Something Greater

Threats and Murder...and Glory Acts 9:1 What has gone before... Directed by an angel, Philip meets a man in the desert, an Ethiopian official who had visited Jerusalem to worship God and was then returning to his home. The minister of state was described as a "eunuch", which likely was used figuratively, rather than literally. "Eunuch", whether literally or figurative, reminded us of circumstances in which God has placed each of us that have brought personal loss or injury, yet God gives us comfort in the midst of loss. A passage from the Book of Isaiah overwhelmed the Ethiopian's heart and he embraced the truth of Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord. Immediately after baptizing the man, Philip is "teleported" miles distant, finding himself on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Filled with joy at God's miraculous timing and power, Philip travels north up the coast, settling down in Caesarea, marrying and raising a family. Moving on.....

Christ's Church Ravaged and Scattered Stephen was stoned to death by enraged religious leaders who felt threatened by the growing community Christians, among whom Stephen had become one of the most outspoken. The religious rules were Jews, locked in tradition and pride , relying upon their ancestral relationship with God. They had charged Stephen with heresy. Stephen responded with a carefully built argument that revealed both the faithfulness of God and the fickleness of the Jews. Generation after generation of religious leaders had rebelled against God's direction and killed God's prophets, yet they still maintained that they were the guardians of the faith. As guardians of the faith, they believed their fear and anger justified the killing of Stephen. "And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apost...

The Prayer As they were stoning Stephen, his last words were to Jesus alone, as final prayers: "He called out, - Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. - And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, - Lord, do not hold this sin against them." Acts 7:59-60 (ESV) SPIRIT: pneuma (a current of air, breath or breeze; figurative for the human rational soul, vital principle, mental disposition; used to refer to an angel, daemon, God, Christ's spirit, the Holy Spirit); from pneo (to breathe hard, a breeze) Stephen was dying. His last words reflect what he passionately believed was true: Jesus was his Lord , his body was injured beyond repair, the only imperishable portion of his life was his spirit, the very breath of God given him at his conception, returning now to the One to Whom it truly belonged. The Babe in the womb of Mary was conceived by God's Breath. Jesus assured His disciples that God's breath would speak through them, especially in times ...

The Attack With the conclusion of his defense argument, at the height of his accuser's blood-red rage, Stephen realizes that his time on earth was finished... his immediate future is in heaven . Stephen exclaims aloud the incredible vision of the heavens opened and Jesus standing beside God. Stephen's accusers, the religious rulers of Jerusalem, did not join him in wonder and awe. "But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him." Acts 7:57 (ESV) These were grown men, with the power to judge and convict, educated and experienced in dealing with people. Yet in the face of incontrovertible evidence of their own sin, they become like children, worse than children, they become like animals . STOPPED: synecho (to hold together, to compress); from sun (together) and echo (to hold) The enraged religious rulers literally held both hands to their ears to muffle the words of Stephen. His defensive argument and counter-accusa...

Blessing, not Cursing "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them." Romans 12:14 (ESV) BLESS: eulogeo (to speak well of); from eu (good) and logos (something said, a topic, reasoning, a computation); from lego (to lay forth or relate in words) PERSECUTE: dioko (to pursue, persecute); from dio (to flee) CURSE: kataraomai (to execrate or to doom); from katar (imprecation, execration); from kata (down) and ara (prayer, as lifted to Heaven); from airo (to lift) Bitterness and hate oozes from the heart, poisoning even our words. Perhaps the very best that could be hoped for from the heart of bitterness might be silence... cold, stony silence . But it's still an expression of bitterness and hate. More commonly, every sentence spoken by a bitter heart will have a message, implied or directly stated, of vengeance and a desire to hurt or destroy. A curse is a prayer, a desire of the heart lifted up to God Almighty, asking for God to humiliate and des...