Summary retelling of Acts 10:34-38
Peter
hears Cornelius and confirms what he has been learning up until now. God shows no partiality. Anyone who follows God in any nation can be
loved by God. Peter then talks about
Jesus and confirms what they may have heard.
The Word of God did come and dwell among us. He did preach words of peace. He is the Lord of all. The Holy Spirit did anoint Him. He healed.
He freed people from the oppression of Satan. God was with Him.
Thoughts for Today
First Thought:
I
love how Peter does confess his change.
Peter is bold in his words. He
sees that God is doing something different and he acknowledges it. There is power in acknowledging that God has
changed us – and it is something that most of us overlook time and time
again. If I confess that God has taught
me to change, then the people to whom I confess can now hold me
accountable. If I simply decide to
change and don’t tell anyone about it, then there is nobody to hold me
accountable when I backslide. Confessing
how God is changing how we think is very important to remaining faithful.
Do
you let people know when God has changed your thinking on something? Do you like the idea of some people being
able to hold you accountable?
Second Thought:
God
shows no partiality. Race, color of
skin, gender – none of these things matter.
All that matters is whether a person loves God, repents of their sin,
and allows God to come into their life and change who they are. We need not be born a special way. We need not accomplish any “holy checklist.” All that matters is that God comes into our
life and makes us His.
How
do we know we are His? How do we know with
confidence that we are saved if there is no “magic list” of things we can do?
Third Thought:
Look
at the list of things that Jesus is said to have done. Wouldn’t that be a great epitaph for any of
us? Would you like to be remembered as
someone who brought the Word of God among us, who spoke words of peace, who taught
that Jesus is the Lord of all, who was anointed by the Holy Spirit, who healed
people, and who freed people from the oppression of Satan? Not that you can be Jesus, but wouldn’t you
like to be known as someone with whom God dwelled?
What’s
stopping you?
Passage for Tomorrow: Acts 10:39-43
2 comments:
to your first thought...if i did not have certain discussions with people i would not have grown as much as i have
Fair enough. But the question is also about accountability, not praise. Telling people that you are thankful for them is one thing - and a very good thing. But telling other people how God has specifically changed you enables them to hold you accountable to that change. See the difference?
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