Hello, good people, and welcome to Daily

Bible Refresh brought to you by voice

of god daily dot com. I'm doctor Brad

Miller and this is the show where we look to offer a fresh

perspective on a daily reading of

the scriptures of of the Bible. We do so from the lectionary.

We're at the revised common lectionary year

c. The particular reading for this particular day is in the

Christmas tide season or the season after

Christmas day and before epiphany, which is January 6th.

And we do so by making the Bible both understandable.

We read it from the message version of the

New Testament reading only that's selected for this day. We make it

relatable, and we have a couple of points to ponder for you to think about,

and we make it applicable by giving you an action point to follow.

We have a prayer, and we do it all in about 10 minutes or so.

Our reading for the day is from Acts chapter

7 verses 44

through 53 for reading from the message.

And all this time, our ancestors had a tent shrine

for true worship made to the exact

specifications god provided Moses. They had it

with them as they followed Joshua. When God cleared the

land of pagans and still had it right down to the time of

David, David asked God for a permanent place

for worship, but Solomon built it.

Yet that doesn't mean that most high God lives in

a building made by carpenters and masons.

The prophet Isaiah put it well when he wrote, heaven is

my throne room. I rest my feet on earth.

So what kind of house will you build me, says God,

where I can get away and relax? It's already built,

and I built it. And you continue so bullheaded,

calluses on your hearts, flaps on your ears,

deliberately ignoring the holy spirit. You're just like your

ancestors. Was there ever a prophet who didn't get the same

treatment? Your ancestors killed anyone who

dared talk about the coming of the just one, and

you've kept up the family tradition. Traitors and murderers,

all of you, you had God's law handed to you by

angels gift wrapped, and you

squandered it. Wow. What a profound reading from the scripture

and lots of lessons there, lots of things to reflect on.

We're talking about, really, a powerful speech

from Stephen about sacred

spaces and spiritual resistance.

So here's a couple of points to ponder to think about. That

understand that the relationship with God goes beyond

any buildings or boundaries. And Stephen here reminds us

that God cannot be confined to human made

structures. And in understanding that's a

progressive understanding of of the scriptures here, this speaks to

that God's divine presence is everywhere and anywhere. It's

in nature. It's in community. It's in people. It's in movements

of justice. And this really challenges us to break

free from any institutional kind of

constraints or confines that might limit our

experience of God's presence in our life. Another point to

think about is the evolution of faith. This passage

traces the evolution of worship spaces

all the way back to Solomon's temple, which at one time

was a tent, a portable tent.

This reminds us that faith must evolve and adapt and,

progressive Christianity embraces this evolution and recognizes

our understanding of how God is and how we

worship should grow in human consciousness

and understanding. One more point, it has to do

with prophetic resistance. Stephen is the

key figure here and he's the one giving this speech and he gives a

bold confrontation to the religious leaders of

his time who he said deliberately ignore the Holy

Spirit. And really that speaks to a modern call to kind of

challenge which is not of the Holy Spirit and

traditions that are rigid and oppressive. And Stephen here,

was really calling the truth to power. And even when it's

uncomfortable and of course, in Stephen's case as we learned from the

Bible, it led him to lose his life by way of stoning.

Here's your action step for the day, practice finding a sacred

or unexpected place. One of mine is

driving in the car, a sacred space for me because that's

one of the places I can be alone to have some reflection time.

So I'd spent a few minutes, 5, 10, 15 minutes or

so, intentionally experiencing God's presence

somewhere outside of our traditional religious space, you know, a

church or a religious place. Maybe

it's in nature. Maybe it's in your car like me. Maybe some

other place. And doing

so, be in conversation with only yourself,

but also think about how you might be in conversation with someone of a

different faith tradition and how it may

expand your understanding of what sacred space

is all about. We're gonna pray here in just a moment, but I

do want you to know we do have a special resource which is gonna help

you to, in a very direct manner, study

your Bible. Because I know that's why you're here. It's one reason you

want to get into the Bible a little deeper. So the resource is called

the ABC 123 Bible study guide,

and I put this together just for you. And it really makes bible

study as easy as a b c 123. You

can find it at our show notes at voice of god daily.com,

and I hope that you'll take advantage of it. Let's pray.

Divine God, who cannot be contained by walls or dogma,

open our hearts to experience you in new ways. Help us to

break free from the calluses of comfort that prevent us from

growing. Give us courage to speak truth to power just like

Stephen did, and wisdom to recognize that

where we resist change and grace to evolve in our understanding.

May we be bold enough to find you in unexpected places

and humble enough to admit when our traditions need a bit of

transformation. Guide us as we seek to

create spaces of inclusion and justice for

all can experience your love freely.

Amen. Well, it's been good to be with you. My name

is doctor Brad Miller, and I will be with you again

tomorrow here on the daily Bible refresh brought to you by

voice of God daily. Until then, remember that God's

love doesn't run out. His merciful

love never dries up. It's created new

every morning.