Daily Devotionals

Escaping Ordinary Week 6: Monday

"So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility." Acts 6:2-3

When I applied to my first job during college, my eventual boss told me that one of the phrases he never wants to hear one of his team members say is, “That’s not my job.” He taught me a valuable lesson that day: don’t wait for something to be done when you can take care of it yourself, even if it is not in your “job description.” This mindset is very different from the way many people in our society think. You see, many people have developed the habit of looking around at problems or needs that need to be taken care of and expect someone else to help with them. There is a better way. You see, what my boss taught me was that if we are capable of helping and jumping in when there is a need, we should do it, not wait for someone else. This lesson was necessary for the early church to learn, and we must understand it, too.  

One thing that becomes clear after reading about the early church at the beginning of the book of Acts is that the church continued to grow and grow despite opposition. As you know, with growth comes growing pains, and we read in Acts chapter 6 that the church began to experience some growing pains. People began saying that the widows in the church were not well taken care of (verse 1). In response, the apostles called a meeting with the church. They selected seven men to care for widows (verses 2-3). In other words, the disciples called people in the church to step up and take care of the needs that they saw. They were waiting for the church leaders to do something when they could have helped. 

We have all been there, haven’t we? We see needs around us and start complaining that no one is helping when we can do something to help. Instead of taking on this mindset, let’s be people who learn to look for the needs around us and look for ways to help when we see them. As we do this, we will find purpose as we make Christ known and serve the people around us.

Moving toward action

Take a few minutes to think about a need you see around you that needs to be taken care of. Then, start brainstorming what you can do to help. Then, finally, take action and do something to help. Let this become a habit for you to do something to help when you see needs around you. When we live this way, my friends, we will ultimately point people to Jesus as they wonder why we are so willing to serve and help others.

Going Deeper

Acts 6:1-7 (NLT)

"But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food.

2 So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. 3 And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. 4 Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.”

5 Everyone liked this idea, and they chose the following: Stephen (a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas of Antioch (an earlier convert to the Jewish faith). 6 These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they laid their hands on them.

7 So God’s message continued to spread. The number of believers greatly increased in Jerusalem, and many of the Jewish priests were converted, too."