Acts 8:1 ” On that day a great persecution broke out against the Church at Jerusalem and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”

Before the stoning of Stephen, the early Church enjoyed a time of close fellowship…being built up in teaching, prayer, and sharing with each other as needs arose. They met daily in the Temple courts, enjoying the favor of all people…praising God with glad and since hearts. This was the season of inward focus… of enabling & encouraging individual growth, while strengthening the Church’s unity of Spirit as a whole. But Stephen’s death changed it all. But think about it, this inward focus went totally against the Great Commission that Jesus had charged His disciples with…To “Go and make disciples of all nations…” (Matthew 28:19) That’s because Believers will never fulfill the mandates of The Great Commission if they never venture outside their comfort zones. So for the early Church it took persecution to drive its expansion as a witness-bearing mission with a new outward focus. And the same goes for us individually today… without persecution, trials, and trouble we won’t grow Spiritually, but remain stagnant in the comfortable space we occupy.

Author: kezha1

A Christian mother, grandmother, and retired nurse living in Illinois. Called into a ministry of encouraging others to find their ultimate plan and purpose in life through Christ. View all posts by kezha1