Stephen defended his belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and his Savior before a Council of Seventy-one (men known as the Sanhedrin) in Jerusalem.
Stephen knew Jewish history…and so did every man on that council.
(NIV) Acts 7:6-7 “God spoke to him (Abraham – the Patriarch of the Jewish people) in this way: ‘Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. 7But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves.’ God said, ‘and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.’”
All those in that room knew the prophecy that God gave concerning the descendants of Abraham…they would become slaves in Egypt for 400 years.(Genesis 15:13 God’s prophecy of enslavement.)
They knew that God had indeed judged those Egyptians that pursued the Israelites when they left Egypt. (Exodus 12:31-41)
They knew that in their history their forefathers had come to Jerusalem to serve and worship God.
What did Stephen do as he defended himself? He acknowledged the shared history that he had with those he stood before…
He lifted their thoughts to what God had done in their history…
Stephen pointed to the living God…his whole focus was on God working in their history.
On what are your thoughts, your actions, focused today? God is to be your priority and mine… not ourselves.
God is to be at the forefront of our motives, our thinking, our words and our actions.
You and I are to live our lives by keeping God first… it is all about our God.
When we arrive in heaven… it will be all about God!
What can you and I do today to change the direction of our lives? Keep our attention, our focus, on the living God of the Bible.
~ Take it to heart ~
Followers of Christ – learn His words and teachings –
then put them into action…
because our lives are to be all about God.