April 06, 2023 | Be On Mission
Peter Retells the Story of His Vision
Scripture: Acts 11:1-18(NIV)
1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him 3 and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4 Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole story: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was. 6 I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds. 7 Then I heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’
8 “I replied, ‘Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’
9 “The voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.’ 10 This happened three times, and then it was all pulled up to heaven again.
11 “Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying. 12 The Spirit told me to have no hesitation about going with them. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s house. 13 He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. 14 He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.’
15 “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could stand in God’s way?”
18 When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, “So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads to life.”
Devotional
As Acts 11 begins, Peter is back in Jerusalem, defending himself for having spent time and breaking bread with Gentiles. Rather than giving them theological points to prove that God loves non-Jewish people, he told them his story from his vision at the home of Simon the tanner in Joppa to his ministry in the home of Cornelius the centurion in Caesarea. After hearing his story, his accusers softened and accepted the truth that repentance and salvation are available to all.
Ah, the power of a story. I can give a thirty minute sermon with a one minute story. An hour later, the story is all people remember. Stories speak to the heart. Stories move the emotions. Stories change lives.
What is your story? How has the life, death and resurrection of Jesus changed your life? In what ways has your faith defined who you are? In order to effectively minister to those among whom you live, work, learn and play, you need to be able to tell your story.
Grab a blank piece of paper or open the notes section of your digital device. In a few sentences for each prompt, write down some of your story so that you can “always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15).
Before I Knew Christ…
How I Became a Christian…
Changes in My Life Since Becoming a Christian…
What God is Doing in My Life Right Now…
Prayer
LORD, commune with me as I remember the Last Supper. Here, Jesus offers His body and blood as a ransom for our sins; the New Covenant is set. In Acts 11, God lowers a sheet, speaks words of acceptance and then raises the sheet. God reminds Peter “impurity can be made clean by God.” At Jesus’ crucifixion, God also tears apart the temple curtain. Table set! Sheet lifted! Curtain torn!... all represent God’s invitation to believe in Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Thank you for welcoming, lifting my sins, and openly inviting me to live eternally.
Poem
Grace Blanket
The healing hour
My time of rest
A blanket full descended
With animals
A-creeping crawl
Theology amended
This very hour
Your time of joy
A blanket grace descending
With Gospel true
Now hounding you
Salvation, your amending
This hour of need
Your time of fear
A prayer blanket a-knitted
With each stitch, prayer
Sped to God’s ear
Our love for you admitted
