Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews. (Acts 11:19)
THE FIRST CHRISTIANS FOUND THE IDEAL LIFE—one that far exceeded anything they had ever known. The living presence of God was so strong that all human needs were met. Feeling satisfied, they began to feel contented in their community.
God enjoys blessing people with His power and love. But at the same time, He does not want them to become so comfortable that they isolate themselves from the rest of the world. To prevent this in the early church, He used persecution to scatter believers from Jerusalem to other cities. They carried with them the same Holy Spirit that was poured out upon them on the day of Pentecost.
How do we avoid falling into the trap of becoming comfortable within ourselves? The answer is in adopting a spirit of evangelism. Some are specifically gifted for the office of evangelist, but all believers who are filled with God’s love are witnesses, whether they realize it or not.
All believers can be encouraged to reach out to others. God inspires a variety of different methods for evangelism. They range from large crusades to mission trips to simply giving words of personal testimony to a neighbor. No matter the method or the scale, your efforts to spread the good news will only be effective to the extent that you rely on the Holy Spirit for courage, power, and love.
Share God’s love when it is needed.
Roy Proctor has been a Christian since 1976 and has been writing devotionals since 2003. His purpose is to share encouraging words for the times in which we live.
