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I am reading in Acts 8. I will summarize some and quote some. This was after the stoning of Stephen. Saul, who later became Paul, was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house. And dragging off people, he would put them in prison. Yet, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.
Philip, one of the seven deacons (it is presumed), was visited by an angel of God who spoke to Philip saying,
Philip then preached Jesus to the man, and the man believed in Jesus Christ, and Philip baptized the man. But when the man came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch no longer saw him, but he went on his way rejoicing, for he had believed in Jesus, the Christ.
Have you ever experienced such a “divine appointment” as this in your life? I have. But I think so many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ do not experience such divine appointments, for they have been taught that they cannot hear the Spirit speaking to them except through the written word. But how else will we know to whom we are to speak and what to say if we cannot hear the Spirit’s voice within us prompting us to go and to speak, and then giving us the words to speak? We cannot do this in our own flesh.
I just love this passage of Scripture because it encourages us who follow Christ with our lives to be on the lookout for those divine appointments the Lord has for us, which can come to us in many different ways. The Lord may even have us be ill so that we will go to a doctor, and the Lord may have us speak to the doctor about Jesus, or to his or her assistant. Or we may be sitting in a restaurant and overhearing someone near us in need of encouragement, and the Lord may send us over to their table to speak to them. But we need to be open to hearing the Lord’s voice.
We need to be on the lookout for those divine appointments the Lord has for us, never creating them ourselves, of our own flesh, but by being sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and to the needs of the people so when the Spirit speaks, we will listen, and we will do what he says to do. God may sometimes have us in uncomfortable or difficult circumstances because he has someone he wants us to talk with about Jesus, who needs Jesus, and who needs to surrender their lives to him, die with him to sin, and walk with him in obedience to his commands, in the power of God, not of the flesh.
[Mark 13:11; Luke 2:26; Luke 4:18-19; Luke 10:21; Luke 12:11-12; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:13; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:17-18; Acts 11:12; Acts 13:2; Acts 20:23; Romans 8:9,14; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16; 1 Corinthians 12:7,11,18; Romans 12:1-8; Ephesians 4:1-16]
Willing
An Original Work / August 17, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
I am willing to obey You;
Have Your Spirit live within me;
Know Your power; be Your witness
To a world who needs You greatly.
Love within me spread to all men,
So that they might come to know Him;
Know His power; His forgiveness;
Be transformed into His likeness.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Change our hearts within this hour.
May we be like Jesus always;
Be a light that shines in darkness.
Divine Appointments
An Original Work / September 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Philip, one of the seven deacons (it is presumed), was visited by an angel of God who spoke to Philip saying,
“Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. (Acts 8:26-31 NASB1995)
Philip then preached Jesus to the man, and the man believed in Jesus Christ, and Philip baptized the man. But when the man came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch no longer saw him, but he went on his way rejoicing, for he had believed in Jesus, the Christ.
Have you ever experienced such a “divine appointment” as this in your life? I have. But I think so many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ do not experience such divine appointments, for they have been taught that they cannot hear the Spirit speaking to them except through the written word. But how else will we know to whom we are to speak and what to say if we cannot hear the Spirit’s voice within us prompting us to go and to speak, and then giving us the words to speak? We cannot do this in our own flesh.
I just love this passage of Scripture because it encourages us who follow Christ with our lives to be on the lookout for those divine appointments the Lord has for us, which can come to us in many different ways. The Lord may even have us be ill so that we will go to a doctor, and the Lord may have us speak to the doctor about Jesus, or to his or her assistant. Or we may be sitting in a restaurant and overhearing someone near us in need of encouragement, and the Lord may send us over to their table to speak to them. But we need to be open to hearing the Lord’s voice.
We need to be on the lookout for those divine appointments the Lord has for us, never creating them ourselves, of our own flesh, but by being sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and to the needs of the people so when the Spirit speaks, we will listen, and we will do what he says to do. God may sometimes have us in uncomfortable or difficult circumstances because he has someone he wants us to talk with about Jesus, who needs Jesus, and who needs to surrender their lives to him, die with him to sin, and walk with him in obedience to his commands, in the power of God, not of the flesh.
[Mark 13:11; Luke 2:26; Luke 4:18-19; Luke 10:21; Luke 12:11-12; John 14:26; John 15:26; John 16:13; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:17-18; Acts 11:12; Acts 13:2; Acts 20:23; Romans 8:9,14; 1 Corinthians 2:14-16; 1 Corinthians 12:7,11,18; Romans 12:1-8; Ephesians 4:1-16]
Willing
An Original Work / August 17, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
I am willing to obey You;
Have Your Spirit live within me;
Know Your power; be Your witness
To a world who needs You greatly.
Love within me spread to all men,
So that they might come to know Him;
Know His power; His forgiveness;
Be transformed into His likeness.
Holy Spirit, come in power,
Change our hearts within this hour.
May we be like Jesus always;
Be a light that shines in darkness.
Divine Appointments
An Original Work / September 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
