#acts 8 Philip preaches the gospel to the eunuch #bible study with #jairus

As I mentioned earlier, the Jerusalem apostles went to Samaria for a time, and then returned to Jerusalem. They found it difficult to leave Jerusalem. Acts 8:1 says, "On that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles." The apostles had seen God's work and His signs and wonders in Samaria. So why didn't they leave Jerusalem and preach the gospel to Gentile lands? This question is worth pondering.

Just like the apostles found it difficult to break free from Jerusalem, we often find it difficult to break through geographical limitations and limiting mindsets. When we become leaders, we often unknowingly protect our own interests and traditions. It is difficult for us to accept God’s new leading. Therefore, God often raises up new people or ordinary people to bring in His new movement.

In this chapter, Philip is open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The angel said to him, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (Acts 8:26). Philip left the beaten track, followed the leading of the Holy Spirit, and went to a place along the wilderness road from Jerusalem to Gaza. There he met a eunuch who had just gone back to Ethiopia after worshipping in Jerusalem. Verse 29 specifically mentions, "the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over and join this chariot.’” This eunuch may have been a Jew living in a Gentile land, or a Gentile longing for God. We have no way of knowing because the Bible does not say. But Philip following the leading of the Holy Spirit, indirectly introduced the gospel to Africa. This story confirms that the book of Acts could be aptly named “The Acts of the Holy Spirit,” because it records the work of the Holy Spirit.

But the work of the Holy Spirit requires us to cooperate with Him. And we have free will. We can choose to cooperate with the Holy Spirit or resist him. So to a certain extent, the characters in the Bible can be divided into two types - those who resist the Holy Spirit and those who obey him. May we all obey the Holy Spirit and be greatly used by the Lord.

#bible #Jairus #deuteronomy 33 Moses' Prophecies to the 12 Tribes - Blessed be he who enlarges Gad!

20 And of Gad he said,

“Blessed be he who enlarges Gad!

Gad crouches like a lion;

he tears off arm and scalp.

21 He chose the best of the land for himself,

for there a commander's portion was reserved;

and he came with the heads of the people,

with Israel he executed the justice of the Lord,

and his judgments for Israel.”

Genesis 49

19 “Raiders shall raid Gad,

but he shall raid at their heels.

Genesis 30

9 When Leah saw that she had ceased bearing children, she took her servant Zilpah and gave her to Jacob as a wife. 10 Then Leah's servant Zilpah bore Jacob a son. 11 And Leah said, “Good fortune has come!” so she called his name Gad.

1 Chronicles 5

11 The sons of Gad lived over against them in the land of Bashan as far as Salecah:

18 The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had valiant men who carried shield and sword, and drew the bow, expert in war, 44,760, able to go to war.

26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, the spirit of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, and he took them into exile, namely, the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river Gozan, to this day.

#睚鲁的圣经世界 #申命记 33章20-21节 #摩西对迦得的祝福 使迦得扩张的应当称颂！ #圣经 #基督徒 #睚鲁 2026-01-12

#bible study with #jairus #acts 9 The Beautiful Structure of God’s Word

I often use examples from Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to explain the Bible. According to Chinese Medicine, our bodies have many meridians. Wikimedia defines meridians as “paths through which the life-energy known as ‘qi’ flows."1 There are about 20 channels and along them about 400 acupuncture points. The acupuncturists use these acupuncture points and their channels to determine what medicine to use for certain diseases. They say a good combination of these efforts will bring better healing results. Of course not everyone agrees with this theory. I am just using this as an example.

When the Holy Spirit inspired authors to write the Bible, he put down lines or hidden structures that flow through the Bible. These lines are just like meridians, or channels, that the Holy Spirit used to express His train of thought. If you are good writer or editor, you understand the importance of following certain threads throughout an entire narrative. A poor writer does not have a coherent thought that flows through his entire writing.

The Holy Spirit is God. If we learn to see the coherent thought patterns behind the words on the page, we will marvel at how beautifully God inspired the Scriptures. If we do not understand it well or do not see the hidden line or channels, we will have a hard time understanding the Bible, in part or as a whole. Liberal theologians often deny the authority of the Bible because traditional theology was slow to accept the truths of science or to come in line with fact. Other traditional theology tended to be legalistic, so nonbelievers reject the Bible’s truth. To counteract this trend of unbelief, we need to help others grasp the true meaning, coherence, and beauty of the word of God. We can understand this through the power of the Holy Spirit. I believe that God's children will feel it inside their spirit if something is really an illumination from God.

#bible #Jairus #deuteronomy 33 Moses' Prophecies to the 12 Tribes - Rejoice, Issachar, in your tents

#睚鲁的圣经世界 #申命记 33章18-19节 #摩西对以萨迦的祝福 以萨迦阿，你在帐棚里可以快乐！ #圣经 #基督徒 #睚鲁 2026-01-09

#bible #deuteronomy 33 Moses' Prophecies to the 12 Tribes - Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out

#睚鲁的圣经世界 #申命记 33章18节 #摩西对西布伦的祝福 西布伦哪，你出外可以欢喜 #圣经 #基督徒 #睚鲁 2026-01-08

#bible study with #jairus #acts 7 Why Jesus Only Appear to Paul after the Death of Stephen?

We learn in Acts that God appeared to Saul (Paul) after Stephen was put to death. Why did God wait so long to appear to Saul? If Saul, who was renamed Paul was chosen by God when he was in his mother's womb, as we learn in Galatians, why did God wait to appear to him until after Stephen’s martyrdom? If God had appeared to Paul earlier, the needless persecution of Paul towards believers could have come to an end earlier.

However, God chose to allow Saul to witness Stephen’s martyrdom before calling him to apostleship. Listening to Stephen’s new narrative and witnessing Stephen’s martyrdom must have had a powerful impact on Saul’s life. God wanted Paul to hear Stephen’s interpretation of Israelite history. This event would prepare him for encountering God.

In Acts 8, Jesus appeared to Saul on his way to Damascus. This appearance was not only a result of God’s sovereignty, but also a natural consequence of Stephen’s narrative and testimony. We can have the same spiritual experience today. As we remove the veil of our preconceptions and traditional mindsets, we will encounter God. Many times, our preconceptions and traditions prevent us from grasping certain spiritual truths. They prevent us from entering into deeper spiritual experiences

#bible #deuteronomy 33 Moses' Prophecies to the 12 Tribes - Joseph - Enlarge Your Tent and Kingdom