God is for Everyone
Acts 10
(v. 15) "...'Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.' " (v. 34, 35) " ...'I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right..."
My Thoughts
Peter had a vision of a blanket that came down and had animals roaming on it. God said to him, "Get up, Peter, kill and eat." Peter said " Surely not Lord! I have never eaten impure or unclean." God told him not to call anything impure that God has made clean. What did Peter's vision mean? Think about it for a minute, then continue reading.
So, what do you think? The meaning of Peter's vision was that God has made us all clean. A gentile is a person who is not a Jew. For the Jews at this time, it was against the law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. The vision that Peter had was God showing him that He has made clean the Gentiles; that God does not favor the Jews over the Gentiles, but that He loves them just the same. God is for each of us, Jew or not, Christian or not. It doesn't matter who you are, what you believe, what you do or have done in the past. No amount of sin or guilt or hurt can keep God away. Only you can do that by not allowing God into your life.
Remember that Christ died on the cross for every one of us. He paid the ransom for each and every person that ever has or ever will live. That's how much He loves us. There are so many people in this world that don't realize that God loves them, or they think He can't. They are the ones putting boundaries up to keep God out of their life. God won't overstep anyone's freewill of choice, so He won't overstep someone's choice not to let Him in.
It's up to the Christ followers to show those who don't follow Christ what it means to follow Him. You don't need to go and preach to people, all you need to do is show the love of God in all you do. When you talk to people, do so with love. Everyone is different; some people are good at encouraging others, some people are just easy to talk to, others are inspiring, honest, and so on. There's a huge list of traits, and some people have more than one. Use those traits that God has given you when you talk to other people. That's one way you can show His love to them. Think of some other ways, and then act on them!
So, what do you think? The meaning of Peter's vision was that God has made us all clean. A gentile is a person who is not a Jew. For the Jews at this time, it was against the law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. The vision that Peter had was God showing him that He has made clean the Gentiles; that God does not favor the Jews over the Gentiles, but that He loves them just the same. God is for each of us, Jew or not, Christian or not. It doesn't matter who you are, what you believe, what you do or have done in the past. No amount of sin or guilt or hurt can keep God away. Only you can do that by not allowing God into your life.
Remember that Christ died on the cross for every one of us. He paid the ransom for each and every person that ever has or ever will live. That's how much He loves us. There are so many people in this world that don't realize that God loves them, or they think He can't. They are the ones putting boundaries up to keep God out of their life. God won't overstep anyone's freewill of choice, so He won't overstep someone's choice not to let Him in.
It's up to the Christ followers to show those who don't follow Christ what it means to follow Him. You don't need to go and preach to people, all you need to do is show the love of God in all you do. When you talk to people, do so with love. Everyone is different; some people are good at encouraging others, some people are just easy to talk to, others are inspiring, honest, and so on. There's a huge list of traits, and some people have more than one. Use those traits that God has given you when you talk to other people. That's one way you can show His love to them. Think of some other ways, and then act on them!
Prayer Time
Now you talk to God about what you read, and you can even read this chapter of the Bible for yourself before you do. Thanks for reading, Godbless!
Great insight!
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