Christ Church Daily Devotion Feb 8 2024

Philip is directed by an angel to go to the desert road. He meets an Ethiopian official who is reading from Isaiah. Philip explains that the passage is about Jesus and baptizes the Ethiopian. This encounter shows that God wants all people to hear about Jesus. We should love and share with different types of people as Jesus did. Our worship today is to listen for God's voice and share His love. Welcome to Christchurch's Daily Devotion for February 8, 2024. Today we will be reading from Acts chapter 8 verses 26-38. 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 Kandake, 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? I don't understand it 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 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. This scripture describes how Philip was called by the Holy Spirit on where to go and what to do to share the news of Jesus Christ. An angel of the Lord told Philip to go south to the desert road leading from Jerusalem to Gaza. There, Philip met an Ethiopian official who was returning home from Jerusalem. The Spirit led Philip to stay near the Ethiopian to help him understand a passage he was reading from Isaiah. Philip explained that the passage was about Jesus, the Son of God, who came to die for our sin. This would be an unusual encounter for a believer to be talking to a foreigner like the Ethiopian. It demonstrates that God wants all people to hear about Jesus. Philip baptized the Ethiopian just as the man asked him to do. If we pay attention, the Lord still leads us every day to encounter all types of people who we can share God's love with. God calls us to walk in his ways, loving the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbors as ourselves, just as Jesus associated and shared with different types of people. That is also expected of us. Your personal worship option today is, Lord Jesus, help us to listen for your voice and to share your love with the people we meet each day. Help us not to miss an opportunity. Amen.