Category: Devotions

Criticism

Acts 11: 2
“So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticised him”

They criticised him because they hadn’t seen Peter’s vision of the clean and unclean creatures coming from heaven.
They criticised him because they hadn’t heard the voice from heaven saying ‘Get up kill and eat’.
They criticised him because they didn’t know that Cornelius had sent men to get Peter.
They criticised him because they hadn’t experienced what Peter experienced as the Spirit came upon these Gentiles.

Before you criticise or as you criticise (for some criticism is justifiable and necessary) ask yourself, what am I missing in this? What is the missing jigsaw piece? What have I not seen or heard? What do I not know nor experienced?

Titles

Acts 11: 1

“The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.”

The sent ones (the meaning of the word apostles) heard that the gospel was being spread further afield.
How strange that the sent ones were hearing of what was happening ahead of them!
You see, just because you are called sent, doesn’t mean you have gone.
Just because you are a brother (in Christ) doesn’t mean you will reach out in love to those you are a brother to.
Just because you are a little Christ (the meaning of the word Christian) doesn’t mean you will behave, look, speak, think like Christ.
Better not to have a title than to take the title but not do what it says you should do.
Preachers not preparing well enough to preach.
Pastors not caring enough to care.
Missionaries who have forgotten they are on mission.
Members not committed to what they are a member of.
With titles come expectations but there also comes lethargy which needs to be defeated.
Let’s allow our titles to kickstart us into action!

Homes

Acts 10:48
“So he ordered that they be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days.”

Presumably Peter said yes!
He had found a home where he had experienced the presence of God in a startling new way. The people were hungry for more of God. These were new disciples eager to spend more time with Peter, they had questions, they had open hearts and minds keen to learn. They had built up such a good bond with Peter that hey felt they could persuade him to stay. They wanted his company.
What a blessing this was to Peter!
Do you have a place like that?
I have a place where I enjoy going. The couple in this home pray for me. When I go, there are chocolates and liquorice allsorts next to my bed, they know what I like! There is a magazine on my bed. Towels are ready. But what I enjoy the most is the conversations we have, inspiring, influencing always affirming. God is there. They always ask when will I be able to go again.
This is a huge blessing to me! And of course I look forward to going there.
We all should have a place like that.
But we all should prepare a place like that for someone else. Open your home today, think who you can invite to stay, even for a few days.
God does amazing things in homes!
A quick look at the gospels show us that Jesus visited the house of Peter, Matthew, Simon the Pharisee, Jairus, Martha and Lazarus, to name a few. He stayed in homes, he performed miracles in homes, he relaxed and laughed in homes. He was at home in a home!
Invite Jesus to use your home today.

Freedom

Acts 10:47
“Can anyone keep these people from being baptised with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”

Don’t let anyone you or anything keep you from the next step in your discipleship journey.
There will always be someone who will say NO or find reasons why you are not ready. Do not listen to them!
Today you are free to embark on a new adventure and the Spirit will go with you.
Peter asks ‘can anyone keep these people from …’ They were ready.
And you? It may not be water baptism but it can mean other important issues. Don’t let anyone stop you.

Come Holy Spirit

Acts 10:46
“For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.”

It’s one thing to know that God loves the Gentiles.
It’s another to know that the Gentiles receive the same Holy Spirit as theThe and Jews.
But there is more! They receive the Holy Spirit in the same way as the apostles did!
No one is more special than the other.
Acts 2:4 “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.”
The day of Pentecost was happening again in this home of Cornelius.
The same Holy Spirit can come on you as He did the apostles, giving the same gifts, moving in the same way as He did all those years ago.
There is no difference.
In that same way. The same Holy Spirit can move amongst children as He does in the room next door with the mature adult service !
The Holy Spirit is the same in any person no matter age, culture, sex, education or experience.
The Holy Spirit can shake a church community today filling it with power. The Holy Spirit can stir a town today because of what He is doing in His church.
The time is overdue for many, that out of our mouths flows something from the Divine. Heaven needs to flow from us because Heaven has come upon us. To the praise of Him who sends the same Spirit to every generation.
Come Holy Spirit!

When …

Acts 10:45
“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.”

See the picture: on one side the circumcised believers holding proof in their bodies that they are Gods people. On the other side, the uncircumcised holding no proof at all, part of the ‘we are not God’s people’ brigade.

