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Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted Isa 53:4 |
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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, November 27, 2024
Today's Passage : Today's Passage :Paul Addresses the Areopagus [3] Bible Verse:Acts 17:29-34 (ESV) "Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 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 by raising him from the dead.” Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them." Message:
If you have been following the past two days, you will know that this passage marks one of the great turning points in world history. Paul is standing in the dead center of Western culture and thought, the Areopagus in Athens, Greece. This is the place where the world’s greatest philosophers have, for hundreds of years, gathered to debate and teach.
In Acts 17:22-28, Paul stood up and began to address the assemblage to teach them that there is but one God, who created earth and humanity. Today, finally, he tells them things that nobody has told them before: their gods do not exist. They are just statues. They are “an image formed by the imagination . . . of man.” There is a true God, who has sent a man to save them from death, and as a sign has been raised up from the dead.
The concept is revolutionary. Several listeners are actually converted, and a number of others are interested in hearing more. Some openly laugh at him, and most probably don’t pay close attention and simply dismiss him. But the turning point has been reached. The Gospel has been revealed, openly and forcefully, to the mainstream citizenry of the Roman Empire.
Paul’s speech here is unique, because he is not addressing Jews, or even Gentiles who have become monotheistic. These are unreconstructed Greek polytheists, who combine high intelligence and philosophical sophistication with a primitive polytheism, based on the worship of statues. So Paul possibly echoes Habakkuk here, instructing them to consider that statues are lifeless and thus powerless as “gods”:
Of what value is an idol carved by a craftsman? Or an image that teaches lies? For the one who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
Woe to him who says to wood, “Come to life!” Or to lifeless stone, “Wake up!”
Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it.
Meditation : Prayer : Oh Lord as I face creation Let me see with eyes made clear By Your promise of salvation, Never to return to fear.........Amen |
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