Luke the physician wrote how, “There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and said, What is it, Lord? And he said unto him, your prayers and your alms are come up for a memorial before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for one Simon, whose surname is Peter. He lodges with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side: he shall tell you what you ought to do. And when the angel which spoke unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his household servants, and a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually”, and in chapter ten and verse eight of the book of Acts Luke shared how Cornelius talked to his men, and “sent them to Joppa” where we read:
And when he had declared all these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
The verse begins, “And when he had declared all these things unto them, ...” Luke began with the words, “and when he had declared” which means “and at the time and moment Cornelius recounted, rehearsed and unfolded” “all these things unto them” or “each, every, the whole and everything the angel said to his, Cornelius', servants and his devout soldier” the following occurred. Luke shared how “Cornelius” informed his servants and soldier about what the “angel” told him and took the following action.
The verse goes on to say, “... he sent them to Joppa.” Luke continued with the words, “he sent them” which means “Cornelius dispatched and assigned his two servants and soldier” “to Joppa” or “to the city of Palestine on the Mediterranean, lying on the border of the tribes of Dan and Ephraim, Joppa or Jopha, whose name means beautiful”. Luke shared how “Cornelius” obeyed the instruction of the “angel” by dispatching his two servants and soldier to the city of “Joppa”.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn how “Cornelius” complied with the directive of the “angel” he saw and heard in a vision. God was leading “Cornelius”, and his life was about to change forever. God loves people, and when they obey Him, He will lead them in to a relationship with His Son Jesus. God desires to forgive the sins of every person, and He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross to make provision for His forgiveness. Those who are wise will seek God's “next step or instruction” in their lives and discover how obedience to that step leads to the next one.
Next time Luke shares how, “Peter went up upon the housetop to pray”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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