Acts 17:16-34
Paul visits Athens while he waits for Silas and Timothy in Berea. While he is there, he walks around the city and marketplace discovering the people. He “reasons with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks in the synagogues, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.”
One of the things he discovers is that the people of Athens are “in every way very religious.” They even have an altar in the marketplace for an unknown god. The poets of Athens even write of us as being God’s offspring. They appear to be open-minded. There are even some men of the Areopagus who consider themselves to be the custodians of teachings that introduce new religions and foreign gods. Paul knew that being religious wasn’t enough and we cannot capture Him in objects to worship. He also explains that in the past God overlooked the idol worship of Gentiles (He didn’t overlook it for the Jews, as seen in many accounts of the Old Testament). No longer will the Gentiles’ worship of idols and other gods be overlooked by God. We are all held accountable for our decisions and there will come a time where we will have to answer to God for our decisions.
Does some of this sound familiar to you? Aren’t we encouraged in this day to be open-minded and tolerant of other religions and spiritual practices? People are even described as being spiritual and this is a positive comment and sometimes a compliment or a way to tolerate your form of worship. This is not what Paul is saying here in Acts. Not all forms of religion/spirituality are acceptable to God. We must examine what we are choosing to practice and how we practice it. We may go to a church that speaks of Christ but is it a form of religion for us, going through the motions or a love relationship with Jesus where we are seeking to know Him more and love Him well?
Don’t get caught up in religion and spirituality and be deceived that it is enough. Jesus doesn’t simply want you to know that He lived here on earth and ascended to heaven, He wants you to know that He came to earth especially for you to make a way for you to follow Him to heaven. He wants YOU to be with Him in heaven. That’s why He died on the cross and rose again. He paid the price for your sin, my sin, so we wouldn’t have to and so we could one day be with Him in heaven. This isn’t religion; it’s discovering who Jesus is and why He loves us so much and how this can make a difference in your life like no other form of religion or spiritual practice can.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Noble in Character
Acts 17:10-15
I love the example of the Bereans! Can you imagine having Jesus describe you as “more noble in character?” The Bereans received the message with eagerness and then examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
These are dedicated and responsible people. Before they cast judgment on Paul/Silas, they listened with eagerness and not jealousy/judgment and then they went to the scriptures to verify their words before they responded.
When presented with a message from the Bible, we must listen with eagerness, ready to receive something new from the Bible. We listen with open and discerning hearts as the message is presented. But this eagerness is not without wisdom. These Bereans didn’t just take Paul at his word. They listened with eagerness and then examined the Scriptures every day (in most towns Paul spoke daily). They tested Paul’s gospel message against the Old Testament and verified that he was speaking truth. Then they decided to believe his message, receive Christ’s gift of salvation and start another church. They took their faith and new belief one step further by protecting Paul and helping him to escape the mob from Thessalonica by escorting him to Athens.
So in review, the Bereans listened to the message with eagerness, tested the message against the scripture, believed in Paul’s gospel message and then in faith stepped out to help Paul in a dangerous situation.
• Listen
• Discern
• Test against Scripture
• Believe
• Move forward in faith
Another take away from this passage is the reminder that people who teach or speak about the Word are not perfect people and they in and of themselves are not to be followed. We prayerfully check scripture and verify that what this person speaks is truth. Then we follow Christ and His Word spoken through a man/woman.
I love the example of the Bereans! Can you imagine having Jesus describe you as “more noble in character?” The Bereans received the message with eagerness and then examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
These are dedicated and responsible people. Before they cast judgment on Paul/Silas, they listened with eagerness and not jealousy/judgment and then they went to the scriptures to verify their words before they responded.
When presented with a message from the Bible, we must listen with eagerness, ready to receive something new from the Bible. We listen with open and discerning hearts as the message is presented. But this eagerness is not without wisdom. These Bereans didn’t just take Paul at his word. They listened with eagerness and then examined the Scriptures every day (in most towns Paul spoke daily). They tested Paul’s gospel message against the Old Testament and verified that he was speaking truth. Then they decided to believe his message, receive Christ’s gift of salvation and start another church. They took their faith and new belief one step further by protecting Paul and helping him to escape the mob from Thessalonica by escorting him to Athens.
