Kneeling here, tending the roots of a proverbial tree, I rarely see the forest. (“He can’t see the forest for the trees.”)

I just read a note from a leading missions professor. He wrote, “No mission agency has been more strategic in Kingdom advancement than Wycliffe…”

That is the forest of which we are a part.

There are five strategic themes of Vision 2025. One theme is Urgency. The more I think about this theme, the more I “buy into it.”

What makes something urgent? I think we have to definitions. The “bad” definition is that something is urgent when it demands immediate attention — whether it deserves it or not. That is not the kind of urgency that fuels Vision 2025 and Bible translation.

The second definition is that a a matter which is urgent is a matter that deserves attention in order to address that matter in a timely way. Urgent matters should not be sidelined – but neither should they be rushed.

Urgency is not haste. Urgency contains the ideas of importance and of deliberate action.

Vision 2025 calls our attention to the 2529 language groups still waiting for any access to God’s Word in a language that really speaks to them.

Unless I act with urgency – unless you also act with urgency – these people who have never in their history had access to God’s written Word in a form they can reasonably be expected to comprehend – these people will remain without the hope of the Gospel.

God does want everyone to hear. Remember the words of Daniel:

“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

At church today our pastor gave a great analysis of the DaVinci Code. The crux of his talk was that many people are searching for the truth. Where did the Bible come from? Are the purported facts in the DaVinci code true?

You can find many references to the false “facts” in the DaVinci code. A scholarly collection of evidence has been compiled by Josh McDowell. (Ever read his book, Evidence that Demands a Verdict?)

You can find McDowell’s comments on the DaVinci Code here. (But it is 164 pages long!!!)

Want to be encouraged? Read this article: Light in Their Eyes.

I hadn’t thought of it that way. I was just complaining about the difficulties of rising costs to Bible translation and the fact that our budget was set at the same level. But on the way to work, my carpool buddy said that the one thing he appreciated about budget time was the fact that although it hurt, the pressure to keep costs down did force him to examine everything he does to see what is really valuable.

He’s got a point.