Stephen Speaks in Boldness, Full of Grace and of the Holy Spirit
Scripture Passage: Acts 7:17-29 (NASB)
17 “But as the time of the promise which God had assured to Abraham was approaching, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt, 18 until another king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph. 19 It was he who shrewdly took advantage of our nation and mistreated our fathers in order that they would abandon their infants in the Nile, so that they would not survive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful to God. He was nurtured for three months in his father’s home. 21 And after he had been put outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and nurtured him as her own son. 22 Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was proficient in speaking and action. 23 But when he was approaching the age of forty, it entered his mind to visit his countrymen, the sons of Israel. 24 And when he saw one of them being treated unjustly, he defended and took vengeance for the oppressed man by fatally striking the Egyptian. 25 And he thought that his brothers understood that God was granting them deliverance through him; but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were fighting each other, and he tried to reconcile them to peace, by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers, why are you injuring each other?’ 27 But the one who was injuring his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us? 28 You do not intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday, do you?’ 29 At this remark, Moses fled and became a stranger in the land of Midian, where he fathered two sons
SUMMARY
Stephen explains to the Jews about the history of how God worked among the Israelites. Stephen focuses on the life of Moses—his birth, his childhood, and how he eventually fled after killing one of the Egyptians and became an alien in the land of Midian.
REFLECTION
In today’s texts, we once again see Stephen speaking in boldness to the Jews. Full of grace, power, wisdom and the Spirit (Acts 6:8), Stephen’s speech concisely articulates his message so coherently with such conviction and clarity. There’s no sign of any confusion, fear or uncertainty. Even before a group of people persecuting him, Stephen is composed, prepared, and confident.
Stephen’s confidence challenged me to question myself.
How prepared am I to testify and talk about everything that God has done in my life? Am I prepared to speak with such boldness, clarity and composure like Stephen?
As a classical pianist, I trained myself for years to cultivate my skills as a pianist, studying the scores and music in depth so that I can convey the composer’s message and communicate through the music as clearly, as beautifully and as best as I could. How much more, then, do I need to train and equip myself when it comes to imparting the message of the Gospel, testifying God’s work clearly and coherently so that the non-believers will have clear understanding of what I am speaking about.
APPLICATION
A lot of times, I find myself wanting to share so much about what God has done in my life, yet I have difficulty articulating and end up sounding vague and abstract. God is working in my life all the time and has blessed me with testimonies, big and small, of His unending love in so many aspects of my life over the years. I want to start documenting my testimony, not only to remember of his faithfulness but so I will be always prepared to talk about the whole message of this Life (Acts 5:20) with clearness and conviction.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father,
Thank You for blessing me with Your faithfulness and love. You have been so faithful but I lack Stephen’s confidence and clarity in explaining it to others. Lord, when I speak of Your love, let it not be my words but Yours.
Lord, take away my fears, my ego, my insecurity, and replace them with Your Holy Spirit, power, grace and wisdom that I might be a pure vessel to shine Your light to all those around me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Please share your personal meditations on this Scripture passage with the HolyWave community in the comments section below. (We reserve the right to moderate comments.)