Universal Utterings
for April 21, 2026
A Godcast
UniversalUtterings.Com
04-21-2026 Acts 7 v5160 Do Not Hold This Sin Against Them
The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 7 Verse 51 thru 60
51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always oppose the holy Spirit; you are just like your ancestors. 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors not persecute? They put to death those who foretold the coming of the righteous one, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become. 53 You received the law as transmitted by angels, but you did not observe it.” 54 When they heard this, they were infuriated, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. 58 They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and when he said this, he fell asleep.
Acts 7:51-60 records Stephen’s closing speech before the Sanhedrin and his martyrdom, a pivotal moment in the early church. Stephen, chosen as one of the seven, addresses the religious leaders not with persuasion but with prophetic indictment. He calls them “stiff-necked” and “uncircumcised in heart and ears,” accusing them of resisting the Holy Spirit just as their ancestors resisted the prophets.
The rhetoric mirrors Old Testament confrontations, especially Elijah and Jeremiah, turning the crowd’s own history of rebellion against them. Stephen’s charge that they “betrayed and murdered” the Righteous One marks a shift in the church’s acceptance of Jesus: the crucified Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah rejected by the nation but vindicated by God.
He asserts that they “always resist the Holy Spirit,” a failure to heed God’s communications through messengers and law. They receive the law “as ordained by angels,” yet do not keep it; this underscores a moral and spiritual blindness. The listeners’ fury culminates in mob violence, not in debate, revealing the deadly cost of confronting entrenched religious authority when the Spirit convicts.
The scene shifts to Stephen’s vision. As he gazes into heaven, he sees the opened heavens and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God—a prerogative reserved for Jesus in glory. The image of the Son of Man standing (not seated) suggests a revelation of active reception and impending judgment. Stephen’s final words model Christlike forgiveness: “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” and “do not hold this sin against them.” The crowd’s stone-strewn hatred silences him, yet his death inaugurates a witness that will propel the church’s gospel outward, aided by the young Saul’s conversion. Thus the passage ties martyrdom to mission: the Spirit’s power through Stephen becomes a catalyst for evangelism, prayer, and the eventual spread of the gospel beyond Jerusalem. Amen.
Join me as we pray our daily prayer of forgiveness. The Lord’s Prayer.
At the Savior’s command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to pray:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ. For the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and forever.
I am sorry Lord. I believe You died and rose for me. Please forgive me as I forgive others. I share You as my Lord and Savior seeking to live your Will in all things. Prayers for wife Toni and my mother Betty pray for our children especially our two oldest Alexandra & Allen Son in Law Mark Stern; Julian, Gabriel and Jeffrey and our grandchildren Oliver, Julian and Elliott. We pray for those we’ve said we’d pray for and those who’ve asked us to pray for them. We pray for the dying as we do each day Lord give them peace in their last breath. We pray for Holy Mother Church. Our prayers for our niece Brittany. In Jesus Precious Blood by His Name we pray. Amen.
I am a poet obedient to Christ,
Catholic Evangelist Thomas Cruz†Wiggins
†Spirit led God inspired Christ fed†®
Ephesians 6:17-20
04-21-2026 Acts 7 v5160
**Do Not Hold This Sin Against Them**
You stiff-necked people, ears closed to mercy’s sound,
You clutch the law, and harsh the Spirit makes its rounds.
As your fathers did, you resist the living Word,
Your hearts a fortress where truth cannot be heard.
Stephen speaks of fathers, prophets, and the road,
Abraham’s call, Joseph’s dreams, Moses’ fiery load.
Foretold the Just One, the Righteous One to come,
But you betray Him with the weight of your own drum.
Then heaven opens wide, the Son of Man stands tall,
A vision of glory breaking darkness from the wall.
They cry out, cover ears, their voices grind like stone,
And rush to silence Light with blood-streaked tone.
“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit,” he breathes, calm and clear,
“Do not hold this sin against them,” a prayer for mercy near.
He kneels, he falters, and the breath slips into sleep,
A martyr’s flame kept burning while the crowd weeps deep.
So ends the sermon etched in crimson night,
A witness born of faith under the fiercest light.
Though stones fall hard, a gentler truth remains unfurled—
That mercy seeks the world, even as it shakes the world. Amen.
© Thomas Joe Cruz†Wiggins
April 21, 2026 @ 04:44 AM EST
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**† God First Ministries, Inc. is a Roman Catholic Lay Ministry not sponsored by The Church but is accepted by the IRS as a Religious Charitable Org. and is exempt from Federal Income Tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations made through PayPal using GodFirstforJesus@gmail.com, or given to GFM are tax deductible. †**
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