“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit!”
When I was a kid we had some little kittens. We raised them inside with love, all the comforts of home, enough food for them, a clean litter box, and plenty of tummy rubs. One day, we let them out of the house to explore the outside and what a time they had. At one point I saw one of them looking for a place to go to potty. He would start trying to make a hole in the concrete, but that didn’t work. Then he would move to the caliche road, which didn’t work either. He went around scratching and scratching on places that were too hard to make a hole. Finally, we helped him out after a good belly roll of laughter.
Chapter 7 in Acts is Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin. It is a short history of the Israelites from Abraham to Solomon. He outlines how the leaders of the Israelites seem to always be on the offensive towards God. From the retort from them while in Egypt, “Who made you lord and master over us? Are you going to kill us like you did the Egyptian?” to the golden calf at the base of Mount Sinai. To the 40 years in the desert constantly complaining, they seem to be obtuse towards the Lord.
He mentions David and how God blessed him. Because of this, David wanted to build a house for the Lord but it was Solomon who would build it and even then the Lord said in Isaiah 66:1, “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me?” From this our verse comes into play. Stephen, moved guided by the Holy Spirit, tells them that their hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. This means they act and think like Gentiles and are nowhere near close to Lord. After a loud cry of disbelief and anger they drive Stephen out and stone him to death.
Today, realize that resisting the Holy Spirit is accepting the world and its customs and habits. Just like how the kitten couldn’t figure out a place to go, we do the same thing when we resist the voice of the Holy Spirit. Even the religious elite who were very knowledgeable looked the part but their hearts and ears were still far from God. We can go to church and check the box of Christianity every day and still our hearts and ears could be far from the Lord. Jesus said in John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”
Check your heart and your ears today. Ask the Holy Spirit to open your ears so you can seek the Lord with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. Doing the Christian thing is not enough, you have to live it. Stop resisting the Holy Spirit. Listen to the good shepherd and follow His direction. Stephen asked the Sanhedrin if there was ever a prophet they did not persecute. Are you persecuting the ones who are wanting your walk to look more like Jesus? Those little kittens needed our help to find some soft ground, and you need the help of the Holy Spirit to put you in the right place so you can see the Lord do a mighty work in your life.
Let It Go 
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