The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Acts 8:1b-8,
“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city.”
When someone “swats” at a fire it only fans the flames. Just as fire needs oxygen to consume and grow, so the gospel grows when fanned into flame within unregenerate folks. The great persecution that broke out against the church in Jerusalem only had the effect of fanning to life the missionary activity of the gospel into the regions beyond Jerusalem.
This reminds me of the statement made by Gamaliel in Acts 535-39, “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men… in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
Here I see the feeble attempts of mankind to stop the advance of God’s activity in the world through the gospel message. But God’s gospel message to us has its own power that no one is capable of stopping, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” Romans 1:16-17.
What a message this is!!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
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