Do you want faith like what Stephen had?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
(Acts 7:55-56 (NIV))

Do you ever think about Stephen and his faith?

I often wonder if I would have the faith to do what he did. He was brought up on charges before the Sanhedrin. He was charged with blasphemy! Today, we see many such true acts of blasphemy on a daily basis, but at that time, it was an offense punishable by death. At the time, speaking about Jesus as the Messiah was considered blasphemy.

That did not prevent Stephen from allowing the Holy Spirit to speak through him and chastise the Sanhedrin for being stiff-necked people who resist the Holy Spirit as well as killing the prophets and Jesus.

I know that this story is well known, but can you picture the zeal and the honesty that flowed from the mouth of Stephen as he let them know what God thought of them? Can you picture the anger growing in the hearts and minds of the recipients of this message?

Now that the stage is set, do you identify more with Stephen or with the Sanhedrin?

Are you open to the urgings of the Holy Spirit and are you willing to act on them no matter the consequences, or are you so set in your ways that you fail to recognize the truth when it is right in front of you?

Do you face the enemy without reservation, or do you deny the truth and embrace the enemy?

Stephen’s story has been repeated many times throughout history. People have been confronted with attacks from the enemy and have stood their ground with respect to their faith in Jesus. Would we be able to be like Stephen if we faced such an accusation?

Lord, give me the strength to be like Stephen!

Copyright 1998 – 2016 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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Do we allow the world to steal the power of God’s Word?

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living ^©

You shall not steal.
(Exodus 20:15 (NIV))

Does society even pay attention to any of God’s Commandments anymore?

I know that the world is far from perfect and that there are complaints that are legitimate, but with far too many episodes in the news such as Baltimore, it appears that far too many people think nothing of breaking any and all of God’s Commandments.

How should the Body of Christ respond to the problems that face society?

We know what the world truly needs, but do we come off as judgmental and condescending when we try to share the answer?

I want you to think about something for a moment.

When Jesus walked the earth, how did people react to Him telling them how to live according to God’s laws? How did the religious leaders treat Him? How did the general population treat Him once the religious and political leaders worked them up into a frenzy?

Think about Paul. What happened to Paul when the people that he was called to minister to turned on him? He was stoned,, imprisoned and eventually martyred.

Think about Stephen. He was stoned to death for preaching about Jesus.

The Body of Christ has the answer to all of the problems in this world, but we have good examples of what can possibly happen when we take a stand for what is right in the eyes of God. Sadly, we allow these examples to hinder us from doing what we should do.

The Body of Christ is to be salt and light. We are to be the city on a hill. We are to be the ones who share the Gospel to a dark and dying world. We are to hold fast to the truth and let God’s truth impact the world. Far too often, we allow the world to impact our understanding of God’s truth.

I believe that the Body of Christ is often guilty of allowing the power of God’s Word to be stolen!

Stand firm in God’s Word!

Copyright 1998 – 2015 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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