Tuesday Reading: Acts 10:34-43
Key Verse: Acts 10:35
35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.
Devotion:
Have you ever gone to a church where you have felt that you are the odd one out, the one who is not welcomed, the one who is just not invited back? If you have ever gone to such a church it is probably little wonder that you do not go back there again… But there are going to be so many more churches out there that will invite you in with open arms and want you to stay. Sadly some of those will be ones that you do not make it back to because they are far away or even because of other reasons. One thing we really do need to remember is that God’s Word is meant for everyone and not just the people we choose or think deserve it.
That certainly does not mean that everyone is going to accept it, because you will find many people who reject it and even reject you just because you stand up for the truth. You may even go into some churches where they reject you because you dare to stand up to God’s Word instead of following their own ways. God has warned us that there will be many people who will try to lead us astray and that we need to stay away from them… but there is also going to be those who just do not know the truth because they have never heard it yet. Those are the people that we need to be reaching out to; those are the people that God has sent us to preach to!
I’m not sure how Peter felt about having to go to a Romans Centurion’s house to give them God’s Word; whether he would have thought it a trap or what in the beginning if it were not for the dream that God had given him first. We may not get the visions nor have the personal word from our Lord as to who we should be going out to reach, but we certainly have His Word, our bibles, which plainly teach us that we ought to go out into all the world and take His Word with us!
This is another one of those things where we have to go out and do something and not just say it. The more that I am able to take God’s Word and His example with me to youth groups and youth meetings, the more I want to reach out to more children. God continues to give me the strength and wisdom to reach out to youngsters of all ages – something I found hard at times when I was bringing up my own. You see, when we fully rely on God we are able to reach out to more people in a far more effective way that simply trying to do our best. Let God be your effective guide!
Points to Ponder:
How often do you shy away from telling others about God?
Has God ever rejected you?