Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. Psalm 62:5.

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Matthew 11:28-29.

May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Hebrews 13:20-21.

As we read our chapter, Acts 11, listen to the trap our choosing to exclude others brings. These are people who have received the Holy Spirit and yet…Now the apostles and the brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised men took issue with him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” v. 1-3. They didn’t yet understand it is circumcision of the heart to receive the love of God for Almighty God and for His children. So Peter relayed the sequence of events and God’s hand in all of it, v. 4-14. “And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And for an entire year they met with the church and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them named Agabus stood up and began to indicate by the Spirit that there would certainly be a great famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius. And in the proportion that any of the disciples had means, each of them determined to send a contribution for the relief of the brethren living in Judea. And this they did, sending it in charge of Barnabas and Saul to the elders. v. 15-30.

We are seeing the same thing today. Human beings bearing no fruit of the Holy Spirit seeking to exclude others. Without the Spirit of Truth there is a spirit of enmity. But when we are led by God and include His children, a large number who believed turned to the Lord…just as then…Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God…he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord. Can we hear that again? The grace of God! The grace of God does not exclude – we do. Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus…who was I that I could stand in God’s way?…..When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God saying, ‘Well then…God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life!’ How do we not know today – and then delight in excluding others? Because we have not heard, we have not seen, we have not known and the question is why? Because we too take issue. Only the Love of Creator God – Father, Son, Spirit, bears fruit for repentance and forgiveness that leads to life for all of God’s Creation including us. I have been listening to the Open Table Conference discussion on the Letters of Paul. Some of their teaching I have written down, in addition to taking copious notes and will share here…”Christ is a name for a way of life Jesus has realized. He is Christ. There is a distinction that Christ is the Son, the Word from all eternity. This man, Jesus, is Lord and Christ. As Lord, He relates to all things. As Christ He has suffered for us and the way of life He has made possible. As Christ He has manifested this Cross-centered way of living through which we also become the body of Christ. First-born of everything. Christ is the way God’s kingdom is realized in this world. Our brokenness is how we encounter Christ.” That bears repeating because it’s so vital for all of us…Christ is the way God’s kingdom is realized in this world. We have all of us sinned. Can we all of us turn to Creator God in trust and hope and let Him be the judge we are not equipped to be? May the God of peace…who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus…that great Shepherd of the sheep…equip you with everything good for doing His will…and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him…through Jesus Christ…to Whom be glory for ever and ever! Who are we that we can stand in God’s way? God’s Love bears much fruit and it is beautiful! Trust Him to bear fruit in you as you trust Him.