Back in the 1980’s I had the privilege (? – terrifying before I went!) of going to China for the first time, and then a number of times, ostensibly to take Bibles to a nation where there are churches of 10’s of thousands of members with ONE Bible between them. I thought about my home back in the UK ad tried to a mental count up of the number of Bibles in my house. With ‘old’ ones and newer ones, different translations, etc., I realised it was probably around 40. Watch this short video, and then read on…. (you might have to copy and paste the link into your browser – it’ll be worth the ‘effort!)…

In the video you’ll have heard about how pastors went for 13 hours by train for a three-day seminar, sitting on hard floors, no air conditioning, and the preacher/teacher spoke non-stop for 9 hours. He’d not taken enough Bibles to give everyone a copy, but in China, vast numbers of people have memorised large parts of the Bible – in some cases – ALL of it – (Samuel Lamb – or Lín Xiàn-gāo 林獻羔 to give him his Chinese name: Wang Ming Dao, the father of the House Church movement in China to name but two). I had the honour of meeting Brother Yun, too (刘振营; Liú Zhènyíng) – who is well known in the west now as the Heavenly Man. When Yun was in prison, where he fasted without food and water for 74 days, he was frequently tortured, and often put in solitary confinement as he refused to stop preaching and praying for people. If you were to read his story written long before ‘The Heavenly Man’ was published, in ‘Lilies among Thorns’, you’ll read this, in Chapter 6 (precied for space!). He was beaten with electric batons, ropes, and leather whips until his body was cut open and he had wounds everywhere. He was in intense pain. He was then put in solitary confinement for 100 days: a room a mere 12 square feet (not 12 feet square! My maths was always my worst subject at school – well, after woodwork and sciences! but I reckon that’s 4 feet by 3feet, or 1.3 metres by 1 metre maximum)). It had been closed up for a year, was very damp, and the smell of mildew was overwhelming. The room has one very dim light. He heard a bird chirping outside the cell, and asked God when he would be free like that bird. God spoke 1 Peter 2:21 to him: ‘For even hereunto were you called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow in his steps’. Yun says he fell to his knees, crying out ‘Lord, I am willing, willing to follow in your footsteps.’ His hear was consumed with love, joy and peace, so he sang. He’d not read the Bible for days, his hunger for one was intense, and he prayed to the Lord for one. He had a dream in which he saw the handcuffs fall off and he was holding a Bible and reading it.  Yun woke, and the handcuffs fell off….

Next morning, one of his chief persecutors pushed a Bible through the lattice window – wow, was THAT unlikely! He usually tore Bibles up, but he was giving one to Yun. ‘Yun wept with joy. He studied the Bible day and night, and in the SHORT period of 90 days left in solitary confinement, he read the entire Bible through, but memorised ALL of the Scriptures from Hebrews to Revelation, a total of 55 chapters.

I’m the first to confess that my knowledge of Scripture has a load of gaps…. I know quite a few Scriptures but please, don’t always ask me where they are! Many I DO know I learned in Children’s Church at Victoria Drive Baptist Church (later to be Victoria Baptist Church, Eastbourne), Sunday School, Christian Endeavour, and Covenanters, in the late 50s to the late 60’s, doing ‘Sword Drill’ – our Children’s Church leader, the lovely Alice Dowding, was an avid ‘Sword Drill’ leader – where you stood with your ‘sword’ (Bible) under your arm, a verse would be quoted, the instruction ‘DRAW’ would be given, and the first to find it would be so chuffed. Verses in books like Obadiah and Zephaniah were particularly challenging! I remember many scriptures (KJV of course, then!) – but the Chinese take it to a whole new level.

One pastor told me that in their cells, they had (generally) a filthy toilet, but each was connected to the same main sewer pipe, so they’d use their clothes to soak up the water, and then, with their heads down the pan, would preach to the person in the next cell if they weren’t saved, or recite Scriptures which they’d write down, then memorise….and so the Bible would be learned and the gospel would be preached with heads down the filthy toilet…..

Sort of puts sword drill and my own personal knowledge of the Bible into the shade somewhat…