EXPAND TO READ: ACTS 10 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 14-15): Peter showed a little bit of distrust, confusion, and even some fleshly defaults still existing in him through his response here. When shown a vision from You, Father, he refused to accept it in the moment because he didn’t quite understand what You were telling him. I too have done this at times when I have felt You pushing me in a certain direction or way of thinking. Please forgive me for my distrust, my confusion, and at times my fleshly defaults that I still cling onto at times. Help me to be better at fully accepting Your way for my life, Father. Help me to be better at accepting the message You’ve given to me, so that I embrace it in my heart and take the actions You want me to take without trying to second-guess You in any way. Continue Your good works in me, Father, so that as the Holy Spirit does begin to guide me in certain directions, I actually listen instead of letting my fleshly defaults get in the way of my spiritual progress. Help me to no longer be my own obstruction to following Your will for my life, Father.
PROMISE (verse 43): Once again You reveal to me this promise and I think I finally realize why You are repeating this to me so often now that I am in the book of Acts. Your promise is that all those who testify about Jesus and fully embrace Jesus as our Lord and Savior will receive true forgiveness of our sins. I think the reason You’re repeating Yourself to me about this topic so much is because I do still struggle to even forgive myself for some of the sins I’ve committed in this life. You promise me that my faith is enough to cleanse and forgive me of ALL of my sins, yet I still seem to grasp onto some instead of truly releasing them to You. Please continue to remind me of this, Father, so that I no longer hold onto the mistakes of my past thinking they are my burden to bear. You have given me THE WAY to release these burdens, yet I still seem to pick-and-choose what I want to release to You. Thank You for the constant reminder, Father. Keep reminding me about this promise until I truly release all things to You that I am holding onto from my past.
ATTITUDE (verse 45): I really love this two-word description of how You truly want Your followers to be in this life. You call them “circumcised believers” in this verse. This isn’t a physical circumcision as some would think. Rather, this is circumcising our fleshly identity away from us so that the new, born-again identity You have given us through Jesus and the Spirit can become who we are. Help me to live in a circumcised way, Father, so that I too may be one of Your fully circumcised believers in this life. Help me to embrace the circumcised believer life and identity, so that my flesh no longer hinders what You want me to do in this life. Help me to release my fleshly ways, habits, and defaults so that they are no longer a part of who I hold my identity in. My identity resides in, through, and from You as I am born again thanks to the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thank You, Father!
COMMAND (verses 15, 28): Such a powerful command that can obviously be applied in so many ways. Peter initially thought it was about his eating habits, but it was about so much more than that. God sent the message that what God has made clean, you must not call common. Peter applied this to his visiting of the foreigners as well because God had made them clean so who is Peter to say otherwise as he is also just a man. Thank You first and foremost for making us clean through You, Father. I ask that You continue to remind me that a believer of You is still a believer regardless of their past, present or future; regardless of what they’ve done, are doing, or continue to do. They are made clean through their belief in Jesus Christ and who am I to say otherwise. I still make mistakes and sin to this day, so I cannot be one to judge others simply because they chose different mistakes and sins than I have. Help me to be better at following this command in all aspects of my life, Father, so that I may truly be accepting and loving towards ALL whom You have made clean, just as Peter was in this verse.
EXAMPLE (verse 33): I chose this one, single verse as my example verse because I found it to be very powerful. The theme I feel resound in my spirit in this verse is faithfulness. Cornelius reflected his faithfulness to God by immediately sending for Peter after he received the direction to do so. In turn, Peter showed his faithfulness to God by returning to and meeting with Cornelius and his family without hesitance. I have lacked in my true faithfulness at times as this scripture gives an example of. I have hesitated in doing things that I feel You have asked me to do. I have delayed or even sometimes refused to fully commit to a direction You have pointed me in. I have also tried to rush into a direction I felt You wanted me to go towards, yet You wanted me to take my time. Help me to be better at lining up with Your timing and Your will for my life, Father, so that as I continue to grow in this relationship with You, Your will is no longer hindered and my fleshly desires/defaults are no longer a hindrance to Your purpose for my life.
*DAILY NOTE: You gave me so much to think about and learn about from a simple interaction between two faithful believers. This whole scripture seems to be only maybe a few days’ worth of a story, yet I found it to be powerful enough for a life lesson. Faithfulness, obedience, trust, and living as a circumcised believer are all the main points of the lessons and convictions You’ve put on my heart today. I know I still have work to do in my faith, my heart, and my mind, Father. I also know that You will never leave me, forsake me, or stop giving me lessons from Your end. You will give me what You feel I’m ready for in Your timing and not my own and I need to remember that. It’s not about my timing of things in this life, but Yours. It’s not about what I “want” to do in this life, but what You want for me. It’s not about which path I want to take, but which path You’re directing me towards. It’s not about my history or my mistakes, but about the full and total forgiveness of my sins through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ! Thank You for wiping the slate clean for me, Father. Thank You for providing me with direction and purpose in my life. Thank You!
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
Comments