Acts 8:26-40
New International
Version (NIV)
26 Now an angel of the Lord
said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from
Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and
on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important
official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of
the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was
sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip,
“Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to
the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand
what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said,
“unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit
with him.
32 This is the passage of
Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]
34 The eunuch asked Philip,
“Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with
that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along
the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water.
What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to
stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and
Philip baptized him. 39 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. 40 Philip, however,
appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns
until he reached Caesarea.
As
I read this passage, the word that came to my mind was opportunity. How many times have we had the opportunity to
share our faith with someone else? Maybe
we passed up the opportunity and have regretted it for some time. Or, maybe we took the opportunity only to be
rejected. Whatever the case may be, it
was not just by happenstance that the opportunity was presented to us, it was
God directed and God appointed.
I
must say, I myself have never been disappointed when I took the opportunity to
share my faith, which has given me hope for each new day. As the song goes, “I love to tell the story of unseen things above, of Jesus and His
glory, of Jesus and His love. I love to
tell the story because I know ‘tis true, it satisfies my longing as nothing
else can do. I love to tell the story,
‘twill be my theme in glory, to tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
What
a wonderful way to express our love to Him by sharing His love with
others. I do believe that we are still
prompted today to tell that wonderful story, to those who have not heard it and
to encourage those who have.
We
are prompted to share with others words of encouragement as they walk on this
journey called life. Just yesterday
someone posted on my Facebook timeline encouraging words that I needed to
hear. She had no idea how much I needed
to hear them but she was prompted and she followed through with such meaningful
words to me. I have heard sermons that
confirmed my thoughts and sermons that have prompted thought. These are all means of receiving but we must
remember that we must give as well. When
we share with others our faith we not only give them the opportunity to hear
and receive but we too receive a blessing from God.
As
you seek Him today, share what you have learned, share what He has done for you,
and help someone else receive the blessings that you have received. Take the opportunity.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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