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Acts Reading Plan | Week 8 | Day 5
Prayer
Pause. Breathe in and then slowly out. Allow your body to relax and your mind to be present. Psalm 26:2 says, “Test me, Lord, and try me, examine my heart and my mind”. This is a prayer of invitation to the Lord. Echo the prayer, inviting God to examine your heart and mind and speak to you today.
Bible Reading: Acts 10:9-21
Read these verses three times slowly.
About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.”
The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.”
This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven.
While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”
The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who 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.” Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along.
Reflection & Questions
Yesterday, we saw how God is showing up in the life of Cornelius. For him to take the next step, God told Cornelius to send men to fetch Peter. Why Peter? It wasn’t because Peter was the easiest to get to, or the only option. God had a plan. You see, at the same time that God is working in Cornelius heart, God is also doing a work in Peter. In fact, the very mission Peter is about to go on to help Cornelius, is going to stretch and grow Peter in a very specific way. We get a part of what that growth plan was in today’s reading. So often God is a divine “mission matcher” – he sends us on specific missions because he has a specific thing to do for our faith, while at the same time we’re helping others.
Peter as a devout Jew had never eaten certain foods, because he was taught they were unclean. Today, through a vision, God shows him that actually no food is unclean; he is free to eat any food God has made and God actually commands him to eat. But Peter, being Peter, argues with God and refuses three times and the vision suddenly goes away. Peter wasn’t sure of the meaning of the vision, but there’s a clue in Cornelius’ men turning up. We will discover more next week as we pick up the third part of the story.
- Can you look at tasks/missions that God has given you, and see how He has used it to grow you as well as help others?
- Tim Keller used to say that our arguments with God show that He is real and that our relationship with Him is real. And he would say if our god always agrees with us, there’s a high chance that our god is made up. Do you agree? How do you handle disagreements with God?
Prayer
Talk to God in response to the reading today.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
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Questions?
Ed Applegate
