We are naive to think that just because God is at work, others around us will be happy and accepting of it. After being with Cornelius, the Roman centurion, and seeing God give the Holy Spirit to a group of Gentiles, Peter was rebuked by Jewish background Christians. Their attitudes could have stood in the way of what God was doing. Can we be in danger of the same kind of thinking and attitude today?
For All People - Acts Series #18
God's commission to take the good news message of Jesus to the ends of the earth would inevitably mean that Jewish background followers of Jesus, like Peter, would have to be confronted with their cultural views towards Gentiles. Peter had to get over his discomfort with Gentiles in order to take the message to them. God calls us to 'get over ourselves' in various ways as part of following Jesus. The simple, yet difficult path to doing this is to listen, trust and obey.
Complete 180 - Acts Series #17
Can people really change? We intuitively know people do change, yet we all struggle to believe this when it comes to certain people or certain areas about our own attitudes, behaviour and character. Paul's Damascus Road experience and the events following also give us some clues on how to make God's invitation for change stick in our lives.