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August 28 - Acts 10 · A Chapter a Day Bible Reading

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Hello friends, it's Sean here. It's Thursday, it's the 28th of
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August and good on you for tapping on play and inviting me
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into your day, as busy as it might be or as chillaxed as it
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might be. I don't know where your your day
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lies in the in the spectrum of madness, but hopefully it's not
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too crazy a day. And today we can stop for a
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moment and we can dip back into this incredible story in the
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book of Acts. And today we are going to be
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following our friend Peter as he goes around preaching and is
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amazed that it's not just Jews being converted and receiving
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the Holy Spirit, but those dirty, dirty Gentiles.
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Unbelievable. What is the Holy Spirit thinking
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being so inclusive? So let us read together this
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breaking of moulds and defying of expectations, as God's love
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extends well beyond the borders that people thought it should.
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As we read together Acts chapter 10
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in Caesarea there lived a Roman officer named Cornelius who is a
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captain of the Italian regiment. He was a devout, God fearing
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man, as was everyone in his household.
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He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.
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One afternoon about 3:00, he had a vision in which he saw an
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Angel of God coming toward him. Cornelius, the Angel said.
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Cornelius stared at him in terror.
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What is it, Sir? He asked the Angel, and the
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Angel replied, Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been
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received by God as an offering. Now send some men to Joppa and
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summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying with Simon, a
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Tanner who lives near the seashore.
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As soon as the Angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his
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household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal
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attendants. He told them what had happened
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and sent them off to Joppa. The next day, as Cornelius's
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messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat
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roof to pray. It was about noon and he was
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hungry, but while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a
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trance. He saw the sky open and
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something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners.
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In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles and birds.
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Then a voice said to him, Get up, Peter, kill and eat them.
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No, Lord, Peter declared. I've never eaten anything that
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our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.
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But the voice spoke again. Do not call something unclean if
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God has made it clean. The same vision was repeated 3
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times. Then the sheet was suddenly
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pulled up to heaven. Peter was very perplexed.
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What could the vision mean? Just then, the men sent by
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Cornelius found Simon's house standing outside the gate.
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They asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there.
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Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit
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said to him, Three men have come looking for you.
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Get up, go downstairs and go with them without hesitation.
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Don't worry for I have sent them.
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Sir. Peter went down and said, I'm
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the man you're looking for, why have you come?
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They said we were sent by Cornelius, a Roman officer.
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He is a devout and God fearing man, well respected by all the
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Jews. A holy Angel instructed him to
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summon you to his house so that he can hear your message.
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So Peter invited the men to stay for the night.
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The next day he went with them, accompanied by some of the
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brothers from Joppa. They arrived in Say, Saria, the
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following day. Cornelius was waiting for them
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and had called together his relatives and close friends.
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As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his feet and
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worshipped him, but Peter pulled him up and said, stand up, I'm a
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human being just like you. So they talked together and went
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inside where many others were assembled.
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Peter told them, You know it is against our laws for a Jewish
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man to enter a Gentile home like this or to associate with you.
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But God has shown me that I should no longer think of anyone
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as impure or unclean. So I came without objection as
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soon as I was sent for. Now tell me why you sent for me,
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Cornelius replied. 4 days ago I was praying in my house about
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the same time, 3:00 in the afternoon.
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Suddenly a man in dazzling clothes was standing in front of
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me. He told me, Cornelius, your
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prayer has been heard and your gifts to the poor have been
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noticed by God. Now send messengers to Joppa and
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summon a man named Simon Peter. He is staying in the home of
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Simon, a Tanner who lives near the seashore.
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So I sent for you at once, and it was good of you to come.
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Now we are all here waiting before God to hear the message
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the Lord has given you. Then Peter replied, I see very
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clearly that God shows no favouritism in every nation.
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He accepts those who fear Him and do what is right.
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This is the message of good news for the people of Israel, that
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there is peace with God through Jesus Christ who is Lord of all.
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You know what happened throughout Judea, beginning in
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Galilee after John began preaching his message of
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baptism. And you know that God anointed
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Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power.
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Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were
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oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.
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And we apostles are witnesses of all he did throughout Judea and
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in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging
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him on a cross, but God raised him to life on the third day.
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Then God allowed him to appear, not to the general public, but
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to us, whom God had chosen in advance to be His witnesses.
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We were those who ate and drank with Him after he rose from the
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dead. And he ordered us to preach
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everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one appointed by
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God to be the Judge of all the living and the dead.
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He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that
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everyone who believes in Him will have their sins forgiven
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through His name. Even as Peter was saying these
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things, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who were listening to
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the message. The Jewish believers who came
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with Peter were amazed that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been
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poured out on the Gentiles too, for they heard them speaking in
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other tongues and praising God. Then Peter asked, can anyone
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object to their being baptised now that they have received the
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Holy Spirit just as we did? So he gave orders for them to be
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baptised in the name of Jesus Christ.
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Afterward, Cornelius asked him to stay with them for several
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days. Ah Jesus, as you have thrown
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open the doors to your Kingdom that all are welcome to enter.
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Lord, we are still trapped in our own tribalism and we are so
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quick to judge who we think should be in and who we think
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should be out, who we think is worthy of your grace and your
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love. Oh Jesus, just challenge these
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tribalistic tendencies that we have, these desires to exclude
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people because we don't think that they are worthy or they are
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right. Or help us to be challenged so
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that we can see that everyone, even those that our society and
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ourselves might deem unworthy. Everyone is welcome to your
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Kingdom, to your table. All they need do is hear your
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message and believe in you. So Jesus, help us be your
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ambassadors of love, of inclusion and of that life
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changing message so that everyone, expected and
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unexpected, can come before you with faith and join your
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Kingdom. Ah, we love you and we are so
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grateful that you have invited us and deemed us worthy to be in
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your Kingdom, in your family, and loved by you.
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So we love you right back, Lord, and we pray all of this in your
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saving name, Amen.