DAD;S RAMBLINGS -- THE BOTTOM LINE

DAD'S RAMBLINGS – THE BOTTOM LINE

" 'This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel, "The LORD our God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear." This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the Angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, the one who received the living oracles to give to us, whom our fathers would not obey, but rejected. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt...Then God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written the book of the Prophets.' " (Acts 7:37-39, 42)

As Stephen came to the end of his sermon, he got down to the nitty-gritty of the message – the bottom line. It is expressed in several ways. Israel would not obey the word of the Lord, but rejected it. In their hearts they turned back to Egypt. God then turned and gave them up to worship these false gods. Then Stephen brings it down to the people listening to his message that day: that they resisted the Holy Spirit because they were stiff-necked, unwilling to yield to God's way. This is not a seeker-friendly sermon.

When it became personal, they were cut to the heart, and gnashed at Stephen with their teeth, and they ended up killing him.

The same thing is true of people today who want to continue in their way of living. They reject the word of the Lord as expressed in the Bible. They would rather live in "Egypt" and enjoy the things this world has to offer. They resist the Holy Spirit because they are unwilling to yield to God. So God allows them to worship their false gods.

May that not be said of us. As we hear God's word preached, may our necks be softened to bow before God and yield to His calling, lest we resist the Holy Spirit's wooing in our hearts. That is the bottom line: bowing before a holy God.

Love, Dad