Random Thoughts-42

Reading about William Tyndale recently, I realized that many are the heroes of the Christian faith, some among them martyrs, who have paid the price for the translation, printing and publication of the Bible in English.
Tyndale, called by some as "The father of the English Bible", underwent immense persecution, imprisonment and finally was strangled and burned at the stake in 1536 for translating the Bible in to English.

At a time when Bible translation was prohibited by the church, he had a burning desire to make available the Bible in English, so that the commoner in England could easily read it. Educated in Oxford and Cambridge, he could speak seven languages and was good at Hebrew and Greek.
He traveled to Hamburg, Germany and worked on the New Testament and got it printed in Cologne, but the press was raided; he however escaped with the printed pages to the city Worms where the New Testament was soon published. Around 6000 copies were published and smuggled to England. King Henry VIII was furious. Some bishops burnt the bibles, others bought them to destroy them. Another called it the
"Testament of the Antichrist."

Tyndale hid in Antwerp and began translating the Old Testament while the King's soldiers searched England and Europe for him.
Finally, Henry Phillips, an Englishman, who befriended him, betrayed his trust and Tyndale was captured by soldiers.
On October 6, 1536 he killed by strangling and burning. Some say, his last prayer was "Lord, open the eyes of the King of England." Around 3 years later, King Henry VIII ordered every church in England to make a copy of the English Bible available to its worshippers.
Around 90% of the King James Version and 75% of the Revised Standard Version are from the Bible translated into English by William Tyndale.

I believe when he was burnt at the stake, Jesus was welcoming him in heaven saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!" (Matthew 25:21)

Random Thoughts-32

Most of us have fire extinguishers at homes. At least that's the norm in the place that I stay in the Middle East now. Looking at the fire extinguisher attached to the kitchen wall this morning, I wondered how the thing worked, so I took a closer look. There were instructions for using it; they were simple. In case of a fire, remove the pin at the top, point the nozzle at the base of the fire and press the lever to release the gas to extinguish the flames.The thought that crossed my mind was that the thing had been there for a long time but I had cared not to read how it could be used. Why wait for an emergency and then read the instructions when there may be very little time.
It's the same with some Christians. They have their Bibles at home, kept neatly somewhere, but they care not to open it, nor read or meditate on it. Of course they give it some importance on Sundays; a few don't bother about it then too.
But for them who read, meditate and live it, it is life giving and much more; even an extinguisher of fires started by the enemy of their souls.

Random Thoughts-41

An old pastor used to visit my clinic in Kerala, India, a few years back. He was in his nineties, short, bald and very frail. It was on the insistence of his children that he used to come for check ups. The moment he stepped in to the clinic, I knew he was there, because he always had a song in his mouth regarding the Lord Jesus Christ. Most of his songs were regarding eternal life and life with Jesus in heaven. It seemed that he was already living in heaven though on earth. Hope and confidence ++. Not that he was in the best of health, yet the praises were flowing. I marveled at his love for the Lord. Later, one day, his son, also a pastor, called me to tell me that his father had passed away, the previous night. He continued, "Last night, my father called us as a family to his bedside and told us that his time was up and he was ready to meet his Savior. He spoke of angels coming to take him and breathed his last with a smile on his face." I was at his funeral and testified regarding my observance of this holy servant of God. Praise God for such confidence, such hope........

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. (2 Corinthians 5:1)

Random Thoughts-40

Travelling to work the other day, I happened to be driving my vehicle behind a huge trailer truck. It moved so very slowly, almost creeping, making me impatient, when the still small voice spoke in me, saying, "Patience".

Traffic accidents happen all around us because of people being impatient and rash. Many vehicles zoom past us; hardly any of them are emergencies. Most eventually stop at the signal and the tortoises catch up soon.

We learn patience standing for our turns in various queues, be they in shopping mall counters or at the immigration department.

Believers in Jesus Christ have to be patient too, for them to receive answers from God to their prayers. Waiting can be trying at times, but praying and waiting patiently on the Lord brings results eventually.

You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. (James 5:8)

Random Thoughts-39

Random Thoughts-39 

 The other day I was surprised when I read the name of one of my new patients. The nurse had brought his file and the name read "Yamraj", which means "God of Death" in Hinduism. As I waited for him to come in, I wondered why his parents must have named him so. Surely he wouldn't have looked like one when he was born. Perhaps they were worshippers of Yamraj. Or perhaps it was just a mistake on their part; they didn't realize the meaning of the name. As he entered my room, I saw that he was thin and pale, tense and nervous, as if he himself had just seen "Yamraj" on the way to the clinic. I asked him whether he knew the meaning of his name. He smiled but didn't reply.

Well, there you are; the peculiarities of human life. One of the things that most people have no control over is their own names. They are stuck with whatever their parents or guardians thought was good for them and by the time they realize that something else would have been better, their names are already in their school certificates and passports and changing to some other preferred name would mean "an uphill task", which most avoid. But there's another side to this matter. We read in the book of Proverbs, Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man. (Proverbs 3:3, 4) Inference: We can win a good name in the sight of God and man, no matter what name we have.

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