Daily Devotion for October 23, 2024

 

Devotion:

For an audio version of this devotion, click here.

Read Acts 6:1-6.

In today’s scripture, there is a conflict between the Hellenists (Greek speaking) and the Aramaic Jews. They were essentially the same except for linguistic (language) differences. The Hellenists felt that their widows were being ignored during the daily meals and that the Aramaic widows were being favored. This conflict was a source of major concern for the apostles since caring for widows is a primary focus of the scriptures and the culture of the faith community. It was a distraction from what they felt was their primary emphasis which was sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ, and it threatened to tear the community apart if not addressed. Their solution was to divide the work. The apostles would focus on their primary mission of prayer, preaching and teaching while they asked the community to choose seven well respected men from among them with the spiritual gifts to tend to the temporal needs of the community. This was a satisfactory solution to the problem at hand.

Each one of us is given gifts of the Spirit that can be used to help within the community of faith. Some of us have the gift of preaching, some the gift of teaching, some the gift of caring for others, etc. (see 1 Corinthians 12 for a broad listing of gifts) and all of these gifts are essential for the body of Christ to function properly. If you don’t know your spiritual gifts, there are resources available to help you discover what they are. Just ask one of the pastors or a member of the leadership team.

Personal Worship Option:

Take a few minutes to think about how you can serve God using the gifts and talents that you have been given. Pray, “O God, help me to discover my spiritual gifts and then guide me to use them to serve you. Amen.”