The Hidden Flame Quotes

“You simply need to trust, take each next step by faith. You will know what is right when the time comes.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“I am not afraid of death, Abigail. I am afraid that I might draw back and not be bold in proclaiming the gospel.” He hesitated, then said, “And I am afraid that I might not stand firm. That under the heel of the enemy, in pain, I might deny my Lord.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“some dreams are meant to be handed over to God. To be remolded and redirected in keeping with his will. Sometimes our plans do not fit with the plans of God. Linux helped . . .”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“Only God knows the plan he has for you. We must continue to pray for his will to be done. He has promised to answer, and he keeps his promises. So answer he will—in his own time and way. Whatever your future holds, this I know. He will not desert you. Your duty, my dear, is to seek his will and to walk in his way.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“We must share his truth—to change our world. To make it a place filled with love rather than hate. With peace, rather than war. With mercy, rather than revenge. With holiness, rather than evil.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever. I will praise You forever, because You have done it; And in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“She found peace in the assurance that they had both served as the Lord wished. With tears of thanksgiving upon her cheeks, she thanked her Lord for relief of the dark despair that had threatened to consume her. There was reason to go on. And she had God’s promise. And though she missed Stephen with all her heart, knowledge that the Lord was with her was enough.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“Brothers and sisters, we have been struck a crippling blow. One of our own, one whom we loved and deeply appreciated, has been cruelly taken from us. One who served his God and us with his whole heart. We miss him deeply. “But let us not despair. Our Lord himself told us to expect to be hated even as he was hated. But we cannot let this distract us from our purpose. Our world still needs the Good News. Those who pose as our enemies still need the light. The light that can only come through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“A dense pall of fear hung over the entire group. Previously they had sensed that persecution might come. They had tried to prepare for it. Now it was real—raw and terrifying. If their enemies could do this to a man like Stephen, who sought only to serve his community and anyone in need, every one of them was in danger. All of them! Little groups huddled in whispered conversation. Mothers stayed home from evening prayer to shelter children. Men moved furtively, casting glances to each side as they hastened through the streets. The whole community was wrapped in a shroud of tension and uneasiness.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“Linux remained where he was, more comfortable with his solitary position at the table than he’d ever been before. He felt a childlike ease, so protected, so accepted he could expose his most hidden weaknesses and fears and uncertainties and know all was well, all forgiven, all blessed. The stone he had carried inside was finally dissolving. Inner wounds were now open to healing light, and the gift of hope was like an illumination around him.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“So he has touched you, and yet there is much you do not yet understand. How are you to fathom all that is happening? What shall be the direction from inside for what you think? How you shall live? Where you will go? The answer, my new brother, is found within the sacred texts. Together we will begin to study them, you and I. You will learn to speak with God directly. And you will discover how to listen to him speak with you.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“We must not fail to give our full attention to the spreading of the Good News and to prayer. But we must also care for those who are in need. That, too, is God’s commandment to us. We must be careful not to neglect that task. “I have spent the afternoon in prayer, as have other apostles, and now we are ready to act. We would like you to select seven men—men who are full of the Spirit and wisdom—and we will turn this responsibility over to them.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“If their purpose and actions are those of mortal men, they will fail. But if it is from God, how can you possibly stop them? You will only find yourselves fighting against our Lord Jehovah!” To Ezra’s astonishment, the entire Council around the head table looked subdued.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“To let go of even life, if need be, and accept his calling.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“some dreams are meant to be handed over to God. To be remolded and redirected in keeping with his will. Sometimes our plans do not fit with the plans of God.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“today, as she sat in her room following prayer, she reflected on how their numbers had grown in a way they could not have if they had all remained in Jerusalem. This time Abigail allowed herself to give silent voice to her deepest questions. Was this why, Lord? Was Stephen the seed that, when planted in the ground, bore fruit? Did you use his death to scatter us for your purposes?”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“There had been incidents meant to remind them that they were being watched. Yet there had also been more arrests and darker threats and cruel floggings. The religious authorities had no intention of letting the group continue unchallenged. When any possible reason for an offense could be generated, they took full advantage.