Sue J Love
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Acts 6:8-15 NKJV
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. 9Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. 10And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 11Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. 13They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 14for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 15And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.
Falsely Accused of Wrong
Have you ever been falsely accused of doing or speaking what is wrong when, in fact, what you were doing was completely in line with the teachings of the Scriptures? I have been, plenty of times. And were your accusers those who were the religious? Pastors, elders, deacons, or other professers of faith in Jesus Christ? My accusers mostly were in these categories, yes. And did they speak lies about you to stir up others against you? That was my experience. And have you ever been told that you have the face of an angel? No, but I have been told (past) that I have the voice of an angel.
Now Stephen’s accusers were of a religious sect called “The Synagogue of the Freedmen.” I researched them a few years ago, and this is what I learned at that time (source Oxford Languages):
“Synagogue - the building where a Jewish assembly or congregation meets for religious worship and instruction; a Jewish assembly or congregation.” Freedmen - “Libertine - a person, especially a man, who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility, especially in sexual matters; a person who rejects accepted opinions in matters of religion; a freethinker.”
Market-Driven “Churches”
But as I read this passage of Scripture, and as I looked up these definitions, what this reminded me of is the institutional market-driven and flesh-driven “churches” (like synagogues) in America today which are really businesses of human origin, but they just call themselves “churches.” So they are loosely based off the original church, but they are altered and modified to fit with today’s culture and with what the world is craving, and in order to be more “user friendly” and not judgmental so as not to offend the senses of the ungodly, which includes many who are professing faith in Jesus Christ.
Many of them do not mind being judgmental and offending the senses of the godly, though, in order to cater to the felt needs of the ungodly who they want to attract to their gatherings. So many of them are being trained in who they want to attract to their gatherings and in who they want to get rid of. And I know this both from having gone through some of their training sessions and having been told by a pastor that he was warned about people like me, i.e. people with strong convictions. First he instructed me to let him be God’s voice to me, which I refused, and then he invited me to leave.
For many of these “churches” incorporated under (partnered with) the state are being led by marketing gimmicks and marketing rules of engagement and not by God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They operate as human based businesses and not as the universal body of Christ in ministering God’s love and grace to one another. Many of their gatherings are about using a select number of people to provide the music, and one or two select men to bring all the messages. And the body is not encouraging one another in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord in holy living, as we ought.
[Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]
For a switch has taken place. The light of the truth of the gospel has largely been diluted and altered to teach what Jesus and his apostles did not teach, if studied in the correct biblical context. And Jesus is not the head of these “churches,” but the government is, and church denominations are, and marketing gimmicks are what many of them are following in order to grow their “churches” in number. Entertaining the world is a huge thing most of them seem to be offering, too. So many of them are like the “Synagogues of the Freedmen.” They are offshoots of the church, but are not Christ’s body.
Full of Faith
But we, as those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, are to be more like Stephen. And we are to hold fast to the truths and the doctrines of the Scriptures, but not just in theory, but in daily life practice. And we are to stand strong on what the Scriptures teach as truth, and not waver in opinion when someone else comes along and tries to convince us to follow after a lie, instead. Now we could be wrong on some things, so when challenged, we should be willing to go to the Scriptures to make sure we are on the right footing so that we are not believing the lies while rejecting the truth, too.
But if what we believe to be the truth is clearly and repeatedly backed by the Scriptures themselves (studied in the correct biblical context), then we should stand strong on the truth as Stephen did, even when we are being strongly opposed and threatened by those who have gone the way of compromise, instead. And if we are falsely accused, lied about, mistreated and cast out because we stand on the truth of God’s word and we refuse to compromise, well then glory to God who gives us the strength to do that. Let’s continue to represent well our Lord and his teachings, to the death!
[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 9:23-26; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; Romans 5:3-5; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-17; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Hebrews 12:3-12; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7; Revelation 3:19; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Full Of Faith
An Original Work / May 24, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. 9Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. 10And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke. 11Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes; and they came upon him, seized him, and brought him to the council. 13They also set up false witnesses who said, “This man does not cease to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law; 14for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs which Moses delivered to us.” 15And all who sat in the council, looking steadfastly at him, saw his face as the face of an angel.
