"They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit....Stephen a man full of God's grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose..."Acts 6:5,8,9a
Have you ever been around someone who is so full of Jesus that you cannot get enough of them? I imagine that is what it would have been like to be around Stephen back in the day. I mean anybody who could say, "Father forgive them" as he is being stoned to death is fascinating and worthy of study. The verses above say Stephen was FULL of faith, the Holy Spirit, grace and power.
Stephen was a man of God, and a man worthy of following His example. In studying his life, I decided to dig into the antonyms of these words that describe him. If as a follower of Jesus, I want to be a person who is full of faith, the Spirit, grace, and power, looking into the "opposites" of these words helps me better understand what characteristics I do not want to possess.
Oh God, give me a heart that believes in you, in your promises, not doubting you or being inconsistent like the man in James who is tossed to and fro by every.single.thing that could throw him off mentally. Help me to be certain of where you want me to go and who I am in you. Father fill me with your Spirit, the Spirit of truth and rip from me my desire for everything to be about me. Help me to intentionally focus on your truth all day today. Father, take from me my tendency to think badly of others, to be depressed, discouraged, mean, prideful and gossipy. Instead, give me your grace, the power to always think the best of people, to be joyful and delightful for others to be around, make me humble and give me the power to only speak nicely of people and to people. God, help me to be useful, full of power for your kingdom instead of useless or paralyzed out of fear for others or sin. God, these are big requests, but you are a big God and you are capable of changing these things in me. Give me your strength and power today, fill me with you. Amen.
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