God Seeks...
Remember HOW you came to faith in Jesus Christ? Chances are, the longer your have been saved, the more you realize that it was God who found you, rather than you finding God. Truly (and miraculously) it is God who seeks us, and not the other way around. Whether we are religious or hedonist...God is the Initiator and the Finder. I remember how i was living completely for myself...in complete rebellion to God when He began to woo me and draw me back to Himself. So, whether religious or hedonist, God seeks us out...and, both camps need saving! How amazingly beautiful that He is the Seeker. That He comes looking for us.
And, that is the case here in Acts 10 for this Roman convert to Judaism named Cornelius. V. 2 says about this man that he was a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously and prayed to God always. What a Godly man this Cornelius sounds like, huh? He would have been the kind of guy that we would think would make a great Christian. You know people like that...they are already religious, but they just don't believe in Jesus. They are devout and they fear God...they may even be very generous and pray to God always, but they just know, or see their need of a Saviour! And, many times we have found that it is people like this who seem to be the hardest to convert. After all, they feel that they can please God on their own. But, not so for all of them. Only God knows the heart, and God knows that some religious people are truly seeking to please God and would do whatever He wanted them to do to please Him. And, it seems that God has a soft spot for the religious who are truly trying to please Him (prayers and alms), but just don't know Jesus! And, that is the beauty of Cornelius' story. At the ninth hour (the Jewish hour of prayer when he would have been praying), God sent an angel to tell him to tell him that God took notice of his prayers and his giving, and that He was going to tell him what to do next!
There is more to the story...but for now, i just want to marvel in the way that our Great God pursues us lowly men and women. How He is no respecter of persons, seeking religious and hedonist alike. God sees us...the good and bad, and He sends people (or Angels) our way to show us Jesus! How wonderful is our God who seeks to save the lost?
Think of those you know, who like Cornelius, are religious apart from faith in Christ. Think of how God pursued Cornelius, and how He pursued you! And, pray for those who you know like Cornelius. God just may come to them in visions or dreams and tell them to send for you to explain the way to truly please Him...Jesus! May it be, Lord!
And, that is the case here in Acts 10 for this Roman convert to Judaism named Cornelius. V. 2 says about this man that he was a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, who gave alms generously and prayed to God always. What a Godly man this Cornelius sounds like, huh? He would have been the kind of guy that we would think would make a great Christian. You know people like that...they are already religious, but they just don't believe in Jesus. They are devout and they fear God...they may even be very generous and pray to God always, but they just know, or see their need of a Saviour! And, many times we have found that it is people like this who seem to be the hardest to convert. After all, they feel that they can please God on their own. But, not so for all of them. Only God knows the heart, and God knows that some religious people are truly seeking to please God and would do whatever He wanted them to do to please Him. And, it seems that God has a soft spot for the religious who are truly trying to please Him (prayers and alms), but just don't know Jesus! And, that is the beauty of Cornelius' story. At the ninth hour (the Jewish hour of prayer when he would have been praying), God sent an angel to tell him to tell him that God took notice of his prayers and his giving, and that He was going to tell him what to do next!
There is more to the story...but for now, i just want to marvel in the way that our Great God pursues us lowly men and women. How He is no respecter of persons, seeking religious and hedonist alike. God sees us...the good and bad, and He sends people (or Angels) our way to show us Jesus! How wonderful is our God who seeks to save the lost?
Think of those you know, who like Cornelius, are religious apart from faith in Christ. Think of how God pursued Cornelius, and how He pursued you! And, pray for those who you know like Cornelius. God just may come to them in visions or dreams and tell them to send for you to explain the way to truly please Him...Jesus! May it be, Lord!
