Acts - Week 33

Week 33 Acts 10 

Day 1 

READ 

Acts 10:5-6 

5 Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter. 6 He is staying with Simon, a tanner who lives near the seashore.” 

An angel had appeared to Cornelius and told him his prayers and gifts had been received by God. Then the angel told Cornelius to send some men to Joppa and ask for Peter. His location was even specified. This reveals that God knows every detail about everyone. In the meantime, God needed to prepare Peter, with his Jewish background, to be ready to witness to Gentile Cornelius.  

REFLECT 

Has God had to prepare you for a future task you knew nothing about at the time? 

RESPOND 

In regard to God knowing everything let your disciple know that is called “omniscience.” Read together what is said in Psalm 139:1-6 that tells of God’s all-knowledge. 

Day 2 

READ 

Acts 10:7-8 

7 As soon as the angel was gone, Cornelius called two of his household servants and a devout soldier, one of his personal attendants. 8 He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa. 

It did not take long for Cornelius to follow the angel’s instructions. When the angel was gone Cornelius selected two of his servants and a devout military officer for the mission. Verse 2 indicated the household of Cornelius was God-fearing. He told the three what the angel said to him and sent them off. God was working behind the scenes preparing for the gospel to be announced to the Gentiles and convincing the Jewish believers that Gentile believers were also in the body of Christ. 

REFLECT 

Do you have a strong belief in the sovereignty of God? If you do, you realize God does not make mistakes and such things as “accidents” do not happen. 

RESPOND 

You and your disciple have read about God’s omniscience in Psalm 139:1-6, God’s all-power is known as His “omnipotence.” Now read about that in Psalm 139:13-16. Talk with your disciple about what a great God you serve. 

Day 3 

READ 

Acts 10:9-13 

9 The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, 10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. 13 Then a voice said to him, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat them.” 

Now more is seen about God preparing Peter to be willing to share the gospel with a Gentile. The Jewish people often referred to the Gentiles as unclean. God will teach Peter something about some unclean animals. He fell into a trance and saw a sheet lowered with all kinds of animals and heard a voice telling him to “kill and eat them.” Rather than a dream; it must have seemed like a nightmare to him. What would he do? 

REFLECT 

Has God sometimes worked in strange ways in your life to teach you a lesson?  

RESPOND 

It is impossible to know how God works behind the scenes, but one can be confident that as God’s Word goes out it will accomplish what pleases Him. In regard to this, read Isaiah 55:8-11.  

Day 4 

READ 

Acts 10:14-16 

14 “No, Lord,” Peter declared. “I have never eaten anything that our Jewish laws have declared impure and unclean.[b]” 15 But the voice spoke again: “Do not call something unclean if God has made it clean.” 16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was suddenly pulled up to heaven. 

Faced with this sheet full of all kinds of animals, Peter is told to “kill and eat them.” He is confident that God is talking to him because when he says, “No,” he addresses the voice he heard as “Lord.” Think of the contrast here; believing it was the Lord telling him to do something and saying “No,” to Him. This had to do with unclean animals and Peter was told not to call unclean what God had made clean. This vision occurred three times. Would Peter finally understand? 

REFLECT 

Has God had to deal with you in the same way a few times to convince you that something is His will?  

RESPOND 

Talk with your disciple about how patiently God deals with both believers and unbelievers. Read 2 Peter 3:8-9 in this regard. Pray for unbelieving friends who have not yet turned to the Lord. Someday God’s patience will run out for them. Pray they will trust in Him before it is eternally too late. 

Day 5 

READ 

Acts 10:17-18 

17 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, 18 they asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there. 

Understandably, Peter did not know what all of this meant. Even after the vision was repeated three times, he was still confused. Then their appeared the men sent by Cornelius—a Gentile whom Peter would formerly have considered unclean. They were asking for him by name. Things were getting more confusing for Peter. Surely Peter must have been wondering where all of this was leading.  

REFLECT 

Have you sometimes thought that circumstances—controlled by the Lord—were leading you in a direction you were unsure about?  

RESPOND 

As you and your disciple think about the sovereign God you serve, read Psalm 73:27-28 and Proverbs 21:1. Difficult things to explain could not occur without God allowing them.