Sound-bytes/NathanaelHyer
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Stephen was one of the men whom the apostles chose to oversee the distribution of food for the early church. Their criteria for selection were that the men chosen were to be full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. Stephen is described in verse 5 as a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. And in the verse above he was described as a man full of God’s grace and power. He did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
So, what set Stephen apart? The Holy Spirit. The godly wisdom. His faith. The evidence of God’s grace and power. All these things enabled him to do great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.
Stephen was a man devoted to God. How do we know this? We know it because God’s attributes were evident in his life. Wisdom. Grace. Power. And we know it because he was able to harness the power of God to do miracles. Not everyone can do that. Stephen was a man full of faith. Full of the Holy Spirit. Full of God.
Stephen’s life was captured in very few words. But these words painted a picture for us of who he was and what he was like. All of us are described by what I call sound-bytes. A few words or sentences that describe the person in a nutshell. Kind of similar to the way a caricature captures the physical essence of a person; sound-bytes capture the essence in words. Sometimes we wonder if the descriptors are accurate. Or we feel they are unfair. Or undeserved. But the sound-bytes we are described by will capture what others observe most. In a sense, we are what we do.
Stephen spent time with God. He was a godly man. God’s attributes were evident in his manner, demeanor, his actions, and his lifestyle. He was a man of faith and full of the Holy Spirit. He was a man of grace and power.
May such words be used to describe each one of us. May we be full of faith and the Holy Spirit. May we be full of God’s grace and power.
LORD, you are in the business of transforming lives. May each one of us be transformed more each day into your likeness. May we spend time in the Word, and in prayer, so that we may know you. And in knowing you, may we be like you. May we be your hands, feet, eyes, heart, and grace here on earth. May we bless others even as you have blessed us. Selah.
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