Week 14: A Standing Ovation

Last week we looked at how God used Stephen like an angel to deliver an important message to the religious leaders and court authorities of his day. This week I want to talk about what happened at the end of Stephen's trial testimony.

Consider with me again the facial transformation of Stephen. This is just my personal thoughts on the matter since I can't totally support it with scripture. However, often when we think of angels, we think of them emitting light or being bright, shinny, or glowing. We can see an example of this image in Luke 2:9 when the host of angels came to tell the shepherds of Jesus' birth. The verse says "the glory of the Lord shone round about them [the angels]." The Bible repeatedly talks about the glory of the Lord which in the Greek can mean splendour or brightness. So, perhaps Stephen's face emitted a glow or Godly brightness as he spoke to the religious leaders and court authorities. Perhaps too, as they stood listening to his message that day, that same glorious light pulled back the veil of darkness they were trapped in under the law and showed them their wicked sins and evil intentions (remember, the only reason Stephen was in court was because they had hired people to lie about him). The Bible goes on to say that when they heard Stephen's message they were "cut to the heart." In the Greek, this statement translates that they were sawed in two mentally and spiritually. Thus, their souls opened up and their sins poured out before them. Not surprising, is it? It is hard to come into the Light and not have your darkness illuminated.

Unfortunately, like John 3:19 states, these "men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil." So, figuratively speaking, they closed their eyes to the Light and bit into Stephen. Yes, that's right. They literally began to bite and chew on him. (Acts 7:54)

Nevertheless, precious Stephen looked beyond their torturous acts and forgave them. Jesus pulled back the clouds and atmosphere and let Stephen look into heaven, and what an amazing sight he beheld. Stephen saw a sight that is not mentioned anywhere else in the Bible, nor is it mentioned that anyone else ever saw this sight. He saw the glory of God and Christ standing on the right hand of God. There amidst his trial, he looked up to see Christ giving him a standing ovation. I searched the scriptures for any other account of Christ standing on the right hand of the God and found zero. There is a long list of Christ's posture seen as sitting/seated/sat/set on the right hand of God (I found at least 16) but never standing. Only in this one scene is this the posture we see of Christ, only in Stephen's final moments.

Can you even begin to fathom what that had to be like for Stephen? To look up and see the One who shed His precious blood standing for him. Oh, we serve such a loving God. Here this humble servant has stood up for his Savior and is being bitten and stoned to death, but in His mercy, Christ shows him that his service has not been in vain. Christ's standing for Stephen showed how proud the Savior, his Savior, was of him. It gives me chills to think about it.

I can't begin to imagine the pain and suffering Stephen faced in his final moments on this Earth; but I am so thankful to know that Christ was with him all the way and waiting proudly for him on the other side. Hallelujah, what a Savior!

As I close, I can't help but hear the words to a song our church sings that are fitting to this scene we've just witnessed. They go like this:

Can you hear the applause of heaven?
Another crosses Jordan's chilly tide.
Can you see the host of heaven?
As they rise to celebrate the child who faithfully walked every mile
To find the Heaven's stand up and applaud
As they run into the arms of God.

I like to think that every time a saint of God passes from this world into Heaven he/she finds the Savior standing at the right hand of God with arms wide open and shouting a welcome call of "well done thou good and faithful servant. Well done!"

Week 13 - A Messenger of God

In my opinion, one of the greatest men of the faith in the Bible is one who doesn't have a whole lot of Scripture limelight. There's nothing mentioned of his childhood or even his adulthood background except for a few extraordinary comments. He was a man full of faith, power and the Holy Spirit. He did great wonders and miracles among the people of his day. In fact, this man was so full of the Holy Spirit that even people who wanted to kill him couldn't because they were captivated by his spirit and wisdom when he taught. Instead, those who wished him dead, actually sought out and petitioned others to help create an uproar against this man of faith. So who was he? His name was Stephen.

The first mention of Stephen in the Bible is in Acts 6:5. Here he is being selected to fulfill duties of the church, or better, he is being ordained as a deacon. After his ordination, mentioned in Acts 6:6, Stephen is said to have performed great wonders and miracles (vs. 8). He was a faithful disciple of the Lord and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Yet, religious legalist of the synagogue wanted nothing to do with Stephen's gospel message. So, they found men willing to commit perjury against Stephen.

Now, isn't that ironic? Here the so called "godly" figures of the day are seen sneaking around inducing people to lie for them in order to support their religious agendas. Friends, always know that if you have to cheat, lie, steal, murder, etc. in order to better yourself or support your beliefs, your actions are not of God; they are fully of the devil. This event in Stephen's life is a prime example of this very fact.

