Acts 8

We meet Saul here - later to be Paul - persecuting the church. The worst of the worst in that his only mission was to enter people's homes and drag them off, men and women, to go to prison and then eventually die for their belief in Christ. Saul was at the stoning of Stephen and "was in hearty agreement with putting him to death." I guess I didn't know that Paul (Saul) was at the stoning of Stephen. Wow.

I also meet Simon the Magician in this chapter; I've heard of him before but didn't know how it related. He tried to fool Philip, and himself, into believing that he had the Holy Spirit because he wanted the power...the power of the miracles...for money! Let's name who comes to mind when you think of someone that tried to fool the public into believing their miracles were of the Holy Spirit but it was really for money! Hmm...Jim Baker, Jimmy Swaggart and in my mind, many men who run churches today. Peter said to Simon, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!" v. 20

I can not emphasize enough that the apostles had to continually pray that the Holy Spirit would fall upon the new believers..."they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit." v. 15-17 Note: Something Simon the Magician wanted very badly...the gift of the Holy Spirit but It was not his to have because he didn't want the message of Christ.

But my biggest surprise was this: "When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him" v.39. I learned that both Elijah and Ezekiel were both snatched away in this same miraculous manner...made me think of Touched By An Angel. LOL Truly Philip belonged to God.