Acts 17:24-34 – “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill. 30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.” 32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.” As Paul reveals God to the Athenians he lets them know that although they make idols to worship unresponsive gods of stone, wood and precious metals, the God whom he is revealing to them is not one that needs to be imagined by human mind or fashioned by human hands. God is the creator of all (John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-16). He always existed and He is eternal and always will. Since He is the creator of all, since he is more immense than all the universe, since His power is unlimited, He does not live in temples built by human hands. Nothing could contain Him. Well, we might then ask, what about when the High Priest would go into His presence in the Holy of Holies in the Jewish Temple? It is believed that it was not “God in the flesh” (so to speak) that the High Priest would see in the Holy of Holies, but it was His Shekinah glory. The Shekinah glory is a biblical expression the rabbis used so peak of a cloudy expression, or manisfestation of God’s glory. God gave Aaron direction through Moses about when he was to enter the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle and what he would see inside it. God said that he would “appear in the cloud over the mercy seat.” (Leviticus 16:2) That is that He would be represented in the cloud, not that His fullness would be clearly seen. He would be within the cloud, but the cloud was not Him, and the entirely of Him was represented, but the cloud did not fully contain Him. The High Priest was allowed to see the cloud, not Him, just a representation of His presence. Earlier, before the Holy of Holies, a pillar of cloud went before the Jews as they escaped Egypt. That cloud led the Jews by day. It was a form of God’s glory for them to follow. Also, God spoke to Moses from the cloud. (Exodus 13:20-22, Exodus 33:11) That cloud is referred to as an instance of God’s Shekinah Glory. So, it was not that God, the fullness of God, resided in the temple, but rather, once a year at Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) He would reveal Himself to the High Priest in revealing His Shekinah Glory. Therefore, what Paul said to the Athenians was in alignment with the rest of scripture, God does not live in temples built by human hands. To use the catchphrase from Colonel John “Hannibal” Smith (A-Team) “I love it when a plan comes together.” Especially God’s plans. And they always do. The Holy Scriptures never contradict themselves, and they always align with the entirety of itself, and all of its prophecies come true. Praise our omniscient God! Praise God! Truly our confidence in Him is justified. God is so much more than we are! That is why we don’t depend on our thinking or the thinking of any man, but we depend on the Holy Scriptures in the Bible. We depend on God! (Isaiah 55:9, Proverbs 3:5-6, 1 John 3:20) Praise God at all times! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withMicah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Psalm 42:1-2, 11b – As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Our eyes are on the Lord. In Him, and in His Word do we trust. Believers, do not hope with the hope of the world. The world hopes without assurance. The world hopes without guarantee. But not so for those whose eyes are on the Lord. Believers have the hope and assurance that comes from those who know Jesus. For those who love God, in the driest desert, He brings forth springs of living water that eternally satiate. He speaks softly as we tread barefoot on hard ground. When each step is painful He watches over us and sings peace to our hearts and souls. When images encircle, hover and howl, he chases them away, wipes our brow, and reminds us that no matter what, victory is already ours. So in the easy and in the hard times we look to Him. We see Him, we know that He with us. Because His Word says so. Because His Spirit says so. Because He said so. So we are never forsaken and never do we feel that way because God has said He is with us at all times on the road to home. He does not lie. He cannot lie. In the deserts, sing praises to God. In the desert, consider who loves us. In the desert let Him make it an oasis. He is God with whom nothing is impossible. “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” And He does. Every second, every minute, of every day, He hears us and is with us. Thank you Jesus. We see You. Whether anyone else does, we do. Our eyes are on you. We can be bruised, but we cannot be downcast, for You are with us. Praise You Jesus! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withActs 17:23 – For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
Since Athens had over three thousand idols in their city, these great scholars were not, for the most part, atheists. They believed in a god, they just did not know who truly was God. They even, just to make sure they were covered, put up a statue, possibly statues, to the “unknown god.” Just in case they missed one, or more, gods. Paul told them that they were ignorant of the very thing they worship, or sought to worship. So he proclaimed who the one true God is.
