Opposing God

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

OPPOSING GOD

Acts 11:4-18

4 Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened: 5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.'  8 "I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.' 9 "The voice spoke from heaven a second time, 'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.'  10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again. 11 "Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man's house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.' 15 "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'  17 So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?" 18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life."

NIV    

A huge hunk of scripture but it is the same thing we just went through as Peter is repeating all that happened according to the leading of the Holy Spirit, but in his life as well as in the life of Cornelius and his family. So want can we learn from this that we did not learn from the first time we spent with the story of Peter and Cornelius? Perhaps the biggest difference in this story Peter is relating to the other disciples and what we read about during the actual event is that fact Peter tells or asks them rather that when the Holy Spirit was poured out in those gentiles, who was he to oppose God. This could be the one life lesson we could garner from this recount of the event. Although this opposition Peter is talking about is regarding the outpouring of the Spirit on gentiles, we can also view this as the events that happen in our life. If we make our plans, but God orders our footsteps then there could be times when we might be in the situation where we would be opposing God. Although it is true that many times we might find ourselves in difficult situations because of our own doing, we might also consider those times might be due to God changing the course of our life. We need to be sensitive to the moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives and make sure we are not in opposition to God. We could get stuck in our own ways seeing only our own plans as the Jewish believers were, thinking that God was only their God and the Jesus only came for them, and the gentiles were not in God’s plan of salvation. We could be opposing God if we become too self-controlled with our own life, wanting what we want, forcing our own will regarding our profession or employment, our homes, where we live, our possessions, along with a host of other wants or desires. This is not to say that the very place we are is not where God desires us to be, but we need to be aware, to be sensitive enough to know when God is doing something in our lives to bring about change. That change could be in our attitudes, in our behaviors in our interactions with others or in our ministry. We can get so ingrained in the way we do things, not allowing God to work in our lives that we could be opposing him, without knowing it. Peter recognized the moving of the Spirit and he flowed with him, knowing he was not qualified to oppose God. We need to recognize when the Spirit is working in us and know we too are not qualified and therefore should not oppose God. Who can oppose God?  

Critical

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

CRITICAL

Acts 11:1-3

11:1 The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, "You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them."

NIV

How typical of fellow believers to criticize one another, but then of course these believers were Jews who were still thinking they were under the law. They had not come to the full realization of the gospel message. We will see in the response of Peter which is a repeat of what we just saw and deliberated on they did finally get it, but it took Peter having to tell them they were opposing God by living by the law which forbid a Jew from associating with a gentile. Our life lesson here is twofold, first to learn not to be critical of another’s obedience to God, even if it goes against what we believe to be true, and second not to live under the law when we have been set free. Although Jesus had set them free from the law in the sense they were no longer held responsible for their failure to completely live according to that law, they still held to many of the traditions or tenants of the law, such as not going into the house of an uncircumcised man, and then, God forbid, eating with them and even worse eating their food which was not blessed by a Rabbi, it was not kosher. How could Peter do such a wicked thing? We have to make sure we do not become critical of how another believer lives according to his beliefs. Some believers are still living under some kind of law. It might be the law of their denominational statement of faith, but it is still a law they are abiding by and they are critical of those who do not abide by their beliefs, such as smoking and drinking adult beverages, going to movies, or some even believe women should wear long dresses, no makeup and never cut their hair. Others are more liberal than that but still try to abide by some set of rules and regulations of their denomination. The point here is the truth of the gospel sets men free, but at the same time we should not allow ourselves to become critical of others. Yet Peter did set them straight, and told them basically their abiding by what they thought was the law was actually opposing God. The second part of this life lesson is that we should not be trying to live under some form of law, but we should live as free men who have decided to follow Jesus. We do live in a certain manner which is different than those who have not decided to follow Jesus. We do live with certain restraints that morally oppose the holiness of God, but at the same time with the freedom in Christ. These Jewish believers felt Peter had violated the law, but Peter knew in his heart he was operating in the freedom of Christ, doing what was truly the right thing to do. As long as we are positive we are operating under the direction of the Holy Spirit we should not allow those who would be critical of our actions to remain uninformed. Peter set the record straight and perhaps we have an obligation to do the same. 

Belonging to God

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

BELONGING TO GOD

Acts 10:46-48

Then Peter said, 47 "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have." 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.

