{"id":1618,"date":"2019-06-02T09:03:47","date_gmt":"2019-06-02T17:03:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=1618"},"modified":"2019-06-02T09:03:47","modified_gmt":"2019-06-02T17:03:47","slug":"devotion-acts-109-23-the-law-the-gospel-and-an-amazing-god-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/?p=1618","title":{"rendered":"Devotion Acts 10:9-23 The Law, The Gospel And An Amazing God Part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Acts 10:9-23\u00a0<\/b>\u2013\u00a0About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof\u00a0to pray.<\/i><\/span>\u00a010\u00a0He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.<\/span>\u00a011\u00a0He saw heaven opened\u00a0and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners.<\/span>\u00a012\u00a0It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds.13\u00a0Then a voice told him,\u00a0<\/span>\u201cGet up, Peter. Kill and eat.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>14\u00a0\u201cSurely not, Lord!\u201d\u00a0Peter replied. \u201cI have never eaten anything impure or unclean.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i>15\u00a0The voice spoke to him a second time,\u00a0<\/i><\/span>\u201cDo not call anything impure that God has made clean.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/span>16\u00a0This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/span>17\u00a0While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision,\u00a0the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon\u2019s house was and stopped at the gate.<\/i><\/span>\u00a018\u00a0They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.\u00a0 19\u00a0While Peter was still thinking about the vision,\u00a0the Spirit said\u00a0to him, \u201cSimon, three\u00a0men are looking for you.<\/span>\u00a020\u00a0So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.\u201d\u00a0 21\u00a0Peter went down and said to the men, \u201cI\u2019m the one you\u2019re looking for. Why have you come?\u201d\u00a0 22\u00a0The men replied, \u201cWe have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man,\u00a0who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.\u201d<\/span>\u00a023\u00a0Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cThe voice spoke to him a second time,\u00a0<\/i><\/span>\u201cDo not call anything impure that God has made clean.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/span>16\u00a0This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.<\/i><\/span>\u201d\u00a0 We remember that the Jews had, in large part, believed that only they were favored of God and the gentiles were referred to as dogs.\u00a0 They did not think of dogs as we do, as beloved friends and even as four-legged parts of the family (Though there were those who loved dogs as their pets such as in\u00a0Matthew 15:27<\/b>).\u00a0 We know they used dog to guard their houses and flocks.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0In the bible calling someone a dog is a derogatory term.\u00a0 These are most likely references to the feral dog packs.\u00a0 They could be dangerous and were known for roaming the streets and eating dead bodies, offal and trash.\u00a0 These were animals without honor.\u00a0\u00a0 This is how the Jews considered Gentiles.\u00a0 Mostly it was because pride had risen up and they considered themselves better than the Gentiles because they were God\u2019s chosen people.\u00a0 Yet we are told that they were not chosen for being numerous and great, but it is because they weren\u2019t (Deuteronomy 7:7-9<\/b>) that God chose them.\u00a0 We remember that God does not change (Numbers 23:19<\/b>) and so He was with them as He is with us.\u00a0 God chooses the weak things of the world, them and us (1 Corinthians 1:20-31, 2 Corinthians 12:9<\/b>).\u00a0 They should not have looked down on Gentiles and we should not look down on non-Christians.\u00a0 Instead, we must love them and pray for them. \u00a0We must carry on the work of Jesus.\u00a0 He was to the world the living representation of God (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:15)<\/b>\u00a0and we must be to the world the living representation of Him and a witness for Him (Matthew 28:19-20<\/b>). \u00a0Let us love as He does and then the fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23<\/b>) will be found living and flowing out of us to a world that is lost and doesn\u2019t even know it.<\/p>\n

So Peter was raised a Jew and he remained one his whole life.\u00a0 He was separated from the teaching of the leaders who opposed Jesus.\u00a0 However, he remained a Jew, he was a Jew who had embraced The Messiah Jesus.\u00a0 But He was Jew.\u00a0 So Peter had learn to reject the customs and traditions that he was raised in.\u00a0 His mind and loves had to be changed to become increasingly more like Jesus.\u00a0 It is not easy.\u00a0 I still know people, lots of them, who cannot shake incorrect traditions.\u00a0 Tradition and custom can be wonderful and great memories are held with them.\u00a0 But only as they don\u2019t conflict with God\u2019s Word.\u00a0 When we say we love the Lord, then we should also be saying that it is He whom we cling to and not tradition or culture that conflicts with His will.\u00a0 If He is truly Lord in every part of our life, then the answer we give to Him is always yes, or at least should be, if He truly is our \u201cnumber-one\u201d love. \u00a0If He is our treasure then we are most fortunate of all because we have and will never lose our greatest (Matthew 6:33<\/b>).<\/p>\n

We are taught to listen to and to obey the Lord at our first hearing.\u00a0 Simple.\u00a0 If God tells us twice He is letting us know that it is important and we better be listening.\u00a0 I remember being told by my Dad that he does not want have to repeat himself.\u00a0 If he did repeat himself, I better be listening.\u00a0 The Lord here repeats Himself three times.\u00a0 He was giving Peter a message with a bullhorn!\u00a0 In essence He was telling Peter to put aside everything he thought he knew, or that he was taught, and to immediately accept and do all that Jesus tells him to do.\u00a0 Not \u201cbuts,\u201d just hear, trust and obey.\u00a0 Actually, He was liberating Peter.\u00a0 The Law binds, Jesus came to set us free from the binding of the law to bring us to Freedom to obey the Spirit.\u00a0 The Law is an unrelenting master while the freedom we receive through faith in Jesus is to do all that we want to do.\u00a0 God trusts that what we most want is more of Him and to walk in His love.\u00a0 We want to be like our Daddy.\u00a0 If Daddy does it, we want to do it.\u00a0 If Daddy does not, then we don\u2019t want to do it.\u00a0 So if Daddy loves the Gentiles, then Peter must love the Gentiles.\u00a0 Not out of a sentence from law, but out of loving freedom that has cleansed us and flows from within.\u00a0 Oh, hallelujah!\u00a0 Praise God! How wonderful that we are made to be part of His family and in so being are changed to be increasingly like Him.\u00a0 Praise God!<\/p>\n

Psalm 150:6<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.\u00a0 Praise the Lord!<\/i><\/p>\n

Micah 7:7<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0But as for me, I watch\u00a0in hope\u00a0for the\u00a0Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear\u00a0me.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Micah 6:8<\/b>\u00a0–\u00a0He has shown You, O man, what\u00a0is\u00a0good; And what does the\u00a0Lord\u00a0require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Acts 10:9-23\u00a0\u2013\u00a0About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof\u00a0to pray.\u00a010\u00a0He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.\u00a011\u00a0He saw heaven opened\u00a0and something like a large sheet being let down to earth…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192],"tags":[82,1863,129,1872,1969,104,101,94,1874,17],"class_list":["post-1618","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-devotion","tag-acts","tag-colossians","tag-corinthians","tag-deuteronomy","tag-galatians","tag-hebrews","tag-matthew","tag-micah","tag-numbers","tag-psalm"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1618","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1618"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1618\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1619,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1618\/revisions\/1619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1618"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1618"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.Bob4God.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1618"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}