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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Saturday, March 23, 2019
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:The Stoning of Stephen Bible Verse:Acts 7:53-60 "“You are the ones who received God’s law, that was handed down by angels—yet you have not obeyed it!” As the members of the Council listened to Stephen, they became furious and ground their teeth at him in anger. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw God’s glory and Jesus standing at the right side of God. “Look!” he said. “I see heaven opened and the Son of Man standing at the right side of God!” With a loud cry the Council members covered their ears with their hands. Then they all rushed at him at once, threw him out of the city, and stoned him. The witnesses left their cloaks in the care of a young man named Saul. They kept on stoning Stephen as he called out to the Lord, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” He knelt down and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord! Do not remember this sin against them!” He said this and died. " Message:
As we reach the end of the moving story of Stephen, the parallel to the life and crucifixion of Jesus becomes clear. In Acts 6, he was seized for heresy and dragged before the Sanhedrin. All of Chapter 7 recounts his lengthy defense. He has followed the Hebrews from Abraham to David, to show that their history was a preparation for the coming of a Messiah. He then accused the Sanhedrin, made up of the mightiest and highest-ranking religious authorities of Judea, of killing God, just as the wicked had killed prophets throughout their history.
Even worse, he strongly implied that the Temple itself was no longer a holy place, that God did not dwell in it. And he stated that the men in charge of it, those judging him, did not have God in their hearts.
Luke and Paul
Luke and Paul
Most scholars believe that Luke had a personal relationship with Paul, and perhaps even travelled with him. The Gospel of Luke is called, by some, “Paul’s Gospel” (just as Mark is sometimes termed “Peter’s Gospel”). If so, the capsule history of Judaism in Chapter 7 makes more sense. Paul’s mission was primarily to the Gentiles, and this chapter might have had the purpose of educating them in the Old Testament, about which most of them would have been ignorant.
After the long historical diatribe, Stephen cries out that he sees Christ and that He stands “at the right hand of God.” Remember, from the high priests' point-of-view, Christ is a criminal they have recently executed. Stephens’s statement makes such a terrible accusation that they cannot even listen to it. They lose control. They cover their ears and, as they did with Christ, execute Stephen immediately.
Stephen thus becomes the first great Christian martyr. In all Christendom, he is studied as the great model of Christian virtue, a model for many to come; in the Catholic and Orthodox churches, and the more liturgical Protestant communions, he is venerated as a saint.
Do not miss the reference to a young minion named Saul, who holds the high priests’ cloaks while they rush out to kill Stephen. We shall see a great deal more of him shortly!
Meditation : [“Find out how much God has given you and from it take what you need; the remainder is needed by others.” ~ St. Augustine Prayer : God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and Spirit of God amidst us, direct our way unto you. Make us to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you; to the end we may establish our hearts unblameable in holiness before you, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.......Amen |
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