Daily Walk Through the New Testament

September 20

Read Acts 6:8-7:16

Telling the nations what God has done is a thousand times more important than American football. Yet you’ll hear people talk about football more than they talk about the gospel. Of course, who doesn’t love football? It’s a great sport! But the truth is, the gospel should be our life.
After a fast and furious start and tremendous growth, the early church began experiencing growing pains. The widows were being neglected, there were new members who needed discipling, and the leaders simply had difficulty reaching out to everyone (Acts 6:1). They handled the problem in a godly manner, setting an example for us to follow: they concentrated on the Word of God. Ministers today should also choose the “plan & neglect” method of ministry —plan to neglect everything until the gospel is complete!
Every church has its share of problems, including either growing problems or dying problems. Problems of all kinds give us the opportunity to examine our ministry and our lives so we can make necessary adjustments. Success can spoil us into thinking we need not make any changes, but anything that does not get evaluated gets stale. Let’s follow the early church and “give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4). Let’s make spreading the gospel our priority.