Acts 6 Devotional

No Task Beneath the Spirit

As the church grows, a problem surfaces. The widows of the Grecian Jewish believers are being overlooked in the daily distribution of food (6:1). The apostles do not dismiss the complaint, and they do not abandon prayer and the word to fix it themselves. They ask the church to choose seven men full of the Spirit and wisdom to take on this work (6:3-4). Serving tables needed the same Holy Spirit as preaching. The overlooked widows mattered to God, and he provided people to care for them.

The result is that the word of God keeps spreading, and even a large number of priests become obedient to the faith (6:7). Then one of the seven, Stephen, full of grace and power, faces opponents who cannot answer the Spirit by whom he speaks, so they bring in false witnesses (6:10-13). The chapter ends with his face like the face of an angel (6:15). From food lines to council chambers, the Spirit is at work through ordinary people. No task he gives you is too small for his presence.

To think about: What ordinary responsibility in front of you today could you take up as work the Spirit cares about?