Sunday, January 5, 2025
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Acts 8
- Secondary Reading: Psalms 3
Key Verse
Acts 8:21 — “Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.”
Devotional Thought
The opening verses of Acts 8 are shadowed by grief. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, has just been stoned, and the young man Saul stands by, consenting to his death. What follows is a storm of persecution that scatters the church in Jerusalem throughout Judea and Samaria. Devout men bury Stephen with loud lamentation. Saul ravages the church, dragging men and women from their homes into prison. It would be easy to read such a scene as the enemy’s triumph. Yet verse four turns the whole story: “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” The very pressure meant to crush the church instead scattered seed across the land.
Consider Philip, who went down to Samaria and preached Christ. The city, long bewitched by a sorcerer named Simon, heard him with one accord. Unclean spirits cried out and fled; the palsied and lame were healed; and there was great joy in that city. Even Simon believed and was baptized, though his heart would soon be exposed when he tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter’s rebuke is severe—”thy money perish with thee”—but it is also merciful, calling him to repent. God’s gifts are never for sale; they are received by grace alone.
Then the Spirit sends Philip down a desert road toward Gaza, where an Ethiopian eunuch of great authority under Queen Candace sits in his chariot reading Isaiah. Philip runs to him, asks if he understands, and the man answers with beautiful honesty: “How can I, except some man should guide me?” Beginning at that very scripture—the lamb led to the slaughter—Philip preached unto him Jesus. The eunuch believed, was baptized, and went on his way rejoicing.
Notice the pattern: a scattered church, a desert road, a seeking heart. God moves through disruption and detours. As a new year begins, many of us carry the ache of a difficult season, wondering whether our troubles have any purpose. Psalm 3 sings into that fear: “Thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” David, fleeing his own son, still lay down and slept, sustained by God. Whether you face opposition like the early church or simply the ordinary uncertainty of a fresh January, the Lord who scattered the church into fruitfulness and met a traveler on a desert road is the same God who hears your cry from His holy hill.
Reflection
- The persecution that scattered the Jerusalem church became the means by which the gospel reached Samaria and a desert road. Where might God be using a disruption in your life right now to plant something you could not have planned?
- The Ethiopian eunuch admitted he could not understand Scripture without someone to guide him. Who in your life needs you to “come up and sit with” them and open the Scriptures, and are you willing to run to that chariot?
Prayer
Lord, we come to You as the One who is our shield and the lifter up of our heads. When troubles multiply and voices say there is no help for us, teach us to cry unto You with our voice, knowing that You hear from Your holy hill. Thank You that no persecution, no desert road, and no seeking heart is beyond Your reach. Give us the readiness of Philip—willing to go where Your Spirit sends and to open the Scriptures to those who hunger. Expose every wrong motive in us, as You did with Simon, and lead us to repentance. Let us go on our way rejoicing, for salvation belongeth unto the LORD. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 3:1 — “Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.”