I can’t deny it. I find the reports of a growing demand for Bibles in the UK really exciting. In fact, in my humble opinion it’s not just exciting, it’s phenomenal.

No one knows what’s happening better than SPCK, the Christian charity that is, I believe, the biggest independent publisher of Christian books in the UK. In a recent blog on its website the Society reported that Bible sales in the UK have climbed by 134% since 2019, with people of all ages, and especially younger readers, turning to it with a new or a renewed interest. Whoever would have predicted that a decade ago?

So how do we explain this strong surge of interest in the Bible? I think the blog’s author has hit the nail on the head by suggesting that it’s more than a publishing story, it’s a sign that lots of people are searching for meaning and stability in a changing world.

Exciting stuff then, but if I’m honest, I have to say I found another recent report even more exhilarating. It would appear that The European Christian Mission International (ECMI) has reported that among Baptist alone 160 churches have been planted across Europe by displaced Ukrainians during the past four years.

Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to leave their homes since Vladimir Putin announced his "special military operation" in February 2022, but it is obvious that far from giving up on their faith lots of Ukrainian believers have been actively sharing the good news of Jesus, even though they are living in exile.

“Ukrainian believers, carrying deep pain and loss, are also carrying the hope of Christ wherever they go,” the ECMI said.

“Increasingly, Ukrainian believers are refusing to see themselves only as refugees. Instead, many are embracing a different calling - missionaries sent by God into the nations of Europe.”

As I read this tremendously encouraging story, I couldn’t help reflecting on the continuing power and relevance of the Christian message for our lives, but I also heard echoes of these interesting words found in the Book of Acts.

“A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria…….But the believers who were scattered preached the Good News about Jesus wherever they went.”

People often ask if history repeats itself. That would make a good A-Level- History question and answering it would undoubtedly demand much more space than I have in this column. But if I was looking for evidence to support the suggestion that it does, I would point to the behaviour of these wonderful Ukrainian Christians who are imitating their predecessors in Acts.

I would also add that they seem to be seeing similar results too. The ECMI report summed it up well when it said, ‘What looked like tragedy became the very means by which the Kingdom of God advanced’.