Under Pressure: “Those Dreaded Men from James”

Thanks to a vision granted him by God, Peter had experienced a complete change of heart. He was ready to cast his support behind the Apostle Paul and others who were now taking the Gospel not just to Jews, but to the Gentiles. Peter had even spent time with those new Gentile converts, shared a table with them, befriended them. But then those dreaded “men from James” showed up!

Under the pressure of conforming again to the old mindset, suddenly Peter was a completely different person, and his new Gentile brethren were tossed aside.

How often do we fall prey to the same thing Peter did? Who are the “men from James” in our lives who hold such sway over us? How can we find courage to stand strong even under such pressure?