Nehemiah 5:13 I also shook out the fold of my garment and said, “So may God shake out every man from his house and from his labor who does not keep this promise. So may he be shaken out and emptied.” And all the assembly said “Amen” and praised the Lord. And the people did as they had promised.
What a beautiful ending of the conflict! Nehemiah sorted out things that brought conflicts within the people and they all beautifully and peacefully ended the conflict with an Amen and praising the Lord.
Stephen, the Spirit filled waiter:
Similar situation arose in the early church, a situation where Greek speaking Jews were complaining against the native Jews as their widows were being overlooked in the food distribution.
Acts 6:1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.
So, the twelve apostles decided to choose people who would serve the table. And the skill set of the servers they sought for is amazing:
Acts 6:3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty.
They sought men with full of the Spirit and of wisdom to serve the tables!
They found Stephen and few other men & brought a beautiful end to the conflict.
Acts 6:5-7 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.
What a beautiful end these Spirit filled men brought!
Word of God increased, disciples multiplied, priest became obedient to faith!!
Application:
Dear sisters, as the woman of the family, we face lot of conflicts, misunderstandings within the family. Conflicts with the spouse, in-laws, relatives etc.
But do we aspire to bring a:
Beautiful and peaceful ending to the conflicts in the family as Nehemiah and apostles did
Or do we:
Kindle the strife??
Proverbs says:Proverbs 26:21 As charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire,so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
But a Spirit filled woman quenches the fire of strife with the Living waters flowing from her!!
When a person who serves the table, needs to be full of Spirit and wisdom, how much more a wife, a daughter-in-law, a mother-in-law should be filled with the Spirit to lead peaceful family!
May we be sisters, not a wood to the fire of contentions, but be Spirit filled and quench the strife! May the conflicts in our families end beautifully with Amens and with praises to the Lord!!
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