Don’s Daily Devotions

Acts chapter 9:7-12:

V7:  Those accompanying Paul are mystified – they hear a voice, but see no-one. This surely makes it clear that Saul does indeed see Jesus.

V8-9:  When Saul gets up he can see nothing – the heavenly light has blinded him, and he needs to be led into the city, where for 3 days he remains in this condition and will neither eat nor drink ( but, as v11 tells us, he is praying, surely as he has never prayed before.)

V10:  We learn of a disciple named Ananias – surely a leader among the Damascus Christians – and how the Lord calls to him in a vision. He knows at once who it is who speaks to him.

V11:  The Lord tells Ananias to go to Saul, giving him clear directions where to find him, for he is praying. Again, how different his prayers must be from those he had prayed before as a zealous Pharisee.

V12:  We learn that Saul has already been given a vision of Ananias coming to him to restore his sight – and far more than his physical sight, of course. All this is ” grace abounding to the chief of sinners” ( The title of Bunyan’s “spiritual autobiography, combining Romans 5:20 and I Timothy 1:15 (A.V.) – true of Bunyan, true of Saul, and true of every one of us as believers! )

Acts chapter 9:1-6:

V1:  Saul’s bitter hatred of Christ’s people – and of the very Name of Jesus ( see Acts 26:9.) knows no bounds. He seeks their death, and goes to the High priest…

V2: … to ask for written authority to persecute believers in Damascus, to arrest both men and women to bring them to Jerusalem ( and presumably before the Sanhedrin council,)

V3:  On his journey, he is drawing near to Damascus, when ” a light from heaven” shines upon him – God is breaking into this arch-persecutor’s life in amazing grace!

V4:  Saul falls to the ground, and a voice – Jesus Himself – asks Saul why does he persecute Him? Note that to persecute His people is to persecute the Lord Himself, so closely does He identify Himself with them.

V5-6:  Saul asks who it is that speaks to him – though in his heart he must surely know, and note he already calls the One who speaks Lord – a term only properly applied to Jesus in the NT. Jesus answers him plainly – let there be no doubt – and tells him to get up, go into the city and there he will be told what to do. Paul later makes it quite clear that this was not simply a vision, but a real encounter with the Risen Christ, in His grace, which would be the source and seal of his Apostleship. ( 1 Corinthians 15:8-10.)

Acts chapter 8:34-40:

V34:  The Eunuch asks whether the prophet is speaking of himself, or someone else. What an opportunity to speak of Jesus! Grace is at work in all that is happening here, preparing this man’s heart for the gospel, as He has many others since.

V35:  Readily, Philip begins at that same Scripture to declare Jesus to him. How full Isaiah 53 is of the Saviour and His work – see especially v3-5 – but the whole OT is full of Him, of course. ( See Luke 24:27.)

V36-37:  Philip must have declared a full gospel, and a full response of repentance, faith and obedience, with baptism as the outward witness to that faith. The chariot comes -” by chance”, men would say – to “some water”. An oasis? A watering hole? The Eunuch asks what is there to prevent his being baptised?

V38:  Philip is sure the man’s confession of faith is real, his repentance genuine, and willingly baptises him at once.

V39-40:  Then the Holy Spirit ” carried Philip away”. Is this a miraculous act, or does it simply mean He directs Philip elsewhere? The former seems to be indicated here. The Eunuch sees no more of the man instrumental in his conversion – nor does he need to, for it was God’;s sovereign grace at work – but goes on his way rejoicing – rejoicing in the Lord and Saviour he now knows. Philip is found at Azotus ( the OT Ashdod, once a Philistine city, on the coast of Israel .) He preaches there, and in every place he comes to, until he comes to Caesarea, some 40 miles further North.

In all this chapter, God has worked through His people, whether the unnamed believers scattered from Jerusalem in v4, Peter and John, or Philip, to further the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church.

Acts chapter 8:26-33:

V26:  Now God speaks to Philip – the Angel of the Lord in the OT speaks of God Himself appearing to those He chooses, many believe the pre-incarnate Jesus –  can we say then that Jesus Himself now directs Philip to leave his fruitful ministry in Samaria, to go down to a road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza, through a largely desert area. How strange, we may think, but God’s ways are always right.

