The Lord is awe-inspiring, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him in Acts 15:28-29,
“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.”
This passage is the conclusion of a letter drafted by the Jerusalem council when they met to consider the issue of whether Gentiles needed to be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses as members of the church. The letter, sent to Antioch and accompanied by Judas and Silas, provided the decision of the council and in it the leaders provided the credentials behind the decision. In addition to the apostolic authority and the wise counsel of elders, the letter acknowledges God himself: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…”!
To me, one of the wonderful things of God is that he provides us with the stamp of his own authority that we not find ourselves cast about in a sea of uncertainty. The whole concept of a divine library, a collection of written works that are recognized as authoritative, the Bible, insures we can know without confusion and the introduction of heresy what is true and what our Creator has to say. Where some may struggle with the notion of divinely authoritative literature, many of us find within its pages illumination of God’s revelation of himself and his very own counsel! As Peter points out, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:20-21.
It is with this very authority that the Jerusalem council rendered its decision and reflects this wonderful aspect of God’s choice to provide us with his word on things!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share your theme of worship with us from your Bible reading today. We’d love to hear from you!
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