Acts 11:19-30 Making Room For The Gentiles

The Jewish believers exhibited three responses to the Gentile believers, my commentary had already said, which should help us relate to other believers today.  They'd first accepted them, and now they were tasked by God with encouraging them and finally accepting the help those Gentile believers were about to send them!

"The Jerusalem believers commissioned Barnabas to go to Antioch to find out what was going on among the Gentiles," and he was certainly an encourager.  The Bible says, "He was filled with the Spirit," and I wondered how many of us today might ever have that written about us if the Bible were still being written!

"He rejoiced at what he saw.  Worshipping with Gentiles was a new experience for him, but he approached it positively and did not look for things to criticize.  It was a work of God, and Barnabas gave thanks for God's grace.  He emphasized dedication of the heart as he taught the people the Word of God."

We se the phrase, "cleave to the Lord" and my commentary described that action as "loving the Lord, walking in His ways, obeying His Word, and serving Him wholeheartedly.  It means that we belong to Him alone and that we cultivate our devotion to Him."

"Amazingly, those Gentile believers, under the encouragement of Barnabas and Paul, took up a collection and sent it to the Jerusalem believers to help them through a time of great famine that Agabus had been told by God would soon occur!

Father, please help us to be encouragers like Barnabas and to share what You give us with others in need, particularly our fellow believers.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 10:44-11:18 The Christian Legalists Understand

Peter returned to Jerusalem to find himself facing the rebuke of the legalists for fellowshiping with  Gentiles.  "Those Jewish believers did not yet understand the relationship between law and grace," my commentary explained.  "It was not only a matter of religion, but also of culture, and cultural habits are very hard to break."

"The phrase contended with him means to make a difference.  These legalists were making and difference between the Gentiles and the Jews after Peter had demonstrated that there is no difference!  God had declared the Gentiles clean, that is, accepted before God on the same basis as the Jews -- through faith in Jesus Christ ... Peter reviewed the entire experience ... and when he was finished, the Jewish legalists dropped their charges and glorified God for the salvation of the Gentiles ... In his personal defense, Peter presented 3 pieces of evidence:  the vision from God, the witness of the Spirit, and the witness of the Word ... The witness of the Spirit was crucial, for this was God's own testimony that He had indeed saved the Gentiles."

"What was I, that I could withstand God?" Peter asked them.  In another version, it is rendered:  "How could I stop the work of God?"  I'd sure hate to try!

"Christians are to receive one another and not dispute over cultural differences or minor matters of personal convictions," my commentary clarified.

Father, help all of us in our churches to open our hearts to those who are unlike us and to see that You are at work and that we dare not stop Your work due to our own petty prejudices and differences.

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 10:34-43 The Gentiles Get The Message

"There can be no faith apart from the Word of God," (Romans 10:17).  Peter shared the new testament he'd been given by God, particularly that "God is no respecter of persons as far as nationality and race are concerned.  When it comes to sin and salvation, there is no difference.  All men have the same Creator and all men need the same Savior ... Cornelius and his family quickly applied the message to themselves, believed on Jesus Christ, and were saved," my commentary said.

"The Holy Spirit was giving witness to the six Jews who were present that the Gentiles were truly born again.  These men had not seen the vision with Peter, and they needed to understand that the Gentiles were now on an equal footing with the Jews."

Father, this is, as always, incredible news for everyone.  Help me to share it readily!

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 10: 1-22 God Makes Final Preparations For The Salvation Of The Gentiles

"Chapter 10 is pivotal in the book of Acts, for it records the salvation of the Gentiles," my commentary began.  Up to that point, the Jews considered them dogs.

"Before He could save the Gentiles, God had to prepare Peter to bring the message and Cornelius to hear the message ... Cornelius was as close to Judaism as he could get without becoming a proselyte ... It is interesting to see how religious a person can be and still not be saved.  Certainly, Cornelius was sincere in his obedience to God's law, his fasting, and his generosity to the Jewish people.  He was not permitted to offer sacrifices in the temple, so he presented his prayers to God as his sacrifices.  In every way, he was a model of religious respectability -- and yet he was not a saved man ... he knew that his religious devotion was not sufficient to save him ... God sent an angel to instruct Cornelius and, in true military fashion, Cornelius immediately obeyed."

"Peter also had to be prepared for this event since he lived as an orthodox Jew all of his life.  The law of Moses was a wall between the Jews and the Gentiles and this wall had been broken down at the cross ... God had to teach him that the Jew was not clean and the Gentile unclean, but both Jew and Gentile were unclean before God!  This meant that a Gentile did not have to become a Jew in order to become a Christian!"

