DAY #196: Acts 10:9-33

Like Cornelius, Peter prayed daily. Morning and evening were the common times to pray, and evidently Peter made it a habit to pray in the middle of the day as well. This significant opening of the door to the Gentiles was God-directed, but note that the two men were devout, God-dependent, regular seekers of God through prayer. It is no coincidence that Peter and Cornelius were both found praying when God revealed more of himself to them.

Peter went up to the flat roof to pray. Houses in Bible times usually had flat roofs accessed by an outside staircase. The roof would have given Peter privacy. As he prayed, he was hungry and evidently fell into a trance while he was waiting for lunch to be prepared. During this trance God spoke to him.

Peter saw something like a large sheet being let down to earth from heaven. The voice, obviously that of someone in authority (probably God himself), told Peter that he was free to kill and eat the animals, including reptiles and birds. According to Jewish law, these particular foods were forbidden (Leviticus 11).

Peter, always ready to voice his opinion, expressed his conviction not to eat anything forbidden by the Jewish laws. The point of this vision, as was about to be made clear, was that God was working outside of Israel, beyond Israel, and if Peter was to be a part of what God was doing, he needed to understand that nothing was unclean.

This educating of Peter, as with the educating of most believers, took a little repetition—three times in this case. God was revealing something that would be startling to Peter’s Jewish mind; God was basically nullifying the Jewish dietary laws and, by analogy, God was preparing Peter to meet an unclean Gentile.

Peter was greeted by three men at the door who introduced the one they represented. Cornelius’s godly character had obviously built him a good reputation. Peter was informed of the heavenly message that Cornelius had received, and he recognized it as being somehow related to his own. The openness of Cornelius to whatever message Peter would have to say was a beautiful foreshadowing of the coming Gentile openness to the message of the Cross.

Peter acknowledged his breaking of Jewish laws to enter this Gentile home, but he continued and gave the gathered audience the benefit of God’s vision of the sheet from heaven. Peter had gotten the message. The vision was not primarily about food; the dietary issues were secondary to the human ones. The vision was from God and was about people, specifically those people whom the Jews (and, as a carryover, the Jewish Christians) still considered “unclean.” Without reserve, Peter stated that God had shown him that he should never think of anyone as impure.

SO WHAT? (what will I do with what i have read today?)

MAKE DISCIPLES. That is the mission of COV. That should be the mission of every believer. We are to share the Good News with everybody. No person and no people groups are to be excluded from the Good News. That's what Peter was taught in this passage. We are not to look down on anybody, for whatever reason. We are all equal at the Cross.

"Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God's law but am under Christ's law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings." 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NIV)


Lord, raise up men and women with a passion like this.

Lord, thank you for our daughter Katie. Bless her today. Remind her on her day just how precious she is to so many. Remind her today she is loved. Remind her today of Your plan and purpose for her life. Crystallize those plans in her minds and heart. Give her a great day as we celebrate her life.