Push Back!

Love for One Another Godly Love Among Believers Live in the light of God (Isaiah 2:5)    Confident Love   Acts 6:8-15 New International Version Stephen Seized 8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people.9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. For Reflection Our spiritual being is essential to our understanding of who we are. The challenge of the Jesus Movement was so great that the fear aroused by the threat of losing their closely held self-image the Freedmen chose to defend with treachery and demonization instead of understanding and adaptation. Thus the defense became a matter of power, not faith. Pray Pray so that your faith can grow and mature. Pray so that challenges to your religion will stir a desire to examine your faith as practiced. It is through the stress of conflict that we grow into grace. Forward to a friend