06/24/2026
LIBERTY LIVING
FINISH THE JOB YOU STARTED (Acts 6:1-15; 7:51-60)
Coaches have more slogans than your phone has emojis. A high school girls basketball coach always sent the squad out for the second half with, “Let’s finish the job we started!” Win or lose, he expected them to play hard until the final buzzer.
Stephen didn’t know basketball. He did, however, believe in finishing the job. His appointment from the church became his life mission. Stephen was one of seven men given responsibilities that freed the twelve apostles to focus on prayer and preaching. The seven performed other necessary ministries within the church.
Stephen’s work expanded to evangelism among the Jews. Disruptive elements within one synagogue fabricated lies against Stephen. They took him by force to appear before Jewish authorities. Stephen addressed those assembled as “stiff-necked” (stubbornly prideful), among other things. It sealed his fate.
Faithful Stephen did the hard job of truth-telling with assurance of the presence of the Holy Spirit, Father, and Son for support. The infuriated crowd morphed into a mob with Saul, the future apostle, among them. They pelted Stephen with rocks. Like Jesus, Stephen gave his final breath to the God and asked that the murderers be forgiven.
Stephen sacrificed his life to finish the job he started. What’s your life mission as a Christian? What are you willing to sacrifice to fulfill your calling?
Don’t quit before you finish the job.
Darryl Wood
June 24, 2026
