Sometimes I think I understand God. I think that I understand his ways and his plans. I've grown up in the church, made my faith my own in college and have been diligently following God for at least two decades now.

I must have it down (I can hear my family snickering).

Truth is, we will never come to a place where we grasp the fullness of who God is or what he is doing.  

GOD DID NOT DIE JUST FOR JEWS

For the Jewish people in Acts 11, they all believed that Jesus' death was for their nation. It was completely surprising that God would reveal that Jesus didn't just die for the Jewish nation but also for the Gentiles.

Peter says in verse 17 as he recounted his story,

"If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?” 

Then, after the persecution against Stephen, the Jewish believers were scattered. But they were only "speaking the word to no one except Jews." But some of them started to talk to non-Jews (the Hellenist to be exact) and those people started to believe. The Lord's hand was on them and many people started to come to faith. The report came back to the church at Jerusalem and they called it the "grace of God."

The biggest revelation, and good news, in the world....Jesus, dying for our sins, in our place....just got even better. What was thought to be for one nationality was actually for the whole world!

• Jew and Gentile
• Church attender in the 'Bible Belt' and murderer and rapist on death row
• child that was raised in a Christian home and child that was not raised in a Christian home
• the republican conservative and the democratic liberal

YOU ONLY HAVE ONE PROBLEM

Everyone in this world has one central problem and only one solution. Jesus has brought peace and reconciled us to God. 

"But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For rhe himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in cone Spirit to the Father. " Ephesians 2:13-18

The gospel cannot fit into a box. It will continue to expand to more and more people bringing more and more peace to those close and those far. I pray that the Lord continues to kill the pride in me that would make me think that I know the fullness of who he is. I want Him to destroy the box I've tried to contain him with over these last few years. Might he do more in our families than we could have expect or beleive. 

• CLICK THE BUTTON BELOW TO DOWNLOAD THIS WEEK'S DAILY DEVO (FROM ACTS 11) AND LEAD YOUR FAMILY THIS WEEK WITH A SIMPLE, EASY-TO-FOLLOW FAMILY WORSHIP GUIDE.

READ // PRAY // SING

Josh Walker (@joshdwalker) is the co-founder and owner of One Fifty Media House, a Houston, TX based Audio and Video Design Team. He is the writer and author of music products such as Family Devo, Grammar Time and Hymns For Selena. He is married to Angela and has two beautiful children: Nathan and Charity Joy.