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“The task is still before us and we must press on. We cannot let Satan defeat us because of fear. Our Lord would not want this. Stephen would not want this. “Our brothers and sisters, may I remind you that Stephen— our Stephen—not only showed us how to live, but how to die. He died with forgiveness on his lips. He died praising God. He was ushered into the very presence of our Savior. Do we begrudge him this blessing? Do we mourn that he has received his reward while we still labor? I think not. We grieve because of our great loss. But now we must strengthen our hands and lift up our voices and carry on the task we have been given to do. May God keep us faithful until such time as we meet our Messiah once again. “Let us pray.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“the only sign of where Stephen had been murdered was a dark stain among the rocks. He could see the followers carefully, sorrowfully, moving his body toward an open burial cave. Linux remained apart from those grieving by the cave’s opening. His eyes were dry, yet his heart felt wrenched by tears only he could sense. Or perhaps not, for a pair of men approached, one of them the rugged apostle called Peter. “A tragic day, and a glorious day,” the man said softly.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“Strange, Ezra thought, he felt no satisfaction. Only disturbance. The glow on the young man’s face as he breathed his last haunted him. Almost as though, instead of inflicting intended pain, they had done him a kindness. Strange. Strange and most unsettling. The young man in his black robes walked over and stood staring down at what could be seen of the body. Ezra hoped the man would not voice regret, for the black wings of remorse hovered just beyond his own scarred vision. But the young man only muttered, “And so it begins.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“When they were done, the stones lay heaped upon the still form. The crowd dispersed like crows flying from empty bones. The elders picked up their robes and walked away. The mob was now silent. No one met the gaze of his neighbor. They drifted away, until only Ezra stood at one side, Saul on the other.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“Ezra felt his heart cry out, as though it were branded by the stone he now held. Then he roared against the tide of regret and anguish that suddenly filled him, a piercing grief for he knew not what. Ezra cast the first stone. Stephen was struck hard. But he straightened, lifted his eyes and his voice to heaven, and cried, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” The stones rained down upon him even as his face was lifted to the heavens, shining with that same light as in the Council chamber. The last words Ezra heard him speak were, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“Saul of Tarsus. The young man’s face was aflame with the same fiery vengeance that filled Ezra’s heart. The elders dropped their cloaks of office by Saul’s feet and moved forward as the crowd unfolded. That was how it seemed to Ezra. They were a human fist, cloaked not in their robes but in rage, and they flexed their fingers in preparation of doing away with the man who dared offend the Sanhedrin.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“They left the city by the Dung Gate and entered the Valley of Death. The sun was so fierce that it seemed as though the day reflected their rage. Either that or the heavens were casting fierce judgment upon their actions. If the latter, Ezra no longer cared. He felt the still, small voice call to him from somewhere deep inside, as though that tiny part of him, the compassionate corner of his soul, had not been entirely stifled. But all around him roared the voice of rage, of vengeance. Ezra was so enthralled by the crowd’s presence and power that he could acknowledge the small voice and yet not care what it said.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“Stephen remained untouched. Instead, the illumination surrounding him strengthened further, as though all light in the chamber was drawn to this one man. Stephen lifted his face toward the chamber’s ceiling and cried, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” These words unleashed both the Council and the mob. The chamber was filled with shrill cries demanding he be condemned to death.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“Stephen raised his hands and shouted, “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you!” Ezra saw lances of genuine pain stab each of the men seated at the Council table. He felt again the power of his own guilt and regret and distress. Stephen finished with, “You now have become the betrayers and murderers, you who have received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it!”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“could I have envisaged the woman to be their mother, she would be exactly like you. Strong, devoted to God. And beautiful. Only now, since you have become my wife, do I begin to understand what love is. What our Lord desires for his bride. His followers. Now I know why he was willing to die.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“It is true we all have fears attack us,” he was saying. “We do not speak of it—but it is there. In those times we realize more than ever that we need God. That is when we pray with the most sincerity. That is when he answers with the most fatherly compassion. His presence is most intimate, most precious, and most reassuring, in those times of fear.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame

“I will not try to influence you to seek safety,” she said, though her voice was shaking. “You must follow our Master—not a nervous wife’s whims. I will continue to pray, but I let you go to fulfill God’s calling, whatever that may mean for you. For us. You are serving here. And as long as God allows, I will be here also. Serving with you. You are in God’s hands. And God knows best. And if . . . if . . .” She could scarcely say the words. “If you are endangered, then I pray that God will make you strong. That, in faith in him, you will stand firm to the . . .” But she could not say the last word. Stephen held her hand tightly and repeated quietly, “. . . firm to the end.”
― Janette Oke, The Hidden Flame