Transformed

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

TRANSFORMED

Acts 11:1-18

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." 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                                                                                                                       

Although much of this is a repeat of what Luke recorded what happened to Peter, Peter had to recount it to the Jews who were critical of him going into the house of an uncircumcised person. What is of interest here is their original response compared to their concluded correct response, after hearing what happened.  Why do men who profess to love the Lord, oppose something they are ignorant of, they do not know the truth of the situation and hold strictly to their idea of religion, or role in the plan of God. It is almost like adhering to the traditions of men, rather than trying to understand what God is doing and aligning our spirit with Him. This is what happened to them after they heard the truth of what God was doing through Paul. They saw the truth and praised God and accepted the truth that God granted salvation and the Holy Spirit to all people. Did they not know or remember that Jesus said they were to go into all the world, to the ends of the earth to preach the good news about the kingdom of heaven? They must have remembered that, but still at first it seemed they wanted their own brand of religion. However, now the truth is in them and they accepted a different way to see God at work. We have to always be diligent to acknowledge the truth when we hear it and make those adjustments in our thinking to come into fellowship with that truth. We will never get it all, at least while we reside in this earthly body, with this limited amount of wisdom about the things of God. However, we are always being exposed to additional ways to think or see how the Spirit of God moves throughout the hearts and minds of men. New insights are always available as we keep in step with the Spirit, for he does lead us into all truth. In contrast, if we are not keeping in step with the Spirit, we are not going to find all truth, thus we will be walking in the dark, unknowledgeable and unwise, in the solitude of our own minds. Consequently, as we do walk with the Spirit, we are in a continual state of being transformed in the likeness of Christ, in ever-increasing glory. This happened in the lives of those who first opposed Paul’s going to the Gentiles, to praising God for his work in the lives of Gentiles. They were a considerable change in their attitudes and behaviors, which should be evident in our lives as we walk in step with the Spirit, allowing him to do his transformation within us. 

Astonished

  

DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

ASTONISHED

Acts 10:39-48

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." 4 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. 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

Astonished is an interesting choice of words for a response of someone witnessing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit without anyone seeking or asking or laying on of hands or any other human effort, or request. Of course, Cornelius was already a God-fearing man, even as a gentile and it would seem right that all those, he invited to be there to hear Peter were also willing participants in the fear of God. Thus, when Peter preached Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and raised from the dead, their fear of God turned to faith in the Son of God and that because of Jesus all their sins have been forgiven. That kind of faith was witnessed by the Jews that came with Peter, however, more importantly, it was witnessed by God. He was the one who caused himself to move on those hearings of the good news. It seems a little strange to say that God caused himself to move in them, because it was the Holy Spirit who came upon them. The fact is that God is trinitarian, as He is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, without getting too invested in this doctrine, or this theology of God, the fact is He did come upon those hearers and they immediately began to speak in another language. What we do not know is what tongues they were speaking that they had not learned. Because they were gentiles, Roman in nationality and most likely having a mother tongue based from Latin and may not have ever had the opportunity to learn Hebrew and it might make sense this was why Luke recorded those Jews heard the gentiles praising God. The other possibility is that whatever tongues the gentile believers were speaking, the Spirit moved within the Jews with his gift of interpretation, as the Jews understood the tongues of the Gentiles. Whatever it was, it was all the Holy Spirit moving upon those people by His own free will. This we must take to heart. We are not the cause of the move of the Spirit. It is not how much faith we have. It is not about how much we pray. It is not about anything that we do, our how we behave. It is not about the style or the earnestness of our prayers. When the Holy Spirit decides to move upon someone, it is by His will and His will alone. Yes, we can ask for Him to move upon us, but there is no formula for getting the Spirit to move on or in us. Those gentiles did not even know about the Spirit, as they feared God and were made aware of Jesus. Peter did not preach about the Spirit or lay hands of them. The Spirit came on His own account. What we must recognize is that same Spirit will move within us and through us when He is needs and wants to, we will be witnesses of, and participates with the Spirit as he moves in and though us. We cannot make him show up, we cannot manufacture any of his gifts or his fruit. We can only be a person of faith, open to the truth of God and being available for the Spirit to work in and through us, and when He moves, we just might see some people astonished. 

