Jesus' Last Words

Read Acts 7:1 through 8:40

It seems that when a person accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord, life would become easier with fewer problems. Often the opposite is true. Why does God let His children suffer, sometimes more than the unsaved?

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

Jesus' last words instructed believers to go everywhere preaching the gospel, not just the apostles but every Christian. The church in Jerusalem had greatly multiplied, but they stayed in Jerusalem enjoying each other. God let persecution come to the church and the people immediately scattered, preaching the gospel and spreading joy everywhere they went. Jesus' last words to His people have not changed. The gospel is to be taken "to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Some are to witness at home while others are to go.

Thought for Today: To be in the center of God's will means not only to be spiritually right with God, but to be geographically where He wants you to be.

Quicklook: Acts 8:1-8