When Amy was a student, she and two friends felt called to go to Afghanistan and pray. The night before her flight, she had a dream of the three of them giving Bibles to the Taliban, and felt it was from God. Hastily, they stuffed their bags with Arabic Bibles.
Miraculously, their smuggled books passed border checks, they gained entry where journalists had been refused, and they were able to meet with the Taliban’s education minister, foreign minister and religion minister. With a wary eye on the guards carrying Kalashnikovs, Amy handed over a Bible. To her astonishment, the religion minister said, “I have prayed for many years that I could read the Bible . . . Thank you.” God used Amy’s dream to answer his prayer.
Philip was similarly directed by God to reach an intimidating official. The Ethiopian eunuch was a devout Jew who held a high position “in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake, queen of the Ethiopians” (Acts 8:27). Philip was able to explain how Isaiah 53 prophesied about Jesus (vv. 32–35) and the eunuch went back to the Ethiopian court as a baptised Christian (vv. 36–38).
The Bible is full of unexpected conversions. Amy’s encounter with the Taliban changed her: she no longer sees anyone as unreachable to God. Wonderfully, the Spirit can transform even the most unlikely people. Nothing is impossible for God.
By Tanya Marlow
REFLECT & PRAY
Who might you see as unreachable, either because of their untouchable social status or their hostility to the gospel? How do Amy and Philip’s stories encourage you?
Dear God, thank You that You still reach the unreachable. Help me to see the possibilities of Your grace in everyone’s lives.
SCRIPTURE INSIGHT
All Scripture points to Jesus and is about Him. In today’s passage (Acts 8:26–35), it’s easy to identify the quote from Isaiah 53 as pointing to Jesus because of prophetic hindsight. But Jesus Himself reminds us that all Scripture, not just the prophecies, point to Him. “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27).
J.R. Hudberg
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