1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
2 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 world.
5 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 world of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
In korean history, those who brought God's words to this land helped this country independence and grow up to be a no-more-hungry nation. Without God's will like this, I can't imagine what kind of circumstance I would live with. I'm so grateful for that! I don't know if the number of christians is still increasing or not, but I pray we have more real christians. We need to care not the number, but the people.
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3 comments:
thanks sungeun for your reflection. we miss you and are hoping you can come visit us really soon! the church is not the same without you.
two things struck me as i read this passage: 1) the ministry of God's Word was regarded as more important than any other ministry
and 2) seven men were chosen who were "known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom" to "wait on tables" and administer "the daily distribution of food".
the first point is self-evident but many ministries put greater priority on other activities, even worthwhile ones, like helping the poor for example. this passage shows us that however important other ministries may be, the ministry of God's Word must be the highest priority of the church.
the second point was especially interesting. while the ministry of the Word of God is the most essential one, this point shows that any task, however seemingly mundane, is important and contributes to the greater whole of the body. that is why seven men "known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom" were required to wait on tables and see to the distribution of food. this should encourage us to do even the most mundane tasks in the church with diligence and integrity. HOW we perform our tasks and the spirit with which we perform them are absolutely vital to the life and the well-being of the church.
Thank you!! By the way.. hope you had a great time with Jen.
The passage reminds us the main reason that those seven men were chosen was to serve the people in the church. The maiin cateria of the selection of church decans was spiritual maturity and wisdom. The whole congregation selected the seven men and they were blessed by God and acknowledged by the apostles. Through each person's commitment and devotion to the church, the church was fully effective in its purpose and mission.
Hi Sungeun and thanks for sharing.
Something that made me think when I read the first versus was that as numbers grow, sometimes we forget about the little people who need to be looked after. People who are lost in the crowd and forgotten, we have to remember them and make sure that they are taken care of.
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