8 Stephen was full of God’s grace and power. He did great wonders and signs among the people. 9 But members of the group called the Synagogue of the Freedmen began to oppose him. Some of them were Jews from Cyrene and Alexandria. Others were Jews from Cilicia and Asia Minor. They all began to argue with Stephen. 10 But he was too wise for them. That’s because the Holy Spirit gave Stephen wisdom whenever he spoke. 11 Then in secret they talked some men into lying about Stephen. They said, “We heard Stephen speak evil things against Moses and against God.” 12 So the people were stirred up. The elders and the teachers of the law were stirred up too. They arrested Stephen and brought him to the Sanhedrin. 13 They found witnesses who were willing to tell lies. These liars said, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place. He also speaks against the law. 14 We have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place. He says Jesus will change the practices that Moses handed down to us.” 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked right at Stephen. They saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Personally, I love the example that Stephen shows me in how to be a minister and a witness to Christ.

He was appointed to take a load of the other apostles by filling the very practical role of ensuring people’s needs were met.

But he didn’t just fill his role with a spirit of excellence, he ensured that he was filled with the Holy Spirit and took every opportunity to serve the cause of the early church with passion and zeal.

For me this shows that in the church, we are not only to serve a single role, but each of us are to be naturally supernatural and serve in a way that is powerful and active.

Lord, fill me with Your Spirit that I might have the wisdom, courage and power of Stephen in the way that I minister. From the mediocre and mundane through to the public and prestigious, may I carry the Glory of your presence with me to shine your light wherever I am.

Written by Ps. Justin Ware

27 They brought the apostles to the Sanhedrin. The high priest questioned them. 28 “We gave you clear orders not to teach in Jesus’ name,” he said. “But you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. You want to make us guilty of this man’s death.” 29 Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God instead of people! 30 You had Jesus killed by nailing him to a cross. But the God of our people raised Jesus from the dead. 31 Now Jesus is Prince and Savior. God has proved this by giving Jesus a place of honor with him. He did it to turn Israel away from their sins and forgive them. 32 We are telling people about these things. And so is the Holy Spirit. God has given the Spirit to those who obey him.” 33 When the leaders heard this, they became very angry. They wanted to put the apostles to death. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel stood up in the Sanhedrin. He was a teacher of the law. He was honored by all the people. He ordered the apostles to be taken outside for a little while. 35 Then Gamaliel spoke to the Sanhedrin. “Men of Israel,” he said, “think carefully about what you plan to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared. He claimed he was really somebody. About 400 people followed him. But he was killed. All his followers were scattered. So they accomplished nothing. 37 After this, Judas from Galilee came along. This was in the days when the Romans made a list of all the people. Judas led a gang of men against the Romans. He too was killed. All his followers were scattered. 38 So let me give you some advice. Leave these men alone! Let them go! If their plans and actions only come from people, they will fail. 39 But if their plans come from God, you won’t be able to stop these men. You will only find yourselves fighting against God.” 40 His speech won the leaders over. They called the apostles in and had them whipped. The leaders ordered them not to speak in Jesus’ name. Then they let the apostles go. 41 The apostles were full of joy as they left the Sanhedrin. They considered it an honor to suffer shame for the name of Jesus. 42 Every day they taught in the temple courtyards and from house to house. They never stopped telling people the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

The Pharisees desperately wanted to stop the apostles from telling people about Jesus. The apostles had filled Jerusalem with their teaching and made the Pharisees look guilty of the death of, not only an innocent man, but the actual Son of God. Consequently the Pharisees were furious and wanted to put the apostles to death.

Then Gamaliel, one of the Pharisees, steps in and says one of the most profound statements that resonates with wisdom some 2000 years later. “Leave these men alone…for if their purpose is from human origin it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourself fighting against God”.

Well, with the benefit of hindsight we see that Gamaliel was absolutely right. The apostles purpose in preaching the resurrection of Jesus was not from human origin and therefore certainly did not fail, but continues to live on to this day.

This actually gives me great comfort. I want to live my life right in step with His plan, but sometimes I find myself wondering if my pursuits are ‘from human origin’ or ‘from God’.  I think that the wisdom of Gamaliel can be applied to my life as well. If what I am putting my energy to is from human origin it will not stand the test of time, but if it is from God nothing will be able to stop it from coming to pass.

In the end, nothing can stand in the way of the plans of God, both for the world and for my life. There are often set-backs and obstacles along the way, and, of course, life does not always go the way that I think it should. But today I am encouraged by looking back on the history of the Big Story that I am privileged to a part of. Nothing will be able to stop it!

Written by Shelley Witt

12 The apostles did many signs and wonders among the people. All the believers used to meet together at Solomon’s Porch. 13 No outsider dared to join them. But the people thought highly of them. 14 More and more men and women believed in the Lord. They joined the other believers. 15 So people brought those who were sick into the streets. They placed them on beds and mats. They hoped that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he walked by. 16 Crowds even gathered from the towns around Jerusalem. They brought their sick people. They also brought those who were suffering because of evil spirits. All of them were healed.