V27:  For there Philip meets this man from Ethiopia, the treasurer of their queen, but clearly a believer in the God of Israel – a “God-fearer” in the terms of the day. As a Eunuch, he could not have been a full proselyte, but the old barriers of the ceremonial law are being broken down in Christ.

V28:  Having been to Jerusalem to worship, he is now returning in his chariot, but even as he travels he is reading from the book of Isaiah. As a man of rank, he would of course have had a chariot driver with him, and the “book” would be a scroll.

V29-30:  The Holy Spirit tells Philip to go up to the chariot. Eager to do God’s will, Philip runs to join the man, and Philip hears him reading from Isaiah 53 – in that day, many would have read aloud, especially in a language not their own, as presumably was the case here. Prompted by the Spirit, Philip asks him if he understands what he is reading?

V31:  He readily admits he needs someone to explain it to him – and seems to see Philip as sent for this purpose – so, asks him into the chariot to do so. Clearly, here is a heart prepared by God’s grace for the gospel.

V32-33:  He is reading from Isaiah 53:7-8. The quotation is a little differently worded from those actual verses in our ESV, and would be from the Greek version of the OT widely used at this time. How remarkably God is at work in all this. Could any passage give a clearer lead to point to Jesus?

Read Acts chapter 8:20-25:

V20: Peter is angered by this mercenary attitude, but surely more at the unbelieving heart behind it. He tells Simon he will come under solemn judgement for this, and his money will perish with him. Perhaps we remember the parable of the “rich fool” in Luke 12:16-21.

V21-22:  Then he tells Simon his heart is not right with God, he has no part in the work of God he has just witnessed and is still a sinner under judgement – but now he calls on him to repent and to pray for forgiveness.

V23-24:  He perceives the bitterness of Simon’s spirit – his desire for status and power, and that he is truly in the grip of sin. Simon asks the Apostles to pray for him, that this judgement will not come upon him. Does he feel unable to pray himself, or does he think the Apostles’ prayers will “carry more weight”? He is still far from true faith, and Scripture does not tell us if he came to faith after this. But God’s grace has a long reach, and His mercy is wonderful.

V25:  Peter and John stay a while in Samaria after this, preaching there, then as they return to Jerusalem, they preach in all the Samaritan villages they pass through. Clearly, they are fully convinced that God’s grace has been poured out on the Samaritans too, and that will be their report back.

Acts chapter 8:14-19:

V14-15: Hearing of the work in Samaria, the Apostles send Peter and John to seek to know if this is indeed of the Lord. Remember, it is a completely new departure, not yet endorsed by the Apostles. Is it truly a work of God’s grace? Peter and John are, it seems, quickly convinced, and pray for the converts to receive the Holy Spirit.

V16-17:  It seems God’s work in the Samaritan believers is ongoing – they have not yet received the Spirit, though they have truly believed in the Lord, and been baptised in His Name. But when Peter and John lay hands on them, they receive the Holy Spirit at once. This is best understood, I think, as God’s outward confirmation that these ” non-Jews ” have had the same experience as their Jewish brothers in all its fullness. We will see this again in the Gentile household of Cornelius in ch10. These early confirmations of salvation come to Samaritans and Gentiles are just that – not an ongoing pattern.

V18-19:  Now Simon comes into the picture again, surely casting doubt on his professed conversion. Amazed by the result of the Apostles laying on of hands ( there must have been tangible outward signs, perhaps like those on the Day of Pentecost ) he offers money to be given the same power. Clearly, he has no real understanding of God’s grace at work and what it means – the outward signs are what he wants. May we never be taken up with externals, of any kind, but pray and long to see real works of grace, to God’s glory.

Acts chapter 8:9-13:

V9:  We read of a man named Simon ( often referred to as Simon the sorcerer ) who has impressed and influenced the Samaritans, and claimed ” great things” for himself. His ” magic”, surely is the result of real but demonic powers. God’s Word warns us of the reality of such powers, and of the spiritual warfare. ( Ephesians 6:12.)

