Acts 7:58-60
and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

 We know from personal experience that first impressions are usually lasting impressions. Yes we all have friends and others that our first impressions changed, in some cases they became more favorable, but in some they were less favorable. In general though, first impressions are lasting, and many times they are permanent. I cannot help but think about the first impressions people have of us, as the church that Jesus Christ died to purchase (Acts 20:28). The word of God is clear that we should be careful in our choosing of who we associate with because it can compromise our moral convictions (1 Cor. 15:33), we should be a “peculiar” people (Titus 2:14), in other words we should stand out in the crowd.

But influence is something that can rarely be gotten back. I