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Acts 8:34-40 New American Standard Bible 1995 34 The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. 36 As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 37 [[a]And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38 And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, [c]but went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip [d]found himself at [e]Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea. It's interesting to note that the meeting between Philip and the Ethiopian Bureaucrat Eunuch Government Official was quite brief because it was immediately after Philip shared The Gospel that The Holy Spirit snatched Philip away. Does it have something to do with Popular / pop psychology? (Also, as an Interesting Side Note: (Acts 8:26-40) narrative gives credibility to supporters of Short-term Christian missionary work because some Short-term Christian missionary work critics complain that short-term missionary work does Not allow Christian missionaries enough time to gradually develop a strong relationship with NonChristian people who need the Gospel.)

With what sort of love? Omegaman 3.0 6/5/2019 I recently posted in a thread at Worthy Christian Forums, where there seemed to be some disagreement about the nature of the kind of love that Christians are supposed to have. There also seemed to be some disagreement and even questions about whether or not some to the Bible’s statements contradict each other on this topic. I felt compelled to chime in. Not to toot my own horn, but as I developed my reply, I thought some of my comments were worth making a note of here, since they represent my thoughts (which is what a blog is, after all) and some of them arose out of my analysis of what people were disputing, so here it goes: I do not have two cents, but I have a nickel: I certainly see no contradiction between what Jesus said, and what John said, but I will offer my thoughts or opinions, as a sort of unsolicited, under-qualified commentary: First observation: 34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” My comment on that passage is that Jesus said that loving others is a commandment, and He is referring to the Law, so THAT is not new! What was the standard? Love others as you love yourself. Second observation: 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13 My comment on this one is that Jesus said it is new. If He said it is new, then it IS new. What is new about it? Jesus upped the standard. The standard here is not love each other as you love yourself, but love each other has Jesus Himself loved them. How was that? Self-sacrificially, Jesus DIED for them, that is real love. John tells us that when he reports that Jesus also said: Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 So, the NEW commandment you will note, is not to the general public, it was to His disciples. John also noted that Jesus gave his disciples a purpose, the positive side effect: "By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:25 So, the new command so far is that disciples are to love other disciples, with the same sort of love, the greatest love, self-sacrificial love, as Jesus demonstrated on the cross, not that we must die, but that is the supreme example of that kind of love. Tradition has it, that all the apostles except Judas and John, died as martyrs, and John was willing. They tried to boil him in oil, it just did not work, so he was banished to Patmos, where he penned the book of Revelation. As a side note, when Peter was told he was to be crucified, Peter asked Jesus about John - well, what about him (John)? Jesus basic answer was, that is none of your business Peter! From what we think we know, John died of "natural" causes, in his old age. So, for the most part, the disciples lived out their mission the obey the commandment, the loved us, all disciples enough to die in their efforts to see that we got Jesus message. At this juncture, I would like to point out something else, from Matthew 28: 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. So, Jesus disciples were told to make other disciples. If you are a believer, you are one of the disciples of disciples of disciples, etc. The disciples were to teach others to obey Jesus. If you are a TRUE disciple, you will seek to, want to, obey Jesus. After all, that is what a disciple is, one who follows their teacher. Our ultimate Teacher then, is Jesus. What is it then, that we are taught to obey then? Among other things: Make more disciples and teach them to obey Jesus, and that includes loving other believers with the unique love that Jesus lavished upon them. So, for the most part, the disciples lived out their mission they obeyed the commandment, the loved us, all disciples enough to die in their efforts to see that we got Jesus message. They practices what they preached, and the preached what Jesus told them to. So many of the quotes I supplied ARE from John, how then is that a contradiction? John knew that there was an Old Testament command, to love others as ourselves. He also was quick to point out that those in the Jesus' church, were to go beyond that sort of love, the easy love that even pagans so. Toward each other, they were to with a supernatural love that is not given to everyone, but believers are given that ability, and are told to exercise it. Love is an aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, the Paul describes in Gal 5:22 and Eph 5:19. (Those are links, by the way) Paul also describes love in 1 Cor 13: 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. With all of this great information in the Bible (not in my post), the real question is: HOW WELL DO WE ALL MEASURE UP? I also ask, that you consider praying about this in your own lives, that you pray for others also, and not the least, for me also, as we all need it at times. Go forth and love, to the Glory of God!

Daily Reading 58 If you prefer, you can look up the following verses in your own Bible, of by whatever means and in whichever version you choose. Matthew 7 Exodus 37:1-38:31 Proverbs 17 Audio 3:31 Audio 3:14 Audio 2:58 The above addresses are linked to Bible Gateway. That is an easy way to read (or listen to) the Bible verses, and choose your version. Personally, I prefer written, that way I can go at my own pace, on think about it, before moving on. Nothing wrong with doing either or both. The Bible says faith comes by hearing. See the picture below to get an idea of what to expect if you follow the above links. Note: The audio will not play the exact verses, it will play the whole chapters, in which the verses exist. Thank you Lord for making the your word so accessible for us in these times. Amen

Hey everyone, Recently on my church adventure, I came across something that was rather out in the open that led me into deep thought but I need feedback. Are we, Christians, considered to be saints or disciples of Christ? I was at a local church I visit ever so often on my church journey and a pastor during his bible study sermon mentioned that we are all saints due to our belief in Jesus Christ. I wonder what your opinions are? Please give feedback. Thanks & God Bless!