Acts 10:34-35

"I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right." (NIV)

Prayer starter:

This is a very pertinent verse in today's political climate. There is a rather epic battle going on between the let's-hate-everybody-who-is-not-like-us camp and the let's-love-EVERYBODY camp. This verse makes it pretty clear that we should be somewhere in between. Our nationality does not matter to God. Where you are from or what you look like, on the OUTSIDE, does not matter to God. But He cares very strongly about what is on the INSIDE. He sets two conditions: 1. you must "fear him," i.e. respect and obey his commandments, and 2. you must "do what is right." With these two Bible-given conditions, it is impossible to belong to either of the battle camps mentioned above. You cannot hate other people just because they are different. Jesus made that abundantly clear in his ministry. He associated with and cared for people of other nations (e.g. Samaritans), as well as people who were shunned by mainstream society (e.g. tax collectors, cripples). The let's-hate-everybody-who-is-not-like-us camp likes to label people who don't agree with them as "unAmerican" or "unpatriotic" but the beliefs of this group clearly conflict with Acts 10:34-35 (and many other Bible verses). 
On the other end of the spectrum is the let's-love-EVERYBODY camp, which does not represent a Christian view either. Jesus told us to "love one another" (John 13:34), but he also made it very clear in his ministry that people need to make every effort to satisfy the two conditions of fearing God and doing what is right. The let's-love-EVERYBODY camp conveniently tends to ignore these same two conditions, demanding that we not only love everybody, but by extension condone their behavior, even if it disagrees with God's commandments or is not "what is right." If we disagree with people's behaviors, we are labeled as "haters" by this camp. 
While you color this verse today, you might want to think about where you are on this spectrum of opposites. Do you lean more towards one end or the other? Have you rejected people because of where they came from or what they looked like on the outside? Or have you loved people whose behavior went counter to Bible-based beliefs without making it clear to them that you did not condone their behavior? Are you afraid of being labeled a "hater" if you speak up against homosexuality or abortion? This is a difficult and treacherous battleground to tread if you truly want to follow Bible-based guidance. Ask God for wisdom, strength, and kindness in handling these issues in real life. 



Be Brightly Blessed! 


To print out the images, use Explorer or Mozilla. The Google dialog box apparently does not allow for a full-page printout. Set the printer orientation to "Landscape."