Ephesians 4:22

that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, NKJV

I need to go back and read my previous blogs, and remember and pray more about the things God is showing me through them.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Romans 12:12

rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; NKJV

Last night I had already resolved to begin waking up earlier for morning prayer, but this verse reconfirms the importance and value of my doing so.

Today was admittedly a failure, but I must also be patient and not become discouraged as I begin forming a habit of rising earlier, regardless of how difficult I find it in the beginning.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Romans 12:11

not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; NKJV

I need to be more diligent, and to be fervent in my diligence.

Regardless of the busyness of our schedule and surprise events and outings, I need to finish my work with more immediacy; to not allow distractions to keep me from my work, whether that means leaving the room when I can or simply applying myself (with the help of prayer) more to ignore them; and to get it in my head that I do not need to allow myself time for fellowship, because if I finish early in the week I'll be free later without any worries of being able to finish hanging over my head, if I don't finish early than I couldn't have afforded that time anyway and regardless, I need to remember that I'll be able to spend plenty of time with everyone between mandatory events and our free time (or surprise events depending on which we have) even if I do need to sacrifice my free time early in the week to insure that even if something does come up unexpectedly I'll still be able to finish everything before I'm scrambling to find time the day before a paper or reading is due.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Romans 12:10

Be kindly affectionate to one another with brother love, in honor giving preference to one another; NKJV

I forget this. I enjoy serving people and doing things for them, but when the time comes that they are doing something which bothers me, I do not honor them by giving preference in my heart.

When I ask them to stop and they refuse, not to be intentionally rude or anything but simply because they don't recognize that it really does bother me, I have trouble just leaving the issue be in my head. Not wanting to make an issue of it or appear a bother, I leave the matter alone, but I don't graciously give preference to their desires over my own with honor for them.

I need to think on this and remember the next time I run into an 'it' situation, and to pray for peace and contentment in my heart in Christ, especially when others are being insensitive to my own needs/desires, and remember that He is all I really need.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Romans 12:9

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. NKJV

Love without hypocrisy.

I need to remember to pray more often for greater patience and peace of mind when others are doing things that distract me while trying to focus or complete work.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Mark 8:38

"For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” NKJV

At times it is easy to become afraid of preaching or speaking of Christ. Yet in our country is there any good reason for that?

Technically yes. . . in our culture we have been conditioned for religious freedom; no longer pure religious freedom of religion, but now freedom from religion, the touch of religion, the importance of religion and the sharing of the "Christian religion".

Mental blocks that, at times, seem too prove stronger than threats of death in silencing our faith.

If faced with a gun, most of us would say that we would not deny Christ. We cannot know what our actual response would be until faced with just such a situation of course; many of those believing themselves brave and firm in faith might crumble, with many of those ashamed at their own cowardice and self-doubt, believing they are too weak to stand in such a situation, rising to the occasion and finding strength in the Lord to remain faithful and true. However, violence and death tend to break through the minds barriers, and a clear choice leaves no confusion. In such a situation, we place on the scale of our hearts Christ, and our fear of the oppressor, consequence, death, challenge or what have you. Whichever holds more weight would likely be our choice, with only God and the Spirit able to 'fix' the scale if we are open to His strength and support and one of the faithful, even if weak in the flesh.

But the culture is corrosive to our confidence in our faith in Christ.

Any time we might place faith on the scale to be compared with the things in our lives, we never dig deep enough into our hearts to reach it. The shallow concerns catch us up unaware and toss us against waves of confusion, self doubt and worry in a sea of hesitation.

We must resolve to be planted firmly in Christ. Resolve to push through the caution tape in our lives that keeps us bound in a room of religious noninterference and inaction, knowing that by God's strength, not only flimsy tape of wooden doors, entire walls can be taken down to free us from the place where we feel stuck.

While sounding simple, and rightly so, simple and easy are two different things, and some might find it easier or more difficult than others.

To strengthen the resolve we hold in our Christian faith and be assured in His will we must seek after Him. Pray, read and study the Bible, fill our lives and thoughts with Christ in whatever way we think is needed and good!

