Acts 10:1-16

¹There was a boss in the Roman army called Cornelius. He was in the part of the Roman army called the Italian Unit. He lived in the town called Caesarea. He and his family lived good lives, and they respected God. Cornelius gave a lot of money and things to poor people, and he prayed to God every day.

³One afternoon at 3 o’clock he was praying, and it was like he had a dream, but he was not asleep, he was awake. He saw an angel messenger from God coming to him and calling his name, “Cornelius.”

⁴Cornelius looked at the angel and was afraid of him. He asked him, “What do you want, boss?” The angel said, “Cornelius, God heard you praying and saw you give money and things to the poor people. It is like you gave those things and money to God, so God is thinking about you.

⁵So send some men to Joppa to find a man called Simon Peter.

⁶He is staying with a leather worker called Simon. His house is near the sea. Tell your men to get Peter and bring him back to you.”

⁷The angel finished talking with Cornelius and went away. Then Cornelius called 2 of the men that worked in his house, and one of the soldiers that looked after him. That soldier respected God too.

⁸Cornelius told them everything that happened and then he told them to go to Joppa and get Peter.

⁹The next day, about the middle of the day, those men were walking along and getting near to Joppa. At that same time Peter went up on to the flat roof of the house to pray.

¹⁰He started feeling hungry and he wanted something to eat, but he waited and prayed while the people in the house were getting some food ready. Then Peter had like a dream, but he was still awake.

¹¹He saw the sky open up, then he saw something like a big sheet. Somebody was holding on to the 4 corners of that sheet, and there was something in the middle of it. It was coming down from the sky to the ground. There were all kinds of animals in it, and lizards, and snakes, and birds. (Their Jewish law said, “Don’t eat those kinds of animals, they are no good.”)

¹³Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter. Kill some of those animals and eat them.”

¹⁴But Peter said, “No, boss. I can’t do that. Our Jewish law says we can’t eat that kind of animal. They are no good, so I never eat any of them.”

¹⁵Then the voice said to Peter, “If God says that something is good, don’t say it is no good.”

¹⁶That happened 3 times. Each time that voice told Peter to eat one of those animals, and each time Peter said, “No,” and each time the voice said, “If God says that something is good, don’t say it is no good.” Then that sheet went back up into the sky.