Wed., 1/8/20 Devotion (Acts 8:8)

Today's encouragement comes from Acts 8:8, where we read these words:

"And there was great joy in that city."

The only time that any city, state, or nation ever possesses real and solid joy, is when the church brings the gospel of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to it. Here, the Deacon Philip had brought the good news to Samaria, a largely-despised place, and it [Samaria] gets transformed, and filled with celebration.

The genuineness of gospel revival will always be manifested in the culture. It starts in the church, but it is not possible for it to be contained there. It is en-couraging to realize that real communities really are capable of heavenly joy, on this plant; and that this wondrous dynamic *has* happened in the past, and *can* occur again, even in our day.

[Puritan quote of the day: "Wherever there is truth there will be victory.”
—Jeremiah Burroughs, in, "The Excellency of a Gracious Spirit"]