"But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." Acts 7:55 NKJV
If you are not familiar with the account of Stephen, can I encourage you to read Acts 6 & 7 so that, you can see what a shining example he was. So shining in fact, that Jesus, who since He ascended into heaven sits at the right hand of God, is reported here as standing. Such was His excitement at the courage of this young man that He couldn't contain Himself. He had to stand and cheer him on. Charles Swindoll comments on this by giving an example of what Jesus may have been shouting to Stephen: 'Come on home, sweet Stephen. Come on home, dear servant of mine.' Obviously, we have nothing to back this up, but Jesus was standing and was possibly excited about it all; and furthermore, Stephen was His disciple, dear to His heart, so it does make sense that He could have said something similar to this.
Stephen did great signs and wonders among the people. He was full of faith and the Holy Spirit. Certain people didn't like this. You'll find this out for yourself if you do something for God, whether it be to preach, teach or just tell someone about Jesus. People don't like it and will stab you in the back. They did this to Stephen and falsely accused him of blasphemy; they even paid people to back this up to the Sanhedrin. Stephen gave a full account of the whole scriptures to date and even accused them of murdering Jesus on the cross. He was sentenced to be stoned, such was the rage of the people.
However, this was not a legal trial, it was more like a lynching. It was true that a person could be stoned for committing blasphemy, but the Sanhedrin had no rights to put anyone to death. Just like Jesus suffered trumped up charges and a very unfair trial, Stephen underwent a similar experience. Total injustice.
There comes a time when we, as Christians, have to make a stand for Jesus. There is a lot of injustice in this world and, no doubt, in the area where you live. Abortions for one thing, we cannot get away from the fact that it is murder and we need to be standing against this. Christianity cannot fully be taught within schools, it has to be multi-cultural, and yet, alternative sex can be taught as a satisfactory lifestyle. There is no discipline in schools and very little in certain homes, because smacking a child is a no-go area and you can be fined and receive a visit from Social Care. This is one of the reasons that there is so much violence on our streets. Come on, isn't it time that we spoke up about certain things? Isn't it time that we stopped thinking that someone will do something about it. Isn't it time that we got down and prayed about all that is going on instead of just the everyday issues that the church building needs?
Jesus made a difference. Stephen and the others also made a difference. Does it stop there?
What about:
If My people who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways , then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.' 2 Chronicles 7:14.
This is a good place to start!
Copyriight 2021 Grahame Howard
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