach people with the Bible.

You can make a secure donation now using this form…

Mai Chen and her Bible – a reality check on life

Published: 12/09/2017 ~ 0

Prominent top lawyer, twice New Zealander of the Year finalist, and with qualifications too numerous to list, Mai Chen is a phenomenal success.

Her name opens doors. Today she is managing director of Chen Palmer Barristers and Solicitors, Australasia’s first public law specialist firm, a BNZ Board director, an Adjunct Professor at Auckland University Law School, and surprisingly… a Bible enthusiast.

Bible Society’s Sarah Richards speaks with Mai Chen about how the Bible influences her.

“The Bible is so important. I read it first thing every morning,” she says.

When I ask her how she finds time to read it she replies, “It’s easy. You just get up in the morning you switch on your morning devotion on your iPhone and you read it. I also have an NIV Bible app and I quite often run and listen, or walk and listen or drive and listen. It’s always good to hear the Bible and be bought back to the things that really matter.

“I would rather have the Bible going through my head than Katy Perry,” she says. Mai believes it helps with the self-talk we have going through our heads every day. “It (the Bible) helps me to have God in mind, it helps me enormously.”

“The wonderful thing about the Bible is it’s all about our imperfection. Jesus didn’t come for the wealthy and righteous, he came for the sick – so you just take what medicine you can when you can. I try and read it when I can, if I get some solitude at the weekend, when I walk or run the dog – I find it helps me. I listen to the Bible instead of listening to music or podcasts.”

Elaborating on this Mai says the Bible helps centre her and it’s her guiding light. “It keeps you on course. And I love it because it’s such a radical book and Jesus was such a radical person. He didn’t do what people expected him to do.

“He wasn’t mightier than thou, he didn’t look down on people, he said to the prostitute, ‘I don’t condemn you either, go in peace’. He healed sick people, he hung out with prostitutes and tax collectors. He annoyed people we could consider to be the high and mighty and it’s really good to be reminded of this when we read the Bible.”

I asked Mai what the Bible means to her personally. She replied, “Well it’s the only way I can touch God really . Every now and then, I get a glimpse of God, some manifestation of him in my life and sometimes he speaks to me, otherwise I am learning by reading the Bible.”

However it was on a trip to Israel with her husband, Dr John Sinclair, whom she met at a Scripture Union camp as a teenager, that Mai gained a much greater appreciation of the Bible.

“Israel made the Bible come to life for me. Jesus could have come down anywhere on the planet but he came down in the Middle East. My husband got sunstroke and we were only there in october. And I thought about the verses in the Bible where Jesus said go out into the world, don’t take anything with you, not even a coat and I ‘ll just provide for you. I thought about how hot the climate was when the disciples were told to not take anything.”

Another reason Mai loves the Bible is because it’s a reality check on life.

“The world tells us that it’s all about being happy and not having any problems . And people think being Godly must mean their life is going to go smoothly. But actually his (Jesus’) life was far from smooth. So it’s good to be reminded about this when life is hard. We want to be rich, we want to be beautiful, we want to be loved, we want to be popular, we don’t want pain but the Bible says that those who follow him will have trouble ahead. But the Bible says he will provide.”

Mai Chen has accomplished many things such as writing the Public Law Toolbox and the Superdiversity Stocktake and setting up the Superdiversity Centre as well as establishing groups including New Zealand Asian Leaders and Superdiverse Women.

She says there is no doubt her gifts are God-given.

“I can’t sit on them (the gifts). I have to use them and I am lucky to have them. I don’t have very many and there are days when I feel totally inadequate. But God gave me the ability to think. I have a good mind. I have a lot of ideas. A lot of these ideas drop into my head whole, I am really fortunate to be like that.

“Time is a gift. The question is what you do with it. I spend most of my time productively. I read things, listen to things, think about things, or I am doing something meaningful with my family. It’s not often I slump on the couch, eat ice-cream and watch TV. Time is short and I don’t have very much of it, I don’t want to go with all my gifts not used.”

Youth and the Bible in the 21st Century

Published: 11/09/2017 ~ 0

By Roger Moses, Headmaster, Wellington College
Board Member, Bible Society New Zealand

It was the dynamic 19th century preacher, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who once said memorably that “A Bible that’s falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn’t!”

