May 28 | Acts 15:28-29

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and us to lay on you no greater burden except these requirements, that you abstain from food sacrificed to idols and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality, of which if you keep, you will do well for yourselves. Farewell.” (Acts 15:28-29)

I have been in some incredible church services where the Holy Spirit led. In one service, in one accord people began to sing a chorus of hallelujah. No one led. We all began singing at the same time. There’s nothing like moments where the Holy Spirit leads and everyone follows in unison.

The Jerusalem Church gathered together to deal with how to handle Gentile Christians. They had to address the fact that Gentiles were coming to Christ en masse. Up to this point, mostly Jewish people were becoming Christians. But now that Gentiles started coming to Christ, they had to decide whether to make them Jewish converts that followed Jewish laws were Christians who followed Christian laws.

They decided to not force Gentile Christians to become Jewish converts. Instead, they only required that to follow the basic requirements of the Noahic laws. These Were basic laws God put in place for His covenant with Noah.

But the way they came to their decision required input from the Holy Spirit. They listened through prayer to what the Spirit wanted and they agreed with Him. We should always listen to the Spirit and do what pleases Him.

Action Step: Make it a point to listen to the Spirit and obey His wishes. What is He speaking to you today? How can you pay attention to the Holy Spirit and do what He says? As you read the Bible, what sticks out to you to apply to your life?

Holy Spirit, I want to do what you say. Speak to me today. Use the Scripture I read and my prayer time to give me direction and purpose for this day. I will follow You.