THE WORD IN ACTION

The Bible Still Means What It Meant Then

By Brian Rex Davis | ACTION EDITOR & WBS PRESIDENT 

It is always a joy to see the principles of Bible study transforming people’s lives! Similar to the woman on the front of this issue, many may not have academic training or the benefits of higher education. But the transforming power of Bible study is just as powerful for the village lady in India as it is for the professor in a western university. One such story that impacted my life is when the second president of World Bible School, Reuel Lemmons, preached a Gospel meeting in Pocahontas, Arkansas and baptized my grandfather, Henry Davis. My grandfather had a third grade education. But through Bible study, his life changed, and he led his family into the productive lifestyle of New Testament Christianity for generations. By the end of his life, he had served on the mission field and had served as an elder of the church. At family reunions, he was often found beating the younger crowd in a game of Bible trivia. His four sons went on to excel in education, business, and Christian ministry.

The trajectory of multiple generations was changed because a man who knew the Word took the time to share Jesus with a man who did not know the Word. A life and family were transformed because a farmer – with little formal education – took the time to take Bible study seriously. When my father helped me as a youth adopt some World Bible School Students in 1973 – a new program that offered Bible correspondence courses to Students around the world, he passed on Reuel and Henry’s value of Bible study. This and other stories of the Word in ACTION! can be read in our two coffee table books.

More importantly, we hope this issue of ACTION! will inspire you in the life-transformative principles of Bible study and in the life joy of You Sharing Jesus.