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Famine in the Land
| Bro Gaius Egwu (Ohafia, Nigeria)
“B
ehold, the days come,” saith the Lord,
“that I will send a famine in the land,
not a famine of bread, not a thirst for water,
but of a hearing the words of the Lord; And
they shall wander from sea to sea and from
the north even to the east, they shall run to
and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and
shall not find it.”
Bibles in this local area are hard to find, and
when they are available for sale, are not
affordable to many whose monthly salary
amounts to about US$ 20. Bibles and Chris-
tian books in numerous areas are also
out of reach for many people,
either because of oppressive
governments or because of
economic constraints. In
some other parts of the
world, the problem is
neither lack of money nor
oppressive regimes; rather,
the problems include perva-
sive humanism, encroaching
secularism, blatant materi-
alism, and mind-deadening
amusement. Since people do
not like to retain God in their
knowledge. Interest in the word of
God wanes. In this environment, people
who follow the prince of peace become
marginalized and even discriminated against.
Even finding the word of God in rich and free
countries become difficult as well. There is
famine in the land.
In Christadelphia, it would seem that the word
of the Lord is in plentiful supply- at least if we
interpret this as an easy and plentiful avail-
ability of scripture. We have numerous copies
of the Bible in our homes, perhaps even Bibles
in more than one language. Our bookshelves
sag with study helps and Bible story books.
Tracts and magazines get dusty and tattered
in the side door pockets of our cars. We should
distribute them but we often don’t. We have
plenty- what should we do to alleviate the
famine of the word in the land, and help those
who have less? I suggest three things:
• Love the Word ~ When something means a
lot to us, it becomes obvious to others. People
who love sports can sit for hours and watch
sports, or they can speak animatedly for a long
time about their favourite team or player.
When we love the Word of God we will sit for
hours feasting on God’s Word, whether by
personal study or by hearing it preached. We
will speak of God’s word often and it will then
be easy for us to speak of His Word to any and
all who will listen (Amos 8:11-12). Those who
love God’s Word will memorize Psalm 119:97,
hiding it in their hearts, making it avail-
able to them for a time when a
famine of the word of the Lord
might come to their land.
• Live the Word ~ If we
really love the Word, we will
live the Word, we will apply
its principles to daily living.
With it hidden in our hearts,
we will be equipped to
avoid sin against God. Our
children will observe that our
lives are patterned after the
principles of God’s Word. Our
neighbours will note that we live
differently than most others in our
community. They will see our good
works and glorify our Father who is in heaven.
Truly living the Word will spread its influence,
even to people who are not reading it them-
selves. It will lessen the famine in the land.
• Share the Word ~ Many in this part of the
world, and in some other countries, do not
have their own copies of the Bible. Can we
share from our plenty to provide for their lack?
Some of the people we meet in day-to-day life
know very little about God’s Word. Let us get
the dusty tracts out of our vehicles and into
the hand of people who will read them. A word
of testimony or praise to God might be what
the bank teller or the store cashier needs to
turn her mind toward God. Some people who
will not read the Bible or listen to exhortation
or read a tract will observe the lives of God’s
~ continued ...