Good morning, friends.
Our verse for today comes from Acts 8:1, “And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
Each of us, individually and collectively, has a point in time when we can look back and say, “On that day, ….” For those of my generation, it is probably September 11, 2001, when the al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes and killed almost 3,000 Americans. On that day, 9/11, we remember where we were when we first found out what was happening. We vividly recall the images of the Twin Towers and the unfathomable sight of airplanes disappearing as they flew into the North and South towers. And on that day, our world changed. Besides the politics of it, air travel is quite different since then. And coming into our country is nothing like what it used to be. And reaching back into history, there are other such monumental dates. December 7, 1941 and Pearl Harbor. July 4, 1776 and the Declaration of Independence. July 20, 1969 and Apollo 11 landing on the moon. October 31, 1517 and Luther’s 95 Theses. Even if you’re too young or simply don’t recall these dates, you still have a birthday that changed your life and the lives of your parents. Couples have our anniversary dates. I also have September 6, 1995, when I attended the baseball game when my sports hero Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak as he played for the 2,131st consecutive time. And one day, some of us may look back on this time and have a particular day that we recall Covid-19 changed our lives.
But, for good or for bad, these days and so many others have left an impact, changing either a small piece of the world or affecting the entire globe. They were part of God’s plan that we don’t fully understand to accomplish God’s will that we don’t fully understand. And no different was the persecution on the church of Jesus begun at Stephen’s execution and carried out by Saul. To manifest His glorious good He used what was evil to change history and save mankind. Hiding and isolation and fear were surely not in the plans for the new followers of Christ, but God had His way, and the message of salvation spread as far as the running, travelling, relocating believers took it. Why they went mattered little, but what they took made all the difference in the world.
As we seek Him today, stay, or go, with Jesus as your companion, and change your piece of the world.
Have a great weekend.
#4 Rich Holt
Dad of Ripken, Koy, TrishaJean, Samantha, Kakie Holiday and Raleigh
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
