Acts 13:13-43

Be still: Take 5 minutes to sit in silence and breathe slowly 

Read: Acts 13:13-43 

...and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. (v39) 

Encounter: As a Christian, it can be easy to sleepwalk into creating tasks, activities and 'laws' for ourselves which become the marker of whether we’re a 'good' Christian or not. Whether that’s how much we’re reading our Bible, how often we’re fasting, attending church, or how well we behave within our own definition. Without realising it, we can become the architects of the very laws and barriers that Jesus came to dismantle- living in the opposite of the freedom available to us through him. 

Apply: Over the years I’ve been following Jesus, I’ve definitely had moments where I needed to reflect, reset and step out of a 'law' (or something like it) that I didn’t even realise I was following. Before, I felt like those moments were examples of failure, that I’d become religious which isn’t what God calls me to be. Now, I’m more gracious when those moments arise and see them as part of the recalibrating with Jesus we all need semi-regularly. Allowing God to reset my heart, priorities, whatever he wants. 

Is there any area of your life, big or small, where you've created a religious structure or idea that you're revolving your life around?  

Devote: Jesus, thank you for the Cross. Thank you that it means we don’t live under the burden of religious law. Thank you that there’s always grace and that you love me through all my unintentional and deliberate rebellions.