Have you ever been chosen for some responsibility (like jury duty) and then that responsibility

morphs into something bigger (like now you’re the jury foreman!)?

You’re probably familiar with the Christian video series called The Chosen -- about the life and

ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and those He chose to be His closest disciples. No doubt those

chosen by Jesus had no idea that following this Rabbi would morph into life-changing (and for

most of them earthly life-ending) paths.

Yesterday we discovered that the apostles in the early church needed some help with

distractions – and the decision was made to choose and pray over a team of people to serve on

the Committee for Distractions.

… 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).  These seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed for them as they

laid their hands on them. So God’s message continued to spread. (Acts 6:5-7)

For a moment, pretend you’re Stephen, and you’ve been chosen to serve on this new team.

Maybe you’re feeling honored – or maybe you really would prefer to preach – yet here you are a

part of the food distribution team. Since Stephen’s name is mentioned first (and with the

parenthetical statement that he was a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit), I’m led to believe that

because of those attributes, he may have become the chairman of the committee.

Because of the diligence of the men chosen for this committee, we see that God’s message

continued to spread, because the apostles were able to focus on teaching the word of God.

But then we discover something about Stephen that you might not necessarily expect from the

Chairperson of the Committee for Distractions:

Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed amazing miracles and signs

among the people. (Acts 6:8)

Scripture doesn’t spell out what those amazing miracles and signs were – that’s not the point.

The point is: Stephen wasn’t full of himself; he was full of God’s grace and power. And even

though it might not have appeared to be a big deal assignment, he knew that if he leaned into

God’s grace and power as he did the work, amazing things just might happen. And they did!



Do you realize that the same thing can happen in your life? If YOU depend on God’s grace and

power as you do the work He has for you – no matter how insignificant it might seem – amazing

things just might happen too – and the insignificant might morph into something quite significant!

By Judy Shrout