Christ Church Daily Devotion May 13 2024

Philip, guided by an angel, meets an Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza. The eunuch is reading a passage from Isaiah and asks Philip to explain it. Philip tells him about Jesus and they come across some water. The eunuch wants to be baptized, so Philip baptizes him. The passage highlights Philip's obedience and the importance of sharing the good news with others. The writer encourages readers to be open and honest about their faith and to trust God to use their words to help others know Him. Welcome to Christchurch's Daily Devotion for May 13th, 2024. Today we will be reading from Acts chapter 8 verses 26 through 38. Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, Go south to the road, the desert road, that goes from the Jerusalem to Gaza. So he started out on his way. He met an Ethiopian 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, and on his way he was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The spirit told Philip, Go to the 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. This is the passage of scripture the eunuch was reading. He was led like a sheep to the floater, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent. So he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth. The eunuch asked Philip, Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about? Himself or someone else? Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, Look, here is some water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized? And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. As we read this passage, we should be struck by the obedience of Philip, who was so very attentive and obedient to God's Spirit. He must have wondered what he was supposed to be doing on the road to Gaza, but he went without questioning. When the Spirit told him to go close to the eunuch's chariot and stay near it, Philip must have known this was the subject to his call. Understandably, the eunuch was having difficulty understanding the passage quoted here from Isaiah 53. At times, the prophet Isaiah speaks to himself. At other times, he refers to Israel as a person. And at times like this, he refers to the coming Messiah or Christ. Teachers love it when a person who does not understand something asks for help and listens intently to the teacher's instruction. The crowning moment comes when a twinkle of light comes into the student's eyes as understanding begins to happen. Not all of us are meant to be teachers as our calling or vocation, but for every single one of us, there is always someone with whom we can share and explain the good news of Christ. Your personal worship option today, gracious God, direct me today to someone who needs to hear about and know the good news of Christ. Help me to share honestly and openly about what Christ means to me. I trust you to use my words to help that person know you. In Christ's name, amen.