Reading through the Bible, I often see that the reason the modern church is not very effective at changing our culture is that they have left behind the successful principles that the early church operated with that were culturally transformative.

Instead they adopt principles that attract crowds but don’t change lives.

But this chapter is a glaring revelation that the early church was by no means perfect. They were all flawed people who were following God to the best of their understanding. But their understanding was imperfect, and so sometimes they made mistakes.

But in their mistakes, we never see God abandon them and kick them to the curb when they made poor decisions or totally missed God’s leading. And THAT ought to encourage you greatly, because He isn’t going to send you packing if you miss His will either. He won’t treat you any differently than He treated them.

Although the word “love” is not used in this chapter, God’s love is just jumping out everywhere.

Paul is heading to Jerusalem. And the Holy Spirit is warning him time after time after time after time that he should not go to Jerusalem because he was going to be imprisoned there.

I know there are some people who would disagree with my assessment, but I can’t come to any other conclusion but that it wasn’t God’s perfect plan for Paul to go to Jerusalem and then end up spending years of his life imprisoned.

This course of action that Paul took was a MISTAKE.

And the rest of Paul’s life became plan “B.” Plan “A” had been to heed God’s warning and avoid Jerusalem. But Paul was stubborn and did what he wanted, and not what God wanted.

And here is where we see that the early church had the same cop-out saying that modern churches and Christians use: “The will of the Lord be done.”

They said this when it was clearly evident that the voice of God was being ignored and that someone was pursuing their own course of action.

Do modern Christians do the same thing? Do they follow what they WANT to do and not what the Holy Spirit is encouraging them to do?

Sadly, it happens all the time. And then they say that the disaster that follows must have been God’s will.

It wasn’t. But I do have some really good news for you.

Did you ignore the voice of the Holy Spirit and end up in a Jerusalem disaster? God can take a plan “B” and turn it into awesome.

Just like He did for Paul.