Tuesday, February 28, 2006

NT06 - Acts 8, in which God uses evil for good yet again

In Acts 8, the stoning of Stephen ignites a general persecution against the church in Jerusalem. The disciples were scattered.

Philip went down to Samaria, where God had a divine appointment for him - an Ethiopian official on his way back to Africa.

I'm sure that when Philip fled Saul's rampage, he had no idea that God would use that persecution to bring the Gospel to a new continent and a new people.

Likewise the Ethiopian, returning from a religious ritual in Jerusalem, had no idea that his eyes would be opened to the truth. The eunuch was a religious man - he'd made a long and dangerous journey in order to worship at the Temple - but he had no understanding of what he was reading.

In like wise, many religious people may be celebrating Fat Tuesday and Ash Wednesday without a clear understanding of what that really means.

Has God set up divine appointments for us to "tell them the good news about Jesus?"

2 comments:

starbender said...

I know of "Ash Wednesday", but "Fat Tuesday" is a new one 2 me.
:]

SkyDaddy said...

Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday. Mardi Gras literally means, "Fat Tuesday." Traditionally it was a day of feasting before the Lenten season of fasting. Today it's often taken as an excuse for indulging to excess.