Celebrating Father's Day by encouaging Dads (as well as all of us) to manage conflict well. Barnabas, a spiritual dad to Saul (Paul), let a conflict get to the boiling point and the two parted company. What can we learn from these two?

“They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works!”

Are we speaking the languages of our generation? Are we declaring God's mighty works? Is any one wondering what's going on with these people who are following Jesus?

We are reading about solving a problem in the 1st Century, but wow! There is so much here for the church to consider in addressing today's questions.

Jews and Gentiles in the same house on equal footing is no afterthought. This is what God has intended all along. James and the Council in Jerusalem simply recognize this is what God is doing in complete agreement with the Prophets.

"Don't we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation?" Thank you, Peter. Great question. Our turn to give an answer.

Amazing how we can make our doing more important than God's giving. Salvation is his gift to give not ours to earn. Hope we can be encouraged by Paul and Barnabas' response to those in their generation who attached conditions to salvation.

The resurrection of Jesus helps us see death in a whole new light.

The first 13 saw Jesus resurrected and believed. Took some time for Thomas, but in the end he believed. All 13 spent the next 40 years giving their all to telling others that Jesus is alive and urging others to believe. Each had the courage to face physical death knowing that like Jesus "the true self survives death." How are we those who believe but have not seen more blessed than these?

From curiosity, to celebration, to suspicion, to condemnation, to sorrow, to righteous indignation...Jesus' royal entry into Jerusalem is full of emotion. May we tap into that emotion in order to recognize and welcome our king.