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For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.Eph 2:9 |
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Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Friday, November 8, 2024
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :The Jerusalem Council Bible Verse:Acts 15:1-11 (ESV) "But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers and sisters. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brothers, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith. Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”" Message:
Circumcision again! And this is not the last of it; the Bible will need an entire long book, the Epistle to the Hebrews, to finally put the matter to rest.
The controversy seems trivial and slightly unsavory to us today. And it seems a bit out of place to be talking about such a matter in the Bible. But it was hugely important to the Jews, and remains so today, because God required the Jews to circumcise male children as part of the old covenant.
Abraham and three angels icon
God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant . . . . Every male among you shall be circumcised. . . . Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”
It was ingrained in their hearts. Not to be circumcised meant that a man and his family were cut off from God. One could not have a relationship with God unless he or his parents—or for a woman, her father and/or husband—had followed the commandment. (And in early times, being cut off from one’s people could result in exile and possible starvation.)
Thus, although they were able to receive the word of Christ, the Jews found it very hard to understand that uncircumcised men—that is, Gentiles—were able to be in a covenant with God.
It is easy for us to accept this today. To most of us, circumcision is a minor medical decision for parents, something not discussed in polite company. But we must realize, many of us might not be Christians today except for the work of Paul and Barnabas two thousand years ago. Peter himself refused to preach to the Gentiles until God sent him a vision (see Acts 11).
Meditation : Prayer : May the Almighty and merciful Lord graciously hear me, pardon and deliver me from all my sins, confirm and strengthen me in all goodness, and bring me to everlasting life; through my Savior, Jesus Christ,........Amen |
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