At the beginning of a new year, many of us are asking what God's purpose really looks like in everyday life. The book of Acts opens with a promise—and a movement.
Just before Jesus ascended, he told his disciples that they would receive power from the Holy Spirit and become witnesses "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). What follows is not a carefully managed plan, but the story of how God worked through ordinary people to spread the gospel far beyond what they could have imagined.
Resources like The Bible, Simplified, now included inside Bible Gateway Plus, help bring clarity to moments like this by showing how individual passages connect to the larger story unfolding across Scripture.
In The Bible, Simplified, this turning point in Acts is summarized this way:
"When the Holy Spirit arrived, they were empowered to take the gospel message from Jerusalem, the hub of the Jewish faith, and spread it among the Gentiles throughout the known world."
One of the most striking examples of this movement is the conversion of Saul. Known for persecuting followers of Jesus, Saul's encounter with Christ on the road to Damascus changes everything. As the book explains:
"Sometimes God has to stop us in our tracks to get his point across… God can use anyone for his plans—even someone who wanted to kill his followers."
This is part of what makes Acts so meaningful. It shows that God's work isn't limited by background, reputation, or past mistakes. The gospel moves forward through transformation—and through people willing to follow where God leads.
Understanding this broader story can help passages from Acts feel less fragmented and more connected. That's why The Bible, Simplified appears alongside Scripture inside Bible Gateway Plus—helping you see how moments like Pentecost, Saul's conversion, and the growth of the early church all fit together.
To continue reflecting on this theme, we've included our free 5-day reading plan, drawn from The Bible, Simplified. It's designed to help you follow the spread of the gospel with clarity, one day at a time.
