The Lord is king!
….Let the earth rejoice!
….Let the farthest coastlands be glad.
Dark clouds surround him.
….Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Psalm 97:1-2 NLT
Acts 8:1-4 (<<click here to read the passage)
We’ve all heard the illustration of the boiling frog. The short version is if you put a frog in boiling water, it will immediately jump out. But…as Wikipedia states, if the frog is put in tepid water which is then brought to a boil slowly, it will not perceive the danger and will be cooked to death. The story is often used as a metaphor for the inability or unwillingness of people to react to or be aware of sinister threats that arise gradually rather than suddenly.
Wikipedia goes on to say that according to modern biologists the premise is false: a frog that is gradually heated will jump out. Their brains may not be very big, but instincts easily push them towards survival. Even a frog is smart enough to get moving out of that kind of situation if it can!
With the death of Stephen, the fire was lit under those who considered themselves followers of Jesus. The last portion of verse 1 reads,
And on that day a great and relentless persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem; and the believers were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. AMP
Verse 4 follows up by declaring,
Now those [believers] who had been scattered went from place to place preaching the word [the good news of salvation through Christ].
Persecution for the early church was the real deal (unlike the flim-flammy stuff many modern-day Christians in our society boo-hoo about – those are just inconveniences! Talk to believers in China and many other truly oppressed areas of our world to understand what genuine persecution is!)
Verse 3 gives us a small glimpse of what they were dealing with.
…Saul began ravaging the church [and assaulting believers]; entering house after house and dragging off men and women, putting them in prison.
It was definitely awful for them, but it yielded great results!
Persecution forced the believers out of their homes in Jerusalem, and along with them went the Good News. Sometimes we have to become uncomfortable before we’ll move. We may not want to experience it, but discomfort may be best for us because God may be working through our hurts. When you are tempted to complain about uncomfortable or painful circumstances, stop and ask if God might be preparing you for a special task.*
The water around them was starting to heat up and so they got out of it and in the process spread the message of what Jesus had done, touching more and more lives as they continued to move further and further out from the comfort of home.
Lord Jesus, may we not ballyhoo all the difficulties in life we experience. We never know what doors might open – new horizons, new encounters, new opportunities! You might be giving us a little shove out of our cozy nests to impact new people for You! Amen.
*Life Application Study Bible
Mar 3rd, 2022, Thurs, 8:57 pm
