AN UNEXPECTED VISION
Opening Prayer
Lord, You created the world in which I live and the church in which I serve. All praise to You.
Read ACTS 10:1–8
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. 2 He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. 3 One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4 Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.
The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”
7 When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. 8 He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Meditate
The stage is set for what is to follow: the conversion of Cornelius and the “conversion” of Peter!
Think Further
When I was a child, we would often have a family quiz time around the table over Sunday lunch. Dad would ask each of us children a question. If we didn’t know the answer, we’d ask our mother to tell us, but infuriatingly she would always say, “Let’s look it up.” I wanted immediate answers, but she gave us a valuable lesson on how to learn, which has stood me in good stead ever since.
Every Christmas we read the stories of angels appearing to Mary and Joseph, with fairly detailed messages. So why, in this story, did the angel simply tell Cornelius to send for Peter, with no explanation? Cornelius was probably praying at the time of his vision, as 3:00 p.m. was the hour of prayer at the Jerusalem Temple, so he would have been in receptive mode—but why did the angel not explain the Gospel directly to him? Conrad Gempf suggests that God had something for Peter and the church to learn, as well as Cornelius and his family. We will see the story from Peter’s angle tomorrow. For now, Cornelius had an instruction to obey—or not. He was a man used to authority, with the backing of imperial Rome; it might not have been easy to invite a mere Jewish fisherman to come to his
home.
God does not always work as we want him to. Sometimes we wonder why it is so hard to know what he wants us to do in a given situation. Sometimes guidance seems convoluted and complex. It would be so much easier for an angel to just tell us! However, God teaches us valuable lessons in withholding immediate answers, and he often has wider purposes. Are we willing to obey the instructions he does give us, trusting him for the next step?
Apply
When you spend time in prayer, is it merely a habit, or do you really expect God to speak to you?
Closing prayer
Help me, Lord, to obey what I know You’re telling me and to trust You to develop things in Your way, in Your time.
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