Day 4

God most assuredly wants His Kingdom to multiply as we (His children) obey His command in Matthew 28:18–19, Acts 1:8, and other Scriptures where He commands us to make disciples and be His witnesses. As God’s Kingdom multiplies here on earth, we can always expect growing pains. These growing pains remind us that we are all being transformed d...

God is constantly working in and through all of His children. He calls some of His children to be leaders (equippers) in His church so that the rest of the saints can be equipped (Ephesians 4:11–14) to do the work of the ministry. God wants His body (the church) always to be healthy and growing. We read in Acts 6:2, “So the twelve summoned th...

God used the twelve apostles to help lead the rest of the believers to understand their role within the church and to fulfill that role. The apostles told the congregation in Acts 6:3, “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task.” The apostl...

Led by God the Holy Spirit, the twelve apostles made it clear what kind of men needed to be chosen to lead the ministry to the widows. Then, God had the apostles add one final thing to what they knew they must do in Acts 6:4: “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” The apostles reiterated that they must set t...

After the apostles let it be known what kind of men the congregation needed to put in charge of the ministry to the widows, we read in Acts 6:5, “The statement found approval with the whole congregation; and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte...

God had laid on the hearts of the congregation the seven men He knew would lead well in the ministry to the widows. Then we read in Acts 6:6, “And these they brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them.” God led the apostles to pray for these men and lay their hands on them. The laying on of hands was a sign ...

God works miraculously in our world every day. We often miss it because we’re too busy with the things that fill our schedules—not that these things are bad, but they can distract us from seeing God working all around us. We must pray Colossians 4:3–4 daily so that we’re intently looking for the opportunities that God lovingly wants to lay be...