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Words saved the world.
William Stephenson
was a World War I hero, businessman, inventor, and spymaster. Ian
Fleming called him the “real thing” behind his James Bond character.
A Man Called Intrepid
tells Stephenson’s incredible story (“Intrepid” was his code name). The
book reads more like a novel than the historical narrative it is. Here
we learn that early in World War II, Stephenson created a secret network
that eventually involved thirty thousand intelligence experts. They
worked behind enemy lines in Europe to provide intelligence to President
Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill.
These
operatives were able to feed false information to German authorities,
convincing them that D-Day would be launched at Calais rather than
Normandy. This kept Hitler from committing forces that could have
defeated the Allied invasion.
When
the Germans began launching rockets into London, these intelligence
spies fed the Nazis false data on where their rockets actually fell,
saving thousands of lives. They helped the Allies free Niels Bohr from
Nazi captivity, which kept the Germans from developing atomic weapons
and helped America create the bombs that ended World War II.
These
secret heroes did not fire weapons or drive tanks. They risked (and
many gave) their lives to communicate words that helped defeat Hitler
and save the world.
When Switzerland invaded Liechtenstein
Even wordless events require words to record and interpret them.
We know of this ironic event only because it was reported in words.
We send 6,000 tweets a second
We are the most verbal society in history.
Add the 1.7 billion websites on the internet and the information exchanged on social media sites
such as WhatsApp (one billion users a month), WeChat (697 million users
a month), Tumblr (555 million users a month), and Instagram (400
million users a month), and it becomes clear that we are exchanging more
words than ever before in human history.
This can be good news for the gospel, but bad news for our souls.
Good news for the good news
Mart Green
is the Chief Strategy Officer for the Green Family Businesses, board
chair of Hobby Lobby, and founder of Mardel Christian Supply. At a
recent conference in Washington, DC, I heard him describe the
IllumiNations project he is leading. Its goal is to translate God’s word
into all six-thousand-plus languages in the world. Digital technology
is making this dream a reality.
Digital technology is enabling us to “make disciples of all nations” more effectively than ever before in Christian history ( Matthew 28:19).
The secret of the Reformation
Amid
the cacophony of words in our culture, it can be hard to hear God’s
voice. But human words cannot change human hearts. Only God’s words have
the power to convict of sin, save souls, and transform eternities.
Now it’s our turn.
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
To
speak God’s word, we must first listen for God’s word. When last in our
frenzied, social-media-driven culture did you accept your Father’s
invitation to “be still, and know that I am God” ( Psalm 46:10)? When last did you listen for the “low whisper” of God’s Spirit ( 1 Kings 19:12)?
Our Father speaks through his word as we study Scripture ( Hebrews 4:12). He speaks through his worship as we pray and focus on him (cf. Acts 13:2). He speaks through his world as we look for the Creator in his creation ( Psalm 19:1–4).
As Francis Schaeffer noted, “He is there and he is not silent.”
In fact, your Lord wants to speak to you today. When will you make time to listen?
Note:
In today’s chaotic culture, we are increasingly faced with
faith-related questions that can be challenging and impossible to
answer. In this week’s video from our YouTube series, “Biblical Insight
to Tough Questions,” we tackle the question: Why do we believe the Bible is actually the word of God? Thanks for turning to Denison Forum to discern news differently and build a movement of culture-changing Christians.
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