Faith of Our Fathers

March 25

(Acts 7:1-16 NIV)  "Then the high priest asked him, "Are these charges true?" {2} To this he replied: "Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran. {3} 'Leave your country and your people,' God said, 'and go to the land I will show you.' {4} "So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living. {5} He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child. {6} God spoke to him in this way: 'Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years. {7} But I will punish the nation they serve as slaves,' God said, 'and afterward they will come out of that country and worship me in this place.' {8} Then he gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision. And Abraham became the father of Isaac and circumcised him eight days after his birth. Later Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs. {9} "Because the patriarchs were jealous of Joseph, they sold him as a slave into Egypt. But God was with him {10} and rescued him from all his troubles. He gave Joseph wisdom and enabled him to gain the goodwill of Pharaoh king of Egypt; so he made him ruler over Egypt and all his palace. {11} "Then a famine struck all Egypt and Canaan, bringing great suffering, and our fathers could not find food. {12} When Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers on their first visit. {13} On their second visit, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph's family. {14} After this, Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his whole family, seventy-five in all. {15} Then Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died. {16} Their bodies were brought back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a certain sum of money."

Stephen lifts up the early fathers of faith found in Genesis. Abraham believed God and went where he was told to go. Faith and obedience go hand in hand. His son Isaac became a child of the promise after years of waiting. Isaac’s son Jacob, was drawn out of his deceit and into faith, and was given a new name. Jacob’s twelve sons eventually grew into that new name, becoming the twelve tribes of Israel. One of them, Joseph, was despised and rejected by his brothers. Sold into slavery, but blessed by God, he rose to become a great leader, and with grace, provided a salvation for the very brothers who had tried to kill him. Believing God; faith and obedience; becoming a child of the promise; getting a new name; finding grace and salvation in one who was thought dead… all these are pictures of faith in Christ. It’s a faith we are called to emulate today -- the faith of our fathers. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Full of God’s Grace and Power

March 24

(Acts 6:8-15 NIV) "Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. {9} Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)--Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, {10} but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke. {11} Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God." {12} So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. {13} They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. {14} For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us." {15} All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel."

Stephen was one of the seven men chosen by the apostles to help oversee the distribution of food for those in need. He also had prophetic gifts and began to preach the word of God with authority. He is described as a man who was “full of faith and full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” -- “a man full of God's grace and power”, who “did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people”. The religious experts “could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke”. When Stephen spoke, “his face was like the face of an angel”. Today we would call Stephen a “superstar”. Being a superstar for God will get you noticed, especially by those who oppose the name of Jesus. Stephen faced his persecutors and never flinched. Are you full of God’s grace, wisdom, faith, and power? You will face opposition and persecution. Take it as a compliment and shine! -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Shared Ministry = Church Growth

March 23

(Acts 6:5-7 NIV) "This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. {6} They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. {7} So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith."

(Romans 12:4-8 NIV) “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, {5} so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. {6} We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. {7} If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; {8} if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”

New workers were chosen to lighten the load on the apostles, and the church grew rapidly. Ministry works best when it is shared. No one can effectively do everything. Spirit filled ministry is a team effort. Growth happens when team members concentrate on their areas of calling and gifting. The church must find ways to help people do what they do best. When leaders wear too many hats, their knees will eventually buckle, and the church will lack vitality. But the church needs more than just workers -- she needs workers who are Spirit-filled Jesus lovers, because Christ is the most important commodity we have to share. We must do more than just fill stomachs to obey the great commission. Compassion that is void of Christ may satisfy our humanity, but it will not glorify God. If we give people food, but fail to give them Jesus, we have failed to be the church. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day

Delegating Ministry

March 22

(Acts 6:2-4 NIV) ““So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. {3} Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them {4} and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.””

(1 Corinthians 12:4-12 NIV) “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.  {5} There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. {6}There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. {7} Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. {8} To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, {9} to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, {10} to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. {11} All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. {12} The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.”  

(Ephesians 4:7-11 NIV) ““But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. {8} This is why it says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." {9} (What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions ? {10} He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) {11} It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers…””

As the church grew, needs multiplied. To meet those needs, the apostles delegated the hands- on caring ministry to other gifted and mature believers. They would not be sidetracked from preaching the gospel. This may sound like a lack of compassion to us, but their compassion was in their delegation. They recognized a legitimate need, but personally meeting that need was not their primary calling. They had not been called to run a feeding program for the hungry. Their commission was to make disciples of all nations and teach them to obey the Lord. There was no written gospel at that time. The words of Christ were in their hearts and needed to be shared while they were still alive. Their calling was to prayer and to the ministry of God’s word. They demonstrated compassion and wisdom by delegating the ministries that were outside of their calling. We would be wise to do the same. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day