God’s Grace and Power

 Meditations on The Acts of the Apostles

February 3, 2021

God’s Grace and Power

But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.

Acts 6:10

Read: Acts 6:8-15 

The preacher and teacher, Fred Craddock, once noted that people don’t like two kinds of preaching: good preaching and bad preaching. Bad preaching is boring and painful to listen to. Good preaching brings forth the word of God which “is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) This is the effect Stephen’s preaching had on some of his hearers. When they couldn’t win a debate with him, they resorted to the same tactic used against Jesus; they produced false witnesses.

When Stephen was arrested and taken before the Sanhedrin, Luke says they all “looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.” (v.15) What did they see? When Luke told of people having encounters with angels, people were troubled or terrified. (Luke 1 & 2) Luke described Stephen as “a man full of God’s grace and power, (who) performed great wonders and signs among the people.” (v.8) I believe the people saw the manifestation of God’s grace and power, the infilling of the Holy Spirit, giving Stephen the radiance of confident humility as he fully trusted in God.

My Takeaway: Like many folks, I want to get along with people. I want to avoid conflict and controversy. Today’s passage is a reminder that because we live in a fallen world, when we stand with Christ, opposition will arise, especially in today’s cancel culture. I pray others will see in me, what the Sanhedrin saw in Stephen.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.