Acts 6 : Speaking with Love

he first verse of Acts 6 mentions the increasing of disciples. The church was growing, and the Hebraic Jews were upset because of the ignoring of the poor; the widows who needed food that they relied on daily. Remember what a true disciple is? They're basically a student of Jesus. They do everything to follow and learn from what he does so they can go out into the world and do as he does.

So, in verse 2, the 12 disciples, or followers in Christ, realized that their time cannot be consumed by only serving/feeding them food. They didn't want to neglect the real nutrients for the people; feeding them the word of God. They collaborated and put their heads together to choose seven men among them . This allowed them to conquer both missions. This also retained their focus on prayer and ministry, something that cannot/should not be eliminated regardless of any other barrier.

The group was satisfied; how difficult is it for us to ever be satisfied? A man full of faith, Stephen was chosen. Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas joined him as hands were laid on all seven of them.

They laid hands on them. Throughout Acts, you will see tons of references to laying hands on one another as the Holy Spirit approached. They laid hands, spoke in tongues and prophesied. They did it all.

So, in Acts 6:7, God's word was spreading like a wildfire (Okay, maybe it doesn't get that detailed, but I'd like to think it was just like that), disciples were increasing and obedience was radiating out of the priests.

From the issue faced in the beginning of the chapter, it seemed as if it was a sad opportunity for the church to become divided. People were being looked over, ignored. The disciples immediately united by keeping their focus on God and his word, and accommodating the people. See here? The church only grew because of the team-effort that occurred. No one walked out, and more importantly, the church shared their concerns and didn't sit back in silence, growing in anger. They discussed it, changed some things, and GREW. Do you see some changes that need to be made? In your life? In your church? The disciples stopped ignoring the problem and in return, people became more obedient and filled with faith.

The second bit of Acts (Acts 6:8) talks about Stephen being such a man filled with God, that God's power worked through him to perform "wonders and sign among the people." Notice it says "among" and not "for" the people. It wasn't for the entertainment or amusement for others. He didn't perform miracles to tickle their fancy. He wanted to show the true power of God. The power that is unavoidable when someone is obedient.

But of course, there began opposition , and members from the Synagogue of the Freedmen tried their hardest to stand up against the knowledge and wisdom that was given to Stephen by the Holy Spirit. Did they actually think they had a fighting chance against this guy? They convinced others to claim that Stephen was blasphemous! They lied and said he was speaking words against Moses AND against God. Goodness, gracious. It caused a stirring within everyone, including the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen, as false witnesses stood there with a mouth full of false testimonies. Throughout the accusations, the people looked onto Stephen who had "the face of an angel". What a fun way to end this. Throughout all of the trial and turmoil, and the pointed fingers claiming the Stephen was not the man of God he was appointed to be, his face was that of an angels. Beautiful.

From Acts 6, we can learn to speak out when there are concerns as the members did. We can learn to work TOGETHER, by using God's Word to correct future mistakes that the church and ourselves will make. We can draw from the pointed fingers at Stephen, and realize that Stephen gave them a reason to dislike him. He was obedient in God's Word, faithful, and performing miracles. If Stephen sat lazily with the members of the church, not allowing what God called him to do, no one would have seized him, and accused him of blasphemy. He would have been safe. But boy, he would have been in his own kind of trouble. Let's speak up.

Speaking up with love,
Ashley