Powerful Transformation in the Spirit

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Scripture

Acts 6:8 ¶ Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.
Acts 6:10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke.
Acts 6:15 And all who sat in the council looked intently at him, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Observation

Stephen was one of those selected by the church community to minister to the widows and to wait on tables.  He was also a man who was filled with the Holy Spirit and had a desire to be transformed into the image of Christ.  Not only did he have the desire, but he was being transformed into a genuine reflection of Christ.  He was able to perform miracles, he was filled with wisdom and even face became radiant.  In the light of his life, the priests became frustrated for they could not compete against the power of the Holy Spirit.

Application

Stephen had experienced the transformational power of being filled with the Holy Spirit which leads to holiness.  It was not a holiness defined by a set of rules, but rather, a holiness defined by Jesus, himself.  Stephen, a man who understood what it meant to seek the face of God, literally was become a reflection of Jesus to the world around him. That is true holiness, for it is about the holiness of Christ, which the world sees in us as we are transformed.  The hope of this transformation does not end with Stephen, but rather, becomes the hope for all of us.  We are challenged by the story of Stephen because the powerful transformation which occurs in him is what Christ would like to do in and through each of us.  We are to seek him daily, we are to turn our faces toward him and spend time in his holy presence.  Only then will we be transformed as we step out into a world that desperately needs him. 

Prayer

Lord, help me to see your face this day and may I be transformed so that the world will see you.  Amen.

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