Sunday, 18th February 2024
Bible Reading: Job 23:12, Philippians 1:21
Memory Verse: I would rather obey you than to have a thousand pieces of silver and gold. Psalm 119:72 (CEV)
The Voice of Martyrs’ reports: Six men and one widow were taken before the court for committing an extreme crime against the Church of England. They had taught their children the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments in the English language.
Latin was the only language allowed for biblical instruction in England in 1519. However, the common people spoke English. The believers secretly translated parts of Scripture into English and carefully passed the translations from home to home. But now they had been caught, and they were to be tied to stakes and publicly burned.
The mercy of the court had smiled solely on the widow out of the seven prisoners, and she was allowed to go free. No one protested, for she was alone and had children to care for at home.
A guard named Simon Mourton generously offered to walk the pardoned widow home. As Simon was leading her by the arm, he heard a rustle within her coat sleeve. He pulled from her coat the English translations, the same materials they had been teaching their children. Even though she had just escaped a death sentence, she subsequently refused to part with the translations, believing her children still needed to know the truth of God’s Word. Her fate was now sealed.
Shortly after, the six men and the courageous widow were secured to three wooden poles and were burnt alive. The possessions we value are treated with utmost care and security. Yet, to Christians living in the sixteenth century, Scripture was their most prized possession. Like the tenacious widow in this story, they considered mere pieces of the Bible worth the cost of their lives.
While the times may have changed, the value of God’s Word has not. Our lives must still demonstrate to others that God’s Word is precious, though we are unlikely to die in doing so. Do others know how much or little you treasure Scripture? Can they tell the personal value God’s Word has in your life? “Your instructions are more valuable to me than millions in gold and silver”. Psalm 119:72 (KJV)
Quote: There are four principles we need to maintain: First, read the Word of God. Second, consume the Word of God until it consumes you. Third believe the Word of God. Fourth, act on the Word – Smith Wigglesworth.
Prophetic Decree: Receive grace to stand on the Word and to stand by the Word, in Jesus name.
Prayer Focus:
1. I receive grace to live by the integrity of the Word of God, in Jesus name.
2. O Lord, please help me to be a doer of your Word, in Jesus name.
3. I receive grace to do and to teach the Bible in Jesus name.
4. My life shall not be like a bus conductor who leads others to heaven but never goes there, in Jesus name.
5. I receive grace to live for my faith and to die for my faith, if need be, in Jesus name.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Leviticus 14-15
