55But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
The only place in scripture where Jesus stands at the right hand of God instead of sitting.
He is like a coach, at the Super Bowl actively engaged in our greatest trial. Rooting us on when we are being out to death by our persecutors.
I love “a heart at peace gives life to the body.” I’m writing this during the COVID pandemic, and I am feeling very anxious and not at peace in general because of how unsure everything is. I can tell these feelings aren’t from God and aren’t life-giving. I’m praying for, and would appreciate prayers for, peace during this time.
Hi Sarah! So many of us are experiencing anxiety in these times. But you’re right that those feelings aren’t from God. We can become and feel overwhelmed by the intensity and how out-of-control we are. But we never needed to be in control in the first place. HE’s got this! Who best to guide us through the storm than He who already made another storm calm down? The Palms can be incredibly encouraging in these times, eg psalm 103. I’m praying for you and everybody else who’s experiencing anxiety today and throughout this pandemic!
So true! I holding to the think that this pandemic is happening to open our hearts to God, we have to trust in His plans, let’s give up control and trust Him!
Hi Sarah! So many of us are experiencing anxiety in these times. But you’re right that those feelings aren’t from God. We can become and feel overwhelmed by the intensity and how out-of-control we are. But we never needed to be in control in the first place. HE’s got this! Who best to guide us through the storm than He who already made another storm calm down? The Psalms can be very encouraging in these times, I’d eg recommend reading psalm 103. I’m praying for you and anybody else who’s experiencing anxiety during this pandemic.
“Fools scoff at guilt, But among the straight there is delight.” Proverbs 14:9 May we be happy that Yahuah searches our heart to rid of transgression, by guilt. May we be thankful that He would impart such compassion on us, by letting our guilt be none so we can press into Him.
Stephen’s speech is such a glorious exposition of how Israelite history shows the sinful human condition- to forget God, choose sin, and hate the truth. See how they gnash their teeth and become enraged and stop their ears. May we remember that there is no “neutral” reaction to the gospel. Praise God that He has given us humble hearts, and may he also open the eyes of those who do not yet embrace the truth as good news.
we must learn to dicern what is good and what is bad. learn the consequences of our actions, bad actions lead to negative consequences and good actions lead to positive consequences. the good will be rewarded and the bad will be punished.
There are 4 references to fearing the Lord in Prov 14 (more woven throughout Proverbs–keep looking for them!). It’s a theme of the book, so it’s good to pay close attention to what it’s saying.
Characteristics of one who fears the Lord:
-lives with integrity, is not devious
-is wise and turns from evil
-lives with strong confidence, even for the care of his/her children
-is a fountain of life for others, turning them from death (see James 5:19-20)
From other chapters to this point:
1:7-the starting place for understanding God’s purposes for life is to fear (revere, respect, submit to) the Lord
2:5-goes alongside searching for godly wisdom
3:7-means we do not follow our own wisdom or understanding of things, that we actively turn away from evil
8:13-to fear the Lord is to hate evil, pride, & arrogance, evil behavior & perverse speech
9:10-fearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
10:27-adds length to life
Awesome to see how Stephen’s prayer was answered later on in the life of Saul. God truly changed Saul from his old sinful life, God did not blame the persecutors. Saul was so transformed, he even was given a new name (Paul). God is so full of mercy, grace, and love!!!
30 A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones.
A gentle admonishment for me today. Comparing myself to others is something I struggle with and this verse jumped off the page. Envy rots the bones…no two ways about it. Simple as that. But a “heart at peace gives life to the body”…so so beautiful and comforting. What a promise. I am still learning how to maintain a peaceful heart. Lord help keep my eyes fixed solely on you letting comparison and envy fall away. Teach me to maintain a peaceful heart and fill me up.
Amen! I can relate on the struggle with comparison. I can also work on having my heart at peace instead of working to be validated by others around me. I love to hear different peoples takes on scripture because we all understand things differently! I loved reading your post tonight-it helped me look at this verse from a different perspective and be able to apply it more in my life. Thank you for sharing! (:
Me too! Remembering that so much of my anguish is self inflicted when I am comparing my life to others, what can I expect? To be happy? Bone rotting doesn’t sound happy!!
I started a month ago and am finally in May (I have been reading July and August daily but have been reading January on each day as well) it’s so exciting to see the percentage creep up! But I’ll miss the extra long readings ;)
I feel like I need to read these passages a few times over to glean as much as I can from them! So much about how to get wisdom and why it’s so valuable. And so much about being bold like Stephen. Can you believe that even as they were literally killing him, he asked God to not hold it against them? So gracious!
Proverbs 14:5 A faithful witness does not lie,
but a false witness breathes out lies. – the truth will always set us free! Being honest is always the righteous way to act
Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Our hearts are sick when we allow our hopes for each day be deferred due to the stumbling blocks we place in front of ourselves. And by not handing control over to God. But our desire for tranquility and success are fulfilled when we give our life over to God. Creating a strong root system for a beautiful tree that is our life branching out to others, providing shade to the weary and shelter to the lost. Praise to God for all glory is His.
❤️
❤️
3Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
“Lord do not hold this sin against them” powerful representation of forgivness a true heart filled with Jesus.
55But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
The only place in scripture where Jesus stands at the right hand of God instead of sitting.
He is like a coach, at the Super Bowl actively engaged in our greatest trial. Rooting us on when we are being out to death by our persecutors.
#put to death by our persecutors
# put to death by our persecutors
✅
✝️
I love “a heart at peace gives life to the body.” I’m writing this during the COVID pandemic, and I am feeling very anxious and not at peace in general because of how unsure everything is. I can tell these feelings aren’t from God and aren’t life-giving. I’m praying for, and would appreciate prayers for, peace during this time.