This still requires resolve, the making of a clear decision to center your life on Christ, but it is the 'starting choice' from which the rest of our faith is built and supported.

Normally I would have some kind of application for myself. A statement of what I can and desire to do with what God has revealed to me in this verse, but today is somewhat different. I want to thank God for this exhortation and reminder showing me that I have made the choice and that I am chasing after Him right now, fighting against the conditionings of society that 'normal Christianity' is not, should not and has never been RADICAL Christianity!

I am building my faith and preparing myself to face things great and small with the strength of my God in me and supporting me so that I will not in weakness and fear be stopped by the large stones or through inattentiveness tripped up by the little stones and feel some petty, ridicules, reprehensible shame against my loving brother and king, Jesus Christ, or the perfect words He spoke, whether for fear of sharing His gospel or embarrassment at the stares and opinions of my peers for following after Him.

If an application had to be given, I suppose it would be this:
That I not forget the need to continuously resolve myself with God's strength and encouragement, in the study of his word and prayer and continual preparation for even the smallest of trials faced in the world. That I never get trapped in the petty concerns of this world brought about by our perspective-less culture, and never feel any shame for Christ because of what others may think of my faith or His words.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Mark 8:37

"Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? NKJV

Nothing of course.

But, isn't that the exchange we make every time we choose to sin or tell ourselves that, "It's not really a sin. . . There's nothing really wrong with what I'm doing. . . God wouldn't really have a problem with it. . ."

This verse can call to mind such noble thoughts like, "I wouldn't trade my soul for all the money in the world!" and contentment in our faith in Christ.

Yet I'd find much more interesting the person who reads this verse and asks the question, "If not for Christ, would I have made this trade yesterday when I decided not to go back and tell the cashier that she gave me an extra dollar in change?"

One rightly gleams from this section of verses that no matter how great the earthly gain or one's desire for a thing, it is not worth the soul. However, it is not only great things which we have the choice to exchange our souls for. Man makes this exchange with every little sin, great sin, accidental or unrealized sin, premeditated sin, material sin and thought formed sin, corporately of our sin and with each sin individually.

It is the love and sacrifice of Christ by which God nullifies our transactions of the past and refuses to acknowledge the transactions of our future.

Still, it is easy to get caught up in and bogged down by our own awareness of our short comings. At times when I realize I have sinned; or think of how I have sinned in the past; or think of how, short of a sudden and unavoidable death bringing me face to face with Christ, I will no doubt sin many many times to come, I feel almost sick. Frozen and trapped knowing how far I fall below the standards set by Christ and my inability to follow even His simplest of commands at times.

It is often difficult to remember or accept deep down that no matter what I may have done or will do, God chooses to see neither my sins nor my shortcomings, but looks and sees a "little Christ".

Even knowing this, on a personal level I still become disappointed in myself for not being 'good enough', for disobeying, for failing to meet God's will that I have accepted as my absolute standard, law and rule with Christ as my loving, forever King.

For disappointing Him.

I need to trust in His strength to not only free me from sin, but to "break the power of cancelled sin." To ask forgiveness when I have done wrong, and to take to the cross all my feelings of self doubt and discouragement so that I may continue on in life and doing His work despite my short comings.

I must take strength in Christ and not let myself stand still for personal loathing of weaknesses and failures and the sinful nature of my human condition when God has already decreed me a new creation and adopted me as a brother of Christ, transcending through fulfillment the accusations of law and making me righteous for all of eternity in Him.


---


Also, I would like to make note of this weeks theme, Perseverance, and memory verse, which opened our Bible study that was held later Thursday night, the same day I wrote this devotional.

Luke 8:15

"But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. NKJV

Studying the Bible and following after Christ; devoting all of myself to God and throwing myself at His feet; I must do these things and remain faithful to Him, but they won't magically produce the fruits of the Spirit in my life over night.
I'm not perfect, and, while God is working in me, He works in His own time for my good, knowing exactly where to take me. Even when I fail or fall or become discouraged, I MUST persevere!

