Christ Church Daily Devotion Oct 9 2023

Philip receives a message from an angel and meets an Ethiopian eunuch on his journey. The eunuch is reading from the book of Isaiah and asks for Philip's help in understanding it. Philip explains the good news about Jesus and baptizes the eunuch. The passage highlights Philip's obedience to God's call and his willingness to embrace outsiders. It encourages readers to reach out to those who don't know God and share the good news with them. The personal worship option is to pray for the ability to see outsiders, build relationships, and share the good news. Welcome to Christ Church's Daily Devotion for October 9th, 2023. 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 down from Jerusalem to Gaza. So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kundake, which means Queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah, the prophet. 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. 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, it 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 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. I notice how early in the passage, Philip immediately followed the angel's instruction to go from the place in which he was ministering to the road leading to Gaza. The object of his call became clear as he approached the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch. A chariot large enough for someone to sit in and to have room for a passenger would have been the limousine of that day. Our thinking that the eunuch was probably wealthy is reinforced by the fact that he owned a scroll of Isaiah. Scrolls were hand-copied and very expensive in those days. The eunuch would have been known as a God-fearer, a Gentile who believed in God. The temple in Jerusalem, his being a Gentile, and his being a eunuch would have been barriers preventing his entrance to full worship. This resonates with his asking Philip what might stand in the way of his being baptized. While wealthy and powerful, he had grown accustomed to things standing in his way to God. Philip responded by baptizing the eunuch. Philip sets a wonderful example for us. He responded to God's call. He helped an outsider understand the good news. And he welcomed him into the faith. We are called to do likewise. Today's personal worship option. Please pray with me. Gracious God, help me to see the outsider. Give me the courage to come alongside someone who does not yet know you. To build a genuine relationship with them. And then to let them know about the good news and how it enriches my life. Amen.