Good Morning to All,
Acts 7:59; “And as they were stoning
Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
Today is the
Feast of Stephen, the one from King Wenceslas.
This is the day that we commemorate the martyrdom of Stephen. It is church tradition to commemorate the
death of the martyrs with a day to remember them. Stephen is first because he
was the first to be martyred; that is he was killed because of his faith. He was stoned by a group of Jewish leaders
who, after hearing his testimony of faith, became enraged. They took him out of the city and stoned
him. His dying words were for mercy on
his murderers. He called out, “Lord do
not hold this sin against them.”
The one thing about the stoning of Stephen
that always intrigues is the insertion of the comment how the men who stoned
Stephen had laid their garments at the feet of Saul. This is the Saul who later would breathe fire
in his attempt to stamp out the “blasphemous” new group of Christians. He went from city to city with writs from the
High Priest to seek out these men who were confessing that Jesus was the Son of
God and bring them back to Jerusalem.
There they would be “dealt with”.
No one was as determined to destroy this “Jesus cult” as Saul was. This was the Saul who would later become Paul;
the man who would author one half of the New Testament.
The thing that I want us to take away from
this story is that no one is ever beyond hope.
Paul was just about the worst person in the world. He was actively and violently seeking to
destroy the church. Yet Jesus called
Paul and saved him. Just like He wants
to call you and save you. It doesn’t
matter what is in your past. Jesus still
wants you to hear his words of forgiveness.
It doesn’t matter if you are a woman who had an abortion or a spouse who
destroyed your marriage. It doesn’t
matter if you and a family member had a huge fight and you said and did things
which were wrong. There is no sin that
will keep you from God’s grace.
Many times the media will act like there is
something that is unforgivable. Nothing
is unforgivable. To say that there is
will be an attempt to limit God’s mercy and God’s mercy has no limit. So if you feel the guilt of “unforgivability”,
that is the devil speaking and not God’s Word of mercy. God’s mercy is beyond any limits that anyone
tries to place on it. This is the
certainty that we place our hope on. God
will free us from the pain of sin and the pain of guilt. He forgives us. This is to allow us to leave the guilt of sin
behind us. You are totally lovable to
God. He sent his Son to die for you. He did this because he loves you completely
and entirely. God loves you for you and
that love will never die.
Father of mercy, too often we feel completely worthless
and beyond hope. Yet your mercy and
forgiveness is always there to bring us back to you. Guard us by your Spirit and strengthen our
faith. Be with those who are especially
guilty at this time. Guide them to know
your grace and feel the gift of your wondrous love. In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen
God’s Peace,
Pastor Bret
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