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For I know the plans I have for you,declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jer 29:11 |
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| Archived Manna: | |
Dear
Friend,
If you do not already have a habit of gathering daily manna the first thing in the morning (we can look at the example given to us in Exodus 16 and find the pattern for make it a habit. Establish your life and your schedule to allow you the necessary time to do your daily collection first thing every morning to give you the strength to make it through the day. And remember that today’s manna will not be sufficient for tomorrow; tomorrow’s manna must be collected tomorrow morning. Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Today's Passage : Today's Passage:Paul Addresses the Areopagus [1] Bible Verse :Acts 17:22-27 "So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. " Message:
Today’s Scripture recounts a monumental day in the history of religion and civilization.
The Roman Empire, stretching from Britain to Egypt and Judea, took its culture from Greece, including its polytheistic religion. Up until this point, Paul and the other missionaries have converted only those who believed in the Hebrew God (although some were Gentiles). But today, he steps onto the center stage of Greco-Roman philosophy, the Areopagus of Athens, and tells them—the high priests of logic—that the religion of the mighty Roman Empire is false. For the first time, he tries to convert Romans from their state religion to Christianity.
If you find it weird to encounter Stoics and Epicureans in the Bible, you are not alone. To see Paul debating with the professional philosophers of Athens is startling.
And from the Greeks’ point of view, it is just as startling. Paul is a hick preacher of a minor religion, not a learned Greek scholar. But Paul has enormous power as a speaker and rationalist. He instinctively uses a minor alter dedicated “to the unknown god” as a hook for his argument.
But the real force of his argument does not come from Greek logic. Rather, it comes from an emotional and spiritual argument. The very idea of a personal relationship with a living God was revolutionary to the Greek wise men. Rather than starting with the human mind and seeking to find God with it, Paul tells them that God has found them.
It is an argument that will change the world. As we know today, Paul will prevail, and over the next 100 years, Rome will become the very center of Christianity.
Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius, the
great Roman stoic
Although Epicureanism has come to be associated with overindulgence, in fact, the opposite is true. The Epicureans believed in stringent moderation as one key to perfecting human life. They believed that human beings had souls, which survived their deaths. Although they believed that gods existed, they thought that these gods were not interested in life on earth and certainly would never intervene in earthly affairs.
The Stoics, remarkably, came very close to agreeing with the fundamental truth of John 1:1 -- “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And the Word was God.” Although they did not call him “God,” they believed that the Word, or logos, was not simply a force, but a reasoning person; and they had true morals based on the laws of the Word. They were ethical, tried to live good lives, and believed in the human soul. But they lacked an essential ingredient: a living relationship with the Word and worship of him as God, which the Jews were given in the Old Testament. They had no life in the spirit, as we call it.
And so, as close as they had come to truth by using their sheer intellect, the Greeks worshipped statues, to which they had ascribed a vast, rich mythology. But intellect cannot find God; as they are to discover, only the spirit can find God.
There are a considerable number of people in the Western world, and probably all over the earth, who unwittingly practice a modified (and watered down) version of these ancient philosophies.
Meditation : Prayer : Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness of my mind. Give me a right faith, a firm hope and a perfect charity, so that I may always and in all things act according to Your Holy Will.......Amen |
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