But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.
(Daniel 6:10 NLT)
And He answered, "If you had a sheep that fell into a well on the Sabbath, wouldn't you work to pull it out? Of course you would. And how much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Yes, the law permits a person to do good on the Sabbath." Then He said to the man, "Hold out your hand." So the man held out his hand, and it was restored, just like the other one! Then the Pharisees called a meeting to plot how to kill Jesus.
(Matthew 12:11-14 NLT)
The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen's accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God's right hand. And he told them, "Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God's right hand!" Then they put their hands over their ears and began shouting. They rushed at him and dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. His accusers took off their coats and laid them at the feet of a young man named Saul.
(Acts 7:54-58 NLT)
The world will always do what it can to silence those who speak the truth, not the truth as man knows it but the truth as God’s Holy Spirit reveals it! For what is man’s truth but a narrow version of a single sided story used to manipulate others into believing as the one who is doing the speaking or is it something more than one man’s opinion over another? No, I tell you the truth does not originate in the heart of man but if someone knows the truth it is because God has revealed it to them through His Holy Spirit! When a lamp is illuminated by the Father of lights it drives shadows from every crevice and no corner remains hidden. No more is wrong free to roam and take hold in hearts unaware but those who do wrong must do so in broad daylight and those who choose evil over good must do it for all to see.
There will come a day when the light of God’s Truth can no longer be contained only within the hearts of His people and on that day the whole world will know that He is God! Until then the fire of His light will burn brightly in the hearts of His people and no amount of persecution, even unto death or any lie can suffocate it because it is the Lord Himself that fuels this fire with the Words of His mouth. Yes, the Word made flesh is alive and well and leads His people to a place where His glory is to be revealed. It is one thing to recognize and repeat a good saying for certainly truth was revealed to the one who originally said it but to dig into God’s Word, to pray for understanding, and then allow God to speak through you as His Holy Spirit leads is beyond compare and like Daniel, Stephen, and Jesus your words are no longer safe because you speak as God stirs your spirit and not simply repeating what someone else has already said. You see to repeat someone else points back to them but to speak as God leads you through His Word and through prayer does not point back to a person but to God and that is what darkness fears most. It is not your power or your words but God’s light shining through you that has made you dangerous.
And this is God's plan: Both Gentiles and Jews who believe the Good News share equally in the riches inherited by God's children. Both are part of the same body, and both enjoy the promise of blessings because they belong to Christ Jesus. By God's grace and mighty power, I have been given the privilege of serving Him by spreading this Good News. Though I am the least deserving of all God's people, He graciously gave me the privilege of telling the Gentiles about the endless treasures available to them in Christ. I was chosen to explain to everyone this mysterious plan that God, the Creator of all things, had kept secret from the beginning. God's purpose in all this was to use the church to display His wisdom in its rich variety to all the unseen rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was His eternal plan, which He carried out through Christ Jesus our Lord. Because of Christ and our faith in Him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God's presence.
(Ephesians 3:6-12 NLT)
