They are all zealous for the law, and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. — Acts 21:20-24

So after just two days in Jerusalem and we can feel the intensity build. There was a lot of joy on day one, but we feel the tension and the believer's concern for Paul already on day two. The concern is that Paul, in his ministry to Gentiles, is teaching Jews to dismiss the Law. And we know this tension was building because Paul wrote a letter to clarify this issue. That letter was Romans, which he wrote on that last trip he took. In his letter to the Romans, he explains all these matters, but it appears that some had not seen this document.

Of course, we know that Paul never dismissed the Jewish Law. In fact, he believed the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus upheld the Law. Paul himself even continued to observe Jewish customs. On his journeys, we recall that Paul circumcised Timothy before his second trip. And at Cenchreae, Paul took a religious vow and shaved his head. Paul never attempted to void Jewish traditions or their cultural or religious connections. He simply did not believe that Jewish practices saved an individual which was the reason for the previous debate in Jerusalem. But as we see, some people did not fully understand the implications of Paul's teaching and therefore chose to spin the narrative in their favor to put a speedy end to Paul's preaching.

I bet you thought "cancel culture" was a new idea.

Paul is about to become a victim of it. And honestly, I wish there was something that we could do about it. But as we learn, not much can be done. As Paul learns, all we can do is speak the truth and leave the consequences up to God.

And I think that's the lesson today. Speak the truth and then trust God. Speak the truth to your child, and then trust God will allow it to sink in even when they dismiss you. Speak the truth to your employer and then trust God even when your job is at risk. Speak the truth to your Christian community and then trust God when a relationship is at risk. And while in many of these cases, we do not know what the fallout might be, even potential and perpetual canceling. But if you speak the truth, you can at least be ascertained that you did the right thing, not the wrong thing, by saying nothing. And that's all God wants us to do, leaving the results entirely up to him.

I will say this. Many times throughout my life, God has spoken some hard truth to me through other people, where I have initially rejected it and canceled the person. But over time, I have come to see and know the truth they were trying to communicate to me. So don't give up hope that truth might at some point sink in. But for that to happen, you will have to speak it and live with the consequences with the hope it might eventually sink in.

ASK THIS: What truth do you need to speak today? (Share below if you dare.)

DO THIS: Speak it and live with it.

PRAY THIS: God, help me say what I need to say. And may I say it your way, and may it be in line with the way.

PLAY THIS: Speak — Bethany Music.

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