Acts 8: 36, 38 “Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the Eunuch said, ‘See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?’” “So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and he baptized him.”
Dear God,
I find blessings in Your precious Bible, full of words that educate and lead me, in such a way that very often addresses my questions and needs of the moment. Praise Your Holy and Awesome name again today!
Thank You for the Acts account about the activities of the disciples, after Jesus had returned to heaven. It is evident that the Holy Spirit had descended with power and great authority upon the disciples and believers of the early Christian church.
Peter and Philip were returning from Samaria, where they had been giving the gospel message to the people there, and to their joy, many had accepted their risen, Lord and Saviour and given their hearts to Him. On the way back to Jerusalem, the two continued to testify of Jesus and preach to words of Scripture in a way that brought light to the village people, upon the route.
Father, for we of Your congregation of believers in this century, wake some of us up from any self-focus, and by Your Spirit, give us humble hearts, that will allow You to use us to give an account about our experiences with Jesus and our ‘beyond price’ news.
I have taken ‘on board’ the example of Philip, who listened to and obeyed the instruction of the Holy Spirit, to go down the road to Gaza. Which was why he found the Ethiopian man stopped, and in the act of reading about the prophesy regarding Jesus in Isaiah. Again under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Philip ran near the Ethiopian, and was invited into the chariot to help outline the significance of the Isaiah prophesy, in relation to what the Ethiopian knew had happened recently to Jesus in Jerusalem. Philip began with the prophecy, and continued on to tell all about the ministry of Jesus; His death and resurrection, and what this meant for everyone individually. The Ethiopian accepted Jesus, on the spot, and lost no time in wanting to take his commitment to Jesus all the way, and said the words of V36 “…….’see here is water, what hinders me from being baptized?’” It is a wonderful to see his whole hearted acceptance of Jesus Christ, even to the extent of pointing out the roadside pool in which it could take place. Philip made sure of the heart commitment of this man, V 37 “Then Philip said, ‘If you believe with all your heart, you may.’ And he answered and said, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’”
I am so glad that today, it is just as simple to be used by the Holy Spirit, as it was for Philip, and just as easy for people to accept Jesus, as forthe Ethiopian.
Amen