Police Raid House Church

The persecution of Christians in China is steadily on the rise. The trials and tribulations that church leaders face are becoming increasingly violent and intrusive. A house church in Xi’an recently rented a hotel conference room when their meetings began to get too large to accommodate their growing congregation. Leaflets to promote the service were distributed outside of the hotel. Soon after the worship service began, 30 police officers and public security bureau members surrounded the conference room and forcibly confiscated books, Bibles, musical instruments, and everyone’s personal belongings, including phones and wallets. The police spent hours at the hotel, interrogating all the church members. They then moved everyone to the police station to continue the questioning. They imprisoned ten pastors. Nine days later, four were released while the remaining six stayed in jail while officers tried to devise a plan to prosecute them for illegal gatherings. During their incarceration, the church leaders were not allowed to get much sleep and they were given very little food and water. The guards beat them on a regular basis. On day 37 of their imprisonment, after much prayer and help from Christian lawyers, the police released the six pastors. Their suffering had been absolute and they bore the scars of their mistreatment. The Chinese government would like the world to believe that their country has religious freedom. Their actions, however, speak louder than their words.

Psalm 16:9 says this: Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices, my flesh also will dwell securely, for you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will you allow Your Holy One to undergo decay. You will make known to me the path of life, in Your presence is fullness of joy, in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

There will come a day when all our suffering is over. Until then, the presence of the Lord completes our joy and sustains our faith.