Acts 16:1-5

1 Paul went first to Derbe and then to Lystra, where there was a young disciple named Timothy. His mother was a Jewish believer, but his father was a Greek. 2 Timothy was well thought of by the believers* in Lystra and Iconium, 3 so Paul wanted him to join them on their journey. In deference to the Jews of the area, he arranged for Timothy to be circumcised before they left, for everyone knew that his father was a Greek. 4 Then they went from town to town, instructing the believers to follow the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger every day.

Paul did something I am sure he later regreted.  Not that you or I have ever done that!  He wanted Timothy to become a part of his team due to his impressive growth.  But there was a problem.  Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother and a Greek father.  What that meant was that he had not been circumcised as all Jews had been as infants.  Since Paul’s ministry started in each community amongst the Jews he realized that could be a problem in reaching them.  That is important to why he made the decision to have Timothy go through this painful experiance as an adult.  He did not want anything to get in the way of proclaiming the gospel and having it fall on deaf ears.   This is consistent with Paul’s view of getting the word out and “becoming all things to all men to win the many for Christ.”  It was not about salvation nor did it fall under the category of living up to the law.  It was for the purpose of eliminating any stumbling block or reason not to hear the truth about Jesus Christ.  It seemed to work as we are told the Churches were strengthened in their faith and grew larger, meaning more people embraced the message of the cross.   I think Paul later regretted it because it empowered a group of Jews to insist on circumcision as a mark of salvation.  Paul bitterly argued against these men in many of his letters to the churches.  But what we do learn from this inclusion in Lukes history is the importance of making sure there are no stumbling blocks that could keep people from hearing the gospel and responding to the message of Jesus Christ.  Timothy suffered through this experience to win the more for Christ.  He wouldn’t let it stand in the way of ministry amongst the Jews.  Is there any behavior or lack there of in your life that could be a stumbling block for those around you when it comes to winning them to Christ?  How far are you willing to go to remove those inhibitors?  Have a great weekend!  

Acts 15:36-41

36 After some time Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit each city where we previously preached the word of the Lord, to see how the new believers are doing.” 37 Barnabas agreed and wanted to take along John Mark. 38 But Paul disagreed strongly, since John Mark had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in their work. 39 Their disagreement was so sharp that they separated. Barnabas took John Mark with him and sailed for Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas, and as he left, the believers entrusted him to the Lord’s gracious care. 41 Then he traveled throughout Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches there.

This is what I love about the Bible.  It does not seek to deceive or hide the flaws of its adherrants.  Paul and Barnabas were having a fight over John Mark.  The point here is not who was right or wrong, the point is Luke did nothing to hide or minimize it.  That is hardly the way you try to impress your readers or validate the character of those you are writing about.  Therefore we can rest assured that Luke is not trying to impress us and the truth is the most important part of his message.  All the scripture is the same.  It doesn’t minimize the mess ups or the hang ups of those who honor God with their lives.  If there are lies in their lives, it tells us about them.  If their is adultery and murder, it tells us about them.  If they messed up,  it tells us they messed up!  If the scriptures was just some book written by men to deceive the masses into believing about God, why make men who worship Him look that bad.  There is a lesson here and I think its this:  The Scriptures are trustworthy and reliable!

Acts 15:22-35

22 Then the apostles and elders together with the whole church in Jerusalem chose delegates, and they sent them to Antioch of Syria with Paul and Barnabas to report on this decision. The men chosen were two of the church leaders*—Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas. 23 This is the letter they took with them:
“This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings!
24 “We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them! 25 So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question.
28 “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: 29 You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.”
30 The messengers went at once to Antioch, where they called a general meeting of the believers and delivered the letter. 31 And there was great joy throughout the church that day as they read this encouraging message.
32 Then Judas and Silas, both being prophets, spoke at length to the believers, encouraging and strengthening their faith. 33 They stayed for a while, and then the believers sent them back to the church in Jerusalem with a blessing of peace.* 35 Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch. They and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord there.

