DAILY MANNA MONDAY 16TH NOVEMBER, 2020
THE ENEMY WITHIN
đź“śđź“śTEXT:ACTS 11:1-18đź“śđź“ś
🔑📖KEY VERSE: “And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of the circumcision contended with him” (ACTS 11:2).
Hostility or antagonism to the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ does not always come from those who vehemently oppose the Cross. It can emerge, unpremeditated from within, as it once did in the early Church between Peter and the brethren.
Following a vision and charge from the Lord, Peter had headed for Caesarea to meet Cornelius, a centurion, who had also been directed by the Lord to send for the apostle. Cornelius was a devout man who “feared God with all his house, (and) gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway”. He however lacked the salvation experience. Being devout and giving alms without Christ as one’s Lord and Saviour is not salvation.
Hearing Peter preach, Cornelius and his household and friends accepted Jesus as their Saviour and Lord. They also got baptised in the Holy Spirit and in water.
But when some brethren in Judea heard of this miraculous conversion of the Gentiles, they contended with Peter. It was opposition from the least expected quarters! Eventually, when Peter opened their eyes to what God revealed to him, “they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life”.
Those who resist us as we obey the demands of the Great Commission will come in different shapes: the brethren, outsiders, indifferent family members, etc. We must be watchful at all times to overcome these challenges so we do not lose the souls that should be saved.
✍THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: The enemy within is more lethal than the one without.
đź“śđź“śTHE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: EZEKIEL 18-21đź“śđź“ś