Solomon’s Colonnade was in the temple precinct and we find Peter and John and the other Apostles there preaching and teaching and healing sick people.  It is kind of like if you were to turn up to the Rod Laver Tennis arena and while on centre court there was a match between the first and twentieth seeds you were watching a game on one of the outer courts between an up and coming star and the fourth seed with the up and comer winning.  Then in the next round you watch this lady again rather than go to the centre court but this time you bring some friends and by the time of the fourth round there are more people watching this up and comer than the centre court game.  The organisers are getting more than a little annoyed because they have scheduled the ‘best’ matches for the centre court only for the crowd to make a different choice.  Think of the religious leaders for whom temple worship was the pinnacle – but now much to their dismay, there was a crowd regularly gathering at Solomon’s Colonnade to listen to people speak about the guy they had killed just a few weeks prior, and more than that people were getting healed and the crowds kept building!  Now people were coming from the towns around Jerusalem, not just from the city itself.  Things were getting out of hand!  And this is just the point – as the early church stepped out in faith – the people who did not have faith took notice and began to seek, began to have faith.

So how impacting is my faith – does it cause those who don’t have faith who surround me to begin to question, begin to seek?  Is my witness, in word and deeds, like healing, making a difference to those who surround me?  Where am I stepping out. These guys did so in the central place of Jerusalem.  What is the central place of those I associate with so I can be there and proclaim the truth about the God I love in word and deed.

Father give me boldness and favour as I witness of my faith in and love for You!

Written by Ps.Richard Botta

5 A man named Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, also sold some land. 2 He kept part of the money for himself. Sapphira knew he had kept it. He brought the rest of it and put it down at the apostles’ feet. 3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, why did you let Satan fill your heart? He made you lie to the Holy Spirit. You have kept some of the money you received for the land. 4 Didn’t the land belong to you before it was sold? After it was sold, you could have used the money as you wished. What made you think of doing such a thing? You haven’t lied just to people. You’ve also lied to God.” 5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. All who heard what had happened were filled with fear. 6 Some young men came and wrapped up his body. They carried him out and buried him.

The context here is that the disciples of Jesus, this earliest of Christian communities, are sharing all their possessions. Ananias and Sapphira, who are wealthy people, also participate in this sharing. However, they lie about the proportion of their wealth they are sharing. They claim to be giving EVERYTHING away, but in reality they have held back some of their wealth for themselves. I assume they have lied because they wanted to appear good and generous in the sight of the Christian community, their new friends. But this is a great offence before God. It makes a god out of approval from people and diminishes God. Making a god out of approval from people will kill me, eventually. Life is only found in the one true God, who has poured his Holy Spirit into our hearts.

Lord, Holy Spirit, may my heart desire only your approval. May I rest in your love and enjoy your promise of faithfulness to me. Go before me that people may see that I honour you and your righteousness fills me. Lord, teach me to seek your approval alone.

Written by Andrew Mellor

23 Peter and John were allowed to leave. They went back to their own people. They reported everything the chief priests and the elders had said to them. 24 The believers heard this. Then they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Lord and King,” they said, “you made the heavens, the earth and the sea. You made everything in them. 25 Long ago you spoke by the Holy Spirit. You spoke through the mouth of our father David, who served you. You said, “ ‘Why are the nations angry? Why do the people make useless plans? 26 The kings of the earth rise up. The rulers of the earth gather together against the Lord and against his anointed king.’ (Psalm 2:1,2) 27 In fact, Herod and Pontius Pilate met with the Gentiles in this city. They also met with the people of Israel. All of them made plans against your holy servant Jesus. He is the one you anointed. 28 They did what your power and purpose had already decided should happen. 29 Now, Lord, consider the bad things they say they are going to do. Help us to be very bold when we speak your word. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal. Do signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit. They were bold when they spoke God’s word.

I love Peter and John’s response after being released from the Sanhedrin. They immediately went back to their own people and told them what had happened, and the people began to pray fervently together, that the Holy Spirit would enable them to be bold, and that more signs and wonders would take place in Jesus’ name.

I am encouraged by this example because it is just what the church is meant to look like. When we are discouraged, challenged and questioned for our faith, how incredible it is to have people that we can go to who will call upon God on how behalf, who will support us in our faith. So often when our faith is challenged we can get discouraged and our immediate response is to withdraw, yet we can see clearly here that the support and prayer of other believers was so powerful. In this case, the Holy Spirit showed up big time, the building was shaken and all who were there were filled with the Holy Spirit, emboldened to speak the word of God.

May we be people who call upon other believers for support, and who willingly support and pray for other believers, that God’s name would be glorified. Amen!

Written by Madelaine Tarasenko