Keep It Simple

Welcome to today's encouragement from Our Daily Bread.

Our reading titled, Keep It Simple, was written by Patricia Rabin. The email was short but urgent. Request salvation. I would like to know Jesus.

What an astonishing request. Unlike reluctant friends and family who hadn't yet received Christ, this person didn't need convincing. My task was to quiet my self-doubt about evangelizing and simply share key concepts, scriptures, and trusted resources that address this man's plea. From there, by faith, God would lead his journey. Philip demonstrated such simple evangelism when on a desert road he met the treasurer of Ethiopia who was reading aloud from the book of Isaiah. Do you understand what you are reading? Philip asked in Acts chapter 8.

How can I? the man answered. Unless someone explains it to me. Invited to clarify, Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Starting where people are and keeping evangelism simple, as Philip showed, can be an effective way to share Christ. In fact, as the two traveled along, the man said, look, here is water, and asked to be baptized. Philip complied, and the man went on his way rejoicing. I rejoiced when the email writer replied that he had repented of sin, confessed Christ, found a church, and believed he was born again.

What a beautiful start. Now may God take him higher. Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Acts chapter 8 verses 26 through 35. Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, go south to the road, the desert road, that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.

So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake, which means queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The spirit told Philip, go to that chariot and stay near it. Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. Do you understand what you are reading, Philip asked.

How can I, he said, unless someone explains it to me. So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of scripture the eunuch was reading. He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

In his humiliation, he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants, for his life was taken from the earth. The eunuch asked Philip, tell me please who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else.

Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Let's pray. Jesus none of us are experts at evangelizing but we are all experts in what led us to you. Help us to share our faith and relationship with you in authentic ways that shows those we're trying to reach how real you are in our lives. Thank you Lord. It's in your name that we pray. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Joyce Dinkins and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.