Acts 11:19-26 Video Devotional

Posted on Jun 30, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , , , ,

“Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.” (Acts 11:19-26)

We are seeing that God is making clear His plan to reach the WHOLE world – regardless of gender, race, ethnicity or nationality. For those who want to skip ahead of the end of the book can see in Revelation 7:9 that people of every nation, all tribes and peoples and languages were standing before the throne in worship of Him. That means heaven will be colorful, vibrant, and incredible! God loves diversity!

As the gospel moves out from Jerusalem, we are introduced to churches in other cities – today’s passage focuses on the church in Antioch, which is an amazing example for us today of true multiculturalism in the family of God. With Peter’s dream establishing previously that all people are welcome to join God’s family, we meet some guys from Cyprus and Cyrene that together have the novel idea of talking to people that aren’t exactly like themselves. Huh? Can we invite people that aren’t like us to church? Absolutely!

The hand of the Lord was with them, and their conversation with the Greek influenced Jews (Hellenists) led to a fruitful harvest of souls. This multicultural acceptance of each other in Antioch also opened a door for Paul to begin his fruitful career in ministry. And now we have the term Christian – developed and first used in Antioch to describe the family of God without using culturally or nationally specific language. Every time we use that word – Christian – we should be reminded that its inception was because anyone can be a Christian – Asians, Africans, men, women, Jews, Greeks – the word has room for all people; the only requirement is that we trust in Jesus.

Blessings to you – and to our wonderful, beautiful, multicultural family!


Acts 10:34-44 Video Devotional

Posted on Jun 25, 2020 by admin in Video Devotional | Tags: , , ,

“So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. As for the word that he sent to Israel, preaching good news of peace through Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all), you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, not to all the people but to us who had been chosen by God as witnesses, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.” (Acts 10:34-44)

There is a heretical book called the Gospel of Thomas that makes a claim that Jesus said no one can come to him unless they first become a male. Absurdity! It is a laughable claim, but it seems that the church lives by a similar assumption. Jesus did tell us in Matthew 28 to make disciples of all nations. All nations means all people – different races, ethnicity, languages, etc… but so often we like to clique-up into and create groups of people like ourselves. Case in point – the NAE (National Association of Evangelicals) and the NBEA (National Black Evangelical Association). There are some really sad stories around the creation of the “black” church in America.

The truth of the matter is that God always intended and desired to have a multicultural church. it was designed to be a unified body full of different and beautiful individuals, all saved by grace, through faith. This issue is brought to a head in Acts 10 with Peter’s dream and later witness saying that God knows no partiality, but will accept people from every nation. The ensuing conflicts in the early church were precisely that not all people wanted to accept everyone – or at least would only accept them if they changed things first (think of the Judaizers from Galatians).

Remember, the Holy Spirit falls on all those who believe – regardless of race, ethnicity or nationality. God’s expectation for all people is that they love Him and obey His commands. With that, He will welcome anyone. Can you honestly say that about yourself? Let me hear your stories of inclusion and reconciliation in the comments!


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