"I love to tell the story. . . "

Good morning/afternoon/evening! The sunshine woke me up this morning (well, the dog and the sunshine), and what a burst of energy a little sun can give you!

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Fri, Feb. 20- The goat chosen by lots is called a what?
Leviticus 16:8, “He is to cast lots for the two goats- one for the Lord and the other for the scapegoat.” (So, that's where that word came from!!)

And here's the question of the day:
Sat, Feb. 21- Who was Cornelius?


And here's the reflection of the day:
It's Acts again this morning, Acts 10 to be exact. Here is the familiar vision of Peter and the sheet and the animals. It is God's way of declaring all animals to be clean, of declaring all the people--even the Gentiles--to be clean. And we see Cornelius--a Roman, gentile army officer--an outsider, even though he was a devout man, a Gentile in a Jewish world (10.28). He was on the fringes of the religious community. But the outside is about to be brought inside.

The vision brings Peter and Cornelius together. Cornelius says to Peter, "Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us" (10.33).

All Peter does is tell his story. He tells the story of God to Cornelius and those who gathered there with them. He simply tells the story of God and his love in Jesus Christ. He just tells a story. It's the Holy Spirit who does the work. And "while Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message" (10.44).

Do you see what that means? God simply calls us to tell our stories--how and when and where we met God and what that means to us. God simply wants us to tell our story--the story of a God who loved us so much that he gave his only-begotten Son for us.

We tell the story and leave the hard part up to God; all we need to do is tell the story and let the Holy Spirit do the heart-changing. Don't be afraid; you just tell your story. . . let God do the rest!

Listen to what Mr. Alan Jackson says. . .



Happy Saturday!
Allison