Monday, January 5, 2026
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 stoning of Stephen was barely finished before the church in Jerusalem felt the shockwaves. Saul was “consenting unto his death,” and soon he was making “havock of the church,” dragging men and women from their homes into prison. Devout men buried Stephen with great lamentation. It would have been easy to conclude that the gospel was finished in that city. Yet Acts 8 gives us one of Scripture’s most startling “therefore”s: “Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.” Persecution did not silence the church; it seeded it. Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ, and a city that had long been bewitched by Simon the sorcerer was filled with “great joy.” Even Simon believed and was baptized — though Peter would soon discern that his heart was not right, coveting the Holy Ghost as something to be purchased. Then the Spirit sent Philip south to a desert road, where an Ethiopian eunuch of great authority sat in his chariot reading Isaiah and asking, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” Philip began at that very scripture and “preached unto him Jesus.” The man believed, was baptized, and “went on his way rejoicing.”
Notice how much of this chapter happens on the move — scattered, sent, running, caught away. God rarely waits for our circumstances to settle before He works. It is early January, a season when we make plans and resolutions, hoping the coming year will be calmer, more ordered, more favorable. Acts 8 suggests that the Lord often advances His kingdom through the very disruptions we would never have chosen. The scattering looked like loss; it became a mission. The desert road looked like a dead end; it held a divine appointment. Simon’s story also warns us: proximity to the things of God is not the same as a heart right before Him. We can follow Philip, marvel at miracles, and still be in “the bond of iniquity” if we want the gift more than the Giver.
Psalm 3, appointed for today, gives voice to the same confidence the scattered believers must have carried. David cries, “many are they that rise up against me,” yet confesses, “thou, O LORD, art a shield for me.” He sleeps and wakes because the Lord sustains him, and he refuses to fear “ten thousands of people.” That is the posture of the church in Acts 8 — surrounded, but not abandoned; scattered, but never forsaken. “Salvation belongeth unto the LORD.”
So what does this ask of us today? Perhaps simply this: go where you are sent, speak to the person in front of you, open the Scripture you already have, and trust God with the results. The eunuch’s question is our question too — we all need someone to guide us. And someone near you needs the same from you.
Reflection
- Where has God scattered or disrupted your plans, and might He be sending you to preach Christ in that very place rather than merely enduring it?
- Like Simon, is there any part of your heart that wants God’s gifts more than God Himself — and what would repentance look like there today?
Prayer
Lord, we confess that we often cling to comfort and call it faith. Scatter us where You will, and make us faithful there. Give us Philip’s readiness — to rise, to run, to open our mouths and preach Jesus from the Scriptures. Guard our hearts from Simon’s error, from wanting Your gifts without wanting You. Sustain us as You sustained David, so that even surrounded by troubles we may lie down and sleep in peace. Send us to the ones asking, “How can I, except some man should guide me?” and let them go on their way rejoicing. For salvation belongeth unto Thee alone. Amen.
Psalm Verse
Psalms 3:1 — “Lord, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.”