"More Like Christ"
By: Tom Smith, Wooddale Church of Christ

ACTS 7:55 - But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God...

The goal of every Christian is to become more like Christ each day.

We read about how Jesus lived His life. We study the way He handled situations. The whole point is to become more like Him. The popular phrase "what would Jesus do" reminds us to stop and ask, "What would Jesus do?"

Jesus came to this earth and lived as a man, saw the things we see and felt the feelings we have. While remaining 100% God, He was also 100% man and comprehends what we go through in our day to day lives. He set the example for all of us to follow. He gave us the standard by which we all should be striving o live up to each day.

Many see this as an unrealistic goal.
While in our own strength I agree, however, when we are living in His strength...it becomes very real.

When Jesus left this earth, He promised a comforter, the Holy Spirit to help guide the Apostles and also us through their words. That promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.

One of the benefits of Obedience to Jesus is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is what brings us under conviction when we are not living a life pleasing and acceptable to the Lord. It is the Holy Spirit that enables us to live a Christ-like life. It is the Spirit of the living God that gives us the power to love our enemies, forgive those who harm us, overcome the trials of life. It is the Holy Spirit working through the Word of God that guides and directs us through out the day, to keep us on the path God has chosen. It is because of the Holy Spirit that we can live like Jesus did.

As you think about these words, the most effective way to make Jesus proud of you is to live like He did.

In today's scripture, we see Stephen being stoned to death and asking God to forgive those who were killing him. It was because of the Spirit in Stephen that he was able to do that.

Was Jesus proud?

There is no other place in scripture that says Jesus was standing.
Search the Bible.
It always says Jesus was sitting.

Why was Jesus standing in this instance?

Could it be because He was so proud of his servant Stephen that He actually stood?

I challenge you today to be more like Jesus,
as you learn more and more from the Word of God.