GENTILES
Today’s Reading: Acts 10
Click scripture link to read online or HERE to listen online (then click the symbol of the audio speaker above the scripture portion on the right-hand side).
The north public bath house ruins of ancient Caesarea. Herod, Pilate, and Cornelius may have visited these baths, but not Paul. He spent two years in prison here in Caesarea.
GOOGLE MAPS – To see where the photo was taken, click HERE.
Key Verse: Acts 10:44
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word.
For a Roman of senior rank, it would’ve been customary to visit the bath house daily (pictured above). This daily blog bath “the washing of water by the Word” (Ephesians 5:26), will become a habit after a few days of disciplined reading.
This chapter should be, for we who are not born Jews, very, very important. This is where we get in on the blessings God promised to Abraham, and the blessings of the fulfillment of those promises in Jesus. Why would God choose this Roman Army Officer, Cornelius, to be the first non-Jew to receive Jesus? He was “devout,” a man of excellence in his behaviour. He and his household “feared God.” He “gave alms generously to the people,” and “he prayed to God always.” We don’t earn salvation by good works. Grace, and grace alone through faith, secures our eternal destiny. But our character and good works, as in this story, do serve to get special attention from God. Read more about non-Jews getting in on God’s provision of salvation in Ephesians chapter 2. Please check it out (click here).
PRAYER FOR TODAY:
Lord God, I’m so very thankful that as a non-Jew, I’m welcomed into Your family. May I never take Your care for granted. May my character be refined each day, and may this daily blog be a part of the process. You checked out Cornelius’ “memorial” and good things happened. I pray You’ll check out my offerings too. May the smile of Your approval be on my life. In Jesus’ Name I pray. Amen!
100 PERSONAL WORDS:
Here is a question I want to ask Cornelius some day…”Were you the centurion whose servant Jesus healed as recorded in Luke 7:1-10? If that wasn’t you, Cornelius, please introduce me to this officer of whom Jesus said, ‘I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel.'” One of the highlights of my life was to suggest to the senior officer corps of Ukraine that they make Cornelius their Patron Saint. Most officers had Orthodox or Roman Catholic backgrounds, although to be an officer in a communist government they had to profess atheism. I mentioned this in my blog on November 3rd (click here for the story in my “100 Personal Words”). I wonder also about the baptism of Cornelius, his family, and friends. Could it have happened in the bath house pictured here? I wonder, as well, if Peter was shocked when God interrupted his preaching to pour out the Gift of the Holy Spirit on these Gentiles. I think so. Because, “They of the circumcision (Jews) were astonished, as many as came with Peter.” I was astonished to witness an interruption by God once in my years of preaching. Please God, do it again and again!
Yours to help each of us to receive all God desires that we should have for the purpose of serving Him effectively,
David
DECEMBER
I Am Thine, O Lord, I Have Heard Thy Voice
Fanny Jane Crosby, 1875
(1820-1915)
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,
By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
O the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God,
I commune as friend with friend!
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
There are depths of love that I yet may know
Ere Thee face to face I see;
There are heights of joy that I yet may reach
Ere I rest in peace with Thee.
Draw me nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
I am Thine O Lord, I have heard thy voiceSung by Technical University of Mombasa, Seventh-Day Adventist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJdIah2iSHk
This poem came from Echoes of Eternity, Listening to the Father,
Hal M. Helms 💜
THE WINTER OF THE SOUL
Charles Spurgeon
“Thou hast made summer and winter.”
Psalm 74:17
“My soul begin this wintry month with thy God. The cold snows and the piercing winds all remind thee that he keeps his covenant with day and night, and tend to assure thee that he will also keep that glorious covenant which he has made with thee in the person of Christ Jesus. He who is true to his Word in the revolutions of the seasons of this poor sin-polluted world, will not prove unfaithful in his dealings with his own well-beloved Son.
“Winter in the soul is by no means a comfortable season, and if it be upon thee just now it will be very painful to thee: but there is this comfort, namely, that the Lord makes it. He sends the sharp blasts of adversity to nip the buds of expectation: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes over the once verdant meadows of our joy: he casteth forth his ice like morsels freezing the streams of our delight. He does it all, he is the great Winter King, and rules in the realms of frost, and therefore thou canst not murmur. Losses, crosses, heaviness, sickness, poverty, and a thousand other ills, are of the Lord’s sending, and come to us with wise design. Frosts kill noxious insects, and put a bound to raging diseases; they break up the clods, and sweeten the soil. O that such good results would always follow our winters of affliction!
“How we prize the fire just now! how pleasant is its cheerful glow! Let us in the same manner prize our Lord, who is the constant source of warmth and comfort in every time of trouble. Let us draw nigh to him, and in him find joy and peace in believing. Let us wrap ourselves in the warm garments of his promises, and go forth to labours which befit the season, for it were ill to be as the sluggard who will not plough by reason of the cold; for he shall beg in summer and have nothing.”
I Am Thine, O Lord, Lynda Randle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVLQBAaZzNg
Beverlee Kay, these are beautiful postings – thank you and God bless you!
I agree with Rob. These are wonderful postings
I also agree Beverlee.
This post came from Charles Spurgeon’s One Minute Devotions, Morning by Morning, 💜
Thank you Beverlee for posting these songs!
I went to a video of a 9yr girl sang opera; she won first prize in the competition. Amazing!
okay, thank you!
Dear Lord God, we are weak but Thou art strong; help us to rest and be replenished in Thee, our source. You are coming for us, Lord, and we praise You for that! Please help each one of Your children, their families, and those around them to come to know You as You are and to trust You for Life itself, in Jesus’s name, amen
Amen Rob. God bless you and thank you for your wonderful daily prayers.
Amen!!
Amen
Amen Rob
Thank you Beverley & Rob. A beautiful scene of snow covered trees and ground from my windows today- crisp and white and pure. Enjoy your time with the Lord today. Amen
Magnificent Writings, to begin this “Wintery Month” that speaks to our souls and beckons us to be “drawn nearer to our Blessed Lord.”
Thank you so much.
Love your words, Laur. Amen and God bless you! 💜
Amen. To all above.