Underground Worship

Light is scarce in this darkness, with only gleaming streaks of light shining from their flashlights. The cement floor is cold, but the hearts are warm, warmed by the love of Jesus. Huddled together, upon the cement floor is a group of devoted and thriving Christians. They are in hiding, because what they are doing isn't safe. They are risking their life. Risking it all for Jesus. At any moment, the police could burst in, take them all under arrest, or worse, kill them. Yet despite their risk, they are singing loudly, taking the risk of being heard, because they know that their Jesus is greater than any man, or what any man could do to them. They are part of the underground church.

This happens daily in countries like China, where people are not allowed to be professing Christians, so they meet secretly. Risking their life, their family, everything, all because they love Jesus more than they love themselves.

Yesterday (Friday) and today, part of my youth group partook in 30 Hour Famine. (I made a post earlier this week about it, if you'd like to, you can read about it HERE!)We began fasting yesterday at 12:30pm, and finished around 6:30 this evening. It was an incredible experience, as always. Last night, we had our very own "Underground Worship", and I have to say I loved every bit of it. It was amazing. There were around 21 of us huddled together in one of the cold, cement floor storage rooms in the bottom of our church. All we had was our flashlights, our Bibles, sheets of music, and my youth pastor playing his guitar. We would sing songs, and share our favorite scriptures in between. The worship was simply beautiful - I could feel the Holy Spirit working in the hearts of the people in the room.  There was nothing quite like it, nothing I've ever experienced. It opened my eyes a bit more to the experiences people over in other countries have, the people that are professing Christians, and are risking it all in order to gather together and worship Him. There was a moment in between singing stanzas when my youth pastor said, "Would you be willing to risk it all?" It's a powerful yet thought-provoking question.

It means giving up everything. It means being put out in the spotlight for all to see, it means risking being beaten and persecuted, it means risking going to jail, it means risking losing your family, it means risking all that you have physically. Everything.

There are people in various countries who face this situation everyday, yet they are faithful.
You are able to have youth group, small groups, Bible studies, church on Sundays, everything, yet how many of us are as truly faithful as those people - Those people who are risking it all?
Isn't it ironic that those people, despite their circumstances, are far more in love with Jesus than most "Christians" in America are?
So, what about you?  How much do you love Jesus? Would YOU be willing to risk it all?

Worms Are Not Welcome Here

Today I had the joy of getting together with my best friend. We went around her neighborhood raising funds for 30 Hour Famine. (You can check out 30HrFamine by clicking HERE!)

30 Hour Famine is done through World Vision and in its simplest form, it is done to catch a glimpse at what poor and starving people, mainly children, are going through around the world. Check out these facts:

• Every day, nearly 8,000 kids under the age of 5 die because of hunger-related causes. That's one child every 10 seconds.
• One in six people will go to bed hungry tonight. The odds are worse for kids living in poor countries - they have one in three chance of going hungry.
• 1.4 billion people live on less than $1.25 a day.

30 Hour Famine is an awesome event that I have taken part in the past two years, making this year my third. My youth group holds the event each year around this time in April. In fact, my church has been participating in it for a total of three years (this being our fourth), and so far we have raised over $16,000! Isn't that amazing? I can't imagine how many children we have helped to feed!
For the event, we fast for 30 hours, beginning this Friday at noon, and then we meet at church around 6pm, we form "tribes", play group games, have lessons, last year we had an incredible prayer time, AND we sleep outside in cardboard boxes! To top it all off, when the 30 hours are up on Saturday evening, we get to enjoy a delicious meal of rice and beans! It's an amazing event and experience - I highly encourage you to check it out and perhaps hold the event at your church!

Despite the unsettling facts I listed above, I personally find joy in knowing that even though I'm just a young 17 year old girl in America, my fundraising and participation in this event is raising awareness and also providing for these people and children around the world! Every $30 I raise goes to feed and care for one child for one month. AMAZING!
30 Hour Famine is actually this coming Friday and Saturday, so I will probably post again about that sometime later. :)

Furthermore, while she and I were doing our door knocking, we had the joy of being out in the wonderful rain. It was quite a fun (and wet) experience, haha.

My best friend made a comment though, saying about how we are "washed" by God, in the sense of being cleansed. Right as she said this, I happened to notice another worm on the ground, flooded out of its home by the rain.

AND THEN, like usual, I had an epiphany, an analogy suddenly came to mind, like it always does. :)

YUCK! See the importance in being cleansed daily by God?

What is the whole purpose of being cleansed by God? It is to be rid of sin, rid of anything that is not pleasing to God, it refines us, it makes us more Christ-like. Seeing the worm made me realize that that's what happens to our sin in some sense. When God cleanses us, the "worms" or sin, come out. So, are you currently preserving any worms? If so, you should probably think about being cleansed of them. :)

"Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water."
Hebrews 10:22

And on top of ALL of that, I'm pleased to say that so far, I have raised over 60% of the money I need for my mission trip to Ecuador this coming June/July. (If you haven't heard about this awesome trip I'm going on, you can check it out by clicking here!) Praise God! He is so faithful. :) Please continue to keep me, this mission trip, and Ecuador in your prayers!

Ah, it's been a long, rainy, wet, BUT also a joyful, exciting and encouraging day. :)
To calm things down, I'll leave you with this peaceful song by Jon Foreman!