Acts 6-7-our hearts too are judged daily in the house of God

I'm not going to dwell on my lack of consistency in blogging the last few weeks-I didn't have internet access at all last week, but I do now, so no excuses, for there is no excuses for sin either (Romans 1:19)! That is the truth of forgiveness; if we dwell on our mistakes, then we don't really believe we have been forgiven. When it comes down to it, I'm really grateful that we have this opportunity to share our spiritual lives with each other daily, and shouldn't take it for granted by not using to its full potential.

Acts is a book that we at cornerstone, as well as every church in Christ, should read from very often. In it we see in literary action that Christ is indeed the head of every church and there is no replacement. Just as a starving person will eat near anything, if we deprive ourselves of our saviour Jesus in our hearts, we can begin to wander and consume any false doctrine that comes our way. Be sober, be vigilant (I Peter 5:8)!

Chapter 7 describes the martyr Stephen's testimony before the synagogue of the freedmen (consisting of alexandrians, cyrenians, and those from Sicily and Asia). Their external reasons for doing so were to prevent changes to the law and commandments from Moses, and prevent Christ from glorifying His name. Clues within hint at something even darker however, as 6:10 states "They were not able to resist the Spirit and the wisdom by which he spoke", which tells us the Holy Spirit was so strong in him that even wicked men could not deny its power. This is why we should be reading Acts so often; we see the power of the Holy Spirit was constantly within His disciples, and people were being added daily(2:47). That is not to say we should be discouraged, but honestly ask ourselves, "How many people have come to the Lord by his using me as a vessel?" If your answer is anything like mine, it means we need to trust in the Lord more and pray for the Holy Spirit to be in us always. Being regretful and hard on ourselves will do nothing; for there is nothing within us that can save anyone regardless.

In 7:52, Stephen talks about how the fathers of the men he testified before killed the prophets who spoke about the coming of our Savior. This is something we should honestly consider; how strongly the forces of darkness are opposed to us, that the enemy of our souls seeks to snuff out the very life of those who speak His name. That does not mean we cower in fear, but acknowledge that warfare is all around us, and equip ourselves with the armor of light daily and let the Holy Spirit control our hearts. I say don't ask that the martyrdom of Christians cease, but that the gospel be preached to the very coming of Jesus Christ!