This month, our meditation has been excerpted from the book entitled Extreme Devotion, compiled by Voice Of the Martyrs. In the following passage, the account of the underground church in Communist countries provides us with fodder for reflection and perhaps application:
How sweet Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! (Psalm 119:103)
Originally, the idea was to ridicule the Christian Bible, to make such a mockery of it that no self-respecting person would believe it. To carry out the plan, millions of books were printed, including The Comical Bible and The Bible for Believers and Unbelievers.
The books made fun of Jesus, called into question His miracles, and ridiculed other aspects of the Christian faith. But the criticisms were so outrageous that no one took them seriously. Countless verses of Scripture were inserted into the text as “proof” in the Communists' minds of the fallacy of the book.
Members of the underground Church snatched up copies of these “comic” books as fast as they were printed. The verses that were quoted in the books were a smorgasbord of delights to those who were spiritually famished. And all of it was legal, printed by their own God-hating government. Just as the ravens fed Elijah when he was hungry, so God used government printing houses to feed His starving Children in Communist nations.
The publishers were delighted to receive thousands of letters asking for reprints of the books. They quickly rolled the presses to print more copies. Little did they know those letters came from believers who wished to distribute the precious books full of God’s Words to other underground church members.
FURTHER: Is it that important to send Bibles into restricted nations? Read the stories of the martyrs and decide. [Check out Voice of the Martyrs’ Foxe: Voices of the Martyrs, Martyrs Mirror and other resources for this purpose.] In a nation where Bibles are sold at garage sales for a quarter, we cannot really appreciate the experience of those in a spiritual famine. While we might stack Bibles on the coffee table for display, other believers clamor for a single copy to share among an entire church. Is it fair for the overchurched nations to have multiple Bibles in nearly every household while a restricted nation has none? God, revive our own hunger for Scripture and for getting the Word out to those who are already starving! Consider how you might help support Bible distribution in restricted nations today.
A moment of consideration: In the Communist bloc, a government sought to parse and edit God’s Word to make it undesirable and unusable to citizens and believers alike. In the United States, an attempt was made in the 20th century to publish “The Readers Digest Bible,” a truncated and edited Bible that nobody wanted; it ultimately failed as a publication, whereas The Comical Bible, etc., was amazingly successful because the underground church saw through the ruse, and the true Word of God still largely presented between the ridiculous passages within its pages. The Communist publications' successes on the one hand, and the failure in sales of the other were due to the political climate of the two countries; and were ordered and ruled over by God. The Comical Bible attempted to deviate from the true Scriptures, but failed at that. God's Word is the Truth; it does not compare to feeble attempts to corrupt the truth of God-breathed Truth; nor does it even try.
Can we today discern the true Word of God in publications or digital presentations of Scriptures? An estimate was recently given, suggesting that by the end of 2026, people will not be able to distinguish real or true digital content from AI-generated content. Print resources (e.g., books, etc.) may need to be used for our adherence to biblical truth; may we be able, with Jeremiah, to aver, “Your words were found, and I ate them, and Your Words became to me a joy, and the delight of my heart.” (Jeremiah 15:16) Let us say, with the Apostle Paul, “...even if everyone else is a liar, God will always do what He says. As the Psalmist has said, ‘You will be proved right in what You say, and You will win when people curse You.’” (Romans 3:4; Psalm 51:4) Let God be true... God does not tolerate untruth. Consider Psalm 5:6: “You destroy those who tell lies. The LORD is disgusted with ... deceitful people.” Artificial Intelligence only serves the purposes of its code writers; it's not concerned, per se, with enhancing our lives.
