Jesus Mystic

So much can be gleaned from the tragic, yet somewhat beautiful, story of  Stephen found in the Book of Acts. Here, we look at three lessons we  can learn from the narrative of this early Christian martyr and how we  can apply these to our lives today.

Suffering in life is inevitable. Fortunately, Jesus and the early  disciples have set a model for us in how to respond. 

With God's grace  and the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to exude love and patient  endurance through even the toughest situations.

Now is a prime time for Christians to embrace and live out our call to  self-sacrificial love for our neighbors, the type of love modeled by  Jesus. 

Sometimes this is best embodied not so much in the things we do  for people, but in the ways in which we refuse to see them harmed.

As Christians, does our response to the current global situation reflect the hope we have as followers of a risen Savior and Lord?   

Are we more concerned with what God is doing in his church and for his kingdom in this moment or are we concerned more with temporal matters?   

Peter's directions and encouragement to the dispersed and persecuted church in his first letter could give us some guidance.

Without the literal resurrection of Jesus, there is no Christianity.  There is no reconciled relationship with our Creator. It is the very  foundation of our faith, the gospel - the good news of Jesus Christ.

The ministry of the Apostle Paul and the humble beginnings of the  Christian church have much to teach us today, especially as we learn to  respond to new ways of living in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. God is  always speaking, if we can only listen.