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Written by Lynne Hammond

Do you know what God did for Peter during the precious days in Joppa when he tarried on the potter’s wheel?

He delivered him of some racial and ethnic prejudices.

Peter didn’t even realize he had those prejudices. He didn’t see those flaws in himself, so he didn’t know he even needed to address them. But as he spent time on the rooftop praying, God opened his eyes. He gave Peter a vision and said, “What God has cleansed you must not call common” (Acts 10:15).

Suddenly, Peter understood something about God he had never known before. He realized God is no respecter of persons but receives all men who call upon His name, regardless of their nationality. As a result, this already transformed disciple was further transformed and a whole new ministry was brought forth in the earth—the ministry to the Gentiles!

Notice Peter wasn’t changed by his own willpower. He was changed by revelation that came to him in the presence of God.

That’s the only way lasting changes in us can ever be made.

If we try to work them up on our own, although we might appear to have some temporary success, eventually our old faults and flaws will flare up again. The anger and bitterness we’ve suppressed will inevitably resurface. The selfishness we’ve shoved underground will, in our unguarded moments, begin seeping back out.

At such times, we would despair if it weren’t for the good news in Romans 5:17. There, God assures us that it is not by our works but by receiving the abundance of His grace and the gift of righteousness that we “will reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.”

It is His divine power, not our human willpower that saves and transforms us. We, like Peter, are perfected by the working of His Spirit and the washing of His Word.

Scripture Reading: Romans 5:6 – 17