“Everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (II Timothy 3:12)
Bibles and churches being burned. People being arrested for worshiping God. Sad is it not? Know what makes it even more sad? These things are not only happening in countries like China, Iraq, North Korea, and Egypt, to name a few. These things are taking place in America. The persecution is happening in states like Oregon, Florida, California, New York, Massachusetts, Mississippi, and Maryland. And it is coming to a state near each of us, soon I’m afraid. In case you haven’t figured it out, we are in spiritual warfare in America.
Perhaps you have not been affected by it yet. Count yourself blessed. But eventually it will affect each of our lives. We could be arrested for going to church. Or our church could be destroyed. We could have our bibles confiscated. So, what are we to do?
One option is to hide bibles in our home. Even if we do, there is still a possibility they could be found. As far as I know there is only one absolute safe place for us to hide the word of God. That place is in our hearts. Psalm 119:11 says, “Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.” So just how do we go about hiding God’s word in our heart? It’s simple. We read it, study it, meditate on it. We hide it in the one place no human being can steal it from. If every church in America were shut down, every steeple removed, if we could no longer listen to a good sermon on any social media, how well would you be able to listen to God’s Spirit speak to you? If every bible were removed from every home, bookstore, internet-based retailer, how much of God’s word do you know that you could comfort yourself with? Not merely recite it but meditate on its’ context and meaning. If you were never able to go to church and worship God again, how capable would you be at worshiping him at home? Would you be willing to go underground in order to have a bible study?
Some of you may think this will never happen in America, but let’s be honest here, we must all admit we are watching and hearing things we thought we would never observe in the land of the free and the home of the brave. I am not an alarmist, but I am a realist. So, let’s be prepared and protect God’s word in the only place that is truly safe. The word of God can be taken from us, but it can never be taken out of us.
Darlene