Lent 2011: Week 4, Godless

World Vision: This week of Lent 2011: Relentless Acts of Justice we will step into the lives of the godless, the persecuted church, through the story of Shimelis Hapte. He became a believer in Christ at about the same time that the socialist government in Ethiopia began persecuting Christians. All of their Bibles, musical instruments, and religious books were taken away as the government tried to “destroy” Christianity. Here's his story.

Read the "GODLESS" story here.

REFLECTION:
This week we will put away our resources and freedom to worship publicly as we experience what it’s like to be “godless” with the persecuted church.

SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK’S EXPERIENCE:
• Hide or put away all signs and symbols of religion in your room, including your Bible
• Hand copy a page of the Bible and use only this page as your Scripture for the entire week
• Don’t attend any religious services or meetings for the week

As always, you can adjust these experiences or come up with your own. Commit to one, remembering that we are trying to step into what it would feel like to be unable to have access to spiritual resources (in Shimelis’ case, it was lack of the resource of freedom to be a Christian and worship).

Also, listen and ask God to speak to you in new ways this week as you leave behind some of the normal means through which you might hear Him. Consider how believers all over the world have a life-changing relationship with Christ even though they may not have Bibles, worship bands, and public meetings. Ask God to challenge and grow your knowledge of Him and faith in Him as He does theirs.