Acts is a book of transitions. One of the biggest of these transitions is the inclusion of non-Jews in God's plan of salvation. Not only did God bring salvation to both Jews and Gentiles, but He made them one body together in Christ.
God grants His ordinary disciples the privilege of being involved in His work. It’s not fame but faithfulness that God calls us to. Even a small, unknown person can be used by God in magnificent ways.
No one asks for persecution. But God in His wisdom has made it so that when anyone persecutes His Church, it is like taking seed and scattering it so that it goes everywhere.
Is Jesus the basis for your being made right before God, or is He not? Do you simply have to believe, or are there certain things you have to do to be saved?
“In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.” (Genesis 22:18). God keeps His promises. As Acts unfolds we learn precisely how this promise is fulfilled.