PREPARATION (PART 1)

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In Christ, Mark

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** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment.

He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.

One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”

Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked.

The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.

Acts 10:1-8

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When I was leading in the military for so many years, I had a saying I used regularly as it applied to carrying out tasks. It went like this:

“Completing tasks is 99% preparation, 1% execution.”

The point was simple.

Preparation matters and so if we had ceremonies we needed to carry out, we practiced and prepared until everyone was comfortable with carrying out their parts. Then when it came to actually doing the ceremony, all a person had to do was repeat what they had practiced and usually things would go off without a hitch.

As we get set to do the work the Lord wants us to do in His name, we often find the preparation and then execution model fits well.

He didn’t send His disciples to go and do His work right away. Rather, He prepared them over a three year period, training them well so they could carry on His work seamlessly after He died, was resurrected, and then ascended. And after that happened and the disciples received the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem at Pentecost, they got to work sharing the good news, healing the lame and sick, and driving out demons, all in the name of Jesus, the One who had prepared them to execute His Gospel plan.

With this in mind, we turn to the tenth chapter of Acts and see how initial preparation led to the execution of the will and way of the Lord, just as He intended.

We start in the port city of Caesarea which was located about two days travel to the north of Joppa where Peter was staying at the home of a tanner named Simon (Acts 9:43).

We read about a Roman centurion by the name of Cornelius. He carried the title “centurion” because he commanded up to 100 men and in this case, they were a part of the Italian Regiment. A regiment was also referred to as a “cohort” and a cohort consisted of ten centuries.

Of interest, the Bible doesn’t focus as much on Cornelius’ position with the Roman army as it does his position with God. For the scriptures tell us that “he and all his family were devout and God-fearing”, “praying to God regularly”. Cornelius was also selfless, giving “generously to those in need”.

As I read this, I was reminded of another God believer we studied recently in Acts 8, the Ethiopian eunuch who was traveling home to Gaza after worshiping in Jerusalem. You’ll recall he was a devout God believer who was reading words from the prophet Isaiah regarding Jesus while riding along in his chariot. An angel of the Lord dispatched Philip to the same road the man was traveling and they engaged with Philip explaining the scriptures and sharing the Gospel. The end result was the Ethiopian official coming to Christ and being baptized.

Back to our passage for today where we find Cornelius suddenly having a vision of an angel of God who called out for him by name. His eyes fearfully fixated on the angel, Cornelius asks:

“What is it, Lord?”

To which the angel replied:

“Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

Cornelius had pleased God with his generosity and philanthropy. The centurion’s goodness had not just helped the poor but served as a “memorial offering” unto God. The Lord is always pleased when we honor and glorify Him by being good stewards of what He has provided. The angel wanted Cornelius to know that God was happy with his servant’s actions.

The angel also had a task for Cornelius. For we read where he was to send men to Joppa where they were to locate a man named Simon Peter. They would find him staying at the home of a tanner who also bore the name of Simon. And so after the angel departed, Cornelius did as he was asked and sent two servants and one of his soldiers to Joppa.

He didn’t know why. He didn’t ask why. He was just obedient to what the Lord asked him to do.

As we will see, all this was part of the preparation phase for what the Lord was planning to do and as you can see clearly right now, both Cornelius and Peter would play key roles in that plan. Tomorrow, we’ll see how the Lord was also preparing Peter on his end in Joppa.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

 

BEAUTIFUL ACTS (PART 2)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room.

Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”

Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.”

She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.

Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

Acts 9:36-43

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“Take care of My sheep.” John 21:16

These were some of the final words that Jesus shared with Peter, the disciple He said He would build His church upon.

Peter took those words to heart after receiving the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. From the second chapter of Acts on, we see him playing a prominent role in preaching and teaching as well as performing miraculous healings of the lame and afflicted, and exorcisms of demons from the possessed while in Jerusalem.

Then, in yesterday’s message from the latter part of Acts, chapter 9, we found Peter visiting Lydda, a town located a little more than twenty miles to the northwest of Jerusalem. There, he encountered and healed a man who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years, making sure the man knew it happened by the will and power of Jesus. Amazed by the beautiful act they had witnessed, the scriptures tell us that all residents of Lydda and the surrounding area of the plain of Sharon chose to believe in the Lord.   

As a result of his work in Lydda and elsewhere in Judea, Peter’s name and reputation began to spread.

We know this as we look at the closing verses of Acts 9 and the second beautiful act which forms the theme for this second of two devotions on the subject.

The scriptures tell us about a woman named Tabitha (or Dorcas in Greek) who lived in Joppa, a city in the western side of Judea and right on the Mediterranean Sea. We learn she was a Christian and very well known in the community for her selfless sacrifice in doing good and helping the less fortunate, two things that Jesus followers were called to do.

Well, sadly the charitable woman fell ill and died, her body washed and placed in an upstairs room. Distressed over the loss, other disciples in Joppa had received word that Peter was just eleven miles to the southeast in Lydda and so two men were dispatched to find him and urge him to come to Joppa at once.

