Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 11:11-18   "Right then three men who had been sent to me from Caesarea stopped at the house where I was staying.  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.  He told us how he had seen an angel appear in his house and say, 'Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.  He will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.'  "As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came on them as he had come on us at the beginning.  Then I remembered what the Lord had said: 'John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'  So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?"  When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life." There was series of surprises from the time Peter saw the vision to when he walked into the house Cornelius.  First, Peter received a surprising vision.  When he was praying in Joppa, God revealed a vision to him.  A vision is nothing new because back in the Old Testament time visions is one of the way that the Holy Spirit spoke to people.  Three times in a roll, the Lord remind Peter not to be bound by his past experience, ideologies and narrow racism, and he must be prepared for the miraculous work that God will perform among the gentiles.  This is the surprising part of the vision that Peter received. Next, Peter also experienced a surprising confirmation.  When he thought about the vision, verse 11 says that three people came down from Caesarea to meet Peter, and that was a wonderful confirmation!  He wasn't really willing to go, but the Lord reminded him to go with them without reservation, so that was a surprising confirmation. Not on that, he also saw a surprising result.  Verse 15 tells us that as soon as he spoke, even before he could make an altar call, the Holy Spirit already came upon them.  The most surprising part was that those people were not Jews, but rather gentiles whom he didn't want to be close to.  By then, he already saw that the Holy Spirit had completed accepted gentiles to become part of the church of Christ.  Therefore, as he said in verse 17, "who was I to think that I could oppose God?" In our life, are we experiencing God's guidance in surprising ways?  Are we willing to humble ourselves to follow Him?  When God leads us in surprising ways, let's be determined to obey and follow Him!    Pray with Pastor Tong Liu      Lord, I thank you because you often use surprising ways to work in our lives at surprising times.  May you give us soft and obedient hearts, let us obey you when you lead us, so that you will may be done through our lives.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!