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Acts 6:8 "And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people."
Some people live their lives as a question mark. That is, they don't understand anything and always ask why. Life is like a big question mark hanging in the back of their minds and always troubling them. I would say, let your life be an answer! We have an example of this kind of life in Stephen.
The Bible tells us that we are to "be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." (I Peter 3:15) That verse aptly describes Stephen when he was asked in Acts 7:1, "Are these things so?" What follows is the longest sermon in the book of Acts, and his sermon cost him his life! We can learn how Stephen's life was an answer by looking at what characterized his life.
Acts 6:8 tells us that Stephen was "full of faith and power." Faith and power go together. You do not have faith because you have power; you have power because you have faith. Furthermore, the power you have is not your power to begin with! The high priest and the council could deny that Jesus Christ was risen, but they could not deny seeing Christ in the life of Stephen. All of Acts 6-7 was possible because Stephen was "full of faith." By faith we understand; by faith we know; by faith we do.
Verse 8 continues to tell us that Stephen "did great wonders and miracles among the people." The miracles he did could not be denied! Unbelievers could not deny that yesterday's lame man was today's healthy, strong man standing next to them. Again, the power by which he did these miracles was the power of the living Christ! Stephen was simply a servant whom God used.
When the religious leaders could not stop Stephen, they stoned him, yet that could not stop him. (Remember who was holding the coats the day Stephen died?) Stephen had power because he was trusting the Lord. The power he had could not be denied and could not be stopped because it was power from on high! Stephen's life was not a question mark; it was a declaration.
Don't live your life as a question mark today. Trust the Lord for the power you need today to please Him. When you live your life as an answer, you'll find that it invites questions from those who need help. May your life today be like Stephen's in Acts 7:10-"And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake."
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