Without Favoritism

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

WITHOUT FAVORITISM

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

Having come to the understanding that Cornelius having been prompted by the Spirit, wanted to know what Peter had to say about God. He begins with his new revelation and understanding that indeed God does not show favoritism. The other realization is that God accepts all men from every nation that fear him and do what is right. Here is where various doctrines have gone in different directions, looking to doing what is right, or good deeds, as a method of being accepted by God. Certainly, doing what is right is about, first, accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. God offers salvation to all men. The Jews were of the opinion they were the only nation that was chosen by God, which leads to the doctrine of election, which is not what Peter is saying at all. Doing what is right is about the character of a man, who accepts the offer of God, who is open to the things of God, and is not so self-absorbed that his thoughts and deeds are motivated by his character seeking self-gratification and self-aggrandizement. Cornelius shows us that he was a man of character who feared God, and as a result, he did good to other men. This is how we respond, by doing good toward other men. That may appear in various ways. However, this doing what is right only carries that meaning of being of the right mind and spirit toward God and accepting Jesus. That is by far the only right thing a man can do. However, if we take that doing right toward men, then we must do that without showing any favoritism whatsoever, as James so elegantly puts it in his warning about how they treated men who were dressed in fine clothes differently than those who had nothing. No, if God does not show favoritism to who he offers salvation then neither should we. God does not care if a person is wealthy, how much education he has, or what position in life he holds, rank and privilege have no bearing on God’s offer of salvation. All people who hold any contempt toward God, or have not accepted his offer yet, are still living as descendants of Adam, excluded from the garden, the paradise of God. However, if a person responds to the prompting of the Spirit and fears or reveres God, which leads to accepting Jesus as Lord and Savior, they become a descendent of Abraham, receiving the promise of God, and given eternal life. This offer is extended to all of his creation and thus we cannot see people through the lens of our bias or perceptions based on their rank, riches, or appearance. Sometimes, it seems we all want to hang out with those who are just like us, and we get into that, “Us four and no more” mentality. We divide ourselves by our status in life, our portfolio, or our level of education, and maybe many other factors, when in fact we are all that same, sinners saved by grace, who one day will leave all we are and all we have and all we ever hope to be behind in this life, as we step into eternity. There we will all stand with equity before God, and so perhaps, just maybe we could live with equity, seeing all people, without favoritism. 

All the Keys to the Doors

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

ALL THE KEYS TO THE DOORS

Acts 10:23-33

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." 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?" 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

Before we get into Peter's message for the people, and how he realized through his encounter with God and the sheet full of animals, that all the people should hear the good news. What is interesting is how Cornelius was so willing and ready to accept a message about God, and how they revered Peter as a man of God. All those who were friends and family of Cornelius all knew they were in the presence of God and ready to listen to everything the Lord commanded Peter to tell them. This is the first key here, to recognize being in the presence of the Lord. The second key is to listen to everything the Lord commands the speaker to say. The third key is for whoever the speaker is, the teacher, or preacher, must be open to hearing from the Lord and discerning what the Lord commands him to say, which leads to the fourth key which only comes from the mind of man, and may, at times, seem to be correct and within the sound doctrine of faith in Jesus Christ, but is may not be exactly is what is needed to be heard by the listeners. The fact remains, that if everyone recognizes they are in the presence of the Lord and are in step with the Spirit, the speaker and listener will be completely in communion with each other, because the exact need of the hearer, is relayed forthrightly by the speaker. This is what happened between Cornelius and his family and friends and Peter. We will see that Peter makes the point that God does not show favoritism and desires that all hear and accept the truth regarding the kingdom of heaven, which is the good news about Jesus. Because we have already accepted that truth, we are no longer hearers of the good news but should be the speakers. However, as in Peters's situation, he was invited to come and speak that which God commanded him to because God opened the door in the heart of Cornelius. We too need to be aware when we are invited to speak. This may not be an outright open, verbal invitation, but if we are keeping in step with the Spirit, he will reveal those who are wanting to be a hearer of glad tidings, of good cheer, and that is the good news about the kingdom of heaven, which we have been commanded to speak about. When everything is put in place by the righteous right hand of God, all will fall into proper alignment. All the keys will work and all the doors of people’s hearts will be opened. 

God Has A Plan

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

GOD HAS A PLAN

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

Here we see the orchestration of God. He had already moved within the heart of Cornelius, as we are told he was a God-fearing man. What we know is that no one can be a God-fearing man within their own being without the moving of the Spirit of God in their lives. Alone man has turned his back on God as descendants of Adam. Yet, somehow and at some time, God moved upon the heart of Cornelius and he became a God-fearing man, who when spoken to by an angel of the Lord obeyed sending his servant and two soldiers to find Peter and invite him to come to Caesarea. Meanwhile, God was also speaking and giving Peter a vision to instruct him that it is God who declares what is clean and unclean. When God declares it, we must accept his word. He declared that those who were gentile, such as Cornelius were clean and should be invited into the family of God, through faith in Jesus, that is they should hear the good news about the kingdom of heaven. God always has a plan, and it is up to us to first, be willing to hear his plan, and second, to act upon his plan for our lives. When the servant of Cornelius and the two soldiers arrived at the home where Peter was staying, the Spirit of the Lord spoke once more to Peter, and he responded by inviting these gentile men into the house to be his guests. We must always be willing to hear from God, and we can be assured the Spirit who dwells within us is not our silent partner in life. What is the purpose of Jesus sending the Spirit if he is only going be with us to simply ride along? No, he is the leading, first, leading us to repentance and then leading us into all truth. However, we must follow the leading of the Spirit, and he does not lead silently. We can be assured that if we are left up to our own choices in life, we might succeed in some of the worldly affairs, but how is our spiritual growth, our walk with the Lord, our keeping in step with the cadence which the Spirit is calling out. The Lord was working in the lives of both Cornelius and Peter at the same time to bring about the plan of God for his creation. God will move in our lives to bring about his plan for his creation if we will only pay attention to God and forfeit so much of the attention we pay to self. We have heard over the years people quoting a man they revere as famous when he said, “I have a dream”, but, how often do we quote God when he said, “I have a plan for you” as he spoke to Jeremiah, and which he also speaks to us. 

