Wow! Here we have the history of the people of God in one chapter. It covers the entire First Covenant to the New Covenant defining rejection of God and His chosen deliverers, rebellion, God's real dwelling place, resisting the Holy Spirit showing what we are capable of when rightfully accused and confronted with our sinful activities. Stephen the first Christian martyr had powerful last words 59 They were stoning Stephen as he called out: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not charge them with this sin!" And saying this, he fell asleep. What would your last words be?
Today there are many martyred yearly. http://www.persecution.com
Deserving condemnation,
Dan
1 comment:
Dude.. this chapter is loaded with history! "Wow" indeed! It reminds me of the quote, "Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it.." and it's very true. Time after time we see how the people of God turned their backs on their Creator, taking their own road in life... and oh how many times they failed. It's a great example for us today and serves as an excellent warning and attention-getter. So, I have a question.. was it unusual for a man like Stephen to know so much detail about the history of God's people? Or was it generally understood and studied as part of being in that culture...
I love what he says in vs. 51, “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you." He gave them a history of being stubborn and let them know they were continuing the practice lol
I also appreciated the fact that he looked up to heaven and saw Christ at the Father's right hand... No matter what situation we are in, we can rest assured in knowing the Jesus is there advocating for us on our behalf, and is with us in all circumstances.
And yes, the last part of the chapter is a beautiful picture of Christ. Just as Jesus, dying on the cross, said, "Forgive them, they no not what they are doing."... so says Stephen. It would be wonderful if those were my last words in a similar situation.. I pray so. There are so many killed for their faith every day... organizations like Persecuted Church and The Voice of the Martyrs make that clear. God bless them all for what they do for the cause of Christ. So often we see the "persecution" we may face and complain... yet many give their lives.
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