Compassion in the face of hatred and ignorance

          I was reading Acts 6 and 7 this morning. I want to specifically talk about what happened at the end of chapter 7. Stephen was an early Christian. He was spreading the gospel and all that jazz. These Jews from "the Synagogue of Freedom" (this is rather ironic, come to think of it) didn't really like what Stephen was doing and accused him of blasphemy. He was arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin (which, as I understand is a sort of religious ruling council).
          When asked about the accusations, Stephen recounts a story all Jews were intimately familiar with: a brief history of Abraham through Joseph and the Exodus. He point out how they are just as stubborn and closed-minded as their ancestors. The council got really angry about this "When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." " (Acts 7:54-56, NIV). They covered their ears at this (can you believe it?!) and dragged him out to be stoned.
          This is the part I am really astounded by: While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep. (59 and 60). Even in the face of death, he showed compassion and begged for mercy on their behalf. How many of us would be so loving and compassionate to those who would harm us, those who are so against us it would only be natural to resent them. Stephen didn't curse them or anything like that. Could we do the same?

Something to think about

Damming the river of love. Opening myself up. Concepts mentioned might make for discussion, I figured.

a simple introduction

I thought I would follow suit by briefly introducing myself. My name is Grace, and I'll be 21 in a week and a half. People tell me that I have wisdom or insight sometimes, but for the most part, I think it comes from the Holy Spirit. The other stuff is probably just common sense that I inherited from my dad. ;) I'm looking forward to blogging here because it gives me an opportunity to share what God is doing in my life and hopefully encourage and exhort others.

As for my testimony, it's starts rather simply. I was raised in a Christian home with parents who were faithful to teach me God's word and model God's love. One day when I was five years old, I was alone in my room, studying Bible memory verses, when I felt like I needed to pray and ask Jesus to come into my heart to be saved. Now, I know a lot of children have been pressured into praying prayers and making professions of faith, but my experience was nothing like that. I was able to explain to my mom what I had done, and exactly what it meant. Looking back on it now, I just see the childlike faith of a little girl who wanted a relationship with Jesus. When I was about 8 years old, I asked to be baptized. I think God had helped me overcome my fears by that time, because I was scared to death to do it when I was five. (We went to a larger church then, so of course, getting up in front of everyone was a terrifying thought for a young, shy five year old.) The journey became much rougher when I turned 12, with the onset of obsessive compulsive disorder, but God was faithful even when I didn't know what my mind was telling me or why. The turmoil lasted for about four years, and I spent the next four recovering and reclaiming lost time (at least, in my mind it seemed like lost time). When I started college, God began to help me truly build spiritual strength as an individual apart from my family.

So...yes, that's a little bit about me - Grace. I'm still in the process of becoming the woman of God He wants me to be, and hopefully what I write here will be a reflection of that growth.

Grace and peace to you in Christ. :)

A proper introduction

         I shall start with myself, I am Mishal but "Michelle" is a more common name and so I go by it. Online I am known by Koneko Decaelum. Koneko is Japanese for kitten; I am fond of cats and have an interest in the Japanese culture. Decaelum is (as I recall) Latin for of heaven (or sky). This name could be considered a relic of my slightly younger days but I'm comfortable enough with it as an adult to keep it.
         I like to think I have some insight. In my short twenty-three years I've learned things from my experience and that of others. I don't have much of a testimony if you want one. Grew up in a Christian home and never really strayed far. College is a time of questioning and I felt unsure of my beliefs. After some tossing about with no direction I gave up any notion of rationalizing God and took a leap of faith.
         I now see and understand my faith with new eyes. Hopefully my insights will enrich your life.

Mishal, ready to blog? Question: What does "Koneko Decaelum" mean?

Hello, have no idea what to do or how this is to work. Not even sure can make contact.

Welcome and about this blog

          For a while now, I've been wanting to write somewhere, anywhere a possibly regular feature with what few gems of wisdom that I happen to glean from my stream of consciousness. Unfortunately, my insights are not so regular. So I've decided to invite a friend (and hopefully others) to weigh in on the subject of the moment. The format has not been set at this time, though. I am thinking weekly posts (done by one of us) with exposition and then discussion throughout the week. It may or may not include posts by those who have studied the topic in greater detail (I have a couple of people in mind).
          I hope the next post will be one introducing the regular contributors to the blog. Until then, God bless.