There are times in our lives when we must submit to someone else’s authority.  This was one of those times in the early church.  The Gentile church was growing and questions about consistency arose between them and the Church in Jerusalem.  The real question was not about how they should resolve their differences, the real question was who do they look to for answers.  It would have been easy for Paul and Barnabas to claim authority in Antioch and ignore what was happening in Jerusalem.  But they did not do that.  It was appropriate to look to those followers who were with Jesus, who walked in His shoes and listened to Him teach and who were devoted to Prayer and study of the word of God.  If we are to believe Acts 6:4 this is what the Apostles gave themselves to in those early years of ministry.  They could be trusted to look to the Lord and make a decision based on the word of God and the direction of the Holy Spirit.  Thus they sent a letter saying, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us….”.  This is a reminder to each of us that we are not are own policy makers when it comes to following the Lord.  We have to trust that God has spoken and does speak through those leaders who are dedicated to following Him.  Leadership is essential in the church and holds the body accountable to the word of God.  There will always be those times when leadership becomes corrupted and needs to be held accountable by the body.  However, most of the time we will need to trust God to use those who He has raised up as leaders amongst us to direct us through contemporary issues consistent with the teachings of the Scripture.  That’s what happened in the early Church!  They submitted themselves to the authority of the Apostles.   Somebody has to lead.  We continue to trust God to raise up leaders in the contemporary Church that will hold us accountable to His word.  God bless and direct our Pastors as they lead His church into His truth! 

Acts 15:13-21

13 When they had finished, James stood and said, “Brothers, listen to me. 14 Peter* has told you about the time God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people for himself. 15 And this conversion of Gentiles is exactly what the prophets predicted. As it is written:
16  ‘Afterward I will return
and restore the fallen house* of David.
I will rebuild its ruins
and restore it,
17  so that the rest of humanity might seek the Lord,
including the Gentiles—
all those I have called to be mine.
The Lord has spoken—
18   he who made these things known so long ago.’*
19 “And so my judgment is that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from eating food offered to idols, from sexual immorality, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from consuming blood. 21 For these laws of Moses have been preached in Jewish synagogues in every city on every Sabbath for many generations.”

Thank God for James.  Peter look at the practicalness of not imposing the law on the gentiles.  James looked to the word of God!  He quoted a passage that identified God’s intent to win the rest of the world over to Himself thereby confirming Peter’s teaching.  It teaches us an important lesson.  Does what we think about our faith get confirmed in the word of God?  If it is not in the word, it would not be practical to follow.  If we are going to be a people of the Word, then we need to make sure that what we think or feel about our faith is not just what we think or feel.  It needs to be grounded in the word!  Peter was right about his conviction, but it took James to confirm its authenticity in the word of God.  Let’s look to the word in all matters pertaining to faith.  After all, it was Paul who wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”  Look to the Word in all things!

Acts 15:6-12 

6 So the apostles and elders met together to resolve this issue. 7 At the meeting, after a long discussion, Peter stood and addressed them as follows: “Brothers, you all know that God chose me from among you some time ago to preach to the Gentiles so that they could hear the Good News and believe. 8 God knows people’s hearts, and he confirmed that he accepts Gentiles by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us. 9 He made no distinction between us and them, for he cleansed their hearts through faith. 10 So why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers* with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear? 11 We believe that we are all saved the same way, by the undeserved grace of the Lord Jesus.”
12 Everyone listened quietly as Barnabas and Paul told about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

Peter finally was getting it!  The tendency of those early believers was to add the Law to what Jesus had done.  In our day and age we would call that legalism.  Legalism is judging people by what they do or don’t do outwardly.  Legalism is adding behaviors necessary to our activity to be considered authentic and part of the group.  Legalism is measuring commitment by what we do to prove our commitments.  That’s not what the gospel is all about.  Peter said to those Jewish believers, “why are you now challenging God by burdening the Gentile believers with a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors were able to bear?”  Every time we make certain behaviors or activities necessary to identify authenticity we set people up for failure.  Peter aptly pointed out the flaws of what these judiazers were trying to do.  It’s not about who we are or what we have done.  It is all about God’s grace and He extends that grace to any whose hearts are open to Him.  Lets remember that when we try to make ourselves better by doing certain christian activity we are only setting ourselves up for failure and giving our enemy an opportunity to point that failure out to us.  Do the christian activity because you want to, not because you have to.  It’s not about our works!  It’s all about grace!  We live, we breath, we grow because God extends to us His grace.  He does that because, as Peter said, “God knows people’s hearts!”  Have a great week!

