Tues. Devo - Spreading Like Wild Fire!

Read Acts 8
Stephen has been stoned and Saul is empowered with righteous indignation to get rid of all Christians. Persecution spread throughout Jerusalem and the Christians scattered to neighboring towns. (God knows how to get the word out.) Saul broke into homes and dragged believers to jail.
Phillip ended up in Samaria and began ministering to the Samarians. Many were brought to salvation through the things Phillip preached and seeing the miracles that he did. One of the converts was Simon who was the town sorcerous. When word got to the apostles in Jerusalem that revival was falling on the Samaritans, they sent Peter and John to witness what was going on. When they got there they prayed for the new converts to receive the Holy Spirit. When they did there must have been an evident sign because Simon was so impressed that he offered them money to be able to do this himself. Peter rebuked him pretty badly and Simon repented. He just didn't understand the things of the spirit yet.
The apostles go back to Jerusalem and Philip has an encounter with an angel. It tells him to go south to Gaza, which was in the desert. He did and it just happened that an Ethiopian eunuch of the queen of Ethiopia had come to Jerusalem to worship. He was on his way back to Ethiopia reading Isaiah aloud in his chariot. God told Philip to go close to his chariot and listen. He heard what he was reading and asked him if he understood it. The Ethiopian said, "how can I with no one to teach me." He asked Peter to join him in the chariot and help him to understand. He was reading Is. 53 about how a man would come to earth one day and die a violent death for our sins. Philip told him how Jesus was this man whose life and death was described in this passage. The Ethiopian not only believed but wanted to be baptized right then. They stopped the chariot and baptized him and as soon as Philip brought him out of the water God translated Philip 40 miles away. He preached his way to Caesarea. The Ethiopian man took the good news to Ethiopia.
God has unique ways to get his good news passed around. This chapter is such an encouragement of how God weaves people in our lives for "God encounters". I wonder what would have happened if Philip wouldn't have listened when God told him to go to the desert. Who is in the desert? God knew. Lord, help us to be that sensitive that when you tell us some bizarre thing.