The Alpha of Devotion

UV 2992/10000 The Alpha of Devotion
A devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always
Act 10 v 2

This uni-verse that describes the centurion Cornelius who though not a Jew pleased God with his devotion and people with his charity and sense of justice. His wisdom came from his intense fear of displeasing God. He therefore set an example before his whole household, both his family and his subordinates. He persisted in prayer and gave alms to the poor. He pleased God so much that He sent His angel to convey a message to him to meet the apostle Peter. It is an example in scripture of how sincere devotion without respect of persons or of race or religion or nationality or gender or station in life gets the attention and wins the favour of the Lord God.

Why did the Lord send His angel to him? To complete his faith by giving him a revelation of how the Son of God Jesus had died for the sins of all mankind who repented, feared God and walked in His ways. Cornelius had many servants but he himself chose to serve God. His reverence for God enabled him to be wise, just, humble, charitable. True devotion is seen in all aspects of our lives- in our prayer life, in our work life, in our acts of charity, in wisdom and justice. True devotion is seen and rewarded by the Lord Himself. The Lord causes His grace to abound in the lives of the devout. The devout will be led to a deeper understanding, knowledge and relationship with the Lord. The Lord unveils His face to the devout as He did with Moses, with Simeon and many others.

Our prayers must be accompanied by works of charity, kindness, goodness and service to humanity. When our faith is accompanied or followed by good works, we become a fruitful vine grafted onto the True Vine Jesus. Our prayers and our acts will come before the Lord as beautiful memorials or reminders to the Lord of our devotion to Him, of our love for Him and others, of our desire to serve Him in every way possible. We are building treasures in heaven that neither moth nor rust nor thief can destroy. The Lord promises to rush to our help when we are ourselves in any kind of distress. He sends His angels to encamp around those who are devoted to Him. It is written that when we give to the poor, we are lending to the Lord and He feeling indebted to us, will try to repay us as soon and as excessively as possible for the Lord cannot be in debt to anyone.