Digging Deeper~ 4th sunday after Easter

Acts 7:55-60: After preaching Christ to the Jews, they attacked Steven. Steven looked up and sees the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God the Father. He tells them what he sees. The Jews then takes him outside of the city and stones him. Steven knees down and prays a prayer for those who are stoning then before he dies. Ps. 31:1-5,15-16; Do not let my enemies win. Into thy hands do I give my spirit.Save me for thy mercies sake.   1 Peter 2:2-10: You need to grow up in the Lord. You can do this with Word of God.Only when you do so will you be holy as God is holy.  Jesus is the stone which God built his kingdom on. You are like stones that God uses to built Gods kingdom. Allow God to put you in his Spiritual temple. In doing so you become holy Priest who offer up sacrifices to God Through Jesus Christ. This fulfills the prophecies that is in Ps. 118:11, Isiah 8:14,Isiah 28:16. You obey Jesus and you will not stumble. When you obey God, you are his chosen people, priests, and royal nation. For he has called you out of the kingdom of darkness in to the Kingdom of Light. You are in this kingdom by the mercy of God.   John 14:1-14:Jesus encourages his disciples that all will be well when he goes back to heaven with God the Father. He tells them  that he & his Father are one, to keep his commandments, that if they keep his commandments they will receive whatever they pray for.  Before Jesus went back to heaven, he encouraged his followers by telling them that he was going back to the Father. Then he told them to keep his commandments and that if they did so, they could ask anything of him believing and he would give it to them. He also told them that they would be able to do greater things then he did because he was going to back to the Father.  After Jesus goes back to heaven, Peter tells Jesus followers that they were called out of the kingdom of darkness into the the Kingdom of Light. Then Peter encourages them to grow up spiritually, so that they could be Jesus' chosen people who would be his priests, and nation in the world for the Kingdom of Light. In Steven we see what it looks like when someone is spiritually grown up. Steven was so in line with Jesus that when he was being beat up for preaching Jesus stood up while standing next to the Father in heaven.. This is a sign of respect. Later we see Steven being so in Christ that he prays exactly what Jesus did as he was dying.  Challenge of the week: This week, strive to follow Jesus' Commandments and grow up spiritually in him, so that you will be found worthy to be his priests & nation for the Kingdom of Light. So that you too can call people out of the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of Light. Accomplishment of the week: What commandment(s) did you obey this week? How did that help you grow spiritually? Click here to Reply or Forward