The Way —-> Christians

Dear God, I just finished working on the Sunday school lesson I’m teaching tomorrow on Acts 10:1-11:26. It is so interesting to see the whole thing from a macro level. The realization I kind of came to at the end was that you used a faithful Roman officer to set the stage for The Way for Jews to transform into Christians for us all. No one knew it at the time. Cornelius didn’t know it. Peter didn’t know it. the apostles back in Jerusalem who were agitated about what they heard about it didn’t know it. The Jewish people who went with Peter to Cornelius’s home didn’t know it. The people Cornelius gathered in his home to hear Peter’s words didn’t know it. The Roman soldier who accompanied Cornelius’s two servants to retrieve Peter didn’t know it. There are so many characters in this story and not one of them knew what you were doing on a larger scale. They were just in the moment and prayerfully making their way through each one as best as they could.

I’ll point out another thing. While it doesn’t say Cornelius was praying at the time of his angel visit, it does make a point to say that he “prayed to God always. And Peter had his vision from you, Holy Spirit, while he was intentionally praying. things just don’t happen unless we spend focused time with you. I don’t know if these prayer journals are giving me the pinnacle of what prayer time can be, but I am grateful for them for helping me to spend time with you in conversation and to learn from you. And sometimes I am wrong. Like Peter responding the Holy Spirit, sometimes my first response is, “No, Lord.” But you slowly burn off the chaff little by little so that I can become who you have for me to be.

Father, keep me in the moment. I don’t need to know what you are doing? Frankly, there is no way I can know. And I don’t really want to know. But I know I love you. I know I want to know you and your will for me. Your call on me. So help me to do that. Help me to do it in love. Help me to be exactly who you need me to be. And help me tomorrow as I visit with this Sunday school class and teach the lesson I believe your Holy Spirit has given me to teach. Prepare the way. Prepare hearts. Help me to know what to say and what not to say.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 

Acts 11:1-4, 18

Soon the news reached the apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. But when Peter arrived back in Jerusalem, the Jewish believers criticized him. “You entered the home of Gentiles and even ate with them!” they said. Then Peter told them exactly what had happened.

When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.”
Acts 11:1-4, 18

Dear God, it would be so much easier if I could just know when I am right and when I am wrong. I mean, really, how much am I wrong about right now in my opinions, theologies, or whatever that I am just sure I’m right?

It’s too bad these verses in Acts 11 get separated from the story in Acts 10 because taken as one narrative, it totally flips the intent of the story. If we just read chapter 10, we might think Cornelius is the protagonist of this story, but in reading the whole thing as one, we realize that Peter is really the protagonist. It is his journey we are tracking. We show his evolution on the issue of Gentiles (right after chapter 9 when we get the conversion of the biggest Gentile advocate of all, Paul), and then the influence he has on the believers back in Jerusalem.

I was talking with a local pastor the other day about the LGTBQ+ controversy in his church. It’s hit a divisive level to where there is a new church starting because of it and some of his members are leaving. And I know both sides are just sure they are right about this. They are just sure they know you Jesus or any of the apostles would respond if they were here to make the same decisions. It could be that if it had been anyone less than Peter himself explaining the acceptance of Gentiles into your kingdom, this would have been the cause of the first recorded split in the Christian church.

I attend Catholic Church with my wife. There is a lot of the theology I agree with. There is a little of the theology I don’t agree with. Am I right or wrong? I don’t know. But I know the Catholics I worship with appear to really love you. And I really love you. So as long as we are truly pursuing you and your Holy Spirit, I will count our disagreements as meaningless.

Father, I am sorry for when I have been wrong. Well, let me put it this way: I am sorry for the times I’ve been wrong and then judged others through my ignorance. I don’t pretend to know your heart on all of these issues. I can only look at my life, evaluate the level to which I am striving to keep myself in right relationship with you, and then encourage others to do the same. And then to love my neighbors as myself as I go. So thank you. Thank you also for getting me through last night. Thank you for answering my prayers. Thank you for touching lives both in that room and then through the work we will do with the patients because of the resources people shared with us. You are amazing, God.

I pray to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 

Acts 10:39-43

“And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him to life on the third day. Then God allowed him to appear, not to the general public, but to us whom God had chosen in advance to be his witnesses. We were those who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead. He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”
Acts 10:39-43

Dear God, there is a part of Peter’s speech that I’m realizing this morning has always bothered me. It’s not what he said, but the fact that what he said is, indeed, accurate. Jesus did not appear to the general public after his resurrection. He didn’t appear to Caiaphas. Pilate. Herod. That’s interesting. That’s an interesting decision on your part. Why did he not appear to people like that? Even to Caesar himself. Why this seemingly covert plan?

