Monday, January 10: Acts 11- Setting the nail

I have done enough building to know you cannot pound in a nail with only one whack of the hammer. Most nails, especially the larger ones used with 2x4s, require multiple hits. And then once you get them flush, most carpenters will add one final blow to ‘set the nail.’

Reading this chapter, I felt like the Holy Spirit was ‘setting the nail,’ adding one final hit to make sure the Church (and I) understood the radical change through which God was bringing them. The fact that Luke, inspired by the Holy Spirit, retells Peter’s adventure with Gentiles at Cornelius’ house, again in this chapter, causes me to sit up and take notice. It is like hearing the Holy Spirit say, “This is important! Don’t miss what is going on here.”

And the church leaders get it, When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God, saying, "So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life" (18).

The dismantling of ‘human-created barriers’ between peoples for the sake of the gospel is major. God wants the world to know about Jesus and God doesn’t want any human pettiness to get in the way.

Even as I am typing the previous sentence, I can feel the elbow of the Holy Spirit. “Bill, I am not only talking to Christians back in the first century, I am talking to you…” At that point I began to ponder barriers I erect that separate me from others.

I don’t feel compelled to list specifics the Holy Spirit brought to mind, however, some surprised me. One, I will mention, is the conversational awkwardness I feel with people I do not know very well. I am wondering if I cultivate that personality trait, rather than seek to grow out of it. And more to the Holy Spirit’s point, is it hindering my gospel witness? Is it separating me from others with whom God would like me to share Jesus? This is a new thought for me and one I need to wrestle with in prayer…

Lord, for the sake of Jesus and the gospel I willingly, albeit with honest trepidation, lay down anything that might hamper me being used by You in advancing the gospel. I lay down my introvertedness and tentativeness in new conversations. I lay down any fears… that I might be a tool in Your hands, O God. May my life be in total service to You. In Jesus’ name and through the power of the Holy Spirit, I pray. Amen.

 

 

 

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