Daily Devotional Monday 23rd March 2020
by William Moody
Acts 10:1–8
Peter and Cornelius
10:1 At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was known as the Italian Cohort, 2 a devout man who feared God with all his household, gave alms generously to the people, and prayed continually to God. 3 About the ninth hour of the day1 he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God. 5 And now send men to Joppa and bring one Simon who is called Peter. 6 He is lodging with one Simon, a tanner, whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who spoke to him had departed, he called two of his servants and a devout soldier from among those who attended him, 8 and having related everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
Footnotes
[1] 10:3
That is, 3 p.m. (ESV)
Cornelius was a devout and religious man although he was a Roman (v1-2). We see from his story that while God did take note of his religious deeds (v4), salvation would only come through God breaking into his life (v3).
Angels are described in the Bible as “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation” (Heb. 1 v14). The angel points Cornelius to Peter, an apostle who will share God’s Word with him (v5-6).
Today there is much discussion about angels and getting messages from angels. We see here in Cornelius’ case, that angels do not lead people away from Biblical truth but to it. Sadly that is not what many modern books teach and sadly people can be deluded as they seek for truth outside of scripture. Every teaching you hear, especially that which is novel, test it in the light of God’s Word.
Cornelius was a man hungry for God and he sends two servants to find Peter (v7-8). This was a courageous step by Cornelius and he was in danger of being seen as mad by his servants and rejected by Peter. But these considerations did not stop him from obeying God’s will.
Are you willing to follow God’s leading no matter what others will think? Are you hungry to discover God’s truth?
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