Reaching All

Below is the daily Bible reading I am doing for the West Side Church. Please feel free to follow along.

The message of the gospel is not reserved for just one kind of people. I think part of the reason so many Jews in the first century had such a problem with “The Way” … outside of their disbelief that Jesus was really the Messiah … was because it was open to all people, not just one race. Judaism was based off a race of people … Hebrews. But the gospel was not divided by once race, skin color, gender, or even economic standing. That is evident in today’s reading (Acts 24).

Paul has been arrested and sent to Caesarea to be tried. The High Priest arrives and brings Paul’s case before Governor Felix. The High Priest lays out his accusations against Paul. In return Felix allows Paul to share his side of the story. Following this we learn that Felix is aware of the “The Way.”

As we have read through the book of Acts this month we have seen all types of people coming to Christ. From the Philippian Jailer, to Lydia, to Apollos a learned and trained man, to a young boy named Timothy, to Luke the doctor. Now we learn that a government official knows a little something about “The Way.’

Are we discriminating in our churches with who we share the message of Christ with? Sometimes when I look at the local church I see congregations made up of mostly the same social class. So the thought for the day is this: how do we break this pattern?