Cleansed and Made Pure

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

CLEANSED AND MADE PURE

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."  14 "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 first note that this exchange between the Lord and Peter happened three times. Was the sheet full of animals taken up and then brought back down and the Lord said that same thing to Peter or was the sheet always there and Peter was just having a good ole fashioned argument with the Lord, until after the third time the Lord took the sheet from Peter’s view. Because we are told only once that sheet was taken back to heaven once, it must have been Peter and the Lord conversing three times. It is interesting that Peter denied the Lord three times, and now he is denying his command three times. What is it with Peter, especially after he has had such an experience with the Lord, and his faith is so strong, that he just raised a young girl from the dead? Now he argues with the Lord about clean and unclean food. However, the Lord is not talking about food, but rather about men, gentile men, those who the Jews had not considered as worthy of the good news, after all, they were God’s chosen people. So, how does this all relate to us? We know that Peter will get the truth as the next verses reveal to us, but what about how do we deal with this clean and unclean thing? We know that our faith in Jesus Christ tells us that we have been cleansed by his blood. Over and over again in various ways, we are told that through the blood of Jesus all our sins have been forgiven, that we have been made clean. Of course, because we have not yet received our glorified bodies, and we still live in this corruptible form, we continue to make mistakes, and we continue to commit sin in one form or another. When we are made aware of our failure, it is usually the evil one who comes along and wants to put shame and guilt upon us. “How can you call yourselves a Christian, and say you love the Lord, and then do what you did?” Accusations like that only come from the evil one. God will never accuse us for he has already declared us holy and blameless in his sight, and that is even in our current state or form that is not sinless. We have been cleansed by God, therefore let us not call ourselves unclean. This was the message the Lord was giving to Peter. This is the message the Lord is giving to us. Of course, we should make every effort from sinning. Of course, we should strive to please God. However, we also know that the work of God is that we believe in the one he sent, Jesus. No matter how much we try to do all the right things and avoid all the wrong things, ultimately it comes down to believing in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, the one who has cleansed us by his blood. How then if Jesus has cleansed us, can we, mere man, unclean ourselves? The answer is a resounding, we can’t! Once we have been cleansed, we cannot be uncleansed. Once we have been forgiven all our sins, we cannot be unforgiven, or course unless we completely turn our back on Jesus and return full-time to our wicked way of life. However, that still does not make null and void the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus. So let us always look to Jesus, and when sin know that his forgiveness is always there. 

Keeping In Step

 DEVOTION

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

KEEPING IN STEP

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

Much has been said about Cornelius by our esteemed commentators. We have learned as it is also borne out in the discussion Peter will have with the other Apostles in Jerusalem later, that this man Cornelius was a Roman Centurion in charge of about one hundred Roman soldiers who were garrisoned at Caesarea, by the Sea. Those of us who were on the Israel trip a few years back visited this place and saw the remains of the Roman barracks, the large arena, and a well-preserved amphitheater. Although Luke tells us that Cornelius was a devout God-fearing man, he was still a Gentile, born and bred in Italy alone with this entire regiment. This portion of the Acts of the Apostles makes the first transition from bringing the good news about the kingdom of God to only the chosen people of God, the Jews, to the other nations, that Jesus commanded them to go to, the ends of the earth. This would also be the beginning of fulfilling the promise God gave to Abraham, that he would be the father of many nations, as recorded in Genesis 17. It is interesting that this initiation of this promise to Abraham was God, himself. He sent an angel to Cornelius with the message to send for Peter, a man unknown to Cornelius. Yet, he answered the call with the commanded action, sending two of his servants and one devout soldier to Joppa to fetch Peter. What do we learn from this? We think the point is plain to see. When God instructs us to do something or go somewhere, we have but one response, do it or go there. Luke does not tell us that Cornelius had a long-drawn-out conversation with the angel of the Lord trying to get clarity or ask why he should do this thing, or how is this important, he simply did as the angel told him and he did it right away. As we know and will see next, it is also interesting that God instructed Peter about going to the Gentiles. But here is the kicker for us. God visits with us every moment of our lives as believers, as devout God-fearing people. He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell, to indwell, to live in communion within us, leading us, guiding us into all truth as well as giving us instructions as to where and how we should live, work and play. Why who we ever believe that God, who lives within us, would allow us to do whatever we decided was the best, to live where we think is the best, and to work at whatever we want to work at? Why would we believe that God would give us the right to declare our method of providing for ourselves, or want us to look to the sources of this world for our security? This applies to both of us personally and to how we function as the church. We are far too familiar with many of the churches today, which are storing up wealth for themselves rather than following the will of God, giving generously to those in need, as it is recorded that Cornelius, a gentile, did. Have we become too self-sufficient, too self-aware, or too self-orientated that we forge ahead, ignoring the moving of the Spirit? This sounds like an indictment, but it is only an observation and a self-examination. Let us not only listen for the voice of the Spirit, but let us move, or walk in step with him, allowing the Spirit to call out the cadence.