This evening I was reading in Acts 7. You really can't read just part of it, so I am not going to attempt to post it here. Stephen is giving history of the people of Israel from the time of Abraham to the time of Christ. The first thing that catches my attention is how well Stephen knew the scripture. He was put on the spot in front of all these people in authority and God gave him incredible boldness to speak the truth of scripture. The second thing that caught my attention is the people's response to him. Rather than being torn apart by the depth of their sin, they chose to reject the message and kill the messenger.
The sobering reality is that we can do this very same thing. You know those people that make you feel convicted when you are around them? Our natural tendency is not to humble ourselves before them, but rather to take up defenses or avoid them completely. I have found that even when those around us are not completely right... or even mostly wrong in their thoughts about us, there is usually some part that is true. We must not ignore the truth that is there. There are only two responses to truth, either we humble ourselves and submit ourselves wholeheartedly to it, or we reject it. There is no middle ground.
God, help us to see the truth of Your Word as it applies to us. Allow it to do the careful and complete surgery on our hearts that must be done in order to clease us of all sin and purify us for Yourself. Show us any area in which we are rejecting Your truth and give us hearts of humility to listen once again. Unite our hearts to fear Your name. Teach us not only to serve You, but to love You with all of our hearts not with motives of personal gain, but simply because You are worthy of our love. Make me to love You more.
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