Re:Verse reading–Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-58, 8:1-5, 26-38 (day three)
“Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power…” By grace we are saved. The mighty acts of power were necessary to push back the rot of a decaying universe through the healing of broken bodies, pointing to a day when all things will be new. But grace governed that power. That is why Stephen could use it to reveal God and resist the temptation of leveraging it to gain the upper hand. It was the grace brimming in his soul that enabled him to turn his eyes to heaven. It was the grace flooding his spirit that gave him the peace to fall asleep. And it was the grace radiating from his life that reached a young man named Saul, and began the preparatory work for his meeting with Jesus on the road to Damascus.
I trust that God’s favorite will receive both grace and power. With grace and power, one can perform wonders and miracles. It seems to me that God favored Stephen and prepared him to live and to act the Jesus’ ways.
When God chooses someone and gives that person grace and power, just like He did toward Stephen, I am sure that person is full of Godly character. By grace we are saved, and by grace and power of the Holy Spirit, we can become like Christ! And by grace, as followers of Christ, we can live and die in peace, in hope and in comfort, and in preparation to meet God and Jesus in Heaven. Hell or Heaven! We can choose our own final destiny!
Where God is, there is light and life. What are your thoughts on living and acting like Christ? Have you seen anyone who has been favored by God as he or she receives both grace and power? I am anxious to meet one day. God bless!