Spurgeon, of course, spoke in an age far removed from the post-modern world of the early 21^st century; a world where Christians and non-Christians alike would have been familiar with common Biblical stories and themes that had helped shape the morality and ethics which underpinned Western civilisation. The stories of creation, Noah’s Ark, David and Goliath, Daniel in the lions’ den, Jonah and the Whale, the Nativity story, Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand and the Death and Resurrection of Jesus would have all been known to the wider populace, even those with no personal commitment to the Christian faith. Influential writers took for granted the positive influence the Bible had on the world around them. Charles Dickens, for example, wrote that “The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world.” Abraham Lincoln, the most legendary of all American presidents, said “I believe the Bible is the best gift God has given to man. All the good from the Saviour of the world is communicated to us through this Book.”

The contemporary world of New Zealand however, presents some very different challenges for those who still believe that the Bible is the Word of God. No longer can we take for granted that the young people we are endeavouring to reach have any knowledge of the scriptures or, indeed, the one who throughout the past two millennia has been known as the Saviour of the world. In a very real sense, we find ourselves once again in the same circumstances as Paul when he addressed the Greek philosophers on Mars Hill. Like Paul, we need to present the Gospel in both the language and context that is meaningful to our audience.

Young people today in New Zealand are as hungry as ever to find genuine meaning and a moral compass that gives direction to their lives. The fundamental questions are as relevant as ever. Who am I? Where do I come from? What is my purpose? What happens when I die? Millions of searchers throughout the centuries have found the answers to those questions in the Bible. In the words of St Augustine, “The Holy Scriptures are our letters from home.” The challenge for us today is how to communicate that message in a post-modern culture which assumes the relativity of truth and often marginalises historic Christianity as narrow, outmoded and largely irrelevant. Yet despite the obvious challenges of the day, Charles Colson’s words ring true:

“The Bible-banned, burned, beloved. More widely read, more frequently attacked than any other book in history. Generations of intellectuals have attempted to discredit it, dictators of every age have outlawed it and executed those who read it. Yet soldiers carry it into battle believing it more powerful than their weapons. Fragments of it smuggled into solitary prison cells have transformed ruthless killers into gentle saints.”

Te Paipera Tapu (the Māori Bible) – a labour of love

Published: 06/09/2017 ~ 0

Te reo lover and speaker Brenda Crooks (pictured below) is one of only 5,000 people in New Zealand able to speak Māori and also communicate in sign language, our country’s two official languages alongside English.

“It’s the language of our country, it’s beautiful, it’s poetic and it’s a window into this culture. There are things that can be expressed in Māori that can’t be expressed in any other language,” says Brenda, who grew up as a small child with a desire to learn about Māori culture.

“I grew up on the West Coast of the South Island which is very European, so I believe my longing to learn about Māori culture was a God-given desire.”

Now as Māori Bible Kaituitui Co-ordinator (Kaituitui meaning ‘to stitch together’) at Bible Society New Zealand, Brenda is combining the two passions of her life, Te Reo and the Bible.

After completing a Bachelor of Arts in Māori Studies in her early 30’s, Brenda joined Bible Society almost directly. She has been working on the Māori Bible ever since. She spent 11 years painstakingly modernising Te Paipera Tapu (the Holy Bible in Māori) text with the addition of macrons, paragraphs and punctuation.

“When the current Māori translation was first printed in 1952, it didn’t need macrons because there were native speakers. So marking the vowel length for today’s readers is very helpful,” she said.

More recently Brenda has worked on Tāku Paipera, the first Māori Bible story book for children and Bible Society’s first dedicated Māori Bible app.

However, it is the new translation of Te Paipera Tapu begun two years ago, which is now her main work. First published in 1868 with three further versions in 1889, 1925 and 1952, the 1952 edition is the version most Māori communities and speakers have used for more than half a century.

“For Māori readers, we want to give them an informal translation that speaks to them in their own natural heart language,” she explained. “The current translation is very close to the King James Version, which in Bible-speak means it’s quite formal language.

“The purpose of translating scripture in the first place into mother tongues is to make it more accessible and to open up the treasure of scripture to all who want to seek it,” she said.

To date, Luke, two epistles, Jonah, Genesis and Ruth have been completed in modern Te Reo Māori, but it can take up to 12 years to complete a full Bible translation.

For Māori, it means the Bible will be more accessible to young Māori second language speakers. It will be the translation that serves the next generation – and that, for Brenda, will make it all worthwhile.

Month: September 2017