It is easy to look back and smirk at these Athenians. Yet they could, if possible, have looked forward to us and thought the same thing. After all contemporary non-believers, and unfortunately too often believers, have idols too. One very popular contemporary idol became a popular rallying cry in the 60’s and 70’s. It was “peace.” People sought peace without knowing how to find it. Peace became an idol to pursue. Too many wanted peace without God making the common error that true peace could be found without God. That cannot happen. Because even if one lives peacefully with another, if one has many like-minded friends, or if one lives in nature among flora and fauna, all this is fleeting and conditional. A life partner may leave or die, friends can turn against one very unexpectedly and certainly they cannot be with us twenty-four hours a day. And certainly a fire can come and ravage the flora and fauna, a drought can dry up a stream or waterfall. Even the peace one gets from “nature” is tenuous. A peace sign of dubious origin was made. Everyone knew it and most, if not all, still know the “peace sign.” Many people made up tee-shirts to show their quest and worship of peace. There are untold thousands of peace sign statues in houses. Oh, I know that some now have them in remembrance of their youth, but we must remember that these statues were for the most part, statues of people who wanted peace in the world without peace with God. At the same time that they cried out for peace they shouted their appeal for what they thought would make a better world. They shouted and made tee-shirts, posters and bumper stickers proclaiming “Make love, not war!” For all those who lived during this times, we know the truth, this more accurately should have been “Have sex, not war!” It was a call for promiscuity and the result of it was rampant sexual disease that ruined or harmed people’s lives. Along with the promiscuity came their supposed need for abortion. So the call for peace for many was a call for peace by man without God and the call to make love not war was just a call to promiscuously sin. The list goes on. It is no different now than then or then than now. They made idols for everything and had false gods they worshiped for whatever perversion they desired. They had temples for prostitution, or fun by alcohol or drugs, or any sinful perversion that burned within them. No, they and our modern society are not so different.
However when Paul preached the Gospel some came to find peace through Jesus, but many rejected the Prince of Peace. In the 60’s and 70’s many came to Jesus and became known as the Jesus People or, as Jesus Freaks. We know that there can never be full and complete peace without peace with God. Peace with God only comes through Jesus who was foretold as the “Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6) Jesus wants us to have not the temporary or incomplete peace of the world, but the complete and eternal peace that he brings (John 14:27). The Word says in John 3:18 “ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” True, pure, complete and eternal peace only comes as peace is made with God through Jesus the Savior.
Family and Friends, look around us, the idols of the world are all around us. They are on TV, the movie screens, the internet, the smartphones, magazines, billboards and much more. We should know that there is evil behind these things that fight to not be exposed. The evil behind every lie that opposes the Gospel seeks to keep us from Jesus and so to keep us from eternal peace with God. Let’s pray for each other, and encourage each other to know and walk with Jesus. It is the only release from the bondage of idols and in being released by Jesus, that the chains that bind us to evil are broken we become truly free to walk with God. It starts with Jesus. Jesus said “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36 Only through Jesus are we free from idol worship and the silliness of thinking true peace can be found without God or that being promiscuous is the answer. Call out to Jesus and we will find that Jesus has been calling out to us. He wants to set us free. He wants us to see the world with different eyes. He wants us to walk in his peace through the love of God. Praise God who loves us so! Praise God! To all in Christ…peace!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withLuke 6:45 “The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.”
Proverbs 4:22 – Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
When I was a kid, still in elementary, I was quick to hit someone. I didn’t consider myself a bully, but if I was getting angry I would warn someone to leave me alone at least two or three times. Often I tried to walk away. I felt justified at that point, if someone kept getting in my face, if I hit them. I say this to my shame.