Nevertheless, despite the false accusations brought against Stephen, he never compromised his Christian character to protect himself. In fact, the Bible says that his face looked like the face of an angel during his trial. This is important to note. If you study the Greek definitions of the words used in the phrase from Acts 6:15, "[they] saw his face as it had been the face of an angel," you will find it literally means his countenance took on or looked as though it were the face of a messenger of God. This is interesting because this verse is the last verse of Acts 6 and Stephen's trial testimony (or message from God) pics up immediately in Act 7:2-53. So, immediately after Stephen's appearance changes, he beings speaking the message God has given him for these religious leaders and court authorities. Now, do you remember in past devotions I've told you how God made no mistakes in the words/phrases he chose to have penned in the Bible? Each word is divinely inspired. Keeping that in mind, look ahead to Acts 7:53. Stephen's last words of his testimony/message are these: "Who [Stephen's accusers] have the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it." His final words had to have struck a nerve in these men (a major nerve as we will talk about next week). Here these accusers are looking on this man who has been ordained as a deacon, supernaturally transformed to look like the face of an angel or messenger of God, and given a detailed testimony of the Jewish past and everything God has done for them. Then in his summary statement, he tells them...in my words..."You have been given everything you need to know about the law and the Messiah. It has been revealed to you by the disposition or authority of ordaining angels and you still have missed it; you still refuse to believe the facts."

On that day in history, God transformed Stephen into an ordained angel, a messenger of God, an authority these accusers no doubt would listen to as they "thought it their duty to receive what was enjoined [ministered] by angels" and they still refused to listen and accept Christ. How utterly sad.

Thank God for examples like Stephen. Next week we will look a little further into his briefly mentioned, but powerful ministry example. I encourage you to read Acts 6 & 7 this week and let the faith of this amazing individual encourage your faith.

If you have never received Christ as your personal Savior, I beg you not to be as these religious legalist of Stephen's day who served their own pride and agendas by refusing to listen to the truth. Christ has provided you with all you need to know to place your faith in Him. His Word is His love letter to you. Inside of it, He lovingly urges you to come to Him. Don't turn Him away. Confess your sins and need for Him. Ask Him to be your Savior. He promised in Romans 10:13, "For whosoever [that means anyone, no matter who you are or your current circumstance], shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved [immediately as you place your faith in Him]. Won't you turn to Him today?

References:
http://www.eliyah.com/lexicon.html
http://www.blueletterbible.org

Week 12 - What Will You Do While You Wait?

Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. Psalms 27:14

As I was reading my Bible the other day, I came upon the above verse. It's funny, but not surprising, how the Lord always knows exactly what we need and when we need it. I had just finished praying about a situation my husband and I are facing and seeking the Lord's will about. With no apparent answer, I have to admit I was feeling a bit discouraged. Then, the Lord directed me to this scripture. As I read it, I heard His Spirit say to my spirit, "Are you displaying good courage while you wait on my answer to your prayer?" I had to reply, "No, Lord. I'm depressed, frustrated, and scared." He spoke again and said, "Why? Didn't I just say I will strengthen your heart while you wait if you will be of good courage? Don't fail to be happy or to trust me. I will reveal your answer in due time. For now, Becky, how will you choose to wait on me?"

Then, as if on cue, the words to the following song started running through my mind and heart. They have been a blessing to dwell upon.

While I'm Waiting
by John Waller


I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful, I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful, But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience

While I'm waiting, I will serve You
While I'm waiting, I will worship
While I'm waiting, I will not faint
I'll be running the race, Even while I wait


I'm waiting, I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful, I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy, But faithfully, I will wait

Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

As my husband and I continue our prayer and search for the Lord's will, I am also praying the Lord will help me (us) be of good courage and serve and worship Him during the wait. Has it been easy?...not always. Patience is not one of my strongest virtues. We live in a fast pace, immediate gratification world. It has been easy to get in a "I need an answer, like yesterday" mind-set. However, God does not always (not even usually) work on our time table. Yet, when He does provide His answer, His timing is to perfection. I'm thankful He is so awesome.

Friend, are you facing some struggles physically, financially, emotionally, etc? Have you been praying for God's direction but not received an answer? Take heart and choose to obey Him by waiting with good courage. As you do, He promises to strengthen your heart. Keep serving and worshipping Him. At the perfect moment He will reveal Himself.

My our mindset be as the words of the psalmist in Psalms 71:6;By Thee have I been holden up from the womb: thou art He that took me out of my mother's bowels: my praise shall be continually of Thee.

Week 11: Religion or Relationship - Which One Are You Following - Part 2

Last week we looked at religious legalism during Jesus' day (John 9). We will take a closer look today.

There are times when I have seen this very mentality creep up into my own life and also the lives of other fellow Christians. Now, I don't believe we have or are going to lose our salvation, but I do believe we lose out on being a blessing to others and receiving a blessing from others as well as from the Lord. I have personally witnessed this legalistic religious mentality many times throughout my life. I've seen arguments over denominations,over translations of the Bible, over church budgets, over the way the church should be ran and a whole list of other things split the Body of Christ. I often wonder if Christ were to physically walk among us as He did in the Pharisees' day what He would think of the Church today. Would He be pleased or appalled?

Friends, I don't believe Christ is concerned with what denomination we choose to fellowship among; He wants unity among the Church. Furthermore, as long as His doctrine is not compromised, I don't believe He gets hung up on what Bible translation we read and study from. (Although, a good rule of thumb is to have one translation as your primary foundation for studying and be sure that the translation you are reading is God's Word and not man's...I prefer the KJV but I do study from other versions for comparisons; and to make sure I gain the actual meanings of the words, I look up the original Greek and Hebrew definitions.) I do, however, think He is concerned with His gospel being spread to all the world. He tells us in His Word (and He is the Word - John 1:1) that He came to seek and to save the lost (luke 19:10). Furthermore, He commands us to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15).

