Scalded!

A great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout . . . Judea and Samaria.

Acts 8:1

In Acts 1, Jesus commanded the apostles to preach the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria, but after the Day of Pentecost, the work was largely confined to Jerusalem. God used persecution to move His people to obey. When they didn’t go out in obedience, the Lord sent them out by persecution. God will accomplish His will and proclaim His Word to the ends of the earth either with our consent or without it, so it’s best to cooperate from the beginning.

John Fletcher, a backslidden young man, was waiting to board a ship when a maid spilled boiling water on his leg, badly scalding him and forcing him to literally “miss the boat.” But that ship was lost at sea. Fletcher, meanwhile, was convicted of sin through the preaching of a Methodist evangelist and later became one of John Wesley’s closest associates.

God used scalding water to get Fletcher’s attention and redirect his life. He might do that with you or me! The Lord, in His goodness, sometimes finds ways to motivate us to obey His will, but how much better to be obedient to begin with!

God is love! Shout! Shout aloud! Oh, it so fills me that I want a gust of praise to go to the ends of the earth!

JOHN FLETCHER