God cares deeply about our hearts. When we follow Him, He wants more than just surface-level obedience — He wants our hearts to reflect His love, generosity and grace to the world around us. Ultimately, how we give, serve and live our lives on earth shapes our hearts, molding us to become more like Christ.

Generosity stems from trust and humility, inviting us to surrender control, acknowledge God as the source of all blessings and give joyfully as stewards of His provision.

The Bible offers rich wisdom, showing us how to love, serve and care for others as God does. We learn about how to be generous with our time, talents and treasures. And we also can discover how God wants us to view our hearts and lives as sacrifices to Him, as they, too, are reflections of His generous love.

But imagine for a moment that you couldn’t turn to Scripture to understand how God wants you to live because it wasn’t in your language. You wouldn’t “… have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is” (Ephesians 3:18, NLT).

Instead, you’d have to try to understand God’s Word in a language that wasn’t your own — or not have access to any Scripture at all. What might it feel like to try to navigate the world that way?

As you think about how God’s Word has helped you tune your own heart to His will — and what your life would be like without His guidance — the story of the Rangi New Testament dedication in Tanzania offers us an inspiring example of how Scripture changes hearts, lives and entire communities when it’s in a language and format people can understand.

A Glimpse of Transformation: The Rangi New Testament Dedication

The Rangi New Testament dedication was a celebration of perseverance: Some of the guests who attended this milestone in August 2024 had been personally involved in the translation project and got to celebrate its completion 24 years after initial translation work began. While the Rangi translation project encountered many obstacles over the year, praise God that the team persevered to complete the translation!

Even though the vast majority of the speakers in this community follow another major world religion, about 500 people from the local community attended the dedication, and everyone enjoyed a meal at the end.

Near the beginning of the ceremony, a group danced in while carrying a box of Rangi New Testaments, as well as a collection of items: a bowl of flour, a chicken, a replica of a knife and a decorative ax. One of the speakers explained that flour is used to make ugali (the local staple food), chicken is eaten with ugali, a knife is used to kill the chicken and an ax is used to split the firewood to cook the food. The speaker reminded everyone in attendance that while those items provide food for our physical bodies, the Word of God is our spiritual food.

A Testimony of Faith

After the main procession for the Rangi New Testament dedication, a group of children walked in singing. These were children who have been attending a Sunday school program for the last couple of years, using parable booklets. As part of the program, they had been memorizing verses and passages of Scripture, and some of the children had the opportunity to recite what they had learned — including one girl who had learned the whole parable of the Prodigal Son!

One Rangi woman gave an incredible testimony about the power of God’s Word in Rangi. She said: “I feel very peaceful and happy to have the Word of God in my language. I think a lot about what God has done for the Rangi people. It started to look like the work would not finish … but I thank God for those who fought and worked very hard to make sure the New Testament was completed in the Rangi language.” Then she continued:

She went on: “Truly, having the New Testament in Rangi means God is greatly glorified by the Rangi and others. I personally think it will change [the Rangi] people … and then society and churches in general.

“A large percentage of people show the desire to read God’s Word in Rangi. So when many people get the Word of God in Rangi and read it for themselves, it will change their thinking a lot because the words of Rangi will go deep into the heart. … I believe God will do something very different for the Rangi people, and they will know God more through their language.”

We pray that God will use His Word to truly transform individual hearts, families and the entire Rangi community — now and into the future!

Posturing Our Hearts Toward God Through Generosity

Reflecting God’s heart for the world and living generously is a journey — an ongoing process of trusting God and allowing Him to shape us through His Word. That process begins with being able to access Scripture in a language and format that resonate with our hearts. That’s why Bible translation is so important: It enables people to encounter God personally and deeply when they see, hear or read His Word.

Now that the Rangi have access to the New Testament in their language, men, women and children can fully understand how much God loves them and how He wants them to live. Verses like John 3:16 and Romans 5:8 will be able to permeate their hearts and transform them from the inside out. God’s Word creates a ripple effect that can change lives for years and even generations to come.

Often when we hear the word “generosity,” we think of money. And while God does call us to be good stewards of our resources, that is not all He cares about.

Our willingness to live generously flows from our relationship with God. As we spend time in His Word and make daily choices that reflect His heart, our lives are transformed. Posturing our hearts toward God begins with recognizing Him as the source of all we have and trusting Him to shape our desires and guide us.

Bible translation is essential for people in the global Church to grow spiritually. After all, how does the world know God loves them if they’re not told in their own language?

Today, there are still millions of people waiting for the Bible to come to life in a way they clearly understand. You can be part of their life-changing journey through your prayers, gifts, service and advocacy. You can even get your church involved in the work!

As you read through these Bible verses below about posturing your heart before God, we also encourage you to pray for those who are waiting for these same words of Scripture in their language.

“Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” — Matthew 6:21 (NLT)

Heavenly Father, as we prioritize lasting, heavenly treasures, may our hearts and lives better align with Your Kingdom and purposes. We ask that You work in the lives of people around the world who are waiting to know the treasure of Your Word in their language. May they be transformed by Your love and grace. Amen.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. — Proverbs 3:5 (NLT)

Father, You invite us through Your Word to rely on Your wisdom, even when we don’t have all the answers. As we learn to trust, may we experience deeper faith and a sense of Your peace and guidance. We lift up the communities right now who are working to translate Proverbs — this book of wisdom — into their languages so they, too, can know what heavenly wisdom looks like. Amen.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. — Psalm 51:10 (NLT)

Heavenly Father, cleanse and transform our hearts. Only You can renew us, shaping our desires and actions to reflect Your steadfast love. We invite You to renew and strengthen our hearts, helping us grow in generosity, enabling us to navigate difficult or uncertain seasons with grace and faith. And we ask that Your Spirit would move in the hearts of people right now who are desperately seeking to know You and experience Your love through Scripture in their language. Transform their hearts as only You can. Amen.

I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done. — Psalm 9:1 (NLT)

God, our hearts overflow with gratitude for all that You have done in our lives. While we know we can lift up our requests before You, we also know that it is important to set aside time to celebrate incredible moments that can only happen because of You!

Through Bible dedications and New Testament celebrations like the Rangi, we humbly acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s work in and through the global Church, rejoicing in all that You have accomplished and continue to do through Bible translation. We ask that You remind us to share Your love with the world — to tell people of Your marvelous works — and spread Your Word so that everyone can know You personally. Amen.

Living in Light of Our Promised Future

In Revelation 7:9a, a heavenly scene is described: “After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb” (NLT).

This isn’t just a hoped-for future; it’s promised! As you continue to posture your own heart before God and practice generosity, we encourage you to lift up people around the world who need His transforming Word in their language. You can even join our Wycliffe Prayer Community to get timely updates about communities just like the Rangi who are waiting for or celebrating God’s Word.

May we all remember what a joy and privilege it is to know God and be known by Him!

Dare to Live Generously

We’re blessed to bless others. Living out biblical generosity isn’t just about money; it encompasses how we devote our time, talents, resources and more to advance God’s Kingdom and the Great Commission globally.

Explore what generosity means for your life in our free 7-day devotional.

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