Dear Friends,
As you know, Andy and I enjoyed two weeks away in May. We love going away to North Wales, and it was good to enjoy some walks we had done many times and some that were new. One of the walks we did included clambering among the ruins of Castell y Bere, which then led us onto the village of Llanfihangel-y-Pennant. Some of you may have heard of this village as it was where Mary Jones lived. The story of Mary Jones really challenged me again.
For those of you who don’t know the story, Mary Jones, who was only 15, travelled barefoot across the mountains, from Llanfihangel-y-Pennant to Bala – a journey of 26 miles – to buy a Bible in Welsh. When she arrived in Bala, Reverend Thomas Charles had sold out of Bibles, and so he gave her his own. But her desire for a Bible started a vision, and so the British and Foreign Bible Society was formed.
I find this story so challenging. I have so many Bibles as I am sure you do too, but how passionate am I about it? How much do I take it for granted? Would I be willing to walk 26 miles barefoot in order to have a Bible? I believe the Bible is transforming – it transforms our life if we let it. As we read, meditate and study, so we encounter Jesus on every page as the Holy Spirit makes him known to us. As the book of Hebrews tells us, it is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, and as Proverbs tells us, it is good for our health and wellbeing. We want God to speak to us, but so often we fail to open his mouth – the Bible.
I would encourage you in the coming days not to take the Bible for granted but to pick it up, read it and let the Spirit speak to you through it – make a note of anything that jumps out at you so you can continue to think and meditate on it. To help you start, and if you do not take Bible reading notes, perhaps you would like to read Psalm 22 – read it and meditate on it. See how many of the verses remind you of the crucifixion of Jesus, then read the crucifixion again in the gospels.
May God bless you and speak to you as you read his word,
With love,
Jane