Feb 3 2009 Ex 35-36, Acts 10

Scripture
There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway. Acts 10:1-2

Observation
Luke begins this chapter by describing to us a man named Cornelius. We should take note on how Luke describes this man, he says he was a devout man and one that feared God, gave much to the people, and he had a consistent prayer life.

It sounds as though Cornelius was doing pretty well on his own, but God sees that he will need some help to grow to the next level spiritually. Cornelius so far had done everything right. He sought God when it wasn’t apropos for a Roman soldier to do so. His prayer life was probably the envy of many. And the way things seemed he was not ashamed of what he believed. But in order for him to get to the next level spiritually, God needed him to meet Peter who knew the way.

Application
Even though Cornelius found favor with God, he needed more than what the people were saying about him. God could have sent an angel to teach Cornelius what he needed to know, but He chose a different way. He chose rather to use the church, in this case Peter, to help Cornelius and his family to grow in their faith.

I don’t know all the reasons, but God seems to have intentionally chosen the church to help others find their way into the family of God. Whether it is Cornelius, Saul or the Ethiopian eunuch, God gives us the privilege of telling them the Good News.

It makes me wonder, how many Cornelius’ are out there just waiting for someone like Peter to lead them to the next step.

Prayer
Lord I want to make myself available for you to use me to help others grow in their experience with you. And Lord, if there are times when I am Cornelius, please send someone to help me grow.