Good morning. We left
Cornelius with the angel visiting him. And just like we would do if we saw an
angel, he said, what’s up dude? Hardly – being much alarmed (just like we would
be), he said, what is it, Lord? Your prayers and gifts have ascended as a memorial
before God. Just how long he had been praying and giving gifts, we do not know.
We also do not know what he was praying about; but considering what will happen
shortly, it was probably about how to know God. It is a lesson for all of us,
to keep praying and giving even when we don’t see the answer right away. Send
some men to Joppa for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; for he is
staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea. (this is why
Peter stayed where he was not too far from Caesarea - about 30 miles away).
After explaining everything to them, he sent two of his servants and a devout
soldier to go get Peter. In verse two it had said that Cornelius was also
devout. The soldier would have been open to a religious experience happening.
While they were on their way, Peter went up on the housetop to pray. My Bible
says that the houses normally had flat roofs with outside stairways. They were
used as a convenient place for relaxation and privacy. It was about noon; one
of the times for prayer. While he was waiting for them to prepare food, Peter
fell into a trance. He saw the sky opened up and an object like a great sheet
coming down containing many animals, crawling creatures, and birds. A voice
told Peter to kill and eat; but Peter said, by no means, Lord, for I have never
eaten anything unholy and unclean. What God has cleansed, no longer consider
unholy. Next time we will see what happened then. Father thank You that You
answer our prayers, even when we think You have forgotten us. Help us to never
give up.
Merry Christmas!
Good morning, and Merry Christmas! We are going to digress and look at the first Christmas. This was something that had been foretold centuries before; and yet people still did not understand what was going to happen. They were thinking that the Messiah was going to come as an adult and was going to re-establish the nation of Israel above all other nations. They were not expecting Him to come as a baby, supposedly born to a carpenter and placed in a manger. Many things had to happen at precisely the right time. You had to have the right person to be His mother and the right person to be His supposed father. You had to have a reason for them to be in Bethlehem on the night He was born – the census. It had to be when shepherds would be in the field near Bethlehem watching their flocks. And just at the right time – an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before the shepherds, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. And the angel said to them...
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