Acts 11:12

Acts 11:12 - “So if God gave them the same gift as He gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?”

Peter was raised to think one way. All of his life he had been taught that the Gentiles were nobodies and not to associate with them. If you asked him he would have told you that his beliefs about these people were from God. But then God tells him to go and visit them and minister to them.
Even though Peter doesn't understand, he obediently does what he is instructed. Then he sees that God has poured out His Spirit to these people, these Gentiles. That goes against everything he ever thought about the Gentiles.
Peter was challenged, but when it came down to it he knew it was God, because no one could receive the Spirit of God without God giving it to them. And, of course, he was not about to oppose God.
Our lesson in this is to always be open to change. Never think that you have it all figured out. You may have doing something one way for your entire life, and there was nothing specifically wrong with it, but now God is telling you to change. Be obedient. You do not want to find yourself fighting against God.
In this story of Peter we see that he was willing to change his views and God continued to use him to do great things. If you are obedient to God, He will use you in ways beyond what you could ever imagine.

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12

2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 – With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of His calling, and that by His power He may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. We pray this so that the name of the Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our Lord God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

        Paul’s prayer for these Christians is that God will fulfill every good purpose of theirs and every act prompted by their faith. This prayer is for you as well. Paul doesn’t pray that only the actions that are according to God’s “will” be fulfilled. No, he prays that every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith be fulfilled. You see, God wants to be glorified through you and He wants to glorify you through Himself. That can’t happen if you are sitting around doing nothing.

        Too often we sit on the sidelines waiting for the perfect opportunity. We are seeking God’s “will” for our lives and are missing the bigger picture. God wants you to be active. He wants you to be doing something. As long as your heart is good your actions will be also. God has so much He wants to do through you, but He’s not going to force you to get moving. It’s like the old saying, “It’s harder to steer a parked car than one that is moving.”

        If you are doing something good and you are doing it in faith then God will honor it. And as long as you are moving He can turn you and direct you if He wants you to change something. As you work out of your good intentions and faith you will see God being glorified within you. So don’t sit still. Get up off your butt and start doing something for God!! Keep your focus on Him and start acting on your faith!! 

1 Thessalonians 1:3

1 Thessalonians 1:3 – We continually remember before our God and Father your works produced by faith, your labor prompted by Love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Faith, hope and Love; Paul mentions these as traits that the Thessalonians possess. He doesn't, however, just tell them, “I see these things in you.” When he talks about them he mentions them by the fruit they are producing in their lives. First he mentions faith, but he does so by the works that their faith produces. If your faith is real it will be followed with action. James says “You show me your faith without works and I will show you my faith by what I do!!” His point being that there is no way to show your faith without doing something. Our actions prove our faith real. “Faith without works is dead.” Next Paul mentions their labor which he says is prompted by Love. Love is a lot like faith in the in the sense that it also should produce action. If you truly Love someone you will labor for them. You will do what you can to make their lives easier and more enjoyable. If you walk past a man sleeping on the street and say to him, “stay warm and well fed,” but then continue on and do nothing your words are hollow. They do not show Love. But if you see that same man and give him a blanket and a meal to eat your actions show that your words are sincere. Those same words will show Love because they are backed with action. Love without action is meaningless. Now Paul mentions endurance which comes from hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. Hope inspires us to keep going. Without hope we would lose the will to push on through the hard times. There is so much depression and suicide because too many people have lost their hope. Jesus gives us the hope we need to endure through life and we must pass it on to those around us. So it is important for us to possess these character traits as well; faith, hope and Love. It is not enough though to just have them, we must act on them. They must be proved real in our lives by our corresponding action.