Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. Acts 7: 60 (NIV)
They have him and they are mad. He has been encouraging people to find their salvation by coming to Jesus. This does not fit with their religion. They have other ways that they think please God. Now they can´t take it anymore and they will shut him up. The stones are flying. Each crushing blow brings him closer to his painful end. But Stephen doesn´t concern himself with the hatred. He doesn´t focus on the horrible actions of the others. His focus remains in the Lord. He concerns himself with where he stands with Him. He prays that his spirit will be with God. In this final moment his spirit shows that it truly is with its Savior. He prays for those who are attacking him. Is this how we are too?
Even in Christianity today we find a lot of stone throwing. It seems it is easier to attack the next guy than it is to test the caliber of our own devotion to the Lord. But if we really have the love of God in our hearts, and if we truly are following Christ, then will we be like Stephen? Will we also pray for all God´s other children no matter how poorly they are acting? Should we pray today even for those who would attack us too?
Dear Lord,
Not everyone will appreciate or understand our devotion to You. Please do not hold it against them. Give us enough of Your love that our hearts can go out to others even when they attack us. Then we will know our spirits truly are with You!
Amen
Sorry for the cruel video but every Christian needs to know how the world will never understand our faith in God. Each of us should pray for the persecuters and those persecuted in the name of Jesus, no matter how secure or comfortable we may feel in our current situation.
S.D. Wonenberg
Searching For Christ 
S.D. I’m going to reblog this on my site. Thank you for this post.
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Reblogged this on -Word- pictures by DLink and commented:
This is an important post-we don’t get to see this from our media outlets. The video is tough to watch, but of course doesn’t compare to what those in the videos had to endure.
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You are more than welcome to share the Lord in any way that will lift Him up and draw others to Him. We can only praise His name that we could be found instruments with which to draw attention towards Him! I pray the Lord´s blessings upon your ministry. I too will send along some of yours when I can.
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I agree, and thank you. Many blessings to you.
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Christians need to know about the persecution that is happening in other parts of the world, for it will surely come to Canada and the US, only a matter of time. At the beginning of the video, those fellows in orange, it never ceases to amaze me how peacefully they went to their deaths.
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You are right. We should be informed not only about the fact that it exists, but that it is what we are told to be prepared for. Let´s pray for the Lord´s presence with us all, to strengthen, uphold and bring us swiftly home to Him.
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