I See Very Clearly That God Shows No Favoritism.

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I See

Very Clearly

That God Shows No Favoritism.

Scripture

Acts 10

34 Then Peter replied, “I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism.

35 In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right.

36 This is the message of Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.

43 He is the one all the prophets testified about, saying that everyone who believes in him will have their sins forgiven through his name.”

Observation

Peter's encounter in Acts 10 and Acts 11 with the Roman army officer named Cornelius was the beginning of Peter's heart being changed towards those who were not Jewish! I say that it was the beginning of a changed heart because it was evident later in Galatians 2 that his heart was still not what it should have been.

Check these verses out from Galatians 2:11-14

11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. 

12 When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile believers, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. 

13 As a result, other Jewish believers followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.

14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, “Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions?”

So whenever I think that I am better than some other person, I know that thought or any thought like that isn't coming from a pure heart that is seeking after God's heart! How do I know? … because my God shows no favoritism!

Galatians 6:2-3,4-5

2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 

3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 

5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.

Philippians 2:3

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

“The ground is level at the foot of the cross.” Billy Graham

Application

I will guard my heart against the feeling that I am better than someone else.

How about you?

Proverbs 4:23

23 Guard your heart above all else,
    for it determines the course of your life.

Jeremiah 17:9

9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
    and desperately wicked.
    Who really knows how bad it is?

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me to guard my heart. I know how easy it is for me to think that I am something that I am not. I do know that I am one of Your children and I know that I need to act like I belong to You. I need to love what You love and hate what You hate.

I pray for our country. I pray for our leaders. I pray that godly men and godly women would rise up to lead us. I pray for our President.

“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15

Daily Bible Reading: Job 5; Psalms 108; Acts 10,11

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