Paul's Speech in Athens

It is interesting to read Paul's speech in Athens as recorded in Acts 17. When Paul would speak to a Jewish audience, he would mention the Jewish Fathers like Moses, Abraham and Noah so that the people could relate to him. But in speaking to the Athenians, primarily a gentile audience, he mentioned nothing about the Jewish history, but concentrated on them, their situation, their lifestyle.

Paul noticed right off that the city was given over to idol worship (vs 16). He was challenged by the Greek philosophers who pumped him for information. Verse 21 tells us, "..all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing."

Paul noticed that they even had an idol to the "Unknown God." Paul, in a twist of meanings, lets them know that they are right; the real God is unknown to them. He then proceeds to tell them about the real God, the only real God: He "...made the world and everything in it. He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands," and lots more.

He then concludes this speech with this, "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." It was this mentioning of "raising Him from the dead," the resurrection, that stirred the people; some mocked, some were interested.

The power is in the resurrection. Without that, Christianity would be weak, nothing. But God will take us beyond the grave.....and that is a big part of the message here in Athens...and to us.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!

Living the Christian Life

It is hard!.....and it is easy. It is hard to live the Christian life in some ways, because the standard is so high that we must watch constantly for a misstep. But it is easy in that when we do it right, things go better for us. But the answers to how to live it are given clearly in the New Testament. The teachings of Jesus in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John give us a lot of insight into how to make our character what it should be. And the letters, starting with the book of Romans and going through Jude, give us much help in knowing what we are to be.

Picking one of the letters for a closer look, let us consider Ephesians. The first 3 chapters tell us a lot about what God has done for us. For example, Eph. 2:4 begins, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus...."

Beginning in chapter 4 and on through the end of the book in chapter 6, he tells us how we can be better people. Note 4:1, "..walk worthy of the calling with which you were called..."

4:22 "..put off , concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind..."

4:28 "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands..."

4:29 "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth...."

4:32 "And be kind to one another..."

5:15 "See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time..."

6:10 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."

If you read the whole book of Ephesians, one must be impressed with what God has done for us, and what we should do to live the Christian life. Thanks for reading!

The Masses

The masses, the crowds of Jews, loved Jesus.....for awhile. We see in Mark 1 and 2 that Jesus was pressed on every side by the people. He healed a leper, told him not to tell anyone; he told anyway, and Jesus drew such a crowd that he could not go into the city safely. He went into a house in Capernaum and drew such a crowd that the guys carrying the paralytic to be healed had to let him down through the roof to get to Jesus. He went down to the sea to preach; the crowds were so great that He had to get onto a small boat and preach from there.

Later, in Matthew 21, we read that when it was time for Jesus to enter Jerusalem, He sent disciples into a village to get a donkey and a colt (young male) of the donkey. The disciples said, "What if the man won't give them to us." He said, " 'Say, "The Lord needs them." ' " They did that and Jesus rode into Jerusalem (prophesied in Zecharia 9:9) with the people chanting and singing and laying down their clothes and palm branches. They were calling out, "Hosanna ('Save we pray')to the son of David" and "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," a common Jewish phrase from Psalm 118:26. These expressions of appreciation on this day were often used by the Jews to chant and sing when they went up to worship in Jerusalem.

But as much as the people loved Jesus at this time, they turned against him in a later time. It wasn't long before these same crowds would shout out, "Crucify Him, crucify Him." And almost suddenly Jesus found himself alone. He had been deserted by everyone, even His best supporters. But He knew this was coming, that He would have to do this for evil men. And He did it once for all time. He is our savior; let us worship Him....and remember Him.....and love Him and serve Him! Thanks for reading; see you next week!

Jesus Prayed

It is interesting that Jesus prayed often even though He was God Himself. He found it helpful and important to spend time in prayer with the Father.

Note Mark 1:35, where Jesus had been busy the night before healing and casting out demons: "Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed." This was a common practice for Jesus.

In Matthew 6, Jesus gave His disciples for all time the Lord's Prayer, teaching us some good things to pray for. Then in John 17 we have a prayer of Jesus shortly before His death. "Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: 'Father, the hour has come...' "

In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was with the Apostles, took with Him Peter, James and John and went off to pray. He separated Himself completely and said to God, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." In good and hard times, Jesus made it a point to pray. These are just a few examples; there are lots more.

Let us follow this great example of our Lord. He kept the relationship strong with the Father in prayer; we can do that. He found strength in times of stress; so can we. He didn't mind asking for deliverance in time of need; that can be us. And He prayed for His friends to be OK. "Ask and you shall receive...."

Thanks for reading. Have a great week!