“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.”
John 6:63
“The full power of the Word lies not in how we apply it to our lives after we have heard it, but in its transforming power that does its divine work as we listen” (Henri Nouwen, 1994).
Jacob DeShazer participated in the Doolittle raid over Japan in April 1942 after Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was captured, imprisoned, and tortured by the Japanese. He saw friends go before firing squads, others die of starvation. Though an atheist, he began to consider life-and-death issues during the months of pain and deprivation. He asked a jailer persistently if he could get a Bible. More than a year later a guard brought him one, saying, “Three weeks, then I take it away.” Those weeks changed DeShazer’s life.
He returned to Japan in 1948 after the war, now as a Christian missionary to the city he had bombed. He brought the good news of salvation to Captain Fuchida who led the attack on Pearl Harbor. The two were even known to preach the gospel together at times in Japan.
Isn’t the transforming power of the Word of God astounding?
Jacob DeShazer participated in the Doolittle raid over Japan in April 1942 after Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was captured, imprisoned, and tortured by the Japanese. He saw friends go before firing squads, others die of starvation. Though an atheist, he began to consider life-and-death issues during the months of pain and deprivation. He asked a jailer persistently if he could get a Bible. More than a year later a guard brought him one, saying, “Three weeks, then I take it away.” Those weeks changed DeShazer’s life.
He returned to Japan in 1948 after the war, now as a Christian missionary to the city he had bombed. He brought the good news of salvation to Captain Fuchida who led the attack on Pearl Harbor. The two were even known to preach the gospel together at times in Japan.
Isn’t the transforming power of the Word of God astounding?
Scripture Focus
John 6:60-69
Insight
How well are you listening to God’s Word? As you consider this, thank Him for the times it has transformed your life.
Bible In A Year
- Job 23-25
- Psalm 54
- Luke 17
