The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Acts 7:59-60,
“While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' Then he fell on his knees and cried out, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' When he had said this, he fell asleep.”
As I read of the first martyr of the church, Stephen, and his stoning, I am struck by his heart toward those who killed him. The Jews had “secretly persuaded some men”, Acts 6:11, to bring false accusations against him and stirred up a crowd.
After excoriating the Jews for turning their backs on God from the time of the patriarchs to the then present day (in their rejection of Jesus the Messiah), Stephen prays for them as they are in the process of killing him. They are doing the very thing Stephen accused them of when he said, “Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?”
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
What kind of God is it who so captures a man’s heart, that the man is willing to die for his God, and at the same time, forgive those at whose hands he is being killed?
Terrorists are willing to die for their cause, but always out of a demonic hate. Here Stephen is willing to die for his God. I also think his God had Stephen martyred for the impact it would have on those who killed him. I have to think this event influenced Paul’s thinking at a later date, when he was confronted by the Lord on the road to Damascus.
To say our God is worth dying for is not something that should be considered in a shallow way (as I suspect some are prone to do). Who knows who might be called to do so?
God is worth dying for. If that not be our lot, it is good to note he is also worth living for.
As I read of the first martyr of the church, Stephen, and his stoning, I am struck by his heart toward those who killed him. The Jews had “secretly persuaded some men”, Acts 6:11, to bring false accusations against him and stirred up a crowd.
After excoriating the Jews for turning their backs on God from the time of the patriarchs to the then present day (in their rejection of Jesus the Messiah), Stephen prays for them as they are in the process of killing him. They are doing the very thing Stephen accused them of when he said, “Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute?”
“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”
What kind of God is it who so captures a man’s heart, that the man is willing to die for his God, and at the same time, forgive those at whose hands he is being killed?
Terrorists are willing to die for their cause, but always out of a demonic hate. Here Stephen is willing to die for his God. I also think his God had Stephen martyred for the impact it would have on those who killed him. I have to think this event influenced Paul’s thinking at a later date, when he was confronted by the Lord on the road to Damascus.
To say our God is worth dying for is not something that should be considered in a shallow way (as I suspect some are prone to do). Who knows who might be called to do so?
God is worth dying for. If that not be our lot, it is good to note he is also worth living for.
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
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