Tuesday, July 19 – Acts 8:30-35

Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

 

“He was led like a sheep to slaughter;

And like a lamb that is silent before its shearer,

So He does not open His mouth.

In humiliation His justice was taken away;

Who will describe His generation?

For His life is taken away from the earth.”

 

The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.

Have you ever been surprised by what you had in common with someone else? From a distance, you may see someone and think, “There’s no way we have anything in common,” then you find out later that you do. These things catch us by surprise and bring common ground for discussion and growth in friendship. As Philip obeyed God’s prompting, he approached someone who was dignified and from a different culture than him—a culture that, for the most part, did not follow the God of the Old Testament. This likely made it surprising when Philip heard the man reading a very specific Old Testament passage that pointed to Jesus as the Messiah.

Instead of questioning God at every turn, Philip trusted God at every step. God had been working in the heart of the Ethiopian eunuch, giving him a hunger for the truth and direction to seek and know the living God. God knew this man had humbled his heart and was ready to follow Him. He saw the place of longing and searching the man was struggling with and sent Philip to help him know the hope of Jesus. Have you ever prayed for opportunities for gospel conversations with people around you? Have you trusted God even when a person seemed intimidating to talk to? When we are overwhelmed with the thought of sharing the hope of Jesus with others, we can remember passages like this and remember that wherever God calls us to go, He has gone before us, prepared the way for us, and is with us at every step.

• Where do you struggle to obey God regarding sharing about Him with others?
• Who has God placed on your heart to pray for an opportunity to serve or share with?
• Pray and ask God to give you boldness to see past the differences you have with others to love them as He does.