Daily Devotion, August 15, 2020

Devotion: Read Acts 15:1-11.

  Through Jesus Christ, God had done a new thing in the world. Creation was continuing. A new world was being created. A new Way of relating to God had been born through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. That “birthing” had continued with the coming of God through the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. This Spirit continued the work of Christ through his followers, the people of the Church.

  Peter was there in the midst of all of it. He was one of the inner circle of the Apostles of Jesus, a leader among all of them. The book of Acts shows him continuing that leadership role from the earliest days after Jesus ascended to heaven. The Spirit continued to teach him the ways of Christ, highlighted by his visit to the house of Cornelius in chapter ten. There he saw for himself that the Holy Spirit was also available to the Gentiles, the “outsiders” of the world.

  That same Spirit was also working through Paul and many Gentiles were being converted to Christ through him. In the midst of all this outreach to the Gentiles came questions of what was required of them in order to be part of God’s people. That’s what prompted the need for this council meeting in Jerusalem that we read about today. Peter is one of the primary speakers, telling about what he has witnessed and experienced. He sums up in one sentence the foundational belief of the Church, then and now: “We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved…” Praise God that every person is included in the offering of this amazing gift! Personal Worship Option: Find your favorite song about grace and listen to someone sing it. You might even want to sing along! Either way, give thanks to God for this amazing gift!