Today’s devotion emphasizes the importance of having an elder, deacon, or church leader and outlines their qualifications and expected conduct within the Church of Christ.

Bible Reading of the Day

AM – Esther 7-10

PM – Acts 6

𝕿𝖎𝖙𝖑𝖊: 𝕯𝖊𝖆𝖈𝖔𝖓𝖘 – 𝕸𝖊𝖓 𝖔𝖋 𝖍𝖔𝖓𝖊𝖘𝖙 𝖗𝖊𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖙

𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝟔:𝟑 𝐊𝐉𝐕

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒚𝒆 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕, 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑮𝒉𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎, 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔.

Because of the boldness and prayers of the Apostles, their requests were granted. They fearlessly and unreservedly proclaimed the name of Jesus Christ. Consequently, thousands from various ethnic backgrounds accepted salvation. Both Hebrews and Greeks embraced Jesus as their Saviour.

However, the church faces challenges because of the large crowd, causing rumours that some members are being overlooked. In response, the Apostles gathered to address this issue and decided to find reputable men, filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom, to serve at the tables.

The greatest honour a layperson can attain on earth is being chosen as a deacon by the church. While holding the position of deacon is prestigious, it involves more than just the title. A deacon must actively serve in the role, not just possess it. The Bible states in 𝟏 𝕿𝖎𝖒𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖞 𝟑:𝟏𝟑, “𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒖𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒅𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒃𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔.”

The word “deacon” in Greek is 𝖉𝖎𝖆𝖐𝖔𝖓𝖔𝖘 [𝒅𝒆𝒆-𝒂𝒌’-𝒐𝒏-𝒐𝒔] and means “to serve; one who executes the commands of another; a waiter; one who serves tables.” Essentially, a deacon is a servant who does whatever needs to be done within his ability.

Deacons are not a ruling or governing authority in the Bible. In a local church, their role is to assist the Pastor in fulfilling the church’s needs. Deacons were ordained to lighten the Pastor’s load, not increase it. A deacon’s character must be trustworthy—someone reliable, a man of his word who follows through on commitments. He should be righteous, a believer, and someone the Pastor and congregation can trust. Additionally, he needs to be level-headed, able to offer sensible advice when needed, and well-versed in the Bible and the faith.

In the early days of the New Testament church, a clear procedure for managing church affairs was established. Consider how challenging it would be without the devoted men of God—the Apostles—who were often occupied with their duties and couldn’t neglect the Word of God to meet the needs of the congregation. Their main focus was to continually dedicate themselves to prayer and the teaching of the Word.

In AGBC, we are blessed to have dedicated deacons who serve alongside me. Our church fervently prayed to God to send deacons to assist me in the work and ministry entrusted to me by the Lord. They are a great support to me as the pastor. Like the apostles, I have more time to study and pray for the messages I need to preach and to nurture God’s flock appropriately.

What a tremendous ministry if every church had godly, honest, and faithful men who could support and assist the pastor in this great endeavour. Today’s churches are in need of such men to advance the gospel. Churches should become more prayerful, seeking God’s guidance in providing men whom the congregation can rely on in this ministry.