I know I am often astonished at things God does around me. Lord help us all to see with his eyes the amazing things he is still doing. Also help us to be willing to risk.
It took a very vivid dream with prophesy, then having that prophecy immediately come true to get Peter and his friends to go to Joppa to see a God fearing Gentile named Cornelius. His first comments could have been offensive: "You know Jews and not even to be in the same house as the like of you." But Peter then admitted God told him to be here and that he would be obedient to tell them the good news just as he had been telling other Jews.
God did not wait until Peter was finished to send down his gift (free gift) of the Holy Spirit. They prayed and glorified God in other languages just as Peter and his friends had in the upper room. So again, being obedient, the Jewish believers baptized Cornelius' household. By baptizing they allowed them to enter into God's family. They were now related in the faith to each other.
I'm not sure Peter and the others liked what they had done. It would take a while for these two groups of people to get comfortable with each other. When Peter got back to Jerusalem he had a lot of explaining to do. I think the others would have liked to have covered this up. "No more Peter, please!" It would take Paul to make them actually agree that the gospel was for all men everywhere.
Lord help us to be comfortable with God's amazing grace that brought us into the kingdom, sinners as we were and that before our eyes brings in others that we would rather not relate to. Help us to relate to all God's chosen, just as He does.
God's grace is truly offensive to us often enough. He loves and reaches out to all sinners, even as he did to us.
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