religious

I have been reading in Acts 10-11 about Cornelius. How the Lord sent Peter to Him to preach the gospel and as a result, the Holy Spirit fell on him and his family and they were saved. But the ironic thing to me is that BEFORE this happens, he is described as a devout, righteous, God fearing man, who gave offerings and prayed continually and was well known among the religious. And yet, He was NOT saved-even though he was described-in the Bible as being this kind of man.
It has ripped my heart up once again and only confirmed what I already knew. You can give your money, pray, have quiet times, come to church, do what is right and fear God and still miss heaven. It isn't until you meet JESUS and fall madly in love with Him, giving all that you are to Him that you are saved. Many would say they met Him, but the WORD says that those who encounter Jesus are NEVER the same.
So what made the difference for this religious man? What caused him to move from religion to relationship? Obviously the drawing of the Lord and the work of the Holy Spirit, but I love that his response to Peter's coming with the gospel is that he gathered TOGETHER all his friends and relatives and said to him...we are here to hear ALL that you have been commanded by the Lord. How cool is a heart like that? To be sitting ready, having gathered all his friends and family, yearning for and longing for whatever the Lord has to say. It is evident that he WANTS it.
What about us? Is that true of us? Are we gathering everyone together, just waiting for God's Word to fall for us to hear? And when we hear it are we immediately changed?
I don't want to be religious...god fear, righteous and devout. I want to be His.
ALL FOR YOU