Acts 8:26-40 tells about an encounter between the Apostle Philip and an Ethiopian man.
This seemingly insignificant story has a great deal to teach us.
* God saw that the Ethiopian man was struggling to understand His
Word and met him right where he was at. He loved him enough send
one of His angels to find Philip and send him to help. God loved.
God saw. God provided.
The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then
Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the
prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he
invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ~Acts 8:29-31
* God wants to work through us. He could have helped the Ethiopian
man Himself but instead asked Philip to go. The more we seek and
listen to the Holy Spirit, the more we can partner with God in His work.
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road--
the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So
he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian...
~Acts 8:26-27
* Great things can happen when we listen and obey. The Ethiopian
eagerly received the gift of Philip that God had provided and
ultimately, the gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and
Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit
of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see
him again, but went on his way rejoicing. ~Acts 8:38-39
Wherever we see ourselves in this story, God is ready to meet us right where we are, if we make time to seek Him.
Learning Together to Seek, Receive, Listen, and Obey...
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