Today’s reading is Acts 11: 19-30

We are starting to see that the church is still facing opposition and facing persecution.  We see that this even causes the church to begin to spread out and scatter throughout the world.  This sounds terrible to us, who among us would want to face something like this.  We would never want to face opposition or persecution. But we see what happens here as well; these troubles spurred the church to grow. To go to places where they would not have gone ordinarily.  These troubles, though real, and though painful, became blessings to the church.  It caused the church to grow.

Right now, you a facing something that is hard and may be trouble. It may be painful.  It may be something you don’t like.  How will you use it?  Will you allow this trouble to be something that drags you from God and from His love?  Or will it be something that you will allow God to use to shape you?  To mold you. To transform you. This persecution, it shaped and grew the church.  Our troubles, through Gods’ grace, can shape and grow us.

Today, will we allow that to happen?

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