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          OUR DAILY BREAD                       Tuesday, January 4, 1994
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          READ:  Acts 7:51-60

                                 TELL IT LIKE IT IS

                         You always resist the Holy Spirit;
                           as your fathers did, so do you.
                                     --Acts 7:51

          It  is difficult to be the one who bears unwelcome news.  The  TV
          meteorologist can upset people just by predicting that it's going
          to  rain on the Fourth of July.  It's not his or her  fault,  yet
          the forecaster still takes the heat for bringing the message.

          On a much more serious note, when Stephen addressed the religious
          leaders of Israel, he incurred their wrath because he boldly told
          them  the truth about themselves.  He criticized their  ancestors
          and  implicated the whole council in the murder of Jesus  Christ.
          Everything  he  said  was true.  So what did they  do  with  this
          indictment?  They "gnashed at him with their teeth" (Acts  7:54).
          They threw him out of the city and put him to death.  Because  he
          told the truth, Stephen died under a barrage of stones.

          When  we speak out for purity, righteousness, and godliness in  a
          sinful,  pleasure-loving  world  that  seems  destined  to  self-
          destruct, we too will be criticized.  But no matter what  happens
          to us, we can call on God as Stephen did.  We can take comfort in
          knowing  that  we  belong  to Him and  that  ultimately  He  will
          vindicate us.

          As God's people, let's pray that we will have the courage to tell
          it like it is.

          Author:  J. David Branon

                         Lord, give us courage to speak out
                            Against the evils of our day;
                          For only when the truth is known
                         Can sinners choose the better way.
                                        --DJD
          THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
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          It's better to declare the truth and be rejected than to withhold
          it just to be accepted.

          THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR:  Genesis 10-11

          
          







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