Here is a story of what changed my attitude. One day a boy my age, whom I liked, saw that it looked like a disagreement between myself and few other boys was escalating. This boy, whom I will call Johnny, though not his name, agreed with the other boys, but this boy was a gentle and kind boy whom I usually viewed as no threat, certainly not physically. He approached me to reason with me. I listened to Johnny, he was a smart kid. In the end, I told him that I disagreed with him. He persisted. When I told Johnny again and again that I disagreed, he, meaning well, persisted. As I would attempt to walk away he would rush in front of me to stop me. I was feeling a little betrayed by Johnny, I was feeling like he was embarrassing me in front of the other guys. I was ready to fight all of them, but Johnny was a nice guy and I had never even considered hitting him. When he persisted, and would not let me walk away, and the other guys kept yelling at me, I told Johnny to leave me alone. I warned him that I would hit him if he would not let me walk away. He persisted. I warned. Then I had more than I could handle and I slugged him in the stomach. He immediately fell to the floor trying to catch his breath. The group rushed in and stopped before attacking me for hitting Johnny. They were in a U-shape around me. They saw I was ready to fight and decided against it. At that moment they all hated me. Poor Johnny took a while to catch his breath, he was crying. I don’t know if I have ever felt more hated.
What Johnny never knew was that he did change my life that day. I was determined that I would never resolve my problems with my fists again. I would use them only to protect myself, or another, when there was no other situation. I have lived up to that lesson learned and to the promise I made to myself.
The point of the story is that I thought that it was the fault of Johnny and the other boys that Johnny got hit. I warned him to leave me alone, and I tried to walk away, but he was the one who pushed me too far. That is how I thought. I was wrong. Horribly wrong. Now I know that people who do things to hurt and anger us do not cause us to be people who hurt others in retaliation. What happens in those moments of hurt and anger is that who we are in our hearts, what lives in our hearts, rises up. In those moments either peace, beauty and love rise up from our hearts, or violence, ugliness and rage rise up and are expressed in words or action.
Let us not blame others for our wrong actions. Let us instead strive to let the peace, beauty and love of God, that dwells in all believers, be what is strongest in us and let that rise up. God calls all those in Christ “new creations.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Notice that we should not only get rid of the old bad, but we need to replace it with the new good. If not, if our hearts are not instead filled with good, the bad may return. But God uproots the worse of us and gives us what we could not have without God, His love and goodness. Then, even when pushed, we can bless others. Lord, please help, may it be so! Thank you Lord! Praise you Lord.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withActs 17:22 – Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
On FB, some questioned what I wrote yesterday. They were not mean, but sincere and well-intentioned and I am grateful for the opportunity to respond. Also let me say that I believe those who questioned me also love me, and I love them. I felt obliged to response and below is my verbose response. Blessings to all!
Those who questioned what I wrote, thank you so much for doing so. It gives me a chance to respond, which I am ready to do. I know those who questioned, I know that you care for me, and you know I love you. So truly, thank you for the opportunity to respond!
I’m surprised that people who know me would think that what I was writing about was not sharing the Word. In fact, I mentioned nothing about not sharing the Gospel. I love to share the word with believers and nonbelievers. I don’t get as much opportunity to “witness” now-a-days and when I get the opportunity, I relish it! With this fellow I talked with him for over an hour and shared the Word. I was not berating the co-worker, as I had mentioned, at the end of the conversation he felt very positive about our conversation. I was very loving and kind throughout our conversation. Again I love talking about the Gospel with believers and non-believers.
When he told me that he respected my beliefs and then told me that he was sure that I respected his beliefs he was expecting an obligatory response of “yes I do.” I could not do that for the previously stated reasons. Also, someone who was not there can second-guess what I said, if that is what they do, but they were not there. I was absolutely doing what I thought the Lord would have me do…tell the truth. This man I was speaking to was an intelligent man who felt strongly about his position. The worse thing I could have told him was that I respected his position and gave false validity to his position. In fact, being circumspect, it would have been the worst thing that I could have done. After conversing with him for over an hour, sharing that Jesus and the Apostles taught that there is only one way to heaven (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) would I now tell him that his beliefs were okay. No! I would have undone what I had shared. I believed that I helped him by saying what I said to him. For those of you who know me, I’m amazed that you would think I was harsh or unkind with this man. Besides, he was no milquetoast. He was shocked by what I said but he was intelligent enough to understand why I said what I said. We still amicably parted.
