Peter

November 11

Acts 10:9-20

“Surely not, Lord!”

One day, while the midday meal was being prepared in the home where Peter was staying, he went upstairs onto the flat roof of the house to pray. While he was praying, he had a vision—a picture-message from God.

A large sheet came down from the sky. On the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles and birds, which Jews are not allowed to eat. Then he heard a voice say, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat!”

“Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything unclean like this.”

The voice spoke to him again: “Do not call anything unclean that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and then the sheet was taken back to heaven.

While Peter was wondering what this vision could mean, some men arrived at the house. They had been sent by Cornelius, a Roman army officer. Immediately, the Spirit said to Peter, “Go with these men, for I have sent them.”

Can our religious beliefs keep us from pleasing God?

God wanted Peter to go speak to Cornelius (who wasn’t Jewish like Peter was). But Peter had allowed his Jewish belief to shape his thinking and block his understanding of God’s plan.

Religious traditions aren’t wrong if they remind us of a truth or help us understand a Bible truth better. However, we should be careful of ideas and traditions that keep us from pleasing God.

If you are unsure whether a certain belief is from the Bible or whether it is simply a tradition, ask someone to show you places in the Bible where you can find out more about the topic. Then pray that God will help you understand what you have read.

Remember, always make sure that what you believe agrees with the Bible.

Verse for today

See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. Colossians 2:8