Haralan Popov was imprisoned 13 years for his faith in Christ.
Five years into his sentence, he discovered another prisoner rolling cigarettes in Bible pages.
“For five years I had starved physically, but I had starved even more spiritually, and I can tell you the spiritual hunger is more painful than the physical… God’s Word had been my inseparable daily companion. Then, abruptly, I had been cut off from it for five years. I offered [this prisoner] all my money for the New Testament, but I would have given him my arm or leg if he had asked for it! That’s what God’s Word meant to me then—and now.” *
I read Popov’s story as a new believer, and it touched me as much then as it does now.
I can access God’s Word so easily, but I must never take it for granted because it is “God-breathed” and useful for every aspect of life and living (2Timothy 3:16-17).
It is alive and powerful (Hebrews 4:12).
It endures forever (Isaiah 40:8).
It is more important than our daily bread (Matthew 4:4).
Haralan Popov understood these things. Do I? Do you?
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*Haralan Popov , Tortured For His Faith (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondarvan Publishing House, 1970) pp. 97,98.
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What a wonderful story of how precious our Bible is. We know several Ukrainian families and one of the fathers was also in prison for several years. They will not put their bibles on the floor because it is so precious to them. Us Americans take these things too lightly.
ReplyDeletePrecious story.
ReplyDeleteHow powerful! May it talk to many many people, saved and unsaved.
ReplyDeleteMakes me humbled to think what I might do if I could not worship my God. Please God never let me take IT forgranted. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYes, we as North American Christians definitely take our Bibles for granted. If Jews drop their Bible (or a Torah scroll), they fast for the rest of that day! How sad that we often take it for granted.
ReplyDeleteI am inspired by the study
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