Milestones

We are recipients of the love and grace of God, and are called to be stewards of what He has entrusted to us. 1st Corinthians 4 contains these words:
1 Let a man so consider us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by a human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
4 For I know nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.

Because we belong to Christ, we have the tremendous responsibility to function according to His ability working through us.  He has loved us, and He empowers us to act according to that love in ministering to others, being aware of the needs around us and sensitive to the direction of His Holy Spirit. Because Jesus has been faithful to us, we can be motivated by His love to be faithful to Him by allowing His Spirit to flow through us for His glory.

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We can be careful to acknowledge our awareness of God's work in our respective areas, as well as our nation and the world. We are each called to do the work of His ministry, so that Christ can be made known. 2nd Corinthians 4 provides this reminder:
6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
8 We are hard pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed--
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

There are tremendous tools that God has used in order to bring people into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  One is the Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) movie, the Jesus film. According to Baptist Press, "Since its release in 1979, it has been viewed by billions of people around the world and resulted in more than 600 million decisions for Christ, according to statistics on the film’s website."

The story notes that the Guinness Book of World Records says that the film is the "most translated film" in the world. And, the film just celebrated a milestone - its 2000th language. The Baptist Press article related that, "Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary student Mang Siing recently became a part of history when he served as the narrator for the Zo language translation of the world-famous Jesus Film." The article says:

Siing, who is from Myanmar, said Zo is one of more than 50 different dialects of the Chin people group, and was of the last of the Chin languages to receive a biblical translation. The New Testament translation of Zo was completed about 10 years ago, followed by the entire Bible in 2018.

It notes that: "The role Siing played with the voiceover was providing the lines for the film’s narrator. He also enlisted 28 other people from the Zo community in Fort Worth to provide voices for other characters, including Jesus, Mary and several children’s voices. The full recording process took around 16 hours for Siing, and a full week of days and nights overall...The local Zo community was so excited about the project that they partnered with both Southwestern and representatives from the Jesus Film to host a premiere showing on the school’s campus in October."

Another worldwide ministry has reached a milestone - the 200 millionth shoebox, to be distributed by Operation Christmas Child, an outreach of Samaritan's Purse. It was packed by a former shoebox recipient and will be delivered to a child in Ukraine. 

Elizabeth Groff, according to the Samaritan's Purse website, "received a shoebox gift years ago as a lonely child in an orphanage in Ukraine." She spent a week traveling to several locations across America - from Denver to the Chicago area to Nashville, and ending up in Punta Gorda, Florida, where the ministry is providing relief for victims of Hurricane Ian. At each stop, she added a gift, chosen by an social media poll.

The final stop is coming up this week: at the Charlotte Processing Center on Saturday, where Samaritan's Purse President Franklin Graham will insert the last gift. Then, according to the website: "Elizabeth’s adventure will culminate when she finally delivers the celebratory 200 millionth shoebox to a young girl in Ukraine affected by the ongoing war." She relates: “I pray that this child realizes and understands that they aren’t alone. With everything going on Ukraine, it must be so difficult for them,” adding, “I want them to know that there is the hope of Jesus.”

So, we celebrate with these two enduring, impactful ministries.  But, we also realize that each encounter with the Savior, each meal served during Thanksgiving, every family in need touched by believing Christians during the Christmas season, and the ongoing work of ministry is a milestone in and of itself. 

We continue to observe and to report to you how God is at work in our area, around the nation, and throughout the world.  We are grateful for the churches and ministries in the Faith Radio listening area who are obeying Christ and spreading His love. We can be thankful for the ways that God chooses to use each of us and be willing servants following His direction.