Lutheran Devotional 24th June 2025, Tuesday Message
TOPIC: Conflict and Joy
Acts 15:1, 2b-4a, 5-12 – [After many Gentiles came to faith in Jesus,] 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 … 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. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed … 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.” And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
I love this picture of the early church as it meets its first major challenge to its unity: God has introduced a crowd of Gentiles to His people, who used to be all Jewish, and they need to figure out how to welcome them!
And they do welcome them; for even though the coming of the Gentiles has caused problems, and Paul and Barnabas are on their way to Jerusalem to solve that conflict—still, as they travel, they stop at all the churches along their way, “describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers.”
The arguments are serious ones—Do the Gentiles need to be circumcised? Do they have to keep Jewish rules about food? But that isn’t enough to stop the Jewish Christians from rejoicing. Because the Holy Spirit is living in them, and so they welcome the new believers who belong to Jesus just as they do—saved by His lovingkindness when He died for us on the cross, and then rose from the dead to give us new life.
That’s reason for joy. That’s reason to celebrate, whenever God brings new people into His church, no matter how many problems they create. For we all belong to Jesus, and through Him we are one family—children of the Heavenly Father, beloved and cherished by Him forever.
WE PRAY: Dear Lord, bring many more people into Your family through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
- What is the one and only prayer request Jesus made to us, His disciples? See Matthew 9:36-38.
- When new people come into the church, how do you feel about it? Why?
- What do you do when their coming means problems for the church?
Today’s Readings:
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Kari Vo.