Was my answer biblical? Absolutely! For those who would challenge that, look to the Bible. Yes, it was something that may seem like something John the Baptist would have said, but that is great company since Jesus said “Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist…” (Matthew 11:11) Jesus called Pharisee’s “snakes” (Matthew 23:33) and “hypocrites” and “whitewashed tombs” (Matthew 23:25-27). I suppose some would criticize Jesus for being harsh or unloving and that would be the furthest from the truth. Stephen gave a righteous and truthful testimony that described the wickedness of his audience, calling them “stiff-necked people and killers” and then they, proving him right, murdered Stephen by stoning. Included among those who there at stoning of Stephen, who heard his testimony, was the Saul who became the great Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul could be tender and also very strong in opposition to false doctrine and teaching. In Galatians 1:6-10 he said that wrong ideas about the Gospel, different gospels, are actually no Gospel at all. He said that these errors were throwing people into confusion and he said that people who spread these errors are cursed and then the Apostle Paul concluded by saying “Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” In Galatians 5:1-12 the Apostle Paul, speaking of the freedom of Christ and those who would preach circumcision and thereby oppose the freedom of the saints, said of them “As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves.” Very strong words. You can judge the greatest Apostle if you would like, but I will not.
Family and friends, there were people listening to us talk, so what I said was not only for that co-workers benefit, but for those who were listening. As Ecclesiastes 3:1 famously states “There is a time for everything” and that includes a time of weeping with people, of tender empathizing, and there are times of standing strong, as the Spirit leads. I stand for the Word of God and speak it in love as I can, but I will never compromise my loyalty to God and love for Him to make someone else feel good. I was led by the Spirit of God to say what I said. I remember the moment before I said what I said and how the thought came to me. Then and now I believe it was what that man needed to hear and that it was the Spirit who gave me the words. Sometimes, we need to be told the harsh truth. Telling the harsh truth is much more difficult than compromising and saying something that is not true so that we think we are sparing their feeling. No, I would rather give them a jolt to save their life then flatter them and let them go on their way to hell. Read Ezekiel 3, especially Ezekiel 3:18. Family and friends, I care little for the thoughts that all mankind thinks when I have direction from God from His Word.
Also, please remember, though sometimes what I write is long, I always keep in mind to try to keep it short. That means that I cannot always, in fact rarely, write all that I would like to write. People have advised me to keep it brief, and I think it is good advice, as I can. People on FB don’t want to read a novel, which is why I always post a link to the full message.
So, how can I be judged of those who were not there? I believed then, and I believe now, that I was led by God. As far as sharing the Truth, that is what I was doing. As far as being loving and giving my time, I was and I did.
Finally, I have responded. If someone would like to contend with what I have said please send me a private message. I won’t distastefully argue in public. But I will converse in private, which I think is appropriate. Public arguments are a show I won’t be involved in and I will delete or block as necessary.
Please do remember that I thank you for questioning. They were valid questions and I’m sure they were ones that others may have had. I could go on, but I have written way too much. Happy to continue the conversation in private. God bless you all!
Below is what I sent out yesterday.
“Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.” What is interpreted as very religious could mean that they acknowledge the existence of God and are seeking Him. Or it could mean that he was saying that they are superstitious and so they endeavor to “cover their bases.” We also see that in our times, we see those who want to “cover their bases.” People who dabble in the varied beliefs of the world. They don’t want to offend any belief lest that is a real one. Not knowing a sure truth, they give respect to all beliefs. Once, about 1980 or so, being rather new in the Lord, there was a co-worker who spoke with me about my beliefs and he shared his beliefs. The conversation remained open and calm although many of his points were what he believed and not based on the Bible, which he did not fully embrace. At the conclusion of our conversation the man said to me, in a very positive way that he had formerly not thought about what was presented to him that day, but that he still had his own beliefs. He told me that he had enjoyed the conversation and he was glad that at the end of the conversation “we respect each other’s opinions.” I replied “It is true that I respect your right to have your own opinion, however I do not respect your opinion.” A shocked expression came over his face. I continued “You see it would be against what I believe to respect what it is that you believe. I don’t think that what you said has any merit in truth but is a commonly held error. What you believe opposes what I believe, therefore to respect what you believe is to disrespect the absolute truth of what I believe. So I respect your right to hold your belief, but to respect what you believe is to disrespect what I believe.” The man left me somewhat shaken by what I said. Know that I still cared about this man, but I would not deceive him by compromising the fact that the Gospel is the only truth that leads to peace with God (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). First is my loyalty to God and my love for Him, and from that comes my love for others. To tell someone that I respect the error they believe is not to love that person. It is giving them a confidence in what they believe. Furthermore, it would be an elevating of myself to be in a person’s favor and a usurping of the love, glory and acceptance of the glory that belongs solely to God. Family, this is no light consideration. I will not decrease the importance of God’s Word solely so people like me. Too many in our day do this now so as to not to offend the sensibilities of the lost or immature in Christ. It is self-idolatry and a travesty against God. God forbid. Let us not be as these Athenians who religiously and superstitiously cover their spiritual bases, but let us be confident and loyal to the Truth, the Son of God. To Jesus, the one and only Way to favor with God, be all glory and praise! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withActs 17:22 – Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
“Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.” What is interpreted as very religious could mean that they acknowledge the existence of God and are seeking Him. Or it could mean that he was saying that they are superstitious and so they endeavor to “cover their bases.” We also see that in our times, we see those who want to “cover their bases.” People who dabble in the varied beliefs of the world. They don’t want to offend any belief lest that is a real one. Not knowing a sure truth, they give respect to all beliefs. Once, about 1980 or so, being rather new in the Lord, there was a co-worker who spoke with me about my beliefs and he shared his beliefs. The conversation remained open and calm although many of his points were what he believed and not based on the Bible, which he did not fully embrace. At the conclusion of our conversation the man said to me, in a very positive way that he had formerly not thought about what was presented to him that day, but that he still had his own beliefs. He told me that he had enjoyed the conversation and he was glad that at the end of the conversation “we respect each other’s opinions.” I replied “It is true that I respect your right to have your own opinion, however I do not respect your opinion.” A shocked expression came over his face. I continued “You see it would be against what I believe to respect what it is that you believe. I don’t think that what you said has any merit in truth but is a commonly held error. What you believe opposes what I believe, therefore to respect what you believe is to disrespect the absolute truth of what I believe. So I respect your right to hold your belief, but to respect what you believe is to disrespect what I believe.” The man left me somewhat shaken by what I said. Know that I still cared about this man, but I would not deceive him by compromising the fact that the Gospel is the only truth that leads to peace with God (John 14:6, Acts 4:12). First is my loyalty to God and my love for Him, and from that comes my love for others. To tell someone that I respect the error they believe is not to love that person. It is giving them a confidence in what they believe. Furthermore, it would be an elevating of myself to be in a person’s favor and a usurping of the love, glory and acceptance of the glory that belongs solely to God. Family, this is no light consideration. I will not decrease the importance of God’s Word solely so people like me. Too many in our day do this now so as to not to offend the sensibilities of the lost or immature in Christ. It is self-idolatry and a travesty against God. God forbid. Let us not be as these Athenians who religiously and superstitiously cover their spiritual bases, but let us be confident and loyal to the Truth, the Son of God. To Jesus, the one and only Way to favor with God, be all glory and praise! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withJohn 3:5-8 – Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
Pull from the Spirit wind,
Stand in the Spirit stream,
Breathe in the breeze,
And then let it go,
Inspiration to catch,
For those with a heart,
To do so.
The Way is where,
The Spirit guides.
Oh the wonder!
Oh the joy!
The chariot of God,
Brings us home.
