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his man became a missionary to his people, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever he went.
Many years ago, an English officer, who was in charge of a British station in India, received a message telling him to return to England for a while. He had quite a few Indian people working for him, and wondered who would be able to take his place while he was gone. He was far away from any missionary station, and there was no other English officer there who he could leave in charge. There was a good deal of valuable property at the station. What should he do? He prayed about it and asked the Lord for guidance.
After thinking and praying about it for a while, the officer decided to ask one of the natives, who lived in the neighborhood, to take charge while he was away. He was a heathen man, since most of the native people were Hindu, but he was respectable, honest, and faithful, and the British officer felt sure that everything would be safe in the care of this man. The man agreed to watch over the station and supervise the workmen as well. Before he left, the officer gave the new supervisor a Bible. He urged him to read it, for in it he would find everything he needed for happiness.
Then the officer went away. He had to go to England, and then to America. More than a year passed before he could return to India. On his homeward journey the officer wondered how he would find things on his return. He wondered if the man he had left in charge had taken good care of things. He wondered if the workmen had been well cared for, and if everything had gone smoothly. He wondered whether he would hear many complaints and troubles when he returned.
It was a Saturday evening when he got back to his station, and when Sunday morning came, no one knew yet that he had returned. He looked out of his window as soon as he got up in the morning, and was delighted to see how nice everything looked. He felt sure that the man he had left in charge had taken good care of things. Then he began his day with prayer and Bible reading.
At about ten o’clock the officer heard a bell ring. Then he saw some of the workmen as well as some of the villagers gather together at a schoolhouse nearby his house. After a while he heard singing. He wondered what it all meant. He called one of his servants, and asked what they were doing in the schoolhouse. The servant replied that they had church services there now every Sunday.
“Has a missionary been here since I have been away?” asked the officer.
“No, sir,” answered the servant.
“Then, who started this church?”
“The ‘sahib’ (the master) did this while you were away, sir,” was the reply.
“And what do they do in church?” inquired the officer, who knew that only one or two others in the village besides himself professed to be Christians.
“They sing, and pray, and then the man reads to them out of the Bible, and talks to the people about salvation in Jesus Christ.”
Suddenly, the officer understood! Could this really be the result of the Bible he had given to the new supervisor? This was wonderful news for the British officer. When he left, this man was a heathen. He hated and despised the religion of Jesus. And now, was he really a Christian? The officer hurried over to the schoolhouse. After the service, he spoke to the supervisor, who told him what had happened. He had been curious about what was in the Bible, so he began to read it. The Holy Spirit showed him that he was a sinner, but also that Jesus Christ is the only Savior for sinners. He was led to hate sin, to pray to God, and to love Jesus Christ. He wanted to serve this wonderful Savior. This man became a missionary to his people, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ wherever he went.
Question: What did the Holy Spirit show the supervisor?
Scripture Reading: Acts 8:26-40.
Excerpt from
How God Stopped the Pirates, and Other Devotional Stories
By Joel R. Beeke & Diana Kleyn
Illustrated by Jeff Anderson
