“Have you received Christ into your heart? Are you happy being a Christian, and are you sharing the gospel with others?”
August 23, 2008 (Saturday)
In Acts 8:26-39, we are told about a man from Ethiopia who went to Jerusalem to worship. He had left his home for the visit because he was interested in Judaism, but after the experience described in the scripture passage cited, he returned home a follower of Jesus Christ.
The man was riding in a chariot, which in itself was an indication of status in society, and he was reading a scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, a priceless document in any generation. He was on the road to Gaza, returning to Ethiopia, when suddenly a man named Philip appeared. Philip had been dispatched by an angel and the Holy Spirit to talk with the man. Philip had been chosen to aid the apostles in the new church in Jerusalem, having met the requirements of being full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom.
When Philip saw the man reading the scroll, he asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” The reply was, “How can I, unless someone helps me?” Then the man read aloud from Isaiah 53, and asked Philip, “Who is the writer talking about, himself or someone else?” The Scripture says that Philip immediately proclaimed Jesus as the fulfillment of those verses in the Book of Isaiah.
The man, commonly known by us as “the Ethiopian Eunuch,” accepted Christ, and when he saw water nearby, requested baptism. So he was baptized, and went on his way a very happy person, taking the precious gospel with him in his heart, back to his home country.
Have you had such an experience? Have you received Christ into your heart? Like this man, are you happy being a Christian, and are you sharing the gospel with others?