“ But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Get ready and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So, he got ready and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading? “And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to slaughter; And like a lamb that is silent before its shearer, So He does not open His mouth. In humiliation His justice was taken away.
Who will describe His generation? For His life is taken away from the earth.” The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized? “And he ordered that the chariot stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him but went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:26-39 NASB)”
I admit yesterday’s meditation was long for some, but it was not short on strategies to prevent church burnout. Today, I will keep it shorter. But you have read the above text. In the text, the Eunuch, read the word, responded to the preaching of Phillip, apparently came to the point of faith in Christ, and seeing the water, he was baptized. Next, we see that the eunuch went away rejoicing. We don’t know any more in this text about him. But at this point, I wonder what followed the rejoicing. Did the eunuch come out of the water ready to walk in the newness of life? Did he have an appetite that moved him to want to be fed more from the word of God, continuously? Did he bless someone else? Did he find a local church or a home of believers to fellowship with regularly? What happened next?
Speaking of “next,” I have one more question and I am finished. What happened in your “next,” and the “next” after that “next,” after you got out of the water? Only you can answer the presented question, evaluating what you need to be doing next and seeing your need to improve in your “next” times in life. Love you! Have a great Thursday! Be blessed!
Committed to the climb,
Mark L. King