Paul went to Athens, Greece preaching the gospel to whoever would listen, as we read in Acts 17. These were Greek, gentile, people who did not know the true God. They had lots of gods and a different god for all aspects of life. When they needed a god to worship, they created an image out of wood or stone.
"Then Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD
Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you."
Paul uses this opportunity to teach them about the "Unknown God" that they had an altar for, but really didn't worship it as the true God. Then Paul goes on to tell them a lot about the characteristics of God:
Acts 17:24-29New International Version (NIV)
24 “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.’[a] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[b]
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.
The people there in Athens were religious, but they were totally confused about the true nature of God. And such could be said for many people today. There are a lot of people who are "religious" but who don't know the true God. And God loves everyone, but He is going to reward those who are His true followers.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week!
Saturday, November 26, 2016
Saturday, November 19, 2016
The LORD loves you.....
Today we focus on God's love. Love is such an important part of the Bible, of God Himself. We read in 1 John 4:
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for GOD IS LOVE."
And all through the Bible we find the emphasis being put on love, and how much God loves us. We could not go far in this subject without bringing in John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
No one who understands the sacrifice that was made in sending the Son to die could question the love of God for us. The writings of John are full of the love subject. And remember that John described himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 21). He says in 1 John 4:19:
"We love Him because He first loved us." His love was first....and continual.
But Jesus put this back on us; that is, that we must not only love Him back, but we must love others. Note John 13:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
And Jesus taught that we are to love all people. We learn in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 that an injured man is passed up by supposed religious people, a priest and a Levite, but is helped by a Samaritan, an enemy of the Jews. We are to love our enemies.
And finally, note the beautiful and powerful wording of Deuteronomy 10:12-15,
12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for GOD IS LOVE."
And all through the Bible we find the emphasis being put on love, and how much God loves us. We could not go far in this subject without bringing in John 3:16:
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."
No one who understands the sacrifice that was made in sending the Son to die could question the love of God for us. The writings of John are full of the love subject. And remember that John described himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 21). He says in 1 John 4:19:
"We love Him because He first loved us." His love was first....and continual.
But Jesus put this back on us; that is, that we must not only love Him back, but we must love others. Note John 13:
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
And Jesus taught that we are to love all people. We learn in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10 that an injured man is passed up by supposed religious people, a priest and a Levite, but is helped by a Samaritan, an enemy of the Jews. We are to love our enemies.
And finally, note the beautiful and powerful wording of Deuteronomy 10:12-15,
12 And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
14 To the Lord your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it. 15 Yet the Lord set his affection on your ancestors and loved them, and he chose you, their descendants, above all the nations—as it is today.
The Lord loves everyone, and especially His people. Let us love Him.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week.....and feel the love!
The Lord loves everyone, and especially His people. Let us love Him.
Thanks for reading. Have a great week.....and feel the love!
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Jesus Invites
Jesus made many invitations in His teaching. He wanted people to know that they are wanted, that He cares about people, cares about their salvation. Let's think about some of the ways that He reached out to extend open invitations to all:
One of the best, most pleasant invitations is found in Matthew chapter 11:
"Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
We see from this that taking on Jesus in our lives can be like putting on a yoke, like what was done to oxen. But Jesus knows and tells us that this yoke is not a burden, or at least a heavy burden. It does carry its restrictions, but He knows that the end result is far lighter than the alternative. After all, we are going to carry a yoke of something, whether it be of Jesus....or of Satan and sin and degradation.
The yoke of Jesus is that of one who is gentle and lowly in heart, and there we find rest.
Remember that Jesus taught that we should "knock and the door will be opened." He has made preparation for us in heaven and wants us to join Him.
Hebrews 11:6 teaches that "...he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." He has done His part by sending Jesus to bring us salvation. Heaven is waiting for those who "diligently seek Him."
The story of the Prodigal Son is a great example of how God wants us to be home with Him. The son goes off and wastes his life, but when he comes home, the father comes running out to greet him, throws a celebration, and is so accepting.
The love of the Father is far greater than we can even imagine. He invites and wants us to follow Him. Let's pledge ourselves to Him, the one who loves us so.
Thanks for reading. Feel the love.
One of the best, most pleasant invitations is found in Matthew chapter 11:
"Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls, for My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
We see from this that taking on Jesus in our lives can be like putting on a yoke, like what was done to oxen. But Jesus knows and tells us that this yoke is not a burden, or at least a heavy burden. It does carry its restrictions, but He knows that the end result is far lighter than the alternative. After all, we are going to carry a yoke of something, whether it be of Jesus....or of Satan and sin and degradation.
The yoke of Jesus is that of one who is gentle and lowly in heart, and there we find rest.
Remember that Jesus taught that we should "knock and the door will be opened." He has made preparation for us in heaven and wants us to join Him.
Hebrews 11:6 teaches that "...he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." He has done His part by sending Jesus to bring us salvation. Heaven is waiting for those who "diligently seek Him."
The story of the Prodigal Son is a great example of how God wants us to be home with Him. The son goes off and wastes his life, but when he comes home, the father comes running out to greet him, throws a celebration, and is so accepting.
The love of the Father is far greater than we can even imagine. He invites and wants us to follow Him. Let's pledge ourselves to Him, the one who loves us so.
Thanks for reading. Feel the love.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Keeping Company....inside or outside?
The Corinthian church had lots of problems, problems that the apostle Paul dealt with in his letter of 1 Corinthians. In chapter 3, he says:
"I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out to the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person."
We see here a distinction being made between people who are in the circle of brotherhood, people who are considered Christian brothers or sisters and those people who are outside this circle. He is reminding them that they cannot remove themselves from the world, from worldly people, and cannot be an influence for good if they do not associate with all kinds of people. But he goes on to say:
"For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore 'put away from yourselves that wicked person.' "
He makes it clear that it is not our place to judge those who are outside. Oh, we will notice their evil lives, but not to judge, not to condemn; God will see to that.
On the other hand, we are not to tolerate open sin among our fellow Christians. There are a number of other passages/teachings in the New Testament that indicate that we must not accept freely those who are claiming to be Christians but are openly living in sin. And realize that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. But those who simply live in sin with no attempt to repent, to correct their lives, but live in sin, flaunting their sin, these must not be allowed to also openly claim faithful Christianity.
The Lord has given us great instruction for practical living. He is to be praised!
Thanks for reading. You are important.
"I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out to the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is a fornicator, or covetous, or idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person."
We see here a distinction being made between people who are in the circle of brotherhood, people who are considered Christian brothers or sisters and those people who are outside this circle. He is reminding them that they cannot remove themselves from the world, from worldly people, and cannot be an influence for good if they do not associate with all kinds of people. But he goes on to say:
"For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? But those who are outside God judges. Therefore 'put away from yourselves that wicked person.' "
He makes it clear that it is not our place to judge those who are outside. Oh, we will notice their evil lives, but not to judge, not to condemn; God will see to that.
On the other hand, we are not to tolerate open sin among our fellow Christians. There are a number of other passages/teachings in the New Testament that indicate that we must not accept freely those who are claiming to be Christians but are openly living in sin. And realize that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. But those who simply live in sin with no attempt to repent, to correct their lives, but live in sin, flaunting their sin, these must not be allowed to also openly claim faithful Christianity.
The Lord has given us great instruction for practical living. He is to be praised!
Thanks for reading. You are important.
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