Hi Sarah! So many of us are experiencing anxiety in these times. But you’re right that those feelings aren’t from God. We can become and feel overwhelmed by the intensity and how out-of-control we are. But we never needed to be in control in the first place. HE’s got this! Who best to guide us through the storm than He who already made another storm calm down? The Palms can be incredibly encouraging in these times, eg psalm 103. I’m praying for you and everybody else who’s experiencing anxiety today and throughout this pandemic!
So true! I holding to the think that this pandemic is happening to open our hearts to God, we have to trust in His plans, let’s give up control and trust Him!
Hi Sarah! So many of us are experiencing anxiety in these times. But you’re right that those feelings aren’t from God. We can become and feel overwhelmed by the intensity and how out-of-control we are. But we never needed to be in control in the first place. HE’s got this! Who best to guide us through the storm than He who already made another storm calm down? The Psalms can be very encouraging in these times, I’d eg recommend reading psalm 103. I’m praying for you and anybody else who’s experiencing anxiety during this pandemic.
“Fools scoff at guilt, But among the straight there is delight.” Proverbs 14:9 May we be happy that Yahuah searches our heart to rid of transgression, by guilt. May we be thankful that He would impart such compassion on us, by letting our guilt be none so we can press into Him.
Stephen’s speech is such a glorious exposition of how Israelite history shows the sinful human condition- to forget God, choose sin, and hate the truth. See how they gnash their teeth and become enraged and stop their ears. May we remember that there is no “neutral” reaction to the gospel. Praise God that He has given us humble hearts, and may he also open the eyes of those who do not yet embrace the truth as good news.
22Do they not go astray who devise evil?
Those who devise good meet steadfast love and faithfulness.-ellie
Acts 7 is one of the most awe-inspiring chapters of God’s Word! Showing how It all points to Jesus!!
❤️❤️❤️❤️
we must learn to dicern what is good and what is bad. learn the consequences of our actions, bad actions lead to negative consequences and good actions lead to positive consequences. the good will be rewarded and the bad will be punished.
There are 4 references to fearing the Lord in Prov 14 (more woven throughout Proverbs–keep looking for them!). It’s a theme of the book, so it’s good to pay close attention to what it’s saying.
Characteristics of one who fears the Lord:
-lives with integrity, is not devious
-is wise and turns from evil
-lives with strong confidence, even for the care of his/her children
-is a fountain of life for others, turning them from death (see James 5:19-20)
From other chapters to this point:
1:7-the starting place for understanding God’s purposes for life is to fear (revere, respect, submit to) the Lord
2:5-goes alongside searching for godly wisdom
3:7-means we do not follow our own wisdom or understanding of things, that we actively turn away from evil
8:13-to fear the Lord is to hate evil, pride, & arrogance, evil behavior & perverse speech
9:10-fearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom
10:27-adds length to life
Thanks for this! Amen!
I need to continually remind myself that peace only comes from God, not man!
Awesome to see how Stephen’s prayer was answered later on in the life of Saul. God truly changed Saul from his old sinful life, God did not blame the persecutors. Saul was so transformed, he even was given a new name (Paul). God is so full of mercy, grace, and love!!!
30 A heart at peace gives life to the body,
but envy rots the bones.
A gentle admonishment for me today. Comparing myself to others is something I struggle with and this verse jumped off the page. Envy rots the bones…no two ways about it. Simple as that. But a “heart at peace gives life to the body”…so so beautiful and comforting. What a promise. I am still learning how to maintain a peaceful heart. Lord help keep my eyes fixed solely on you letting comparison and envy fall away. Teach me to maintain a peaceful heart and fill me up.
Amen! I can relate on the struggle with comparison. I can also work on having my heart at peace instead of working to be validated by others around me. I love to hear different peoples takes on scripture because we all understand things differently! I loved reading your post tonight-it helped me look at this verse from a different perspective and be able to apply it more in my life. Thank you for sharing! (:
Amen Christina!!
Me too! Remembering that so much of my anguish is self inflicted when I am comparing my life to others, what can I expect? To be happy? Bone rotting doesn’t sound happy!!
Alexis C.
Your post Reminds me of Matthew 6, Mark 4, Psalm 1, etc
I started a month ago and am finally in May (I have been reading July and August daily but have been reading January on each day as well) it’s so exciting to see the percentage creep up! But I’ll miss the extra long readings ;)
Finally caught up after being a month behind! I’m so happy :D
You go girl!! Woohoo!
xoxo-Kaitlin
Haha! Thank you!!
Me too. I thought I’d never catch up but so glad I did
*high five*
Stephen’s death echoes so much of Jesus’ death, the fact that he gave up his spirit and asked forgiveness for those who persecuted him.
Lyndsay,
Yes I noticed that as well…
I feel like I need to read these passages a few times over to glean as much as I can from them! So much about how to get wisdom and why it’s so valuable. And so much about being bold like Stephen. Can you believe that even as they were literally killing him, he asked God to not hold it against them? So gracious!
Katie R,
Yes same as Jesus on the cross…
Oh to be Stephen!
Amen! What fantastic, peaceful faith.
Proverbs 14:5 A faithful witness does not lie,
but a false witness breathes out lies. – the truth will always set us free! Being honest is always the righteous way to act
Proverbs 13:12 “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”
Our hearts are sick when we allow our hopes for each day be deferred due to the stumbling blocks we place in front of ourselves. And by not handing control over to God. But our desire for tranquility and success are fulfilled when we give our life over to God. Creating a strong root system for a beautiful tree that is our life branching out to others, providing shade to the weary and shelter to the lost. Praise to God for all glory is His.
Alexis C.
Amen…preach/teach it sister!
What a beautiful picture you created. It helped me to understand this scripture even more.