Acts 10:34-35, 38, 39b-42, 43b-48a - So Peter ... said: "Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears Him and does what is right is acceptable to Him. ... God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. ... They put Him to death by hanging Him on a tree, but God raised Him on the third day and made Him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead. And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. ... everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His Name." While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. And the believers ... who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles. For they were hearing them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, "Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" And he commanded them to be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ.

I love this story. It's the story of the day the gates of the baby Christian church came crashing open and the first large group of non-Jews came in as believers. This was a huge change for Peter and the other Jewish believers—they found it almost impossible to believe that God would want to bring the Gentiles into His salvation the same way He brought them. How could the Jewish Messiah be the Savior for these foreigners, too?

God knew this was hard for them. So He made His point unmistakable. First He sent an angel to a Gentile man named Cornelius and ordered him to invite Peter to visit. Then God sent a vision to Peter Himself, so Peter would be willing to go. God repeated the vision three times, so I think He knew Peter was stubborn!

But when Peter finally got there, he told them about Jesus—how He lived, suffered, died, and rose again so that we could be forgiven for our evil. Right away the Holy Spirit fell on everyone who heard him speak—just the way it happened on the first Pentecost, when He came to the Jewish believers gathered in Jerusalem! It was too obvious to ignore. Peter had everybody baptized, and from then on, God's church was open to everybody—Jews and Gentiles.

As we look back on this day, it's a great time to think about who still needs to hear the Good News of Jesus. Our families? Our neighbors? Those foreigners? Our enemies? There is no human being God wants shut out from His kingdom. His love sends us to tell them all, so that they, too, can believe in Jesus.

WE PRAY: Lord, here I am. Send me—and since You know I am weak, You make things happen the way You want it to be. Amen.

This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.

Reflection Questions:

1. What kind of people go to your church right now?

2. Who do you have a hard time picturing in your church?

3. Ask the Lord to open your heart to those people, and pray for them.

Today's Bible Readings: 1 Samuel 19    Psalms 23    Psalms 59    Luke 21:1-19

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