The door is wide open

Can you imagine? A military captain comes to Peter and Peter lets him (and his entire family) in on the good news of Jesus Christ. Next thing you know, the Holy Spirit gets in on the act, too and, hearing no objections, Peter welcomes these outsiders in by baptizing them.

Of course, this gets back to other leaders in Jerusalem and Peter has to go and explain himself. And then comes one of my favorite lines in all of scripture. Says Peter: "So I ask you, if God gave the same exact gift to them as to us when we believed in the Master Jesus Christ, how could I object to God?"

Or as it says in the NRSV, "...who was I that I could hinder God?"

But we do, don't we? At least I do, over and over again, protecting God for me and mine and refusing to believe that God is in the other, even when the spirit is clearly evident.

On the coming Pentecost Sunday, I want to remember the Acts 10 message - through Jesus Christ, everything is being put back together again..and he's doing it everywhere, among every one. The door is wide open.

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