Acts 8:1-8
8:1And Saul approved of their killing him.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in 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 both 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 Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city. [1]
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What strikes me in this passage is verse 4. What was the result of Saul’s persecution of the church? It spread. People who were not the apostles were preaching the word wherever they went. Then Philip is given as just one example
What this leads me to think about is God’s resurrection ways. He takes what is dead and broken and brings good from it. Here we have the death of the first Christian martyr, followed by a rather horrific persecution. Note that Saul was actually going into people’s homes. Can you imagine how frightening this was? But the result was that the church spread from Jerusalem and more and more people not only believed, but began to share their faith.
Note that I’m not denying that the persecution was evil and wrong and horrible for those who experienced it. But God used it to further His mission.
And so He does in our lives as well. This is a cause for constant hope. Whatever is broken and failing in our own lives – whether due to the fallenness of this world or the sinfulness of humans – can be used by God for good and for His mission. This doesn’t mean that what happened isn’t bad – it is! But our God is the God of resurrection who brings life from death.
I’m thinking back to some of the painful things of this past year in my own life. God is with me in this pain and calls me to trust in Him. But I also believe He calls me to have hope for the future that He will be at work to bring blessing and goodness from the results of the pain. This is resurrection in daily life. This is Christian hope.
So my prayer today is for faith to trust in God’s goodness in mercy for the future.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Ac 8:1–8). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
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