Morning, September 26
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I looked out into the night and saw a man riding on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in the hollow, and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.  — Zechariah 1:8
Bible League: Living His Word
So Philip got ready and went. On the road, he saw a man from Ethiopia. He was a eunuch and an important official in the service of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. He was responsible for taking care of all her money. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship.
— Acts 8:27 ERV

Obedience is a response to what one has been commanded; it is fulfilling the instruction or the command. Obedience is being compliant with the general authority. In Hebrew, the word "shema" means to hear and obey. Philip was a missionary whom God used greatly to influence the birth of the church in the book of Acts. He reached the unreached communities of Gentiles.

Being a missionary or an evangelist requires obedience to Christ. In Acts 8:26, an angel of God tells Philip to get ready and go south on the road leading to Gaza. Immediately, Philip complies with the directive from God's angel. The angel bears the command from God; hence Philip does not need any confirmation to get permission, the mandate was already at hand!

In Acts 1:8, the apostles had waited for the infilling of the Holy Spirit, and now they were being scattered across countries because the persecution had erupted in Jerusalem (v. 1-4)! Philip started in Samaria, where he met Simon the sorcerer and now, he heads to Gaza where he meets the Ethiopian treasurer. From there, he went further to Azotus and Caesarea telling people the Good News about Jesus Christ (v. 40).

In our verse of the day, Philip got ready. At times we are not ready, and that is why training and equipping of the children of God is imperative. Philip and other Apostles were empowered by the Holy Spirit, as Acts 1:8 says: "But the Holy Spirit will come on you and give you power. You will be my witnesses. You will tell people everywhere about me - in Jerusalem, in the rest of Judea, in Samaria, and every part of the world." As children of God, we are empowered to minister the Good News!

Philip exemplified a faithful servant that obeyed Christ. He got ready and went! The angel did not accompany him, the Holy Spirit was with him. Verse 29 says, "The Spirit said to Philip, 'Go to that chariot and stay near it.'" What a companionship we have, when we have partnered with Christ, to fulfil the Great Commission! The Holy Spirit is our teacher and is with us (Luke 12:12).

Philip met with a man who needed an understanding of the Scriptures. The understanding of Scripture led the Ethiopian to Christ! In 1 Timothy 2:4 we read, "God wants everyone to be saved and to fully understand the truth." Jesus is the truth (John 14:6). Philip accomplished the mission of God because he was obedient. God orchestrated a saving mission that took Philip to obey and the Ethiopian to understand Christ, through Scriptures. Philip did not ask who he would meet on the road, nor did he have a map. Beloved, all that we are doing may not make sense to us; however, God knows it all!

Today, we live in a world of digital communication, and you can know the country or place before your departure. Let us continue to obey Jesus' mission call and listen to the Holy Spirit as He guides us to all the truth. Philip kept going from one place to another because he obeyed without reservations-can you be a Philip in our contemporary world?

By Christopher Thetswe, Bible League International staff, South Africa
Bible in a Year
Old Testament Reading
Isaiah 7, 8, 9


Isaiah 7 -- War and Tribulation; The Coming of Immanuel

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Isaiah 8 -- Uriah and Zechariah

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Isaiah 9 -- Unto Us a Child Is Born; Judgments upon Israel

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


New Testament Reading
Galatians 4


Galatians 4 -- We are not children of the handmaid, but of the free woman

  NIV   NLT   ESV   NAS   GWT   KJV   ASV   ERV   DRB


Reading Plan Courtesy of Christian Classics Etherial Library.
Tyndale Life Application Daily Devotion
Don't you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.
Insight
What did Paul mean when he said that our bodies belong to God? Many people say they have the right to do whatever they want with their own bodies. Although they think that this is freedom, they are really enslaved to their own desires. When we become Christians, the Holy Spirit fills and lives in us. Therefore, we no longer own our bodies. “Bought . . . with a high price'' refers to slaves purchased at auction. Christ's death freed us from sin, but also obligates us to his service.
Challenge
If you live in a building owned by someone else, you try not to violate the building's rules. Because your body belongs to God, you must not violate his standards for living.
Morning and Evening by Spurgeon
Zechariah 1:8  The myrtle trees that were in the bottom.

The vision in this chapter describes the condition of Israel in Zechariah's day; but being interpreted in its aspect towards us, it describes the Church of God as we find it now in the world. The Church is compared to a myrtle grove flourishing in a valley. It is hidden, unobserved, secreted; courting no honor and attracting no observation from the careless gazer. The Church, like her head, has a glory, but it is concealed from carnal eyes, for the time of her breaking forth in all her splendour is not yet come. The idea of tranquil security is also suggested to us: for the myrtle grove in the valley is still and calm, while the storm sweeps over the mountain summits. Tempests spend their force upon the craggy peaks of the Alps, but down yonder where flows the stream which maketh glad the city of our God, the myrtles flourish by the still waters, all unshaken by the impetuous wind. How great is the inward tranquility of God's Church! Even when opposed and persecuted, she has a peace which the world gives not, and which, therefore, it cannot take away: the peace of God which passeth all understanding keeps the hearts and minds of God's people. Does not the metaphor forcibly picture the peaceful, perpetual growth of the saints? The myrtle sheds not her leaves, she is always green; and the Church in her worst time still hath a blessed verdure of grace about her; nay, she has sometimes exhibited most verdure when her winter has been sharpest. She has prospered most when her adversities have been most severe. Hence the text hints at victory. The myrtle is the emblem of peace, and a significant token of triumph. The brows of conquerors were bound with myrtle and with laurel; and is not the Church ever victorious? Is not every Christian more than a conqueror through him that loved him? Living in peace, do not the saints fall asleep in the arms of victory?

Daily Light on the Daily Path
Deuteronomy 32:4  "The Rock! His work is perfect, For all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, Righteous and upright is He.

1 Peter 2:23  and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;

2 Corinthians 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Romans 14:12  So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

Ezekiel 18:4  "Behold, all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.

Zechariah 13:7  "Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, And against the man, My Associate," Declares the LORD of hosts. "Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered; And I will turn My hand against the little ones.

Isaiah 53:6  All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

Psalm 85:10  Lovingkindness and truth have met together; Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Isaiah 2:13  And it will be against all the cedars of Lebanon that are lofty and lifted up, Against all the oaks of Bashan,

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Isaiah 45:21  "Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me.

Romans 3:26  for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:24  being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.

Evening September 25
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