Stephen

…Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. Then some…seized him and brought him before the council…

Acts 6:8-15

One of the deacons chosen by the congregation at Jerusalem was named Stephen. Luke writes of Stephen because he became the first martyr of the newly established church in Jerusalem. Luke writes of Stephen being “full of grace and power” and working “great wonders and signs among the people.” Though some Jews argued with Stephen, his Holy Spirit in-dwelt wisdom and speech could not be disputed by the Jews. So, they plotted to get Stephen in trouble with the religious leaders and have him discredited among the Jews. When Stephen was brought before the council, all who gazed upon Stephen “saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” Luke was a thorough researcher for his writings of Luke and The Acts of the Apostles. His description of Stephen’s facial appearance would have been how eyewitnesses would have described Stephen’s appearance. Luke is setting up the scene for Stephen’s address to the council of the religious leaders sitting in judgment of Stephen’s Christian activities which we will look at in our next devotional. The persecution and death of Stephen was the beginning of Satan’s war against Jesus and His Bride, the Church. The persecution continues, even today, as Christians are treated just as heinously as Stephen was treated. In our country, we do not see such evil activity, yet. Christians, everywhere, are brothers and sisters in Christ and should pray for one another for there are many brothers and sisters in need both physically and spiritually. Yet, reports come to us of the spread of the gospel and the conversions of many to faith in Christ while the church in the USA seems to be languishing or dying because of apostasy among many of the churches in our country. Let us pray unceasingly for our brothers and sisters throughout the world who are dying daily for the cause of Christ and pray for our country to return to the God of the Bible and spread the gospel message like we were doing in the early days of our country.

Source: S C Ball June 9, 2023