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In the verse, what does God say He will do through His Word? Who sends the Word? It can be very comfort- ing to know that it is God who has sent His Word. We simply echo it in this world. Consider for a moment how this can support you in your work of speaking Law and Gospel with others. God's Word is living and active in this world because God has sent it, and God has sent it to you to speak. We don't have to let fear of speaking get in the way; God sent His Word to do the work He wants it to do. We don't have to worry about what effect our speaking may have. Rest assured, God is the one who sent His Word, and it will accomplish what He desires it to accomplish. We are simply called to speak, and speaking (not just smiling) is so import- ant. Throughout the Book of Acts, we hear numerous accounts of God's Word being spoken. This was a rich period of Christian evangelism in which the apostles and other Christians were speaking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to whomever they met. Sometimes their words were received, and people became Christians. Other times, the apostles would speak, and people would reject the Gospel of Jesus Christ and want to remain in their sin. Whether the Word was received or rejected, to a certain extent, didn't matter. What mattered is that it was spoken. One of the most famous stories of conversion in the Book of Acts is when Philip spoke God's Word to an Ethiopian eunuch. Please read the following story and note when Philip spoke God's Word. Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Je- rusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and join this chariot." So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are read- ing?" And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep He was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opens not His mouth. In His humiliation justice was denied Him. Who can describe His generation? For His life is taken away from the earth." And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?" And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. (Acts 8:26–38) Without a doubt, this is one of the most famous conver- sion stories in Acts. The Ethiopian eunuch was reading the Scriptures and was perplexed about the meaning. What did Philip do? Acts doesn't record the precise words Philip spoke to the Ethiopian eunuch except this: "Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Je- sus" (Acts 8:35). Philip actually spoke about Jesus and identified that the prophet Isaiah was writing about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Philip spoke God's Word. w As Christians, we are called to speak God's Word to one another with the help of the Holy Spirit. Learn to speak God's Law and Gospel with confidence and love, with the knowledge that it is God's Word and not our own. Find this title and others listed in this magazine at cph.org/llresources. SPEAKING BOLDLY: SHARING GOD'S WORD EVERY DAY Lutheran Life 27

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