Acts 7

I always feel alittle confused when I read Stephen's defense. On one hand, I think it's a really good and quick synopsis of the story of the Israelites in the Old Testament. On the other hand, if this was my last speech on earth, I don't know if I would've gone with a history lesson. But the more I read it, the more it kind of made sense to me. The accusation against Stephen was that he was speaking against this holy place and the "aw saying that Jesus will destroy this place and alter the customs which Moses handed down to the Jews. In response, Stephen begins to elucidate how the Laws and the holy place were established. More importantly, he emphasizes that the things that happened in history weren't just because of the action of men, but rather it was God who did them. In every event, he talks about God's hand. It wasn't Abraham who decided to leave, it was God calling him. It wasn't by chance Joseph was rescued, it was because God was with him. It wasn't because Moses was lucky, but it was God who saw that he was lovely and anointed him to be His prophet. The Jews that were accusing Stephen took the wrong lessons from the history of their nation. Rather than focusing on God's hand and intervention, they focused on the traditions and customs that they had kept.

I feel like I also have the same problem as the Israelites. Often, I focused too much on the outward actions. When I worship the Lord, I sing outloud. When I pray, I include some kind of adoration, confession, and/or thanksgiving. When I read the Bible, I have a whole methodology that I've developed to optimize understanding. These are all good things. Praying, reading the Bible, worshiping, no one will ever tell you to stop doing these things. But if I do these things without the right spirit, then they are all just empty actions. It's not the act that the Lord values, it's the person performing the act (the actor if you must). The times that I have gotten the most out of my Bible reading wasn't from spending hours vigorously analyzing the text, it was when I engaged the Lord first with my spirit, praying the He will allow the Holy Spirit to speak to me through the text. When I was a new believer, I heard the statement, "Christianity isn't a religion, it's a relationship" quite often. The more I walk with the Lord, the more truth I see in that statement. God isn't asking me to do this or that or abstain from this or that, He wants to have an active relationship with me, a relationship of Life.

And because of this truth, Stephen was martyr'd. But I can only image how he felt at those last moments. It doesn't seem like he was in any pain at all. But to be able to behold the awesomeness of the Lord and to see Jesus enthroned at God's right hand, it must have filled him with awe and adoration. I wonder how it must've felt to see him; that even in his last moments when people were persecuting and accusing him, he had such peace that his face shone like an angel, it must've made a strong impression on the onlookers. I'll guess we'll find out how Saul responds. ;-)