I recently heard of an evangelist who cancelled preaching a revival meeting at a particular church because some of the members in his sending church had past grievances with some of the members of the church hosting the revival. The evangelist stated that his pastor said their might be members of their church who would have a problem with this meeting. So, in an effort to not have his pastor left to answer questions about why he, the evangelist, was preaching the revival meeting at the other church, he canceled his attendance.

I don't know about you, but I feel this is no different than the way the Pharisees acted toward Jesus and His works. Instead of canceling his attendance at the revival, the evangelist should have taken a lesson from the former blind man and stood his ground for Christ. If he is truly called by God to preach the gospel, then that is what he should do...regardless of whose feelings may or may not be hurt. His attendance at the revival meeting may have been the very thing that the Lord would have used to help heal old wounds. Now, no one will ever know. You know, it is one thing for the world to be offended at the gospel of Christ (the Bible said the world would be), but it is another when the offenses are happening among fellow Christians. Furthermore, should the people of the church holding the revival learn of this event, as is likely to have happened, may they choose not to become prideful or fall into gossip over the situation.

Friend, I could tell you other stories of people being discouraged from crossing denominational lines to go and preach a service or revival or of people refusing to be blessed of God because a Bible study or greeting card had scripture that was not from their preferred translation and so on, but time will not permit. Nevertheless, we all need to examine ourselves and see if there is any religion in us that is hindering our relationship with Christ. If there is, we need to confess it, turn from it, and ask Christ to help us choose Him every time over man's ideas, feelings, or traditions. God forbid that we should get so caught up in religious P.P. (piety and politics) that we consider our thoughts and feelings superior to the Word and Will of God. If any decision we make in life does not line up with the Word and the nature of Jesus Christ, then it is wrong. May God help us always choose to bring all things under subjection to Him and may we never be a stumbling block to people who are for Christ, even if their means are different from ours.

And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbad him, because he followeth not with us. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. (Luke 9:49-50)

Week 10: Religion or Relationship -- Which One Are You Following? Part 1

In John 9 we read the account of the blind man Jesus healed. Verses thirteen through the end of the chapter focus on the Pharisees' reactions to the event. I think their comments are both interesting but heartbreaking. I fear that all too often we slip and fall into some of the same legalistic positions as the Pharisees under the disguise of religion.

Let's take a closer look at how the Pharisees handled the healing of the blind man. First of all, John lets us know in verse 14 that the healing took place on the Sabbath. This would have been a big no-no to the Pharisees as Jesus' act of healing would have been considered work and not in keeping with the Jewish Sabbath law (vs. 16).

Secondly, they accused the blind man of being a liar (vs.18) and sought out his parents for a second opinion. Now the parents feared the Jewish leaders, so they chose not to stand up for their son (vs. 20-23). They told the Pharisees to ask him what had happened because he was old enough to answer for himself. Now imagine that! Here their own son who has been blind from birth has miraculously regained his sight and they are too caught up in the religion of the day to stand up and say that Jesus, the new man on the scene, may have some credentials worth looking into.

Thirdly, because of the Pharisees own spiritual blindness, they tell the former blind man that he should "Give God the praise" for his healing and not this sinful Jesus character. Their ridiculous self-serving deductions of Chirst caused them to totally miss God; the very person they claimed to know and worship had been among them and they didn't even recognize Him.

Finally, in a fourth attempt to discredit Christ, the Pharisees question the former blind man again as to the events surrounding his healing. Now this is the part of the story that I love. I think the blind man had great, noteworthy character because as he stands there obviously surrounded by a crowd of commoners as well as the religious authority of the day, he boldly replies, "Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see." Don't you know you could have heard a pin drop on that cold synagogue floor! Then, for lack of nothing else to say, they question the poor man again. At this point, the man turns the tables on the Pharisees and questions them. "He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be his disciples?" Well, this response did not sit too well with the Pharisees, so they reviled the man, throwing out all of their religious jargan about knowing God and Moses and so forth. The former blind man, once again a hero of Christ, stands up to them and smoothly declares, "Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing."

Wow! perhaps the once blind man went on to be a preacher after his conversion because he clearly laid it all out on the line with quite intelligent deduction. No one could refute his argument...not even the Pharisees. Thus, he was thrown out of the synagogue, and beneficially so. For as the man went on his way, he again encountered Christ and this time his soul was saved (vs. 35-38).

Look back over the chapter and notice the arrogant, religious legalism that blinded these poor Pharisees. Here Christ, their promised Messiah, was right in front of them all this time and because of their traditions, laws, and pride they couldn't even see Him. Their religion had blinded them to a real relationship with Christ; and, to put it bluntly, their religion was sending them straight to Hell.

Have you ever experienced such legalism in your walk with Christ? I have and next week we'll look further into this mentality.