Wow, as I’m thinking about this I think I am getting the answer. And maybe the answer is influenced by my own bias when it comes to Christian Nationalism and such, but if Jesus had revealed his resurrected self to powerful people, would they have used their power to coerce people into believing in Jesus, worshipping Jesus, etc. Instead, he revealed himself to the powerless. Those who were incapable of abusing others with their power.

I reminds me of your decision to send your angels to reveal Jesus’s birth to the shepherds instead of the local high priest or Bethlehem/Jerusalem church leadership. Why did you choose to reveal yourself to the powerless instead of the powerful? Is it possible the powerful cannot be trusted with the knowledge of your revelation?

Father, I can gripe and complain all I want when it comes to others abusing their power, but I need to not take my eyes off of the times when I abdicate mine. I miss opportunities to offer you to those who are hurting around me. I miss opportunities to share my faith with others. I miss the opportunity to pray for others like I should. So while I am concerned about those who are abusing power, or even seeking power so they can abuse it, I am offering myself to you in repentance and asking that you help me to love others with your love. See others with your eyes. Hear others with your ears. And know others with your knowledge. Help me to know what to say, what not to say, and when to say or not say it. Oh, how I love you. Help me to share that love with others.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 

Acts 10:37-38

“You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee, after John began preaching his message of baptism. And you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

Acts 10:37-38

Dear God, I started to cover more verses this morning, but verse 38 kind of stopped me. Peter’s description of Jesus’s activities in this world was that he did good and healed all who were oppressed by the devil. What an interesting summation of Jesus’s earthly activities pre-crucifixion. Of course, he left some things out like teaching and revealing you to us. Also challenging the church authorities. But it was including Satan specifically that made me wonder if I don’t need to do that more as I pray for people, including myself.

I was at a National Day of Prayer meeting last night, and while I was praying silently while others prayed, I was taking a bit of an inventory of the tragedies and hard things I had witnessed or heard about during the week. I know of two children in our local schools whose mother died by suicide on Sunday after a very complicated life (I’ll keep what I learned to myself and not type it here for her privacy’s sake). I talked with a grandmother who has relocated her life a couple of times to help her daughter care for her two children because the daughter has had drug issues. The list seemingly goes on and on. There’s so much brokenness. So much addiction. So much pain. I forget who is behind it all. I forget who is whispering anger, hatred, indignation, bitterness, self-righteousness, fear, etc. into people’s ears. It’s Satan and his demons. Yes, I believe in spiritual warfare. I believe there are powers and principalities of this world and then there are the angels and my Triune God on the other side. I believe that sometimes I am completely in tune with you and experiencing the fruit of your Spirit, and then there are other times when I give in to the self-indulgence of my rights, my opinions being right and others wrong, and the need to feel superior to others. I give in to fear and let it motivate me. I create idols that I look to for my peace instead of you and you alone.

Father, Satan comes to steal, kill, and destroy. You came to give me life. I pray for those in my sphere who are really struggling right now. I am running their names through my head. They are looking for you. They just don’t know they are looking for you. Help them to find you, whether through me or someone else you raise up to be in their lives. Heal hearts. Oh, Father, redeem the pain I’ve seen or know of just from this week. Oh, Jesus, heal. Oh, Holy Spirit, comfort and counsel.

I offer this prayer to you, Father, in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 

Acts 10:34-36

Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.”
Acts 10:34-36

Dear God, I just wanted to stop here with Peter’s response because it made me think of something: How do I define the “Gospel?” I think Peter sums it up in these three sentences:

• God shows no favoritism
• In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right
• There is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

I was speaking with someone yesterday about after-life, what it looks like and such. One of the things I said was that, after looking at the Parables of Jesus and what he said about the Kingdom of Heaven, it became clear that there will be a sorting. The cut-line is a little vague to me, and I am not sure how to define it, but that’s not a responsibility you gave me. You gave me the responsibility to represent you to the world and call the world into your Gospel: your Good News.

Father, I was able to visit with a few people yesterday about you. It was interesting to have had my prayer yesterday morning about the mission fields of Portland and then the one within which I already live. Then you gave me some opportunities to share you with some really precious and great people about whom I really care. So thank you for that. Thank you for loving me and teaching me. Thank you for looking beyond my ignorance and seeing my heart. It really is for you.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 

Acts 10:30-33

Cornelius replied, “Four days ago I was praying in my house about this same time, three o’clock in the afternoon. Suddenly, a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of me. He told me, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your gifts to the poor have been noticed by God! Now send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.’ So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.”
Acts 10:30-33

Dear God, I love how grateful Cornelius is: “…and it was good of you to come.” For this Roman captain to be so humble in front of Peter is impressive. A life submitted to you is humble. Am I that humble?