NIV    

Is there any question that being filled with the Holy Spirit has absolutely nothing to do with being baptized in water? Although it is true as a believer in Jesus Christ it is a wonderful experience to follow him in baptism which does in fact symbolize the old self being buried and the new resurrected self raising up out of the water. But that is not necessary to either be saved or to be filled with the Spirit. We certainly have seen proof of that right here as Cornelius, his family and friends who were in his home listening to Peter explain all that God had commanded him to about Jesus, were saved and then filled with the Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues and now Peter orders them to be baptized in water. So we do have three distinct events which have occurred in the life of Cornelius and his family and friends. Certainly their lives would never be the same again. Although it is true that before Peter came to his house, Cornelius was a God fearing man, and did good deeds, but he had never knew anything about Jesus and the Holy Spirit until now and that changed everything. We should examine our life once again and make sure that although we are God fearing and we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and been baptized in water, and filled with the Spirit that everything in our lives have been changed. Although we still must live in the world, make our way, so to speak, we cannot become so engrossed in the ways of the world that we separate our life in Christ from our life in the world.  If our goals or ambitions or desires are for the things of the world then perhaps we have lost our focus on the spiritual events which have happened in our life. What God has provided in Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit for our life is not so much for our earthly benefit as it is for our heavenly benefit, although he still does provide for our lives here as well. But the point here is that everything in our lives have been changed. We have been saved, we have been filled with the Spirit and have the evidence of that event, and we have followed Jesus in baptism in water. This only thing left is for us to live as this changed person, in every aspect of our lives. We cannot departmentalize our material life from our spiritual life, as God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one, so are we one. Although we demonstrate to our fellow believers our faith in Jesus by following him in the baptism of water, our life must reflect who we actually are, a person saved by the grace of God through Jesus Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit with the evidence to show, not just our fellow believers, but the world, we belong to God. 

Evidence

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

EVIDENCE

Acts 10:44-46

44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.

NIV

It is obvious when the Holy Spirit comes upon people something will happen in their lives. Here we see Peter telling them about the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and even before he is completely finished with the story, the Holy Spirit decides to make his move and filled all the uncircumcised gentiles. At that very moment something wonderful happened as they all began to speak in tongues, or other languages. Now we do not know exactly what kind of languages as it is not recorded for us as it was when the disciples poured out into the streets of Jerusalem speaking in tongues, or other languages, but the fact is they were speaking a language they had not learned and they we praising God. So far whenever we have seen people filled with the Spirit they have been speaking other languages and what they have been saying is praises to God. Of course the Jewish believers who came along with Peter were astonished because they had not seen the same vision Peter had nor had they been spoken to by the angel of the Lord. The point here, the life lesson here is that with the filling of the Spirit something will happen. Today there are believers who speak in other languages as a result of being filled with the Spirit as we see in the early church. We also have believers today who refuse to accept this as a result of being filled with the Spirit. In fact, some are even so sure it is not for today they accuse those who speak in tongues as being led or deceived by Satan. Yet the fact remains when we are filled by the Spirit something will happen in our lives, there will be some kind of evidence of being filled with the Spirit. It is one thing to simply say we believe in Jesus Christ, there is entirely a different thing when we have some evidence in our life of being filled with Spirit. Some say we cannot be just saved but that when we accept Jesus the Spirit comes too. But we know that is not true because we have seen people believe and then be filled with the Spirit and when they are filled they have some evidence of that filling. Whatever the evidence is it remains a fact there is evidence. If we do not see some evidence we might well conclude there is no infilling of the Spirit. That might sound a little judgmental but it is a fact. Believers in Christ who have been filled with Spirit will have evidence of that event in their lives. We need to make sure we have the evidence. 

Forgiven

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

FORGIVEN

Acts 10:39-43

39 "We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.   41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen — by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name."

NIV

Peter gets right to the point about having sins forgiven only through the name of Jesus. We should notice that he has never mentioned the fact the people who he is talking to were sinners in need of being forgiven. He focused on the life and death of Jesus and that it is only through of him that people will find the forgiveness of sin. He also includes the fact that Jesus is the only judge of people. We can learn a lot here as far as how we share the gospel message. We should not be ever telling people they are sinners in need of Jesus. We should focus on the fact that it is Jesus who judges all men, and it is through him people can have sin forgiven and thus find eternal life. As we will see the Holy Spirit will do the rest. As Peter learned not to judge who is clean and unclean we should learn the same truth. It is totally up to Jesus to do all the judging and it is totally up to him to do all the forgiveness of sin. All we can do is tell the story about Jesus and let the Spirit do the rest. It is a good that Jesus has forgiven our sin, as we accepted the work of the Spirit in our lives convicting us that we were in need of forgiveness. But there are those who are still in need and we need to be as Peter was, not judging anyone but simply telling them the story about Jesus. 

Accepted

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

ACCEPTED

Acts 10:34-38

34 Then Peter began to speak: "I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— 38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

NIV

Now Peter speaks, and the first thing he tells them is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. That is a wonderful fact that he does not show favoritism, but the truth here is that God accepts men from every nation, which of course includes us. Peter saw that God was not only the God of the Jews but he was also the God of all mankind. If a person fears him, or holds him in reverence or awe, and does what is right, God will accept him. This would indicate that first God does the accepting, and thus not the choosing, as well as it requires a man to fear God first before he is accepted it also requires that a man does what is right before God will accept him. Now since we know what it means to fear God, what does it mean to do what is right? Although we are not finished with Peters response we will see he tells them whoever believes in him will have his sins forgiven. In essence, this is the only thing we can do that is right for no human deeds can earn the acceptance of God. We cannot earn salvation or the forgiveness of sin by any deed whatsoever, so then we are left to the only right thing which is to believe or trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior. If we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son, the one and only Son of God who came into this world to die for our sins, to be our replacement for the penalty of our sin, than God will accept our faith and forgive our sin. He requires that we do that right thing along with fearing or have reverence for him. It is one thing fear God, but the true right thing to do is accept him Son. That is the truth of it all. We must do the right thing, then God accepts us. If we fail to accept Jesus Christ, God does not accept us. Praise the Lord for he does not show favoritism so that we who have done what is right are accepted. 

