Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 15:6-11 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are." At the council at Jerusalem, there was a debate on circumcision.  Verse 7 says, "after much discussion", indicating that the debate had dragged on for a long time, with no resolution, causing much frustration and disappointment. Sometimes we like to push things forward without much thought or reasoning. Often in the church, we assume that when God speaks to us, he will cause everyone else to be enlightened the same way, just like as He shone a light on Paul that everyone else could see. But in Acts Chapter 15, we see that God used a meeting and a debate so that we may understand His will.  Through the debate of man, two things can be learned:  One is it reveals the heart of men.  Without the debate, the different views would not have been surfaced or understood. Secondly, the debate revealed the obstacle between people.  It was only through the discussion, that the Holy Spirit was able to reveal all these differences.  This allowed people to see their own weakness, selfishness and the darkness in their hearts, in order to listen to God's voice once again.  As such, when the debate ended, the people were open to listen to Barnabas and Paul describing God's way. God used the meeting and debate process to bring about wonderful results.  In the end, everyone was able to come in agreement and obey God's will.  This is such a wonderful example for us.  At times, we have our own view of how God's work can be done.  In reality, God can use all things to accomplish His will.  The spirit of God can use discussions and debates to wipe out the darkness in the church and bring about stronger unity.  God's ways are indeed higher than what we can ever think of or imagine!   Pray with Pastor Tong Liu     Dear Lord, we thank you that you make all things work together for your glory.  We pray for your mercy and ask that you remove our preconceived ideas.  Let us come before you humbly and also face one another with a humble heart when we have different views.  Let us seek your will through various discussions. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!