I was also thinking about how I would have felt if someone like Cornelius said to me, “Now we are all here, waiting before God to hear the message the Lord has given you.” At this point, Cornelius doesn’t know about Jesus. He has no idea what message he’s in for. For all he knows, Peter is just a Jewish prophet who will be your mouthpiece to him. But if we read ahead, what we know is he’s about to experience something he never imagined. But that’s tomorrow’s story.

There is so much wonder in this story. Cornelius and the men who are helping him, as well as the rest of his family, are in wonder at what is going on. Peter is in wonder at what is going on. You are breaking paradigms everywhere and at all levels. What joy! What bliss!

I don’t know if this has anything to do with anything, but I was listening to a former pastor, John Mark Comer, who now helps people with spiritual formation speak yesterday. It was on the Russell Moore podcast. He was describing living on the West Coast, both in Los Angeles and in Portland, Oregon. He described Portland as possibly the most liberal city in the nation. There was part of me that started to wonder if I wouldn’t like living there. NOT because I am liberal—far from it—but because It would be an opportunity to stand out as a witness for you. In my current deep red-state environment, I sometimes find myself actually pushing back against conservatism because I think it is going to far in trying to take advantage of its majority and imposing its will on others who do not agree. It doesn’t feel like what Jesus would do. But if I were in an environment where being a conservative is a severely minority position, I might find myself feeling free to just love others and spread your “gospel” to them. Could yesterday have been the first time I was ever attracted to a mission field?

However, as I thought about it more, I got to thinking that the religious environment Jesus was in was not that dissimilar to the one in which I currently live. He wasn’t converting the non-believers. He was convicting the churched but spiritually dead.

Father, I will encounter many Corneliuses today throughout my day. And I’m no Peter, but I might be as close as some of them experience. Give me your words for them. Give me your love for them. Give me your patience. Give me wisdom and words. Give me insight and action. Give me courage. And help me to simply rest in you. You are my vine. Help me, Holy Spirit, to fully attach my vine to the Father, Jesus, and You.

I pray all of this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 

Acts 10:21-29

So Peter went down and said, “I’m the man you are looking for. Why have you come?”

They said, “We were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer. He is a devout and God-fearing man, well respected by all the Jews. A holy angel instructed him to summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.” So Peter invited the men to stay for the night. The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the brothers from Joppa.

They arrived in Caesarea the following day. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and worshiped him. But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a human being just like you!” So they talked together and went inside, where many others were assembled.

Peter told them, “You know it is against our laws for a Jewish man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you. But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone as impure or unclean. So I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me.”
Acts 10:21-29

Dear God, I love Peter’s willingness to change his mind here. He has grown so much in his role as a leader. It reminds me of a concept I heard about yesterday for the first time that I hadn’t heard before: “power over” vs. “power with.” Peter was used to a “power over” model (we all are) that authorized the person with power over someone else to use it. All of the way up through Peter’s attack on the servant of the high priest and cutting off his ear in the garden and then denying Jesus, Peter only had a paradigm for exercising power over things.

But Jesus brought a new model: “Power with.” This, as I understand it from listening to the Voxology podcast yesterday is your power exercised in conjunction with and to benefit others. Jesus used the power to heal others, exorcise demons, and forgive sins. He taught a new way of using authority.

Bringing it back to this story, Peter is now a much humbler man even though he has more authority in the church, “The Way,” than he ever has. He is using “power with” to love go with Cornelius’s servants and take your Holy Spirit to them. He is humble. He is learning.

I struggled yesterday with whether or not to write a letter to the editor on a topic that concerned me, but I could not get comfortable with anything I was writing. Then I started to wonder what my motives were. Does the community need to hear my opinion on this issue? Is there a part of me that wants to throw my hat into the ring for my own self-aggrandizement? I still don’t know the answer to these questions, but I did feel like I should abandon it because I was not being called to do it.

Father, thank you for the example of Peter’s character arc. And I know that he isn’t done. He and Paul will have conflict and Paul will call him out for something he disagrees with later. And Peter will admit he’s wrong. So help me today to lead the organization where I work, but to lead with a “power with” and not a “power over.” Help me to lead how Jesus lead. Help me to love how Jesus loved. Teach me like you taught Peter. Use me to bless the world around me with your power so that your kingdom might come and you will might be done on this earth.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 

Acts 10:9-20

⁹ The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, ¹⁰ and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. ¹¹ He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. ¹² In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. ¹³ Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.”