In His Presence

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

IN HIS PRESENCE

Acts 10:30-33

30 Cornelius answered: "Four days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me 31 and said, 'Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. 32 Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.' 33 So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us."

NIV

Peter had just asked them why they had send for them, and now we are seeing Cornelius giving his answer to Peter. The importance of this answer is in the fact that Cornelius told Peter they were in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us. Cornelius knew he was in the presence of the Lord. It is a good thing to know we are in the presence of the Lord, as well as we should know that we have someone to speak everything the Lord has commanded them to speak. The one life lesson we should learn is that we are always in the presence of the Lord. We do not have to gather in some building, although that is surely a great event each and every time we gather to worship the Lord as a body of believers, but where can we go that is not in the presence of the Lord? David knew that truth when he started no matter where he went God was there. The truth of this should shake us to the core, in that we should know wherever we go, whatever we do, God is there with us. This should have a massive effect on how we live each and every day. The other truth we should be aware of is the fact we should know when we have someone who speaks what the lord has commanded him to say. This is important because there are people who speak about the commands or laws of the Lord but speak as men, rather than as commanded by the Lord. We need to know, and that gift of discernment is given so we can know when we are with someone who speaks as commanded by the Lord. It is good to be in the presence of the Lord.

Sent for

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

SENT FOR

And showing up

Acts 10:27-29

27 Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. 28 He said to them: "You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?"

NIV

Surely Peter was not clueless as to the reason he was sent for, but then maybe all he knew was that God had told him to go with the men that came to get him, even if they were gentiles. We can learn something here about our relationships with those who have not been saved yet. It is for certain Peter did not call them a bunch of gentiles, a bunch of sinners in need of salvation, in fact, he did just the opposite. When he was invited inside to meet all the people, he told them God had showed him that he should not consider anyone impure or unclean. He started off with establishing the fact all men are created equal, the God sees all mankind in the same way, for we all are his creation. Now that is not to say some men have turned their backs on God and have become the very definition of evil, filling their hearts with evil itself. Yet, it is not for us to judge them clean or unclean as that is the right of God and God alone. Yet in our relationships with those who have yet to accept Jesus Christ we should not start our conversation with words like, “first you need to admit you’re a sinner”. In other words perhaps we should not be telling them the four spiritual laws, right away. Maybe it would be better to express the fact the God has shown us that none of us are perfect, and God desires all people to know him personally. Peter did not slam them for being gentiles but encouraged them from the very beginning that God sees them as he sees all men. Sometimes our attitudes toward people who are not saved can be a little judgmental or too critical of their lifestyle which can only cause a greater chasm between us and them. Although we will see that Cornelius sent for Peter to hear what God has told him to say, some men do not want to hear about Jesus and we should not slam them or push Jesus onto them without an invitation. The Spirit of the Lord is at work in the hearts and minds of people and when the time is right for them, when God has broken through their hard hearts, they will send for us to tell them all about Jesus. We might take a lesson from Peter here and simply ask, “Why have you ask for me”? Or “What would you like me to tell you”? Of course that also implies that we are living such a life that others will surely know, that God would surely know, that we are the ones that should be sent for. 

Only men

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

ONLY MEN

Acts 10:23-26

The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa went along. 24 The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. 26 But Peter made him get up. "Stand up," he said, "I am only a man myself."

NIV

It is good for us to be reminded that we are only a man ourselves, or in the case of the female gender, only a woman. Sometimes there may be some people who aspire to be more than that lifting themselves up almost to being a deity. If anyone would have been qualified to be lifted up it would have been Peter. He was so filled with the Spirt of the Lord, he did miracle after miracle including, which we just saw, raising Dorcas from the dead. But Peter was just a man, a flawed man like the rest of us and he wanted others to know it. He did not want to be lifted up to a place of deity or dignity, he only wanted to be a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. We might learn that lesson well, knowing that we are but men or women flawed at best even if we are being used by God in some special way. We might also learn to not place any other person up on any kind of pedestal, or place of honor as they too are only men like us, flawed at best. To even think we are anything but only a man, or only a woman would be sacrilegious. To think that we have no flaws, no imperfections, no sin would imply we are more than only a man or a woman, for Jesus was and is the only flesh that walked a sinless life. We can be certain Peter was well aware of his failures, even when Jesus was right there with him, but he also knew the power of God at work within him. His faith was pure and without reservation. He believed and God was able to work miracles in him and through him. Peter knew where his power came from and he was first to admit he was only a man. That is all we can ever expect of anyone in this world including ourselves, to be only a man or a woman. We cannot expect anyone to be perfect, to be more than who they are. Certainly we can respect others as fellow human beings, fellow believers, but that is all, as they can respect us for being the same as they are, fellow human beings. We are all the same, we can all thank God for all he has done for us, all that he is doing in us, and all that he has, is and will do through us, as he did with Peter. The point here is that we all are only men. 

Specific Details

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

SPECIFIC DETAILS

Acts 10:17-23

17 While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon's house was and stopped at the gate. 18 They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. 19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. 20 So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." 21 Peter went down and said to the men, "I'm the one you're looking for. Why have you come?" 22 The men replied, "We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say." 23 Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.

NIV

It is interesting how the Spirit was so specific in his instruction to Peter. To tell Peter that three men are looking for him and not to hesitate to go with them because the Spirit sent them. Certainly the Spirit was at work in the life of Cornelius being just as specific in telling him to send men to get Peter telling him where they would find him. This should be our life lesson for not only today, but for the rest of our life. When the Spirit moves in our life there can be no confusion for the Spirit is not vague but very specific. This is certainly my testimony in every instance of change, direction or instruction. The Spirit shows us here in his working that he reveals exactly what he wants Peter to accomplish. There was a bit of interpretation needed in the sheet thing, but Peter got the message loud and clear and when the three, not two or four, but the three men, specific number revealed by the Spirit, arrived Peter knew what he was to do. Peter still verified the purpose of these men, to in some sense verify the truth revealed to him by the Spirit. Peter wanted to make absolutely certain the Spirit had revealed this truth to him and as we know, and Peter knew, the Spirit was leading and he must follow. We can see that it is permissible to verify the instructions of the Spirit, in fact, one of the gifts the Spirit brings is that of discernment. Our spirit can bear witness to the instructions of the Spirit. When we hear the voice of the Spirit leading us, we can know it is him, and we can verify it is him simply within our own spirit. But we can also know it is the Spirit because of the specific instructions, the clearness and directness of his voice. We do not have to guess, for he will tell us exactly what we are to do and what we are not to do. It is not that we live and move in our own life and hope the Spirit will bless our living and moving, but we are to live and move in the Spirit as we will see some time later in this book of Acts. If we hear anything that is vague and unclear we can be certain the Spirit is not speaking to us, but if we hear the Spirit we will hear the specific details. 

Made Clean

DEVOTION

          BOOK OF ACTS       

MADE CLEAN

Acts 10:9-16

9 About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. 12 It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. 13 Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat."  4 "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." 15 The voice spoke to him a second time, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."  16 This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.

NIV

We are in the middle of this story about Cornelius and Peter or rather this story about the character of God and his determination to bring salvation to all people. For now it would seem that the Jews had a certain sense that God was their God and their God alone. The new believers who had accepted Jesus might have had the same concept that Jesus was their Jesus and theirs alone, belonging to the Jews. They may have had the idea they were pure and the gentiles were impure in a certain sense. But God has a different view and he was preparing Peter to see his view rather than man’s view. We see this in the vision God gave Peter about the sheet full of animals. The Jews had been given the law about what kind of animals they can and cannot eat, and Peter even though he was a believer in Christ was still a Jew and held to the customs or the law about foods. In some sense that is sort of an oxymoron, but nevertheless that is what it is. God showed Peter this vision so he would understand the gentiles were not to be considered impure as compared to the Jews. God was showing Peter he should be open to sharing the Gospel with all men, not matter their national or religious background. This is of course a lesson we certainly have learned over the years, and the church today surely have taken the message to as many countries and people as possible. We hold no prejudices against any person thinking we are pure and they are impure. Yet is it possible that we do hold sort of some prejudices in the sense that we who are saved are more moral then those who are not saved? We live by the standards of God and they live by their own standards which are far inferior to God’s standards, and therefore we might think we are better than they are. But we would be wrong, as we all are sinners saved by grace. It is God who makes men clean, it is not our ability to abide by his standards, as we certainly fail miserable. So as Peter learned to accept all men equal we too must accept that God loves everyone, and we are all equal in the eyes of God. None of us are any better than another. Yes some men do evil deeds, very evil, and are under the influence of Satan trying their best to kill Christianity, as we see happening today. Yet God desires to bring them to repentance and bring them to the truth. It may never happen, but that is not for us to determine. We learn from this vision to Peter that it is God who makes man pure. We are only called to share the message with them.

God at Work

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

GOD AT WORK

Acts 10:1-8

10:1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, "Cornelius!" 4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. "What is it, Lord?" he asked. The angel answered, "Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea." 7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.

NIV

This may not be the words of Jesus, but it is the words of an angel of God and therefore deserves some attention. This man Cornelius was not a Jew, as he was an Italian who served in the army of Rome as a Caption of one hundred man. This is important in the sense that he was indeed a gentile, a man who stood for the invading force that occupied Israel. But he also was a good man, a man who feared God. He did great humanitarian deeds, and he prayed on a regular basis. The difference between him and the Jews who had accepted Jesus Christ as the Messiah, was that he did not know that Jesus came into the world for him as well as for the Jews. This story about Cornelius is going to take the whole of this chapter and so we will spend more time with him, but today we should note that God wanted Cornelius to know about Jesus. We can learn that God can intervene into anyone’s life. The interesting thing though, is that the angel of the Lord could have just told Cornelius about Jesus, as easily as he told him about Peter and where he was and to send men to go get him. Certainly Cornelius would have accepted what the angel would have said about Jesus as easily as he accepted what he said about Peter, as he acted upon the words of the angel of the Lord. Why would God want Peter to be one to tell Cornelius about Jesus instead of the angel? As this story unfolds for us we are going to learn that truth, but today we should stay focused on the fact that although Cornelius was not what we would call saved, he was not a believer in Jesus Christ, he was not born again, he was a good God-fearing man, doing good deeds for those in need. God must have thought him to be worthy of being saved because of his deeds. But we are also going to learn that God does not show favoritism, so it may not have been his good deeds that made him worthy, but that fact he feared God, or this story is more about God’s character then about Cornelius. We are always learning about God throughout the whole of scripture and that is the whole of the purpose of the scripture. We should not make too much about the people within the scripture, although we can learn from them as to how we should act, or respond, but the main point is about God, and that he needed Cornelius to know about Jesus and he needed Peter to be the one to tell the story. It is not so much about God electing Cornelius or deciding he would save him in particular, but it is a story about the character of God and that Jesus came so that anyone anywhere in the world, not matter of his ethnic or national affiliation is able to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The very fact that we, who are in fact gentiles, are part of the body of Christ is evident of the truth within this story about Cornelius and Peter. If God sees men as he saw Cornelius, who are we to see them any different? We should not look at unsaved people as sinners, as vial, detestable God haters, for we do not know their hearts. We should not judge men’s deeds as merely humanitarian as God might see them as a memorial offering. We do not know them as God does, and we may not be able to see them as devout God-fearing people, even if they have not become born again, or saved yet. God might be calling on us one day to go and tell them the story. God might be telling them to send for us. We are going to see what happened to Peter in this story a little later, but for now we should learn to just see God at work in his people, all people, Jews and gentiles alike, saints and sinners alike, saved and unsaved alike. For God so loved the world, all the people of the world, his whole creation, all mankind, that he sent his only Son into the world so that whosoever believes should not perish but have everlasting life.   

Living by Faith

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

LIVING BY FAITH

Acts 9:36-43

36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, "Please come at once!" 39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. 40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

NIV

A story about Dorcus which has to be examine as a whole. Yet this is a story about Peter as well and about the power of God at work. First we are introduced to a female disciple who was always doing good and helping the poor. This is not the first female disciple as we have already known Mary, Martha, Mary Magdalene as well as others, but here we get to meet Dorcas and we are told that she is always about helping the poor, making them robes and other clothing. There are several ministries today that have adopted the name Dorcas house to imply they are helpers of the poor, women and children or seniors. She is an example of Christian love in action toward those who need help. We could learn a lesson here, not that we should start another Dorcas house in our homes, but that we could be helping someone who is in need. Although once again we also should consider that we all are not called to do all things, as each of us are a part of one body. Just as the Apostles could not administer the daily food to the windows and had seven men appointed to that task and as Dorcas was making robes and clothes, we may have some other service to the Lord to do. But the point is that she was always about what she was called to do, and we should always be about what we are called to do. The second lesson we can learn is once again from Peter. Now surely we are not going to be raising anyone from the dead, or at least it would be highly unlikely. Of course maybe we should be, if that is what God desires, or at least we should be ready to do such a thing, if we are instructed to do so. We see that Peter did not act on this alone, as first he got down on his knees and prayed. We are not told what his prayer consisted of, but the fact is he first talked it over with God as to what he was going to do. It is rather obvious the town people were expecting Peter to do something supernatural, as when Dorcas died they sent for Peter. Certainly they were not expecting him to give her the last rites, or do the funeral service, so they must have felt he could perform some miracle, like bring her back to life, which is exactly what he was instructed by God to do. This is faith that moves mountains, that walks on water, that heals the lame, gives sight to the blind and brings the dead back to life. Faith which is recorded for us to read about. What is the purpose of showing us this kind of faith, unless to teach us that God gives to every man a measure of faith and that we should learn to believe God for more than what we do? Yes we should be serving him, as Dorcas and Peter did, but we should also be believing in him more as Peter did. All of the scripture is so we can know God better, understand his ways better and live according to his ways. Many try to simply live by his law, his rules and regulations, his commands, his instructions for holy living, the next right thing to do, but how many of us try to live with the faith that Peter had? Would it not be better to live by faith than by the law?

Belief in Action

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

BELIEF IN ACTION

Acts 9:32-35

32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. 34 "Aeneas," Peter said to him, "Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat." Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

NIV

What is it about those disciples, or was it just the Apostles who were so filled with the Spirit of the Lord that people were healed from such things as being a paralytic? Peter did not do anything special, conduct a fervent prayer meeting, or recite some scripture or anything for that matter other than simply telling the man that Jesus Christ heals you. We just do not see that kind of faith today. Why is that? What holds us back from believing Jesus Christ heals today as he did in those days? Maybe he doesn’t, maybe that was just for then and it is not for today. Maybe the people needed that kind of miraculous sign in order to believe and we don’t because we have greater faith then they did. But that is not true either, because God has given to every man a measure of faith and if, which he does not favor any one person, or show favoritism, then he would not give one man a greater measure of faith then another. So then we can have the same measure of faith that Peter had, in fact, we are supposed to have that same measure. Now it may be true that Peter used his faith to the fullest extent and we simply have allowed our faith to wither away unused. Faith is a lot like muscles, if we do not exercise it, our faith will become loose and flabby and pretty much out of shape and useless. So why don’t we use our faith like Peter did? Are we afraid it will not work? Jesus Christ is the same as he was in the days of Peter, and if Jesus healed then he heals today. Have we become too dependent on man’s wisdom in the medical profession to believe Jesus would heal miraculously? Or do we now think that is the way Jesus heals, through doctors? Would we be wrong to expect Jesus to heal the way he did when Peter spoke? But Peter spoke with absolute confidence in the power of the name of Jesus, and perhaps we just do not have that kind of confidence. Perhaps that is what we lack. We have the same amount of faith, but we lack the confidence to use it. Is lacking confidence the same thing as doubting? Isn’t doubting the same thing as disbelief which is in fact sin? So then we should repent of our disbelief, our doubt and believe Jesus Christ heals today just as he did when Peter spoke his name, and put our belief into action. 

Strengthened and in Fear

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

STRENGTHENED AND IN FEAR

Acts 9:31

31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

NIV

Two points here for us to make note of as a life lesson. First we see that the church enjoyed a time of peace being strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit and growing in numbers. This is a key to growth of any church, well at least growth in spiritual maturity as it grows in numbers. Those words strengthened and encouraged give us the truth about spiritual maturity. The people were built up or constructed by the Holy Spirit. They were encouraged or exhorted by the Holy Spirit. This means it is not men who build the church into a spiritually mature force, but it is constructed by the Holy Spirit. Does the Spirit use men to accomplish all this? Most certainly all throughout the Old Testament God used men to accomplish his plan, and it surely is the case in this New Testament Church, as they have men like Peter, John, Barnabas, Matthew, Luke, Mark, Paul and so many others who had been with Jesus. The Spirit certainly used these men to strengthen and exhort the other believers. Today we still have the Spirit at work in the lives of the church, the people. We still have men who the Spirit uses to strengthen and encourage the people. The key is for the people, for us to know which of these men have been with Jesus, not actually physically, like those Apostles were, but in a spiritual sense. There are some men who are building churches for their own edification, their own benefit, and those we need to stay as far away from as possible, but there are men who have been with Jesus, and are true men of God, called by the Spirit to strengthen and encourage the church. This is where we need to be, in this kind of church. The second truth we see here is they lived, walked in fear of the Lord. This fear can be translated both as afraid, dread, terror as well as reverence, respect for authority. The context does not give us any specific clue as to which type of fear this is, but both could be used here. Although generally we do not see God as a God to be afraid of, as we usually express that God loves us, that we are a friend of God, that he calls us friend, that we are children of God and co-heirs with Jesus. He still is the all-powerful, almighty God who caused the flood to destroy all mankind. He still is the God who crushed the enemies of Israel. He is the God who made the Sun, and all the planets. Have we become too familiar with God? Have we lost sight of the wrath he is capable of? Should we not have a certain amount of healthy fear of him? Yet it is also true that we need to have a reverence, a respect for him and his authority over our lives. As children of earthly fathers we did not make our own choices, our own decisions as to where we lived, what schools we attended, what food we had to eat, what clothes we had to wear along with a host of other authorities our fathers held. Is it any different with our relationship with our heavenly Father? If we are walking in fear, living in reverence and respect of his rank, his dignity, his authority, then we cannot be in control of our own lives, but we must submit to his authority, his leading, his choices as to where we live, what church we attend, what clothes we wear, what jobs we do, what ministry we serve in, along with a host of other authorities he has concerning us. We can walk our own life and incorporate God into our ways, or we can walk in fear of God and he will incorporate our life into his ways.

