54When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55But 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. 56"Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."
57At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58dragged 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.
59While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen was an amazing man. We do not know that much about him and we only see him in Acts. But in today’s passage we can see his actions and reactions when everything was heating up and seeming to go very wrong. Let’s take a look at what we see in Stephen.
1. He stayed calm.
2. He didn’t let other people’s anger distract him.
3. He stayed focused on Christ.
4. He was “full of the Holy Spirit”.
5. he did not feel hate towards those who hurt him.
6. He was confident that god was with him.
7. He prayed.
8. He prayed specifically for those who hurt him.
9. He gave clear testimony of God’s glory.
We cannot choose our emotions, but we can choose our reactions. We have control over our behavior. It is time for Christians to take responsibility for ourselves and our actions. It is time to become the men and women that God created us to be. When we do we will stand in the face of opposition. When we do we will draw others to Christ.
Thought for Today
Standing up sometimes requires laying it down.
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