Proclaim Freedom

If ever there was a time for good news, man, it's now. Bad news circles us, wraps around us, shadows us. COVID, the war in Ukraine, killing of innocent kids on streets they shouldn't be on. We're taken captive by bad news. Our minds twisting into fear.

But, look again, there's good news.

We're not the first society studded with trouble. I gotta go to the Stephen -- he's this amazing man who dedicated his life to caring for the vulnerable in his city. This is around 30 - 40 AD -- that's just under 2000 years ago. He was a good guy--a member of the local church. Known by the church leaders. Then he turned on them. He took a sharp left and chose the freedom of Jesus over the insane chains of the church. You see, the leaders of the church majored in judging--the developed a rule book of more than 600 rules... crazy rules. When Stephen me Jesus, he knew he had met the good news, the change-maker. A little later in the story, the brand new Jesus church enlisted Stephen to make sure the poor, vulnerable and sick were taken care of. Sounds like something punishable by death, don't you think.

The local church leaders were furious. This man walked away from the age-old church (they called it a synagogue), rejected his mentors, leaders and rulers, and followed Jesus. And (this really made them mad), he accused the church leaders of putting Jesus, the Messiah to death.

So the church leaders did what arrogant, head strong, pround men do--they hatched a plot to get rid of Stephen. They even paid people to give eye-witness accounts of Stephen's atrocities. And they circled him, holding sharp stones in their hands. And as Stephen stood in the midst of the circle he said to them: "You stiff-necked people... you are just like your ancestors...." And they were furious. Rocks hurled in his direction brought hims to his knees and he prayed: "Lord, do not hold their sin against them." And died in the rubble.

Evil people plotting the demise of the weak, vulnerable and poor are still with us. But our God is bigger and our hope is not in the systems of this world… they are in Jesus. Look again--I dare you to free yourself from the nonsense and just go straight to Jesus.