The leaders of the Shouwang Church in Beijing have a simple explanation for why they’d rather relinquish their freedom than abandon their church services: “Sunday worship is the most basic necessity for Christians in their life of faith.”
That conclusion led church members to gather outside for a Sunday morning service on April 10, which ended with police detaining more than 160 Christians armed with Bibles and hymn sheets.
Authorities have since released all of the worshippers—though at least two church leaders remain under house arrest—but police may face round two this Sunday: The Christians—who say government officials have cut off access to their indoor meeting place—declare they’ll meet outside for worship again, even if it means facing detention or arrest. And they insist that Chinese authorities should let them worship freely, even if their church isn’t registered with the government. World Magazine April 13/2011
So as we gather tomorrow to worship in the west , would we if we knew that persecution , detention or worse, faced us just by openly gathering to lift up our Lord . We have been spoiled for a long time in western culture that we have taken our freedom to gather together and worship for granted. We also forget that each Lord's day , many of our brothers and sisters in Christ do not enter into a Church without the possibility of persecution.It will come to our shores ,in fact if you never face any form of persecution , maybe you and I need to look at ourselves in the mirror . With that thought in mind , read the verse for the day . It says all ,not some.
Verse Of The Day : [12] Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
(2 Timothy 3:12 ESV)
Verse Of The Day : [12] Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
(2 Timothy 3:12 ESV)
1 comment:
Time to add another group of people to the prayer list. I think we take our freedom for granted. We must always be thankful because it may not always be this way. It probably won't hit out of the blue. It will slowly erode, bit by bit, as we surrender our freedom to speak God's word in this politically correct society that we live in.
It's one thing to recognize that all people are created equal, of that I have no arguement.
Despite what the naysayers may tell you, that is biblically correct. Galatians 3:27-29 says it all, "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." Wow, that really flies in the face of the concept that Christianity is a patriarchal, misogynist and anti-women religion, wouldn't you say? But, I digress, ever so slightly.
It is anther thing, entirely, when you surrender your own freedom of speech for another's right to not be offended. We must always bear in mind that, to many people, the gospel is an offense. This can lead to the removal or mis interpretation of certain uncomfortable passages, ie. Rob Bell.
It's a slippery slope. I'm not willing to surrender that, are you? Love you, Mrs Reg
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