The Bible Society of the South Pacific are looking for volunteers who can:
• buy and distribute Scriptures,
• helping to raise money in church, school, community, etc.
• helping in _______________________
To contact us please fill in the form.
WHY SHOULD I READ THE BIBLE?
Why should I read the Bible?
Because God’s written words have life. They have power.
The Bible tells us all about God, what He’s like, how He treats us, what He wants us to be like and how He wants us to live in the world. When you spend time reading the Bible and praying, you’re putting yourself before God and asking Him to change you and make you into the person He wants you to be.
It’s all about transformation.
The Bible is a book that God uses to speak to you. When you read the Bible with an open heart and mind, you’re putting yourself in a position for God to speak to you.
Bible reading and prayer are a crucial part of your journey with God. So, if you want the Bible to be an important part of your journey, it’s important to develop a regular reading habit. Some people find having a Bible reading plan helps keep them on track.
Do you understand the overall Bible story?
The Bible is not an easy read and some of us struggle to make sense of it. That’s partly because it’s hard to read such a big book in small chunks over time, and still understand the overall story. We’ve created some short summaries that capture the overall story of the Bible to help you understand how it all fits together.
How do I read the Bible?
The Bible is a complex and very detailed book. Its story is grand and compelling, yet also emotional and personal. This is a book that God uses to speak to us.
When you read the Bible, do these things:
1.Talk to God
Thank God for the Bible and ask God to help you understand what you’re about to read.
2.Read and Listen
Read the passage slowly and thoughtfully. Listen to what God might be saying to you through it. Read it again if you need to.
3.Think
Think about what you’ve read. Ask yourself these questions:
- What is the main point of the passage?
- What does the reading say about God? His character? His plans?
- What insight is there for me to apply to my life situation?
- Is there an example or a warning? Is God giving me a promise?
- How does God want me to respond in my thoughts, words or actions?
4.Respond
Turn things you’ve read into prayers. Ask God for His help in applying what you’ve learned to your life. Pray for others.
Try these ways to read your Bible
If you find a way of reading that suits you, you’ll find it easier to read more regularly. Here’s some different things you could try…
QUIET TIME READING
Select a passage or chapter, read and reflect on it (see above).
CHUNK READING
Read several chapters or even a whole book in one sitting. This allows you to better grasp the outline of a book and eventually the whole Bible story.
VERSE MEMORISATION
Memorising scripture has many benefits. It helps us reflect on scripture even when we don’t have a Bible handy and it ensures that it is planted in our minds, shaping our thinking and our actions.
IN-DEPTH STUDY
This helps you understand the original meaning of scripture through the use of resources such as a Bible dictionary, comprehensive commentary or a study Bible.
BIBLE MEDITATION
This helps us get scripture deeply into our hearts. Read a passage slowly, out loud if possible. Imagine yourself in the story, a part of the scene. Re-read it and meditate on what you’ve read. Allow God to speak to you.
CHARACTER STUDY
This approach focuses on study of a particular individual in the Bible. Find all the passages that a character appears in (some may be in many, so choose some that reflect a certain period of the character’s life or event). Use a concordance or word search to do this. Focus on this character’s relationship with God. What can you learn about God through them?
Prayer
PRAYERS
1. Please pray for the on going projects in the Pacific:
- Fiji – Fijian New Version Mission Line, Maumi New Testament, Ba New Testament, Dawasamu New Testament and Fijian Reference Bible
- Kiribati – Kiribati New Translation ready for Printing
- Solomon Islands – Bible Comics
- Tonga – Tongan Contemporary Old Testament
- Tuvalu – Tuvalu Bible Revision
- Vanuatu – Hano New Testament and Havakinau New Testament
2. We praise God for the Launch of the Gospel of Matthew and John in the Maumi Dialect.
3. WE THANK GOD FOR THE DONORS OR PARTNERS AS THEY CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE BIBLE SOCIETY WORK AND IT’S MISSION.
4. WE THANK GOD FOR THE LIVES OF THE TRANSLATORS AND REVIEWERS IN THE PACIFIC AS THEY CONTINUE WITH THE WORK. WE PRAY FOR GOOD HEALTH AND STRENGTH.
5. WE PRAY FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF GOD’S WORD IN THE URBAN AND RURAL AREAS IN THE PACIFIC.
6. WE THANK GOD FOR THE CUSTOMERS AS THEY COME INTO THE BOOKSHOP HERE IN FIJI AND VANUATU. WE THANK GOD FOR THE ORDERS OF BIBLES FROM THE PACIFIC TO BE PRINTED. WE ALSO THANK GOD FOR THE SUPPLIERS AS THEY CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR MISSION.
7. WE PRAY FOR THE STAFF AND VOLUNTEERS AS THEY CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE BIBLE SOCIETY MISSION. WE PRAY FOR GOOD HEALTH AND STRENGTH AS THEY PERSEVERE WITH THE EVENTS AND TARGETS.
