New International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
11 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.”
Have you ever questioned
the Lord’s motives? We can probably all
answer a resounding “yes” to that question.
Sometimes it is difficult to understand why He chooses to do things the
way He does but we can be assured that He always has a reason and it is always
the perfect decision far beyond our own decisions. In the case of the scripture today I have to
wonder why God chose the Jewish people over others to be called His “chosen
people”. Where they, on the other hand,
could not figure out why God would allow the Gentiles to be saved and Baptized
with the Holy Spirit.
I had to wonder why the
Jewish Christians were so against associating with the Gentiles. Then, I began to think about the history of
the Jews. God told them to go and
destroy the people who were the inhabitants of the land because they worshiped
false gods and He told them to destroy their idols. When the Jewish people only performed “most”
of what God told them to do, there was trouble for the Jews. So, I believe it was difficult for them to
think that now this Salvation was for everyone not just for the Jews.
I have to wonder if I am
any different from the Jews when it comes to my faith in Christ. Do I think that it is only for the “good”
people of this world? Am I willing to
share my faith with those who are of a lower class than I? Am I willing to go into their homes, eat
their food, and share with them the joy of the Lord? Am I willing to invite them into my home?
These scriptures make it
very clear that we are to go where God calls us to go. We are to listen to His instructions and we
are NOT to be prejudice towards anyone.
God loves all of us and wants all of us to come to Him. He never had anything against the race that
He created only that they worshiped other gods, false gods. They did not recognize Him as Lord. It is His desire that ALL come to Him and we
like Peter need to be willing to share that with anyone that God calls us to
share it with.
It is also the responsibility
of those who call themselves Christians to support those who are going out and
sharing the Gospel as they have been called to do. We are all called to share the Gospel but
some are called to share in places that we ourselves have not been called to
go. That could be the bar, prison, or
the other side of the world. Wherever
our brothers and sisters go, we need to make sure that we are supporting them
in prayer, financially, and with words of encouragement.
As you seek Him today,
ask Him where He wants you to minister.
Ask Him where He wants you to support others. Most of all, share with others the wonderful
message of Salvation that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Seeking Him with all my
heart,
Sheila
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