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by Bible League International,
Narrated by Artificial Intelligence,
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Scripture,
The angel said, “Get ready and go south on the road that leads down to Gaza from Jerusalem – the road that goes through the desert.” – Acts 8:26 ERV
Devotion,
Too often, I read quickly over Bible stories and miss the depth of God’s words to us. In the case from our verse for today, we read the story introduction and move to the encounter between Philip and the eunuch from Ethiopia. But the verse immediately following today’s verse is a short, important sentence: “Philip got ready and went” (v. 27). Let’s pause here for a bit and think about this little sentence.
My family and I live in a foreign country. Our roots, family, the people, and the things we know and love, are far away from where we live now. Much praying, thinking, and talking preceded our decision to obey God’s calling to serve Bible League in the United States. Some parts of the decision seemed illogical, uncomfortable, sometimes unattractive. We knew there would be some consequences in our life when we obeyed.
“Philip got ready and went” now suddenly has a deeper meaning for me. Earlier in Chapter 8, Philip was sharing the Good News in Samaria. People were baptized, and Peter and John prayed for the believers to receive the Holy Spirit. In the early days of the Church, this was an exciting place to be. Yet, the angel of the Lord calls Philip to a road through the desert. There couldn’t be a bigger contrast in the two places. From a revival to a place of drought, Philip was called to obey without knowing the purpose of his trip. Illogical, uncomfortable, and very unattractive…a desert road!
But the road was also rewarding. God desires obedience. Through his obedience, Philip had the joy to baptize a new believer from Africa, at that time a new continent for the Gospel. Through our obedience, my family and I have the joy of being part of a global ministry and a fellowship of local believers in Indiana. I hope you have had your moments of getting ready and going to serve the Lord. Share the joy of obedience with somebody around you today.
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