Reading list
July 14 – Acts 10: 24-48
July 15 – Acts 11
July 16 – Acts 12
July 17 – Acts 13: 1-13
July 18 – Acts 13: 14-52
July 19 – Acts 14
July 20 – Acts 15
July 21 – Acts 16: 1-15
July 22 – Acts 16-40
July 23 – Acts 17: 1-15
Reading list
July 14 – Acts 10: 24-48
July 15 – Acts 11
July 16 – Acts 12
July 17 – Acts 13: 1-13
July 18 – Acts 13: 14-52
July 19 – Acts 14
July 20 – Acts 15
July 21 – Acts 16: 1-15
July 22 – Acts 16-40
July 23 – Acts 17: 1-15
I know that God was particularly talking about food when he told Peter not to call anything unclean that God had made clean, but I often think of people when I read that statement. How often to we treat people as though they are radioactive? How often do we hold the past offenses of believers against them? Someone has been in prison and comes to Christ but when they get out of prison, he or she can’t find a church where they are treated as an equal. An alcoholic comes to Christ, joins our church, and we watch them like a hawk to make sure they don’t steal our stuff. A promiscuous woman accepts Christ but we won’t let our children spend time with them.
What God has made clean, who are we to call unclean?
Two words hit me over the head as I read this: “Brother Saul.” Ananias had only known Saul as a great persecutor of the Church. He had just argued with God, reminding him that this man could rat out the church if Ananias would let him in by discipling him. But as soon as God made it clear with Him that this man was now one of them, Ananias changed his tune. In fact, he called him, “Brother Saul.” Can you imagine calling a person who had persecuted you, “brother”? But that’s how radical our relationships change within the Church. In our joined faith in Christ, we become one even though we were enemies. The Church really is a great miracle. Who do you need to radically love within the Church? Who do you need to love though every bone in your body says otherwise?