I'm not perfect! I won't always follow God's perfect will and that's a sad thing, but He's not surprised and already had a plan for bringing me closer to Him which accounted for that screw up, and my next screw up, and my next screw up after that, and all the screw ups I'll make from now to the day I die! ((Still remembering, of course, Romans 6.))

I'm not perfect, and if I had to guess, I won't be for some time, but while I may not have all of my weaknesses, failings, short comings, etc, etc, etc straightened out just yet, I must trust in God and have faith as He continues to work in me by the Spirit. That while I may struggle with the failures of today, I am one of God's chosen. I am His child. He is and will continue to nurture me for good growth so long as I have the faith and trust in Him to be a good gardener. That I might one day grow into a great and beautiful plant bearing much healthy fruit for Him. That He has a plan for the fruits I will bear, and may use them in some way to feed and nurture His other children, just as He gathered other fruits and fed and nurtured me.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Mark 8:36

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? NKJV

Creature comforts.

Profits.

Gain.

All the treasures of this Earth in whatever form they take. Material, abstract, pleasurable delights; money and goods and knowledge and food and sweet things and many many toys.

Is there anything I seek or keep as profit of the world in the comfort of my soul being saved, which while still being saved, may leave my soul less than fulfilled in the profits of the Holy Spirit?

'Great profits' that may be keeping me from the much greater and more fulfilling gifts God would have me inherit for both my life and spirit?

Although He has worked in me, is there anything I cling to which hinders His further working in me and prevents me from assuming the life He would most have of me?

I am going to work on practicing moderation and building greater self control. I will exercise discipline in choosing my portions and when eating snacks, and pray for support and strength as I seek after Him, growing in the fruits of the Spirit and greater fulfillment in Him.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Mark 8:35

"For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. NKJV

He was the living sacrifice, and we are to be living sacrifices for Him and the gospel. That's not to say we must die as martyrs to be saved, but. . .

"Will we die a gruesome life for the one who died a gruesome death for us?"

- Pastor Chaz

Are we willing to give up things of this life for the one who gave up everything for us? Our comforts when needed, the things we love when called, when doing so will, or even only might, fulfill the will of Christ and/or/and further the gospel?

Will we dedicate our life to Him?

Will we lose our life for Him?

For whoever desires/seeks after/covets/chases after his own life will lose it, but whoever loses/gives up/gives his life over for Christ's sake and the gospel's sake will save/gain it.

We are fooled, by the world and by our own flesh, that our 'life' is found and satisfied, made worthwhile, by temporal pleasures. Yet Christ teaches that our joy is not of this world, that it is in Him and God and His Spirit.

We cannot save our own lives, and to seek after doing so will only result in loss; but if we are truly giving up our lives and giving them over for the sake of Christ and His gospel, than we will find ourselves saved in a way we could never before imagine while living for ourself.

Thinking about my time focused and devoted to God, I realize I can also say this by testimony to be truth. I still struggle at times desiring after things which I could before readily enjoy, but at the same time many of those things which I thought wold prove difficult to go without, that I had once so badly 'needed', have proven to be of little concern. In fact, many of my once favorite pastimes seem somewhat disinteresting when I think of returning home and having access to them again.

True, more likely than not I would still enjoy them, but when they cross my mind I cannot help but think of how much time they waste, and a slight worry that i might be foolish enough to fall back into habit and once again become caught up in using them as a means of wasting away the time until something out of the ordinary to do falls into my lap.

I need to pray about what more God would have me do to give up my life and that He would give me strength and peace of mind to lose my 'self-focus' and find greater true joy through a life like Paul's, despite it's difficulties, as a bondservant of Christ, who's life is His and His alone.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Mark 8:34

When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. NKJV

Walking with Christ is not the easiest or simplest thing.

We are to deny ourselves anything that might distract us from God or hinder the growing of our relationship with Him, or anything that, while not a hindrance or sin, might increase our focus and grow our relationship with Him through it's denial.

We are not just to bear our cross, we are to take it up and carry it willingly, all of our troubles and difficulties.

And we are to do these things while following Him, emulating Him, and obeying Him.

