Tuesday Reading: Acts 8 27-35
Key Verse: Acts 8 35
35 Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same Scripture and preached the gospel of Jesus to him.
Devotion:
When we read through God’s Word we will probably come to a different conclusion than others who would read the same passage. If we were both Christians then we should be able to reach the same conclusion; but if a non-Christian were to read the same passage, they may well have difficulty in understanding it. As concerned Christians (I hope we can all call ourselves concerned Christians already) we should be willing to take God’s Word and explain it to anyone who is willing to listen. The more that God gives us to understanding, the more we should be willing to take that Word and show it to others.
So how do we get to such a stage as to feel confident to be able to explain the Gospel to anyone else? The answer is simply through guidance from the Holy Spirit. If we want to be able to learn God’s Word then we must be willing to sit down and read it; we should also be willing to listen to others that have already learned it so that we can understand it more. Philip was led to explain the Gospel to the Ethiopian as they continued on travelling; if we see anyone struggling to understand God’s Word or His ways then we should be willing to explain as best we can. Even if we only know one new thing we can explain that to someone else who does not yet know it.
Christ has given us the Holy Spirit to make sure that we do have the confidence and understanding that He requires for us to explain His Word to others. He is not going to leave us alone to see how we cope but rather to guide us every step of the way. I learned that the first time I went to a Christian youth camp because I was faced with a question I did not know the answer for – but by simply going to someone who did know, both the youth and I were then able to understand His Word better. God gives us opportunities where we have to be bold and take a step into what we may think of as the unknown – but He is already there with the solution for us, that is why He led us there!
Points to Ponder:
Do you get worried about not knowing enough?
Do your children know things before you teach them?