So in review, the Bereans listened to the message with eagerness, tested the message against the scripture, believed in Paul’s gospel message and then in faith stepped out to help Paul in a dangerous situation.
• Listen
• Discern
• Test against Scripture
• Believe
• Move forward in faith
Another take away from this passage is the reminder that people who teach or speak about the Word are not perfect people and they in and of themselves are not to be followed. We prayerfully check scripture and verify that what this person speaks is truth. Then we follow Christ and His Word spoken through a man/woman.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
an angry mob
Out of jealousy the Jews of Thessalonica grab “bad characters” and stir up much trouble for Paul and Silas in Thessalonica and eventually Berea, causing them to leave each city. (Acts 17:1-9)
I have witnessed disputes and participated in disputes, some went well and some didn’t. As in everything, we must pray and seek God to examine our hearts before we begin a dispute or accusation. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us our hearts are deceitful about all things. We cannot trust ourselves and our opinions even when we have verses to back up our thoughts and opinions. We must check our motivations before bringing up a discussion or dispute especially one that could easily turn into an accusation. Our anger and unchecked hearts may just be working against what God is trying to accomplish in our lives, churches, places of employment, etc.
There was one time when I was first married that my husband and I stood up with friends and battled it out in a church meeting over a right that we thought we had. We had Biblical ground for the right we were defending. No verses said that we couldn’t do what we wanted to do. The church leaders, however, said that we could not be church leaders if we did this thing. In looking back on those nights, I know that our belief was Biblical but I cannot say that my attitude or the way I presented everything I said was Christ-like. Now it’s been many years since those discussions but it does proof a point. Even when battling legalism we must first seek God and ask Him what He wants us to do. Paul says that when he was on his missionary journeys he was all things to all people so that many would be saved. He knew his freedom in Christ but in no way did he want to make someone stumble in their personal walk with Christ, so if they refrained from doing something, in their presence he refrained and vise versa. (See 1 Corinthians 10:31-33)
The questions I should have asked myself were
• Is this discussion one that Jesus wants me to have?
• Can I say my heart is not filled with hatred and anger right now?
• When I defend my point, would Christ be pleased with me?
• Am I willing to surrender my right to follow Jesus’ plan for my life right now or is my right more important?
• Why is defending this right so important to me at this time?
There are many rights and beliefs that God does want us to battle for and sometimes to the death, as many Christians in foreign lands do today, right now. But before we battle to the proverbial death (in America), we must know that our hearts are right with Jesus, our motivation is pure and acceptable to Him, and we in all ways honor Jesus.
I have witnessed disputes and participated in disputes, some went well and some didn’t. As in everything, we must pray and seek God to examine our hearts before we begin a dispute or accusation. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us our hearts are deceitful about all things. We cannot trust ourselves and our opinions even when we have verses to back up our thoughts and opinions. We must check our motivations before bringing up a discussion or dispute especially one that could easily turn into an accusation. Our anger and unchecked hearts may just be working against what God is trying to accomplish in our lives, churches, places of employment, etc.
There was one time when I was first married that my husband and I stood up with friends and battled it out in a church meeting over a right that we thought we had. We had Biblical ground for the right we were defending. No verses said that we couldn’t do what we wanted to do. The church leaders, however, said that we could not be church leaders if we did this thing. In looking back on those nights, I know that our belief was Biblical but I cannot say that my attitude or the way I presented everything I said was Christ-like. Now it’s been many years since those discussions but it does proof a point. Even when battling legalism we must first seek God and ask Him what He wants us to do. Paul says that when he was on his missionary journeys he was all things to all people so that many would be saved. He knew his freedom in Christ but in no way did he want to make someone stumble in their personal walk with Christ, so if they refrained from doing something, in their presence he refrained and vise versa. (See 1 Corinthians 10:31-33)
The questions I should have asked myself were
• Is this discussion one that Jesus wants me to have?
