Wednesday, March 29, 2023 Some material taken from NAMB Who’s Your One 21 day devotional.
The Holy Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and walk along beside the carriage.” Philip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Philip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading? The man replied, “How can I unless someone instructs me?” And he urged Philip to come up into the carriage and sit with him.” ACTS 8:29-31, NLT
Are You Willing to Be Inconvenienced?
Philip had a surprising shift in ministry when the Holy Spirit led him away from what many would call a successful and sizable ministry and into the desert, where he met an unlikely Ethiopian stranger. Philip discovered God had already prepared the Ethiopian to be his One.
God’s Spirit took Philip away from where he was comfortable but brought him to where he was most needed. Philip shared the gospel with the Ethiopian eunuch, and he was immediately receptive and wanted to be baptized. The Ethiopian took the gospel back home with him, and Philip’s ministry to his One facilitated the gospel’s entrance into an entirely new country.
Philip was willing to be inconvenienced in order to be obedient to God’s call on his life. He sacrificed a lot, leaving a flourishing ministry to go to the desert. Sacrifice may be part of being the light for your One, especially if it means being prepared to shine at a moment’s notice and in places you might not choose for yourself. Would you be willing to leave what seem like fertile mission fields and follow God’s direction to a desert to share the gospel?
What if your one is someone or somewhere who is completely beyond your comfort zone or your expected place? Are you able to discern the voice of God well enough to recognize Him leading you in a direction you didn’t plan on going?
We’re often afraid to step out on faith and share with someone at the Holy Spirit’s urging, but Philip’s story shows that when we’re obedient to God’s promptings to share the gospel with our one, we’ll often find God is giving us someone who’s heart is already prepared to receive His Son. We’ll also realize that the one with whom we share may become instrumental in bringing Christ to the nations.
God is always ready to give us a heart prepared for the gospel. The question is, will you be ready? Are you willing to step out of YOUR comfort zone to reach the one who God is already working on? Ask God to help you be prepared to share with your One.
Who’s Your One Prayer Guide Day 25
“Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow. As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly, since the soil wasn’t deep. When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce fruit. Still other seed fell on good ground, and it grew up, producing fruit that increased thirty, sixty, and a hundred times.” Then he said, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”
MARK 4:3-9, CSB
Father, cause the seed being sown in ____________’s life to produce fruit. I know the enemy likes nothing more than to see the sun or thorns destroy the seed of the gospel in his/her life. Do the work of tilling the soil in his/her heart, so the message of the gospel is received. I know You are able to transform even the hardest heart, as You demonstrated in the transformation of the apostle Paul. Nothing is impossible for You. I ask You to show Your power once again and cause ____________ to produce exponential fruit.
