Everyone in Jerusalem could feel the tension rising and rising. The Gospel was spreading to every quarter of the city, and the resistance of the Jewish leadership was like a fire about to ignite. It burst into conflagration with the murder of Stephen, the first martyr, and widespread persecution erupted against the new believers. Saul of Tarsus was leading the charge.

That drove the believers to flee Jerusalem, and as they did, they took the Gospel with them—to other districts in Judea, to Samaria, to Galilee, to Gaza, and into a widening circle of influence. It wasn’t the send-off they might have wanted, but God used the circumstances to send them forth.

Sometimes the circumstances of our lives force us to do things and go places we might not like. Perhaps a job transfer. Perhaps a hospital stay. Maybe it’s an unwanted crisis that takes us from our home and neighborhood. But remember how carefully the Lord oversees our circumstances. Wherever He sends you, you’ll find people who need Him. Let’s make the most of every opportunity.

There is no greater communication of love than proclaiming the gospel of God.
Alistair Begg