I need to pray about it still, but after reading this verse I feel called to continue fasting.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 12:9

So he went our and followed him, and did not know that what was done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. NKJV

He followed the angel and did not think all that happened was real, but thought it an imagining or dream.

How easily do we dismiss the subtle promptings of the Lord because they seem unreal or we do not understand the purpose of His instructions? When they may bring us some small trouble or discomfort we reach out and cling to our doubts, hoping His command might be our own idle fancy. Even if we pray for guidance or assurance, why should He give us more than that initial direction unless we truly needed it and asked in full faith? Especially with our minds clouded by the rampant desire that He might not really be guiding us to do something difficult or possibly unpleasant.

Of course, if only He made the command more obvious, it's purpose more easily understood and that if only it was a task of enough magnitude we would know that the Lord found it important enough to command us, THEN we would happily oblige without hesitation and no matter the danger! Trusting in God to see His will done and knowing that we fight for Christ's great glory!

If we prove ourselves untrustworthy with the little things, why wold God honor us with the opportunity to serve Him in a greater capacity (Luke 16)? God does not need us to do His work; He chooses out of desire and love to use us in glorifying Himself, in whatever capacity He sees fit at the time, and there is nothing forcing Him to use us for the tasks we might jump at later on.

I don't want to be caught up in doubt, trepidation and fear, missing out on the opportunities I am given to serve the Lord because part of me does not trust Him and I forget that He does all things, including give commands that might be difficult on some level for me to carry out, for the good of those who love Him. (Romans 8:28)

Now to Him who is able to keep your from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 12:8

Then the angel said too him, "Gird yourself and tie on your sandals"; and so he did. And he said to him, "Put on your garment and follow me." NKJV

The Lord commands us to be prepared and to prepare ourselves.

When He sends, He sends us with exactly what we need and gives us strength in our weaknesses.

If He calls us to speak, training in public speaking or no, He will either lift our voice to be strong or send out His Spirit to be carried on a weak voice that it may be a greater testament to His glory when none can do but listen and feel the warmth of his joy.

When He calls us to stand, even if there is no strength left in our legs, He shall give strength to the faithful.

But He still commands us to prepare, 'for we know not the hour of His coming'; God gave us His Word as Scripture and instructs us to pray earnestly and without ceasing.

I will continue to grow in Scriptural maturity and read His Word more and more, praying that I am filled with His Spirit. Preparing continually, even as I stand at the ready, for whatever tasks God may have of me so that I am ever ready to be used for greater and greater service as an instrument for my father's glory.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 12:7

Now behold, an angel of the Lord stood by him, and a light shone in the prison; and he struck Peter on the side and raised him up, saying, "Arise quickly!" And his chains fell off his hands. NKJV

God isn't always rainbows and butterflies or a gentle voice; sometimes He'll smack you awake and say "Hurry up!"

I want to be prepared so that even if I'm not 'personally' ready for what God would have of me or wake up in a dazed stupor, slow to respond and clumsy, so that He must actually drag me from my bed, I will not balk at whatever rude awakening God sees fit to give.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 12:6

And when Herod was about to bring him out, that night Peter was sleeping, bound with two chains between two soldiers; and the guards before the door were keeping the prison. NKJV

Peter was bound in two chains, had a guard standing next to him on each side, inside a prison, with his door further guarded.

If an angel could release Peter from such tight physical bondage, what could stop God Himself saving us from any chain, trouble or harm?

A physical prison is of no trouble to Him, and chains of mental bondage are just the same. We make ourselves willingly His prisoners, and He gives us trials as He sees fit and stretches our His hand to save us according to his will, that we may grow and learn and experience to bring Him glory.

I want to be faithful in free and open spaces, sad places, troubled places. In prisons and while underfire. When the world is with me and when it is against, and when I am or feel all alone.

When He tests me and the devil works to stop me.

I want to be faithful while well and in pain, in joy and anguish, when blessed and when my troubles seem too great to bear. He knows my condition and places me where He will and when He wills, and it is only my job to be faithful and to pray and to obey when He says "Go."