The Christians in the Communist states had an insight that reflected Jesus’ parable of the wheat among the tares (Matthew 13:24-30). They did everything they could, to promote knowledge of the truth--alerting fellow believers to the false claims, exaggerations, and Communist messages within the text, directing such fellow Christians who were spiritually famished, to God's truth nestled in between, "a smorgasbord of delights". In our lives and in our families, do we know how to promote knowledge of the truth? Consider the account of a Christian mother:
“The mother of a family was married to a cynical unbeliever who made fun of religion in the presence of his own children; yet she succeeded in bringing them all up in the fear of the Lord. I asked her one day how she preserved them from the influence of a father whose sentiments were so opposed to her own. This was her answer: 'Because to the authority of a father I do not oppose him with the authority of a mother, but that of God. From their earliest years my children have always seen the Bible upon my table. This holy book has constituted the whole of their religious instruction. I was silent that I might allow it to speak. Did they propose a question, did they commit a fault, did they perform a good action, I opened the Bible, and the Bible answered, reproved, or encouraged them. The constant reading of the Scriptures has wrought the prodigy, which surprises you.” Adolphe Monod
Have your Bible handy. Read your Bible every day, and apply what you read. Bring its wisdom into everyday life, carry its guidance and illumination into life. For the Bible says, “...But you should continue following the teaching you learned. You know it is true, because you know you can trust those who taught you. You have known the Holy Scriptures since you were a child. These Scriptures are able to make you wise, and that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by God, and all Scripture is useful for teaching and for showing people what is wrong in their lives. It is useful for correcting faults and teaching the right way to live. Using the Scriptures, those who serve God will be prepared and will have everything they need to do every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
“You have known the Holy Scriptures since you were a child.” Many of us have grown up in homes with the Bible present. The Scriptures suggests that children being exposed to the Bible and its application might grow into adults of faith. If you have not grown up with the Bible guiding your thinking and actions/behaviors, then the warning comes from Christ Jesus in Revelation 3:3: "So remember what you received and heard. Obey, and change the way you think and act. If you're not alert, I'll come like a thief. You don't know when I will come." The Berean believers (Acts 17:10-12) tested what they had heard and received against Scriptures to see if what they had heard was true. We might take a lesson from such believers--reviewing what we have been told about faith and Christ Jesus. God’s Word goes further in saying our faith is to be a childlike faith; Jesus Himself said, “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:17) Consider the following account of a child such as may have sat at the table with the devout mother attested to, earlier.
When Mr. Hone, who wrote the 'Every-day Book,' and was a skeptic, was traveling through Wales, he stopped at a cottage to ask for a drink of water, and a little girl answered him, 'Oh, yes! sir, I have no doubt mother will give you some milk. Come in.' He went in and sat down. The little girl was reading her Bible. Mr. Hone said, 'Well, my little girl, you are getting your task?' 'No, sir, I am not,' she replied,' I am reading the Bible.' 'Yes,' said he, 'you are getting your task out of the Bible?' 'Oh, no,' she replied, 'it is no task to read the Bible; I love the Bible.' 'And why do you love the Bible?' said he. Her simple, child-like answer was, 'I thought everybody loved the Bible.' Her own love to the precious volume had made her innocently believe that everybody else was equally delighted to read God's Word. Mr. Hone was so touched with the sincerity of that expression, that he read the Bible himself, and instead of being an opponent to the things of God, came to be a friend of divine truth.
Like this young lass, let us study, to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (II Timothy 2:15) This will take wisdom and guidance from on high. If we need guidance or wisdom, open the Bible. God promises that if we seek wisdom, we shall find it in Him, in His word. (James 1:5-8; Proverbs 2:6) His Word (gives guidance, for it) is a lamp to my lamp to my feet and a light to my path (Psalm 119:105); it helps to keep us from stumbling in our walk with the Lord (abiding in Him and in His Word (John 8:31) and walking with Emmanuel; Matthew 1:23; Proverbs 3:6). As we memorize and apply God’s Word, it helps us keep from sinning. That’s a worthy personal goal. (Psalm 119:11) May we make our ear attentive to wisdom and incline our heart to understanding". (Proverbs 2:2)
Let us take the time to study the Word of Truth so that we may effectively discern God’s intent for us, and so we can separate it from the tares, the weeds, the false “truths” that the world tries to foist upon us. May we be known as the "People of the Book", the People of Christ, His body upon this earth—and be faithful to the One whom the Book points, Jesus Christ our Lord.