Daily Dose of Hope

December 11, 2025

Scripture – Acts 15

Prayer: Holy God, We come before you today rejoicing in your powerful name. Thank you for who you are and all you do. Thank you for loving us. Help us gather our scattered thoughts, help us set aside distractions, and truly focus on you right now. In these next few moments of silence, Lord, we want to hear your voice...In Your Name, Amen.

Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, the devotional and podcast that goes along with the New Hope Church Bible reading plan. Today, we are working through Acts 15.

This is a pretty crucial moment for the young church. Some people from Judea have gone to the churches and said that to follow Jesus, you must first be a Jew first and follow the law of Moses. That means being circumcised and the whole bit. Well, Paul and Barnabas are appalled and they debate fiercely with these men. Thus, they are invited to go to Jerusalem to meet with the apostles and elders to discuss the matter. This is a pivotal moment. Will the council in Jerusalem put the burden of the Law on these new Gentile believers? Because the Law is a heavy burden. Even the Jews can't handle it.

Amazingly, it seems that the discussion at the council meeting is both civil and Spirit-filled. Don't we wish all church meetings could be this way? Paul and Barnabas give testimony to what they have witnessed with Gentile believers receiving the Holy Spirit. James stands up and quotes Scripture from the prophets which points to Gentiles accepting the Lord. Thus, they come up with a compromise to not make the burden too heavy for the new believers. They are to avoid sexual immorality, not eat meat dedicated to idols or meat from strangled animals or blood. All three of these were very pagan behaviors associated with idol worship. This is where they decide to draw the line and it makes sense. We know this won't be the end of the story but it is a great place to start.

As the chapter progresses, there is a sharp dispute between Paul and Barnabas. They are ready for another missionary journey and Barnabas wants to bring John Mark. Paul does not. Apparently, John Mark abandoned them on the last journey. It must have been a pretty heated argument in which neither party backed down. So, they went their separate ways. Barnabas took John Mark and they went one way. Paul took Silas and they went another way. While some of us might be surprised that believers had such an intense dispute, they are still human beings. It appears they weren't ugly about it and they came up with a solution.

This is the truth. We will not always agree. Even as Christians. We aren't always going to agree but we don't have to be disagreeable. We can show respect, we can be kind, and we can do our best to find a compromise. In the end, the Gospel won out because now there were two different missionary journeys occurring at the same time. More people get to hear about Jesus!

This would be a good time to talk about conflict. Are you in one? How are you dealing with it?

Blessings,

Pastor Vicki