Archive for month: April, 2022

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 11:19-30.  Let’s go!

Acts 11:19-24 (NIV)
19  Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.
20  Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
21  The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22  News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
23  When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.
24  He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

On verses 19-24:  When Stephen was martyred and persecution broke out on the church in Jerusalem (Acts 7-8:3), the church scattered (Acts 8:4) and some Christians traveled to places like Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch (v19).  Despite not having heard or seen the incredible ways that the Holy Spirit had touched the lives of Gentiles like Cornelius and household in Judea (Acts 10) or what the Holy Spirit did among Samaritans in Samaria (Acts 8), some of these scattered believers also began speaking to Gentiles too about Jesus Christ, in particular Greeks at Antioch, who responded in great numbers (v21).  So the church in Jerusalem sends Barnabas to Antioch, a Gentile city in Syria, to see the work that God was doing there and to encourage the growing church there.  God uses the encouraging presence and uplifting words of Barnabas to add to the work already happening in Antioch, bringing more people to the Lord there. 

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 11:1-18.  Let’s go!

Acts 11:1-18 (NIV)
1  The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
2  So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him
3  and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4  Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened:
5  “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was.

On verses 1-18:  The circumcised believers in Jerusalem criticized Peter for associating with Gentiles.  So “starting from the beginning” (v2), Peter explains what happened to him: the vision he saw while praying (v5-10), the three men Cornelius sent and who arrived right at that same moment (v11), his meeting with Cornelius (v12-14), the way the Holy Spirit fell on these new Gentile believers as Peter was preaching (v15) and the lessons he learned from these experiences (v16-17).

Notice that before the circumcised believers heard Peter’s perspective, they were critical of him.  After they heard Peter’s perspective, “they had no further objections and praised God” (v18) about the very situation they once criticized Peter for.

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 10:17-33.  Let’s go!

Acts 10:17-19 (NIV)
17  While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate.
18  They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
19  While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you.
 
On verses 17-19:  In verse 3 the Holy Spirit called Cornelius by name.  A number of times in Acts 10 the Holy Spirit calls Peter by name.  (In fact, the Holy Spirit calls him by his new name “Peter” in verse 13 and then calls him by his old name “Simon” in verse 19.)  What can we learn from this?  God is a personal loving Father who knows us and calls by name.   

Acts 10:20-24 (NIV)
20  So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.”
21  Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?”
22  The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to have you come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.”