Acts 15  Another struggle in the early church was that some Jewish believers thought that Gentiles would have to be circumcised and converted to Judaism before they could be "real" Christians.  This came to a head when some traveled to Antioch and preached this, causing "discord and dispute" among the congregation.  Paul and Barnabas traveled to Jerusalem to bring this to the apostles and church leaders for a final ruling on the matter.

The final decision came after Peter spoke up about his experience with Cornelius. It was quite evident that the Lord had accepted these uncircumcised Gentiles because He poured out His Holy Spirit on them.  The bottom line is that ".. it is through the love and kindness of the Lord Jesus that we trust and are delivered.."  

Our God desires ALL the nations to follow Him. He wants people from every tongue and tribe and nation; from every race and every background.  The salvation through Jesus Christ is available to all those who call on His name and put their trust in Him alone.  Hallelujah!!!

The other point that this chapter makes to me, is that our God does not want us to have "discord and disputes".. He does not want us to be confused and have unsettled minds or souls. ( v24).   The instructions given to the Gentiles, to "abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled; and from fornication.."  were things that would encourage moral behaviors  and that would allow unity between the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers.   The letter sent to the churches contained this phrase... " having become of one mind." . It was an unanimous decision.  And it encouraged and strengthened the church.

Paul encouraged the church in Colosse to " Watch out, so that no one will take you captive by means of philosophy and empty deceit, following human tradition ..."  Again dealing with the issue of circumcision and potential of discord and disunity in the church.  His words in chapter 2 are a great source for prayer for our own church:

Pray that we "may be encouraged".
Pray that we "may be joined(knit) together in love.." 
Pray that we, "may have all the riches derived from being assured of understanding and fully knowing God's secret truth, which is - the Messiah! It is in Him that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden." 

There may always be some disagreements between believers.. but our prayer must be that the Lord will unite us together in Christ Jesus our Lord.

" Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant us to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus that with one accord we may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."  ( Romans 15:5-6)
Amen.