Acts 10:22-29
New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
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.
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?”
It has been awhile since
I have written. I had not been feeling
well and was unable to write. I am so
glad that the Lord woke me up today so that I could start writing again. It is
a blessing to get into God’s word and find out what lesson He wants to teach me
each day.
Last time I wrote we
were in Acts 10 and Peter had visitors come to see him. The Lord had given him a vision that they would
be coming and sure enough they showed up at his door. These men came from a man named Cornelius who
was a Gentile but a God-fearing Gentile.
What struck me today was
verse 28 where Peter explained to them that the Jewish law commanded them not
to associate with the Gentiles yet Peter is standing before them. Not only did Peter go to the home of
Cornelius and even sat down and ate with them, he had invited his men into the
home in which he was staying, as his guest.
If Jewish law did not allow you to even eat with the Gentiles then
inviting them into a home that wasn’t even yours must have really been taboo.
As I thought of this I
had to think back to the Old Testament where God had instructed the Jews to get
rid of all the people who were not Jews because of their un-godly practices. He did not want these men to influence their
relationship with God so He told them to destroy them. When they did not do so, they fell and became
worldly. Now, although their law did not
allow them to associate with the Gentiles, they still picked up their practices
and they still had a strained relationship with God. They had such a strained relationship that
they did not recognize the Savior when He came and instead of worshipping Him,
they crucified Him. This Gentile man was
a God-fearing man who did right in the eyes of God.
How does this relate to
us today? So many times we get so caught
up in our religious practices that we fail to even understand the purpose. There may have been a good reason for the
practice but we have forgotten its meaning or maybe never even knew the
purpose. We get too caught up in what we
should do and we should not do that we fail to listen to God. Often
times we think that we are better than others, that we have the answers, and
that others should follow our every command.
Yet Peter, when the Gentile bowed to him, did not accept the reverence
given to him but assured the man that he was human just like the man. He did not see himself or his race above the
other man’s. How many times do we hear, say, or think that we are better than someone
else. Peter makes it clear here that we should not
bow to man but should bow only to our Heavenly Father.
We can also learn from
Peter’s actions, when God calls us to do
something it is in our best interest to heed the call and do as He has
asked. That may mean stepping out of
your comfort zone. I am sure that Peter
stepped out of his comfort zone when he went into the Gentiles home and
probably even when he invited the Gentiles into his friend’s home. Peter was doing something that even his
Christian Jews would question yet he followed the request of the Lord.
As you seek Him today,
ask Him what He would have you do that would cause you to move out of your
comfort zone. Is there someone that you
would not normally associate with that God is calling you to minister to?
Seeking Him with all my
heart,
Sheila
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