We read where Peter complied with the request and when he arrived in Joppa, he was ushered to the room where Tabitha was laid. He found himself surrounded by widows who showed Peter all the cloths that Tabitha had made for them while she was alive, evidence of her beautiful acts of kindness toward them.

Peter had to be deeply moved by it all. Perhaps he had flashbacks to the three times Jesus had brought people back from the dead, remembering the widow’s son of Nain, Jairus’ daughter, or Jesus’ close friend, Lazarus. Knowing he now possessed very similar power, Peter, moved by the will of His Lord and the Holy Spirit, dismissed everyone from the room before falling to his knees and praying. We read where he then gave the command, “Tabitha, get up!” and immediately, her eyes were opened and she say up, very much alive.

Imagine the sheer amazement and joy that all the believers, especially the widows, felt when Peter came out of the room with Tabitha walking with him. The news of the miracle resurrection spread across Joppa like wildfire and as a result, “many people believed in the Lord”. It had to be very gratifying and satisfying for Peter who was ever increasingly being used by Jesus as an instrument of His will to grow the Christian church, first in Jerusalem and then Judea.

Beautiful acts were leading to a bountiful harvest of new believers and as a result, the Christian church continued to grow. Peter was a key player in this growth and as we’ll see in Acts, chapter 10, he would once again be in demand in another Judean city to the north of Joppa.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

BEAUTIFUL ACTS (PART 1)

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years.

“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.”

Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

Acts 9:32-35

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

When we go back to the accounts of Jesus’ ministry, we read of this event in the Gospel of John:

“There is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed. One who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years.

When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, “Do you want to get well?”

“Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.”

Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. John 5:2-9

It was an amazing display of the miraculous healing power Jesus possessed, a power that the multitude of beautiful actions He took for the good of others who turned to Him in faith.

Well, after Jesus completed His earthly ministry, ascending into the heavens to sit at His Father’s right hand, we saw where the Holy Spirit came upon His apostles who in turn continued to carry out work in His name. This is why we find this book bearing the name “Acts”, because it’s full of beautiful things done by Christ followers through the power imparted by their Lord. As we finish up the ninth chapter of Acts, we see two such beautiful acts take place.  The first occurs in the town of Lydda which was in Judea a little over twenty miles from Jerusalem.

Now we know the Gospel had spread from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria after widespread persecution broke out following the death of Stephen. As our passage from today opens, we find Peter traveling about spreading the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ to others and during his journey he visits “the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda”. While there, we read where he encounters “a man named Aeneas” who had been “paralyzed” and “bedridden for eight years”.  

I’m sure Peter remembered well how Jesus had healed the man near the pools of Bethesda and now, with the power of the Holy Spirit fully activated within him, Peter could now do the same. And so we hear Peter call Aeneas by name before telling him to get up, not in the name of Peter but rather in the name of Jesus Christ, the One by which he was being healed.

I can’t help but think Peter had this exchange with His Master and Savior fresh in his mind. You’ll remember that it was after Jesus had been resurrected and just prior to His ascension.

Jesus said, “Simon son of John, do you love Me?”

He answered, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love You.”

Jesus said, “Take care of My sheep.” John 21:16

Peter honored and glorified Jesus by staying true to his word and taking care of Aeneas, a sheep in Jesus’ flock. For eight years, this sheep laid bedridden and paralyzed, unable to do what a normal “sheep” could do. Oh how Aeneas must have prayed many times over, asking the Lord for healing, and the day he encountered Peter, his prayers were answered through the power, mercy, and grace of Jesus.

And so Aeneas gets up and walks. His life was changed forever because of Jesus and all of the people in Lydda and Sharon, the plain where Lydda was located, were witness to it.

How did they respond?

The scriptures tell us that they all “turned to the Lord”.

Did I mention that this was a beautiful act?

You see, there was definitely a lot going on in this short account and it was all orchestrated by Jesus through the Holy Spirit. It was not by chance that Peter happened to stop into Lydda for a visit. Nor was it by chance that he would encounter the bedridden Aeneas. Neither was it coincidental that all the people of Lydda and Sharon turned to the Lord after seeing the miraculous healing that took place. All of these events were connected and set in motion by the Author of every good and perfect thing that happens in heaven and on earth.

As we look at our lives today and how they unfold, let us never lose sight that the Jesus that coordinated beautiful acts in the book which bears that name is the same Jesus who is setting things in motion now. He’s doing it through different people, empowering them with the Holy Spirit so they might carry out the acts He calls them to do, and in the end He is still using those beautiful acts to turn people to Him and the salvation He brings.

Beautiful acts brought about by a beautiful Savior.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at yet another.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

THE BLESSING OF SUPPORT

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

** Follow The Christian Walk on Twitter @ThChristianWalk

** Like posts and send friend requests to the author of The Christian Walk, Mark Cummings on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/mark.cummings.733?ref=tn_tnmn

** Become a Follower of The Christian Walk at http://the-christian-walk.blogspot.com

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.