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 12:5

Peter was therefore kept in prison, but constant prayer was offered to God for him by the church. NKJV

Sometimes I forget that I am not the only one praying, that there are others praying for me as well. Some I know personally, and some I know are praying because they have told me; but some are strangers or only loose aquaintances who I could never guess to care for my well being enough to remember me in prayers; soem are supporters who have invested in my coming here and wish success in the mission field and that the Lord would work throught me; many are those who may not even remember my name or know of me personally, but heard of what we are doing throught the church in someway or pray for all those involved with Potter's Field Ministires; and some might even be readers of this blog who don't know anything about me other than what I have written here.

I am so thankful for the unseen support offered up by everyone who prays, and regret not always remembering this. I don't want to forget that even when I might feel alone in the world, God is with me and He carries a host of prayers from brother's and sister's in Christ who care.

Now to Him who is able too keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 8:35

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. NKJV

We do not preach Heaven and Hell, peace, grace or even 'the Bible'.

We preach Jesus, and we preach Him personally to people, whether we preach to an individual or a crowd.

There are different manners of course, such as through preachings of peace in Him or stories of the Bible; but they all should come back to, fundamentally, "preaching Jesus to people".

I don't want to forget that I am not giving an argument for belief in that which is often not known tangibly, dragging someone into eternal joy (and away from the alternative) or convincing others to switch religious teams; I am inviting people to a relationship with Christ to be their King and the Father who made them under the guidance of His Spirit.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 8:34

So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?" NKJV

It's amazing how Christ leads others to Himself; a cosmic coincidence that the eunuch reads a prophet prophesying of Him with some confusion when a Christian decides to come over and ask how well he understands.

How curious do you think he was when Philip first came up, and how amazed as he came to believe in Christ and realized their entire meeting had to have been an act of God?

Even the portion of scripture he had a question for, and the very question he asked! It might as well have been, "Is the prophet talking about himself, or Jesus Christ?" with the size of the door God opened for the eunuch to be saved. The opportunity certainly couldn't have been presented more obviously to Philip, and he didn't have to do anything other than show up and talk.

It wasn't Philip's work that saw the eunuch born again, but the will of God. I need to understand that there isn't anything I can do to lead others to Christ except be faithful to God, so that when the time comes He works in someone's life (John 6:65), He might see fit to use me in some small way to deliver the visible means of their revelation to a personal relationship with Christ.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 8:31

And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. NKJV

How amazing is it that the eunuch admitted his own ignorance?

He was a man of "great authority", having charge of the Ethiopian queen's treasury; and yet, riding in a chariot, to a man walking who 'randomly' ran over to discuss the Scriptures, he basically says, "I don't have a clue, and could really use some help from somebody who does."

If a man of such high stature could show such humility, knowing his power and the importance of his position but still perfectly willing to admit his own ignorance and seek the council of others for guidance, what could possibly stop us? I don't want to be so caught up in 'appearances' that I hesitate or feel embarrassed for seeking the guidance of others and admitting my own lack of insight, especially when God might be wanting to reveal something to me through another person if only I'd admit my need, as he did by guiding the eunuch to Christ through Philip, all because the eunuch was willing to admit his own limitations.

Whether it be knowledge or insight or council or aid with the most mundane task, I want to be willing to ask for help when it is needed.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 8:30

So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" NKJV

Philip certainly knew how to be blunt (or the Spirit led him as such anyway). The Spirit guided him where to go and what to do, and from there he saw an opening to discuss the Christ and took it.

I want to be one for God who will use the opportunities He presents without hesitation or awkwardness or fear of giving offense.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultess
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 8:29

Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot." NKJV

Did the Spirit speak with a literal voice, or did the Spirit 'speak' by placing the compulsion or thought "Go near and overtake this chariot" on his heart/mind?

Does it make a difference?

In the greater context that is a life in Christ?

All we would know is the specific manner by which the Holy Spirit worked in a specific instance.

What we do know is that Philip was open to the workings of the Holy Spirit; that he knew, however the command came to him, that it was from the Spirit; and from the following verses that he obeys.

