Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: STAND UP FOR JESUS (don't write about the song) (04/09/15)
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TITLE: Standing at the Right Hand of God | Previous Challenge Entry
By Lois Farrow
04/16/15 -
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But Stephen ignored them.
“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
That was the last straw; you could almost see the smoke coming out their ears! Teeth grinding in fury, they grabbed him and dragged him out of the synagogue and outside the city. Grabbing stones from the nearby pile they hurled them angrily at Stephen.
As the cruel stones crashed against his body, Stephen knew it was the end of his life. Did he regret being chosen to assist the apostles by serving the new believers? Did he regret anything in his long speech to the Sanhedrin in which he showed his clear grasp of history? No! He knew his God. In his eloquent debate he had declared God’s faithfulness, and even now he knew God was faithful even as the stones were hurled his way.
Stephen was known for his faithfulness, a man full of the Holy Spirit; a man not above serving the disciples and attending to the mundane matters of the church. But even for these practical matters, a person of faith and discernment was needed, a person who would be faithful and reliable.
The miracles of Stephen were the talk of the town. The signs and wonders he performed showed God’s power, and revealed the power of God to the people. But no miracle of rescue was coming Stephen’s way now. No angels scooped him up to whisk him away from the murderous crowd.
Instead, a different miracle was taking place. Looking right into heaven, Stephen could see Jesus standing at the right hand of God. While he, Stephen, was standing up for Jesus, he saw Jesus himself ready to receive him.
Faithful in life and faithful in death, Stephen could echo the words of Jesus on the cross as he cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them,” and finally, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
The message did not die out with the death of Stephen. Jesus was alive and as another seed fell into the ground and died, so greater life sprang up as the word spread. God’s faithfulness was real, in life and in death.
(Acts Chapter 6.)
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