08.04.08
another brief thought on the martydom of Stephen
The Jerusalem church came under severe fire after a very public execution of one of its own members. See Acts 8:1-4. The persecution scattered the believers except for the apostles themselves. We are given no reason as to why the disciples stayed. What is important to note is that at least one member of this church, Stephen, so irritated the local authorities that he was stoned, executed. This would be the local Jewish authorities. It’s hard not to think that there is a challenge here for our church. Is there no one so provocative in our church to excite at least some ire, some persecution from outside? Some experienced a bit of this on the Lackey mission trip. Perhaps they would want to share something of their experience here.
Bryan said,
August 4, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Thinking about provocation, and hoping to stimulate conversation, I’m thinking one of the ways you may not intend to have this persecution take place is similar to that of a certain church in Texas that protests in certain areas (in lieu of mentioning them, you can learn more about them by clicking here - http://tinyurl.com/5uvum4 - they are certainly provocative).
Thinking of bringing up various ‘things’ to excite or invoke persecution from those outside the church does not seem a hard thing to do. Perhaps the larger question is - are we doing ANYTHING FOR JESUS? If we do, I’m thinking that rejection and ‘persecution’ of a sort goes hand in hand with that. Maybe we just aren’t doing anything FOR Him.
Having said that, let the fun begin!
Vicki Henry said,
August 6, 2008 at 12:37 am
During our youth mission trip I led a small group on a prayer walk through the neighborhoods of Lackey. On our fourth day we entered a cul-de-sac of custom built homes. They stood out in stark contrast to the depressed housing found in much of Lackey. The second home was meticulously landscaped. The lady of the house saw us and said we had to leave because they lived in a covenant neighborhood. I replied that we were standing on a public street. We did not ring doorbells or trespass. She was adamant and said we couldn’t pray and had to leave. So we simply went to the next house. Soon a security car came by, looked at us, turned around and left. We prayed for every home, including hers and for her. Then I drove us down the main road and parked at an empty lot. We all got out and prayed for a home where they needed medical care and financial help.
Soon the lady came looking for us. She stopped abruptly behind my car and took down my license plate number. We laughed because we had done nothing wrong.
But I have a friend in India. She and her church went to a village to share the gospel. Her pastor was beaten and charges were placed against him. No one laughed but they thank God for allowing them to share the sufferings of Christ.