Persecuted church

This week is one where we focus on thinking of others who have paid and are paying a great price for our freedom and for the ability to keep us free.


Today is Remembrance Day the day set apart to be grateful for the sacrifice of so many soldiers and their families. Without their willingness to serve us, our lives would be so incredibly different. Think of all the freedoms we enjoy: travel, enjoy friends, vote, have food, speak, read and worship. This is a short list it could be so much longer. I AM SO THANKFUL!!!


This week in Christian circles it is the week to remember the persecuted church. There are so many people around the globe that do not have the freedom to serve Christ. The only way they can serve Him is to risk personal loss, torture, and life.


Last night in youth we talked about some of those who are being persecuted today because of their faith. The statistics say that 200,000,000  people are persecuted on a daily basis. Sadly 300 people on average lose their lives each day as they are murdered (martyred) for their faith in Jesus Christ. Those people are not necessarily trying to convert people to Christianity, they are treated this way simply because they carry a Bible. Many today are being abused and tortured in horrific prison cells around the world.


Will you join me in praying for those who are so committed to Christ that they will not denounce Him!


We played a game last night to simulate what those who endure suffering for Christ. It was called "Underground Church". We hid 12 specially marked Bibles in the sanctuary. When the teens found these Bibles they then needed to smuggle the Bibles to another location in the church. We had two individuals that were police, their job was to arrest those who were caught smuggling. Those arrested were sent to jail and the only way out for them was to endure a mental challenge. (It was good as they had to memorize a scripture about persecution)


All told it took 47 minutes to get the Bibles found and smuggled. Close to half of the teens were thrown in jail during that time as they were caught smuggling. It might sound like a "pointless game" but it wasn't. The teens talked about how they felt as they were trying to smuggle God's Word. They talked about how it felt to be arrested for trying to do something basic. They also talked about the process of getting the bible to the right location and how they had to plan things out to do it.


I hope that we never take for granted the freedom we have. One of the greatest blessings we have in our country is to be able to worship God freely. We may not always have this freedom! I would challenge you to read Matt 24:3-13 to see why I say this.