Daily Devotional for Friday, January 20th

Philip Continues to Preach

Has anybody ever stepped on a spider’s nest? Sometimes the little spiders in an egg sac are developed enough that the babies can survive outside of the sac. So, what happens sometimes when a person steps on a spider’s egg sac is that a bunch of little spiders run off in every direction. What do all of those spiders do when that happens? They all run for the hills and do what spiders do. When we step on a spider nest hoping to destroy it, sometimes what we actually accomplish is to spread the spiders around to a hundred places instead of just one.

This analogy is not perfect, but it is actually a pretty fair picture of what happened in Jerusalem. After consenting to the stoning of Stephen, Saul (later to be Paul), went after Christians with a vengeance. The persecution was so great that they Christians scattered to the four winds. That is why we see Philip in Samaria and later in Gaza. Philip was not just running for his life, either. Philip was doing what he was supposed to be doing, and that was preaching. Oddly, his flight presented him more chances to meet the unsaved than he probably had in Jerusalem, and he made the most of them.

What do we do when life slaps us in the face, so to speak? What about when others treat us badly because of our faith? Do we focus one ourselves, or do we see an opportunity to share Jesus with the lost?

Just a Thought. The trials of life should not stop us from presenting the gospel; in fact, adversity provides a great chance to show the world what Jesus really means in our lives.

Wally Fry