Acts 7
Happy Endings!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, July 10.
Earlier this week, my 6-year-old was upset because there was someone being mean to the main character in her animated show. Everything was not “sunshine and cotton candy” and Willow was not happy. She, like most of us, wants only happy endings.
Stephen’s life and death teach us about happy endings. Acts 7:59-60 records his death, “And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.”
Stephen’s death confronts us with this reality: faithfulness to God doesn’t obligate God to give us a life of “sunshine and cotton candy”. There will be hardship and suffering, pain and death. Jesus told us this ahead of time.
We need to change our minds about how we define the “happy life” and what having a “happy ending” looks or feels like. Here’s the point: as long as your happiness is at the center of your decision making, you can’t have a happy ending.
Jesus promises to give you the fullness of His joy in this life and the hope of His eternal relationship with God. For this, He invites us to be faithful to Him.
Stephen lived and died exactly as he would have wanted because he gave his life to Jesus before anyone took his life. Acts 7 is all about Stephen’s faithfulness—Stephen did get his happy ending!
Until we believe this, we are left living on the treadmill of “sunshine and cotton candy” pursuits.
Seize the moment and join with Stephen in giving your life to Jesus. Live a faithful life!
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