Acts 8:39-40

Summary retelling of Acts 8: 39-40:

Once the eunuch was baptized, Philip is called away by the Holy Spirit to his next mission.  The eunuch continues on his way, rejoicing about what God has just done in his life.  Philip continues to journey from town to town preaching the Word of God until he comes to Caesarea.  {Incidentally, Philip settles down in Caesarea and we’ll meet him and his daughters later in Acts 21.}

Thoughts for Today:

First Thought:

There is always another spiritual task.  There is always something to do.  No, I’m not saying the Christian needs to be a workaholic and send themselves to an early grave because they never let themselves take a day off.  But we need to remember the task of the Lord.  Go into the world and proclaim Him and His Gospel.  Teach, preach, evangelize, baptize, obey.  Every generation that is born is a whole new generation that must be taught.  The work is unending.  On the upside, serving in God’s Kingdom has incredible job security!

Do you see every day as an opportunity to accomplish the work of the Lord or do you tend to think of certain days as your “religious days?”

Second Thought:

Every time I read an English translation of Acts 8:39 – especially one done as the NRSV or the ESV – I have to laugh.  These translations come close to saying, “The eunuch didn’t see Philip anymore and he went on His way rejoicing.”  These translations almost make it seem as though the eunuch goes on his way rejoicing because he doesn’t see Philip anymore!  LOL.  Of course, that’s not really the case.  The eunuch goes on his way rejoicing because he has found Christ.  He goes on his way rejoicing because a new level of relationship has been opened between himself and God.  In fact, remember what we said several days ago about how his being a eunuch would have affected how close he could really get to God under the Jewish system.  This eunuch, who now has a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, really does have something special to rejoice over!

How often do you think of your relationship with God as something over which you rejoice?  Or is it more of a chore most days?  How easy is it to study God’s Word regularly, worship at church weekly, and do all the other things that someone who genuine loves God should rejoice about doing?

Third Thought:

Philip goes on his own way.  He continues to preach.  He goes into places that he’s likely never been and he proclaims the message of Jesus Christ boldly.  It doesn’t matter if they know him or not.  It doesn’t matter if they listen to him or not.  He preaches.  And then God calls him to settle down in Caesarea.  But Philip continues to follow God’s leading.  All the while we’ve been studying Philip, that is something that we can consistently say is true.  Philip follows God’s leading rather than asserting his own agenda.

How cool is it to have such a great example of faithfulness to God’s agenda?  Is there anything difficult about having such a great example?

Passage for Tomorrow: Acts 9:1-2