Acts 8

Devotional by KJ Johnson

Read Acts 8

Acts 8

Saul Ravages the Church

8 And Saul approved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria

4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.

Simon the Magician Believes

9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed.

14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
    and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
    Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

Devotional

Do you truly believe in the life-changing power of the gospel?  God continually takes what seems broken and dark and restores it.  This passage shows us that the truth of Jesus holds the power to change any life.

Saul turns from the most violent of persecutors to a passionate missionary.

The persecution of believers caused the gospel to spread.

The gospel changes the lives of hungry souls in Samaria.

The Ethiopian Eunuch is saved and takes the gospel back to his home.

But this life change hinges on obedience and boldness.  The persecuted believers took the gospel where they were scattered, and Philip went boldly proclaiming the gospel everywhere he went.  This passage demonstrates the life changing power of the gospel, but even more so, it teaches us to be bold in proclaiming the gospel.  Faithfulness and obedience are what God used to spark life change that reached the ends of the earth.

This challenges us to faithfulness.  First, we must believe in our hearts in the life-changing power of the gospel.  It must change our lives.  Second, God asks for our obedience when he calls us.  The Holy Spirit called Philip to gospel moments and conversations.  Philip’s reaction was humble and confident obedience.  How often do we sense that same tug of the Spirit yet ignore it?  The results are not up to us, but the work is.  All God asks for is our “yes.”  If we simply obey, God will move far beyond what we could do on our own.

How have you experienced the life-changing power of the gospel?

20 thoughts on “Day Eight | The Book of Acts”

  1. I learnt that persecution brings Revival and great exploits. What the enemy meant for evil Jesus has turned it around for our good.
    I believe this is a lesson for everyone of us that when it looks like we’re in our lowest state or wilderness, that means God is cooking something delicious for us. if the devil had known the Wisdom of God, he wouldn’t crucify Our Savior Jesus Christ.

  2. Because someone shared the LIFE CHANGING Power of the Gospel with me during a very difficult time of my life—I am CHANGED!! God will ALWAYS have my YES when He gives me an assignment because I know He will ALWAYS Equip me to complete it🙏🏾

  4. My salvation came through three events in my life. First was a paper route where I was required to collect payment for monthly paper bills. There was a kind lady that paid her bill to me in person every month and offered me a pamphlet of religious material. She never said a word. She simply and sweetly offered it to me.

    Second, my grandfather was dying of cancer in Corpus Christi Texas. I went to visit him as a graduate of high school that summer. After seeing him in his emaciated condition, I left the hospital and crossed the street to a nearby park. While sitting on a swing, three hippies came winging through the park and came over to talk to me. They had just come from a revival where they had been saved! I told them about my grandfather and they consoled me. They said being saved was the greatest high they had ever experienced! I thought to myself, “Yeah, you’re high all right!”

    Third, I went to school at Texas Tech where I met my wife. She was already a believer and witnessed to me. We went to church at First Baptist Lubbock at a college service where I heard the gospel. We also went to her home in Midland where her pastor preached hellfire and brimstone! Many times I wanted to respond to the invitation but didn’t. Finally, one night Cindy and I went to a Christian concert with Campus Crusade for Christ. One of the band members shared his testimony that stated he had found meaning and purpose in his life. He was talking directly to me. We left the concert and with Cindy beside me in my parked car, I received the gift of eternal life! Driving back to the dorms, Cindy said you should see your face!

    Sharing Christ means telling the good news of Jesus Christ and leaving the results up to God! Don’t give up on someone who is stubborn like me. Give God your heart to share the Gospel no matter what!

  7. Accepting Christ as a teenager changed my life. Thank you God for your saving Grace. 🙏🏾

  8. It is a matter of the heart. I don’t think Simon had bad intentions of wanting to see people healed, but his heart intention was for power and fame (like he had before).
    God, don’t let me seek fame or accolades from people. Help my heart be filled with your Spirit so others see the true change in me and they can be changed too.

  9. Love this-faithfulness and obedience are what God uses to spark Life! Those 2 things are what God asks of us! May we all be meet and ready for The Master’s use!
    JDub

  10. Once we truly understand who Jesus is, we are never the same! We have a desire to share the truth with others because of the way we have been changed. Gods love is awesome!!

  11. Even after having known about the gospel of Christ for the majority of my life, its power didn’t become real to me until life caused me to reach my end. It was at the end of myself where I recognized I couldn’t live the life I wanted in my own strength! I simply spoke His name and His response was freedom, forgiveness and healing! I’ll never be the same because of Christ and I pray He empowers me to be bold and obedient to co time to tell The story!

  12. Not only can we verbally share the good news of Jesus Christ but we can demonstrate who He is with the way we live our lives. Remember that actions can speak louder than words. Let the Holy Spirit guide us in the way He wants to use us in seeking the lost.

  13. For the first time in my 70 years of being a born again Christian, I saw that the Holy Spirit spoke to Philip and he RAN to the eunuch. He didn’t drag his feet, he didn’t walk, he didn’t walk hesitantly. Philip RAN. Philip is our example of how we should react to the calling of the Holy Spirit. Always have you spiritual racing shoes on and your cell phone tuned to Him.

  14. Peter was quick to call out Simon’s sin and its consequence then demanded repentance. Simon immediately took seriously the jeopardy of his sin.
    May we today do as Peter and may God grant us repentance when we sin.

  15. Trials and Tribulations always has a way of waking me and making me realize that I can never live my life without God. Surviving cancer was an eye opener for me when I was 15 years old. It helped me to understand how valuable life is and how powerful God is. As I look back I realize certain things had to take place in order for me to appreciate life with God the way I do now.

  16. I have always loved the story of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch…..! Imagine the joy of the Ethiopian when he understood the Words that he had been reading! Philip was given the honor of explaining that passage and the privilege of baptizing him. Those two strangers were connected forever!

  17. I believe in the fact that God can heal broken lives and that he can teach you what you weren’t taught by example. I find it important that we show the importance of why God shows the importance of caring for what our lives were like and that it can be made new.

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