"Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs among the people. But one day some men from the Synagogue of Freed Slaves, as it was called, started to debate with him. They were Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and the province of Asia. None of them could stand agai
nst
the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke. So they persuaded
some men to lie about Stephen, saying, “We heard him blaspheme Moses,
and even God.” This roused the people, the elders, and the teachers of
religious law. So they arrested Stephen and brought him before the high
council. The lying witnesses said, “This man is always speaking against
the holy Temple and against the law of Moses. We have heard him say that
this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy the Temple and change the customs
Moses handed down to us.” At this point everyone in the high council
stared at Stephen, because his face became as bright as an angel’s."
Acts 6:8-15 NLT
Sometimes we as Christians and people in recovery living in countries that grant freedom of religion forget what it was like for our forefathers in the early church. For the first 400 years of church history it was many times a death sentence to believe in Christ. Even now there are places in the world where being a Christian can be a fatal. It was the same for drug addicts seeking recovery in the United States in the 1950's and 1960's. It was illegal for two known addicts to be in each others company so they had to seek out secret 12 step meetings. In some countries now the solution to addiction is a bullet in the head, but folks want to be free so bad, want a relationship with Christ strongly, want a new way of life so much that they will risk death to be clean and free and justified.
In the text Stephen is just such a man. Stephen was one of the first 7 deacons and an evangelist, who was so grateful to be free of his bondage that he was willing to stand before the Jewish ruling council, called the Sanhedrin, and profess the his faith in Christ even though he knew it meant certain death. That is courage.Yet when we are led by the Spirit to talk to someone who is hurting or struggling about Christ and about recovery we hesitate mainly because we are afraid of the person's reaction. We allow fear of a little ridicule to keep us from making an impact in a person's life.
When we look at the pain and suffering in our communities its time for us to find a little of Stephen's courage and make a difference even if all we do is share our story with someone who is where we've been delivered from.
Sometimes we as Christians and people in recovery living in countries that grant freedom of religion forget what it was like for our forefathers in the early church. For the first 400 years of church history it was many times a death sentence to believe in Christ. Even now there are places in the world where being a Christian can be a fatal. It was the same for drug addicts seeking recovery in the United States in the 1950's and 1960's. It was illegal for two known addicts to be in each others company so they had to seek out secret 12 step meetings. In some countries now the solution to addiction is a bullet in the head, but folks want to be free so bad, want a relationship with Christ strongly, want a new way of life so much that they will risk death to be clean and free and justified.
In the text Stephen is just such a man. Stephen was one of the first 7 deacons and an evangelist, who was so grateful to be free of his bondage that he was willing to stand before the Jewish ruling council, called the Sanhedrin, and profess the his faith in Christ even though he knew it meant certain death. That is courage.Yet when we are led by the Spirit to talk to someone who is hurting or struggling about Christ and about recovery we hesitate mainly because we are afraid of the person's reaction. We allow fear of a little ridicule to keep us from making an impact in a person's life.
When we look at the pain and suffering in our communities its time for us to find a little of Stephen's courage and make a difference even if all we do is share our story with someone who is where we've been delivered from.
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