• Can I say my heart is not filled with hatred and anger right now?
• When I defend my point, would Christ be pleased with me?
• Am I willing to surrender my right to follow Jesus’ plan for my life right now or is my right more important?
• Why is defending this right so important to me at this time?
There are many rights and beliefs that God does want us to battle for and sometimes to the death, as many Christians in foreign lands do today, right now. But before we battle to the proverbial death (in America), we must know that our hearts are right with Jesus, our motivation is pure and acceptable to Him, and we in all ways honor Jesus.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
The High Places
I continue to read in 2 Kings and phew!! You really need to be awake to keep track of all of those people whose names begin with Jeho_____. Some are men and some are women, some are from Judah and some are from Israel. It can get a bit confusing keeping families and kingdoms straight. Well I digress.
In reading these kingdom accounts, I keep thinking about the high places. Many times in these descriptions it is said, “…and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.” But every now again you come across a king who “did right in the eyes of the Lord, but…he did not remove the high places.”
The high places…what are they? Well in going through the Bible with National Community Church blog site, I learned that not only are the high places used for the idol worshippers to sacrifice and worship their gods but they also were used by the early kings and prophets of God (Samuel) to sacrifice to the Lord before the temple was built. God commanded that the high places of the idols be destroyed and no sacrifices to or worship of Him be done where idols had been worshipped. Apparently there is still debate as to whether worshipping and sacrificing to God on the high places was “ok” prior to the completion of the Temple, since there was no central location to do this in. Needless to say, they existed for various reasons and became a means to cause the people of God to stumble and fall into idol worship. (Commentary from The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Publishing House: 1995.)
So how do the high places fit into my life…your life? Obviously we are not having idol worship and sacrifices occurring in our cities and towns. However, are we keeping little stashes of things that get in the way of our time with God and maybe keep us from hearing Him or doing things for Him and His people in the best way we can?
High places give you the impression that they’re not that close, they don’t get visited very often, they’re so far away many people don’t see them or even know about them but they are always there and I know about them, you know about them. The knowledge of them and the frequent or infrequent visits to those high places still affect our relationship with Christ. “How?” you might ask, by keeping us from giving God our whole heart. Several passages in the Old and New Testament say we are to love God with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our soul and with all our strength.
Are there things in your life that keep you from giving all of yourself and all of your efforts to God? Do you want the commentary on your life to read, “Joe/Joelle did what was right in the eyes of the Lord but did not remove the high places”?
In reading these kingdom accounts, I keep thinking about the high places. Many times in these descriptions it is said, “…and he did evil in the sight of the Lord.” But every now again you come across a king who “did right in the eyes of the Lord, but…he did not remove the high places.”
The high places…what are they? Well in going through the Bible with National Community Church blog site, I learned that not only are the high places used for the idol worshippers to sacrifice and worship their gods but they also were used by the early kings and prophets of God (Samuel) to sacrifice to the Lord before the temple was built. God commanded that the high places of the idols be destroyed and no sacrifices to or worship of Him be done where idols had been worshipped. Apparently there is still debate as to whether worshipping and sacrificing to God on the high places was “ok” prior to the completion of the Temple, since there was no central location to do this in. Needless to say, they existed for various reasons and became a means to cause the people of God to stumble and fall into idol worship. (Commentary from The NIV Study Bible, Zondervan Publishing House: 1995.)
So how do the high places fit into my life…your life? Obviously we are not having idol worship and sacrifices occurring in our cities and towns. However, are we keeping little stashes of things that get in the way of our time with God and maybe keep us from hearing Him or doing things for Him and His people in the best way we can?
High places give you the impression that they’re not that close, they don’t get visited very often, they’re so far away many people don’t see them or even know about them but they are always there and I know about them, you know about them. The knowledge of them and the frequent or infrequent visits to those high places still affect our relationship with Christ. “How?” you might ask, by keeping us from giving God our whole heart. Several passages in the Old and New Testament say we are to love God with all of our heart, all of our mind, all of our soul and with all our strength.
