grand opening
"The Church was at peace. It was being built up and was making steady progress in the fear of the Lord." —Acts 9:31
The Lord was about to call Peter to do one of the greatest works in history—to enter a Gentile's home and preach the gospel of Jesus. When Peter did this, the Gentile Cornelius and his family received the Holy Spirit and were baptized (Acts 10:44ff). This was one of the major events in God's plan of salvation.
The Lord knew that Peter could not even conceive of the gospel being taken to the Gentiles. So the Lord prepared Peter for an unprecedented calling by giving him some amazing experiences. For example, Peter saw a man paralyzed for eight years instantaneously healed (Acts 9:34). Then "all the inhabitants of Lydda and Sharon...were converted to the Lord" (Acts 9:35). After seeing all these conversions, Peter was used by the Lord to raise a woman from the dead (Acts 9:40). Then many others "came to believe in the Lord" (Acts 9:42).
Is the Lord doing miracles in your life? Have you recently converted to the Lord or seen others converted? Has the Lord healed you? If so, the Lord may be preparing you to hear a new call and to serve Him in a new way. For a new Pentecost, we must have a new openness. Believe and receive as never before.
Prayer: Father, do whatever it takes to make me much more open to You.
Promise: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe; we are convinced that You are God's Holy One." —Jn 6:68-69
Praise: Jesus healed the Miller's baby boy of severe asthma. Within a few weeks, their entire prayer group received the Holy Spirit and praised the Lord in tongues.
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Edward J. Gratsch, October 10, 1995
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 13, 1995