I don't want to get caught up in trivialities. Curiosities, which while fine to have interest in, are by-and-large unimportant, not affecting my walk with God or obedience to Him.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 7:57

Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; NKJV

Why do we let the things we 'know' blind us to the revelations of God and workings of His will?

It's not as if those men were simply driven by fury at Stephens's words; it was not insult or offense alone that was taken.

They didn't like what he said, and therefore didn't want to hear what he said.

They chose things of the earth, their empty wealth, little pride, foolish wisdom and the authority they held over men, rather than accept the grace of God and workings of His Spirit around them. They called themselves men of God, and likely even convinced themselves of it; but they were arrogant in their "Holy authority".

They pleasured in self delusion and were prideful of the obedience they showed 'to God', though it was not 'for God'.

I never want to become puffed up in works which are only done through me, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, or prideful of the talents, gifts or positions, things which are only earthly treasures, that God has or may bestow upon me, which He provides for the furtherance of His glory and not my own.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 7:56

And said, "Look! I see the heavens
opened and the Son of Man standing at
the right hand of God!" NKJV

Stephen made an exclamation of wonder, and no doubt joy, as he stared up and saw the heavens opened.

How often am I staring 'down' instead of 'up'?

I want to look up to the heavens with eyes turned towards God's glory and his son in anticipation for what is coming and to be filled up by the Holy Spirit rather than to have my attentions ever focused on the little things of this life, appearances; minor distractions; the body; thoughts of the individual mind; and all pains, whether physical or mental.

Not on myself.

And not on others.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 7:55

But he, being full of the Holy Spirit
gazed into heaven and saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing at the right
hand of God, NKJV

How wonderous to be so full of the Holy Spirit and to have the heavens open to display the Glory of God and His son standing at His side.

I want to seek and glorify Him so that I may one day be wholly filled with the Holy Spirit and that the Lord might look on me and say, "I find favor with My child." and that when I die and go  to Heaven Jesus might smile on me and say, "Well done my good and faithful servant."

I want my life to be a glory to him who loves and who made me to be like Him.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen

Acts 7:54

When they heard these things they
were cut to the heart, and they gnashed
at him with their teeth. NKJV

They were rebuked and it was painful as if having been struck; but rather than acknowledging the truth of Stephen's words or keeping their patients, they rejected him and all he said.

They "gnashed at him with their teeth".
They 'listened', but only in silent rage.

How easy is it to fall into anger and ignore the council of others?
To pretend that those who bring criticisms against us are somehow in the wrong?
As if their words were mortal sins unworthy of God's grace we fight and battle and resist our brothers' and sisters' good council.

I want to maintain a steady heart in the Lord when others bring their problems with me to me, and to remember prayers for peace and revelation in the Lord when my faults, mistakes, insecurities, and failures are brought to light; for a loving heart and an open heart that is kept safe from the burning scars of a prideful rage.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.

Acts 2:46

So continuing daily with one accord
in the temple, and breaking bread from
house to house, they ate their food with
gladness and simplicity of heart, NKJV

A different translation of the Bible uses "Sincerity" in the place of "Simplicity", and another, "Generous".

"-with gladness and simplicity of heart," NKJV
"-with gladness and sincerity of heart," NASB
"-with glad and generous hearts," ESV

It's hard to do that in America. We begin our meal with grace and really mean it, but how often during the meal itself do we cease to have a 'simple gladness'?

As a culture we revel in food, and always have more than we need. We are never simply glad to have what we have. Our food must always be delicious and our cravings satisfied; even when in a situation where we must eat food we dislike, there may be some game of 'being satisfied with what we are given', but we are not really glad for it.

When we enjoy food we revel in it and desire more.
When we dislike food we mourn it and desire anything else.
When we are neutral to our food we desire what we prefer and crave.

I want to be content with what the Lord provides. To be glad for what I eat and not grumble, audibly or mentally, whatever it may be and no matter how much I may have.


Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence  of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Be glory and majesty,
Dominion and power,
Both now and forever.
Amen.