The Church Persecuted and Scattered On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed.
8So there was great joy in that city."
The Scattering
Persecution forced the believers out of their homes in Jerusalem. They feared for their lives! However they took the gospel with them.
Think about this, sometimes we become uncomfortable before we'll move. We may not want to experience it, but discomfort may be the best thing for us because God may be working through our hurts. When you are tempted to complain about your uncomfortable or painful circumstances, stop and ask if God might be preparing you for a special task.
Another important point in this passage is Saul's immediate reaction f0llowing Stephen's stoning. He takes matters into his own hands and goes from house to house dragging men & women to prison. He did not hear the words of Stephen, rather stuck to his own traditions & teachings.
No comments:
Post a Comment