Woven

As much as I hate to admit it, we are just not going to get through the book of Acts to the extent that I’d like to. Maybe one day we’ll study Acts in isolation. Until then, we’ll do what we can do.

I’m sure you’ve noticed that we still haven’t finished chapter 13 in Woven. Don’t panic! We’ll get there tomorrow. Today, we need to study a section of Acts that I don’t necessarily love. It’s important, though, so here we go.

In Acts chapter 6, there was a complaint that the disciples weren’t caring for the widows as they were supposed to. So, 7 men of good reputation were chosen to take on the role of caring for the people so that the 12 disciples could remain intent on the word of God. Stephen was one of the seven chosen, and Stephen stood out! Acts 6:8 says he was full of grace and power and was performing wonders and signs among the people.

We aren’t new to this, girls. We know what these words mean. Historically, when a layperson received the attention of the people, religious leaders came unglued. This time was no different. They took Stephen, and the High Priest questioned him.

In Acts 7, we are going to read Stephen’s response. I would like for you to read the first 50 verses of Acts 7 while using page 14 in your Woven book. Notice how Stephen’s review covers many of the images in our visual timeline. This is an awesome review of earlier pieces of our study. This may take a little time, but it’s so worth it. Enjoy!

Remember, Stephen is reporting to the High Priest who knows this story. Stephen is not saying anything out of the ordinary until verse 51. After review time, Stephen called the religious leaders out on being stiff-necked and sealed his fate when he pointed out that they had not been following the law they were ordained to keep.

Now, read Acts 7:54 through 8:3.

This is a shorter passage, but I find it to be very difficult to read. Saul/Paul stood by and held coats while Stephen was martyred. Then, he began ravaging home after home and dragging men and women off to jail because they believed in Jesus.

So, here’s the thing to remember (and I know I’ve said it a million times before), it would be so much easier for us to determine Saul was just a bad person. In all of the Sunday school depictions, that is how we see him. He’s mean, hateful, and evil until he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.

What fueled Saul’s fury, though?

What made him so angry towards Christ followers?

Why did he feel justified to murder innocent people?

In all of my study, it seems that Saul felt justified in his actions because he believed he was protecting the Old Testament Law and Jewish tradition. Saul would have been considered a zealot which is a term that comes from “zeal” used in Psalm 69,

For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face. I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children; for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

I believe Saul felt he was doing the right and good thing by ridding the world of the false prophets. He didn’t believe Jesus was the promised Messiah, and that meant his followers were misguided. Their message would misguide others.

Does it change the face you put on Saul when you realize he wasn’t just evil? His actions were evil, but he had justified them as good.

Y’all, my journey may be different than yours. But, for the past three of four years, the Holy Spirit hasn’t let me move past reflecting on this very idea.

If Saul could be so very wrong, if he could justify murder (which is most definitely a sin) to protect others from believing a lie (which was actually Truth), isn’t it possible that I could misunderstand and misrepresent the truth too?

Now, the really great news is that GRACE is bigger than the misguided behavior. You can read Acts 9 to see how quickly Jesus corrected Saul and gave him a new assignment as well as how quickly Paul said, “YES.” See, his zeal was a gift from God. He’d just been using it incorrectly. For the rest of our study together, we get to see what correctly guided zeal will do….. zeal for God’s House consumed him in the best possible way. We have most of the New Testament because of it.

In your journal, I’d love for you to write out any thoughts you have about Stephen or Paul or any of the other New Testament characters. Then, maybe you’d like to spend some time reflecting on how we can safeguard our own lives from acting out of misguidance. Or, how can we determine if one of our leaders is off track in what he/she is leading us to do.

I’ll start with an easy one. If a believer (myself or anyone else) is justifying sin within themselves to correct sin in someone else, it’s likely we should ask some questions. Currently, there’s a lot of zeal being exercised for the sake of the Gospel, but it’s being displayed through anger, slander, divisiveness, hatefulness, and gossip. These are all anti-Jesus methods. Well-meaning believers feel they’re fighting the good fight, but the way they are fighting opposes the very nature of our Lord. That one sentence is enough to make me pause, go to my journal, and ask God how to respond and react. I think it’s worth our attention.

Good work, ladies. Tomorrow, we will finish reading our chapter. Angie does a superb job of wrapping up our time with Paul (of course she does!). We won’t get to spend much time in his letters, but I know you’ll enjoy hearing a little more about the journey. Then, I will share one of my favorite messages ever. It REALLY is!

God, despite our best intentions, we can’t understand You or Your ways perfectly. But, we don’t want that to be an excuse not to try. Help us to lean into Your Holy Spirit for Truth, guidance, instruction, and understanding. Give us courage to take our stand even if it opposes the popular religious opinions. We want to follow You. When you open our eyes and convict, we want to answer with complete obedience as Paul did in Acts 9. Thank you for your grace. Thank you that it covers even the largest of our mistakes.