¹⁴ “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.”

¹⁵ But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” ¹⁶ The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven.

¹⁷ Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, ¹⁸ they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.

¹⁹ Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come looking for you. ²⁰ Get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitation. Don’t worry, for I have sent them.”

Acts 10:9-20

Dear God, it’s easy to make Cornelius the protagonist of this story, but I think it’s really the journey you have Peter on. But before I get into that, I had another thought about Cornelius yesterday while I continued to ponder this story: He got an angel visit! That’s amazing. This Yahweh-worshipping Gentile got an angel visit. Amazing! Jesus’s blood is truly for us all.

So the next part of the story is for Peter to evolve. Is there another way you could have gotten him to where you wanted him to be in terms of thinking of Gentiles as part of your kingdom? Maybe. But I think this one is the most powerful because it met him where he was and then took him where you wanted him to go. Was he “sinning” before his vision and then words from the Holy Spirit? No. But he was ignorant and blind. He didn’t know everything you know. He was learning. Working out his faith with fear and trembling. And this story starts from his perspective from the time he took to pray. He didn’t get this Holy Spirit communication from walking around and talking to people. He got it from setting aside time to get alone and pray to you.

Father, I am reminded of the movies line from Shadowlands when C.S. Lewis is quoted as saying, “I don’t pray because it changes God. I pray because it changes me.” I’m not trying to change you, Father, Jesus, or Holy Spirit. I’m not trying to align your will to mine. But I am trying to align my thinking to your thinking. I am trying to see the world the way you see the world. I am trying to love the way you love. And I am trying to come along side you and lend my heart and prayers to the work you are doing in the world, both for those I know and love and those I don’t know. So move through me. Love through me. And unleash your will on this earth. Use me however you wish to.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen

 

Acts 10:1-8

10 In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. ² He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God. ³ One afternoon about three o’clock, he had a vision in which he saw an angel of God coming toward him. “Cornelius!” the angel said.

⁴ Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.

And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering! ⁵ Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. ⁶ He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.”

⁷ As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. ⁸ He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.

Acts 10:1-8

Dear God, I want more of Cornelius’s backstory. What was his “testimony?” How did he become a combination a captain of the Italian Regiment of the Roman army and a devout, God-fearing man. What motivated him to give generously to the poor and pray to you regularly? How did that happen? Which Jewish people did he know who not only explained who you were to him, but also made it make sense and attractive? What was his life experience like such that it made him willing to accept you, worship you, and then start living out the fruits of the Spirit that come with discipleship? I need to remember to look him up on the other side of death so I can hear his full story.

Next, his “prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!” There is some deep theology here on this. I don’t want to get into spoilers and Peter’s thoughts on this later. I want to just sit in this statement for a while. There was some reality that allowed you to look at Cornelius and see who he was in you. You were able to hear his prayers. You were able to see his gifts to the poor and receive them as an offering.

Next, he sent to household servants, but also a “devout soldier.” I suppose he sent the soldier for the servants’ protection as they went on their journey. I’m sure no one would dare bother the servants with a solider traveling along with them, but this would certainly add some fear to whomever answer the door at the place Peter was staying. I don’t remember this part of the story for later, and I don’t want to read ahead again, but I wonder if there’s any indication that the soldier’s presence scared the person who answered the door.

This reminds me of The Last Battle by C.S. Lewis in the Chronicles of Narnia series. When the main characters get to the “New Narnia,” they find a Calormen soldier who errantly worshipped Tash instead of Aslan. When questioned as to how the soldier ended up in the New Narnia, Aslan explains that his good heart and works were credited to him righteousness. He basically said that Tash is all evil so there is no way someone can do good in Tash’s name. Aslan is all good, and there is no way someone can do evil in Aslan’s name. So when the soldier did all of the good he did, he was actually doing it as unto Aslan.

This isn’t an exact parallel because Cornelius at least knew he was worshipping the Jewish God. He just didn’t know about Jesus. But it feels like there is something to this idea that Jesus’s blood, sacrifice, and resurrection all combined to give us access to you.

Father, this is a reminder that the basics are simple: Love you with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and love our neighbors as ourselves. That’s basically what Cornelius was doing–even in ignorance of Jesus–and it was credited to him as righteousness. Cornelius wasn’t perfect. Cornelius was sinful. I guarantee it. But you loved Cornelius and appreciated his love for you and others. Help me to really love you well today and to love others as well.

I offer this prayer to you in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen