2022-03-04
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The story of Paul and Silas in prison from AC 16: 16-40 that I wrote about last week is filled with the message of God’s presence. You’ll remember that Paul and Silas were thrown in prison without a trial, despite that they were Roman citizens. They had exorcised a demon from a slave girl, which prevented her from making money for her owner telling fortunes. Today, we should be reminded that after the earthquake and sudden release of the shackles around the prisoners, the jailer was beside himself with worry until the lights were turned on and he saw they hadn’t even tried to escape. Paul and Silas had been singing songs of praise to the Lord. The jailer came to faith in God and they all went to his home [AC 16: 34].
The power and presence of God is best discovered in times of adversity. That night, the jailer and his family were inscribed in God’s Book of Life due to the faith in Him they acquired. What a great blessing faith gives us! I often wonder if the many troubles that Paul endured, outlined in 2 COR 11: 22-31 and 2 COR 12: 7-9, were allowed by God to prepare him to be the world’s greatest apostle. In reading PHIL 3: 7-9, we glean a comparison of Paul’s godly priorities. “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.” This is truly in keeping with what we find in RO 7: 6, “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” These precepts are very foundational to genuine faith in Jesus Christ! Our Lord should always be first and foremost in our lives, including His will for us learned from His teaching.
It would have been a wonderful story of faith had Stephen written a book about how he prioritized Christ in his life for the Bible. However, we must be satisfied with what we learn when Stephen was speaking to a group of stiff-necked, legalistic traditionally Jewish people at the end of his earthly life, in AC 7: 54-60. “When they heard Stephen say they were refusing the Holy Spirit, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ‘Look,’ he said, ‘I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at right hand of God.’ At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ When he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Some explanation will help here. The term “fell asleep” is archaically used here to indicate physical death. Judging from the wording of this passage, Stephen does not die spiritually, and thus is inscribed in God’s Book of Life. It’s significant that this young man named Saul, later goes through a transformation spiritually from being Saul of Tarsus, an enemy of the church who worked to persecute Jewish Christians (today’s Messianic Jews) for the Sanhedrin (Jewish ruling counsel), to Paul—the great apostle to the Gentiles on road to Damascus [AC 9: 1-6]. This is the first time we meet Paul in the Bible. The wording here indicates that the young man, Saul, was given the care of the people’s cloaks as they prepare to stone Stephen. Stephen was the first of many who would lay down their lives for the sake of his faith in the Lord. Making the Lord Jesus his first priority, demonstrates that he was filled with the Holy Spirit. Can we imagine the agape and joy Stephen must have felt as heaven opened to him? It may seem counter to any fear of physical death we might have. Take time to consider that and offer prayers of praise and thanks for this joy ahead when we persist in our faith in the Lord Jesus.
PRAYER: O Lord, once again we gather at Your mighty throne to pledge our love of and faith in You. Our time studying Your word and the teaching You give by inspiring other people to write about You and Your will for us makes the Bible the most holy books on earth. You tell us just enough to enable us to have the choice to be obediently faithful to You. Your writing is timely at any time past, present, or future. It is also a truthful historical account of humans and the events which have shaped the Judeo-Christian culture. Our world is divided by human-crafted criteria, but You judge us on one fair and equitable standard. Your teaching blesses us every day [2 TIM 3: 16-17]. We offer You praise and thanks, acknowledge You as our personal Savior, and recognize the consistent teachings You give us. In the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: While salvation and discovery are two catalysts for joy, restoration is a third. We will look at restoration next week. John Foxe wrote Book of Martyrs about the adversity of people who give their lives for their beliefs. Since many of my readers are believers in Jesus Christ, we must ask how does one come to faith? I speak for myself in my experience with adversity, events that moved my faith from a head- trip to a heart- trip. From the sophomore year of high school through graduate work in university, I developed the habit of being a good student. As such, I learned academically what God teaches us in His word. However, the trip to my heart came with a series of adverse events later. One day I realized my middle was very suddenly and quickly expanding. I was past my childbearing years, so I knew something was very wrong and went to my doctor. A CT scan was done, and it showed an abdominal mass that didn’t belong there. I was sent to a specialist, who called my husband and I in for a conference, at which I was diagnosed with stage 4 ovarian cancer. He told us I needed major surgery right away. The Lord made His presence known to me right away because I didn’t become afraid. I asked for a few of my closest friends to come for an anointing service, and 40 friends showed up. The next day our pastor, my son and his wife, and three of my closest friends came to the hospital to pray for me. What followed was 5 ½ hours of surgery to remove the mass, tests, and the surprisingly wonderful news that the mass wasn’t malignant. God wasn’t through with me; He had more work for me to do. I recognized the peace and joy He gave my husband and me. My former head knowledge had become heart knowledge! Look back in your own times of adversity and note what the Lord does to benefit you. This can be very key to building heart knowledge of His love and the joy He gives us. Praise and thanks be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn, JS 34: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2022. All Rights Reserved.
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