Corona Devo 1774
The other day, we had a maintenance check-up on our furnace. The young man who knocked at our door, put protective coverings over his work boots as he entered our home, and then went out of his way to apply a coupon to our final bill...was excellent. He was kind, courteous, and it was clear that he was knowledgeable and enjoyed his work in heating and cooling.
I was pulling some chocolate chip muffins out of the oven as he was wrapping things up.
I like to bake, and I like to share. These muffins were for the Christian fellowship group the following morning that our boys would be leading, but I am happily and often found filling muffin tins full of cupcake or muffin batter. My family is almost immune to bakery coming out of the oven.
But when I offered this young man a muffin, his eyes darted to the batch and he quickly accepted.
I wrapped up a couple muffins in a paper towel for his travels, and he gratefully said, "Wow, two! Thank you so much. I've never had a homemade muffin."
I didn't know quite what to say.
Maybe lots of people have never had a homemade muffin, but I couldn't imagine my kids never having shared in mine, or me never-having-shared in my mom's and gramma's homemade goodies. Homemade is so good!
But--we don't know what we don't know, right? It's hard to "miss" what you've never had.
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Our kids each have a Bible app on their phones and they enjoy receiving a "Verse of the Day". When I asked what yesterday's was, my son read it, but I could tell it left a question in his mind, or that he was wondering "what else" went with the verse.
But I knew. It is one of my all-time favorite accounts in Scripture, and I was excited to fill him in on the account surrounding it.
Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. ~Acts 8:35
Who did Phillip tell what to?
This is a fascinating account tucked into the Book of Acts, where an angel tells Phillip to go out to a certain road...and Phillip obeys.
And on that road, Phillip encounters a chariot with a man from Ethiopia in it. The Ethiopian is reading Scriptures (Isaiah to be exact), but the man has no idea what they mean.
He's never had a homemade muffin.
And so Phillip gives him a muffin.
Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. ~Acts 8:35
The Ethiopian guy gets so excited about God's Word that he tells the chariot driver to pull over by some water and he asks Phillip to baptize him.
God's Word is so good! Listen up for what God might be saying to us through it today:
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (27) 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, (28) and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. (29) The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
(30) Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
(31) “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
(32) 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. (33) In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”
(34) The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” (35) Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
(36) 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?” [37]
(38) And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. (39) When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. ~Acts 8:26-39
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We don't know what we don't know, right? It's hard to "miss" what you've never had.
But missing out on God's Word and the understanding that He loves us so much that He sent His Son to the cross to pay for our sins (John 3:16)---we cannot let those opportunities pass by.
I pray that we are like Phillip today. Let's be obedient to the Holy Spirit directing us. And if there is someone in our lives or path that is interested in Jesus...by all means, begin with...Scripture and tell them the good news about Jesus (Acts 8:35)!
There are many people that have never tasted God's goodness and Truth. We have every capability to feed them with the nourishment of Scripture. And if we feel that explaining the Bible might be intimidating...then tell them your own story of faith.
When we share how we have experienced God in our life, our testimony exemplifies the reality of God working in real time.
Tell someone the good news about Jesus today.
Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. ~Acts 8:35
sarah
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