NT Fire Starters – Day 173: Acts 10:24-48
READ: Acts 10:24-48
THINK: Have you ever been surprised by how God spiritually saved, transformed and worked through someone who you felt was almost beyond hope or God’s reach? Perhaps you were one of those astonishing transformations. The fact is that all of us who follow Christ should be eternally grateful that God doesn’t see us as people might tend to see us. God looks beyond the surface and sees the potential He created into every one of us. He knows the role He intends for each of us to fill in His ultimate plan if we accept His forgiveness and yield to Jesus’ leadership. We must be careful to never diminish or stand in the way of anyone’s part in God’s plan.
RESPOND: What does it mean that “God does not show favoritism”? (See 10:34 note.) How should that affect your attitudes and actions–in ministry and otherwise? What’s the real condition for God’s acceptance of people (v. 35)? How can you be sure to “fear him and do what is right”? (See Acts 9:31 note on “the fear of the Lord.”) Though God’s plan of salvation and the message of Jesus originally went out through the Jews, who is Jesus’ message for and for whom is He the Lord (v. 36)? What did Peter emphasize about Jesus in His testimony to Cornelius? How did God confirm that those in Cornelius’s household were genuinely devoted to God and had accepted the message of Christ? (See 10:44 note.) Why do you think Peter’s companions were astonished by the Holy Spirit’s work within the Gentiles? What was the outward evidence that they also had been filled with the Holy Spirit (See 10:46 note.)? How did their experience compare with that of Jesus’ first followers on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:1-4)?
PRAY: Ask God to keep you from showing favoritism or prejudice toward others for any reason–particularly when it comes to reaching out or receiving ministry from those with whom you find it more difficult to relate.
ACT: Ask God to reveal any way in which you’ve shown favoritism or prejudice toward anyone. Consider how this may have affected your acceptance or outreach toward certain people. Make a deliberate effort to befriend or show kindness to these individuals in the hope of showing Jesus’ love and acceptance and influencing them to accept Him.