God in stead of gold!
Hennie Symington

Then Philip began to speak; starting from this passage of scripture, he told him the Good News about Jesus. As they travelled down the road, they came to a place where there was some water, and the official said, “Here is some water. What is to keep me from being baptised?”

The official ordered the carriage to stop, and both Philip and the official went down into the water, and Philip baptised him. Acts 8:35-38

The gospel is powerful and knows no bounds as the following story shows. Many years ago someone told me about a Chinese couple they met on their travels in China. They later became friends and began talking about religion. The man was not a believer but was very interested in the Christian faith.

(Christianity has a long history in China but has suffered severe persecution under the regime of Mao Zedong and other Communist leaders.)

They regularly corresponded with each other. Later on the man with his wife and son happened to come to South Africa to work for a large South African company. Here they began attending church and became Christians. One day Sheng Fei, the father, called the pastor of the church, saying he and his family wanted to be baptised the following Sunday! The pastor was a little hesitant because what would the elders say if he baptised someone who knew nothing about the Confession of Faith or the Creed and has never even attended Sunday School. Sheng Fei and Nini then explained that were returning to China the following week and refused to go unless they were baptised. What church can refuse such a request? Surely Christ showed the way by healing the lame man on the Sabbath

Sheng Fei's words when he was finally baptised, with tears of joy streaming down his face, were: "I came to Africa to find gold, but I found God."

Today they are active members of a church in Beijing and every time they come to South Africa, they come to greet their family in Christ with the same zeal as the day they became a part of God's family.

Pray for Christians worldwide

Let us we pray for the many new Christians in China and also the thousands of Christians who are persecuted in many countries, especially in the Middle East. Pray for people in our country who are free to believe but who have lost their love for God and his church.

Prayer:
Lord, your grace is wide and you love for mankind is infinite. May we proclaim this anywhere and at any time. Amen