Acts 8:1-8
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
8 And Saul was there,
giving approval to his death.
On that day a great
persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the
apostles were scattered throughout
Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly
men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men
and women and put them in prison.
4 Those who had been
scattered preached
the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria
and proclaimed the Christ there.6 When the crowds heard
Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to
what he said. 7 With
shrieks, evil spirits
came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So
there was great joy in that city.
What
happens to the church when we get too comfortable? Take a look at the United States of America
churches and you will see. We tend to
take things for granted. We tend to get
lackadaisical in our approach to spreading the Gospel. We tend to wait for others to come to us
rather than going to them. When a little
trouble does come our way we feel like we deserve to be treated better and we
get angry, frustrated, or even a little uneasy.
Now let’s
compare our reaction with the early church.
They were persecuted in Jerusalem and so they spread out. They didn’t spread out to be quiet, they
spread out so that could share the Gospel with even more people. Our Lord used something that was bad and
turned that sorrow into joy. When others
chose to continue to speak up regarding their faith and openly shared the gifts
give to them with others, the Gospel spread.
Sorrow turned to joy. This brings
to mind the verse found in Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all
things God works for the good of those who love him, who have
been called according to his purpose.
Doing the will of the Father does not
guarantee a life of pleasure, a life without trials and tribulations but when
we use those tough times to do His will, all things work for our good, if we
love Him. His purpose is not to be
comfortable, His purpose isn’t to condemn and write-off others, His purpose to
is share His love and forgiveness with everyone. His purpose is to bring physical and
spiritual healing to others so that our Father in Heaven may be glorified. Some will believe, some will ridicule, but we
know that any sorrow our sharing brings will bring joy to our Father, joy to
us, and joy to those whose ears are open to receive the glorious Word.
As you seek Him, may you do as you are
called to do, and share with others the gift of salvation that comes through
Jesus Christ our Lord.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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