Paul addresses Areopagus in Athens, a group there who spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas. So they considered themselves smart, most likely. And as we read through Acts 17 we see that Paul acknowledges that they are very religious due to the fact that they have many idols. But then Paul goes right for the jugular saying that they are “ignorant” of the very thing they worship with the idol to the “UNKNOWN GOD”. “Hello smart people, you are ignorant, and I am going to ‘learn you’ on this thing of which you are ignorant.” I love this. I remember the first time I read it I laughed out loud. How bold is Paul in his faith!

Photo By JillK61

Scripture:
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in the temples built by human hands.” – Acts 17:24

Observation/Application:
Isn’t the world today a lot like Athens was back then – an intelligent society full of false idols and people who think they are really smart? Television commercials bombard us with images and plant thoughts into our minds about how good we are going to feel when we buy this ring, this new bike, this new car, this new house or this new patio or patio furniture… these diamond earrings. We get programmed to believe that all of these things of the flesh are going to make us feel so good and solve all of our problems. But this ultimately does not make us whole. These things do not solve all of our problems. Don’t get me wrong, I am definitely not against being blessed and having nice things because God wants us to be blessed. But I am against these things ruling our lives, our minds, our every thought. God’s Word says to love the Lord first and to have no other God’s before Him.

In our home this is something that we try to be very conscious of. We do watch some television, but the content is primarily educational programs, biographies, and movies. There are tons of great Christian movies out there by the way – if you don’t know any hit me up and I’ll shoot you a list of some of our favorites. And we also make sure to include some of those really high-quality educational programs like “Moonshiners” (sarcastic). But in all sincerity, we don’t completely shut out any content that isn’t “Christian” because we believe it’s important to teach the difference between the world view as it lines up with God’s Word. And we watch some of these programs because they are just plain hilarious and laughter is good for the soul and we love to laugh together. We have a sign that says “Live, Laugh, Love”. I love it because it reminds me that we are to make the most of every day and LIVE life and not watch life pass us by, Laugh because the Lord loves joy, and Love because that is THE main message of the Bible – that God loves us, and we are to love Him first and foremost, and love our neighbors as ourselves.

Life is all about perspective, and a good foundation in the Word gives us all that we need to have a joyful, happy, abundant, blessed, peaceful, amazing life. And it all starts with knowing God, loving Him, loving others, and this starts with loving yourself. God loves us, so who are we to argue with God? If God loves us, we should honor God and love ourselves. Today, there are so many well-educated people out there, good jobs, lots of money, maybe even happily married – but there is something inside of them where they just know that something is missing. It is something that causes them to never feel satisfied. It is something that causes them to mess things up – cheat on their spouse, get into trouble with debt, or just silently stew in discontent always looking for something more. But they don’t know our God – the God who provides all peace, joy, wisdom, understanding, love, hope, and goodness.

Something missing in your life? Something not right for you? I’m telling you here today. It’s God. And God promises in His Word that all who come to Him, seek Him, and accept Jesus into their hearts will be saved, blessed, fulfilled, in every thought, in every way – because in God we lack nothing. Science is real y’all – God gave us brains to learn and think and grow – so yeah, we have science that tries to explain what we can’t understand – to seek greater truth. And we have learned tons. Science is real and science is good. God has revealed a ton of great in medicine, physics, geology, in tons of areas. But let’s not forget where it all came from. Don’t be limited by human understanding. Science is just trying their best to explain Gods Creation and science gets things wrong a lot!

On the contrary, God is never wrong. God’s wisdom is beyond all human understanding, beyond all that our minds can comprehend. We live in a time when people are starting to think that they are gods, that we can figure it all out. And much will continue to be revealed and discovered as man continues to pursue understanding and wisdom. And this is good because the Word says that we are to be wise. And God’s Creation is truly amazing. But we are not gods. There is only One God, and we are His children. And He loves us. He loves you. No matter who you are, where you came from, no matter what you have done. God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to be crucified and die on the cross so that we can be forgiven of our sins and saved of our imperfections, and so that we can join Him in heaven when our time on earth is done.

Paul was greatly distressed in Athens the city full of idols and did all that he could to help save them. And Jesus, upon entering Jerusalem and seeing all of the lost souls, wept and soon after gave his life to save the world and all who were lost. What are we doing today in our world that is just like Athens, full of false idols and people who think that they are really smart? Do we ever become distressed and weep and pray for this world and all who don’t know the love of our Lord? Today let us pray that all who are lost might find Him, and that we too might rise above the noise and walk in the amazing love of God!

Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, thank you for your Word. We are humbled by your awesomeness. No mind can conceive or comprehend the full beauty of your Creation. We thank you for all of this Creation and all that you have given us, and all that you continue to reveal to us. We ask for your wisdom and understanding and peace and joy and love that can only come through You. We pray for the lost, the sick, and all who wrestle every day with something inside them that disturbs their peace, and those who think that when they die that life is over. Bring these people to know you. Use us to help people find you, to know you, and to love you Father God. Let your work be done. Let your Will be done, on earth as in heaven. We receive these gifts, and all of your blessings and eternal promise, in Jesus mighty name, Amen.

Today’s full reading: Leviticus 13,14; Acts 17

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