OneVerse | Sitting At His Feet

Battling Back With the Word

March 14, 2012 By Shannon 1 Comment

I admitted it – right there, in front of all those people.

Admitted my desperate need for the Word:

My ability to control my thoughts is directly related to how much time I spend in the Word. When I miss a day or two, my thoughts begin to go south.

I experienced it the week before. The very week I was preparing to participate in a roundtable discussion on having the mind of Christ, my mind was anything but Christ-like. Negativity and worry and fear had crept in and found their way to my mouth.

Because as a man thinks, so is he.

They say the battlefield is the mind, and I know that to be true by experience. Satan wages war on my soul by introducing thoughts into my mind, and I have a choice either to reject or accept those thoughts. As I compare them to truth found only in the Word, I can take those thoughts captive and cast them out. Or I can choose to meditate on them, and allow them to influence my thinking.

Satan whispers discontent, but I battle back with “we have brought nothing into this world, so we cannot take anything out of it either” and “if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content” and “be rich in good works.”

Satan tempts me with worry, but I battle back with “be anxious for nothing, bu in everything by prayer … let your requests be made known to God.”

Satan subtly influences through the world, but I battle back with “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

When I’m in His Word regularly, my mind is set on the things above. However, when the Word is not my daily diet, I struggle with my thought life.

But what if I didn’t have the Word as my plumb line? What if truth wasn’t readily available in my heart and mind or on my shelf? And what if the Word wasn’t even available in my language?

That is a sad reality for many around the world.

The Vidunda people in Tanzania for example do not have the Word of God in their native tongue. As a result all sorts of distortions of truth have crept into their thinking and then out into their religious practices.

Because as a man thinks, so is he.

Would you help OneVerse translate the Bible into the Vidundan language?

Your generous donation of only $26/month will give them the very words of God to battle the lies of the enemy.

Meet this wonderful community of OneVerse bloggers – because there are millions of people around the world without the Bible in their language and we are not o.k. with that!

Filed Under: God's Word, OneVerse

Going on a Bible Hunt

February 8, 2012 By Shannon 2 Comments

I asked them to help me.

Our mission was simple: Search through all three floors to find all the Bibles in the house. The little one took the top floor, the boy the basement, and I collected the Bibles from the main floor.

We stacked them high on the kitchen table.

Thirteen in total.

Then we sat and drank hot chocolate and talked about how fortunate we are to own so many Bibles.

I told them about a group of people in East Africa who don’t have a Bible in their own language. Little boys and girls who not heard or read even one verse of scripture.

We decided we are not o.k. with that.

I explained to them that we are sending money each month to OneVerse to fund Bible translation into the language of the Vidunda people. One verse at a time, translators are working towards completing the New Testament by 2014.

As they drained their mugs of chocolate I thought about my own journey. Much of where I am today is because of God’s Word. I fell in love with Jesus through His Word. I am able to know and experience God through His Word. My mind is transformed and renewed through His Word. Without the Word of God, my understanding of who He is and what He’s called me to do would be quite limited.

Just as lack of food malnourishes the physical body, Bible poverty starves the spirit.

Will you join the effort to end Bible poverty? For only $26, you can fund the translation of one verse of Scripture.

And just for fun, will you go on a Bible hunt through your home? Collect them, stack them up, take a photo, then join us over here? How high would your stack of Bibles be?

Maybe you could donate $5 for every Bible you find?

Perhaps you could give a one-time gift of $26 and sponsor one verse?

Or maybe you could become a monthly sponsor, faithfully funding the translation of one verse every month?

Together we can end Bible poverty, one verse at a time.

Filed Under: OneVerse

Will You Help Others Be Rich in Scripture?

January 4, 2012 By Shannon 3 Comments

I counted eight of them in our house.

Eight copies of the Word of God for four people! We are rich in Scripture indeed.

It’s hard to believe there are people groups around the world who don’t have a single verse of Scripture in their own language.

Meet the Vidunda people.

