We have used this video before about 3 years ago, but I feel compelled to share it again. Our family watched “God’s Not Dead 2” last night and found it to be a blessing. However, one aspect that stood out to me is the reality that persecution is coming, and it is coming sooner than we hope and think that it will come. To follow after Christ though requires that we are willing to understand that ultimately it will cost us everything.
paradise
Scam Into Blessing – Part 10
One of the first things you might notice in a church service is the decided absence of Bibles in Liberia. This is not just because many are not able to read, but because many books were destroyed during the fourteen year war. Bibles were no exception. It also has nothing to do with not wanting to carry the precious Word of God, for many would love to own just a portion of the Scriptures.
The Pastors’ Conference was no exception and it was sad seeing so many without their own copy of the Word of God. I felt embarrassed that I had so many in my house back in England, even extras, and some days struggled to read even one of the copies. It was just one more reason to feel very blessed for all the provisions, even those I far too often took for granted.
What these pastors and church leaders did not know though, was that we had through the generous gift of believers in England been able to purchase 125 English Bibles from the Liberian Bible Society which is located in Monrovia. At that time, it was not producing a great amount of Bibles due to costs and the difficulties involved in obtaining the supplies necessary to print large quantities. We shared with those in attendance that all who were there on the final day would receive a special gift from the believers in England. This was the suggestion that was recommended to me and would thus make it a more valuable item to those who were willing to spend three days listening to the Word being preached instead of handing them out at the beginning.
Far from being a “normal” type setting for church, I believe it is helpful to share what was going on around me in what for Liberians would be a “normal” church setting. It is one thing to look at pictures from National Geographic, but another to stand and breathe the air of those who only exist in pictures to many in the west. This is especially true of the church.
As I stood gathering my thoughts, a two-foot long lizard moved fearlessly down the wall to my right, skittered slowly across the floor to my feet, and stopped momentarily to glare at me with its beady eyes. The challenges of this new environment had long ago approached unbelievable as I stared back at the little creature. My stomach was already churning from the intake of unknown food items, and the recent trek to the back of the church to what passed for the toilet facilities was almost enough to send even the most hardened traveler over the edge.
Christ Alone Wyoming 