Lena's Discipleship Journalin' for Today to Acts 10

What does devout mean? Why does this passage point out this character trait? These are the types of questions to ask when digging into God’s word to find treasure.
God spoke to this devout man, who in turn picked out a servant/soldier who was also noted as being devout. They heard the Lord’s voice, the voice of a commander of the Lord’s army, and went forth to do the will of God.
If you needed or even desired your will to be carried out by someone, who would you choose? A person who listens? A person who listens and does? Or persons who won’t listen, and don’t give their lives to being in tuned to the direction of God’s voice? Of course, you would choose the most likely candidate who will both listen and do your will. They would care less about their own will and plans and live to take care of and be more concerned about yours. They’d be more self less and less self fish. That is a hard person to find, but God found two in the same household! Maybe that’s why He chose this household. Not only was Cornelius devout, but he trained others inside of his household, to be soldiers who were also devout.
We could say, God is looking for a few devout men and women who are interested in doing his will more than they are in doing their own!
In the dictionary, devout means having devotion to and sincerity for. It’s being committed to.
Is that how we are as Christian soldiers? Do we live as soldiers of our King everyday? Is there another King in our lives?
Our lives would completely change if we began to live this way. This is why he was a man of prayer. He had to hear and know his instructions and directions for he was a part of the army of God and had daily assignments in order to be a part of the carrying out of the will. Because of his self less life style, he had to do this, for it is/was his Destiny and purpose, the very reason he was alive.
Why are we alive?
I can tell you.
I know, I know, I’m always trying to tell you what to do and where to go. I can even seem a bit bossy, because His love wells up in me to see you get it.
I know why you are here, for the very reason Cornelius was, for the very reason I am. It is the same for all of us. That makes it so very easy to find out.
You could live anywhere, work at almost any job (being a bit choosy based on principles of morality of course), be married to any person, or go to any church and still understand and be on the road to fulfilling the purpose and will of God. You know that what place you live, the job you work, the spouse you choose to spend your life with, and the church you go to specifically, do effect the understanding and ability to launch deeper and more vigilantly into the fulfillment of that purpose, but you could be at the best church and married to the best Christian spouse and not get it or be fulfilling the will and plan of God also.
We are here, subjects of our King Jesus, to be an active part of His plan for the earth while we are alive here. We are soldiers, executioners of His will and plan, engaged. We are the ones who make God’s dreams come true or not. He’s always looking for a man or woman who is selfless and willing to live in such a way as to make His earth-dreams come true.
Winning the lost and saving who are eternally dying, is the biggest reason to live, ever. Doing what it takes to be that person who can win people in our homes, our neighborhoods and on our jobs is huge. Being a lover of God and people can be a happening anywhere, and should be. Being available to God’s specific direction for each day is the life of a Christian soldier.
This lifestyle is demonstrated for us here in the life of Cornelius.
The word of God is always relevant to us, everyday. Put yourself in the word today and ask, Am I devout? Am I in direct communication with God to receive instruction that I plan to do today? Am I bold in spirit, and have I trained myself to be selfless, that I will do His will, above my own today? Am I living for His purposes, so much that I’m desperate to find them out and can’t wait to go and do them, today?
Ask, Am I a soldier? Can other men tell me what God has said for us to do and I believe them and respond with obedient actions? Have I said I’m a part of a body, a family of God, and do I take instruction so that we are all helping one another do the same will of God together, or do I like being called a Christian while I live doing my own thing, which is very un-Christian in behavior and fruit?
Don’t exempt yourself from the word, ever.
Can God speak the unordinary to you? I mean can He change the boat you were on and the route you were on and what you thought He was wanting you to do? Do you ever go off to do what you thought He’d like, but you hadn’t asked Him and now you have to change what you are doing?
A great way to live, a new lifestyle to adopt, is one of asking permission first. God knows all things, knows what is ahead and all. Living by permission will save many a need for change of course and remove the picking up of messes from making wrong choices. It’s the exercise of preventative communication.
With Peter, He was so close to the Lord, knew the Lord’s voice so intimately that he could have his theology messed up, disrupted by God. What he thought needed to be changed. God His Father and Master commander was able to change it, because Peter was a soldier. This opened a whole new world for the spreading of the gospel in which we are beneficiaries of today.
What a remarkable time they were in. What a remarkable time we are in, when we are soldiers in our day and we heed the voice of God in His word for us today, when we put ourselves into this word.
They were a people under command and authority, convicted by the Holy Spirit to heed the voice of God and covered by their obedience. They were able to turn their world upside down, because they had a leader who they followed, then they led others who would follow.
Who are you under? (God is not the correct answer here. We all know that one. I’m talking who is your Cornelius or Peter?) If you don’t have one there is still time.
Whatever he tells you to do, just do it. (I know what the world is saying right here, don’t worry, in being under men, you are under God and if they are off, He’ll come in and correct them! If you trust Him to, by submitting yourself to a person as unto the Lord Himself. Doing this is visible evidence of faith in the order of God’s command.)