Truth in Stolen Scripture

Sanjay’s name meant truth, yet as he bowed before expensive idols and waved burning incense in the temples of Nepal, young Sanjay hoped for a truth beyond the carved stones and hazy smoke that Hinduism offered.

In ninth grade, Sanjay’s Muslim friend told him, “Some church people came to my house. They left boxes of Bibles in our lobby. If you want one, let’s go steal it!”

Sanjay had heard of Bibles from movies and newspapers but had never seen one up close. So, with two friends and his brother, Sanjay ran down the busy streets to steal, of all things, a Bible. The young boys tore open a box and snuck Bibles with gold-edged paper and beautiful covers back to their homes.

That night, as Sanjay opened his stolen Bible to the very first verse, he read, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” And as Sanjay read, he says a voice — speaking his heart language of Nepali — whispered inside of him: This is the absolute truth. Give your life to it.

Sanjay felt startled and afraid at the powerful voice. Could this Bible really be the truth? Deep in his heart, Sanjay sensed the answer: Yes.

As Sanjay continued to read, he turned to the Gospels. Sanjay encountered Jesus for the first time, not as a name on television or in a world religions textbook. He met Jesus. In Jesus’ sermons, miracles, death, and resurrection, Sanjay finally found the truth.

Without an explanation of the Word, Sanjay approached faith in God through the lens of his Hindu upbringing. Sanjay believed that to become a Christian he must travel to America, find the largest temple, and ask a priest to perform an elaborate salvation ceremony for him.

Only 14 years old, Sanjay planned to work after school, save money, and fly to the United States in secret from his family, but God interrupted his ambitions.

One day, Sanjay’s mother who was a devout Hindu priestess, called Sanjay to the family gathering room. Beside her sat a stranger — a global worker who visited Sanjay’s remote village to share the gospel. After only 30 minutes of discussion, the heart of Sanjay’s mother was pierced with gospel truth.

“Please don’t be angry with me,” Sanjay’s mother said. “I have accepted Jesus.”

Sanjay stood shocked and speechless as he realized that Jesus had reached him in Nepal! Sanjay did not need to travel to the United States to follow Jesus because he had found the God of every nation!

Sanjay rejoiced and celebrated with his mother. Together they renounced Hindu beliefs and followed the one true God.

Later, as a pastor in Nepal, Sanjay experienced the baptism of the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. When a FireBible was placed in his hands soon after, Sanjay opened the study Bible to articles and commentaries on the Pentecostal experience.

All the explanation Sanjay lacked as a young boy and as a faithful follower of Christ was available to him in his own heart language — it was balanced in the palms of his hands.

Sanjay’s name meant truth, and God’s revelation of the absolute truth through a stolen Bible set Sanjay free from the powerful lies of Hinduism.

John 8:31-32 says, “Jesus said to the people who believed in him, ‘You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”

The FireBible study notes elaborate on the freeing experience of God’s truth, saying this:

John 8:32 THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE: The highest, life-saving truth is found only in God’s Word — the living Word (who is Christ) and the written Word — which reveals the message of forgiveness and new life through faith in Jesus Christ. The truth that saves and frees people spiritually is revealed only from God “by his Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:10) and does not originate from any person or from human wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:12-13).

Sanjay found the truth he sought when he experienced the Bible as the written Word and Jesus as the living Word. Not only did the Lord reveal the absolute truth to Sanjay, but He also commanded Sanjay to give his life to it.

Jesus explains in John 8:31 that faithfulness to the teachings of Christ is how believers can know the truth and experience freedom. The false truth offered by the world can only be known, but the absolute truth of Jesus Christ is both known and experienced. It is a truth so profound and yet so tangible that believers can give their lives to it.

Statistics reveal that 90% of Nepali people are Hindu or Buddhist, meaning that nearly 17 million speakers of the Nepali heart language live without revelation of the absolute truth that sets spiritual prisoners free.

The Nepali FireBible offers explanation of this truth and freedom, and it brings discontentment with the false, shallow truths offered by Hinduism and Buddhism.

Further, the FireBible study tools have been translated into 70 languages, not just Nepali! Even more language editions are expected to launch in 2026 and 2027. The FireBible speaks contextually into each nation and to each heart language it is distributed in.

As God commanded Sanjay to give his life to the absolute truth, FireBible International staff and the countless prayer and financial partners empowering this ministry have also committed their lives to the absolute truth of God’s perfect Scripture.

FireBible International’s mission is to print the FireBible in the top 100 languages in the world. FireBible International believes with confidence that by distributing the written Word explained in the heart languages of the nations, unreached people groups will experience the freedom of God’s truth, and the international church will experience Holy Spirit-empowered, Scripture-inspired discipleship.

To those giving their lives to the Word of God through the FireBible International ministry, Sanjay says, “Your gift is not wasted. It is bearing fruit every day. You have put into our hands a tool that leads people to the heart of God. . . . [It] is an eternal investment, and I am living proof of its impact.”

FireBible International is a ministry resource created by AG World Mission’s International Ministries to connect global workers and national church partners with resources to create gospel access. AGWM and FireBible International invite all those who carry the fire of God’s Word to join this mission of bringing His absolute truth to human hearts around the globe.”

Go to www.FireBible.org to hear more testimonies of the Word explained in the heart languages of the nations and to get your own FireBible — 70 languages and counting!