In Leviticus 21 and 22 God speaks to the priests again. He speaks to them about proper conduct in order to remain holy. He also speaks further about proper donations and offerings. Much of his discussion is about being and using animals that have no blemish.

God did not want to come in contact with anyone or anything that was not perfect, that is, without flaw. This is difficult reading for the Christian who believes that God accepts us even as we are flawed. We must remember what Jesus has done for us in making us acceptable to the Lord. He has remade us without flaw and presents us to God as a holy offering. We are holy because he is holy. This is why we are charged to change those things we can to become more and more like Christ, living holy lives.

In Acts 11 Peter gets flack for going to the Gentiles. Peter explains about his visions from God and how the people he met received the Holy Spirit. He tells them that if God gave the Gentiles the same gift He has given them he couldn’t hinder God. That shut them up and they praised God for opening the way to Gentiles also.

God is moving throughout the Gentile world. Even when the apostles speak to the Jewish communities Gentiles hear and believe. One such place is Antioch. Barnabas goes to Antioch to see what God has done. He rejoices and encourages them to be faithful to the Lord. Barnabas goes to Tarsus to find Saul. He brings Saul to Antioch and spends a year teaching about Jesus. This is the first place where followers are called Christians. When the church at Antioch finds out about a famine in Jerusalem, they send aid to believers there, the first mission giving.

We try to limit God by deciding what He will and will not do. But God cannot be limited. God will go where God wants to go, and will do what God wants to do, even if we don’t think it is right. God is the one who decides. Perhaps we should keep an open mind about what God’s will is, accept that God does new things and rejoice.