So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

Acts 9:19-31

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It’s been said that if you want to defeat an opponent in war, take out its leader.

As we continue our study of Acts, chapter 9, we see how this was true in regard to the battle between Christianity and the Jewish opposition to it in Israel’s capital city of Jerusalem, the home city of a former fervent persecutor and killer of Christians named Saul. Through the scriptures, we see where he had been as powerful head of the Christian persecution movement, overseeing the stoning of Stephen and having open access to the high priest for approval to continue his work. You’ll remember that Saul’s most recent request was to go to Damascus where he would seek out men and women of “the Way” (code for Jesus followers), take them into custody, and bring them back to Jerusalem where they would be imprisoned and tried.

And so off he went, completely unaware that a power greater than the high priest had big plans for him.

This is where we have been over the past four days, looking at the Damascus moments within the story of Saul which included his personal encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus and his subsequent blinding, to his praying and fasting while he waited for a man named Ananias to come. Ananias himself struggled with what Jesus was calling him to do before discovering that Jesus had already set him up for success, assuring that Saul was ready to become a Christian and take the Gospel to the Gentiles and Israelites. And with that, Ananias set out to meet Saul face to face, even though Saul had no way of seeing him initially. Ananias lays hands on Saul, proclaims what he is doing in the name of Jesus, and immediately, something like scales fell off of Saul’s eyes and his sight was restored. He rejoices in the Lord and wastes little time going into the synagogues, preaching that Jesus was (and is) the Messiah.

Well, this didn’t sit well with some of the Jews in Damascus who plotted to kill Saul but he escaped with the aid of his fellow Christian believers after being lowered in a basket through an opening in the wall.

Where did Saul go next?

We see as our passage for today opens up. For we read where Saul returned to Jerusalem but not the same man. He knew this but others, not so much, for the scriptures tell us that Saul tried to “join the disciples” but had difficulty because “they were all afraid of him”. They had trouble really “believing that he…was a disciple” and who could blame them. After all, the stoning of Stephen, the murderous threats cast out, and other Christian persecution methods used by Saul were still very fresh on the minds of Jerusalem’s Jesus believers. It hadn’t been that long since Saul departed for Damascus and so the skepticism of the disciples, particularly given Saul’s history, fueled the mistrust among the Christians.

Something would need to convince them that Saul wasn’t just misrepresenting a Christian conversion with the hope of deceiving them.

Enter Barnabas who took Saul to the apostles and we have to go to the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Galatians to learn that there were only two apostles he was presented to at the time, Peter and James (Galatians 1:18-19). Barnabas goes on to detail all that Saul had done in the name of Jesus after his conversion, preaching fearlessly in Damascus before coming back to Jerusalem.

How would Barnabas know all this?

It’s believed that Barnabas knew Saul long before they ended up in Jerusalem together. Barnabas lived in Cyprus while Saul in Tarsus and so they resided in close proximity of one another and its believed they became close friends, close enough that Barnabas would have trusted the testimony of his friend upon returning to Jerusalem.

In Barnabas, we see the blessing of support, a blessing that we all need. For there are times in life when we simply need someone to just believe in us and reinforce us in times of need.

For example, I have had numerous occasions when I needed to ask someone to provide a reference. This is found mostly when a person is seeking employment and the company hiring requires character and/or professional references as a condition of position consideration. In those instances, I was grateful for the support provided by people I asked, support that helped me land the work I was vying for. This has become reciprocal as well because I have had the chance to support other people seeking jobs through serving as a reference myself. Maybe you’ve been given the privilege to do the same for someone.

Back to the scriptures where we find Barnabas provide an endorsement for Saul before the two apostles, Peter and James, and the end result was a blessing of acceptance for the new Christian convert. In fact, Saul was welcomed into the fold with great hospitality, allowed to stay with the apostles as he got to work in Jerusalem, moving about freely while “speaking boldly in the name of the Lord”. His work didn’t just involve preaching for we read where Saul also “talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews”.

Was he able to persuade them to come to Christ?

Not exactly. In fact, the Hellenistic Jews made plans to murder Saul, the ultimate cancel culture default of the day, but when Saul’s fellow brother and sisters in Christ got wind of it, the scriptures tell us “they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus”.

What happened next was nothing short of amazing. For we read where the entire Christian church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria “enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened as believers lived in the “fear of the Lord” while being “encouraged by the Holy Spirit”. This led to growth as the church “increased in numbers”.

The number one Jewish persecutor of Christians had changed sides and we can’t help but think that a lot of people who followed him did likewise. And with the head persecutor no longer in the business, we get a sense that the business died off significantly, so much so that Christians enjoyed peace.

Friends, if a murderer of Christians like Saul can change and come to Jesus, receive the Holy Spirit, and convert to a powerful instrument of the Lord’s will, then anyone else can as well. When they do, let’s all follow the lead of Barnabas, providing support and encouragement, not dwelling on who the converted person was but rather who they are now in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com