Speaking Boldly

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

SPEAKING BOLDLY

Acts 9:26-30

26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

NIV

Finally Saul arrives in Jerusalem, the place where so much was happening. Although there had been a great escape from Jerusalem because of the persecution there were still disciples in town, in fact, perhaps in hiding, but Saul found them and tried to join them as a new believer. Maybe some disciples returned to Jerusalem after the great persecution that broke out, as perhaps it had settled down, but it certainly appears they had some relief and were able to return and enjoy an openness about their faith. But they were still not sure about Saul, and were afraid he was just trying to infiltrate into their group in order to find out who exactly they were. So now we meet Barnabas, a man who was not afraid, a man who saw the real Saul, the converted Saul and brought him to the Apostles, and testified about Saul’s conversion. In essence Barnabas believed Saul and was willing to stand by him. Where other disciples mistrusted Saul, judging him to be a false believer, Barnabas believed him enough to take him to the Apostles. Had Saul still been the old person he once was, this would have been a great moment, being able to arrest the central figures in this new movement, but Saul was no longer interested in arresting them as he had encountered Jesus himself, and wanted to join the movement. We also see that Saul spent time debating with the Grecian Jews, which were those Jews that had been born in foreign lands and spoke only Greek, but had made their way back to Jerusalem. It is interesting that although they had followed the Greek customs and did not even speak Hebrew or Aramaic they were so infuriated at Saul and his message about Jesus they wanted to kill him. We can learn several life lesson here, first from Barnabas and second from Saul. Trusting and believing in the testimony of others is a good thing, as well as heralding their conversion. It is easy to remain focused on our own life, being concerned about what happens to us, and what has happened to us, and always talking about our own experiences, but Barnabas was interested in Saul and his life experiences. We can learn from him, how we should be interested in the lives of others and want to tell their story just as much as we want to tell ours. Now that is not gossip if we are holding up another’s life, but it is encouraging others with the life experiences of someone we know. Barnabas saw the good in Saul and he wanted others to know about it. The second lesson we can learn once again from Saul is that we cannot keep silent about our conversion, our faith in Jesus Christ, even if that means people will hate us because of it. So often we are caught in the mentality of loving them into the kingdom, but it appears Saul was not simply loving them, which love is truly expressed by telling them the truth, but he was debating with them, making every effort to convince them that Jesus was the Christ. Have we diluted this message because we do not want them to hate us? It does not appear Saul spent any time developing close relationships with those Grecian Jews before giving them the message. He simply moved about town speaking boldly in the name of Jesus. Perhaps we should be just a little bolder in our message. Maybe we should be speaking boldly.

Escape

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

ESCAPE

Acts 9:23-25

23 After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

NIV

There will always be people who oppose the truth, or for that matter anything that is different from what they believe. These Jews were so entrenched in the law they could not see the truth in the scripture, in the prophets which all pointed to Jesus being the Messiah. They would not have anything to do with Jesus, in fact now it appears the very man who they heralded as the chief persecutor of these new believers was in their sights to kill. It would seem there were and will always be people who will love you as long as you agree with them, but then hate you as soon as you disagree with them. Although it is also true, as we can see here, that some of the people in town accepted what Saul had to say about Jesus and not only accepted Jesus as the Christ, but became followers of Saul. It does seem a little odd that Saul would even allow people to become his followers rather than telling them to simply follow Jesus, but nevertheless they were there for him in the face of danger. Those Jews who wanted to kill him just did not have it in for him, they guarded the city gates continually to make sure he would not get out of the city alive. That is faith in God in action, killing a man who opposes what they believe. Surely this is not what God intended the law to be and what Jesus taught, but it is the perverted twisted way man believes what the truth is.  We need to learn from these Jews and from Saul as well as his followers. We must never stop telling people the truth about Jesus. We will always find some who will believe and become followers of Jesus, and we should make sure they follow Jesus, not us. There are some who have gained so much fame and fortune by allowing people to become their followers, giving praise to their silver tongues and dynamic personality, but we must make sure people follow Jesus. We will also always have some who would conspire to kill us, certainly not physically, but in hatred to our message, and thus to us. Saul escaped from those who would kill him physically, and that should be a lesson for us. Rather than stand our ground against those who hate us so because of our message about Jesus, we should escape them too. Leave them to their own path which leads to death. There is a time when we must accept those who oppose Jesus will always oppose him. Saul did not stand against them and try to convince them of the error of their thinking, he escaped and left them behind. Some will simply never believe, and as sad as that is, we simply have to escape and not be trapped by them in their city, their life. Had Saul stayed there his whole life, all the places he went may have been totally different, but Saul was about following Jesus, and he knew when to withdraw and when to stand. We will see this again and again all throughout the record of his life. We can learn from this, as we too must be willing for the Spirit to lead us as he was leading Saul. Stand or escape.    

Encounter with Jesus

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS

Acts 9:19-22

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, "Isn't he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?" 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.  

NIV

Saul must have been a quick study, reading all of the Old and New Testaments including all the commentaries and quite a few of the how to an effective witness books that were in the local Christian bookstore, or either was able to obtain his degree from some seminary or Bible College in order to be able to preach that Jesus is the Son of God and that he was the Messiah, or the Christ. But wait, he did none of that, for he had just been converted from the worst of sinners to a saint, a new believer in Christ and yet there he was preaching up a storm, telling, convincing, and proving that Jesus was the Christ. Although it is true that he spent several days with the disciples in Damascus and most likely was gathering as much information about Jesus from their perspective as he could. Surely he already had some information, some history of what Jesus did, and perhaps even encountering Jesus during those years he was in Jerusalem. Yet he had never encountered Jesus like he did on that road to Damascus and he had never encountered someone laying hands on him and receiving his sight again. Saul had certainly been changed by his experience with Jesus and he was going to tell as many people as possible. This has to be our life lesson. When we experience Jesus we should be telling everyone we know, everyone we come in contact with. We don’t need to study the whole Bible, we don’t have to attend a bible school, we don’t have to read tons of how to be an effective witness books, we don’t have to know anything except Jesus is the Son of God, and he changed our life, made a us a new person, forgave our sin and has given us eternal life. As far as proof of this, it is in our life itself. Now it is true that Saul had a very bad reputation among the new believers. He was a very bad man, trying his hardest to arrest and jail as many believers as possible, and now here he was preaching Jesus is the Son of God. These people saw the difference in Saul, they witnessed his transformation and that was what baffled those Jews living in Damascus. As long as we simply hang out with other believers no one sees the difference in our lives, no one is baffled by our lives, our growing more and more powerful proving Jesus is the Christ. Certainly Saul was an excited, energetic person, outspoken, able to articulate his faith in an effective way, especially what he had experienced in his encounter with Jesus. This is all we have to do, be excited, energetic, outspoken, and able to articulate our faith in an effective way, especially what we have experienced in our encounter with Jesus. But that certainly requires that we have an encounter with Jesus, not just a religion, or a denomination, but an actual experience with Jesus, a real and vibrant encounter with Jesus. 

The Right Time

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

THE RIGHT TIME

Acts 9:10-19

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. 11 The Lord told him, "Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."  13 "Lord," Ananias answered, "I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."  17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord-Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here — has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

NIV

Here we see God telling Ananias to go to the very person who has come to arrest believers and take them off to jail. Ananias knows about Saul and what he is has come to do, yet God what Ananias to god directly to him and lay hands on him. God assures Ananias the God has a special call on this Saul and that he is going to use him for the benefit of the kingdom, so Ananias follows the direction of the Lord, even though at first he does not desire to have anything to do with Saul.  We could learn that God has plans which simply are not part of our human ways. Left to himself and his human understanding Ananias would have hide from Saul, but when God intervenes and reveals his plan to Ananias, his world is turned upside down and he seeks out Saul in order that he can restore his sight. From a human point of view it would have been far better for the fellowship of believers in Damascus for Saul to remain blind. Yet God had other plans that would be far better for those believers. This is of course our life lesson. We might think in human terms which is the best course of action for our life, but God has a better plan. We can also be sure, just in the case with Ananias, God will make sure we know of his plan. It is certain God did not reveal this plan to Ananias before the time was right, before he revealed himself to Saul and blinded him and was lead into Damascus. God revealed his plan to Ananias when the time was right, when Saul was in place and was ready. This too may very well be the case in our lives. We do not know the future God has in store for us until he reveals it to us and he may not reveal it until the time is right. We also have to be as Ananias in that he did what God told him to do, even though it seemed against his human understanding. The ways of God are not our ways, but his ways are the best. It is best if we go his way, and go when the time is right. 

A Sinner has Come Home

DEVOTION

THE BOOK OF ACTS

A SINNER HAS COME HOME

Acts 9:1-9

9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"  5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 6 "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."  7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

NIV

Here is the beginning of the story telling us of the conversion of Saul, a man bend on destroying the faith of the new believers. Some might use this conversion to show the election of God and perhaps God did elect Saul, yet God desires that all men know him, and his provision for their salvation. This is of course the story of one man who was full of zeal against the church and God was able to use that zeal for the church. If we could add to the book there would be other stories of men and woman who God called and used for the benefit of the kingdom, here is just one of those. The point here, the life lesson for us here is that God does call us to be a benefit to his kingdom. God intervenes into the life of sinners showing them who he is and calling them to his side. Saul was indeed a sinner, although a Jew with great zeal for the Jewish faith, a faith in God, but at the same time a faith which refused the provision of God for the law of God. It is interesting that God chose to reveal himself only to Saul and not to the men who were traveling with him. This is something we may never know the reason for, yet it is the story of this one man’s conversion, a man who would do great things for the kingdom. It is also interesting that God took a few days to complete his plan for the conversion of Saul. Yet the point still remains that God does intervene in the life of sinners, as he did in our lives. One by one God seeks out sinners and reveals himself to them in some manner. This demonstrates the personal relationship he desires to have with each individual. Although we are members of the body of Christ, and are but one of many, God desires us to know him in a vibrant and personal way. We are not simply a mass of people, we are one, and his call on each one of us is personal and unique as it was with Saul. The difference with many of us then with Saul was that once he accepted that Jesus was the Son of God, the Messiah, the Savior, he went about telling everyone. Of course many did not believe him, in fact, they could not get over his old self and see his new self, but Saul, who we know as Paul, a servant of the Lord, knew his life had changed and it was changed by God. A sinner has come home. This is our story, a sinner has come home.