A Cheesy Revelation of Jesus?

Just saw this on the news site I visit everyday…click here for a cheesy revelation of Jesus…heehheehhee! I will have to say that whenever stuff like this pops up I wonder why people get all excited like there is a miracle about it. Jesus reveals himself through Scripture, not a bag of chips…at least not normally.

The Joyful Voice of Martyrs #2 – Stephen

Stoning of Stephen

When I think of martyrdom, the first person I think of is Stephen. Stephen, like  many early followers of Christ was being put on trial for preaching Jesus and mocking the religious establishment of the Pharisees. In Acts 7:1-50 Stephen gives an account throughout history of the scriptures concerning the ignorance of the Israelites and the religious leaders. He was even bold enough to blame them for being a crucial part of the crucifixion of Jesus. Read what Acts 7:51-53

51 “You stiff-necked ^(A) people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! ^(B) You are always resisting the Holy Spirit; as your forefathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? ^(C) They even killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers ^(D) you have now become. 53 You received the law under the direction of angels ^(E) and yet have not kept it.”

Cross references:

1. Acts 7:51 : Ex 32:9; Dt 10:16; Heb 3:13;
2. Acts 7:51 : Lv 26:41; Jr 4:4; 6:10; 9:26;
3. Acts 7:52 : 2Ch 36:16; Mt 5:12; 21:35; 23:31;, 37; 1Th 2:15;
4. Acts 7:52 : Ac 3:14; 5:28;
5. Acts 7:53 : Ac 7:38; Gl 3:19; Heb 2:2;

One thing I admire about Stephen is that he probably knew he was facing death by saying what he said but he said it anyways. How many times are we afraid to say what needs to be said? In the ministry I have been faced with a few times in which I either said what needed to be said no matter what the outcome and I stayed quiet. I have become more bold recently, but if you are going to be a leader, you must be bold in your beliefs. Stephen was bold, Stephen was murdered for it as we read on the chapter…

54 When they heard these things, they were enraged in their hearts ^[a] and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, filled by the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw God’s glory, with ^[b] Jesus standing at the right hand of God, ^(A) and he said, 56 “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” ^(B) 57 Then they screamed at the top of their voices, stopped their ears, and rushed together against him. 58 They threw him out of the city and began to stone ^(C) him. And the witnesses laid their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. ^(D) 59 They were stoning Stephen as he called out: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ^(E) 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ^(F) “Lord, do not charge them with this sin!” And saying this, he fell asleep. ^[c]

hmmm….some good thoughts from the first Christian Martyr

The Joyful Voice of Martyrs

I want to do a series here at M-DT about different martyrs that have shaped the Bible and our Christian faith. I will discuss various people\groups, what they did, who killed them, and what they left as their legacy. Stay tuned!

Storing Up Treasure

Yarrrrrr!…I’m sure most of you have seen the recent Pirates of the Carribean movies starring Johnny Depp and if you haven’t…well matey ye better get on board or walk de plank! I am reminded of how most pirate movies spend most of their time searching, finding, and protecting the treasure.

Jesus warns us about protecting our booty (sorry…I just had to use that word) In the Gospel according to Luke (12:13-21) Please read:

13 Someone from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, ^(A) tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 “Friend,” ^[a] He said to him, “who appointed Me a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 He then told them, “Watch out and be on guard ^(B) against all greed ^(C)because one’s life is not in the abundance of his possessions.” ^(D) 16 Then He told them a parable: ^(E) “A rich ^(F) man’s land was very productive. 17 He thought to himself, ‘What should I do, since I don’t have anywhere to store my crops? 18 I will do this,’ he said. ‘I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and store all my grain and my goods there. 19 Then I’ll say to myself, “You ^[b] have many goods stored up for many years. Take it easy; ^(G) eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.” ^(H) ‘ 20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! ^(I) This very night your life is demanded of you. And the things you have prepared—whose will they be? ^(J) ‘ 21 “That’s how it is with the one who stores up treasure ^(K) for himself and is not rich toward God.”

What “treasure” are you storing up? Is it money? Popularity? A Job? anything that we take more care of to protect than having a relationship with Christ is just like this man Jesus taught about. The man’s riches were useless due to his being killed! Why store up earthly things? What would happen if Christians got as passionate about witnessing, serving, and worshipping God as we did about making a buck?

What A Crazy Month

The months of June and July have been absolutely crazy! After returning from Student-Life Camp with the students, we began work on planning for the Reaction-Mission Project here in Bradenton, Fl. Fusion Youth Ministries was involved in doing free carwashes, window washing, and etc. in the Trailer Estates Community. We also went door to door in the Bayshore Gardens Community passing out flyers about Bayshore Baptist Church (about 300 of them) We also had some fun at the the beach!