Photo by Eradio Valverde, Jr., Athens, Greece at the Areopagus
Hear the devotional read here: https://bit.ly/3brGRzV
22 So Paul, standing in the middle of the Are-op'agus, said: "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along, and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in shrines made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all men life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one every nation of men to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel after him and find him. Yet he is not far from each one of us, 28 for 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.' 29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the Deity is like gold, or silver, or stone, a representation by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed, and of this he has given assurance to all men by raising him from the dead." (Acts 17:22-31 RSV)
A Wonderful Wednesday be yours, Friend! I pray this finds you and yours doing well, and enjoying God's rich blessings upon your lives.
A wonderful pastor and preacher, The Rev. Dr. Zan Holmes of Dallas, TX, received a tremendous introduction prior to his preaching to a gathering of pastors in our old conference. The presenter had found all the right words and did a marvelous job of bringing Dr. Holmes to the stage. Zan, in his charming way thanked the presenter in an equally marvelous way and added, "May God forgive you for saying the things you said, and may God forgive me for enjoying it so much!" Our passage today deals with one of the most successful and persistent presenters of God, the Apostle Paul. Successful beyond his years, he had an encounter with Jesus and that forever changed his life and work. And Paul worked tirelessly for the sake of making God known to all through what Jesus had shared with him. And the photo above which I took, is the very place where Paul introduced God to the "Men of Athens." These men were known for their desire to learn as much as they could about all things spiritual and metaphysical. The Greeks were known for their desire to be faithful to their gods and so they had statues of every god they knew about, and just to be safe, made an altar with the inscription Paul mentions above, "To an unknown god." I know for sure Paul jumped with joy when he saw that opening and said, "I've got them now!" And he did. He made the one, true, living God, known to the people of Greece. "Ladies and gentlemen, the God who made the entire world and everything in it, Who is the Lord of Heaven and earth, does not need your shrines to live in, for He lives everywhere. Nor, can we claim to serve Him with our human hands, since God has all that He could possibly need, and likewise, provides all things for us." BOOM!
And Paul further said, "All God needs from us is our repentance, because the day is coming when we will be judged by Him. And, those who believe in Him and love Him, will be raised from the dead." Wow. This was something the Greeks had not heard before, and it was something that they needed to hear, and responded in faith to Paul's preaching.
When I was pastor at Trinity UMC in San Antonio, we brought down the Power Team, a muscle-bound group of body builders who used feats of strength to share the gospel with the community. I could write for hours on feeding this group! I thank God for a local Ford dealership who agreed to pay for their meals. We're talking two trays full of food per team member. And the trays needed to be carried by a muscle bound man. On one of those nights, the father of a young man who had been attending our church, heard the gospel message and surrendered his life to Jesus. About two months later, he died. At his deathbed he gave thanks to the church for having brought these men to share the truth about life, and he died a peaceful man. The son was also very thankful that someone made God's love known to his dad.
Who will you introduce to God? The best way is to just share what God has done for you and God will do the rest.
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, for all You have done, we are thankful. WE ask that we would not shy away from making known Your love to those who need it. Grant us courage and strength and we know You will supply the words. We ask that You be glorified in all things! This we pray in faith in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Find a way to introduce God to someone today!
Receive my blessings of faith and love,
Pastor Eradio Valverde
