Religious Problems

Well, things finally come to a head in today’s Bible reading*. The Judaizers have raised such a ruckus that the church has its first council, the Jerusalem Council, to codify how the church should handle its first major problem. The problem: Does a new convert to Christianity have to be a good Jew to be…

Christian Discipleship

Several places throughout our reading through the book of Acts, including today’s Bible reading*, various Apostles will stay in a certain area for an extended period of time. Today, it’s Barnabas and Saul who stay in Antioch for a year. (Acts 11:26) Why? Wasn’t it important for the Apostles to get as many converts as…

The Persecutor Becomes Persecuted

Today’s Bible reading is about Saul’s conversion. The man who had authority from the High Priests to persecute Christians (Acts 9:2) becomes a Christian. So miraculous and radical is his conversion that he begins to preach that Jesus Christ was Who He claimed to be: God’s Messiah. Other Christians weren’t convinced. They had heard that…

The Most Important Commandment

“Which is the most important commandment?” a young man asks Jesus in today’s Bible reading*. (Mark 12:28) At the time, the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day had taken the original Law of Moses — which included the Ten Commandments — and added thousands of additional laws in the Talmud, a commentary on the Mosaic Law….