Are there things in your life that keep you from giving all of yourself and all of your efforts to God? Do you want the commentary on your life to read, “Joe/Joelle did what was right in the eyes of the Lord but did not remove the high places”?
Monday, May 17, 2010
Incomprehensible Mercy
I have not been able to stop thinking about the incredible mercy God shows us when we humble ourselves before Him. Just recently I have been reading in 1 and 2 Kings and hearing of all the kings of Israel and Judah and how most of them did evil in the eyes of the Lord. There was, however, one king who is described as no other king. This is king Ahab. This is how the Bible begins its description of king Ahab in 1 Kings 16:30 “Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.” Later in the description of Ahab’s reign, he is further described in this way – 1 Kings 21:25-26 “There was never a man like Ahab who sold himself to do evil in the eyes of the Lord, urged on by Jezebel his wife. He behaved in the vilest manner by going after idols, like the Amorites the Lord drove out before Israel.”
In the chapters describing Ahab’s reign we hear of his cowardice as he freely sends his wives, children and silver to the king of Aram instead of fighting the king or asking God for help; his treachery as he hunts down the prophets of God; his whinny and insatiable greed as he pursues the vineyard of a fellow Israelite whom he has killed because he would not surrender his God given land; and his betrayal of God as he worships the idols of the land. This name and this king is always remembered and spoken of in terms of the evil that was done to the people and against God, yet he was shown mercy!
After Ahab whines to Jezebel, one of his wives, about how Naboth refused to give Ahab his vineyard. She contrives a way to have Naboth killed so Ahab can confiscate the lands and have the vineyard he so greatly wants. After the plan is played out and Naboth is killed the prophet Elijah comes to Ahab on the Lord’s behalf and pronounces a terrible judgment on Ahab, Jezebel and his descendents.
“When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: ‘Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humble himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day’…” 1 Kings 21:27-29
This is amazing to me! Ahab didn’t change his ways but he humbled himself before God and God was merciful.
Humility before God even after we do the most vile thing is accepted by God and honored. His mercy is endless and incomprehensible. Don’t ever forget this! Shame over our sin would lead us to believe that we can never go back to God but here we see that a man described as the most evil of kings could humble himself and receive mercy. It is no different for us. The Bible describes God as the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The mercy shown Ahab thousands of years ago is also available to us TODAY.
If you have sinned against God, do not get caught up in shame and lies, humble yourself before Him, repent and be restored.
Another good reference is Psalm 51.
In the chapters describing Ahab’s reign we hear of his cowardice as he freely sends his wives, children and silver to the king of Aram instead of fighting the king or asking God for help; his treachery as he hunts down the prophets of God; his whinny and insatiable greed as he pursues the vineyard of a fellow Israelite whom he has killed because he would not surrender his God given land; and his betrayal of God as he worships the idols of the land. This name and this king is always remembered and spoken of in terms of the evil that was done to the people and against God, yet he was shown mercy!
After Ahab whines to Jezebel, one of his wives, about how Naboth refused to give Ahab his vineyard. She contrives a way to have Naboth killed so Ahab can confiscate the lands and have the vineyard he so greatly wants. After the plan is played out and Naboth is killed the prophet Elijah comes to Ahab on the Lord’s behalf and pronounces a terrible judgment on Ahab, Jezebel and his descendents.
“When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite: ‘Have you noticed how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because he has humble himself, I will not bring this disaster in his day’…” 1 Kings 21:27-29
This is amazing to me! Ahab didn’t change his ways but he humbled himself before God and God was merciful.
Humility before God even after we do the most vile thing is accepted by God and honored. His mercy is endless and incomprehensible. Don’t ever forget this! Shame over our sin would lead us to believe that we can never go back to God but here we see that a man described as the most evil of kings could humble himself and receive mercy. It is no different for us. The Bible describes God as the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. The mercy shown Ahab thousands of years ago is also available to us TODAY.
If you have sinned against God, do not get caught up in shame and lies, humble yourself before Him, repent and be restored.
Another good reference is Psalm 51.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Looking beyond yourself
I was reading in 2 Chronicles 25, Daniel 6, and Acts 5-6 discovered an interesting theme. In each passage there was an example of how leaders made decisions that affected those under their authority.
