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“Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.” Acts 9:43  

Simon was a tanner which means he touched dead animal carcasses daily. According to Jewish law, this made him unclean, yet Peter stayed with him for “some time.” God was working in Peter’s life to teach him it isn’t external activities that make someone unclean. Jesus had already taught his disciples this principle (Mark 7:18-23) but it took a vision from God (v.9-19) before Peter really understood. How slow we are to give up our historical traditions and consider how to include people in our communities.