Social Network
Opening Prayer
Glorious God, I bless Your name. Enlighten the darkness of my heart and give me a sure and certain hope.
Read Acts 8:26-40
[26]
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
Meditate
“Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where he found bread” (D.T. Niles, 1908-1970). Philip shared the bread of life with the Ethiopian.
Think Further
There are other ways of social networking than through Facebook! In Acts we read of an encounter in which a stranger becomes a true friend because he took time to listen and to speak. Philip has first learned to trust God. It is never easy to leave a city where much is happening. Clear directions are given, but his mission is unspecified. No doubt something will turn up.
The chariot’s trappings would have spoken of this man’s wealth and position. As a Gentile he had gone to Jerusalem, attracted to hear of one God in a world of many gods and responding to a call to holiness in a world deifying many lifestyles. In a world that excused sin he would have welcomed a religion that took sin seriously. Reflecting on his visit, he was found reading from Isaiah 53 but could not make sense of the suffering servant of whom it spoke. Now, Philip’s mission became clear. God takes infinite pains to reach one person, and Philip had to be ready to explain God’s Word. Isaiah’s suffering servant was fulfilled by Jesus himself.
Perhaps the Ethiopian had heard something of the controversy surrounding the followers of Jesus. Philip now showed how what was promised long before was gloriously fulfilled by Jesus in his death and resurrection. Eager to become part of the story and not just a spectator, the eunuch makes his new-found faith public. Water is not plentiful in the desert, but a passing oasis gives enough for baptism. As suddenly as he had come, Philip disappeared. For the Ethiopian, ahead lay a chance to reflect and unhurriedly revisit the Old Testament using Jesus as the key to unlock its meaning. Who knows what impact that encounter had on the horn of Africa in the years ahead? It certainly changed one man’s life–and that is enough.
Apply
How open are you to doing something different? How ready are you to explain the Bible to someone, to share the bread of life with someone hungering for it?
Closing prayer
Father, today I pray for a divine appointment with someone seeking You. Work through me so I will be able to share the bread of life clearly and convincingly.
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