Today's Reading: Ecclesiastes 10-12; Acts 10:24-48
“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. 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. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God” (Acts 10:44-46 NIV).
Today we read the rest of Peter & Cornelius’ story. In this section, Peter was called to act upon the lesson he just learned. He had just seen a vision that revealed God’s lack of favoritism, and now Peter was expected to show this same lack of favoritism. While he could have held back and stayed within his comfortable traditions, Peter broke out of his Jewish mold and preached to the Gentiles in Cornelius’ home. The result was that they, too, believed, and were given the gift of the Holy Spirit. How life changing that must have been for Peter & the other Jews in the room that day! And how humbling as well!
Sometimes God has important lessons for us to learn. Often we take the first step in listening and repenting, but things break down before we actually act in faith. We cower back, thinking God couldn’t possibly be asking us to do that here and now. And because of that, we lose out on some awesome experiences.
There have been many times when I’ve reached out enough to invite someone to a church event, but then didn’t follow through with actually witnessing to them. At those moments I cowered back into my comfort zone, ignoring the nudge of the Holy Spirit, and thinking that he couldn’t possibly be using me, when in fact, he wants to use me more than anything!
Looking back, I regret those times when I didn’t follow through with what was on my heart. I pray that, in the future, I’ll be more like Peter, who wasn’t afraid to change the way he’d always thought, in order to share the gospel with everyone who desired to know the truth about Jesus Christ.
Lord, help me to be bold in my faith, and not only take your message to heart, but to share it with others as well.
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