MEM OF DISTINCTION WANTED

“Therefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:” (Acts 6:3, 5)

The world has gone haywire; the he dirty water that should be flowing under the gutter has become our mainstream. the light bulbs that we look up to for illumination now sits well, balanced in it’s position; but radiates darkness. The flag of morality and excellence has been brought to a half-mast like that of a mourning natio; so much that men of God who supposedly should be paradigms for godliness have become the Achans in the church. And in a bid to keep their rotteness from being exposed, they have become defenders against those they should be toiling to bring to Christ.

We are now being sermonised to accept the world we live in to be an ocean, not of water this time around, but of iniquity, ungodliness and moral depravity. And that we all, as fishes living therein, can never be free from this prevalent depravity.

However, I take exception. The endemicity of evil in the world today is rather a glaring gesticulation, a deafning outcry for men of distinction to rise and say,
“I DARE TO BE A STEPHEN.”

When the people of God needed seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, for appointment into a position of service, stephen was the only one who had attached to his name, “a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost.”

Take a look at the list:“and they chose STEPHEN, A MAN FULL OF FAITH AND OF THE HOLYGHOAST and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch.” in other words, he alone was what the ocation demanded. He was distinct amongst the seven. No wonder he went ahead and did exploits. And resisted unto blood.

Can someone rise up today to say,
“I DARE TO BE A STEPHEN;I DARE TO BE WHAT THE OCATION DEMANDS WHEREVER GOD HAS POSITIONED ME.”
Say it to yoursel! Personalise it: I dare to be a stephen;i dare to be what God demands wherever he has positioned me. Go ahead and customise it!say in my business, in my job,as a studen, as a wif, as a husban, as a fiance, as a fiancee, as a child of God, “I dare to be a stephen;I dare to be what God demands of me even if no one else dares. I dare to resist unto blood even if i am alone.”

MAY GRACE ABOUND.

Divine Opinion

“…but what do you say?” John 8:6 [NKJV]

Read: John 8: 1-9

In the book of John 8:1-5, when the scribes and the Pharisees caught a woman in adultery, the first thing that came to their mind was a human opinion about the woman. The first thing they remembered was the verdict Moses, in the law, had passed on the woman—she should be stoned to death!

Nonetheless, they still brought the woman to Jesus and said to Him, “…Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do you say?” John 8:4-5 [NKJV]. And when Jesus gave His own opinion, despite all they had known that Moses had said concerning the action of the woman, they all surrendered to His verdict.

Oh, what a difference it will make in our lives; what an advantage it will give to us if, as God’s children, we will take a lesson from these merely religious men!

In our everyday activities we come across challenges in different areas of our lives. It could be a threat to our lives, it could be a health challenge, or it could be a financial challenge. At such times, what quickly comes to our mind is the opinion of professionals—doctors, economists—or those of our friends and associates concerning the challenge at hand. And then instead of going to Jesus and consulting the Holy Spirit to get divine opinion concerning the challenge at hand, we rather settle for the opinion of men as final.

However, in the book of 2nd Corinthians 10:3-5, the scripture says, “3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Such human opinions—no matter how reasonable they are—are the high things exalting themselves against the knowledge of God we have received, and we ought to, like the scribes and the Pharisees, consult the word of God to know what God Himself has to say about any circumstance we come across. And when we get his verdict, irrespective of the opinions of men we have known, his opinion should settle the matter.

Consecration

Father, in the midst of rumbling storm, in the middle of the rolling thunder, when the verdicts of men go viral concerning me, to hear your voice O God, shall be my priority; for only you alone can speak peace to my soul