In Acts 4:1–22, Peter and John face their first real persecution after healing a man and boldly proclaiming that the miracle happened through the power of Jesus. Arrested and brought before the same religious council that condemned Jesus, they are asked by what authority they acted. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter declares that the man was healed in the name of Jesus Christ, the very one the leaders rejected but whom God raised from the dead. He boldly proclaims that salvation is found in no one else, because there is no other name under heaven by which we must be saved. Though Peter and John were ordinary, untrained men, the leaders recognized that they had been with Jesus. Even when threatened and ordered to stop speaking about Him, they refused, declaring they could not help but speak of what they had seen and heard. Their courage shows that a church on fire stands firm under pressure, trusting that the hard moments of faithfulness often become the very places where God produces gospel fruit. 

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