"The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends... Talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people... “Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." - Acts 10:24, 27, 47
Holidays come and go, and with them the gatherings of family and friends. There are many times through the year when you will invite people to your home to celebrate holidays, birthdays, graduations and even sporting events. At the end of each occasion everyone will leave, well fed and filled with fond memories. But, have they been changed?
Cornelius was a man with great social prestige. I'm sure that he had many occasions to entertain family and friends. Yet, this gathering was different than any other before. People didn't gather to eat, drink and be merry. They came together in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord had commanded Peter to tell them. (Verse 33) At the end of the night no one wanted to leave, because... they had been changed.
This is the question: Is your home open for others to gather to hear the good news of Jesus? Do you make plans through the year to invited family and friends to hear a missionary, see a Gospel movie or have a Bible Study? Cornelius wasn't even converted yet, and he filled his house to evangelize. When was the last time someone left your home having been changed?
Think about this: Men may not read the gospel in seal-skin, or the gospel in morocco, or the gospel in cloth covers; but they can't get away from the gospel in shoe leather.
- Donald Grey Barnhouse
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