It has been said that Americans think everyone in the world has access to a copy of the Bible. It would be nice if everyone did. The truth is that millions of people have no access to Bibles—the most important thing they need.

One of the first lessons that the Lord taught the children of Israel, whom He had recently delivered from Egypt through the Red Sea, was that He is the Bread of Life. He did that by satisfying their hunger with manna, a life-sustaining bread that fell from the sky six days a week.

Years later, Moses reiterated the reason the Lord provided manna. It was to prove that “Man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord” (Deuteronomy 8:3). The manna appeared because the Lord spoke it into existence.

The Lord was proving to Israel that He would provide for their needs even when they could not.

Even for those of us who minister to the downtrodden and underserved in the world, it can be easy to forget that being the hands and feet of Jesus includes much more than providing bread and rice, nutritious food, clean water and other simple necessities.

What good is it if we feed a man but never share the Word of God with him? He will eventually enter eternity well-fed but be separated from the Lord forever and ever, without end or intermission.

The most important way we can share the love of Jesus with others is by sharing His Word. So, we make every effort to explain not only that He loves them, but why He loves them, and what He has done to demonstrate His great love to offer them eternal life.

The problem is not just having access to a Bible. It is having access to a Bible translated into their own heart language. It is estimated that there are nearly 7,100 different languages in the world spoken by more than 7.6 billion people. Fewer than half of languages (43 percent) have a Bible translation.

Gospel for Asia (GFA) has worked passionately for nearly 40 years to ensure that the people of Asia have access to Bibles they can read. Working with our partners in the field, we are able, with the faithful support of people around the world, to distribute Bibles, New Testaments and portions of Scripture to people in the language they speak and understand.

Often this means long treks by indigenous pastors and missionaries to remote villages in the jungles and the mountains.

Our task also includes teaching the illiterate how to read so they can understand the Bible as they read it.

As overwhelming as it may seem, if the Lord can bring Israel through the Red Sea on dry land and if He can provide their daily bread and if He so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to offer us eternal life, then He can enable us to continue to provide Bibles throughout Asia to be used in ministry and discipleship.

---

To read more news on Bible Translation on Missions Box, go here.

---