September 2

Happy Monday! Well, even though I still have a bit of this allergy mess hanging on, I’m feeling great this morning after the first win by my team last night. I love college football and I’m so excited it’s back. I do have to be careful though—sometimes I can like it too much! 


When Paul was in Athens, waiting on Silas and Timothy, he couldn’t help but be bothered by the idols all over the city. He tried to reason with anyone who would listen to him—in the synagogue or in the market—anywhere he was. A group of scholars began to who were members of a pagan philosophy believing that pleasure was the greatest good began to debate with him. They took him to one of their meetings and asked him to explain what teachings he was speaking about. (They were always curious of the latest ideas and trends). 


“Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.””

‭‭Acts‬ ‭17:19-20‬ ‭NIV‬‬


Paul began to speak:

“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. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. “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 human hands....‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’” Acts‬ ‭17:23-24, 28‬ ‭NIV‬‬


What a marvelous declaration. The people of Athens had been so busy making gods like themselves, they had not stopped to consider their dark side. 

Our society worships gods of our own making. Our culture is saturated with the worship of sports (I hate to say it, but yeah, football), sex, money, power, and even still today just like when Paul preached in Athens, pleasure. We are busy humanizing God and deifying man. Our idols are not statues of gold and marble; our idols come from the things we love the most. Life does not have to be filled with such emptiness, but we can fill our minds and hearts with the things that bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. Things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy! One who truly follows Jesus will have a hunger to worship Him and with that comes the study of His Word which bring us a hope that only He can offer. 


Father in Heaven we pray for wisdom and discernment for all the messages that come to us each day. Help us Lord to remember to think on the things that please you and to fill our hearts and minds with good and praiseworthy things. We know in this world full of entertainment and opportunities there are so many things competing for our loyalties and our minds. Help us Lord to daily renew our minds and habits by your grace. Change any sinful part of us—we want to be more like you God. We long for the day when we see you face to face. Praise you Jehovah Jireh. We love you Lord. Amen and amen. 


Love you dear one,

Pam

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