And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word.
After Stephen’s stoning, the persecution of the church at Jerusalem became great; but it turned into a blessing as far as the proclamation of the gospel was concerned. This has been true of many persecutions throughout church history. It was Tertullian who said, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the church.” Christians around the world are now being persecuted perhaps more than any other time in history. May God help us to pray for them and stand with them that the propagation of the gospel be not hindered in today’s world.
1 minute x 365 days = 1 year of working your way through Bible passages from most NT chapters in chronological order and some from the OT.