Surprising Appearance

TODAY’S SPECIAL: Acts 8:26-39

TO CHEW ON: "Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus." Acts 8:35

Imagine you are an African government official. You are living shortly after Jesus died. You believe in God. In fact your boss, Queen Candace of Ethiopia, has just given you time off to worship Him in Jerusalem. Now you are on your way home. You’re reading more about God from a scroll (a Bible-time book of Scriptures) called Isaiah. The trouble is, it doesn’t make sense.

Suddenly a man appears beside your chariot. (But you’re on a desert road from Israel to North Africa. Where did he come from?)

"The Ethiopian Converted" - by O.A. Stemler & B.B. Cleaveland, 1925

He asks you what you’re reading. When you tell him you don’t understand it, he joins you in the chariot and explains it all as you ride along. He tells you the good news about Jesus. He even shows you that Jesus was the one you were reading about in the scroll.

He explains about getting baptized, and how it is a sign to you and others that you really believe in Jesus. When you pass by a desert oasis there is water and he baptizes you.

"Ethiopian Eunuch" by Johann C. Weigel, 1695

And then the stranger is gone – as mysteriously as he came.

This story shows us some pretty neat things about God. It shows:
1. God saw the Ethiopian man’s seeking heart and heard his questions.
2. God cared enough about him to send Philip to answer them.
3. God can break the laws of nature if He needs to.

The wonderful thing is we worship the same God. He still answers questioning hearts, sometimes in miraculous ways. Do you have questions about God, life and what’s happening to you? Ask Him to help you understand.

PRAYER: Dear God, thank You that You see and answer the questions of seeking hearts. Amen.

MORE: SUPER-NaturalSometimes God breaks the laws of nature - of space, time and gravity (like He did when He took Philip to the desert and then transported him away from it). Match these SUPER-natural events, below, with the people involved:

" ______ and a Blind Man" - Artist unknown

1. The sun’s shadow moved backward (2 Kings 20:10,11)
2. A man with leprosy was healed by bathing in a river (2 Kings 5:14)
3. Someone healed blind eyes with mud (John 9:1-7)
4. A walking stick turned into a snake (Exodus 7:8-10)
5. An iron axe head floated on water (2 Kings 6:1-6)
6. Sea water piled up to form a wall (Exodus 14:22)

A. Israelites
B. Aaron
C. Elisha
D. Hezekiah
E. Naaman
F. Jesus


ANSWERS


****************
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.