Acts 10:1-6 In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said. Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel. And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”
v33-36 So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.” hen Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. 36 This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
v42-43 And He ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all--the living and the dead. He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven through His Name.
This passage is part of our upcoming lesson for Sunday morning Bible study. And I've actually been doing some meditating on it (wow, me, meditating on Scripture....I'm so pleased about that since meditating generally scares the me because I have the mind of "oh so many wandering thoughts"). But I have done it !! Yaay.
And here's what occurred to me. Cornelius was a godly man, helping others and praying regularly. Because of this God honored him by sending the Gospel message through Peter, bringing salvation to him and his household. Well, in my mind as I turned this over and over, the Holy Spirit impressed upon me that in the same way Cornelius' actions brought salvation to him, our prayers and good deeds can bring the message of salvation to others. As we honor God by helping those who need it, and pray for those around us, the message of salvation will be shared. Didn't Jesus say in Matthew 5:16 "In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father." Salvation is shown in the way it acts.
This meditating on Scripture is pretty cool!
Lord, show us more in Your Word as we focus on it and You. We desire to be a light, to share Your salvation message to those around us. As we glorify You in our deeds, and pray to You in our hearts, You will bring that message to those around us. Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus is the only way to salvation. Jesus is our Messiah. He died that we may be free. He rose that we may live. Hallelujah! Today, let us give reason for those around us to want to know the source of our love, joy and peace. In His most precious Name. Amen.
Pick a portion of Scripture to meditate on today.
No comments:
Post a Comment