Acts 7 - Beautiful Picture of Faithfulness

Stephen is really underrated in my opinion. I haven't really heard much about him in church. I am sure we have studied about him over the years but today was the first day that this really jumped off the page to me. 

Stephen was a servant to the needy.

Stephen was the first martyr.

Stephen died defending Christ.

The beauty here is that Stephen had such a passion for Christ. He clearly saw the vision that ALL people needed to hear about Jesus, not just the Jews. He was on fire for Jesus.

Hard questions come from this passage. Would I defend my faith while knowing that if I did, I would be killed?

I would hope the answer would be yes but I can't say for certain. I think it is easy to say yes to hard and difficult things but when the moment comes do we really hold true to what God calls us to be and do for him?

Defending him in death is a little extreme for me as I sit here and my desk, in my air conditioned home being able to worship freely.

The conviction here is real. Am I serving him in all areas? Am I living for him everywhere? Is my life more like Stephen's than not? Am I dying to self to live for Christ?

I just love how Stephen was able to look up into the heavens and saw the full glory of God. I cannot imagine the beauty he saw in what was a dark moment of him, facing death for defending God. What a beautiful picture of God's love for him as a good and faithful servant. 

I wonder how many lives were changed that day through his "sermon". I know that God used it for his Glory. I just imagine women and children being on the outskirts of this crowd. Did they hear something here to convict them? Did any of the men have a change in heart based on Stephen's last words? I believe they did. 

Although few, if any, of us will die defending our faith, we can still look at this story and see so much. Our sin is real. It blocks our fellowship with him. It hardens our hearts. 

Lord, thank you for your word today. Thank you for the life of Stephen. Thank you for this reminder today that even as I am in your word, giving you praise, there is sin in my life. I pray that you forgive me for the sin that is holding me back from even greater fellowship with you. I pray that I don't settle for the word I receive today but that I crave even more. I pray that my eyes are opened to areas in my life that are not pleasing to you and that do not honor you. Father thank you for the beauty in this passage. Even in the face of death, we can see your love and mercy. Thank you in advance for your mercies for today. Thank you for forgiving. Thank you for saving, Thank you for loving. -Amen