How Strong is Your Strength?

[352 words] Stephen was a great man of faith (Acts 7). Earlier the Lord had identified him as a man of conviction, reputation, wisdom, and the Holy Spirit. All these traits of character were going to be necessary for what he was about to face. It is easy to speak favorably of one’s commitment to the Lord when resistance is minimal, but when the heat in the kitchen rises (so to speak), the qualities of character are put to a test in a way that the temperature of the room is unable to accomplish. This was the experience of Stephen. He had been accused by the Jewish community of turning the world associated with the nation’s Law of Moses and their peculiar customs, upside down (Acts 6:13-14). Stephen had to be a man steady on his feet to have any opportunity to speak clearly. Stressful situations can make the body…