Worth Memorizing:
So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, Acts 10:34
To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Acts 10:43
As we move into Acts 6, the church is growing fast and with growth comes some challenges. Some widows were being overlooked when food was being distributed. The apostles realized they couldn’t do everything themselves anymore, so they raised up more leaders to help serve and carry the load. Honestly, that reminds me a lot of what we’ve been seeing at EBC Mead. As our church has grown, people have stepped up. People are serving, helping, leading, and carrying part of the mission. That’s how healthy churches work. The early church didn’t slow down when things got bigger. They raised up more servants so the mission could keep moving forward.
Then in Acts 7 we see Stephen. He stands boldly for the truth about Jesus, and it ends up costing him his life. As they’re throwing stones at him, Stephen could have prayed a lot of different things. He could have prayed for the pain to stop. He could have prayed for God to rescue him. He could have even prayed for judgment on the people killing him. But instead he prays, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Think about that. While they’re killing him, he’s asking God to forgive them. And here we are sometimes holding a grudge because someone said something we didn’t like or had a different opinion about something. Stephen’s response reminds us what grace really looks like.
In Acts 8 persecution breaks out and believers scatter, but instead of the church falling apart the gospel spreads even more. Philip ends up on a road with an Ethiopian official, and while they’re traveling together Philip explains the Scriptures and the man believes and is baptized right there. That made me think about this week’s challenge to walk somewhere new. A lot of times when I walk or run, I’m by myself, and I know many of you probably are too. But when you change your route or go somewhere different, you never know who God might put in your path. It might be someone you meet on the walking trail or just a conversation that opens the door to talk about Jesus.
In Acts 9 Saul is on the road to Damascus heading there to arrest Christians. But right in the middle of that road Jesus meets him. A bright light flashes, Saul falls to the ground, and his whole life changes. Saul wasn’t looking for Jesus that day. In fact, he was headed the opposite direction. But God met him right where he was. That’s the good news of the gospel. God meets people where they are and can completely change the direction of their life.
Then in Acts 10 we meet Cornelius, a man who feared God, prayed regularly, and gave to the poor. But even with all of that, God still sent Peter to his house so he could hear the message about Jesus. That’s important. Being a good person or trying to do the right things isn’t the same as hearing and believing the gospel. Cornelius still needed to hear about Jesus. And the only way that happened was because Peter was willing to go. Sometimes we overthink it, but our job is really pretty simple. We go, we share the message of Jesus, and we trust God to work in people’s hearts.
When you step back and look at Acts 6–10, you see the church moving forward in every situation. People step up to serve, faith stays strong even when things get hard, conversations happen along the road, lives are changed, and the gospel reaches new people. God kept working through ordinary people who were simply willing to follow Him. And that’s still how God works today. So keep walking, keep reading, and keep being willing to go wherever God leads.