Today's Passage - Acts 8:1-8

Acts 8:1-1   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.  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.   The early church is a church that was continuously expanding, but the expansion wasn't as smooth and natural as we might have imagined.  In Chapter 7, we saw that Stephen stood before people and testified for the Lord with great power, but after they heard his word, not only did they not repent, but they were furious and stoned Stephen to death.  The passage says that since that day, the church of Jerusalem suffered great persecution and all disciples except the apostles became scattered all over Judah and Samaria.  Sometimes it's hard to understand what God did, isn't it?  Wasn't the Jerusalem church doing great and weren't the apostles filled with faith and power?  Why did God accept such terrible thing to happen to the church?   In Acts 1:8, Jesus told the disciples to go out and witness for Him before He ascended to heaven.  The believers in the church of Jerusalem loved one another and were living together like they were in heaven.  They, however, overlooked the most important mission that God has given them, which was to preach the gospel of Christ to the ends of the earth.  The church cannot be confined with an ivory tower, like some kind of refuge for Christians; rather, it should function like a lighthouse that is projecting true light of life from Jesus Christ.    God allowed persecution to come upon the early church in order to expand their vision, not to just see their own needs but to see the needs of the Kingdom of God.  I believe that they were able to preach the gospel by letting it naturally flow out of their lives through the precious presence of God.  Although the circumstance was difficult, they were still joyful and hopeful because of the presence of God.  When people come near us, can they feel something refreshing in our life?  You don't need to make a lot of noise, but as long as you have the presence of God, others will feel that our lives are different.  Starting today, are you willing to testify for the Lord among people around you?   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, I thank you because your will for us is higher than our will.  Although we may persevere through difficulties and persecution, you let us experience your faithfulness and your plan in our lives.  May the Lord give us more strength and wisdom so that we may be your glorious witnesses.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!          See Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - on Facebook!