Acts 6  - There is a dispute that arose in the early church... truly there is nothing new under the sun...
The church was growing larger and larger.  The ministry now included helping those in need, in particular the widows who had no other help.  The Hellenistic Jews felt that their widows were being overlooked and blamed the native Jews for this.  Prejudice and discrimination .. or the bitterness that go along with those biases.. always seem to bubble up to the top.. in church and in society.

The apostles chose a wise solution.  They needed to hand over the job to men who could give it the time and attention that was needed, so that they could focus on prayer and theWord.   They had the congregation select seven men.. with these qualifications:
a good reputation
full of the Spirit
having wisdom
The men chosen were:  Stephen, Philip, Nicanor, Timon, Parmesan, and Nicolas.  The inclusion of several Hellenists ( Greek speaking Jews) would calm the tensions between the two groups.   This was acceptable to all concerned and allowed the church to continue growing.

Verse 7 ends with these words.. " and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith."   How wonderful!

Stephen was the most prominent of the 7 men.  He was so full of the Holy Spirit.. with grace and power that he was performing signs and wonders among the people.  This made him a target for a group called the "Synagogue of the Freedmen".  When they could not win a debate with Stephen they resorted to slander and lying.  This stirred up the people and he was dragged away to the Sanhedrin.
Even there, Stephen was steadfast.  " And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the Council saw his face like the face of an angel." ( v15)

Father in heaven, our greatest need in the church still is - unity.  There seems to be so much division in the body of Christ today... please forgive us!  Heal Your church Lord..  may we find unity in the truth and love of Jesus Christ.  Fill our leaders with the fulness of Your Spirit and with wisdom.. show them ways to unite believers and to bring peace between different groups.  Our world is becoming so divided.. the voices of the "liberals" shouting out their offense at the actions of those who live by Your Word. Help us to remain steadfast like Stephen.  May we also have the faces like that of angels.. glowing with the love and grace of Jesus Christ, even in the presence of our enemies.
The times are changing in our country, Lord.  Prepare us.  May we  be steadfast and faithful to the end. Come Lord Jesus!  We live and walk and breath and pray .. in Your Name, abiding in You.  Amen.