8. WE PRAY FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS AS THEY LEAD THE HEADQUARTERS AND DIFFERENT BRANCHES. WE PRAY FOR WISDOM AND STRENGTH.
9. WE THANK GOD FOR THE OTHER PROJECTS THAT IS YET TO BE FUNDED.
10. WE PRAY AND THANK YOU LORD FOR OUR VIEWERS AS THEY VISIT OUR WEBSITE.
Fiji Mission Branch
The Fiji Mission Branch was first established in early 2003 as one of the main branches to look after Fiji.
WHO WE ARE
The Bible Society of the South Pacifi c is part of a worldwide fellowship of Bible Societies known as the United Bible Societies. It is a Christian organization set up to help all churches in the South Pacifi c through the translation, production, and distribution of the Bible within the South Pacifi c. We are not a church but a producer of the Bible – the basic tool for all ministries. The head offi ce is based in Fiji that oversees the Bible work in the Pacific (16 countries) but as a Fiji Mission Branch we only oversee Fiji Islands.
WHY THE BIBLE SOCIETY DOES THIS WORK?
The heartbeat of the Bible Society’s work can be found in John 20:31, “This (the Bible) is written so that we may know that Jesus is the Messiah and through faith in Him, we may have life.”
The Bible is our best treasure given by God. It is the light, food, water, fire and cleansing agent for our lives. It is life and points to our Savior, Jesus Christ!
The Bible is our best treasure given by God. It is the light, food, water, fire and cleansing agent for our lives. It is life and points to our Savior, Jesus Christ!
OUR PURPOSE
“Achieving the widest possible, effective, and meaningful distribution of god’s Word”
OUR MISSION
“Making God’s Word easily understood, available, accessible and credible to all people in all situations”
OUR VISION
“The Bible for Everyone in Fiji”
What we do! Our 3 main tasks are:
1. Translation: – We translate the Word of God into various dialects. There are Six translation projects going on in the South Pacifi c and that includes the dialects here in Fiji. The work consists of a revising old Bibles and new Bibles is essential in order for people to understand God’s Word in every generation.
2. Production: We publish Bibles in the right format……..
3. Distribution: Finally we ensure that the Word of God us distributed as widely as possible to all the people by using the different channels. A regular supply of scriptures is provides through bookshops, churches, schools and individuals that visit our bookshop. We also have special projects in which we supply Bibles or Study Tools at heavily subsidized rates to students, theological students and prisons.
PROJECTS:
The Bible Society of the South Pacific –
Fiji Mission have projects that are ongoing right now. Since we oversee the Fiji area we have 6 projects that is continuing. The main purpose of these projects is to ensure that the people of Fiji are receiving the Word of God into their language or dialects.
Which are:
- Fijian Reference Bible
- Maumi Gospel of John
- Dawasamu Gospel of Matthew
- Fiji Bible Comics
- Ba New Testament
- Bible Week
Fiji Translation – Ba Dialect “Gospel of Mark
PURPOSE
- To complete the review of Mark chapters 4-16 (whole book)
- To recruit 2 or 3 new translators
- Give out the gospel of Mathew, Luke and John for translation
- Get the translators sign a Translation Contract.
- To pay the Translator and the reviewers team their dues.
On Wednesday at 8.30 am, a team of 7 men and women gathered together at Ba Town Methodist church and carry out a verse by verse checking of Rev. Savenaca’s 1st translation draft. We started from Mark chapter 4 and we finish the day at 5pm reaching chapter 8. It was a slow start due to the majority of the reviewers not trained in the know how.
To help speed up work the next day which was our last day, we distribute the 9 remaining chapters to them to read in the night and mark off any corrections or improvement they suggested. At 6.00 pm we presented our sevusevu to the elders of Ba Town Methodist Church and also they presented theirs to us. We spend 2 hours of talanoa around the bowl discussing and answering questions about Translation work and Ba Translation project to an interested group of men.
On Thursday we started at 8.30 am again beginning at chapter 9 but unfortunately the volunteers still need to learn more. We pushed on to 4.30 pm but only managed to finish chapter 12. Since we need to complete the chapters from 13 – 16 I requested the volunteers if they are willing to continue tomorrow as it will be expensive if I go back to Suva and come back for the remaining chapters. With a little of dicussion the volunteers agreed in which this time the venue will be at Rev. Savenaca Nakeke’s residence in Nasolo.
On Friday the last day we started at 8.30am with just 3 people. By 9.00am everybody was in Rev Nakeke’s house was ideal for the day. It was quiet and away from town, with beautiful scenery and cool breeze throughout the day. They were a few ladies serving us with refreshments and lunch. We worked till 6pm completing the 16th chapter of Mark. Then I had to leave in a hurry at 6.00 pm to catch the last bus from Lautoka to Suva at Ba bus stand.
It was a 3 day of continuous checking of every verse in those chapters. I admired the endurance and the lively participation of those men and women. It was my joy to work with them.
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