Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. (Psalm 119:105)
It has been really uplifting to see the comments some of you have shared in response the letters to Libby. We’ll take a break from letters to Libby today to reflect on a true story about Bible Study and Spiritual Warfare. The story is from a book entitled “The Insanity of God: A True Story of Faith Resurrected” by Nik Ripken. The author tells the story of Dmitri, a believer in the Former Soviet Union who was imprisoned for his faith. The following excerpt from Dmitri’s story speaks of passion for the Bible in the face of significant persecution:
“His persecutors continued to discourage and silence him. Dmitri remained faithful. He was overwhelmed one day by a special gift from God’s hand. In the prison yard, he found a whole sheet of paper. ‘And God,’ Dmitri said, ‘had laid a pencil beside it!’
Dmitri went on, ‘I rushed back to my jail cell and I wrote every Scripture reference, every Bible verse, every story, and every song I could recall.’
‘I knew that it was probably foolish,’ Dmitri told me, ‘but I couldn’t help myself. I filled both sides of the paper with as much of the Bible as I could. I reached up and stuck the entire sheet of paper on that wet concrete pillar. Then I stood and looked at it: to me it seemed like the greatest offering I could give Jesus from my prison cell. Of course, my jailor saw it. I was beaten and punished. I was threatened with execution.’”
Dmitri’s story reminds me that the kind of passion for the Bible that we see in Biblical characters like David is still evident in believers of our age, even in the face of clear Spiritual Warfare.
Today’s Question:
What inspiration do you take from Dmitri’s story?