Dear Friends,
We hope this week's devotional will encourage you in your spiritual walk. You are welcome to share this and include it in your church newsletters if you wish; we just ask that you please give credit to NTC and the author. Thank you!
Acts 10:44-48 (NRSV)
44 While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard the word. 45 The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles, 46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter said, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 So he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they invited him to stay for several days.
Devotional Thought:
A lot of people focus on verse 46 and the issues of “speaking in tongues. Nevertheless, this is not the focal point of this passage; there are two more significant miracles going on here. First and foremost is the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in general and more specifically of the Spirit being poured out on the Gentiles. This was a fulfilment of Joel’s prophecy, which spoke of a day when God’s Spirit would be poured out “on all flesh . . . Even on the male and female slaves” (Joel 2:28-29). God had done what he had promised and in a more miraculous and comprehensive way than most people had thought possible. This was proof that the eschatological age had begun, and that God was indeed doing a new thing. Furthermore, this was proof that God loved all his creation and not just a select few. This leads to the second significant miracle in this passage, namely, that people were transformed. The work of God through the Holy Spirit is the transformation of all people. God meets us where we are but desires to transform us into the person/s we were meant to be. One of the coolest transformations that takes place is not in the Gentiles for whom the Spirit had just been poured out, but in the Jews who were present with Peter that day. They had their heart and mind transformed by what God did. For most Jews, the Gentiles were unclean and unworthy pagans at best and as enemies at worst. Yet, the tangible evidence of God’s love and acceptance of the Gentiles was irrefutable proof that they had been wrong, and that they needed to change the way they were thinking and acting. Rather than excluding those who were different from them, they now looked for ways to include them. This is indeed a miracle and one that needs to take place in each of us every day.
Prayer:
Gracious God, fill us with your Holy Spirit and transform us from the inside out. Lord, give us eyes to see your world and the people in it as you do. Help us to love well in word and in action. Help us to be agents of good who break down walls of division and discrimination and build bridges of grace, compassion, and justice. Lord, do a miracle in us and through us this day and every day. In Jesus holy name, Amen!
Rev. Dr. Rob Fringer
NTC Principal
Nazarene Theological College