The Vidunda people’s ancestral land lies in the foothills between two mountains of Tanzania. On the north, Mikumi National Park borders their homeland. In the past, sugar planters gradually usurped the plains, forcing the Vidunda people into the mountains. During WWII, enemy soldiers massacred large numbers of Vidunda speakers who were hiding in a cave. In recent years, government officials have forbidden farming on top of the mountain. This history of exploitation and abuse has made the Vidunda people very wary of outsiders. In this language group, more than 60 percent affiliate with Christianity. However, most still fear witchcraft and engage in many kinds of animistic rituals along with their non-believing neighbors. Many Christians still hang amulets on their children to protect them from evil spirits and curses. Because they’ve been hearing Scripture in a language foreign to them, most Vidunda people have little idea what it actually teaches.The majority of Vidunda speakers still live in fear of spirits rather than experiencing the redemption and freedom they could know in Christ. Non-Christians can’t see much victory or joy in the lives of believers. The Scriptures in their mother tongue will offer believers tools for deliverance from the bondage of fear. It will also support personal spiritual growth and provide a solid foundation from which to reach out to others.

They do not have the Word of God in their own language.

I am not okay with that.

I am so thrilled to be part of a project with the OneVerse Bloggers to translate the New Testament into the native language of the Vidunda people. By 2014 the Seed Company through OneVerse plans to be able to print the New Testament in it’s entirety for the Vidunda.

But they need our help.

For only $26 a month you can help translate Scripture. The last verse that was funded was Matthew 24:29, so we are almost through the book of Matthew! We can do this!

Will you help others be rich in Scripture?

(Click here to donate)

Filed Under: OneVerse

Gift-a-Verse and Multitude Monday

November 28, 2011 By Shannon 2 Comments

I knew God wanted me there for a reason, but the conference was almost over and I still had no idea why.

A week prior to Relevant – a Christian woman’s blogging conference – I was notified about an available ticket. In a whirlwind of rescheduling and packing, God continually confirmed His desire for me to attend.

It was now the final dinner at Relevant and I sat down at a table of ladies I didn’t know. We made polite conversation as we ate. To my right a mother balanced her 7-month old daughter on her knee and tried to cut her roast beef with her one free hand (I’ve been there!). The seat to my left was vacant.

Lord, why did You want me to come? The question rolled over and over in my mind. Yes, I had been inspired and yes it had been a wonderful time away with my family, but I sensed there was more as to why God had me there.

Halfway through the meal a lady sat down in the vacant seat and we began to chat. And in God’s impeccable timing He revealed the reason I was at Relevant.

Her name was Johanna Fenton and she is involved with the social media for OneVerse. She tells me of her heart for the Word and her work with OneVerse and The Seed Company to translate the Bible into minority languages around the world.

What is OneVerse? Today, nearly one-third of the world’s language groups representing 340 million people are still waiting for God’s Word in a language that they can understand clearly.

OneVerse is a program of The Seed Company that enables you to support local Bible translators as they make God’s message available in the language of their people.Your sponsorship gift of $26 provides the resources required for national translators to translate one verse of Scripture into their own language. Through OneVerse, you join a team of prayer and financial partners to make this possible.

OneVerse Bible translation projects are managed exclusively by The Seed Company as we work in partnership with various organizations and local leadership. Sponsorship support for a language project is combined and managed to ensure that all project goals are met. If a translation project is interrupted due to circumstances beyond our control, any remaining funds will be allocated towards other similar translation projects. The Seed Company is working directly with over 400 translation projects in countries around the world.

Because the Word transforms, she says.

I know this to be true.

Her purpose at the conference was to look for bloggers who would be willing to write about this ministry.

Now this – this I could get excited about.

I came away from that conversation knowing this was something God was calling me to do.

And so now, several months, emails, and conference calls later, I’m inviting you to be involved as well.

The OneVerse Bloggers, including myself, have many exciting ways for you to participate, but for now, as we approach Christmas, would you consider giving the Word as a gift?

In partnership with the Duggars, through Gift-a-Verse, with a donation of $26, you can support the work of OneVerse by translating one verse of Scripture into a minority language. And for your donation, you will receive a Christmas card to send to a friend during the holidays.

What better gift could we give than the transforming power of the Word?

Simply click here to donate.

Check back in January for more exciting ways to become involved!