Middle East (MNN) — The ongoing state of crisis in the Middle East is causing people to hunger for God like no other time before, according to contacts with the World Bible Translation Center.
That’s why the Bible resource ministry is responding with the easy-to-read translation in Arabic. For security reasons, we’re calling our contact ‘Mark.’ He says the translation they have been using was done 160 years ago, “and now most of these words are not used, because you know languages change. So when you read (the) Bible, we don’t understand it because it’s not common at all. It’s not used in our daily life.”
Mark says that the unrest in the region is stirring up a lot of questions in people’s hearts and shaking the religious foundations of many people, including fundamentalists, “What’s happening in the Middle East, makes the people be disappointed from everything. So they (are) just coming to the mosque and the churches. We are religious people in the Middle East. So they went to the mosque and the churches are full, because they are seeking God. Some people, they are disappointed because they didn’t find God in those places, so they are looking around so the Word of God is the answer.”
The easy-to-read translation will help answer those questions, and Mark believes in the power of God’s Word and prayer. “All the people around us–terrorists, fanatics, fundamentalists — is people seeking God. So we love them, and we pray for them and God will reveal Himself for the sincere people.”
God is moving, revealing Himself through visions and dreams. The Word of God gives power in people’s lives, says Mark, and he is excited to see the results in others’ lives. “Now we can understand and love to read, love to share, even the people of God to evangelize with the Word which can be understood by the majority.”
The church in the Middle East is limited in its resources and are in need of funding to help print and distribute these easy-to-read translations. Contact World Bible Translation Center to help.
Pray for the church in the Middle East to have boldness, peace and courage.
