Thank You, Father, for Your word in our services today, for safe travels, for sustenance, for loving family, for working to bring some home, and that we are home and winding down after a full day from beginning to end.
Acts 6:8-15 (<<click here to read the passage)
I had an interesting conversation with a fine gentleman the other day. He was servicing an appliance in our home. He is the owner of his own business and intermittently between his work and me finishing up preparations for Sunday’s service we chatted.
Through the course of our interaction, he jokingly made a comment about switching jobs. He knew I was a school bus driver but didn’t realize that I also was a pastor. When I smiled and said as such, he referenced that his grandfather had been a minister and declared that that would never be him. My reply was something to the effect that, you never know…and I believed it!
In today’s passage Stephen and who he is and what he did, is the focal point. If you will recall he was one of the seven who were chosen to serve tables and manage the distribution of food enabling the apostles to continue teaching the word of God… Acts 6:2 NLT
But, if you will also recall, these upstanding men were the cream of the crop in their service to the Lord – and Stephen, specifically, was pointed out as being a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit v5
So how did Stephen go from serving tables and food distribution to being such a strong debater on theological topics that none of a certain synagogue (consecrated spaces used for…Jewish prayer, study, assembly, and reading of the… Hebrew Bible… – Wikipedia) in Jerusalem could stand against the wisdom and the Spirit with which Stephen spoke (v11)?
He didn’t go anywhere! This wasn’t a new and improved Stephen. This was the same Spirit-filled server of tables and distributor of food, but his “job” did not define who he was. God defined who Stephen was. And it was God’s will to use this man who was full of the Spirit and of wisdom… v3
The same goes for us all! What we do does not define us. Our creator defines us. He who knows us best and loves us most can use us to accomplish His will in this world…if we are open to His call upon our lives. The key is not inhibiting God’s will by our fears and hesitancies. We must trust Him in faith, believing that He will give us all we need to accomplish His will. We mustn’t undersell ourselves. God has proven time and time again that he could use anyone to accomplish anything!
Lord Jesus, may we never presume to be worthless. In Your eyes, we are of great value, and You can use us – if we are willing – to accomplish great things for Your Kingdom! Amen.
Feb 20th, 2022, Sun, 8:01 pm
