Good Morning,
Morning Devotion led by Fr. Cameron Saunders, Assistant Priest of Christ The King Anglican Church, New Providence, Please share if you can 🙏🏼🙏🏼
Anglican Diocese of The Bahamas & The Turks & Caicos
Morning Devotion led by Fr. Cameron Saunders
# All my steps in your word, dear Lord # # Lead me, guide me, never regret # # Send your gliding, all our own prayer # # All my steps in your word # # Lead all my steps in your word # A pleasant good morning. These devotions are brought to you by the Anglican Diocese of the Bahamas and the Turks and Kickers Islands. Today is Thursday, August 22nd, 2024. I am Father Cameron Saunders, assisting priest at the parish of Christ the King in Richard in the Park West on the Providence and religious studies teacher at St. John's College. Let us pray. O my dear God, you have given your only son to be for us a sacrifice for sin and also an example of God the life. Give us grace to receive, thankfully, the fruits of his redeeming work and to follow daily in the blessed steps of his most holy life, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God now and forever. Amen. A reading from the book of the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 8, verses 26 through 40. Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south, to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. This is a wilderness road." So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, Queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home. Seated in his chariot, he was reading the Prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading from the Prophet Isaiah. He asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" He replied, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this. Like a sheep, he was led to the slaughter, unlike a lamb, salad before its shearer, so he doesn't open his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth. The eunuch asked Philip about who may I ask you? Does the Prophet say this? About himself? Or about someone else? Then Philip began to speak and, starting with this Scripture, he proclaims to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. What is to prevent me from being baptized?" He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azores, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. Here ends the lesson. In our New Testament lesson for the Office of Morning Prayer, we hear this short yet dramatic story of the conversion of an important official in the Ethiopian royal court, and the beginnings of the major geographical expansion of the church. When we consider the behavior of these two men whom we hear in Scripture today, we should find inspiration an example in their actions. Firstly, in the Ethiopian eunuch, we see humility and honesty. This eunuch was an important official in the Ethiopian royal court. He was in charge of the whole treasury of the country. And yet this powerful man was honest in expressing to a stranger his limitation with the Scripture he is reading. And also, he is humble enough to welcome a potential teacher to help to explain this Scripture that he is a difficulty understanding. Then also, as we consider Philip, we see displayed in him both enthusiasm and boldness in his work for God. As the Scripture tells us, when prompted by God, Philip runs to the chariot and starts up a conversation with this stranger. And in this moment, Philip initiating a conversation he ends up in this conversation rather ends up resulting in a conversion. Philip goes and boldly initiates a dialogue that results in an initiation into faith into a saving Christ. Yet all this was a result of Philip's unwavering obedience to God. Obedience to God's instructions to follow the Jerusalem route south. Obedience to the Holy Spirit's prompting to approach an Ethiopian royal chariot and offer the gospel. Then I wish for us in this moment to consider our level of obedience to God and his callings and his instructions in our lives. Alexander the Great conquered most of the known world with his military strength, his cleverness, and his diplomacy. The story is told that one day Alexander and a small company of soldiers approached a strongly defended world city. Alexander standing outside the walls raised his voice, demanding to see the king. The king, approaching the battlements above the invading army, agreed to hear Alexander's demands. Surrender to me immediately, commanded Alexander. The king naturally laughed. "Why should I surrender to you?" he called down. "We have you far outnumbered. You are no threat to us." Alexander was ready to answer the challenge. "Allow me to demonstrate why you should surrender," he replied. Alexander ordered his men to line up single file and start marching. He marched them straight toward a sheer cliff that dropped hundreds of feet to rocks below. The king and his soldiers watched in shock and disbelief as, one by one, Alexander's soldiers marched without hesitation right off the cliff to their deaths. After ten soldiers had died, Alexander ordered the rest of his men to stop and return to his side. The king and his soldiers surrendered on the spot to Alexander the Great, realizing that any man who commanded an army with that level of obedience was truly unstoppable. Obedience, my brothers and sisters, is still important in our worlds today. The obedience of Philip led to a successful conversion, yet also the instructor and the instruction are significant when we consider our own ways of being completely committed in obedience. We shouldn't expect positive outcomes when we follow the instructions of poor leaders or poor instructions. Yet, if the obedience of Roman soldiers was able to conquer kingdoms for an earthly wise king, how much more will our obedience conquer hearts and advance the true kingdom that advance all space and time when you follow the instructions of God, a true king? Rather, all creations true king. Let us commit to being obedient to our God in all ways, especially as we are preparing ourselves to begin a new year in our schools, in our universities. Let us commit in new ways to be obedient the first time immediately to our God, trusting him, following him, just as Philip did in our lesson for today. For God, let us be, let us allow ourselves to be used by God, for him to have his way in our lives, and have his desire for this world, to allow the full fulfillment of his kingdom on earth, that he may make his ways known, and make his love known, that he may be known, for his glory, and for our advantage. Let us commit to being obedient to our Gods today, and follow him wherever he may lead us. Amen. Thank you for listening to these devotions, and please, as always, share them with a friend. [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC]