Dave Edlers Ramblings

Like many I was not always the first one picked. Small for my age there were girls in my neighborhood that could out run me. (I still enjoyed chasing them) As I grew older I also got bigger and stronger and became one of the first ones picked. That was fun. Often I actually was one of the captains, the one that did the picking. I loved to pick the least of the choices just to watch them light up. As we all know it feels good to be wanted.
In Acts today in our Life Journal Cornelius is the first of the outsiders picked to come into the family of God. The description of him is interesting, “a devout man who feared God”. In announcing his being picked to be on the team God said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God.” Cornelius feared God, prayed, and gave alms. His faithfulness was noticed by God and caused God to place him first on the list. Cornelius and his whole family by the end of the chapter are born again, baptized in the Holy Spirit, and their looking for water for a baptism in water. Devout means he did this consistently. He prayed and he gave. My life has shown me you can’t out give God. “Give and it will given unto you” is one of the verses that often flows through my head. We can see the result of a life like that in the amazing things Cornelius experienced.