“The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles.” Acts 10:45.
Peter travelled to Cornelius’ home with several Jewish disciples. As Peter began to speak, the Holy Spirit somehow made Himself present in and through the Gentiles in this meeting. And the manifestation was similar to what happened to the Jews on Pentecost. When the Jewish believers witnessed the Holy Spirit come on these Gentiles, they were dumbfounded. They hadn’t expected this in any way. They thought that God would act one way, but God had something else in store. God was radically challenging the paradigm of the Jewish believers, opening up a life of faith in Jesus to the Gentiles. And the world would never be the same!
There have been many times when I thought that God would act a certain way, and I must admit that He has dumbfounded me over and over again. It seems that the one constant in this is that I have very often gotten it wrong! But God has given me a heart that is willing to change, to learn, and to adjust with His paradigm shifts. This happens usually with some resistance on my part, but in the end, it does happen and I eventually come around.
Questions to consider: Have you ever realized that God was doing something dramatically different than what you expected? What was that like for you, and how did you adjust? Is there anything that you are presently experiencing that might represent a paradigm shift in your life? What is God saying to you concerning this?
Prayer: Father, thank You for not leaving me to flounder in my own limited thinking. Thank You for giving me opportunities to change, to learn, to adjust – and to be astonished - with the moving of Your Hand in our world. Amen.
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