I have signed up to receive daily devotions through Kristen Feola (author of the recipe book I'm using) and the verse she focused on today was from Acts 17:26-27.
"The God who made the worlds 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 poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'"
(Acts 17:24-28)
When I am given part of a verse, I like to read the entire chapter to be able to understand the verse in context. I went to the beginning of chapter 17 and saw that these passages were taken from when Paul spent some time in Athens.
*All of chapter 17 is actually three different cities but I just focused on the one in Athens since that's where the verse came from.*
So as I read through these passages and was understanding what was going on here. Paul had come into Athens and started preaching the good news to a group of Jews and Greeks. Then some philosophers started arguing with him and saying that he was just babbling on about nothing that made sense. Paul had noticed the city was full idols when he entered. He listens to the philosophers long enough for them to say their religious views. Starting in verse 22 it says:
"Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you."
(Acts 17:22-23)
I had to chuckle at Paul's comment about them being "in every way very religious." They found ANYTHING to make an idol out of and then labeled those things to certain gods, even unknown ones!!
Then it really hit me...
We are not much farther past these men.....
Our society can find anything to make an idol out of it. Just turn on the TV, look at Facebook, get on Yahoo "news" feed, and I'm sure you can think of plenty of other areas where we have made an idol out of something. I'm sure I preaching to the choir but this just hit me square between the eyes. I know that I have put some things above the Lord, especially when it comes to spending time in his word. I would be so humiliated if Paul was walking among us today. I don't know how he would react to our society and way of life. Yes, times have changed but God's word will not. He has created us to worship him with our whole hearts and not other useless nonsense stuff.
"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 poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'"
Paul understood that God created us for a reason and a purpose and already had our days numbered out and where we would live. God made it this way so that we MUST seek him out and we MUST find him for everything we need. No human, no TV show, no celebrity, no Facebook status, no news can ever give us what God has already ordained for us.
So why do we place things in front of God all the time like we will get answers from other things instead of looking for our needs to be met by the one who created us??? I am so not perfect and I fail so much in how I am supposed to be walking with the Lord and even walking out that relationship with those around me.
God forgive me!! Forgive me for placing things in the way of seeking you and finding you. Forgive me for not living out this relationship with you in other relationships also. Jesus, forgive my society and generation for pushing you so far out of our every day lives as if you don't matter!! In you we must live and in you we must find our being. Why is that so difficult?? I'm sorry Father. Help me keep my focus on you not only throughout this fast but throughout the rest of my days. Amen...
I refuse to have a mediocre relationship with the one who created me. Read these verses and let God search your heart. What are some areas that in your life he might be showing you that have been placed in front of him??
A hui kaua........
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