Opening Our Hearts to God’s Word

This week, Kristy Graham, host of On the Ground with Samaritan’s Purse, encourages listeners to spend time reading the Bible daily, as God’s Word is alive and active. Randy Bishop, who serves in the communications department at Samaritan’s Purse, recently shared a convicting message during staff devotions. First, Randy walked through a brief history of the English Bible, and how it became the version we have today.

Hundreds of years ago, William Tyndale was on a mission to get God’s Word into the hands of more people, but it was not easy. During the last decade of his life, he was on the run. The work Tyndale began in the 1500s continued after his death, and today many of the phrasings that remain in our English Bible still have the marks of Tyndale on them.

Next, Randy discussed what access to the English Bible means for us as believers in the present. We should be abundantly grateful for the access we have to the English Bible, but if our gratitude does not compel us to actually read God’s Word, it is futile. Despite the countless distractions vying for our attention, the real problem may lie within us—it may be our hearts. In our Christian walk, we must fight our flesh, and pray that God will help us to crave His Word.

“We need a softening of our heart. And that's what I'm praying that God would soften my heart to crave and desire the pure milk of the Word. And so A.W. Tozer said, ‘Satan's greatest weapon is man's ignorance of God's Word.’ And I don't want to be ignorant of His Word. I want to be following it.”—Randy Bishop

Kristy asked members of the podcast team about Scripture that has impacted them in their own walk with Christ. First, she spoke with Stephen, a correspondent who is usually on the other side of the microphone interviewing beneficiaries, patients, and staff all around the world. Psalm 46 is a passage Stephen has deeply resonated with lately. These words show Stephen that God is ever-present and ever-faithful in his life. The Lord has promised good, and one day, He will make all things right.

“He says, ‘Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.’ The Lord Almighty is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress.”—Psalm 46:10-11

Two other members of the podcast team shared ways God has used Scripture to speak to them in their own lives. Then Kristy talked about how Isaiah 40 has always been a passage she returns to when she needs to be reminded of God’s sovereignty and power, but also his gentle spirit.

“I'm so thankful that He is intimately acquainted in all our ways. He will never leave us or forsake us. And I often get wrapped up in my circumstances or what's happening in my here and now, and God's word helps lift my eyes. It helps take me out of the here and now to God who truly has a plan and a hope for my future.”—Kristy Graham

Won’t you pick up your Bible this week, study it, read it, and learn more about your Savior? Please pray that Samaritan’s Purse would be able to continue taking God’s Word and the life-changing message of the Gospel to every corner of the world. If you’d like to keep up to date with more stories from On the Ground, please visit SamaritansPurse.org.