Puff

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

POOF

Acts 8:32-40

32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:

"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."  

34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"   38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

NIV

We could focus on the prophecy about Jesus and how Philip proclaimed the good news about Him, and how the Eunuch believed and wanted to be baptized, but there is a larger story here. That is not to say that explaining the good news of Jesus is not a large story, for that is the call on all of us. Every believer should be ready, willing, and able to proclaim the good news about Jesus and the kingdom of God. Just as Philip was led by the Spirit to run along the chariot and initiate a conversation about the Scripture the eunuch was reading, we should always be looking for opportunities to speak up about the good news about Jesus. That would be more than just inserting the name of Jesus into a conversation; it would be telling the good news about Jesus. This story also gives us the truth that every believer should go through the waters of baptism and experience the baptism in the Spirit, His infilling, and indwelling, with all the power he brings with him, his gifts, and fruit. As important as those truths are, we also should focus on this other power of the Spirit. When the eunuch and Philip came up out of the water, Philip was transported, caught up, taken away, disappeared, in a sense, from the presence of the eunuch, as he saw him no more. Some would want to explain this transportation away, saying that Philip immediately left and headed in another direction. Still, the Greek word harpazoo literally means to be snatched out or away. That positively implies that the Spirit caught up or snatched  Philip and supernaturally transported him away from the presence of the eunuch. Philip was there, and poof he was not there. This is how great the Spirit's power is, for He is God. We believe in the triune Godhead, the Father, Son, and Spirit. We must know what power dwells within our being, yet the question is whether we believe it and avail ourselves, or yield ourselves to the power of the Almighty Spirit of God, as Philip did. We do wonder if any of the people in Azotus witnessed the appearance of Philip, as he was not there, and poof, he was there. Transportation in Star Trek is fantasy; however, what happened to Philip was reality, and we should note that it could happen to us if the Spirit so needed us somewhere in a poof.