First "Christians" - Acts 11:19-26

Have you ever had a good news/bad news day?  The lesson in Acts 11 seems like one of those times.  First we learn that Christians are being persecuted and forced to go into hiding or run away.  We all know that God can take something bad and use it for good; for His glory.  Because Christians fled to other Cities and countries, the Gospel spread more quickly.

"Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord." (Acts 11:19-21)

Have you suffered or struggled with life and found yourself reaching out to God?  A few years after moving across county I found myself feeling alone.  I felt if something didn't change, if I couldn't find happiness I didn't know where my hopelessness would lead.  I attended a church for the first time in ten years and then the following Sunday my husband came with me; the rest is history.  God moved my family far from home and then used my desperation to open my eyes to what was missing.  Our family became Christian.

"The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch." (Acts 11:26b)

Read the Acts 11:19-26 text here.    Listen to the Word here.