When there is no proof you belong to God.
When you look like any other person in the world.
When you don’t qualify.
When you have nothing to give or bring.
When you are the rejected, the scorned and the forgotten.
When you are not born into faith.
When you are not brought up in the faith.
When those in your faith put you out of their faith.
When you are mistaken, abused or forgotten.
When your name is not on the list, when you are not chosen and your face doesn’t fit in many God-circles.
When the rest can’t believe the best for you.
When they look down on you from heir lofty heights of purity.
When they, you and everyone else least expects it …. then maybe at this time more than at any other you are in the position to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
So let the onlookers be astonished as you receive what you don’t deserve, the unconditional amazing grace of the Spirit. Come Holy Spirit!

Word and Spirit

Acts 10:44
“While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message”

He just came on them. No special prayer. No appeal. Just while Peter was speaking about Jesus, the Spirit came. He interrupted Peter and Peter was content to be so. The partnership of the Word and the Spirit.
In the West you don’t have to be an expert to realise that the Spirit falling in such a way as with this Italian family is not common. We have prayed for revival. We have discussed why we are not seeing the miracles and signs that we have so desired. But heaven is brassy, there isn’t much falling on us. However maybe our lack of desire for the Word has contributed to this barrenness. You see, the pulpit has been replaced with the stage. The pulpit used to be centre in church buildings but now it is transportable being moved to the side or even removed altogether. That is fine and we mustn’t become transfixed on a piece of wood. Yet removing the pulpit is perhaps indicative of the removal of the preacher. Preachers only preach once a month these days. Even once a month what they preach is dull and boring. What do they do all week? Well, it’s not preparing to preach.
There is a famine for the Word of God. God’s people are not reading or hearing the Scriptures. The Bible is lying dusty on the shelves.

Before Oral Roberts’ departure to heaven, he was stirred by a vision from the Lord and emphatically stated, “We’ve got to get back to preaching the cross with fire in our bellies!” Men of old and past giants of the faith knew something about this. They saw the Spirit fall because they were not afraid to speak the Word. It’s not complicated.

The whomsoever

Acts 10: 43
“All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Whomsoever, the everyone and anyone, whoever believes in Jesus. That is the criteria for forgiveness.
Wherever we are, whatever situation we are in and whoever we have become, believe in Jesus who is the forgiver and you will be forgiven.
That is our message. No strings attached. No hoops to jump through. No rules to keep. Nothing of ourselves. All of Him.
Only believe,
Only believe
All things are possible
Only believe

I first sang that sing as a boy coming into the realisation of Jesus my Saviour. I have needed that song through my life.
Forgiveness is not found in who you are nor in what you can do, it is found in Him, in Christ.

A friend posted on Facebook yesterday: “The first three people who started following Jesus as recorded in Acts: a sorcerer, a eunuch and a hit-man. Hardly a parade of the eligible and worthy, is it? But that’s the point: none of us is.”

We are what Brennan Manning coins ‘ragamuffins’ believing in a ‘ragamuffin gospel’!

We are the whomsoever. He is the One.

Preaching

Acts 10:42
“He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.”

Preachers must preach.
They must preach Jesus.
Their lives must match their preaching, they must witness of Jesus also.
They must witness that Jesus is the special one, the anointed one, appointed as the final judge.
When was the last sermon you heard which was about Jesus? It is a crazy question perhaps, but when?
Preachers preach about preaching,, they preach about anything but the nature of Jesus.
The pulpit is removed to the side or altogether. Space is created for the worship team or the dance team. More time is given to worshipping, the singing of songs, or to technology. The Bible is squeezed to the bear minimum. Preaching time slots are introduced and that is a reduced schedule.
We need preaching back in our churches. Where our Pastors have spent considerable time beforehand preparing what they are going to say. It is a command.

Scoring points

Acts 10:41
“He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen-by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”

God could have proved the point.
After the resurrection He could have gone to the wicked generation and showed them up, turned the tables, got His own back. “Listen you scoffers, you killed Jesus, but I raised Him, so take that!”
Do you ever feel like that at times?
Like you want to prove someone they were wrong?
You have that great conversation in your head and you win convincingly?!
Why didn’t God do this?
He had a plan and He stuck with it. The plan was in choosing witnesses, in those early Christians and also in you and me. That’s who He chose to reveal the resurrection to.
His plan wasn’t to convince those who wouldn’t believe but to eat/fellowship with those who would.
Perhaps we also shouldn’t try to get our own back or win the argument or prove we are right.
Perhaps our focus should be higher than this.
Perhaps we should focus more on fellowship and less on fights.
One thing for sure is that God’s plan and purpose is far more important than scoring points with opponents.