Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope

Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and welcome to Joni and Friends.

Not long ago I found myself in a prayer meeting at an international church. When I arrived, I immediately noticed many people, all of them believers in Jesus, and they were obviously from different nationalities. Some of them were dressed in African garb, others looked Middle Eastern. One or two people even wore turbans, and I noticed a few women wearing Indian saris. I thought to myself, ‘Oh, this is going to be interesting’, and I was right. More than just interesting, it was absolutely heavenly when we all started praying; oh, sure some in English, but many chose to pray in their own language. And at the close when we sang a few familiar worship songs, the words were indescribable (actually they were indiscernible), but oh, the sound took my breath away. Like I said, it sounded like heaven.

My heart is always stunned and stirred when I hear people from different nations giving praise to God in their own language. And if it thrills me here on earth, what will it be like in the throne room of God? Revelation Chapter 7 says, “… I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar: ‘Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!’” Will we say all speak in English, or in French, or Russian? Or will it be the language that people all enjoyed speaking together before the Tower of Babel when God divided that one language into many. Look, I don’t know what it will be like, but that description in Chapter 7 makes me want to lie prostrate in amazement!

Recently, I had that same feeling of amazement when a friend shared a link to a fascinating website called Scripture Earth. It catalogs every (and I mean every) known bit of Scripture available in every language on every continent. You can click and listen to (or you can choose to read) scripture spoken and written in all kinds of languages; those well-known and others that are completely obscure. I played around on the website for a while, clicking here and there, looking at John 3:16 written in Achagua and Abidji, wherever those languages are spoken! It is astounding—not only to think of the variety of tribes and peoples God has created, but to imagine standing alongside them from all those nations (those people) as we praise God together. What a glorious day that is going to be.
So get ready, get started for the party by visiting joniradio.org and clicking on the link to Scripture Earth. And the best part – if you know someone in your town or on your college campus who speaks Vietnamese, Uzbek, Tamil, Hindi or some other way-different language, hop on the website, cut and paste a few encouraging Bible verses in their tongue, or perhaps your favorite Psalm or maybe your life verse; find it in their language, print it out, and hand it to them with a smile, and maybe a hug :-). After all, it’s a wonderful way – and a simple way – of sharing favorite Bible verses. So today, find the link to Scripture Earth on joniradio.org because God's Word changes lives, so let's do all we can to reach our international friends with God's love, after all, I know you want them to join us before God's throne, praising their Savior on that glorious day! God bless you today and thanks for listening to Joni and Friends.