Fighting for What Matters Most — Day 2

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Day 2: Discernment Without Division

Devotional
The Jerusalem Council faced a monumental challenge: how to protect gospel truth without fracturing the church. Their approach provides a masterclass in handling theological disagreement with both conviction and love. Notice how the apostles didn't immediately silence those with different views. Instead, they created space for respectful dialogue where all perspectives could be heard. They evaluated personal experiences in light of Scripture rather than letting experiences alone define truth. And most importantly, they sought the Holy Spirit's guidance together as a community. This teaches us that defending truth doesn't require becoming divisive. There's a profound difference between being discerning and being destructive. Discernment seeks to protect what matters while preserving unity wherever possible. Division, by contrast, often stems from pride or fear rather than love for truth. In our polarized world, Christians have an opportunity to model a better way of disagreeing—one that holds firmly to essential truths while extending grace in non-essentials. We can fight for what matters without becoming people who simply love to fight. The early church shows us it's possible to be both principled and peaceable, both truthful and tender.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, - Philippians 1:9-10

Reflection Question
How can you better distinguish between issues that require a firm stand and those where Christians should extend freedom to one another?

“There's a difference between being a divisive person
and being a discerning person.”
~Pastor Mike Mura

Prayer
Heavenly Father, grant me the wisdom to discern truth from error and the humility to disagree without becoming disagreeable. Help me to stand firm where Your Word is clear and to extend grace where believers differ. May I be known more for what I'm for than what I'm against. Amen.