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Scripture

I often think about life threatening scenarios and how I would react. I’m laying in bed and am awoken to the sound of an intruder entering my house. The alarm is going off, my wife wakes next to me and screams, and I pop up out of bed, grab my pistol, and save my house and my family from impending doom. There is a raging fire that’s broken out and I hurry to save my wife and children from the raging inferno just before the roof caves in and we all escape with our lives. These are just a couple of examples-sounds pretty heroic and courageous right?

I’m glad to say that I’ve never actually encountered these situations and would like to think (wishfully think) that this is how I would react, however I’m also a realist. I also know that once put into a situation like this something called fear would likely creep in and impact my decision making. I may doubt myself and hesitate before reacting. I may convince myself that there is no threat-it’s likely just a squirrel or raccoon that has entered the house looking to scavenge through my trash can. I may make the wrong turn when leaving the burning house or hesitate just a second or two and that could be the difference between life and death. 

Today’s passage made me think of how I would react to persecution. Not just being picked on for being a Christian and living my life for Christ, but persecution involving life or death-the same persecution faced by the early church. Choose to stand for Christ and be stoned, or deny Christ and live. The boldness of the early church members like Stephen can only be explained by the power of the Holy Spirit. I’m sure Stephen felt many of the same fears that we would face before he gave his impassioned speech to the Sanhedrin. The difference in outcomes was the power of the Holy Spirit. We have this same power to overcome so much in our lives. Although Stephen lost his physical life, he was able to gain so much more spiritually. My prayer today is that we tap into the power the Holy Spirit has to offer. Look beyond the fear and boldly pursue that which God has called us to-proclaim the good news for all to hear without fear or hesitation. In the end it is a matter of life and death.

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