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withIsaiah 43:18-19 – Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 – He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
Freedom. Happiness. Peace. Release. Because He lives, we can not only face today, but also tomorrow with confidence, joy, and with expectations of God’s love and care being with us. His loving eyes are always on us. More than the blessings of today are the assured blessings of forever. At the end of this life, we, through Jesus, have the complete victory. Let’s celebrate today, all day, and every day! Let loose and celebrate the eternal life and love we have through Jesus! This world can be hard, but cannot have our spirits. Praise our God! We are winners who are loved by God! Praise God!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withActs 17:16-21 – While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
“A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.” The philosophers at Athens are known to have shaped thought for the world. They were highly intelligent and their occupations were to think and discuss what they considered lofty or worthy. They presented ways to think, ways to consider topics and how to discuss it amongst themselves. The world still studies their thought processes and what they concluded thousands of years ago. Sadly, the academics of our day are so very like them in a very sad way. Too many modern day scholars become arrogant. They think that the less educated, or even just those who don’t agree with them are dullards who need to be controlled in all they think and do. And yet, we know that often it is these very people who miss the most important lesson to learn. To be humble, to submit to Jesus, and to follow Him. Even scripture mentions that Greeks seek after wisdom and yet to them the Gospel is foolishness and so they miss the single most important fact about life, where will we spend eternity (1 Corinthians 1:18-31). Family, people have not changed since the fall of Adam and Eve. People are proud and lift themselves up and thereby make their own hearts proud and with that, hard toward God. Every attempt by God to reach them, because of their pride, only makes their hearts harder. It is a horrible tragedy.
These Greeks were no different. They mocked Paul, calling him a “babbler.” How could this man dare approach them with something they did not already know? They mocked that Paul seemed to be advocating foreign Gods and that is laughable. Throughout the city they had over three thousand statues to idols and as we shall see they even had an altar to an “unknown god” (V23), just in case there was one they had missed. Paul calls them “very religious” and he perhaps was just being diplomatic as they are plainly just superstitious. Even the scholars of our day are blind to their own superstitions and their faiths in what is not worthy of faith. So the fact that Paul wanted to present them with a deity that they had not previously known about should have not have surprised to them.
“Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” After they got over themselves wiser heads prevailed and they decided to hear what Paul had to say. Give them credit that they brought him to the Areopagus and opened themselves up to hearing what Paul had do say.
The Areopagus was also known as Mars Hill. The names vary depending on if one refers to the Greek Ares or the Roman Mars gods. It was small stone hill with stone seats and is the place that they would meet to consider ideas, laws, philosophies, etc. It was actually, in their minds, an honor to be invited there to speak to him. So they brought Paul there and asked him to elaborate on what he was telling them. They told Paul that what he was preaching to them was new to their ears and they wanted to know more. They then had come from calling him a “babbler” to wanting to know what he was talking about. Why? They had not known that Paul was every bit the scholar and philosopher they were. Paul would be the first to acknowledge that the changing of their hearts and minds to God was only done by God. (1 Corinthians 2:4)
“(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)” Today we have a great many people who would also like to do that, however, for most, they can’t get paid to do it!
Starting in V22 we will read what Paul spoke to them. Many of them rejected what he said to them, but some wanted to hear more and some believed. Paul was not deterred by those who did not believe. He understood that his only job was to, as best as he could, share the Gospel and the results of their coming to salvation belong to God. Paul faithfully fought the good fight of sharing the Gospel, he faithfully finished what God had for him to do. (2 Timothy 4:7) He was not a perfect man, but he had faithfully shared the Word wherever he went. He had done so out of love and obedience to God. Family, we can do that. We can faithfully love the Lord and be obedient to him, while not being perfect. Not that we excuse our imperfections, but that we do our best and Jesus has forgiven the rest. Only God can save a soul, our job is to tell people how God has already made salvation available to all who will come. Let’s complete the race we are in, let’s fight the good fight, let’s fulfill the purpose of our life and all that is done by truly loving God. Let’s do that and then, let’s celebrate through eternity with our Lord, our God, and with each other. Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob withRomans 8:32 “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all–how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
1 John 4:16 “The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
Hebrews 12:7 “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?”
1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”
Luke 15:23b-24 “Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”
by Bob with