Check out all the previous Acts readings here.
Acts Reading Plan | Week 6 | Day 1
Prayer
In Philippians 3:10, Paul wrote: “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection.” As you come to spend time with him, echo Paul’s desire and pray that Christ would draw near to you and you would know his power.
Bible Reading: Acts 6:8-15
Read these verses three times slowly.
Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia—who began to argue with Stephen. But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.
Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”
So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”
All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Reflection & Questions
Stephen is a brand new character on the scene – he is not one of the apostles. By including Stephen’s story, Luke shows his readers that it wasn’t just the apostles who were filled with the Spirit and being used by God. The description of Stephen is amazing. He was “full of God’s grace and power.” He “performed great wonders”. He spoke “with wisdom given by the Spirit.” He faced false accusations, but in the midst of this “they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” This was a man fully surrendered to God and being used by Him.
As we have seen before in Acts, we are again reminded that all this was done through the Holy Spirit. So once again, we need to consider who we are living our lives empowered by, whose strength we are drawing upon. The Holy Spirit will do amazing work in our heart and lives. If we let Him.
- Stephen was full of the grace and power of God. Why do you think Luke includes both grace and power? What does it look like to have grace without power, or power without grace?
- Are you sensing a growth in your sensitivity to the Spirit working through you? Why or why not?
Prayer
Ask God to fill you again with His Spirit for this day. Ask Him to fill you with His grace and power.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
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Questions?
Ed Applegate
