Standing Up

Acts 7
And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man 
standing on the right hand of God.  Acts 7:56


LET IT GLOW

I have been to several concerts where the audiences gave the performers a
standing ovation. This meant that they approved of the performance and
liked it very much. The above scripture is the only one that I found where
Jesus is standing on the right hand of God. To me it means that Jesus
approved of what Stephen was saying and his witness in death.

Stephen preached quite a sermon. He told about the Old Testament history of
the Jews resisting the Lord and how it applied to the present Jews.

How did people respond? (verse 57) They yelled loudly and stopped their
ears, took Stephen out of the city and stoned him to death. Stephen was the
first martyr of the Christian faith. How did he react during this? Verse 60 says
Stephen asked the Lord to not lay this sin to their charge.

Is that love or what? Stephen loved his enemies, as Jesus told us to do. He
prayed for them, too.
Matthew 5:44 tells us,"But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you, and persecute you."

I noticed that Jesus didn't say we could pick and choose to whom and when
we did this, did He? Oh, my, what a hard command. But, I are like Jesus
when I love, bless, do good to, and pray for these people-my enemy, those
that hate me, those that despitefully use me, and those that persecute me.
I certainly needed a refresher course on this lesson today.

LET IT GROW

Matthew Henry says:

         stiffnecked means stubborn. They would not submit their necks to the
         sweet and easy yoke of God's government; they would not bow their
         heads, no, not to God Himself; would not humble themselves before
         Him. The stiff neck is the same with the hard heart. They stopped their
         ears to the voice of God and hardened their hearts.

LET IT GO

Be encouraged that Jesus is watching us, interceeding for us to God.

Love, bless, forgive, pray for those who hurt me. (with Jesus' help)

Bow to King Jesus without having a stiff neck and stubborn heart, doing
His will, His way.