Acts 10:9-17 KJV
9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour:
10 And he became very hungry, and would have eaten: but while they made ready, he fell into a trance,
11 And saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great shet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth:
12 Wherein were all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air.
13 And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat.
14 But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.
15 And the voice [spake] unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, [that] call not thou common.
16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up again into heaven.
17 Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which were sent from Cornelius had made enquiry for Simon's house, and stood before the gate,

As a child I was taught always to eat what was set before me. There are only a few things in my history that I actually refused to eat and I actually have eaten them since becoming an adult. One was pinto beans, and the other was roast beef. Pinto beans is one of those beans I truly detest, but anyone will eat a bowl if they are hungry enough, and roast beef as a child I literally could not swallow. Yet I can tell you that it was not the way it was cooked, it was just I hated beef, except for ground beef in spaghetti or something like that. Vension(deer meat) was another meat I would eat but barely tolerated growing up. Pork chops I would eat but not crazy about them either. I just was not a meat eater as a child. Now you could get me to try any vegetable except greens and turnips. Cabbage is good for a snack with peanut butter. Corn on the cob, egg plant, zucchini, and any squash was a consumption of good healthy meal and not something I ever turned away. As adult I can remember refusing to eat pinto beans made by elderly woman after maybe two years of marriage. However one afternoon on a cool day, I finally decided to taste her beans. Had a good taste and then I remember why I did not eat them, beans are often gassy food. There are many reasons many people do not eat certain foods even when prepared in the best possible way. There were meat that Jews by their dietary law were not allowed to be consume. Their dietary laws were designed by God to consume only certain types of meat and only those meat did they eat. Peter is in trance state when God lowers a sheet down and tells him to kill and eat. Of course he refused because some of what was in that sheet was common and unclean to the Jewish dietary laws. God said to Peter what I have cleanse is no longer consider common.

Peter wonder what it meant when gentile men arrived at his gate and asked for him. The issue is not if something is unclean to eat, but if those at the gate was worthy to communicate with or should they be shunned. Jewish often believe they were not to communicate with the gentiles because they were consider unclean by social barriers and not always religious ones. No doubt through history of scripture we see gentile nation coming to the temple to worship God, or coming to Israel to hear from God. Yet many were consider outcast of Israel. The story of the good samaritan is a good story by Jesus that explains about who was really a good neighbor. As the story goes who was the good neighbor who helped the man in the ditch. It was not the religious leaders but the samaritan who help the man in the road. Romans were treated by Jews the same as the Samaritans despite they were leaders. In cross cultures this same type of bigotry still exist and probably always will as long as the earth exist. The outsider were never to be trusted, maybe even shunned in a community. People in the hills can be like this sometimes, and so can the outsider be that way at times. The outsider view of the people in the hills often is out of ignorance of culture difference. It sad really because in truth all people are pretty much the same despite culture differences. I heard a new saying the other day, I never heard and I realize how much I still did not know about the area in which I lived in.

God knew Peter had a problem that would even exist after this lowering of the sheet to eat, but this was begining point for Peter to remember perhaps that jesus to went to the gentiles and even sat and ate with them. I do not doubt in Israel those animals that were consider unclean were easily found in the markets in Israel. Yet Peter was going into the foreign field were this could be a problem for Peter. As God spoke to Peter about things common that were clean, these two gentiles came seeking him. These men by tradition would be consider unclean. Disciples never question Jesus when dealing with gentiles in scripture so this issues seems remarkable. Cornelius was a clean man sending these men to find Peter, he was clean man by faith in God. He just needed the Gospel and the knowledge of the Holy Spirit given to him.

There people that need Jesus that know not the Messiah has come, There people unclean and yet God is going to cleanse them by his word. There are people that will be cleansed by the blood of Christ through repentance that might never be saved unless someone tells them about Jesus.

Something not told about Samaritan man is whether he had faith in God or not, only that he did the work of Jesus by clean and ministering to the needs of the man in the ditch. The world wants to heal people by ministering to there needs without God or the knowledge of God. They teach them that they belong without the knowledge of God. The world wants to heal them with pschology, and not the word of God, they wants to desolve the issue God has said is sin and say its okay to sin, and the world wants to heal with casting out faith in God.

Believers want God to heal everyone, but without understanding God's way of healing is starting with the heart of man, and changing the person with his word from the inside out. To heal with is love, through compassion of others, to heal with his love with the knowledge their sins are forgiven with faith. To heal man's relationship with God first and then others. Zaccheus became a man of faith first before repairing the relationship with others he stolen from. As a believer we allow God's word to work in our heart and not to try to fix all the problems that are in the world out there. I not saying do not feed the starving, I saying allow God's love to work first and for most and do the work of a minister, that same work others are doing that are not believers often times. I know a free meal will often come from a non believer faster then a believer. Why because it like a big fish tank. Everyone belongs in it, but only the healthy and biggest fighters survive. The church is not to emulate the world that way, it suppose to be acceptance of all that come to its door. Allowing His word to do the changing. Only casting out those that only are there to cause trouble and have no desire to learn about God.

We want to see a move of God we need to allow God to do the cleansing, and us sit back and do the work of caring, loving and allow God to heal the heart. The woman at the well, was one the first Gentiles Jesus minister too(John 4). Yet the disciples were not taken back by this, only concern was what he had eaten. Peter perhaps struggled because of the cross, perhaps struggled because of his religious nature was in option to God's word of love. Dietary laws were unimportant, though thing taught because of preparation issues of certain meat. No God had made a transformation in those things that were consider unclean were now cleansed by the blood of Christ. All things on earth were now cleanse, no longer unclean. Man only had to believe in Jesus and follow after him. The Gentiles would not of understood these dietary laws or religious laws and yet some laws were the same.

What does John 3:16 say "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life". God cleansed the earth through his Son, a new covenant had been form, through faith in Christ. A new covenant to change the entire world had come to be through the cross. The Old Testament law being done away with, and yet the same law of faith were written by the Holy Spirit on the heart of man. The law to love God and others still existed from the original law. We all nailed Jesus to the cross, Jew, and Gentile alike. There is no difference between Jew and Greek. No difference between Jew and Gentile.

How can people believe without a preacher, the same way Cornelius did by God speaking through an angel to send a preacher by speaking first to the believer in God to send for a man name Peter. Sometimes the believer needs to send for the preacher, and sometimes the preacher must go into places of sin and preach. God is the one that doing the teaching to those that will hear, go and even search for the minister who can teach them about the knowledge God has for them. Sometimes the knowledge of God must be waited on for God to reveal it. God sent his angel to Cornelius, but Peter he only had to reveal what he already declare cleanse by his word.

Christ being God's word in the flesh, then Cornelius was only half cleanse with knowledge he needed the new knowledge about the Messiah having come and to believe in the Messiah as Instructed by God. Jews are already clean by the word of God but deny the Messiah has come in the flesh. To know the Word of God has been in human flesh and will come again in the human appearance as the Son of Man coming forth from the sky a second time is important to faith.

Those around areas where people sky dive watch as man descends with a parachutte think nothing about it, but when Christ parts those eastern skies, with no chute, but the clouds carrying him down the world is going to know it. Are you cleanse by God and his Son. One says they know Jesus, but do they recognize God the Father and what about Holy Spirit. Faith in Christ cleanses us from all sin, but do you believe God sent him, that the first belief in God, if you never knew he was your creator, it time to know God the Father of all creation.

Dear Heavenly Father move the mountains of your people. Move the mountains of faith in Christ. Help the people understand your Son died for each and everyone one of us, giving us all a new covenant that all man, woman and child might be saved through faith in Christ Jesus. In Jesus precious name, Amen.

Continual Scripture Study: Romans 10:9-15 KJV
9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!