Persecution

John 17:14 "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world."

Sometimes we take for granted the freedom we have to worship. We can go to church and not have the fear of the government trying to kill us. There are other countries that are not so privileged. They are persecuted every day, some even to the point of death. The thing that pierces my heart is that in spite of the danger, regardless of the consequences, no matter what, they just keep on praising God. They sing praises at the top of their lungs of the mighty power of God. They shout, they clap, they raise their hands, in a nutshell they LOVE God, and simply refuse to stop.

We have no restrictions on our worship. There is no plot to kill us, yet on Sunday mornings we struggle with the decision to get out of bed and go to church. These people risk their lives to worship God and do it anyway. How selfish and lazy have we become??? We are scared to let go and say Amen because of what someone might think or say. What are we going to do when we get to Heaven and that's all that is going on? Are we going to shrink to the back of the crowd and make snide remarks about the others around us? I think not. We are going to be worshiping right beside them, no inhibitions, no distractions, just pure worship of our Lord and Savior. Maybe it is time to get some practice in. Hallelujah, Amen!