Posted on 07/29/2006 5:50:07 PM PDT by JockoManning
All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel. – Acts 6:15
Many would have chafed under the assignment of “kitchen duty.” ... “What am I doing in this hot, smelly kitchen?”
But not Stephen. Acts describes Stephen as a man “full of God’s grace and power” (Acts 6:8). The new church in Antioch had chosen some men who had the touch of God on their lives to minister to the widows of their church. Their appointed duties would free the apostles to accomplish their work of preaching and teaching of the Word. Stephen was one of those men assigned to “kitchen duty.”
...
Soon after he accepted his assignment, Scripture records Stephen doing “great wonders and miraculous signs among the people” (Acts 6:8). Stephen’s words and great wonders angered his enemies, and they began arguing with him.
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Only after listening to Stephen expound the entire gospel message in a nutshell, from Abraham to Jesus, did Stephen’s enemies explode with the same fury as some did when crucifying Jesus.
But God looked down on his servant Stephen, who was still full of the Spirit, and allowed him a glimpse of his glory.
Not only that, the Bible records Jesus not sitting at the right hand of God – as do most passages of Scripture since Jesus’ resurrection – but Jesus standing as if to applaud and honor Stephen’s faithfulness (Acts 7:55).
... in Stephen’s case, Jesus was standing to welcome Stephen home. And Stephen was so caught up in the moment, he described exactly what he was seeing to all who could hear.
This further fueled the Jewish leaders’ anger and accusations of blasphemy. They had listened to Stephen quote Scripture, pointing out their refusal to believe Jesus and proving their guilt in Jesus’ death. Not wanting to accept any blame in Jesus’ crucifixion, the Jewish leaders had Stephen stoned.
Stephen’s words – and his face – revealed the secret of his holy boldness: when God’s Spirit consumes us, we are like actors playing out our divinely assigned part in heaven’s dramatic history. Stephen enjoyed God immensely and knew God powerfully. I wonder how much of that joy and power grew out of his willing “kitchen duty.”
God’s Holy Spirit continued the work he had already begun in Stephen: from dishpan hands to the face of an angel. And with Stephen’s death, the world suddenly mourned the loss of the first Christian martyr.
When God captures our hearts and we understand his greater purpose in our lives, the most ordinary drudgery will not repel us. It will actually enhance our enjoyment of this powerful God of Kitchen Duty.
Devotional ping.
Faith-sharing bump.
Words of wisdom bump.
Amen.
Thanks!
jm
Thanks for the ping!
Thanks. Quite a worthy read.
Blessings.
Thanks for all the big help today.
This is a lovely reading. Thank you for sharing it with me. Stephen has always been my favorite NT witness.
You are welcome. Thanks for all of your devotional postings, too. I have had times when I wondered why I yielded to God's will for me and yet ended up doing something tedious.
It had not occurred to me before nor had I heard it in a sermon that Stephen saw Jesus *standing*.
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Acts 7: 54-60
54 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, 56 and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; 58 and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
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There is always something new to be learned from Scripture!
Amen. I saw a comment a few days ago by John Hendryx, and it sounded like a fine way to approach personal Bible study:
'I often make it a practice to familiarize myself with a book of the Bible by reading and saturating myself in it for 30 days in a row. I find this incredibly helpful. If the book is too long to read in one sitting, then I divide it into sections, reading each for 30 days.'
That's from the Paul’s Definition of a Christian thread dated 7/25.
Blessings to you,
jm
What a good idea!
Sounds like Brother Lawrence. The monk who found God's presence in doing his daily duties in the kitchen. "Practising the Presence of God."
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