Good
Morning Friends,
“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 hands. And he is not served by human hands,
as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and
everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should
inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact
places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and
perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of
us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets
have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 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 man’s design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but
now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 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 all men by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:24-31)
Paul
was speaking to very learned men when he spoke the words written above. He was
in Athens at the great place of debate and discussion of philosophy and
theology called the Areopagus. Consider the points that Paul made to cause such
men to ponder the deep things of the world.
God
made everything. He is the Creator. The world is not the product of chance. It
is the design of God.
God
doesn’t live in temples made by men. How could the One who created everything
be contained in something that was made by one of His creations? There is no
holy place – everything is equally holy because everything was created by God
and reflects His character and will.
There
is nothing that God needs from any of us. A relationship with God is not about
what we can give Him or do for Him – not in any way. It’s all about what He can
and will do for us.
It
is God’s will that men seek Him and He has created a world in which He never
far from any of those He has created. He’s there – always – if we’ll reach out
to Him.
Man
was created by God in His own image – we are His offspring. That means there is
something about us that reflects what God is like.
The
time of ignorance is past and now God is calling everyone to turn to Him. There
is no excuse for those who refuse to do so. Judgment awaits for those who do
not turn to God.
The
ultimate proof that God is calling men to turn to Him is what He has done in
Jesus by raising Him from the dead. Jesus takes all excuses away from mankind.
That
was God’s message to learned men 2,000 years ago in Greece. It’s His message to
learned men and women today, too.
His,
by Grace,
Steve
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