Sharing God’s Word On Rocky Soil

Last week, Gideons in Malaysia welcomed Gideons from other parts of the world as they came together to witness and share God’s Word during the 2016 Malaysia International Scripture Blitz.

On the Sunday before leaving for the blitz, Montie Matlock, a Gideon from Jackson, Tennessee, stood in the hallway of Englewood Baptist Church with his pastor, Jordan Easley. The pastor prayed for Montie as he was about to head to Malaysia and start the work of placing Scriptures in hotels, schools, and jails.

The Gideons of Malaysia were very encouraged to have Gideons from other countries of the world come to the city of Penang to help them reach the lost for Jesus. As the teams made Scripture distributions at schools, the Malaysian Gideons would run from student to student, placing God’s Word into their hands. “They were all in,” says Matlock in terms of their dedication in sharing the Gospel.

The restrictions in Malaysia on sharing Scriptures makes distributing God’s Word there especially challenging. However, God’s Word gets through despite the country being a mix of Islam (60%), Buddhist (19%), Christian (9%) and Hindu (6%) amongst others.

By the end of the week-long blitz, Gideons and Auxiliary distributed more than 38,500 copies of God’s Word. Scriptures were distributed in three different languages: Chinese, English, and Tamil.

Matlock says this blitz was one of the most challenging he has participated in, calling it the “rockiest soil” in which he’s ever tried to sow God’s Word. However, he says it’s not about the number of Scriptures distributed, but about being faithful to go where the Lord would have you go and serve in the way He would have you serve. “I believe we accomplished one very important thing that I pray we always leave behind: Hope not only for the lost, but for the local Gideons and pastors to know we understand the soil they are working.”

On a Friday evening, a total of 150 Gideons and church representatives joined together for a pastors appreciation dinner. The local pastors of Penang expressed their appreciation for all the Scriptures that were distributed in the area. Isaiah 55:11 reminds us, “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty.”

The Gideons International is an association of Christian business and professional men and their wives dedicated to telling people about Jesus through sharing personally and by providing Bibles and New Testaments. While we are known worldwide for our work with hotels, we predominantly share Scriptures in schools and colleges, prisons and jails, hospitals, and medical offices. We also provide Scriptures daily to police and fire personnel and members of the armed forces.

The Gideons International partners with churches anywhere, to reach the unreached everywhere—from Jackson, Tennessee to Penang, Malaysia.

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