Thought of the Day !!

Peter told them, "You know it is against the Jewish laws for me to come into a Gentile home like this. But God has shown me that I should never think of anyone as impure."
Acts 10:28 (NLT)

Then Peter replied, "I see very clearly that God doesn't show partiality. In every nation he accepts those who fear him and do what is right."
Acts 10:34-35 (NLT)

A man came into a worship service one Sunday morning and went down towards the front and chose a pew to sit on. As he sat, he heard a snicker from the lady behind him. After a few moments of discussion in the back another man came to the pew where he was sitting. As the stranger sitting in the pew looked up and smiled, the other asked, “Don’t you think you’d be more comfortable worshiping with a church of your own color?” And the stranger quietly got up and left.

At the same time at another church across town a stranger came in and sat down. He chose to turn to the snickering lady behind him and stretch out his hand for a friendly handshake. The lady got up and went to the back. Then a couple of men came from the back and proceeded to tell the stranger where the local mosque was. And the stranger quietly got up and left.

A man came into yet another church in this town and sat down. This one bowed his head in prayer immediately. Three men came down from the back and surrounded the poor man that was wearing torn rags and had a displeasing smell about him. The leader of the group remarked, “We can tell you’re homeless. We’ve taken up some money for you. If you’ll come with us, we’ll get you some information about where you can go. Please hurry, services are about to begin.” And the stranger quietly got up and left.

Jesus came into the presence of His Father who asked Him, “I thought you were going to go down there and worship this morning?” And Jesus' reply was, “They didn’t want me there.”

In the parable of the sheep and the goats found in Matthew 25, Jesus basically tells us, "What you did for the least of these, you did for me. What you didn’t do for the least of these, you did not do for me."

Who would you welcome into your church...your home...your life? Or asked another way, who would not be welcome by you in any of these three?

I love the quote by Peter where he says "I see very clearly that God doesn't show partiality." If this is true, then why are we Christians so often guilty of doing it? Maybe we all need to ask God who we may show partiality to and ask for forgiveness.

In the love of Christ,
greg