conversion and controversy

Good morning brothers and sisters,
They say that the path of true love never did run smooth, and that's just as true with God's love for us as for any star-crossed lovers Shakespeare invented. For Peter, the decision to baptize Cornelius and his friends and family was easy because God was obviously leading the way. To the leadership who weren't there, on the other hand, this is a scandal. By law Peter shouldn't have even gone to Cornelius's house, much less stayed overnight and eaten with them.

But Peter knows what God was doing and he remembers what Jesus said about receiving a baptism of the Holy Spirit. It all fits together for him, so he explains it to the others. Once they have heard the whole story they rejoice as well because God's mercy extends further than they imagined. God is good beyond measure and gives all of us the gift of repentance and new life.
Thanks be to God.

God bless,
Sam

Acts 11:1-18

Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, 3saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?”

4Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, 5“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. 6As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’

10This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. 11At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. 12The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 14he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’

15And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” 18When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”