Seeing God's Glory and Jesus
Stephen was one of the men chosen to be the servants who were to take care of the widows in the distribution of food. He was chosen because he had a good reputation, and he was filled with the Holy Spirit. In addition to his service to the saints, he was a powerful witness for Jesus. His words were so upsetting to the Jewish leaders that they summoned him to appear before the Council. He gave a defense of his faith in Jesus, and he rebuked them for not believing in Jesus, but killing the prophets. Then, they took up stones and began to stone Stephen to death. As he was being stoned, he was filled with the Spirit, and he looked into heaven. There he could see the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. (Acts 7:55) That was a great comfort to him and a powerful witness to those around him. God was definitely with him as he died and went to be with his Lord. I pray that we will learn from Stephen.
Life is so much better for every believer, when we are filled with the Spirit. This is not optional. We are commanded to be constantly filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18) When we are walking in the fullness of the Spirit of God, it effects everything we do and our attitude as we do it. God is able to give us special blessings, like He did for Stephen. Seeing the glory of God, while still being here on earth was amazing, but I am sure it made Stephen want to be there in heaven. Then, when he saw Jesus "standing" at the right hand of God that was a fantastic blessing. I believe Jesus got up just to honor His child who was being faithful to stand up for Him. Also, I believe He wanted to be able to look directly into the Stephen's face, so he could see His eyes of compassion at that moment. We can have similar experiences as we are Spirit filled and being faithful to carry out God's will.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Acts 8-10.
Life is so much better for every believer, when we are filled with the Spirit. This is not optional. We are commanded to be constantly filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18) When we are walking in the fullness of the Spirit of God, it effects everything we do and our attitude as we do it. God is able to give us special blessings, like He did for Stephen. Seeing the glory of God, while still being here on earth was amazing, but I am sure it made Stephen want to be there in heaven. Then, when he saw Jesus "standing" at the right hand of God that was a fantastic blessing. I believe Jesus got up just to honor His child who was being faithful to stand up for Him. Also, I believe He wanted to be able to look directly into the Stephen's face, so he could see His eyes of compassion at that moment. We can have similar experiences as we are Spirit filled and being faithful to carry out God's will.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Acts 8-10.