Welcome to our new project, the Daily Bible Devotional. The goal is to help you understand and apply

scripture as you go through a New Testament Bible read five days a week, Monday through Friday,

as we move from Matthew straight through to Revelation. In under four minutes each morning, we will recap the chapter,

make some application, present thought questions for the day, and offer a prayer together.

I'm excited about exploring God's word with you, so let's get started.

Welcome back to our Bible study today from Acts Chapter 7, Stephen's defense.

Stephen delivers an epic speech to the Jewish leaders spanning 2,000 years of Israel's history.

He emphasizes God's promise of land to Abraham. He then discusses the jealousy of Joseph's brothers,

highlighting how God protected him and led the Jews to Egypt.

Stephen then recounts the story of Moses and explains how he saved the people despite their repeated obstinence.

God was present and active all throughout Israel's history.

Stephen notes that God is still working through the Holy Spirit,

yet the Jews remain rebellious, even murdering, quote, the righteous one. This infuriates the

crowd, leading them to stone Stephen to death. In his final moments, Stephen sees Jesus in heaven

standing next to the Father and pleads that the people's sin not be held against them.

Stephen was Christ-like all the way through to the end.

Stephen's defense provides several meaningful application points.

First, he was wise and courageous in his willingness to share the truth about God with a dangerous crowd.

Confessing Jesus requires standing firm even in the face of imminent danger.

Second, the lengthy message recounts key figures in Israel's history. More importantly, it

illustrates that God was always present with them, never limited by location or hindered by anyone.

This is the God we serve, who remains active and unstoppable today.

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