It's strange hearing Peter say, "No, Lord!" when God told him to eat any animal in the vision he'd been shown, even unclean ones.  "You can say 'No,' and you can say, 'Lord,'; but you cannot say, 'No, Lord!'  If He is truly our Lord, then we can only say, 'Yes!' to Him and obey His commands," my commentary added.

God put these two men together, and now He will do a might work!

Father, help me to be ready to say yes to whatever You have planned for me.  I don't want to ever feel the shame of saying, "No, Lord!"

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 9:20-31 Saul Gets Mentioned

My commentary said it is likely that Saul's visit to Arabia noted in Gal. 1:17 took place between Acts 9:21 and 22.  After 3 years he was back in Jerusalem.  We aren't told much about that trip, but Warren Wiersbe thinks the Lord instructed him to get alone so that He might teach Saul His Word.  "The important thing about this Arabian sojourn is the fact that Saul did not confer with flesh and blood but received his message and mandate directly from the Lord (Gal 1:10-24).  He did not borrow anything from the apostles in Jerusalem, because he didn't even meet them until 3 years after his conversion."

Upon returning, he met the Jerusalem believers.  First, he was rejected.  "He kept trying to get into their fellowship, but they would not accept him ... They did not believe that he was even a disciple of Jesus Christ, let alone an apostle who had seen the risen Savior."

Finally, Saul was accepted.  "It was Barnabas who helped the Jerusalem church accept Saul ... Barnabas took hold of Saul, brought him to the church leaders, and convinced them that Saul was both a believer and a chosen apostle.  He had indeed seen the risen Christ ... Saul moves off the scene and now Peter returns.  Soon, Peter will move off the scene and Paul will fill the pages of the book of Acts.  God changes His workmen, but His work goes on.  And you and I are privileged to be a part of that work today!"

Father, I thank You for the ministry You've given me, and how You have shown me that in the last few days to remind me.  Help me to be the face of Jesus to those You are sending my way.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 9:1-19 Saul Gets "Arrested"

Saul of Tarsus met Christ on the road to Damascus, "thinking he was doing God a service by persecuting the church.  But Saul was spiritually blind and did not understand what the Old Testament really taught about the Messiah ... He discovered to his surprise that Jesus of Nazareth was actually alive! ... Paul also discovered that he was a lost sinner who was in danger of the judgment of God ... Saul thought he'd be serving God, when in reality he had been persecuting the Messiah! ... All of his values changed.  He was a new person because he trusted Jesus Christ," my commentary said.

After meeting Christ, Saul then was to meet Ananias.  "Ananias was available to do God's will, but he certainly was not anxious to obey!  The fact that Saul was praying instead of preying should have encouraged Ananias ... Instead of trusting himself, Saul was now trusting the Lord and waiting for Him to show him what to do ... Saul had already seen a vision of a man named Ananias coming to minister to him, so how could Ananias refuse to obey?"

"Once convinced, Ananias lost no time going to the house of Judas and ministering to the waiting Saul.  The fact that he called him brother must have brought joy to the heart of the blinded Pharisee.  Saul not only heard Ananias' voice, but he felt his hands.  By the power of God, his eyes were opened and he could see! ... God can use even the most obscure saint ... We should never be afraid to obey God's will ... Remember that He is working at both ends of the line ...We must never unerestimate the value of one person brought to Christ."

Remind me often, Father, and help me to trust You and not hesitate.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford

Acts 8:26-40 Obeying God's Leading

The fourth man mentioned in Acts 8 is not even named.  He was labeled "a concerned seeker" by my commentary and he was an Ethiopian who served Candace, their queen.  He was returning from Jerusalem where he'd gone to worship God.  "Because he was a eunuch, he could not become a full Jewish proselyte (Deut 23:1), but he was permitted to become a God fearer or a proselyte of the gate.  He was concerned enough about his spiritual life to travel over 200 miles to Jerusalem to worship God, but his heart was still not satisfied," my commentary said.

"God had directed Philip to the right person at the right time, as he will with us today, if we will just listen and pray.  This man represents many people today who are religious, read the Scriptures, and seek the truth, yet do not have saving faith in Jesus Christ.  They are sincere, but they are lost!  They need someone to show them the way," my commentary continued.

"God had already prepared the man's heart to receive Philip's witness.  If we obey the Lord's leading, we can be sure that God will go before us and open the way for our witness ... It is not enough for the lost sinner to desire salvation; he must also understand God's plan of salvation.  It is the heart that understands the Word and eventually bears fruit."

Finally, my commentary tells about a man in China in 1857 who'd been led to Christ by J Hudson Taylor.  He asked Taylor, "How long have you had the good tidings in England?"  "Many centuries," was his answer.  The man replied, "My father died seeking the truth.  Why didn't you come sooner?"

Father, help me to share the gospel with those You put in my path.  Help me to help fulfill Your plan to save the nations.

 

Your Brother In Christ,
Gary Ford