Devo Acts 17

Chapter 17
22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens!
I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For 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. 24”The God who made the world and everything in it is
the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25And
he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself
gives all men life and breath and everything else. 26From 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. 27God 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. 28’For in him we live and move and have our being.’
As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29”Therefore since we
are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver
or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill. 30In the past God overlooked
such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31For
he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has
appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

Meditation:
1. Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill (Areopagus) began by drawing on pagan Greek
poets to establish a point of contact, and then went on to proclaim God’s
truth. Paul had caught glimpses of God’s truth in the religion and culture of
those people but knew that they needed to be pointed to the one who says “I
am the truth”. So Paul’s quotes connected him with the Athenians and set the
stage for his teaching. That message directly confronted the worldview of his
listeners. God is the Creator of the world. God is the Creator of all men, and
all are responsible to Him. It is ignorant to think of the divine Being in terms
of gold, silver, or stone idols. A day of judgment is coming, and the proof is
that God has raised Jesus from the dead. And He will judge one day.
2. Majority of the people today still doesn’t know the true God. Am I equipped
to share the gospel effectively and clearly? Have I studied the culture that
surrounds me, asking God to help me see those glimpses of truth that I can
use to begin conversations with others around life, meaning, and ultimately
God? Ask God’s help to be prepared to be His witness to unbelieving folks
around me.

Personal Note:
In this postmodern generation, people are seeking and searching for meaning and purpose of life.  Young people are looking desperately everywhere for love, for acceptance, for fun, for meaning, etc.  Today's people are like the people in Athens pretty much worship an unknown god.  We may worship popularity, status, wealth, luxury, etc.  I need to hear the message over and over again to convict my heart on worshipping the true God.  Paul was effective in engaging the culture.

This culture I live in changes all the time and it takes tremendous effort to learn.  I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.  Let's dedicate an hour today to pray for the people in Crossroad.