Daily Bible Study

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Day 17 Acts 10 Acts 10:1 There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, 2 A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. 3 He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. 4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter: 6 He lodges with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the seaside: he shall tell thee what thou ought to do. 7 And when the angel which spoke unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually; 8 And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa. 9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: 10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance, 11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12 Wherein were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. 14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean. 15 And the voice spoke unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. 16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven. 17 Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon’s house, and stood before the gate, 18 And called, and asked whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged there. 19 While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee. 20 Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing: for I have sent them. 21 Then Peter went down to the men which were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Behold, I am he whom ye seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come? 22 And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that fears God, and of good report among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from God by a holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee. 23 Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. Has anyone sought you out for a special purpose? What did you do? Cornelius wasn’t a Jew, but a Roman centurion. However, he believed in God, but didn’t know anything about Jesus. He saw a vision of an angel who told him to send for Peter to tell him about Jesus. God gave Peter a vision of various animals which are unclean for Jews to consume. God told Peter, He cleansed them so he could eat them. Then told Peter, he was to go with the men from Cornelius, and tell him about Jesus. As Christians, you know this was when God sent His message to the world. It began with Cornelius and the world hasn’t been the same since. You are not to keep the message of Jesus Christ to yourself, but are to take it to the world, starting where you live and spreading outward. Jesus told His disciples they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the rest of the world. Acts 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (KJV) In order for the apostles to reach the world, God had to give them a nudge out of their comfort zones. Until then, they had kept the message of Jesus Christ to themselves and the Jews. Today the gospel has gone throughout the earth, reaching every country of the world, but not every person, yet. Every day, more people hear about Jesus and have the opportunity to accept Him as Savior and Lord. What are you doing to take the gospel to the world? Does God need to give you a nudge as He did Peter? Let’s pray: Father, take me out of my comfort zone. Show me where You would have me go and who to bring Your message of salvation. Open my mouth with Your words and let Your Holy Spirit speak through me to all who hear Your message of salvation. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen. Copyright © 28 January 2019 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay