Worship Wednesday - Acts 2:44-47

Worship Wednesday - We Gather Together. 

For my bible journaling today I went with this week's bible journaling challenge in the facebook group, Creative Worship Bible Journaling. That challenge is to add drips. I did my drips with watercolors. This last Sunday, our community had a service where the churches in our area met together at the local elementary school gym. We had a wonderful service. It seemed especially wonderful to me that people who are different could come TOGETHER to thank God for our blessings and to proclaim the name of Christ. Satan doesn't like peace and getting along. I believe that he is behind the negativity, hatred and mistrust in our country between people who are different from eachother. At our community service in the programs was a print out of the hymn "We Gather Together." I used that print out for my project. After I did the drips with watercolors, I cut it and glued it to my bible in the book of Acts. 

I wrote a quick prayer at the bottom. I wrote it to remind myself to be thankful for every time that I can meet together with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I don't want to take that blessing for granted. I also wrote this prayer to remember the persecuted church. I can't imagine having to worship in hiding because of fear of death from those in power. I pray for their protection and that someday they will have the freedom to worship openly.

This hymn was a poem written in 1597 by Dutch poet Adrianus Valerius. At the time the Dutch were at war with Spain. Spain under a Catholic King's control made it illegal for Protestant Dutch to gather for worship.

We gather together to ask the Lord's blessing

He chastens and hastens His will to make known. 

The wicked oppressing, now cease from distressing. 

Sing praises to His name. He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us our God with us joining. 

Ordaining maintaining His kingdom divine.

So from the beginning the fight we were winning.

Thou, Lord, wast at our side, all glory be Thine.

We all do extol Thou Leader triumphant.

And pray that Thou still our Defender wilt be.

Let Thy congregation escape tribulation.

Thy name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free.