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| The Grace by Which We Fall |
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Two planet changers came face to face—one died in the encounter, and from that point on the other lived only to tell why.
With the exception of Jesus, there is no greater portrayal of falling heroically than the account given us of Stephen being led before the council and his subsequent stoning at the unmerciful goading of Saul. Something far more powerful than we can imagine took place that day.
I see it as the birthing of most of the New Testament that we have today; for as the men who hurled the stones tossed their coats at Saul’s, feet a Damascus Road experience was in the making.
Stephen fell to a storm of murderous thunder, the Heavens opened, and an evangelistic course literally set in ‘stone’ subsequently changed the history of the planet. Saul’s conversion on the road to Damascus transformed him into the Paul we know as a major contributor to the New Testament scriptures we read today. While we never read of Paul’s public apology for the part he played in the stoning of Stephen, we know that the grace by which Stephen fell was the impetus that irrevocably set things in motion; truths that minister to each one of us today, by God’s design. Is it a stretch then, to take this bit of history and apply it to our own circumstances? Can we count our personal stoning as a history making event? You bet!
And what shall I more say? For the time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah; of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, waxed mighty in war, turned to flight against armies of aliens.
Women received their dead by a resurrection: and others were tortured, not accepting their deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: and others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the sword: they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated (of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves, and the holes of the earth. And these all, having had witness borne to them through their faith, received not the promise, God having provided some better thing concerning us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. The next time you feel the thud of murderous stones hurled against the very thing you live for, take heart. It’s the plan. The grace by which we fall, is the very substance that allows others to rise.
Your defense is assured. Your reward lies ahead where you can't quite see it, a buried treasure hidden deep within the heart of stone throwers. The one who would most like to take you out is the very one chosen to be marked deeply and eternally through the grace by which you fall.
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| To add a comment to "The Grace by Which We Fall" |
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| May 25, 2008 |
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| Birdie, Powerful words! I know I don't always see what God is doing in the lives of the people that agravate me. It can not be underestimated the witness that we have by our responses. I have also heard that the blood of the martyers are the seeds of the church. Thank you, for sharing that, and reminding me that's trials, struggles, and persecutions are part of the plan. |
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| May 25, 2008 |
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| Thank you so much for this Birdie. "Exceptional" is all I can come up with.... :-) |
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| May 25, 2008 |
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Brother Todd: Stephen had an infectious faith that manifested the Kingdom where ever he went. I want to be that infectious and when the stone throwers come our way, as they surely will, the Kingdom that is manifested through us prevails anyway. I love that!
Mike: Thank you! You're pretty 'exceptional' yourself and I say that warmly!
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| May 25, 2008 |
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Barvubuela: Can't say anything really sparked it. I just love this story, so I've been studying it again, and reading the book of Hebrews. I guess the real spark is just the inspiration that comes from reading the Word!
Stephen's address to the Sanhedrin is epic and so full of fire from on high--I'm a visual person, so when I read this I see this guy--aglow, the scripture says his countenance was like that of an angel--and then you have the sinister Saul, stalking and goading others in the background to take Stephen out. Stephen's story is told in Acts, chapters 6 & 7 and then the subsusquent conscience of a converted Paul emerges in Acts chapters 8, 11, and 22.
I find so much to take away from this bit of New Testament history--it's yummy reading!
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| May 25, 2008 |
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| Stephen is one of my all time favorite men of God in the Bible. What an example of knowlege and wisdom! He would infuriate "the Jews" because they knew He knew what He was talking about. The only way to deal with a person like that is to silence them. He could not be silenced so He was murdered/excecuted. Don't you know eventhough Paul had spent time "caught up" with the LORD learning what Paul termed "my Gospel" The lessons Stephen taught and the truth they contained haunted Saul/Paul and provided the seeds of faith in Saul's/Paul's life. You and I are a result of that confrontation. |
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| May 25, 2008 |
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With the exception of Jesus, there is no greater portrayal of falling heroically than the account given us of Stephen being led before the council and his subsequent stoning at the unmerciful goading of Saul. Something far more powerful than we can imagine took place that day. JACOB.C.CHACKO |
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| May 25, 2008 |
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| Ahhhh Birdie,
"Deep calls unto deep."
This was a beautiful insight about how one life can shake nations.
Oh how I want to be one of those the Lord looks on with delight and joy over my obedience to His commands, even if...
...it may well cost everything.
Bless you for walking on a path less travelled which may be narrow, but one leads to eternal life!
Mary Lindow |
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| May 26, 2008 |
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Brother Todd- Awesome to think of it that way, isn't it? Amazing! I love it when you can peek back into history having the perspective that only the fullness of time reveals. We were their future, part of the mystery of their faith...wow!
Missions Asia: Thanks for dropping in Jacob! How are Daisy and the children?
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| May 26, 2008 |
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Mary: Thank you for the blessing, my beloved sister!
Only One Life (His Life) can shake nations and we must pursue it resolutely!
His life in us...is so much more than we can comprehend! |
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