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by Sandy Shaw
In Acts 10, Peter had learned to make Jesus head. Initiate nothing. Have we learned the lesson which can be difficult and challenging at times - to allow Jesus Christ the Lord to be Head of His Church!
Peter moved as God led, and not by his wishes or ideas or feelings. Peter had cultivated humility, and had made the decision that he would submit to God, and serve God, no matter what God asked of him.
In Jerusalem, there are those who want to examine everything. That is not always a bad thing. Take time to read what faced him - in Acts 11.
Where did you go? What did you do? Why did you meet with those people? Imagine the questions which Simon Peter had to answer!
Peter had broken some denominational rules and regulations and traditions along the way - which were never meant to be fixed in the first place. Some do not know how to cope with a man who behaves in such a way. This is almost understandable in these early days, but it continues to be a problem for some 2,000 years later.
Verse 3. Peter, you've been mixing with all sorts of people. See the tension and anxiety which that can arise when Jesus moves in a new way, simply as the result of a man having the courage and vision and wisdom to obey what Jesus has said to him.
They should have been rejoicing at what Jesus was doing, but their thinking and outlook too is restricted, limited and blinkered. That had to be dealt with, and it is. They are willing to change, and we see that in our passage. They change!
But again, there are lessons to learn. How open are you to change?
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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