I am combining the last 2 days of reading into one day. So these thoughts are from Acts 15.
In the first half of the reading what stood out to me was how the Jewish believers wanted the Gentile believers to follow the Mosaic laws including circumcision. But here’s the thing, Jesus came to fulfill the law. That means all the old laws and rules were covered by His sacrifice on the cross. It is easy to fall back into thinking we have to follow a bunch of laws and rules in order to be forgiven. But if we could earn our forgiveness by following laws then we would not need Jesus.
The 2nd thing was that Paul had not forgiven John Mark for “deserting” them. He refused to let John Mark to join them. In fact, he put up such a stink about it that Barnabas and Paul ended up splitting ways. Barnabas and John Mark went to Cyprus. Paul took Silas with him to Syria and Cilicia.
It is bad of me to say that it’s kind of nice to know that the disciples back then weren’t perfect?!?
I do love how God took an argument and turned it into good for His Kingdom. Because Barnabas and Paul split up, the message got delivered to more places than it would have if the two of them had stayed together. That is how things work in Jesus’ Kingdom. Love it!
Click here to read Acts 15 in the NLT.
Until next time with Jesus’ help let’s be less messy and choose what’s better.