V10-11:  It seems he has claimed to be exercising God’s own power. So Satan often seeks to present his work as if it were of God, one of his devices to deceive the souls of men.( See 2 Corinthians 11:14-15.)

V12:  But as God blesses Philip’s ministry many who had been under Simon’s malign influence turn to Christ, believe and are saved, testifying to this in immediate baptism.

V13:  And Simon himself professes faith, and is baptised. Is this a true work of grace, or a false profession? The next verses suggest the latter, Perhaps Simon himself thought he was a believer, but clearly it was the signs and wonders he saw that impressed him. God grant the gift of discernment to His church today – remember  Matthew 7:16.

Acts chapter 8:1-8:

V1:  Saul’s approval of Stephen’s “execution” is linked at once with a great persecution against the church, in which he is clearly involved ( v3 .) The immediate result is to scatter the believers out from Jerusalem, apart from  the Apostles. Was the persecution then especially targeted against ” ordinary believers”, thinking this would stop their witness?

V2-3:  ” Devout men” take Stephen’s body for burial, grieving for his death, but Saul continues to harass the church, forcing, it seems, entry into homes and throwing both men and women into prison.No wonder he would later  write 1 Corinthians 15:9-10.

V4:  But those ” ordinary believers”, now scattered abroad, take the gospel wherever they go, not so much formal preaching surely, but as it has been put, ” gossiping the gospel”. So God uses the very growth of persecution to begin the wider spread of the gospel, as in Ch 1 v8.

V5:  Now we focus on Philip, like Stephen one of the “seven”, in ch 6 v5, and like him too a man of clear spiritual gifts. He goes to Samaria – almost ” forbidden territory” to pious Jews, remember ( John 4:9.) but led by the Spirit, he powerfully preaches Christ to the Samaritans.

V6-8:  Many heed his preaching, especially as it is attended by signs – exorcism and healing – but it is the Word of God, not these signs, through which the Lord works in their hearts, and the joy spoken of in v8 is surely the joy of salvation by grace.

Saturday 10 October:  Acts  7:55-60 

V55:  Stephen himself, even as he is, before his accusers, is given a vision of heaven and of Jesus “standing at the right hand of God” – the place of honour and authority, but surely seen as waiting to receive His servant.

V56:  He declares what he has seen – they of course have seen nothing.

V57:  This only increases their rage – the “dignified council” now become a frenzied mob, rushing at Stephen.

V58:   He is manhandled outside the city. As with Jesus’ own crucifixion, they want to observe the letter of the Law, not to pollute the ” Holy city.” ( See Numbers 15:35; Hebrews 13:11.) Such is the hypocrisy of formal religion, with no sense of the living God. There Stephen is stoned – and a ” young man called Saul” is part of that, and perhaps in some sort of authority. How amazing the grace of God as it will later transform the life of this man.

V59:  Even as he dies – and it must be in agony – Stephen prays for God to receive his spirit, and like his Lord before him, asks forgiveness for his murderers! So, he dies, the first Christian martyr, ” faithful unto death”. Gently the record ends, ” he fell asleep”, for he is safe with his Lord now, waiting for the day spoken of in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15.

Friday 9 October: Acts 7:51-54:

V51:  The long record of God’s dealings with His OT people, and increasingly their rebellion and disobedience, is abruptly brought to an end, to accuse  this generation of the same stubborn disbelief and refusal to heed the Holy Spirit their ancestors had shown.

V52-53:  Their fathers have persecuted and killed the prophets God sent to them, rejecting their teaching of the coming of the ” righteous one” – of Jesus, God’s true anointed, whom they have now rejected and killed. ( Compare the Lord’s own parable in Matthew 21:33-39.) This is the culmination and purpose of Stephen’s whole address, showing how this generation have done just as their fathers did – in the ultimate way, by the death of Jesus Himself. Doesn’t this long account show the wonder of God’s long-suffering grace. Yet, as here, sinful hearts still reject His grace.

V54:  They are untouched by all Stephen has said, and only react with fury and hatred.