Summary retelling of Acts 10:1-3
Today
we get to meet Cornelius, a centurion.
He was a part of the Italian Cohort – putting him in one of the most
significant groups of people in the Roman army.
He was devout and he feared God. His
whole household (family, kids, slaves, etc) feared God. He was generous. He prayed.
One day an angel comes to him and addresses him by name.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
Cornelius
is said to “fear” the Lord. This word
fear is literally the Greek word “phobeo.”
From this word we get the word phobia.
However, the Greek word phobeo doesn’t mean what phobia means. Phobeo can mean innate fear – like the flight
instinct in prey animals. But it can
also mean a fear that is derived from awe.
Think about standing in the presence of God. Does that make you want to run away, or does
it merely make you want to bow your head and absorb a greatness that you cannot
understand? That is what it means to
have fear of the Lord. We don’t fear Him
in that we run away From His presence.
Rather, we acknowledge how much we don’t belong in His presence, how
much we can’t understand Him, and just soak up what we can while we are there.
Have
you ever been in a time and place where you “feared the Lord?” When was it and how did it feel?
Second Thought:
Notice
the list of things that is true about Cornelius. He was devout (meaning that he likely
worshipped God and studied God’s Word).
He prayed regularly. He was
generous and served. His whole household
was engaged in spiritual relationships with one another. Cornelius is a model for PoWeR SuRGe! (Pray, Worship, Read/study, Serve, Relate,
Give) Bet you didn’t see that one
coming! But notice that Cornelius
prepared himself for his meeting with the angel by being a true disciple
beforehand. Cornelius was already devout
before God got in direct contact with him.
We are called to be devout from day one.
We are called to prepare.
How
good are you at sticking to your spiritual preparation? Do you take it as seriously as you
should? Do you recognize the goal of being
spiritually prepared?
Third Thought:
An
angel comes to Cornelius. Now, fess
up. How cool would that be? I’m not going to make a big deal about it
here beside saying that this would be really cool. And yes, I’m going to point out that we need
to believe it was an angel. It wasn’t
some vision. It wasn’t a figment of
Cornelius’ mind. A messenger of the Lord
comes to Cornelius to deliver a message to him.
That’s really cool.
Do
you honestly believe angels exist?
Ironically enough, as I wrote this
thought the song “Looking for Angels” by Skillet is playing over my computer
speakers. God’s pretty cool like
that. Only he could have worked out this
timing when I turned on my computer almost 2 hours ago! (Click on the Song title to go to Youtube and hear it if you aren't familiar with it.)
Passage for Tomorrow: Acts 10: 4-8
4 comments:
So can fear mean different things in the English language as well? Like when people say they are a God fearing Christian?
In English, fear can take on these meanings:
1. a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.
2. a specific instance of or propensity for such a feeling: an abnormal fear of heights.
3. concern or anxiety; solicitude: a fear for someone's safety.
4. reverential awe, especially toward God: the fear of God.
5. something that causes feelings of dread or apprehension; something a person is afraid of: Cancer is a common fear.
Personally, I don't think definition #5 is really an accurate definition. But as you can see, fear can be a general emotion of dread, an emotion of dread directed at a specific target, a helpful emotion directed towards someone else, or a feeling of reverence or awe directed towards a higher power.
So, yeah. Fear can take on those meanings in English.
However, I think that we should be careful to explain when we use a word in any way other than its assumed meaning. So, for example, it the modern world where people use fear as a negative word (everything from fearing an illness to horror movies) then we need to be careful when we use the word fear in a positive direction - such as fearing God.
The example you give - a God-fearing Christian - is a great example. Usually when people say this they mean an "awed by God" Christian. But most people in the world hear the expression as someone who is a Christian because they are afraid of Hell, afraid of what God can do to hem in this life, etc. So when we use worlds like this, we must be careful to explain exactly what we mean by them.
Great question!
Thanks for explaining that has always confused me :)
You are certainly welcome!
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