Matthew 20:20-28

11-25-07

Sorry to have to dissappoint!  I am a little under the weather and would like to lay low for a few days.  I will be back on task next week so you can continue to check in on Monday for devotions.  Have a great Thanksgiving. 

Matthew 20:17-19

11-18-07

Acts 15:1-5

1 While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch of Syria, some men from Judea arrived and began to teach the believers*: “Unless you are circumcised as required by the law of Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 Paul and Barnabas disagreed with them, arguing vehemently. Finally, the church decided to send Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, accompanied by some local believers, to talk to the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent the delegates to Jerusalem, and they stopped along the way in Phoenicia and Samaria to visit the believers. They told them—much to everyone’s joy—that the Gentiles, too, were being converted.
4 When they arrived in Jerusalem, Barnabas and Paul were welcomed by the whole church, including the apostles and elders. They reported everything God had done through them. 5 But then some of the believers who belonged to the sect of the Pharisees stood up and insisted, “The Gentile converts must be circumcised and required to follow the law of Moses.”

Did you know what Jesus plus is?  It is the tendency we have to dismiss the grace of God by adding to what God has done for us!  It comes from a disbelief that what Jesus did is actually enough to bring salvation to us.   It started with those Jews who came to a place of agreeing Jesus was the Messiah, but could not come to a place that the law was deemed ineffective by the cross.  Those Jews wanted the law to continue as well as the requirements of circumcision for all men.  We all have the same tendencies in the modern world.  There is a natural tendency in us to add to the cross by pointing to certain requirements that we should live up to if we are really Christians.   The Fact is that we are not Christians by anything that we do.  Read your Bible and pray all you want!  It is even advisable for those of us who claim to be followers of the cross.  But none of that saves us from our moral failure before God.   Most of the world thinks we are all about the things we do and our love.  Make sure you do your part to dispell the mis- information that Christianity is all about what we do.  It is not!  That is called Jesus plus!  Christianity is all about what God has done for us in the cross of Jesus.  That just called…..Jesus! 

Acts 14:21-28

21 After preaching the Good News in Derbe and making many disciples, Paul and Barnabas returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch of Pisidia, 22 where they strengthened the believers. They encouraged them to continue in the faith, reminding them that we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God. 23 Paul and Barnabas also appointed elders in every church. With prayer and fasting, they turned the elders over to the care of the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. 24 Then they traveled back through Pisidia to Pamphylia. 25 They preached the word in Perga, then went down to Attalia.
26 Finally, they returned by ship to Antioch of Syria, where their journey had begun. The believers there had entrusted them to the grace of God to do the work they had now completed. 27 Upon arriving in Antioch, they called the church together and reported everything God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles, too. 28 And they stayed there with the believers for a long time.

It would have been very natural for Paul and Barnabas to never go back to these cities where they were persecuted and chased away.  But the threat of personal harm and persecution did not keep them away.  They went back to these places and strengthened these churches by personal example.  They were not afraid of what could happen and they used it to teach those churches that “we must suffer many hardships to enter the Kingdom of God.”  I’d be willing to bet that there are some Preachers today who would like to ignore this passage since it does not fit their theology.  None the less, here it is with a reminder that we all need to be encouraged to continue in our faith since bad things do happen to good people.  At the risk of personal harm Paul and Barnabas were willing to be there for those new congregations.  All of us need to be strengthened and encouraged in our walks with the Lord.  There are those days when each of us has been worn down by the events of life.  There are those days when the questions rise up and we wonder what we are doing or if God is listening.  Perhaps you know someone who is struggling or even questioning God’s presence in their lives today.  Why not give them a call or take time to visit them so that they might be encouraged and strengthened to continue in the faith they embraced.   God grant us direction and understanding today as we seek to encourage and build the body of Christ where we live!