July 26, 2010 – Acts 15:36 - 16:24

A couple of things. We just had a the discussion in Acts about whether the Christians had to be circumcised or not. The decision came that it was not necessary. Then Paul has Timothy circumcised because his father was a Gentile. It appears he did this in order to win over the Jews that they were preaching to. But what does this mean about Paul’s faith. There are a couple of times here where Paul is not shown in the best light. He does not want to take Mark on the journey and so splits with Barnabas. He loses patience with the women following them. And he apparently going or trying to go where the Lord does not want him to because he is turned away and finally gets sent in a certain place by a dream. And in the same sequence he is beaten and arrested for preaching about the Lord. Paul appears to be a mixed bag. Looking at that, what are we to take away from it. That God does not want a perfect servant, He understands we have our faults, He knows we are not going to get it right all the time, but He wants us to strive forward in His work. He will use even our mistakes to do His will. Be persistent and always strive to move forward, I think that is what we can take from Paul in this reading.