2 Chronicles 25 – King Amaziah, the king of Judah, had gone into battle under the authority of God and God gave Judah the victory. Instead of praising God and giving Him the glory, Amaziah chose to follow the gods of the people he had just defeated. God punished him by allowing Israel to pillage Judah and destroy a portion of their city.
Daniel 6 – speaks of the jealousy of the presidents and satraps towards Daniel. Their deceptions lead to Daniel being thrown into the lions’ den for “crimes against the king”. In the end Daniel was saved by God and the men who were after Daniel were thrown into the lions’ along with their wives and children.
Acts 5 – Speaks of Ananias and Sapphira and how they tried to deceive the Holy Spirit. Here after Ananias is given an opportunity to confess and then is killed by God for his lie, Sapphira is given the same opportunity to redeem herself with confession or even to say she didn’t agree with her husband. However, she too was deceptive and killed. We are shown a grace and mercy we didn’t see in the Old Testament accounts.
Acts 5-6 – Then shows how the obedient lives of the apostles led to blessings, fellowship amongst the followers of Jesus and provision for the widows of the city.
After reading each of these accounts, I was reminded of how important my decisions are! So often when I am consciously deciding to be obedient to God in my actions, I don’t think of my family or those I happen to be in authority over – those at church or work. I am selfishly deciding that I don’t need to be obedient in that area for whatever lame reason I have at the moment. But here we see how others suffered greatly for the choices of their leaders, husbands and fathers! These were my immediate thoughts,
“‘Wake up, Renee, and look beyond yourself! Your choices affect all those around you, not just yourself and not just in the moment!”
I was also encouraged to see Acts, both the mercy shown to Sapphira (she was given the opportunity to tell the truth and not just lumped in with Ananias’ punishment) and the blessings shown to those the apostles were affecting.
Whether we are in leadership, parents or just people living our own lives, we must remember that our choices affect all those around us both in negative ways and positive. We must, in Jesus’ strength and power, live our lives looking beyond ourselves.
2 Chronicles 25 – King Amaziah, the king of Judah, had gone into battle under the authority of God and God gave Judah the victory. Instead of praising God and giving Him the glory, Amaziah chose to follow the gods of the people he had just defeated. God punished him by allowing Israel to pillage Judah and destroy a portion of their city.
Daniel 6 – speaks of the jealousy of the presidents and satraps towards Daniel. Their deceptions lead to Daniel being thrown into the lions’ den for “crimes against the king”. In the end Daniel was saved by God and the men who were after Daniel were thrown into the lions’ along with their wives and children.
Acts 5 – Speaks of Ananias and Sapphira and how they tried to deceive the Holy Spirit. Here after Ananias is given an opportunity to confess and then is killed by God for his lie, Sapphira is given the same opportunity to redeem herself with confession or even to say she didn’t agree with her husband. However, she too was deceptive and killed. We are shown a grace and mercy we didn’t see in the Old Testament accounts.
Acts 5-6 – Then shows how the obedient lives of the apostles led to blessings, fellowship amongst the followers of Jesus and provision for the widows of the city.
After reading each of these accounts, I was reminded of how important my decisions are! So often when I am consciously deciding to be obedient to God in my actions, I don’t think of my family or those I happen to be in authority over – those at church or work. I am selfishly deciding that I don’t need to be obedient in that area for whatever lame reason I have at the moment. But here we see how others suffered greatly for the choices of their leaders, husbands and fathers! These were my immediate thoughts,
“‘Wake up, Renee, and look beyond yourself! Your choices affect all those around you, not just yourself and not just in the moment!”
I was also encouraged to see Acts, both the mercy shown to Sapphira (she was given the opportunity to tell the truth and not just lumped in with Ananias’ punishment) and the blessings shown to those the apostles were affecting.
Whether we are in leadership, parents or just people living our own lives, we must remember that our choices affect all those around us both in negative ways and positive. We must, in Jesus’ strength and power, live our lives looking beyond ourselves.
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