Year 27: A daily verse of encouragement + the opportunity to bring the Bible
to a group of people in South Asia who do not have it in their own language.
My thoughts about the “Least of These”
The Ehty people number just 6,000 in a sensitive country in South Asia. They are considered a “Least of These” group as are many others. The more I think about it, I’m pretty sure that God would not simply label the Ehty people as the “Least of These.”
I recently read Isaiah 40. In its entirety, this chapter really reminds us of the sovereignty of God (sovereignty means supreme rank, power, authority). Some of the verses really hit home with me recently.
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? Have you not understood? … It is He who brings out the host by number — who calls them ALL BY NAME. Because He is strong in power — not ONE is missing.” (verses 21 and 26)
AND verse 28: “The Lord is the everlasting God — the creator of the ENDS OF THE EARTH.” (Emphasis mine.)
He calls all the stars by name; He knows the number of the hairs on our head. Only 6,000 Ehty people? So what! He sent His one and only Son — that WHOEVER believes in Him should not perish.
It is individual by individual — and if that means that only one person speaks one specific language, they are still important to God.
I’m not just thinking about this for the Ehty people. We recently had an event to minister to freshmen at Black Hills State University. I was worried that only five people were going to show up. So what? The people who fit into this group at Black Hills State — a university with 5,000 students and then broken down into just the freshman class — they matter! God is the creator of the ends of the earth — the creator of the freshman class at BHSU and of the five students (and it was a lot more than five!) who attended our event. Five people or 5,000 people — they all matter!
Maybe this was a good reminder for my perspective, but I am continually overwhelmed by how God cares about me — individually!
What is YEAR 27 and how does it relate to the “Least of These” initiative?
At some point last year, I realized that my 28th birthday falls on 12-12-12 (a unique date if you ask me). Year 27 started with the idea that I could DO SOMETHING different for my 28th birthday — something BIG. I prayed about what this would be and over time, Year 27 was born. I’m spending YEAR 27 doodling Scripture verses everyday because I want to translate a book of the Bible into another language.
Through OneVerse — a program of The Seed Company — I’d like YOU to help me raise the funds to translate the equivalent of the book of John into the language of the Ehty people in South Asia. That’s 879 verses at $26/verse. Yes … that’s a lot and I need your help. So, in case you are wondering, I’d like scripture translation for my 28th birthday. You can do this now or wait until Dec. 12, 2012, or you can commit to giving every month.
Throughout Year 27, we’ve seen $5,575 given toward Bible translation for the Ehty people. That’s over 214 verses that the Ehty people will have in their own heart language!
879−214=665 verses to go to reach our goal of translating the book of John.
Now is the time to get involved! Please share YEAR 27 with your friends and family. Please be praying about how you can get involved with bringing the Bible to this group of people in South Asia who have not heard the story of Jesus. I’m praying that God will move in the hearts of the people who have been impacted by this project to GIVE — to bring Him all glory both through this blog and in South Asia.
When Jill Davis isn’t doodling, she designs logos and publications for clients around the United States. Jill and her husband, Geoffrey, live in Spearfish, SD. They minister to college students at Black Hills State University and serve at Connection Church, a new church plant in the Black Hills. Follow her at Year27.com and on Twitter @whatsthejillio.
Thanks for this post One Verse! I’m honored!