September 2011 Subscriber Letter

September 2011

Dear Reconciler Family,

What if all Christian churches were to come together in unity?  What would be the result?  How would it impact non-Christians?  I believe the impact would be phenomenal!  I believe the Church would grow dramatically.  It would render dead the argument many non-Christians use on what keeps them away – our divisiveness.

Acts 10 tells the story of two men who were dramatically different.  They were from two very different cultures that had kept their ethnic groups apart.  Were it not for God’s intervention, it would have continued.

Cornelius was a gentile centurion of the Roman army.  They considered the Jews weird and even barbaric because of their practices such as circumcision and their animal sacrifices and eating habits.

Peter, being a Jew, had never invited a gentile into his house to eat because they considered them to be “common and unclean” because of their eating habits.  They didn’t eat kosher.

But God changed that through two miracles that brought them together in very dramatic fashion!  The results were: The Holy Spirit coming into Cornelius’ household and their consequent baptism into the Body of Christ – the Church.

Peter not only went into the home of a gentile, but baptized his household and even ate with them.  This was earthshaking!  And the Church grew.

Since both of these men were praying when God spoke to them, perhaps that’s the cue that we as the Church need to have a special prayer focus on “reaching the unchurched for Christ” and fellowshipping in the marketplace – sharing the love of God with “spiritual gentiles.”

Thank you for your help in the effort to follow the example in Acts 10.  You may want to review it.  It truly is advancing the gospel message. Your loyal support is doing much good.

Love in Jesus,

Curtis May