Acts 8
Rebecca Lightfoot
N Acts6:1-4,the Apostles has decided that the tasks they had were more important than serving tables(“It not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables”),so they told the disciples to choose 7 good men to serve the tables!After one of these men,Stephen, is stoned to death,”there arose a great persecution on the church n Jerusalem,& they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea & Samaria,except for the apostles.....Now those scattered about went about preaching the word”.(Acts8:1-4).After Stephen’ speech to the Sanhedrin,n which he tells of how Awesome God is...about His patient perseverance for His people,and His Great Desire for people to come to know His Glory through the Mercy&Grace of Christ...and just before the first stone is thrown at him,The Lord opens Heaven for Stephen to see into Eternity!(Acts7:54-56).Stephen’s speech,this event,& the stoning of Stephen was the beginning of the world hearing and seeing more “proofs” of Jesus Christ’s life,His Words,His Sufferings,His Crucifixion,His Resurrection;&His Ascension.So much so that not only did people begin following Christ w such faithfulness n Who He Is that they were willing to die because of that faith,but nations were impacted so strongly that even our calendar was forever changed!All because of one table servant taking a stand for what he believed with his life.Another table servant that had a similar impact on the world was Phillip!Phillip goes toward Samaria,telling people about the Life of Christ,& His Mercy&Grace.While there an angel of The Lord comes to Phillip...directs him toward the south(Acts8:26).Phillip doesn’t ask why,or how far...his heart is so moved by the Word of The Lord that he responds immediately!Phillip gets further instructions/word from the angel of The Lord,& because of his absolute willingness/faithfulness,Phillip miraculously comes upon a Eunuch of the Queen of Ethiopia reading what Isaiah says about Jesus,& wondering what this all means.Can u imagine what Phillip must’ve felt n his heart & throat...when “just stumbling” on this scene?He had to have been blown away by the awesomeness of the way The Lord moves n our lives!Phillip and Stephen had a lot n common that I need to learn from! They both had an obvious passion to know God’s Word(His Bible),& they both had a TRUST n The Lord that gave them a very bold Faith....,one that meant there was no wavering n there responsiveness to The Word of God,nor His Spirit!Through the faithfulness of Phillip,the Gospel is taken to Ethiopia by this Eunuch that answers the Queen of Ethiopia.This “seed” will see the kingdom of Ethiopia become the place where The Gospel spreads throughout Africa.The Lord gave Stephen the honor of being a catalyst that shook the World with the Truths of Christ & His Gospel!And Phillip was given the honor of being a catalyst for a chunk of the World learning of the same Truths.These table servants are experiencing a lot of Eternal Joys because of how they were faithful seekers..,listeners...and followers of The Lord!Dear Jesus,please lead me/teach me/bring me...,to having a faithfulness n my life that is like that of these table servants...,that were humble enough to seek & serve You with all of their lives.