falling asleep & beautiful feet

So I caught up tonight by reading Acts 7 & 8, and I can't wait to read chapter 9 - Saul's conversion to Paul, one of my favorite parts of Acts. :]

I loved the history that Stephen the martyr went through before he was stoned... a good summary of a good chunk of the OT for sure! Stephen's last words as he was being stoned paralleled so much to the last words of Christ: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit," and, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." Jesus spoke words very similar when He was being crucified, "Father, into Your hands I commit my spirit," and "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Sound familiar? :]

I never really understood why Luke wrote in Acts 7:60, "And when he said said this, he fell asleep" in reference to Stephen's death. I mean, why not just say he died? I looked at my commentary on this verse and read that the phrase "fell asleep" is a Christian expression for death, which reflects assurance of a future resurrection. Wow! I don't know about y'all, but that definitely struck a chord. There are so many other instances in Scripture where someone's death is referred to as "falling asleep," but we know that the death we die is temporary, for we will be resurrected with Christ and reign on earth with Him in the end! SO COOL. So, when we die, we will be merely "falling asleep," to awaken when Christ returns and we reign with Him. Thoughts on this?

In chapter 8, I love the part about the Ethiopian eunuch ("treasurer" or trusted royal servant, probably a God-fearer, a Gentile who worshiped God but had not become a full convert; as a eunuch, he would have been barred from the inner courts of the temple) and Philip. Philip is so obedient to the Spirit's leading in this situation - the Spirit tells Philip to go join the eunuch as he is reading from Isaiah 53 (did it look familiar to y'all? hope so! :))

Philip asks the eunuch if he understands what he is reading. The eunuch says, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" What a perfect opportunity for Philip to witness. This part reminds me of the passage in Romans 10:14-15: "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

The eunuch asks Philip who the passage is referring to, so Philip opens his mouth and tells him about the Good News of Jesus Christ! Upon seeing some water as they are traveling together, the eunuch simply says, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" (8:37) so Philip baptized him. Wow. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. It reminds me of Behind Closed Doors and how we talked about atheism. It's nothing of our own accord that converts people, but it's the Holy Spirit inside of us that does the work. The Spirit will use us (our words, actions, etc.) but ultimately the Spirit must change the heart of a nonbeliever. It's so cool to see the Spirit's work in the eunuch. It says that after the baptism and after Philip was taken away, the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. It was a genuine change of heart for him.

Anyway, just a few things to share. :] Praying for y'all - keep seeking Him and being bold for His name!