Good morning! Praise God for a new day. This morning we are picking back up where we left off last week after Stephen was falsely accused and eventually arrested. Join me today and this week as this story unfolds, it was about to rock the entire church.

Scripture (Bible verse):

“Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?” ² This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia (now called Iraq) before he settled in Haran (now called Syria).^[a] 3 God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’^[b] 4 So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live. ⁵ “But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet. ⁶ God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. ⁷ ‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.’^[c]” – Acts 7:1-7 NLT

Key points:

• Stephen filled with the power of the Holy Spirit began to preach in verse 2.
• Stephen began with basics that the council would understand – the story of Abraham.
  • God appeared to Abraham, He gave Abraham instructions and Abraham was obedient to what God called him to do.
  • Abraham left everything and he lost his father during the time God called Abraham to follow Him.
  • God promised Abraham things far into the future that he could not see that day or completely understand at that moment.
  • God also foretold Abraham of the bad times ahead, but God also encouraged Abraham’s faith and said don’t you worry, “in the end they will come out and worship me (God) in this place.
• Just as Abraham had a call and purpose on his life, so did Stephen and God was in the midst of it all.

Reflection:

• How has God been directing you?
• What are you afraid to do, even though you feel like God is calling you toward it?
• What are some of the first steps you can take to move forward with God’s call on your life?
  • First – pray about it. Make sure it is something God has for you.
  • Second – begin to write down what God is saying to you.
  • Third – be obedient. Allow God to lead you one step at a time.

Prayer:

Father God we thank you for loving us. We thank you for those you sent ahead of us as examples of the faith. Lord God you have always been faithful to Your word and Your promises. You have never given us a reason to turn away from you. Your word is clear and it gives us instructions for life from the very beginning until the end. Lord continue to equip us with your mighty word and show us how to use the spiritual gifts that you have given us to pursue our calling. Lord we don’t want to miss an opportunity to serve you. Lord we don’t want to miss a chance to receive what you have in store for us. Lord we know we can only see so far into the future, but Lord you see it all. Lord we will trust you with the things seen and unseen. We will surrender ourselves to you so that you can use us for your glory and you will receive all the praise. Lord touch those who don’t know what you desire of them and reveal it to them. Lord create in all of us a passion to serve you, to seek you every day, to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with You. In Jesus name we pray, amen.

Registration for our next women’s retreat is open.

Theme: Hope Anchored by Faith – “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6:19

When: Saturday, July 25, 2020
Time: 9:00 AM Pacific Standard Time
In an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 the retreat will be held online as a virtual retreat. Register in advance:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_h8mL9soyReqwrVZGjMx1gg

Do you have a prayer request? We would love to pray for you. Send your prayer request to: prayerrequest@maryewhiteministries.com

Bible Reference: http://biblegateway.com