May 23, 2011 … Stephen: Grace & Serenity in Suffering

Passage of the Day: Acts 6: 5a and Acts 6: 8a … 5a … Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; … 8a … Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, …

My Journal for Today: In these past days [see my devotional blogs], I’ve (we’ve) been looking at what it takes to live as a Christian in this caldron of world opposition and/or personal tribulation. And when it comes to having what it takes, the biblical model of Stephen, the first recorded Christian martyr, is a good one to put before Christians. As we see in our two text passages for today, Stephen was described by Luke, the Author of Acts, as “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit [Acts 6: 5a]” and one “full of God’s grace and power. [Acts 6: 8a].” And Stephen certainly demonstrated all of these character traits when he witnessed strongly for Christ to the Sanhedrin and then became the first biblically recorded Christian martyr (see Acts 7). Toward the end of that chapter we see Stephen’s resolve when he, while being stoned to death, was willing and able to mimic his Savior and forgive his fellow Jews who were stoning him to death [see Acts 7: 60].

SCRIPTURE: Acts 7: 60 … Then he [Stephen] fell on his knees [while being stoned] and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.

In Stephen we see what it takes for Christians to be able to handle even the most extreme trials with the character of Christ being lived out in the believer. Stephen’s belief became Stephen’s life. Stephen’s worship of his Lord became his life; and that is what it takes for any of us who are challenged by this world or our own flesh … yes, even to the point of opposition or death.

I may never be called upon to witness to my faith in the way of Stephen or the way Cassie Bernall did at Columbine High School, where a disturbed young man held a gun to her head and asked if she was a Christian. Without hesitating, she quietly proclaimed, “Yes;” and with that witness of faith, she was assassinated by that deranged teenager. When any Christian is challenged in the pubic arena, we need to call upon the same strength of character which martyrs like Stephen and Cassie Bernall exhibited. And we can, because we, being born-again Christians, have the same Holy Spirit in our hearts as did these strong witnesses for Christ. The truth of the promises of 2nd Cor. 12: 9 and 1st Cor. 10: 13, which carried the day for Cassie and Stephen, carry the day for me [and you]. Yes, I am weak; but my God is strong; and He is faithful to never allow me into any situation where, with His help/strength, I cannot be triumphant in His Name.

Are we ready to be Christ’s light in a dark world today? Are we ready to call up the grace and strength of a Stephen should we face the fiery trials of a hostile world and a weak flesh today? To that end … I pray …

My Prayer Today: O Lord, give me Your grace to witness in the world as did Stephen. Amen

February 13, 2011 … Evidence of God’s Power

Passage of the Day: Ephesians 1: 18 – 19 … 18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and His incomparably great power for us who believe.

My Journal for Today: How does one grasp the awesome power of God? In an abstract way, my mind will never be able to fully comprehend God’s omnipotence. However, in a personal way I can build an appreciation for God’s power into my faith.

First there is creation. I just look around and will always marvel at what God spoke into reality with no effort … merely a word (see Psalm 33: 6) …

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 33: 6 … By the Word of the LORD were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of His mouth.

Further, I think of how God, the Son, has preserved all that He created; and all He created is for the glory of His Father. [Hebrews 1: 3] …

SCRIPTURE: Hebrews 1: 3 … The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by His powerful word.

Then my appreciation for God’s wondrous power gets very personal as I contemplate the Cross, where all mankind, including yours truly, were redeemed for eternity, … where sin/death were defeated, and where the Gospel becomes the power of God to salvation for all who believe in Christ’s omnipotent power to save. (see Romans 1: 16 – look this one up for yourself and meditate on it … and, if convicted, memorize it!)

This is God’s power, which I have experienced personally; so, I know it’s real … the power to bring me from my old bondage in sin to a new life when His power allows me to walk more and more in His likeness.

Not too long ago, in an online blog, I was challenged by a rather cynical atheist to prove there was a "god" by giving him evidence. I related to him that the only evidence I needed to KNOW that there was a very personal God was my own life and the change which God has wrought in my life. So, I gave him my testimony. ... I didn’t really think my witness was going to convince this hardened non-believer; and it didn’t. But the important thing – for me – was that I am convinced. I pray that you are too.

Read and meditate on 2nd Cor. 5: 17 and Phil. 1: 6; and you should know that God’s power is awesome … and that He can take one such as I was (before my conversion) and bring me to the place where I am as I write this.

SCRIPTURE: 2nd Cor. 5: 17 … Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
SCRIPTURE: Phil. 1: 6 … being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

The very power that God used to speak the universe into existence, … the very power He used to sustain it all for His glory, … the very power that God’s Son loosed in love to save mankind on the cross, … the very power that raised our Lord from His grave, … is the power which, when applied to my life, has brought about a total transformation of my soul and henceforth, my choices, habits, and living. So, with that realized and said, I declare that I have no trouble believing in and worshipping the awesome, omnipotent power of my God. And to think … all that power I have in my relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ.

My Prayer Today: All power is mine in You, Lord. Amen