Falsely Accused of Wrong
Have you ever been falsely accused of doing or speaking what is wrong when, in fact, what you were doing was completely in line with the teachings of the Scriptures? I have been, plenty of times. And were your accusers those who were the religious? Pastors, elders, deacons, or other professers of faith in Jesus Christ? My accusers mostly were in these categories, yes. And did they speak lies about you to stir up others against you? That was my experience. And have you ever been told that you have the face of an angel? No, but I have been told (past) that I have the voice of an angel.
Now Stephen’s accusers were of a religious sect called “The Synagogue of the Freedmen.” I researched them a few years ago, and this is what I learned at that time (source Oxford Languages):
“Synagogue - the building where a Jewish assembly or congregation meets for religious worship and instruction; a Jewish assembly or congregation.” Freedmen - “Libertine - a person, especially a man, who behaves without moral principles or a sense of responsibility, especially in sexual matters; a person who rejects accepted opinions in matters of religion; a freethinker.”
Market-Driven “Churches”
But as I read this passage of Scripture, and as I looked up these definitions, what this reminded me of is the institutional market-driven and flesh-driven “churches” (like synagogues) in America today which are really businesses of human origin, but they just call themselves “churches.” So they are loosely based off the original church, but they are altered and modified to fit with today’s culture and with what the world is craving, and in order to be more “user friendly” and not judgmental so as not to offend the senses of the ungodly, which includes many who are professing faith in Jesus Christ.
Many of them do not mind being judgmental and offending the senses of the godly, though, in order to cater to the felt needs of the ungodly who they want to attract to their gatherings. So many of them are being trained in who they want to attract to their gatherings and in who they want to get rid of. And I know this both from having gone through some of their training sessions and having been told by a pastor that he was warned about people like me, i.e. people with strong convictions. First he instructed me to let him be God’s voice to me, which I refused, and then he invited me to leave.
For many of these “churches” incorporated under (partnered with) the state are being led by marketing gimmicks and marketing rules of engagement and not by God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They operate as human based businesses and not as the universal body of Christ in ministering God’s love and grace to one another. Many of their gatherings are about using a select number of people to provide the music, and one or two select men to bring all the messages. And the body is not encouraging one another in our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord in holy living, as we ought.
[Acts 2:14-18,42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]
For a switch has taken place. The light of the truth of the gospel has largely been diluted and altered to teach what Jesus and his apostles did not teach, if studied in the correct biblical context. And Jesus is not the head of these “churches,” but the government is, and church denominations are, and marketing gimmicks are what many of them are following in order to grow their “churches” in number. Entertaining the world is a huge thing most of them seem to be offering, too. So many of them are like the “Synagogues of the Freedmen.” They are offshoots of the church, but are not Christ’s body.
Full of Faith
But we, as those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, are to be more like Stephen. And we are to hold fast to the truths and the doctrines of the Scriptures, but not just in theory, but in daily life practice. And we are to stand strong on what the Scriptures teach as truth, and not waver in opinion when someone else comes along and tries to convince us to follow after a lie, instead. Now we could be wrong on some things, so when challenged, we should be willing to go to the Scriptures to make sure we are on the right footing so that we are not believing the lies while rejecting the truth, too.
But if what we believe to be the truth is clearly and repeatedly backed by the Scriptures themselves (studied in the correct biblical context), then we should stand strong on the truth as Stephen did, even when we are being strongly opposed and threatened by those who have gone the way of compromise, instead. And if we are falsely accused, lied about, mistreated and cast out because we stand on the truth of God’s word and we refuse to compromise, well then glory to God who gives us the strength to do that. Let’s continue to represent well our Lord and his teachings, to the death!
[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 9:23-26; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; Romans 5:3-5; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-17; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Hebrews 12:3-12; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7; Revelation 3:19; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Full Of Faith
An Original Work / May 24, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
